disclaimer: i don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

A/N:a fic revolving around one idea: what if katara had been hit by azula's lightning? i haven't read the post-war comics, so they, along with lok, have been disregarded. enjoy.

don't leave (me)

chapter 1: hit me

"What, no lightning? What's the matter, afraid I'll redirect it?!" Zuko yelled at his off-hinge sister.

"Oh, I'll show you lightning!" she screamed. Zuko readied his stance to redirect, just like Iroh had shown him. He watched her generate it, eyes staring at him. Zuko took a breath as she got ready to shoot it, remembering his lessons. Then it happened. No more than a small flicker of her eyes to the Water Tribe girl behind him was all it took for her to switch targets. If he hadn't been watching her he would've missed it.

Not her. Not Katara. Anyone but her. Everyone needs her. His mind barely had time to register the situation before his feet started carrying him to the path of Azula's lightning. He saw the bolt leave her fingers. "NO!" Zuko jumped in front of Katara as Katara moved out of the way to protect herself. He hit the floor, feeling his knees take the impact of his fall. Zuko shot up, ignoring the screams of his legs from running. He watched her run. Don't get hit, don't get hit. Gods above, don't let her get hit.

Katara watched Zuko tease his sister. Don't be stupid, Zuko, she thought. She knew he practiced lightning redirection, but could he do it now? Would he survive? No, Zuko could hold his own. She had been witness to that plenty of times. Katara's eyes darted between the Fire Nation siblings, Zuko ready to defend, and Azula preparing to strike lightning. She was looking at Azula when she made eye contact with her. It was only for a second, but that second was all it took. Katara understood what was about to happen. She shifted her feet and prepared to run. But no detail was missed by Azula. The world went quiet. She barely heard Zuko yell and saw him running towards her, but she was already running away. Run. Run and she can't hit you, she told herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bolt leave Azula's fingers, aiming for a few feet ahead of her. Katara prayed that she would stop moving, but her momentum pushed her forward. All Katara could do was watch the lightning creep towards her as she inevitably ran towards it. Suddenly and all at once, Katara became hyperaware of everything around her. How her clothes stuck to her perspiring body. The familiar weight of her water skin. Her mother's necklace hitting her neck. The humidity of the Fire Nation air around her. Azula's evil eyes burned on her. Katara's felt everything and nothing when the bolt hit her. She thought she heard a voice call her name. Before she could respond, the world turned black.

"KATARA!" Her name ripped out of Zuko's throat as he helplessly watched Katara's body pulse and shake before falling limply to the ground. He ran faster than he thought possible to Katara's rag doll of a body and kneeled next to her. "Katara, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" His breathing was inconsistent as he stared at her.

The shot had hit the middle of her abdomen. The cloth and skin around the wound were burnt and scorched. And then the wound itself... ripped muscle, peeking bones, and blood. So much blood. Too much blood.

"Katara! Katara, wake up, wake up! Don't leave! You need to heal yourself! Wake up, please! Please, Katara, WAKE UP!" Zuko propped her body into a sitting position, resting it against a pillar as he felt tears threatening to fall. He couldn't lose someone else. Especially not someone who was needed by so many other people. Aang, Toph, Suki, Hakoda, they all needed her so much. And Sokka. Agni, what would Sokka do if he let her die? Zuko would likely end up dead too.

"Katara-" his words were cut off by corrupted laughter. Azula. Zuko glared daggers at his sister.

"Zuzu! Caring for a Water peasant, now? I shouldn't be surprised, you've always been a big softie. Too weak for your own good. Honestly, Brother, when will you learn? The only nation worthy of respect is the Fire Nation!"

She sent a stream of fire dangerously close to Katara. This snapped Zuko back to reality. He lost all emotional control. Every hardship he had gone through, every relationship that suffered, every life lost because of Azula came flooding back as he poured his rage onto her. She attempted to send a few hits towards Katara, but Zuko made it abundantly clear that she wasn't going to get close. Every flame Azula sent towards him was wiped away and parried with double the amount of force. Zuko's approached his sister, blocking whatever she sent towards her until he pushed her against a wall.

"Well, well, Brother," the word slithered out of Azula's mouth. "It looks as though you aren't a complete failure after all."

"Enough!" Zuko yelled. He punched three flames towards her. She easily pushed them away but was caught off guard when there were another set of flames underneath the initial ones. Azula sidestepped one of them, ready to dodge the other two when Zuko shot a jet of fire around her ankles. He pulled his fire whip, causing Azula to fall as his previous attacks hit each other. Azula let out an inhumane screech as the whip burned into her ankles and pulled her to the ground. Pulling the whip with one hand, Zuko made another one and caught her right wrist. Azula writhed on the ground, trying to stand up and hit Zuko. He dodged her reckless attacks. Zuko pulled the whips closer to detain his sister.

She looked at him and for a second he saw a scared fourteen-year-old girl, lost in a world with no one to help her. He remembered what she was like before their father corrupted her and her vulnerability rendered Zuko stunned for a moment. She took the opportunity and shot a ball of blue fire out of her left hand. It flew a few feet past his right leg. Zuko was confused. She missed him horribly. No. Azula didn't miss, even when she was unstable. In all their years of training, she seldom missed anything. The realization hit him like a truck. He turned just in time to see her glowing fireball hit Katara's abdomen. The force pushed Katara's body in the pillar, causing six cracks to appear in the stone. The sheer power his sister had was terrifying. Azula didn't miss.

Zuko swerved back to his sister. "AZULA!" He lifted his arms, taking Azula's body with him, and pushed them to the ground with every ounce of strength he had. Azula lost consciousness the moment her head made contact. He saw a small trail of blood under her skull, and, for a second, he regretted what he did. Then he remembered Katara. Katara, the last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. Katara, Sokka's sister. Katara, the Gaang's mom. Katara, Zuko's friend. There was no remorse. He ran even faster than before to the unconscious Waterbender, dropping onto his knees.

She was crying. Zuko hated it. His threatening tears from before were falling freely now. The fireball had cut her wound deeper, exposed more bone, and drew so much more blood. He cradled her head, blocking the possibility of any further injury.

"HELP! HELP! I NEED HELP! WATER! I NEED WATER!" Zuko screamed as loud as he possibly could. Three distressed Fire Sages rounded the corner, observing the three teenagers and trying to figure out what happened. The tallest one's eyes widened as he saw Azula on the ground. He immediately bowed. "Fire Lord Zuko."

The other two realized Zuko, being the only one awake, had indeed won the Agni Kai. They started to bow but Zuko cut them off.

"STOP BOWING AND LOOK AT HER!" he yelled, "Yes, I won. Yes, I'm Fire Lord. But look!" he frantically gestured toward Katara. "I need water and a medic. Now."

"Y-Yes, Fire Lord." the tall one said, taking off to find a medic and water. One of the others followed. One stayed behind.

Zuko wiped his and Katara's tears away, not bearing to see her cry any longer. "It's okay. You're going to be okay, alright, Katara? They're bringing water. You can heal yourself. I know you can," he said quietly, not sure who he was trying to convince anymore.

"You're injured, my lord," the remaining one said matter-of-factly.

Zuko bit the inside of his cheek. "I'm aware! In case you haven't noticed though, I have a few scratches and the girl in my arms is about to die!"

The Sage only clenched his jaw. "Fire Lord. As I'm sure you know, our loyalty is to you before anyone else. Whether you have a few scratches or are about to die like this peasant, you are our first priority."

Zuko's eyes darkened as he looked at the man. "What did you say?"

The Sage scoffed. "Only what you should already know. That girl is not worthy of your care if you ask me."

"She is not a peasant! Get out! You're fired!"

"Pardon? My lord, there must be some mistake. I have been nothing but loyal to the Fire Nation my whole life. I have never supported the other nations, including the one this lower-than-peasant peasant came from. Please, reconsider."

"I said you're FIRED. GET OUT!"

The other Sages returned with three medics and a bowl of water to Zuko's outburst. When the fired man didn't leave, the tall one spoke for Zuko.

"Shozo! If the Fire Lord gives you an order, you are under oath to obey it! Leave."

Shozo looked between Zuko and the tall man incredulously. He opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and stormed off.

"What's your name?" Zuko asked the tall man.

"Xin, sir."

"Very well. Xin, I want my sister detained and put in the most secure prison cell we have at the palace. As for the medics, this is Katara," he gestured for Xin to move so they could see her. All three of the medics' faces fell when they saw her. Immediately, two of them pulled out a stretcher while the third began pulling out various vials and bandages.

"Fire Lord, if you will please put her down. She is in very critical condition, we need to know what happened so we can begin treating her wounds." one of the medics said.

Zuko hesitantly put her on the ground. The two with the stretcher put her on it as though she were as fragile as glass. He began in a rough voice. "Azula and I were facing off in an Agni Kai. I taunted her to get her to hit me with lightning so I could redirect it at her. But-" Zuko's voice broke, "I tried. I tried, I really did. I ran, but she did too, I couldn't keep up with her, she was running, but Azula knew she was, so," Zuko steadied himself with a shaky breath, reminding himself that he needed to be level-headed if he wanted to help Katara, "she hit Katara with lightning." The medics and Sages looked at Katara's body with disbelief. Lightning was serious. Only the best Firebenders could yield it. And only the best could redirect it. "Then, when I was trying to control Azula over there," he pointed to the location where Azula's body lay, "Azula shot a fireball at Katara's wound while she was unconscious. That's what happened." His audience was concerned. Plain as day, worry was written on their faces. A lightning shot, and then a fireball wound. On a non-Firebender nonetheless.

Xin gave a quick nod, then called the other Fire Sage to help him with Azula. The medics were conversing quietly about Katara's condition as they moved her into the palace. Zuko watched a few guards detain and pick up Azula, per Xin's order, while the stretcher disappeared into the large building. He gazed at the now-closed doors Katara's nearly dead body had gone through. Zuko had done it. He had defeated Azula.

But at what cost?