She was unstoppable.

The young water tribe girl held her head high, her arms moving so fast that it was all a blur. Water swept through the palace all at once. Half of the Fire Nation soldiers were slammed against the wall by the sudden wave.

Zuko could not believe his eyes. He could not take it in. The capital was being attacked. They were not prepared. It was not even the day of Black Sun yet. The prince felt rage rise like flames in his body.

The faint cries of people from outside echoed in his ears. Katara ignored Zuko as she killed several men with a large water whip. It was not hard to kill these soldiers, for they were the men who killed her mother.

At once, Zuko leapt forwards, gusts of flames spraying out of his hands. Katara blocked it with a large wall of water.

Pale eyes took in Zuko's appearence. The girl's dark face contorted with anger. "You!" she shouted so violently that her voice cracked. Zuko responded by sending yet another burst of flames her way.

Then he saw it.

Bright and clear as a picture, Katara's arms jerked and a body rose from the floor like a doll. Moving her arms around her head and tossing her arms in Zuko's direction, the body was flung into him. Zuko's head hit the ground hard, pain soaring through every part of him. He rose, his vision blurry. The palace spun, the colors bleeding together like an awful watercolor picture. Scrambling backward, he could make out the small blue figure advancing towards him.

The rage inside of him exploded. Flames like no other rose from his hands and feet, stretching to the sky and licking the ceiling. For a split second, Zuko could see the flames mirrored in his victim's terrified eyes. Then he struck.

The figure flew twenty feet in the air before hitting the ground. Zuko stood over her body, his arms poised to strike again.

Her eyes opened slightly, her body covered in burns. The pain was unbearable, like every part of her skin was on white hot coals. Tears trickled down her cheeks. A shaky breath escaped from her lips, all she could smell was the smoke coming from her hair.

"Any last words?" Zuko spat in his hoarse voice. Pain still throbbed through his injured head, warm blood trickling down his forehead.

Katara's eyes were delusional and unfocused. Tears upon tears spilled out of her eyes. "Mama.." she choked.

Zuko's eyes changed. Suddenly he felt sick with dread and felt like vomiting. Regret filled his chest. The prince gagged slightly, light headed and horrified. He backed away, tripping on a soldier's body.

Katara was still, flickering between life and death. Zuko could not deal with it, he could not deal with murdering a child. He mentally beat himself over and over.

His hearing tuned back into the sound of cries of battle from outside. His help was needed, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. As he looked at the dying girl, he felt sick again. He would not cause anymore pain.

Zuko leapt out the window and disapeared.