Zuko and Katara flew through the air atop Appa. They saw the Fire Nation Capital slowly approaching. The Gaang spent plenty of time preparing for the upcoming fight. Sokka, Suki and Toph were away on their own mission and Aang disappeared the day before, so they had no choice but to believe that he would return to fight the Firelord Ozai. Now, it was up to the remaining two members of the team to ensure Fire Nation would have the proper leader.
They landed in the main courtyard, where the ceremony would normally be in progress, but there was no one but Princess Azula waiting for them. They jumped off the flying bison and stood, prepared to fight.
"Ah, if it isn't my prodigal brother, returning with his friend to overthrow the rightful ruler of the Fire Nation. Welcome, I was waiting for you."
Zuko looked around and didn't see anyone else. He felt that something wasn't right but couldn't place a finger on it.
"Alright Azula, we know you are working with Viteq to stop the war. There is no need for us to fight, just abdicate your position and we can all calm down and talk."
The Princess made an exaggerated thoughtful expression.
"I don't know, brother. We talked a lot with my dear, but we couldn't come to an agreement on who will lead the Fire Nation once father is defeated. He believes that you, despite being a weaker firebender and relying on others for help, being a softy on the inside and spending the majority of your life chasing legends, are a better ruler than I. I of course disagreed and we ended up in a stalemate of sorts. If only there was a way for us to settle our little argument."
Prince Zuko realized what his sister was hinting at. He knew that it must be a trap of some sort, but thought that fighting for the title of the leader of his nation was a fair way to settle their dispute and it would stop anyone else from being hurt.
"Very well. Let's settle this, just you and me, sister. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"
"What are you doing?"
Katara hissed at Zuko, but whatever he wanted to say was interrupted by laughter from the Princess. She laughed as if she heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Oh no, dear brother. I won't be fighting you today."
"What do you mean?"
"When we talked, I always said that both a family and a nation must be ruled with an iron fist and that freedom must be earned through effort. He thinks that both require a softer touch and need the help of others; advisors, ministers, concubines. So, we will test our approaches one against the other, my personal strength against the power of your teammate. Water against Fire, a tribal girl against a royal princess. The student against her teacher's partner. The winner will determine who rules the nation."
Zuko clenched his fists. He was ready to throw himself into the fray, but to ask someone else to do it and to risk failure at such an important junction, it was too risky. But, regardless of what he wanted to say, Katara stepped forwards.
"We accept."
Zuko pulled her back by her wrist and whispered to her.
"What are you doing? You know this is a trap of some sort, right? This is dangerous."
Katara looked at him and shook her head.
"I don't think so. I think this is another bid for dominance between Viteq and Azula. You yourself said, he dominated her in fights and in other ways. She surrendered to him willingly and let go of control. I believe this is another way for her to reclaim some of it. Defeating her lover's student will prove that in some way, she is strong. But I am ready and I can fight her. And I don't believe she learned much, if anything, from Viteq, while I took everything he had to teach."
She removed his hand from her arm and walked forward.
"We accept your terms. We will fight Agni Kai as two firebenders."
The Princess prowled towards Katara with a smile.
"Oh, don't hold yourself back on my account. I don't intend to. Use all your power to determine who will be in control, me, or VIteq. LEt's call it Mishr Kai, something like that. Show me the power of Viteq's teaching."
The two stood across one another and waited for the fight to start. There was no formal announcement. After a few seconds, Azula simply stepped forward and sent out a massive wave of blue fire from her fist.
Katara quickly turned water into mist and used it to block the flames. Her power wasn't as great as Azula's under the power of the comet, but her skills allowed her to cool water enough to neutralize the heat. Evidently, Azula was a normal bender, just an incredibly strong one. She conjured massive flames, but they weren't anything special, like Katara's own poor man's firebending. It was simple enough for the waterbender to block that attack.
Azula didn't stop her advance. She twisted in place and brought up her leg, sending another wave of fire in front of her.
Katara felt her move through her power and reacted accordingly. The fog around her jumped to her aid, creating another barrier between her and the massive gouts of fire.
She still felt the heat and felt that relying on her senses and reaction times was a little silly. She decided to protect herself with her element. Water turned into vapor and twisted around her, currents of pressurized mist swirling around her, creating a layer of protection. She controlled it to compress as much as possible, building up pressure. When Azula struck next, any fire that actually reached her and struck her body would immediately be put out by the explosion of water vapor.
The Princess proceeded to attack with more moves, sending enormous flames at her opponent. Katara quickly decided that it was easier not to be hit by attacks instead of blocking them. She moved around the firebender, dodging the flames and trying to escape into her blind spot.
Azula spun around, covering everything in fire. She aimed at the other girl, chasing her down as she moved in a circle around the Princess, but the blue fire and thick fog obscured her vision.
After a few seconds of sending out a continuous stream of blue flame, she lost sight of her target. She felt frustrated, but didn't let it get to her. Her life was good and there were no bad outcomes for her. This was just entertainment for her.
She peered through the fog around her, looking for any movement. Everything was hidden by the gray mist and she couldn't see through it. She slowly spun around, watching for any incoming attacks.
"Come out, little fishy. Don't hide from me."
She looked down on the ground and saw that it was wet from condensing water. Apparently Katara's control over water wasn't as absolute as Viteq's. She smirked at the newfound information.
She moved through the pose she often used for lightning bending. She no longer needed it after all the training she did with her lover, but she inherited the bit of dramatic flair from him and loved going along with his antics. She spun her arms while she gathered energy and waited. When lightning began to appear over her body, she moved like a pendulum, bringing her body low, before jumping up and pointing downwards. She released lightning into the ground.
A short and painful shout from nearby alerted Azula of her opponent's location. She quickly conjured more flames and jumped in that direction. As she closed in, she saw Katara, who was kneeling on the ground and completely exposed. Princess' smile got wider as she wound up another attack.
She was a few feet from the waterbender, who watched her with wide eyes, her whole body seizing up from lightning running through her. Azula was about to strike and end this fight, but Katara managed to raise one arm in the direction of the firebender.
Azula froze, under the similar power she often sought from her favorite person. Her body was filled with foreign power, controlling her like a wooden doll. Only, it wasn't as thorough as the one she was used to. She felt the difference and instead of sweet and pleasant guidance and soft hands restraining and moving her, it was jerky and forceful. It was wrong in the ways that mattered.
The Princess didn't feel the desire to surrender, instead she felt the need to fight it. She started pushing against the sensation. She felt that she could power through it, especially after she has been exposed to such power over time.
Her body was frozen mid strike. She had the fire gathered in her palm, ready to strike with it, while the other hand was free at her side. She ended up with one hand pointing to the ground, the other pointing flame had been extinguished when she froze, so she decided to do something different. She tried moving to bring her arm up and point at Katara, but the force on her body wasn't relenting and kept her still. Almost entirely still, but not quite. She was able to move slightly, pushing against control. It seemed that Katara still hadn't recovered her bending fully and Azula had a chance.
She fought against the foreign power and pushed, slowly bringing her arm to bear on the waterbender.
Katara saw what was happening and got angry at the prospect of being defeated. The girl grit her teeth and fought against the weakness her body felt after being struck by residual lightning. She pushed off the ground with her free hand and managed to bring it higher. She didn't need to use hands for bending, but it helped her focus. With both hands now trained on her opponent, she fought for dominance over her body.
The two stood frozen, Azula unable to complete her movement and end this fight with fire, while Katara was stuck in place, fighting against her own body and against the body of her enemy.
The Princess understood she didn't have much time. Once Katara recovered fully, she would easily take over her body and defeat her. She had to act. She reached inside herself and began separating the energy, once again preparing to create lightning.
"You lost, Azula. Give up and admit your loss."
Zuko raised his voice from the side. He was a little worried about how close it came to a defeat for their side. He wanted the duel to end so that Katara could get some help.
"Not quite, brother. It seems like your friend seized my body, but I still have control of my bending. We are at a stalemate because your little girlfriend got hit by lightning. I think I can accommodate her and make this a more shocking event."
Zuko frowned. He felt worried for his friend, but also didn't like the implication his sister had made.
Katara scowled. Her distaste for the fire nation and Zuko hasn't been that strong for a while now, but to imagine him as her man, such a thing was distasteful.
She felt her own anger spike and resonate with her. It allowed her to concentrate better. She felt movement of energy inside the Princess and was about to simply stop it, but she remembered Zuko's words about lightning. If done incorrectly, it would explode. She might have found Azula annoying, but she didn't want to kill her teacher's girlfriend.
She fought against Azula's control over the energy, trying to reroute it and aimed it differently.
The two were locked in place, both positioned on wet floors, Azula's hand angled downwards so that lightning would strike the ground and hit them both. The Princess was more accustomed to using her own element, so she would recover first and win. Katara had to stop it, she couldn't lose.
Azula felt her opponent acting. Her own energy shifted slightly as the water tribe girl fought to stop her. This was the ultimate showdown between the two.
The Fire Nation Princess was powered up by the comet, she could easily engulf herself in flames or send out enough lightning to kill them both instantly, but she lacked the necessary control over her body and bending. If she wanted to live, she couldn't go with brute force and had to moderate her power, but it seemed that Viteq's student had far better control, even when her body was struck by electricity.
Her opponent didn't have such refined control as her boyfriend, it was more forceful, like tugging on a rope instead of soft caress over her skin. So it was harder for her to affect the firebender's bending. Azula spoke up then.
"Oh, you aren't as good as your teacher. His display of bloodbending was more impressive. He could control me totally, move me like he wanted, make me say things he wanted to hear. I felt beholden to him and it felt so good. Your power is so much more crude than his. At his best, he even managed to control my bending. Can you?"
Katara felt infuriated by the other girl's remark, but fought the frustration. She couldn't let her emotions control her. As much as the Princess' words angered her, they also confirmed her suspicion. It was possible to do what she was attempting.
She pushed harder and directed the energy to connect differently than the Princess wanted to. The two wrestled over the control of opposite currents within Azula's body and the firebender lost slowly. She had more raw power, but she wasn't adept at controlling it in small ways.
But she wasn't angry or sad about it. No, in her own mind she was happy. This was something she wouldn't ever feel again. Her boyfriend was an incredible bender. Today, he would be at the peak of his power, just like her. That was nothing new.
However, right now, feeling that not her lover, but his student, was overpowering her when she was at her strongest. That kind of sensation was intoxicating in a different way. To feel the guiding hand of her man, remotely through his student, still able to dominate her so thoroughly. She fought against it, against her own mind whispering to give in, to surrender, but in the end she had to admit it. She lost.
Princess knew she lost when she felt energy within herself responding to foreigh will. She had no choice but to give in. But she could enjoy it too. The energy inside her shifted and moved to release itself upwards, through her open hand. But she no longer fought it. Instead, she joined in and poured all the energy she had. She felt her body grow hot from power running through her.
For a moment, there were simply a few sparks around the hand Azula had raised to gather fire in before striking. Then, a massive torrent of lightning, white at its core and pink at the edges, shot up through the air and up into the skies. For a moment, the skies, red from the comet turned white.
The massive bolt of lightning flew through the heavens and parted the few clouds above the capital palace. It was an impressive show of force, the power of a comet, poured into lightning and sent into the skies. It illuminated the whole city.
After a long second, once the lightning faded, both girls slumped to the ground.
Katara was tired, but happy. She managed to overpower the Princess and didn't let her end the fight. She looked up from the ground at her opponent, but Azula didn't seem to be in any condition to continue fighting.
Zuko quickly rushed in, wishing to help. Katara shook her head in denial and nodded towards the Princess. Zuko approached his sister.
While Katara might have been tired, but ready to continue, Azula was spent. She now understood how her lover would act drunk on power when feeding lightning through his body. She was accustomed to large currents of energy, unlike him, but this sensation, it was magical. She felt relaxed and happy.
Zuko kneeled near his sister and she turned to him with a happy expression. She lazily reached up with her hand and caressed her brother's face.
"Hey, Zuzu. You can be a Firelord. I lost a bet."
The Prince was surprised to see his sister acting this way, but he didn't stop. He scooped her up in his arms and lifted her up to carry her to safety. She just smiled happily and babbled on.
"You know, Zuzu, you are going to be an uncle."
Prince stumbled and almost fell forward face first.
"What?!"
Azula lightly slapped his face and smiled.
"Oh, silly brother, not right now. But when I see Vivi next, I am doing my best to make you an uncle."
Zuko screwed up his face at his sister's words. That was too much information.
"Can you imagine, Uncle Zuzu. Just like uncle Iroh", she frowned and looked at her brother. "Just don't get fat. And don't become boring."
The young man shook his head at the nonsense his sister spouted. Katara stood next to him and watched the two siblings. She felt fine enough to continue, so the two walked towards the royal palace, carrying the power drunk Princess while she mumbled incoherent thoughts.