The Change
The battle underneath the great palace of Ba Sing Se raged on relentlessly. The Princess and Pride of the Fire Nation devilishly grinned as she heard the hissing of water evaporating nearby. The Banished Dum Dum fell right into her hands. She knew her brothers weakness for patriotic babble and a challenging fight. The water peasant and the Avatar are indeed a handful. However, it won't be long until the Dai Lei come in for reinforcements. Azula was toying with the child Avatar and took notice of the fight between her newly acquired lackey and the lithe water bender. The witch moved with grace and ferocity, and her skills seemed to match that of her brother's. "I thought you changed!" Her voice full of carnage and what seemed to be pain. This seemed quite odd to Azula and she now was curious of Dum Dum's response. "I have changed!" Azula caught it quickly like a tiger blossom fly trap. There was a strange plea and sincerity in his voice that the Princess had never heard come from a male's mouth prior to this moment. She could feel the presence of her idiotic uncle and they locked eyes after a second of watching the two benders duel. Azula's plan had partially fallen to pieces and their realizations were synchronized. Zuko is holding back. Azula casually knocked the air bender to the side and began to charge her failed prediction. "You filthy traitor", the Princess screeched as she charged towards the duel. A wall of flame from Uncle's direction stopped her from interrupting the pair. Azula was then attacked by a whirl of wind knocking her from behind. The young Avatar was proving to be quite the pest. That is when the ceiling appeared to have parts of green rock fall from above. A snide smile from Azula confirmed it was the Dai Lei. She allowed them to handle her busy work, while she planned to take care of her treacherous brother.
Zuko fought in a state of confusion. Before him lie two treasures, one a chance to free of his shameful mark, and the other his honor, his homeland and this throne. He was also unable to knock this strange feeling from his chest that had embedded itself underneath the catacombs. A feeling that stirred emotions which caused him pain and doubt was now haunting him. He had heard his sister's accusation and was torn. Why had he not thought this through? Why on earth did he even entertain the thought of having both his desires? Zuko felt a sharp pain in his arm as an water assailed him from all sides. He would have to make a decision soon.
The water, fire, and earth were thrown with deadly force in each direction. Uncle was fending off the Dai Lei and Azula, the Banished Prince and Katara still fighting, and the Avatar had encased himself in a cocoon of crystal. In a blur of action, Zuko managed to fend off the water bender after a boulder came between them. Azula began to swirl her arms in a deadly and familiar motion. She knew of his internal struggle, and was going to rid the world of him. Suddenly, the streak of lightning came towards him, and he was confident that he would redirect it. A stern glance from Uncle let him know that he would not be killing his sister, nor anyone else. As he pointed the far left , the Avatar, in full Avatar state burst from his crystal. Zuko's lightning went straight towards him. The Prince, Uncle, and Katara watched in horror as Aang took the shot in the back. It was then a tidal wave caught the falling avatar, and the Dai Lei and Princess took an offensive stance. "GET OUT OF HERE", Uncle yelled, "I'll hold them off". Katara snaked a rope of water around herself and the fallen boy, and headed up a nearby water fall.