DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor have any rights to, the content, charachters, or story of Avater: the Last Airbender. The story depicted herein is a re-imagining of the story, and has no ties to the owners, writers and creators of the show.
Fighting Azula was like fighting against the seasons. No matter how much you did, how powerful you were, they just kept coming, with no regard for those that were against it.
She had a ferocity that spoke of years of training and discipline. Her Firebending, made that much more impressive by it's blue tone, was hotter than anything Katara had felt before. But Katara had trained hard to be known as a Waterbending Master, and wasn't going to give up without an equally powerful fight.
Katara's water whip had been met with Azula's fire blast, and a massive cloud of steam had erupted, blocking all their views. Katara stayed tense, knowing that the Princess would attack next.
There! A figure ran up the side of one of the massive crystals that littered the cavern floor. Azula used her momentum and vaulted off the crystal's point, launching a huge ball of blue fire in their direction.
With practice born from months of continuous training, Katara and Aang shifted on the feet, drawing water from the stream next to them. Bringing their arms above their head, they created a water barrier to absorb the fire ball.
Azula landed on one of the many massive pillars that held up the cavern. Aang dropped his waterbending and stood firm, preparing to strike back. He snapped his arms rigidly, then brought them back to his sides, sending a shockwave through the stone beneath them. It traveled to the pillar, which began to crumble to the ground. Azula gasped, and launched herself off the pillar just before it gave way beneath her feet.
Dropping to the ground, Azula landed smoothly, then brought her arms up to point at Katara and Aang. Whether by luck or design, she had managed to position herself equidistant between them.
Katara stayed tense. She had learned from previous encounters with the princess to never let her guard down. If Azula attacked her, she had the stream next to her to draw from for defense. If Azula went after Aang again, she could run parallel to that stream and attack from behind.
Katara's strategizing was brought up short as a wave of fire exploded onto the ground in between them. At first, Katara thought that Azula had attacked. But the flames, now dissipating against the stony ground, were orange.
Zuko had followed them through the cave system, like Azula had. He walked towards them all, and took up a fighting stance, making their triangle a diamond. The trio paused, wondering what the prince would do.
Katara saw Zuko look between each of them before meeting her eyes. Any anxiety she felt from his possible attack was swayed by the discussion they had had earlier. Although she was worried that he had decided to join with his sister, to turn away her offer of peace, she wanted him to follow his own path. Because of this, she remained focused on Azula, trying to show him that she trusted him.
Katara recalled earlier, when they had been talking openly about choices. About the look in his eyes when she had said that he always had a chance to redeem himself. He had seemed so vulnerable. So scared of what his future held.
The eyes that she met across the cavern now were hard and angry. And yet he still looked like he had no idea what to do.
The force behind his gaze reminded her of the time they had fought in the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. Robed in white clothing, with additional burns and cuts on his face, he had looked very different from the angry, regal prince she had first met. At the time, all she could think about was the fact that she finally had some training, could finally be a match against him. She hadn't realized that his presence there, separate from the Fire Nation soldiers that were breaching the wall, meant that he himself was separate from the Fire Nation. That things had changed for him, which had set him on this path he was on now.
She met his stare, watching his eyes play through whatever emotions that were causing so much turmoil.
You always have a chance.
He finally tore his eyes away from hers, and, with a mighty roar, launched a blast of blazing fire.
Azula seemed prepared for his attack. She rolled to one side, letting the flames pass by her. Coming up from the roll, she kicked her foot high above her, then brought it down, creating a spout of blue fire that shot towards Zuko. He dodged, and threw several punches of fire back at his sister. At the same time, Katara raced along the stream towards Azula, bending a wave of water at the other girl.
Azula jumped to avoid both attacks, and landed back across the stream from the others. Zuko's fire blasts crashed into the water Katara had bent, and pockets of steam burst into being, creating a barrier between them.
Aang dove through the cloud, dragging it along with him, and formed a spinning ball of water and air with his bending. Azula aimed a shot of fire at him, but Aang zipped around it, then propelled the orb towards her with a powerful thrust of his arms.
The princess stood firm, and used her forearms to absorb the Avatar's attack. In the same move, she swept both her arms to her sides, then curled her arms up again, shooting a blast of blue flames with the tips of her fingers.
Aang stomped and swept his arms up, dragging a massive brick of stone up from the carved floor beneath them. The earth came up just in time to block the blue spears of fire, which dissipated against the hard surface.
Katara watched Zuko launch into action, passing by Aang as the boulder he had bent from the ground came crashing down. As the dust flew up from the impact, Zuko dashed through, preparing a whip of fire. He slashed both hands together, and the whip came into being with a loud crack. Still holding one end, the prince did a tight spin, then moved his arms down in a large slicing movement.
The streams or orange fire followed suit, and slapped down within inches of Azula's feet.
She quickly flipped away from her brother's attack, then countered with her own set of fire-whips. The blue and orange clashed beautifully together, slicing through air and crystal like it wasn't even there.
Katara ran towards Azula, summoning water when she jumped over the stream. She landed near Aang, and together, they bent Katara's water into large spikes of ice, which they hurled at the princess.
Azula dodged nimbly, then kicked her feet hard against the ground and shot up into the air, her whips dissipating behind her. Blue flames had gathered around her feet, and propelled her high, higher, until she was almost at the cavern ceiling.
She used the force of her launch to spin, and then jerked both her arms back towards the ground that she had come from. A massive meteor of blue fire sprang from her hands, and blazed towards the three others below her.
Aang reacted first; he jumped onto a nearby crystal, then used airbending to launch up to where Azula still hovered. Katara shifted her stance, and mimicked the move from earlier, pulling water from the stream to absorb the impact of the blue fire clashed again with the water, and tore a hole through the makeshift shield. While some of the fire had been turned into steam by the water, a large mass still passed through, and hit the ground with a deafening boom. Katara coalesced the remaining water around her feet, and with a twist and push of her arms, bended the water into an ice slide that carried her away from the flaming crater that Azula had created.
Zuko, having dodged away from the flames before impact, waited until Azula had shot an additional blast at the approaching Avatar, then swept a similar stream of blood-red flames at his sister. Azula had turned with the force of her second punch, and was able to nimbly dodge the incoming fire. She landed on one of the higher terraces lining the room, and glared down at her brother.
"I see you've made your choice!" she called, watching as the Avatar landed next to Zuko, already in a fighting stance. "You have brought shame to our family, shame to your country!"
"It's you who should be ashamed!" Zuko snarled back, bracing for another attack. "The Fire Nation has brought nothing but terror and death upon the world! If wanting peace makes me the enemy, then so be it!"
Azula cocked her head and smiled menacingly.
"Then you are the enemy," she called, her voice turning sweet with acid. "And you shall be treated as such."
Azula raised her right hand, and the group below her tensed, waiting for her to begin her attack again. Instead, she quickly brought her hand down to her side, her smile never leaving her face.
Instantly, dark figures began leaping from the terraces around them, sliding down walls and pillars to land on the ground. The Dai Li agents converged on the trio, surrounding them. Katara couldn't recall seeing them entere; they must have been lying in wait for them, watching for Azula's signal before joining the battle.
Katara bent the water from the stream once again, having it circle her feet. She then brought her arms up in an expanding motion, and long, tentacle-like flares jutted from the water. They circled around her, prepared to deflect any incoming attack.
Aang followed suit, and stomped hard on the ground, raising pieces of the glowing crystal into the air. He then swept his arms towards his chest, and crystal surrounded him like a suit of armor.
Instead of forming a defense, Zuko jumped into an attack at the nearest earthbenders. He punched out a flurry of fire balls at the nearest agents, then dropped low and swept his legs around to create a wave of fire, knocking a couple men off their feet.
The Dai Li shot pellets from their stone gloves, hoping to puncture through Zuko's attacks. However, they were blown off course by a sudden gust of wind from Aang, and flew instead into the cavern wall.
Aang had leaped back across the stream, and landed with a massive double-handed thrust into the ground. A wave of earth rose from his landing, and rippled out through the crowds of agents surrounding them. They jumped to avoid the wavering stone, then shot more earth from their hands at the Avatar, which ricocheted off his crystal armor.
Nearby, Katara had knocked down two agents with a well-placed attack to their chest and head. She continued to swirl around, her tentacle-like protrusions intercepting any attacks the Dai Li had sent.
Zuko and Aang worked in tandem, deflecting and attacking in turn. But no matter how many agents they had knocked away, another took their place.
"We're out-numbered!" Aang called to Zuko, as the last of his crystal armor fell away. The steady stream of earthbending attacks had eroded away his defense, until he let it fall away from him and shatter across the cavern floor.
Katara felt her determination slipping, even as she blocked another stone hand that was aimed at her throat. Her group was often outnumbered, but they had always prevailed. Hearing Aang wanting to give up made her lose focus, and one of the Dai Li agents took advantage of her distraction. He punched out a stone hand, which connected with Katara's shoulder, sending her spinned into a crystal outcropping. She cried out in pain as she landed on the ground, her breath stolen from her body. The last of her hair ties had been torn away with the impact, and her hair fell tangled around her face, sticking to the thin layer of sweat she had accumulated during the battle.
When she finally came to, she saw that Zuko had come to her aid. Standing a couple feet in front of her, he was punching and slicing out firebending moves, his profile illuminated by the light from his bending. She took a deep breath, then stood, and used the remaining water from the ground to ward off a Dai Li agent that had tried to rush Zuko from the side. Her arm and shoulder ached from the movement, but she wasn't about to let Zuko go it alone when she still had some fight left in her.
They fought together, warding off the approaching agents with their bending. Katara, who had fought against Zuko countless times, knew his bending style well enough to foresee some of his moves, and was able to work around him defensively while he continued his barrage. Even still, the Dai Li found ways to slip through the cracks, and Katara saw the bruises and slices of the earthbender's attack appear on Zuko's body, just as she could feel them on her own.
Just as Aang had said before, they were outnumbered. And they were failing. Katara hoped that Aang was faring better than the two of them, but knew in her heart that either way, they were losing.
Suddenly, a blinding light filled the enormous cavern. Everyone stopped fighting and turned to stare as a wall of air shot through the room, knocking back everyone a few steps.
Aang was floating up a pillar of light, his eyes and tattoos glowing with energy. His presence spoke of eons of power and glory, which echoed across the chamber by the startled gasps of many who were inside it, Katara included.
She had seen Aang enter the Avatar state on multiple occasions, had been there for the fallout and destruction he had caused. But this experience was unlike any she had seen from him before. As Aang's body floated skyward, she felt like she was witnessing a profound moment, a sacred moment, that few had been a part of before. He was magnificent and awe inspiring, and she trembled with the power he radiated.
"NO!" A sudden cry pulled Katara back to the world around her. Zuko was aiming a massive burst of fire towards Azula, who was performing a strange bending move. Energy crackled around her, and just before Zuko's blast reached her, she pointed aggressively towards Aang, and a bolt of lightning shot from her fingers.
The lightning sliced through the air, it's eerie glow trying to combat the light surrounding Aang. It flickered and flared, zipping across the cavern almost faster than Katara could see.
With a final crackle of energy, the lightning struck Aang square in his back.
Katara's eyes filled with tears as she watched her precious friend fell. At the height he had attained, he would surely die if he hit the ground, if the lightning hadn't…
She acted without thinking. Pulling as much water from the area as she could, Katara formed a massive wave. She pushed her arms out to either side, and rode the wave towards the Avatar, letting it swallow any Dai Li it passed over.
Just as Aang was about to hit the ground, Katara sent the wave out before her to cushion his fall. The allowed the remainder of the wave to carry her forward, wrapping around her and Aang's bodies to bring them together. When the water receded, she held the boy's limp form in her arms.
She looked down at him, tears streaming from her eyes. He can't...he can't be…
A/N: Hello, my dudes. I'm hoping you're enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it. As you can hopefully see, I'm keeping the (what I deem) inevitable parts of the show in my story, since...well...they're inevitable. Many things had to happen to the Gaang for them to become who they are at the end, and one of those includes Aang getting hit by lightning.
I also wanted to add that, due to the content that may be coming up, I may have to change the rating to T. If there are any younger readers, I apologize for this, as this move isn't meant to discriminate against you. I am simply complying with the standards as present on this site. Hopefully, by the time you age into the next category, the story will be done!
As always, please comment and let me know how you like it. I love reading other people's opinions of my work, even when they aren't very happy with my writing.
Stay sunny!