Chapter 7
Katara watched as Azula got closer to the Fire Nation's camp. She sighed to herself, realizing that she had been too idealistic in thinking the girl might eventually fight on their side as Zuko had come to, or at least stop fighting against them as Mai and Ty Lee had.
Just as she was about to turn back, she noticed several soldiers surround the prodigy. It was an escort, she realized, but something was off about the way they were behaving around their princess.
Suddenly, two soldiers roughly grabbed her arms and effectively pinned them behind her back, before leading her toward the center of camp—to the Fire Lord's tent. It was easy to spot. It was the largest and most ornate, and was seated right in the middle of their camp.
A bad feeling came over Katara as Zuko's face flashed through her mind. "I have to get her out of there."
However, getting to the Fire Lord was no easy task. There were soldiers everywhere and the tent itself was heavily guarded. Katara was determined to find a way.
"Leave us," the Fire Lord ordered the guards, as they finally released Azula. Clearly thrown off by her encounter with her own soldiers, she began to seriously consider Mai's words to be true. "Things have changed."
The princess prostrated on the floor in front of her father. Getting up from his throne, he walked down to Azula, fixing a hard glare on her. "What are you doing here?"
"I know where the Avatar is, as well as Iroh and Zuko, but I need some…"
"What are you doing in my presence without them?" he cut her off. "I sent you on a mission and I expected it to be carried out. It was simple: capture Zuko and Iroh. Then you took it upon yourself to capture the Avatar, which you should have been able to achieve more easily than Zuko. But attempting to take down Ba Sing Se was not what I ordered you to do. I told you from the very beginning to do exactly as I said.
"You disappointed me, Azula," his voice grew harsher. "I warned you about that, and I thought your brother served as an excellent example of what happens when one disappoints me.
"I do not yield. I do not compromise. You should know that better than anyone," he seethed. "You failed your nation by putting yourself in a position to be outwitted and captured by Earth Kingdom scum. And you put me in a position where I might have had to compromise."
"But, Father…"
"I can't believe you have the gall to show your face after such a failure. I see that you've learned nothing about what happens when you disobey and disrespect me. It's such a shame. I thought you were smarter than your brother. Suffering was his teacher and it was yours as well. I ordered that punishment for you in Ba Sing Se," he spat out.
Azula felt something in her begin to break. Her whole life she had done exactly as her father said, exactly what he had taught her. She had sacrificed everything for him.
"Long Feng was just a tool. I only wanted you to return home for the same reason I sent you after Iroh and Zuko—to be locked up so you can no longer embarrass me," he growled. "You are no longer worthy to fight beneath me."
The air around the prodigy began to get heated and charged as the Fire Lord continued to speak, indicating the rage that was building up inside her.
"You are a failure to the Fire Nation. You have disrespected the crown. You have embarrassed the royal family. And yet here you are, acting as if you have done nothing to sully your honor. Foolish girl! Your honor has been lost forever. You are a disgrace."
Every word had been like a knife, wounding more than just her pride. It tore at the very fabric of her being.
"Gu—" Before the Fire Lord could finish calling for the guards to come and lock up the fallen princess, he was struck in the chest with a blast of blue fire, knocking him back onto the floor. The armor he wore took the brunt of the hit, doing little more than stun the man momentarily. Quickly getting up to his feet, he glared at Azula, who stared wildly at him, seething with anger.
The soldier noticed the water he was soaking his hands in was starting to get cooler. Before he realized what was happening, his entire upper body was encased in ice. To shout for help would have been useless—he was trapped in an ice prison. He felt hands at his waist begin to undo the belt that held up his pants and noticed those hands had a decidedly feminine touch. His shirt and armor were already off, as he was busy cleaning himself after his sentry shift.
Katara quickly covered herself in the Fire Nation uniform before placing the armor over her shoulders and the helmet that would hide her identity. It was a little big, but it would do, especially in the darkness of the night.
She began to make her way toward the Fire Lord's tent.
Ozai and Azula both knew each other's fighting styles inside and out after training together for more than ten years. But now father and daughter—teacher and student—were no longer sparring. This was real, and it tore at Azula's spirit. "How could he do this? How could he treat me like Zuzu?"
The physical weakness and pain that had been plaguing Azula was pushed aside by pure primal instinct. Her rage acted as a source of power, but she wasn't as focused as she normally was.
With strong but wild movements, she sent a flurry of firebombs at her father. He countered with several of his own, dispersing the flames Azula sent his way. They matched each other movement for movement, and whether one was on the defensive or offensive, couldn't find an advantage. They were evenly matched.
However, despite the initial surge of strength, the prodigy quickly began to tire, leaving herself open to a streaming blast of fire that hit her squarely in the left side—where she already had two cracked ribs. With a scream, she fell to the ground.
The soldiers outside the Fire Lord's tent heard the scream of the Princess, but they knew better than to interfere. No one entered their Lord's presence without his permission, and from the sound of things, their presence wasn't required at this time.
Katara heard it as well and realized she was running out of time. The possibility that she was too late wasn't one that she wanted to entertain. Eyes darting around, she looked for a way in.
Noticing a makeshift well about one hundred feet from the left side of the Fire Lord's tent, she began to creep the water toward the guards.
"Um, excuse me, everyone. But Princess Azula has gone missing," a guard nervously informed the gang—sans Iroh, who was currently meeting with General How.
"Missing?" Sokka exclaimed.
"I know where she went," Zuko realized with a grimace. "Back to my father."
Azula pushed herself up, gritting her teeth and doing her best to ignore the burning flesh of her side. No sooner was she back on her feet than Ozai sent another wave of fire at her. She managed to evade it by ducking out of the way, but he quickly followed with a blast of flames to her legs.
She could see the second attack coming, but her legs felt like lead, and she couldn't avoid it completely. Flames licked up her right leg and she hissed as it burned her. Her eyes were filled with tears of rage, pain, and something else Azula didn't know what to call—heartache.
Mustering all the strength she had left, she shot a stream of fire at Ozai. He threw up a wall of flame to dissipate the attack, but some of Azula's flames managed to get through his wall and burned his left forearm. He scowled at her.
Azula was panting now, clearly exhausted. Her poor breath control would weaken her bending even more, and she knew it. Ozai, taking advantage of her weakened condition and injuries, sent another fireball toward her. She was too slow to move and it hit her on the right side, once again knocking her to the floor.
The Fire Lord advanced on his daughter with a dark expression overtaking his features.
"You attacked your Fire Lord. Your life is forfeit," he informed her coldly. Azula could barely move at this point, let alone fight. Her mind was spinning.
Charging up for a lightning attack, he pointed his fingers at the princess. Just as the electricity was about leave his fingertips, a sharp pain shot through the Fire Lord's wrists. He briefly noticed two ice daggers lodged in each one, before falling to the floor with a dull thud.
Katara, who had used a water blade to slice through the heavy fabric of the Fire Lord's tent, rushed over to Azula's side only to find that she had gone into shock. The princess didn't quite see her—mentally she was someplace else.
Knowing that she had no time to waste, Katara lifted the firebender up into her arms, careful to avoid the burns that now littered her body. Once she got someplace safer than a Fire Nation war camp, she could see to healing those wounds. But for now, she had to figure out how she was going to get out of here alive. Those ice prisons wouldn't hold the guards forever.
Sparing a glance at Fire Lord Ozai as she exited the side of his tent, Katara noticed he was still breathing—barely. Part of her was glad she hadn't actually killed him, but a righteous anger that had built up since the death of her mother and culminated with the girl in her arms threatened to overtake her.
"And what did I tell Azula yesterday? It takes more strength to show mercy than it does to kill," Katara reminded herself as her ears caught the sound of a kimodo rhino's snort.
"Where's Katara?" Aang asked the healer. The gang had stopped by the infirmary to get her assistance in tracking down Azula.
"I sent her to get some medicinal herbs several hours ago. She hasn't returned," he informed them worriedly.
Without delay, Aang was out of there and hopped back on Appa. They made their way to the Agrarian Zone that contained the herbs that Katara had been sent to gather.
"Well, it looks like someone was here recently," Sokka commented, noticing the freshly cut herbs still lying there.
Zuko's eyes examined the wall and narrowed as he saw a hole that could have only been caused by one thing. "Over there," he pointed as he ran toward it. "Azula was here alright."
"Do you think she took Sweetness hostage?" Toph asked.
"Honestly, I don't know," Zuko replied. "But I don't think so. I think it would have taken way too much energy, and she was kind of short on that to begin with."
"Maybe Katara followed her," Aang suggested.
"Maybe. Only one way to find out," Sokka replied as they all climbed back onto Appa to resume their search.
Several minutes later, they saw movement on the ground.
"What is that?" Sokka asked.
"Looks like a kimodo rhino," Zuko explained. "With four more following right behind."
"They're headed right for the outer wall. Are they leading another attack?" Sokka asked.
"No, look. The one in the front is being chased… that's Katara!" Aang realized as they moved closer. "And she's got someone with her. It must be Azula."
"Sokka, take the reigns and fly lower. I'm going in."
"Not without me, Twinkle Toes," Toph said.
"And me," Zuko added.
"No, you guys get Katara and Azula off the kimodo rhino and onto Appa. I'll take care of the rest of them."
Katara saw Appa flying overhead, much to her relief. The Rough Rhinos behind her were gaining and it was only a matter of time before Colonel Mongke would be able to attack her with his firebending. With one arm clutching onto Azula and the other steering her rhino, she had no way to defend herself other than simply outrunning them.
Aang opened his glider and landed in between Katara and the Rough Rhinos. Getting into his stance, he inhaled deeply before sending his arms forward, shooting air blasts from his palms. Ogodei and Yeh-Lu went down along with their rhinos.
Mongke and Kachi rode together on one rhino and Vachir was on the other. They pulled the beasts to a stop and focused on the Avatar, who was now standing in the way of the two girls wanted for an attempt on the Fire Lord's life. Aang spared a glance behind him and saw Zuko taking his sister from Katara, as the waterbender climbed up onto Appa's saddle with Toph's help.
Stomping his feet into the ground, Aang sent a fissure toward the riders tossing them from their mounts. While the Rough Rhinos were down, the airbender made his escape and glided back to Appa.
Upon landing in his bison's saddle, he was met with silence. The sight before him was grim. Azula's sides and legs were covered in burns, and she had passed out from the pain, exhaustion, and emotional trauma of what had just happened.
Zuko tearfully helped pull away Azula's charred clothing. Katara quickly formed a water glove and got to work on healing the burns on Azula's sides, which were the most serious.
Toph and Sokka weren't really sure of what to say as Zuko finally broke down in angry tears. Aang placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Katara looked at him with unshed tears of her own.
"She'll be okay, Zuko," she tried to assure him before bringing her attention back down to Azula.
"No, she won't," he replied bitterly. "Her whole world revolved around my father."
--
"Azula, do you want to play hide and explode with us?" Ty Lee asked the princess.
Ozai looked disapprovingly at his daughter's young friend's request. Azula noticed.
"Sorry, Ty Lee, but I have my training session now," she dutifully replied, even though she really wanted to stay out in the courtyard with the nobles' daughters and play longer.
Ty Lee masked her disappointment well, but couldn't stop the shiver from going down her spine at the look on the Fire Lord's face as he whisked his daughter away.
"Why did you say you were sorry, Azula?" he asked her. She knew this was a test, but was unsure how to answer.
"It was an error," she finally said.
"You are a princess of the Fire Nation. You should never feel you need to apologize for anything. Having to say your sorry means you made a mistake. You're my perfect daughter, Azula. You don't make mistakes."
--
"You are a failure to the Fire Nation. You have disrespected the crown. You have embarrassed the royal family. And yet here you are, acting as if you have done nothing to sully your honor. Foolish girl! Your honor has been lost forever. You are a disgrace."
She saw the lightning coming at her then, piercing her directly in the heart.