Episode 29: Katara Alone

The air was stifling. Katara had never seen so much fire before. Zuko had obviously been working on his bending for the few weeks he'd been away. His body twisted and pushed instinctively through a variety of complicated movements. The Phoenix siblings were well matched, Azula's blue flame constantly berated by equally powerful waves of red.

The thought about helping him crossed her mind but he seemed to be handling himself alright. That and she could barely move.

She'd healed her wrist easily but head injuries were more complicated, especially when she was working on herself. The best she could do for now was take her time sealing the wound from the inside out. Just when she got to the point she felt she might actually be able to help, Katara saw Azula fall.

The princess skidded across the stone floor and didn't move for a short while. Then Zuko said her name and it snapped her out of her stupor.

Next minute she was on her feet, yelling at Zuko about how he had chosen her. Katara's eyes found Zuko's back, remembering the words he had spoken when this started, how he had stood between them to protect her. Maybe Sokka had been right, perhaps it all had been to protect her.

A loud crack startled Katara and blue lightning flickered through the courtyard.

Wait, lightning?

It was Azula, she had somehow created the coldest, most brutal form of fire and was directing it straight. At. Her.

"No!" Zuko yelled.

The lightning flashed in Katara's eyes and she felt death reaching for her when suddenly- the light was obscured by Zuko's body. He'd jumped in front of her. He'd taken the bolt straight to his chest.

Katara watched him fall.

He didn't get up.

"ZUKO!" Katara ran towards him but was blocked by a sudden onslaught of blue fire.

"I told you to leave him alone," Azula called. Her fire didn't let up, Katara had to run and jump behind a pillar to avoid being caught up in the flames.

"Poor little Zuzu," Azula hummed. "He doesn't look very good. Maybe this time he'll learn not to trifle with me."

Peeking around the pillar, Katara just caught a glimpse of Zuko rolling onto his stomach with a groan, his hand outstretched towards her.

She had never been more furious in her life.

And, as Sokka knew, when Katara was mad things broke.

With a yell, Katara lifted the water of the fountain into the air and called it towards herself. Shifting it around herself to build momentum, she shot the wave towards the stage where Azula had been standing only to see- she wasn't there.

The stage splintered under the weight of the water hitting it. Bits of planks and podium shot across the stone floor. A rift of water spread out in a thin layer, splashing against Zuko's prone body and causing him to cough.

Katara's eyes shifted around the courtyard. Many of the Agni Kais had abandoned their positions at the expounding display of firebending, most of the building was currently still smoldering. They needed to get out of their before the inn collapsed on top of them.

In her peripheral vision, Katara just caught a glimpse of blue and rolled. The fire grazed her shoulder and back, setting her outer cloak on fire and burning her upper arm. Hissing in pain, she ripped off her cloak and threw it close to where Zuko's jacket had been tossed.

"Oooh, are we getting serious now?" taunted Azula. "You going to throw some more icicles at me?"

Katara thought about it. Instead, she pulled up a second wave, even larger than the first, and used it to wrap around the perimeter of the space.

Azula stepped into sight, her calculating eyes watching the ebb and flow of the constricting rapids. Drawing her arms in, Katara tightened the ring around Azula until she was completely surrounded by the rushing water. With a massive surge of flame, blue fire bloomed upwards into a spearhead that completely evaporated her entire body in a second.

A massive cloud of steam expanded out emulating the fog she had drifted in earlier in the day. For a moment she was blind, then she remembered she was a waterbender. Condensing the mist into a single layer above them, Katara was surprised to find Azula already rushing towards her. Turning in a flash, Katara formed the sheet above into a disk and sent it hurdling towards her attacker. Unsettled, Azula stepped to the side just in time, but Katara thought she saw a couple strands of hair fall to the ground. Sure enough, when Azula turned to glare at her, the two streaming bangs on either side of her face appeared uneven.

"How dare you," Azula said. As Katara watched, she took the same stance she'd made a couple minutes earlier.

Lightning.

What could she do against lightning?

Katara ran forward, ducking her head down as she made contact with Azula and disrupted her movements. A sharp static ran through her body until both of them hit the ground hard. Something hard jabbed into Katara's side, probably Azula's knee, and she was thrown off. Rolling across the dirt, she landed on her back staring up at the burning sides of the buildings sending smoke up into the falling night. Next thing she knew, Azula was on top of her, jabbing her sharp fingernails into her shoulder. Katara cried out and threw her fist outward like Zuko had taught her. Azula let up only for a moment before her nails scratched down a second time across Katara's face. Gritting her teeth, Katara lashed out again, this time adding her legs to the mix with a sort of wiggling kick that forced Azula off her.

They both got up, facing each other with only five feet between them. Katara's hair had come undone and was flowing freely around her face. Azula, who had been smiling up until this point, was frowning at Katara.

With quick jabs, three jets of fire shot towards Katara. Too close to dodge, Katara called up a shield of water that deflected the bursts before being obliterated. As Azula tried to send a second wave of attack, Katara threw out a limb of water and encased Azula's arm. Twirling, Azula kicked out the stream and simultaneously fired an arc over Katara's head. She dove, hiding behind the edge of the fountain in the center of the courtyard.

By this time it must only be the two of them left in the building that was slowly burning to ash. As Katara caught her breath behind the fountain two pillars broke off and fell inwards, crashing against the floor and sending white hot cinders in every direction.

"Playing hide and seek, are we?" called Azula. Katara shifted across the fountain's edge, moving towards the far side that would bring her in view of Zuko.

"Oh, no you don't." Fire rolled down the side of the fountain forcing Katara to backtrack. She searched for a solution, anything that might help her against the power of Azula's attacks. Everything was already on fire.

Swearing beneath her breath, Katara gathered what remained of her strength and stood. Grunting beneath the weight, she sent a majority of the fountain straight up into the air.

She remembered how it felt to watch Zuko bend, how he had thrown himself up into the air with his firepower. The grace with which he had battled Azula had been hypnotizing. If she hadn't gotten in the way, he might have been able to defeat her. But then, if she hadn't gotten in the way, he might not have had to.

At the thought of Zuko the water she had been manipulating took on a new form. The edges sharpened, wisps streamed off in intricate stems like a mane. Limbs took shape, and the end formed a tail.

It was a dragon.

It circled up at Katara's command, weaving between pillars, circling upwards into the sky as it grew in volume. With a downward slash, it turned it's head towards earth and dived(dove?).

The watery beast soared at Azula, it's maw open with a silent roar.

The only sign of Azula's fear was a slight widening of her eyes before she jumped to the side, taking cover behind the stage.

Katara didn't let her get away that easily. The dragon swirled around the stage, catching Azula and pulling her up through the air in a reverse waterfall. The rapid motion of Katara's hands had the water twirling around Azula in a sphere, the princess thrashing as she was spun and flipped. With a final, deep breath, Katara froze the water and Azula was suspended in a perfect ball of ice several feet off the ground.

She waited, holding the ice aloft for a couple of extra moments, until her strength gave out and she let it fall to the ground. The ice shattered, breaking into chunks and sliding across the courtyard in every direction.

Katara stood ready, waiting for Azula to return with a vengeance, but the princess didn't move. Gingerly, Katara moved forward one step at a time. Azula remained motionless. Katara nudged her with her toe and then jumped back.

Nothing.

Reaching down, she checked for a pulse and found one. Unconscious.

Breathing heavily, Katara finally got a moment to look over where Zuko had fallen. Not taking her eyes off him, she sprinted over and dropped beside him, ignoring her protesting knees when they hit the stone.

"Zuko?" she asked, carefully flipping him onto his back and lightly patting his cheek for a response. "Can you hear me? It's Katara."

Her hands were on autopilot. First she checked for a pulse: weak but present. Pulling the last drips of water from the fountain, it glowed blue with her healing powers as she placed them against his chest. With each passing moment, she felt her energy slipping away, the glow of her water dimmer than it should have been.

"I won't let you die," she vowed. Her eyes closed with her focus, breathing in and out slowly to focus on the power of the moon, the tide, begging them to lend her strength. Let me save him.

Just as the last of her energy was spent, Zuko let off a soft groan. Her eyes shot open, darting to his face. He took a single, ragged breath...and then didn't breathe again.

A/N: Sorry it's so short! I was trying to get it out so you could read it. We're almost to the end! I think only one more chapter before the Epilogue. Thanks for reading!