** I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender **
Chapter 2
This one's where it gets good (but heartbreaking)
Enjoy ;-;
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Shortly after, they see Toph, manipulating the hills beneath her to quickly meet her destination. Sokka screams to her, "Need a ride?!" Throwing her, literally, off-guard. Causing the hills beneath to tumble, along with her. Aang and Sokka both make a pained face saying, "oooh.." Toph grunts loudly and earth bends herself onto Appa and says, "Don't sneak up on me like that! How many times do I gotta tell you people; I'm blind!" Pulling down her eyes in frustration. "Sorry..." "My bad- "Toph sits next to Sokka and asks, "So, how did it go with the Guru? Did you master the Avatar State?" Aang recalls back to what Guru Pathik had warned him… Should I tell them? Ugh I can't, I don't want to deal with that right now. I just want to focus on getting to Katara. "Uh, Aang? Are you okay?" Pulling Aang out of his thoughts. "I'm great! It went great with the Guru. I completely mastered the Avatar State." Then began to nervously chuckle, "yeah..." Thank goodness we're not on ground... If they hadn't already seen right through that blatant lie, Toph would have definitely caught it with her feet.
Meanwhile, Katara had been imprisoned into the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se, whenever pacing back in forth angrily, she heard audible earth bending above her, oh please be Toph... She hopefully thought. Only for it to be two guards at the door, "You've got company." They tossed him down into the cave. Another prisoner? Only to realize who exactly this prisoner was. "Zuko!" Katara exclaims, looking down at him angrily, clenching her fists. "Why did they throw you in here?!" She threw her arms up in the air acting surprised, "Oh, let me guess- it's a trap, so that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally him in your little Fire Nation clutches."
She threw her hands up in a clutching pose looking down at him angrily. He looks over his shoulder in her direction, and just looks back forward. She glares at him, angrily shouting, "You're a terrible person, you know that?! Always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace!" She lowers her voice and hastily continues, "but what do you care? You're the Firelord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood." Zuko finally speaks up, looking over his shoulder, "You don't know what you're talking about." Katara furiously turns her whole body to face and asks astonished, "I don't?! How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through. Me, personally!" She turns away from him, crouching on the ground.
"The Fire Nation took my mother away from me." She confesses through tears, gently placing her fingertips on her mother's necklace. Zuko turns more towards her, softening his expression; "I'm sorry… That's something we have in common." Katara was shocked by his response and turned to look back to him. For so long, she had painted as the face of hatred. The face of the Firelord's son, who had caused so much pain and problems in the short time she had gotten the dishonors of knowing his royal highness. But now, she realizes he is a human, with feelings. Everyone has been scarred because of this war. Even the Fire Nation.
After a few moments of silence, Katara softly spoke, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, before... It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy… it was your face." Zuko looks down and almost whispers, "My face, I see…" Katara instantly realizes what he meant and quickly responded, "No, no, that's not what I meant." Zuko removes his hand from his scar and responds, "It's okay… I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark." Katara ponders on this for a second and remembers, "Maybe you could be free of it…" Zuko's eyes widen, and he faces her. "I have healing abilities." Zuko looked forward again, "It's a scar. It can't be healed." Katara then pulls out a triangular water container and says, "this is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important... I don't know if it would work, but…" She then places her hand against his scar and looks up to him. He says, "Won't hurt to try…"
A few moments pass, before she bends the water around her hands, and begins placing the glowing water on his eye. She asks, "Are you feeling anything?" Zuko responds, "I-I think so…" soon the water absorbed into his skin. Katara lets out an audible gasp. They stood completely still for what felt like forever. Zuko slowly reaches his trembling hand to his left eye. Smooth skin... He thinks to himself. He slowly walks up to a crystal and did not recognize the person staring back at him. He felt his heart stop, warm tears streaming down his face, unable to speak or move. Katara goes to comfort him, when Aang and Iroh bended through the cave's wall. Katara, being brought back to reality, "Aang!" as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Aang, I knew you would come." Aang holds her back wearing a smile, then shoots a confused face at the other prisoner before him. Iroh stood beside Zuko, mouth agape, as he was still looking at his reflection. He finally spoke, after what felt like eternity. "Uncle... Katara healed my scar. She's freed me of the awful reminder of what my father had done to me. I'm free from my mark…" Iroh turns and looks to Katara, completely baffled and unconvinced. "How is this possible?" Aang questions astonishedly. Katara lets go of Aang, and holds his hand, "I used the water from the Oasis that Pakku had given me! I'm so glad I saved it!" Zuko turns and sees the Avatar and doesn't say a word. He slightly bows to Aang. In which one he at first was hesitant to return. "Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you." Iroh says. Katara and Aang then run back up the earth-bended tunnel. She looks back at Zuko and saw that he was slightly smiling in their direction, he mouthed the words "Thank you." She smiled brightly in response and continued up to the surface.
Iroh looks to him, both filled with tears. "You're not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been." Zuko stands tall, reassuring Iroh, "I know, Uncle. Now I have come to the moment of truth. Today I write my own destiny, it's about time I chose good." Just as Zuko finished his sentence, a loud crash had come from the cave walls once again. This time, it was Azula and the Dai Li agents. The earthbenders trapped Iroh in a prison of crystals, and Zuko took a defense/fighting stance as they approached them. Azula's eyes widen and was taken aback at the sight of her brother.
After a long moment of silence, "Well, Zuzu, looks like you've gotten a pediatrician to take care of that nasty little scar of yours. Good for you. But tell me, Zuko, Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, or are you just like our treacherous Uncle? Whom I'd expect nothing less from." Zuko shouted threateningly, "Release him, immediately!" Completely disregarding her inquiries. "It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself." He hardens his gaze on her and firmly states, "I'll pass. The redemption you're offering isn't for me." She strikes him an evil look, then softens, "I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win, is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back-"
He suddenly cuts her off, "No! I'm restoring my honor, my way. I will help the Avatar stop the Fire Nation from causing any more damage to the world than it's already done! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was! The people of the world are *terrified* by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us." Azula became furious. "What other choice do we have? Fear and force are the only reliable ways for success and acceptance. You will lose today, Zuko. You will lose any ounce of honor, father's love, everything you had and wanted, before this day." After a few moments of an intense stare between the two siblings, she continued, "So be it." Suddenly, Zuko seen beams of blue light, and was blasted through a wall. He instantly became alert and seen Azula standing over him, creating lightening. He shot a blast of fire from his fist, causing Azula to lose her focus. He began to run in the opposite direction as she was off-guard. He found himself in the same room with Katara and Aang. He stopped to catch his breath and said "Azula- WATCH OUT!" As a bolt of flames crashed between the three. Azula jumps down to where they are, and all take a fighting stance. After a few moments of silence, Azula throws the first move; three-on-one. Azula is mostly evading; stalling, "Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Nothing more than a treacherous outcast." He shouted in anger, as he blew fire blasts at Azula, in a punching motion, one after the other. In which Azula was able to elude.
Katara then comes from the side, carrying a wave by her side, and slamming it towards Azula, in which Azula throws a blast of fire, destroying the wave's path to her. Just as she does this, Aang earthbends the crystals around him into a crystal armor, Thanks Toph he thinks to himself as he manages to slam himself into Azula, and against the rock wall, "You're outnumbered. Just give up, you're not even giving yourself a fight." She simply lifts an eyebrow, pretends to act shocked at his comment, "That's not true! I'm giving it my all." Just as she said this, Dai Li agents began pouring in from the sides of the caves from every angle, surrounding them all, circling around Zuko and Katara, leaving Aang and Azula against the wall. Just as Aang looks up, he then sees agents jumping towards him. He manages to throw himself back into the clearing to assess their situation, he sees Katara and Zuko fighting back-to-back as twenty or more agents were attacking them. No… Aang thinks to himself, there's too many of them… "I'm sorry, Katara." He says only for himself to hear.
He turns his back on the scene, earth bends a crystal shelter around him. He begins to meditate and focus purely on Katara, and how he will do anything it takes to protect her, to save her from any harm that comes her way. Suddenly, a beam of light escapes the top similar to a beacon. Aang floats in the air as he masters the Avatar State. Katara looks up to him, heart full of adoration, smiling, There he is… I am so prou- her thoughts were abruptly interrupted, as she seen a bolt of lightning strike into the seemingly untouchable Avatar. Hot tears streamed down her face as she waved over to his lifeless falling body. Zuko in complete rage, firebends himself into the air, and begins throwing countless blows to his sister. Azula had not seen these attacks coming, so her delayed evade of these blows were unavoidable. Azula believed she had been able to react in time, until she had been struck in her legs, by one of these blows. As she falls to the ground, Iroh finally arrives and states, "You three must leave immediately! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Katara runs to Zuko, grabs his arm, and waterbends them to safety.