Didn't See That Coming
by Rebirth of the Phoenix
Is it safe to come out? I know you all probably hate me for leaving it so long to update, but I have a valid reason I have important exams coming up at school and I'm afraid to say my stories will probably end up taking a back seat. I just want to leave school with the grades I am predicted and then I will have nothing to worry about!
I haven't been totally idle though. I had an idea for a new story (which will not be posted until I have this one finished) and I have already written fifteen pages of that, plus the ending (yes I wrote the ending before the story). I have also written a couple of Zutara one-shots that I will put up shortly, hopefully.
Also writer's block has been kicking my butt and this chapter was written in segments over a couple of weeks!
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer - Do you even have to ask?
"Sokka?"
The young warrior looked up to see Aang staring at him. "What is it Aang?"
The young Avatar sat on the ground next to him. "She'll make it out Sokka, Zuko will make sure of that."
Sokka looked at his friend disbelievingly. "Why are you talking like you trust Zuko? He's been chasing you for months, when has he ever helped any of us?"
Aang shook his head. "I know that Zuko isn't that bad. He's helped me before, Sokka, and there have been plenty of times when he could have killed any of us. I was speaking to his Uncle Iroh and he told me Zuko has never killed anyone before. Partly because he was never sent to battle, but his Uncle said that Zuko has always valued the lives of others."
"Why would you believe his Uncle? In case you haven't noticed he's a Firebender!"
Aang sighed. "Not all Firebenders are bad Sokka. Before the war one of my best friends was from the Fire Nation. Besides, Iroh and some of the crew told me that Katara trusts Zuko too."
Sokka snorted. "Yeah, right! What possible reason could Katara have for trusting that jerk."
Aang shrugged. "Iroh wouldn't say anymore, but I think she's got the right idea Sokka. You can bet that Zuko is in there right now protecting himself and Katara."
Sokka looked back to the dark trees. "I don't know Aang. After one hundred years of war, I'm finding it hard to just forget everything that the Fire Nation has done."
Aang stood up and dusted himself off. "We should never forget the past Sokka. We should be able to understand and learn from it."
The Avatar smiled softly at his friend and left him to his own thoughts.
Katara and Zuko were once again running through the palace; this time to reach the battlefield. Zuko had not gone into any specific detail about what his fear of failure was, instead he had taken off towards the palace doors, with a confused Katara in his wake.
The duo flew through the wide sweeping corridors, they passed through another chamber that led onto a balcony. It was here that Katara noticed a water spout shaped like the head of a dragon, embedded into the wall. Crystal clear water rushed from the creature's mouth and splashed into a shallow dish beneath it.
Katara paused in her pursuit of Zuko, knowing he would not leave her behind. She uncorked her water skin and placed it under the gushing stream of water. She was quite surprised that there would be such an abundant source of water in the Fire Lord's Palace, but thinking about it, Katara realised even the Fire Nation could not survive without water. Every element depended on one another.
Satisfied that her water pouch was full, Katara closed it and started after Zuko, pausing only to heal the stinging abrasions on her arms. She knew that he would not have gone far and so she wasn't too worried.
She cleared another corridor and hurtled around a corner. She was faced with two different passages and had no idea what one she should take. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she contemplated her dilemma. Just as she was about to start down the passage to her left, a flare of light and heat erupted to her right.
Katara sighed, wondering what trouble he had gotten himself into this time and hurried towards the source of the fire.
The passage wasn't very long and within a few seconds Katara emerged on the other side, immediately spotting Zuko. The problem was, he was in the middle of a furious fight with a raven haired girl.
His fists were balled around fire blades while the girl was merely dodging his attacks. The girl looked to be around Katara's age, her eyes were an amber colour, although they were a deeper colour than Zuko's golden eyes.
Katara watched as the two Firebenders carried on their fight. Zuko's face was a mask of concentration, while the girl had a slight smirk on he face.
"What's the matter Zu Zu? Can't you beat me when my back isn't turned." The girl's voice was cold and mocking and Katara felt an instant dislike to her.
Zuko growled lowly. "Don't call me that!"
The girl's smirk widened as she ducked under one of Zuko's blows. "You are a miserable failure Zuko! Agni must really have hated me to give me a brother like you."
Katara's eyes narrowed. So this was Zuko's sister? She had heard things while travelling with Aang. Princess Azula was said to be almost as ruthless as her father. Katara could see why Zuko never spoke of his family. His father was a tyrannical maniac and his sister was pure evil.
Zuko dodged Azula's foot as it swung for his head. Katara wondered whether she should intervene and help Zuko, or if she should let Zuko battle this himself. She watched desperately and saw how much of an effect the comet had had on their powers.
Katara made up her mind. She may not be much help to Zuko but if they didn't hurry, Kaen would destroy them in this fear. Drawing out a water whip, Katara hit Azula from behind.
The princess froze and whipped around. Katara saw her eyes narrow and immediately regretted her hasty actions.
Azula started for Katara, who readily got into a fighting stance. Zuko made to intervene but Katara spoke to him.
"No Zuko! Go, I'll catch up. Figure out what you have to do to get out of this fear."
Zuko was stumped. "Katara -"
"No Zuko, I'll be fine. I'll meet you out on the battlefield. Just go!"
Zuko hesitated for a moment before taking off down the passage. He had complete confidence in Katara. Even if Azula's bending was at an advantage, Katara would take care of it. In the mean time, he had to catch up with his father.
Azula glared at Katara as Zuko took off through the palace. "You really think you can beat me peasant?"
Katara's eyes narrowed. "Yes."
The Fire Princess laughed mirthlessly and initiated an attack. Katara barely dodged it, she noticed that Azula's Firebending was different to Zuko's. Whereas Zuko was passionate and put effort into every attack he made, Azula didn't seem to use much effort at all. Her attacks were fluent and well practiced; they were rigid and Katara saw that bending came easily to her. She smirked slightly when she realised that Zuko's bending would end up being more powerful than his sister's, as he poured his emotions into his fire and he had to work to succeed with his bending.
"What are you smirking at peasant?" Azula looked infuriated.
Katara's smirk widened. "You." She then bent some of the water from her water skin. She pulled it into a thin point and froze it. She launched it at Azula.
Azula held up a hand a sent out a stream of fire to meet it. Katara had anticipated his however and split the ice spear into two, bending one to the right of the other. The first attack melted on contact with Azula's fie but the second spear slipped past Azula's defence and tore through the princess' upper left arm. The cut wasn't very deep but it was long and drew blood.
Azula looked at the Waterbender on front of her and snarled, smoke unfurling from her nostrils. She let a fiery whip hurtle towards Katara. The tip of the whip caught Katara's cheek and Katara winced as the stinging spread across her face.
Pulling out a water whip to match Azula's, Katara sharply flicked it at her opponent. Azula's whip curled around its water counterpart and constricted it, overpowering the water and turning it to steam.
Katara realised that she would need a lot more water if she was to defeat Azula and her mind flicked back to the fountain in the previous chamber. Katara pulled the last bit of water from her pouch and hurled it at the princess' face. She froze it on contact and took of down the corridor, taking advantage of Azula's confusion and momentary blindness.
Halfway down the corridor Katara risked a look back and saw that Azula had managed to free herself from the ice and she was literally steaming. Katara hurried her pace, knowing there would be hell to pay if she was attacked in the corridor. She felt heat lick her back just as she burst into the chamber with the fountain. She cast a quick look towards the balcony and saw the action on the battlefield. There really wasn't a lot of time. Kaen could easily pull one of her lowly tricks and be done with it, but the demon loved to play games and draw things out.
Katara pulled the water from the fountain on the wall into a great water snake, while the water continued to gush from the dragon's mouth. She let her water snake fall onto the floor, knowing she had an unlimited amount of water at her disposal. Katara smiled as she felt the push and pull of water beneath her feet and on the wall.
Azula entered the chamber and her eyes narrowed when she saw Katara surrounded by her element.
"Don't think you can beat me peasant, even if you do have your element around you."
Katara pulled a double water whip from the water at her feet and scowled. "Shut up and fight!"
Azula's nostrils flared and she ignited fire blades in her hands, much like Zuko had earlier, the only difference was that Azula's flames were now blue.
'Oh, this can't be good' Katara bit her lip as Azula started towards her.
Azula stabbed her blades towards Katara but the Waterbender spun out of the attack, bringing up a long water whip with her. She bent the water whip towards Azula wrapping it round her ankles. Before she could constrict the water however, Azula had kicked out her foot, a fiery trail following it and Katara was flung against the fountain, her left foot twisting painfully underneath her.
The ceramic dragon spout broke away under the force of the blow and the water streaked out from the wall in a powerful jet. It hit Azula in the face, causing the princess to stagger backwards and onto the balcony.
Katara pulled herself up to her feet, her left ankle screaming against the movement and leaned against the wall for support. She exhaled a breath over the water on the floor, freezing the floor of the balcony in an attempt to prevent Azula approaching her again; in her weakened state she was defiantly at a disadvantage.
The Fire Princess was not deterred however, she tried to melt the ice covering the marble tiles, but Katara kept them frozen, aware that she needed the defence they provided.
Azula snarled and attempted to step across the ice, she began sliding as soon as her boot touched the ice. Katara leapt at the opportunity and snapped a water whip towards the flailing princess.
As Katara sent the whip out, the change in pressure on her ankle caused her to dip to the left and her whip struck wide of its mark. Azula was left uninjured but the oil lamp above Zula cracked in two. The burning oil splashed onto Azula's arm and quickly ignited the sleeve of her shirt.
Azula shrieked in surprise as the flames began to spread. She started to loose her balance and she stumbled backwards across the ice.
Katara's eyes widened as she realised what was about to happen. She would have stopped it, but her injured ankle would not allow her to move.
Azula could find no friction on the ice and her feet would not stop carrying her backwards. The princess' eyes widened as her back hit the balcony railing and she toppled over it. Katara closed her eyes as Azula's scream filled the air. It faded before finally stopping.
Katara opened her eyes and looked past the balcony to the battlefield. The battle was still raging and Katara wondered if Zuko had made it out there yet. She cast a furious look at her ankle. She had hurt the muscle and unfortunately her healing knowledge was restricted. She could heal fresh burns and open wounds with no problem; but her ability to heal muscle was limited and she couldn't heal bone yet. Katara made a mental note to focus more on her healing as she redirected some of the water from the broken spout towards her ankle.
She let the water wrap around her ankle and breathed deeply. Although the muscle wasn't healed, the pain receded and Katara had some mobility in it. She pushed away from the wall, refilled her water pouch and started once again towards the battlefield.
She had to find Zuko.
Zuko raced down the grand staircase and into the entrance hall, knocking out the guards that tried to stop him. He knew what he had to do when he reached his father, it was actually doing it that was going to be the problem.
His mind flew back to Katara and Azula. He knew that Katara wouldn't be defeated easily, but Kaen was a slippery being, one who would readily resort to cheating to gain victory. There was no telling what the demon would try next.
Zuko burst through the palace doors, slightly surprised to find the city deserted. In the distance he could see bursts of flames and he could faintly hear the sounds of battle. Steeling himself, he started off at a run for the battlefield.
He had barely made it down the palace steps when he heard a scream come from behind him. Wheeling around Zuko felt his eyes widen as he saw a figure fall from one of the palace balconies.
"No." Zuko found himself sprinting back towards the palace, hoping against hope that it wasn't Katara who had fallen. He skidded to a halt in front of the bushes into which the figure had fallen. Hesitantly, Zuko drew out a hand and parted the crimson foliage.
His breath caught in his throat when his eyes fell upon his little sister. Azula was splayed on the floor, eyes half closed and a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth. Her limbs stuck out at odd angles and there was a large burn spanning the length of her right arm.
Zuko stared down at his sister's masquerading form with a feeling of sadness. He was sad, however of the fact that his real sister was going to be her own destruction. She had been moulded into a heartless fighter by their father, and this would be her downfall.
Zuko tore his eyes away from the broken body in the dirt when he heard the palace doors burst open. Katara was limping down the steps and Zuko was immensely relieved to see her. He stepped out of the bushes in which he stood and caught her arm as she was about to pass him.
Her face broke into a relieved smile when she saw him and she leant on him to momentarily relieve the weight on her injured ankle.
"Katara are you alright?" Zuko was frowning at her injured ankle.
Katara nodded. "Fine. Zuko, I'm sorry, I didn't push Azula, she fell."
Zuko put a finger to her lips to silence her. "I know, it's alright. She wasn't my sister Katara, and I know that you would never kill anyone in cold blood. Are you sure you're all right?
"Yes, really I'll be fine. Now come on, the sooner we get out of here the better."
Zuko nodded and put his arm around Katara's waist to help ease the weight on her ankle. Together the pair once again headed towards the ongoing battle.
Katara's ankle was pulling horribly whenever she adjusted her weight on it, but she wasn't about to complain. There was no way that she was going to hold Zuko and herself back in this fear just because of an injury. Zuko had carried on with a dislocated shoulder without complaining and Katara was not going to complain about a twisted ankle. Her attempt at healing had helped slightly and focusing on the task at hand was a helpful distraction.
As she had noticed on her way to the palace, the Fire Nation capital was deserted and this made everything a lot easier. Katara couldn't help but feel that this fear had been very trying; neither Zuko or herself had ever suffered such injuries in any of the previous fears. Kaen was really pulling out all the stops and Katara dreaded what would come in the later fears.
She led Zuko to the rocky outcrop that she had arrived on at the start of the fear. She winced when she saw the intensity of the battle, and in the middle of it all was the likeness of her best friend. Katara could see from this distance that Aang was barely holding his own in the fight; Ozai was taking full advantage of his newfound powers.
Katara inhaled deeply and turned to face Zuko. "Are you sure that you know what your fear is?"
Zuko shot her a sidewards glance. "Well, we'll soon find out."
Zuko loosened his grip on Katara's waist so they could both scale down to the battlefield. He went first and he kept one eye on Katara to make sure she was alright. She handled the climb surprisingly well and both of the teens made it to the bottom in one piece.
Zuko grabbed onto Katara again and held a flam in his hand, ready to blast away anyone who tried to intercept their path. However, most of the fighters had given the battling Avatar and Fire Lord a wide berth and the journey to the focus of the fight was relatively easy.
Soon enough the soldiers had thinned out and Katara and Zuko were stood within striking distance of the Fire Lord. Zuko pulled his arm away from Katara and gently pushed her backwards from his father. Katara made to protest but Zuko shook his head and whipped around, hurling a ball of scarlet flames at the Fire Lord.
Ozai, who had just ploughed Aang into the dirt, froze and turned to identify his assailant. His cold, hard eyes narrowed when he saw his son.
"So the traitor escaped? Where is your sister? I thought I told her to finish you off." Ozai sneered down at Zuko.
Zuko settled further into his bending stance. "Azula is dead, and I have never been a traitor, you are the traitor, my dear father."
Ozai also settled into his fighting stance and disregarded Aang who had just pulled himself to his feet. "Me, a traitor? I had no idea my offspring was so idiotic. How can I be the traitor?"
"You turned your back on your nation and the world when you carried on this war. Now listen to me and listen good. I used to fear failing you failing to bring back the Avatar. Now I fear failing myself. I will not let the world be destroyed by you."
The Fire Lord looked down is sharp nose at the proud Firebender in front of him. "Touching words, too bad they will be your last."
With that Ozai pushed the fiery orbs at Zuko, who sidestepped the fierce inferno. He retaliated with a whip of fire from his foot, accompanied by burst of flames from his fist. Ozai simply waved his hand and dissipated the attack.
Katara watched in awe as the two benders performed their deadly dance. Her heart was beating erratically as she saw how much power Ozai commanded, Zuko was already tiring.
Ozai began to move his arms in an intricate pattern and Katara nearly yelled in shock as something sparked between his fingers. He made a few move movements with his arms and Ozai pointed his index and middle fingers at Zuko, releasing a blinding shot of lighting.
Katara's scream caught in her throat as she realised Zuko had no way to intercept the deadly blow. Just when she thought Zuko was going to be destroyed before her very eyes, a wall of earth rose up to protect the Fire Prince.
Katara looked around and saw Aang had his arms raised in the air, although it appeared to take a lot of his strength.
Ozai also redirected his attention to the young Avatar and began advancing on him instead.
Katara looked around desperately. Zuko had already confronted his fear, he had recognised what he was afraid of and he had though back, so why hadn't Kaen pulled them out of this nightmare? As Katara watched her two allies fight her enemy, realisation dawned on her. Katara was afraid of Ozai succeeding, and yet she was the only one not fighting. It had been her all this time, not Zuko. Katara had to fight back against Ozai, just to prove to herself that the Fire Lord could be hit.
Her eyes focused back onto Ozai and saw that he was preparing to send another bolt of lightning at Aang and Zuko, who were currently stood shoulder to shoulder in a strange act of solidarity.
Katara drew out a trail of water and ignored the look Zuko sent her; it's meaning could not of been clearer: "Don't put yourself in danger."
Katara knew what she had to do, it was the only way that she could see to get out of the fear. She waited for just the right moment to strike, there! The first spark was lit between Ozai's fingers and Katara flung her water whip onto the fire Lord's hands, drenching them a split second before Ozai channelled the lightning form his body.
However, with his hands soaked, the bolt of lightning was directed back into Ozai's body and in a cruel twist of irony, the Fire Lord became his own destruction. His own power pulsed through his veins, burning him in a way fire never could.
Katara turned away from the disturbing sight although as soon as Ozai had started to truly fee his own strength, the world had faded. The deafening sounds of battle lowered until it was just a distant ringing in Katara's ears and she felt Zuko at her side once more.
Well? I hope it was alright, and I once again apologise for the huge gap since I last updated. It's nearing midnight and I'm beat, but I feel better now that I have gotten something updated!
If it ever seems that I am taking a long time to update, then check my profile. I will post any news on there which will explain any absences in my work!
Review!
