Fatal Mercy
The war is almost over, but some difficult decisions still have to be made. Zuko and Katara must decide on what to do about Azula.My thoughts of what happened after Azula's defeat. Don't own Avatar. This is rated mature for crazy violence and dark material. It could be teen but didn't want to take the chance. This is a darker look behind war and the choices we make.
Amber eyes burn with madness. Staring into those eyes sent shivers down her spine. No one should have eyes like that. Sadly this wasn't the first time she had seen that look. It was almost sad to compare them to each other. Two people, completely opposite elements, and yet they possessed the same expression. They shared the same madness.
Her cries can only be described as the screeches of a wild animal being tortured. Her movements are missing their normal precision. Azula moves as if her body is possessed. It is almost painful to watch her jerk and flip around. Her desperation shows as Azula only attempts of firebending is the sickening display of her vomiting out blue flames.
Looking into those eyes brought up bad memories, looking into those eyes made her decision more resolute. The war was almost over; soon there would be no need for soul crushing decisions. It didn't matter if this decision damned her. She had witnessed the consequences of letting a lunatic stay locked up. The innocent always ended up suffering. She would stop Azula from tainting anyone else. Katara could see the future threat in Azula's golden orbs. They promised pain and suffering. Katara did not doubt Azula, after almost losing Aang, Katara had decided never to underestimate Azula again. Soon she wouldn't have to look into those wild eyes ever again. But she couldn't do anything yet, not until she got his permission.
Katara turned away from the raging ex-fire princess and turned her attention to Zuko. He simply was staring at Azula's display of frustration and agony. The recently healed scar on his chest was the first thing that caught her eye. He had almost lost his life in order to protect her. He had almost died so she could live. Katara's culture demanded she return his sacrifice with one of her own. Tui and La. Push and Pull. It was about equilibrium, finding balance in the world. She had the solution to the debt she owed him. The question was would he accept.
Katara turned her attention away from his new scar and fixed her eyes onto his. He didn't seem to notice, but that didn't bother Katara. She was searching for something in those golden orbs. Pain resided in his eyes. Was this the fate of all who wielded lightening? Did they all suffer from this lunacy? He had hated his sister for her lies and tricks, but she was his sister. Zuko loathed her cruelty, but she hadn't always been cruel.
Before Azula's power had manifested and she could understand the cruelties of the world Azula had been a little girl. Not for long, of course, but there had been a time when the two siblings had actually gotten along. It was a time when Zuko was given the title of protector of his newly born sister. For the first couple years they had loved each other, as much as royal siblings could love each other. At first they had been simply brother and sister. But as they grew older Azula started to understand the devious things the court and his father had willing whispered into her ears.
Life was hard in the royal court. Families were torn by power struggles and Zuko's case was no different. Brother and sister were turned against each other. Both children had shared the same potential of becoming what Azula was today. In the end both children had been tempted by different things and Azula had fallen into the temptation of her growing powers.
Looking at her now Zuko couldn't feel pity for her. He had loved Azula a long time ago, but time had changed her and him. She had become an unstoppable force that had folded under the pressure of her own power. She was ruthless and she had been cruel. So manipulative was his baby sister. Now she was alone. Left by herself to suffer whatever tortured her mind.
For so long he had hated her. For so long he had only wanted to best her. Azula brutal display now made Zuko question himself. Was it worth it? They had been evenly matched until Azula had broken the rules. The princess in her demanding she win at any cost, even if it broke the rules of their most honored and beloved rituals.
Zuko turned his head away from his lost sister. Blues eyes questioned him softly before turning to look at Azula. They narrowed before looking back at Zuko. Zuko had seen this determined face before. Before it had never meant anything good for him but times were different now. There was a certain trust between them now. He had saved her life and in return she had given it back to him. He had felt himself fading and she had saved him. Her expression did not cause him any stress or worry. Patiently he waited for her to say something.
Her voice was steady and calm. Those blues eyes pierced into his soul as if looking for an answer.
"Do you know what you are going to do now?" It was a simple question. Zuko of course had an answer, but it wasn't the one she wanted.
"Azula has been defeated. I have earned my right to be Fire Lord. Now I will stop," Zuko was cut off by Katara's small sigh. She had figured he would dance around the subject of his sister's future.
"That's not what I'm asking you," Katara paused and looked over the hyperventilating princess. "…and you know it." Zuko was silent. What would he do, what was the right thing to do?
"I don't know." His voice is soft. They both turn to gaze back at the fallen princess. Her sobs of rage had finally reached their unwilling ears. In morbid fascination they watched Azula's furious antics.
Her once choppy movements became sharper as she tugged on her bonds. The chains rattled but did not give out. Whatever had caused Azula to forget about her ability to bend fire with her feet seemed to have disappeared. In her fury she tried to attempt a blazing fire kick. It was sloppy and the fire barely left her foot. Growling she attempting to do a more complex set of firebending kicks. Due to her tight bonds she merely toppled over. Crazed eyes clenched in white rage.
Overwhelmed by her hate Azula increased her struggles tenfold. Muscles tensed and clenched as Azula tried to use her strength to break free. Tendons and ligaments were stretched and torn in Azula's attempt to bend in impossible angles. But none of this mattered. All that mattered was Azula getting free. She would not be bested by her pathetic excuse of a brother or the water barbarian. Nothing could stop her; she would make all of them suffer like she was now.
They were watching her. Through her tears she could see them judging her. She would destroy them. She would rip her brother's eyes out of his head. But not before she slowly melted the skin off his hands. First she would have her fun with him and he would have to watch. Then she would take care of those damned eyes. Those eyes were replicas of another's eyes. And like the previous owner's eyes they looked at her in disgust. Those eyes belonged to their mother. Her mother's thoughts had been expressed through her eyes. They judged her and called her a monster. Oh she would show him. She would show him how much of a monster she truly was.
With a target in mind Azula tried to lunge at them. Yet again her restraints kept her in place. But this did not stop Azula. So driven and fueled by her anger Azula never noticed when she ended up dislocating her shoulders. With each lunge that was directed at her brother it became clear that her body could not take the force of her anger. A horrifying pop was followed by Azula's right arm going limp. The pain did not stop her. The pain didn't even seem to distract her. For what followed after was another disgusting pop and Azula yanked her left arm out of its socket. With arms that were more than just bound and in every term of the word useless Azula started to fling her body side to side.
The ground was still wet from Katara's final attack. This caused Azula to lose her balance. The fall was violent and caused Azula to slam her face against the ground. She could taste blood on her tongue but Azula gave her brother a bloody grin from the ground. Pearly whites were now stained red. She would reach her destination; there was no doubt in her mind. Nothing could stop her, nothing would. She attempted to get up from her position from the ground. But she merely fell over again. Her next attempts were more violent and caused her face to hit the ground harshly. Azula never reacted when her face slammed into the metal ground repeatedly as she attempted to twist her way out of her chains. Soon her face was covered in contusions and lacerations. Blood flowed freely all over her lovely face. As she jerked her body side to side the blood flew in all different directions. The noises that left her mouth couldn't be labeled as screams or sobs.
What had been left of Azula's cunning mind had been replaced by lunacy. Zuko needed to make a decision.
"Azula will be imprisoned in solitude for life. She will be restrained in such a way that she will not be able to bend ever again." Zuko's voice was firm. He had loved his sister in a way a sibling is obliged to when very young. It was before they had roles in society. But that had been a very long time ago. He would do what was best for his people. Azula would keep her life, but lose her poison which had left her to this madness. She would never be given the chance to bend ever again.
Katara's eyes closed as if she were pained by something. Slowly she turned away from the sight of Azula and looked at Zuko with a frown.
"Do you understand the importance of this decision? What do you see when you look at her?" Katara keeps her voice calm. She needs him to understand, she needs him to be willing to listen.
"Azula is no longer the threat she once was. While still powerful she no longer holds restraint. She is like a wild beast and once caged she will be of no harm to anyone." Azula harming herself in her attempts to kill him had shown how truly gone she really was. No thought went behind her actions anymore. Azula suffered from the same problem he had before he had joined the Aang. She was ruled by her rage.
"Locking her up and throwing away the key will not make her harmless. That little display didn't prove anything." Zuko's reaction wasn't pleasant.
"What would you have me do Katara? Was it not you that once told me it is easy to take a life rather than protect it? When given the choice to destroy your most hated enemy did you not spare his life?" There is a cold fury in Zuko's words. But Katara was not one to be easily deferred from her goals.
"And was it not you that pushed Aang about killing the Fire lord, your father? Letting Azula live will not be showing her mercy. Allowing Azula to be imprisoned for life and taking away her bending will not make her less of a threat. Taking away her bending is a cruel punishment that will only drive her further into her sickness," pausing, Katara took a deep breath. He would fight this, but she couldn't stop now. A glance at the newly formed scar on Zuko's chest gave her courage. "For this war to truly end you know what you have to do. No loose ends Zuko. You could acknowledge that Aang would have to kill your father, why can't you accept this?"
Zuko did not answer. Thinking back everything had seemed so much simpler. Back when he had been training Aang it had been easier to put the pressure on Aang to destroy his father. All he had to think about was the threat of his father. Hof course he had thought about his future battle with his sister and some thoughts had led to her death. He had accepted it then. But now that it came to actually doing it he hesitated. Never before did he think it would all end like this. Azula bound, severely injured by her own doing, and her future in his hands. If Azula was to die he had always thought it would have been in an epic battle. She should have been struck down during the thunderous attacks of her opponent, not the aftermath.
There was pain in his eyes. The hatred and love he felt for his sister fueled that pain. Young Katara may be. But she had suffered, in her own way, the thin line between love and hate. Looking at Zuko now everything became clear. Azula may be the spawn of some demon from the spirit world but she was still a person. She was still Zuko's sister. Though a vicious and devious sister it did not change the fact that she and Zuko had some past history. Maybe at one time they had some type of twisted bond. Azula may not have a kind bone in her body now, but she was a child once. At one point she could have been more than a princess and powerful bender. To Zuko maybe she had just been his sister.
"You still love her." It was a statement, not a question. Zuko narrowed his eyes at the young water tribe girl.
"You don't know what you speak of." His response was stiff and commanded that Katara drop the subject. Waterbenders were never very good with listening to firebenders.
"She has caused you so much pain and a part of you still loves her… it loves her enough to spare her life." Her tone holds no judgment but it still irks Zuko.
"I will not become like her. There is no honor in killing the defenseless," Zuko all but yelled. He might not admit to it and she might be wrong; but sometimes it's better to believe in something than suffer from the truth. It would be so easy to just think of Azula as just a monster, but it wasn't right. She knew from Hama that sometimes the best people can be turned into something so wicked and twisted due to the actions of others. She didn't know Azula's story and she didn't want to know. But she would acknowledge that Azula was a person.
Doubts clouded Zuko's decision. He could not see what Azula's madness would create. He had never seen what confinement had led to. To take away a vengeful and crazy bender's power would be a disaster. You can only hold the beast away for so long.
Hysterical cackling caused both benders to turn to Azula as she attempted another dangerous stunt. Lying on the ground, in her own puddle of saliva, blood, and tears, Azula gave herself away to the inner fire within her. Everything burned in her body, just screaming for release. Even with her arms bound and useless she tried another desperate attempt to escape. Broken and bruised fingers moved in sloppy circles. It should have been impossible and completely painful. But Azula was past pain. The fire consumed her and drove her. Static electricity danced between her scratched palms. Each tiny bolt of electricity was sending shocks throughout her system.
Azula would become the very definition of fire. Her soul was screaming at her to release the inferno that defined her being. Her inner flame was uncontrollable and blazing; her body was merely its temple. Her body temperature was rising to unbelievable standards. The tears that once streaked her face had turned into steam, thus leaving the skin under her eyes red and swollen. Blisters adorned her torn and bloody cheeks. What was once merely sparks escaping her fingers turned into bolts. Dangerously each bolt fell through the drain underneath her and teased the water below, just barely touching the surface of the calm water. Chains around her wrists started to melt and meld to her skin. The newly formed cuffs were turning a bright red as the stench of burnt skin was carried by the wind.
Azula would never be defenseless. Azula would always be a threat to either herself or others. Before Azula could burn her own hands off Katara did something her friends thought she was only capable of during the full moon. She blood bent. Azula's world faded to black while Katara simply cut off Azula's blood circulation. Once convinced that Azula would not be returning to the land of consciousness any time soon Katara let go of her control over Azula's circulation and focused on controlling Azula's fall. As Azula moved to land painfully on her side Katara quickly took a hold over Azula's body and gently placed her on the ground.
Amazed, but grateful, that Katara stopped Azula from causing herself any more damage; Zuko turns away from the battered form of his sister. The waterbender drops her stance and waits for Zuko to start the dreaded discussion. He does not disappoint.
"What would you have me do?" He tone is defeated and his eyes are closed tightly. It is like when he was a child. If he closed his eyes tight enough and wished hard enough maybe this problem would vanish.
Gentle arms wrap around him as Katara leans her head next to his. Her lips are close to his scarred ear so the next thing she says he can't miss.
"Show her mercy Zuko." It is in that moment that Zuko opens his eyes. Why, because Zuko isn't a child anymore and wishing never solves anything. But what Katara says next Zuko isn't ready for. He turns his head to the side so he can look at her. Small hands turn his body so they are face to face. Blue eyes that match the ever changing tides of the ocean look deep into his eyes as the words roll off her tongue.
"You won't have to do anything. I will end this." It is by the mere words of a simple water bender that he is lost. She takes his silence as a sign to continue. She removes her arms around him and she slowly backs away from him. He needs to understand. He needs to know that this isn't the first time she has taken a life for the greater good. There is no judgment in his eyes yet, but he hasn't heard the entire story. He probably never will, some dark secrets can never be fully revealed. But she will try to help him understand.
"This won't be the first time… it probably won't be the last. But I can make it painless and simple." She pauses as she tries to find the right words. Her hands are clenched at her sides. The strain of her nails biting into the soft palm of her flesh leads to the soft flow of blood. "The night we went on the raid to find my mother's killer you saw a new technique. You saw my blood bending. I was forced to learn it from a former water bender prisoner of the fire nation. She used it to escape a fire nation prison and later on to extract her revenge on the fire nation."
Hama has always been a sore point for her. Talking about her now makes her remember the last time she saw Hama. The pride that had glowed in Hama's eyes haunts her when she tries to sleep at night. Katara had been by herself when she visited Hama in her new prison. She needed to see Hama. Katara needed to make sure that Hama could never escape. When she had gotten there and seen what a state Hama was in Katara had made a decision. Hama had already suffered years in confinement and she would not let them stuff her back into the darkness. Hama had shown her opponents a small mercy when she had only used the blood in their bodies to move them and in return had made them suffer a longer death by starvation. It wasn't as painful as ripping the blood out of their bodies, but it still got the job done. Getting out of this small town's prison would be easy for Hama; all she had to do was be patient.
Hama hadn't been surprised when her prized pupil had visited her. She had welcomed it. Hama had laughed and confirmed that once she escaped she would finish serving out the justice her lost brothers and sisters deserved…
"She was imprisoned due to her recent crimes against the fire nation. I visited her before we left the town. She was my master and we both shared the same temptation. To be able to blood bend… it is a curse. I can feel the water…the blood pumping through your veins, you heart. I knew Hama would not stay in a prison long, not after all she had suffered. She would escape and once the moon was full she would take power from it and paint the town in their own blood." Hama had smiled as she whispered this to Katara. She took enjoyment out of how simple it would be to kill the entire town. After Hama was done… Katara shuddered to think what Hama would have done next.
"The student surpassed the master though. Before she could destroy the town and," the next words were painful. "Start a raid in which she strived to make people of the fire nation suffer the same losses as the southern water tribe, I stopped her heart." Katara stopped because Zuko didn't need to know what had happened between student and master. He didn't need to know the significance of what she can do and what she did do. 'In the end I might have killed her but I became her greatest achievement.' Katara shrugged the thought away. Now was not the time to ponder of Hama's death.
"I can't let you do that Katara. I can't let you take my responsibilities." Zuko is shocked by her offer and he wants to be shocked by her revelation. But he can't, because he also knows the consequences of growing up in a war. War is an unbiased master. War doesn't care what it takes from you, it just takes.
"You don't have a choice Zuko." She steps toward him and places her hand against his scar. "I have a debt to repay." In response Zuko places touches the hand on his chest. Such small hands when compared to his own. He tightens his grip on her hand and presses it closer to his chest. 'At what price, how much more would you suffer if I let you do this? How much more strength do you have left Katara…until you finally break?'
"You fulfilled your debt when you healed me." He believed in what he just said. He had suffered so she would live and she had healed him. She had brought him back from the brink of death. What Zuko did not understand was that what Katara did had been easy. His heart had started to fail and she had forced it to keep beating. Stabilizing his heart had been easy but had caused her tears out fear. If she hadn't been focusing on his heart pump blood throughout her battle with Azula she never would have noticed when his heart had started to fail.
"You have suffered for me. The laws in my tribe demand that I repay you in full. To kill Azula would cause you to suffer. It is a necessary evil that must be done but I will not have you suffering because of it." Katara pulls her hand away from Zuko's chest. "Understand what I am asking of you and accept it. Make this easier for the both of us and just accept it."
Silence falls between the two of them as they stare each other down. Both lost in their own thoughts, both trying to reach an understanding. In the fading glow of the comet two bruised souls of two separate cultures find a balance with the choices they make and each other. Who knows what the future holds for them or the world. On that night, where a new era started for all nations, the war that had taunted and tainted many people slowly faded…along with it followed a lone heart beat.
End
Read and review
I understand if this might have seemed OOC compared to the characters on the show. But I tried to write this in a more adult perspective.
Please let me know your thoughts.
I'm thinking about going more into the past with Hama and Katara. Also thinking about a fic about the southern raiders episode/bloodbending/Katara-Zuko-conflict.