Prologue: A Night of Celebration
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender. If you're easily offended by situations involving brutal violence, sexual content, or any form of abuse or torture, this is NOT a story for you
The Day of Black Sun, the day that my father's reign consumed this world. Tonight is the second year celebration of the fall of the Avatar, but I don't feel very festive even surrounded by the bright lanterns and pulsing music. No, I feel a lump in my stomach as a wooden replica of the Avatar is set ablaze; the cheering of the crowd and the smiles on the children's faces as they dance around the fire is making my head pound. These civilians weren't there for the battle, having been evacuated prior to the attack, so they didn't witness the carnage of that day; they can cheer and laugh with a clean conscious, but not me. I hate this festival. I hate that I'm supposed to be enjoying myself; as heir to the throne, I'm here as a political move, I'm here to be celebrating more than these people, but the only thing I see is the scenes from that day play over in my head.
Their attack had been well planned and just might have succeeded, however unlikely, if it weren't for the lack of surprise. We had known of their attack for weeks before the Day of Black Sun, and my father and sister are brutal creatures. The city was evacuated and my father was secured in the underground bunker underneath the palace before the invading militia had even entered the harbor. They fought will skill and courage, but my father had already planned the entire battle and was already enjoying the future victory. Azula was sent to distract the Avatar until after the eclipse had passed; I was in guard of my father. I remember thinking that this was it, the epic moment, when I could finally confront my father; I actually felt a rising drive to murder him while he was weak and distracted, but when I stepped towards him I lost that drive, which dwindled to a passive itch. I should have done something then, when I could have still helped.
It was too late, the sun burst from behind the moon and my father rose with a roar of fire. The underground bunker has multiple exits, in case of just such events, to allow the Fire Lord to escape the city; my father choose the exit near the harbor. When we emerged onto the battle ground, his rage spilled unto the soldiers. Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe soldiers lay in crisp piles of burning flesh; my father wasn't taking prisoners today. Everything was going so slow for me, my eyes hazy from the smoke of their destroyed water vessels, this wasn't a battle, it has a massacre. Time snapped back into reality as a bitter cry pierced the air, the Avatar's air bison was plummeting from the sky, the bodies of children careening beside the fallen creature towards the water; Azula had never laughed as much as she was in that moment. The Water Tribe warrior and the blind Earthbender were her next victims; the electric stream flared bright in my eyes and was over in a second, their bodies lay twitching amongst the other bodies of their family and friends. In the last minutes of the battle only the Avatar remained and…her.
Her movements were fluid and graceful even when they knew they had lost, even when her companion's bodies stiffened next to her. The Avatar was frenzied, his mind broken by the blood, flesh, and bits of organs that littered the stone, staining it red. He attacked without reason or direction, striking out to any Fire Nation soldier that neared the remaining two. Why he didn't access the Avatar state, troubles me to this day; he could have saved himself, could have saved her. My father's face wore a smug smirk as the Avatar weakened, fatigue making him slow. The blast of fire that emitted from my father's hands was a thundering typhoon descending on his prey. His fire meet water in an explosion of steam, as the Waterbender threw a gigantic arc of water in front of his attack. My father laughed, and advanced, she held her position, defiant to the very end.
His next blast made the first one seem like Firebending basics. She guided her arms in that last precise sweep, commanding the water to flow from the shallow harbor in a rushing wave to block his attack, but it wasn't enough. The fire crashed through the liquid wall and hit her small body like a bomb, sending her jetting through the air. As her lifeless body fell, time completing stopped; her bright sapphire eyes caught mine and I couldn't breathe anymore. I can see her eyes as plainly in my mind now as I did on that day. Something was shared between us in that one second, then instantly ripped from me as the water devoured her body.
My father took advantage of the Avatar's grief to strike him across the back, a smoldering gap of skin when his body hit the ground. And with that last move the battle was over. The bodies were collected and burned to ashes, the harbor was cleaned of human bits, and in the following days the citizens returned to their homes unaware of what had transpired, but joyful with the victory nonetheless; things just fell back into place. The waters were searched for the body of the Waterbender, after a week of failure, it was assumed that the body had been destroyed in the blast; I knew that wasn't the case, but I've kept it to myself. It doesn't matter if her body lay at the bottom of the ocean or if it be burned like the others, she's dead regardless, but none of this matters now. I have to keep my mind clear; these last two years have not been wasted in vain. I have a plan, a plan to stop this war, to stop my father. Tomorrow, tomorrow is when I put the gears into motion. Katara, you didn't sacrifice your life for nothing.