Author's Note: Here we finally begin the finale of Book 1. I've enjoyed the ride so far, even though it's taken so long. I hope you all have, too. However, at this rate, Distorted Reality will take another two years to finish! D:
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.
Book 1: Fire
Chapter 19: The Golden Siege, Part 1
He bent backwards under the crimson stream of fire as it passed dangerously close to his face, the heat rolling over his body and ruffling his clothes like wind. He curved his back and rolled to his feet, retaliating with a similarly powerful blast from his fists. He managed to make it curve, which was quite possible from the distance.
His opponent charged fire at her two fingertips and exploded the inferno at him, eating up his smaller attack and proceeding to charge toward him. The young man, in defense, summoned a thick wall of fire that circled around him and acted as a shield, protecting him from the blast.
"You are being too flashy! Use precision!" their teacher yelled at them.
A normal-sized fireball burst from the girl's fingertips as she heeded her master's advice, centering on the younger man before her. She sent a smaller, quicker flame at him, hoping to disorient her opponent. However, he leapt high above both blasts and retaliated from the air.
"Hey, not fair! He's using airbending!" Azula shouted.
Aang landed and kept his firebending stance. "No I'm not. I just jumped high," he answered with a smirk. She glared at him, hurling a fireball meant for distance and power. Aang thrust his palm forward in response at the fireball, shooting a continuous, powerful stream of fire from his hands. He followed his own attack as it was flying toward her, jumping forward into a double front flip and shooting another blast from his joined feet.
Azula managed to create a shield of fire in time, but the force of the blast still caused her to slide backwards. She retaliated quickly, firing another shot that exploded at his feet. He was thrown back, but recovered by back-flipping in the air, landing neatly on the ground. She spun twice, following up on the attack and kicking two arcs of flame at him.
Aang responded with complex hand movements and a lifting motion, summoning a wall of fire that easily absorbed her attacks. He then converted it into an attack and pushed it at her, but she poked her hands through it and dissipated the wall. She rushed at the Avatar with daggers of fire in her hands, swinging them as if she practiced fighting with knives all her life. He was taking a further step back with each dodge, but he managed to jump far enough away to attack her with a blazing disk of fire.
She dodged, extending her daggers into whips and swinging them at Aang from a longer range. He was able to jump and dodge around them, but a massive blast of fire destroyed her whips.
"That is enough," said Jeong Jeong, interrupting their practice session. Both Azula and Aang gratefully accepted the brief respite, hunching over and drawing deep breaths. "You two have progressed further than any student I ever taught in the past. Because of your fierce determination, you are both almost ready to become masters."
"Almost?" Azula sighed. "We've been working so hard." She was forced to tie her hair back up into a restricting topknot – she was sweating too much from all the firebending.
Aang fell flat on the ground, staring up at the clear blue sky. His chest was rising and falling with his continued deep breaths. He was mastering firebending far quicker than he mastered waterbending in his own world, but this time he had the advantage of foreknowledge. All of his previous skills and techniques were coming back to him – it was as if he had to exercise his 'bending muscles' to get all of his strength to return. It was why he was mastering firebending so fast.
But Azula… she didn't have that foreknowledge. She was progressing this quickly from her own skill. She was a true prodigy.
"The two of you have been harnessing the destructive powers of firebending," their Master explained. "Fire is the element of harmony and life."
"Well, there are two sides to it," Aang said. He knew this already. "There's the destructive side and the 'life-harmony' side. We're just using… both."
Jeong Jeong sent him a piercing glare with his hands folded behind his back. "Are you trying to tell me about my own art? Have you witnessed the true destruction that fire can bring? If you allow your firebending to go out of control, it can consume you." Aang glared right back at him. He had seen both sides of firebending. It wasn't his Master's right to assume.
Azula sighed again. "But we're better than that."
It was Jeong Jeong's turn to sigh. "This is why I have not accepted a firebending student in many years. They are all concerned about dominating their enemies with pure power. You must understand the warmth and life of fire before you can become true masters." Jeong Jeong began to walk away. "Now meditate on that."
Azula rolled her eyes. "He's just going to leave us here for another three hours again, isn't he?"
"Meditate!"
Zuko and Ty Lee were walking together in circles around the golden fire fountain.
However, the acrobat was balancing on the stone basin, standing slightly taller than him.
"Isn't this fun?" Ty Lee asked. "We're just hanging out… as friends."
"Yup. As friends," Zuko confirmed, though he didn't enjoy saying it.
"Only as friends," Ty Lee stated.
"Just a platonic relationship," Zuko reaffirmed.
"No romantic feelings whatsoever, nuh-uh."
"Yeah, because you're engaged and all."
They both stared at each other. "This isn't going to work," they said at the same time.
Ty Lee sighed and sat, downcast. "I'm sorry, Zuko."
"It's fine, but I don't fully understand…" he said, though he was lying. He wasn't fine. "Aren't arranged marriages a Water Tribe tradition?"
"Yeah," she said. "But I'm royalty. My Dad needs to marry me off someday, so I can rule the city with my husband." Zuko sat down next to her. "I don't get the freedom of choice like everybody else does…"
"That's part of the reason why you ran away, isn't it?" Zuko asked. "You don't even love him, do you?"
"That's not the point," Ty Lee said, shaking her head. "It's my duty. I've been engaged to the guy ever since I was born!"
"Who is he?" Zuko asked.
"Just the son of some nobleman."
"Do you even like him?" he questioned, frowning.
"He is so full of himself," Ty Lee admitted. "Our parents tried to get us to play together once or twice when we were kids, but he was sorta annoying and immature and we kind of fought a lot… Now, we barely even talk."
"Sounds like it'll be a happy marriage," Zuko commented sarcastically.
"Well, I'm not marrying him until I'm old enough," said Ty Lee. "I'm only fourteen now."
They sighed together.
"I guess there's nothing we can do, for now I guess," said Zuko.
As part of the Southern Water Tribe royal family, Kanna had the privilege that no other women had – she was able to join Admiral Bato on the flagship's observation deck. As head of the division of healers, Kanna was privy to all of the planning and was even supposed to be on the front lines of any battle, as all healers were. However, all women were forbidden to fight.
As if Kanna ever listened to that particular rule.
Bato stood regally with his hands behind his back as the flagship neared the small continent known as Agni's Eye. Kanna knew full well of all the mysticism and lore surrounding the island, but Admiral Bato seemed to ignore it completely.
Somehow, Bato was able to obtain a modern, up-to-date version of Fire Nation armor typical of a standard soldier, which he was currently wearing. Ten other waterbenders, disguised as a random assortment of Fire Nation citizens (some were in robes, others in Sun Warrior uniforms or armor) were going to infiltrate the city with him.
Secretly, Sokka was among them.
The Water Prince was garbed in a heavy red and gold cloak, heavily hiding his features even from Bato. Half of his face was even covered with cloth for extra protection. If the hood somehow fell off of his head, only his sharp blue eye would be revealed. Sokka was safe – for now.
"Tonight and tomorrow, the Water Nation will finally emerge victorious in the war over the Fire Nation," Bato spoke to his team. "We will take away the greatest weapon of the firebenders. They will be defenseless!"
Kanna's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
Bato wore a clever smirk. "While studying under General Pakkun in the Earth Kingdom, I came across an ancient library … while there, I discovered scrolls detailing the fall of the spirits of fire into the mortal realm."
"What are you going to do?" Kanna asked, her eyes wide with horror.
"I am going to destroy their own means of destruction," Bato said, chuckling to himself. "Those spirits will regret coming to the mortal world… Our world…"
"Do not tamper with the spirits, Bato! You'll get in over your head!" Kanna warned. "That is tricky and dangerous business. I'm warning you for your own good."
"I will not take advice from a sniveling woman who claims to have gone to the Spirit World. I did not take you on this conquest to give me council," he said sternly. Kanna was forced to keep her mouth shut and bow.
"Yes, Bato. I will stay in my place," she said quietly. Sokka clenched his fists.
"Good, good…" Bato turned to one of his regular soldiers, not part of the elite team. "Commander, tell the navy to prepare for battle. If my men and I are not back by noon tomorrow, commence the attack on the city.
"The full moon is on our side tonight…"
Zuko and Ty Lee sat together for a long time, not uttering a single word. Zuko finally looked up from his thoughtful reverie when he noticed the world was quiet and night had fallen. Most of the citizens were gone, asleep in their homes.
"Ty Lee, we should go," Zuko said to her. "Come on… I'll walk you home." She nodded quietly, her eyes lowered and her hands wringing nervously in front of her. They walked through the city of gold for a long time before she said anything.
"Look, Zuko… I'm sorry about everything."
"What do you need to be sorry about?" Zuko asked her, perplexed.
"Everything… my responsibilities are getting in the way of everything. I didn't want this to happen – I never planned on it. I don't know how I'll be able to choose. I don't know if we can be together…"
"What are you saying? Of course we can!" he protested. "Who cares if you're a Princess? I'm heir to the Fire Nation, aren't I? We should be fine together… we can both rule…"
"That's just wishful thinking, Zuko. A hopeless dream. It'll never happen," she said sadly.
"Ty Lee, this isn't like you…" The two stopped at a fork in the neat stone roads, caught passing by an empty alley. The moon was shining bright tonight, almost a perfect circle. They both took a moment to look up at the shining orb.
…And Ty Lee's feet were dragged out from under her. She cried out and reached for the boy.
"Ty Lee!" Zuko shouted, reaching towards the girl as she was dragged into the dark alley. Zuko drew his broadswords and rushed after her. Things were eerily quiet in the shadows. He called for Ty Lee again – but there was no answer. His silver swords were shining. Suddenly, he spotted a movement to his right, and he turned his head just in time to see a shining blue globule of water illuminated by the moon. The sphere crashed into his side, ramming him into the wall of a building.
Waterbenders! he shouted inside of his head. Two more seemed to appear from the darkness, dressed like Fire Nation citizens. What were they doing? Where was Ty Lee?!
Before he could figure out anything further, a tendril of water was lashed out at the boy. He rolled to the side, dodging the blow, but one of the other waterbenders shot a puddle on the ground. Zuko was just able to dodge ice spikes by pushing himself back off the ground with his hand. Without losing his momentum, the boy streaked toward the third soldier ready to strike him with an uppercut. The soldier tried shooting him with a bullet of water from his satchel, but the swordsman sidestepped and swung his sword at the man's unprotected shoulder.
He left that soldier alone for a moment to get the one that was closest to him. He ran toward the man, who tried creeping a ray of ice in the direction of his feet, but Zuko jumped above the attack and hit him in the face with a double spinning kick. He was knocked unconscious immediately, but before Zuko could regain his balance, the first waterbender struck him in the air with a water bullet. The swordsman crashed against the ground, but it knocked him near the soldier with the cut shoulder. From the floor, Zuko wheeled his feet above his head, striking the soldier two or three times in the midsection. He went down.
Before the first waterbender could hurl more water at him, Zuko threw one of his own broadswords. The man knocked the blade aside with a stream of water, which was what Zuko intended – his broadswords were not made for stabbing. Instead, Zuko's freed hand passed by his pocket and threw three knives with pinpoint accuracy, hitting him in the sleeves and pinning him against the stone wall.
Prior to his recovery, Zuko ran at him with his remaining broadsword. The man cringed, expecting to be killed, but the younger fighter simply hit him in the face with the hilt of his weapon, knocking him unconscious. His work finished, Zuko bent down to pick up his sword and pluck his knives from the wall, causing the waterbender to crumple to the floor. All three soldiers were unconscious.
"What's going on here?!" a voice asked hurriedly, rushing into the alleyway. Zuko's eyes widened upon seeing him – topknot, sleeveless vest, blood red shorts and all.
Chan was here.
Chan seemed just as surprised to see Zuko. "What are you doing here?" he asked distastefully. Zuko spotted a dark bruise which was still on his cheek, and he smirked, satisfied.
"I should ask the same of you," Zuko replied gruffly, sheathing his broadswords. Chan's own longsword was on his hip. Zuko remembered their duel in the tournament well – a battle Zuko had won.
"I live here," Chan responded in the same manner. They stared each other down for a good moment, but then Chan seemed to recall why he was there in the first place. "What the hell happened here?"
"Waterbenders attacked," Zuko said darkly. "They've infiltrated the city. They took Ty Lee."
"Let me go!" Ty Lee struggled against her bonds, but with her wrists and ankles both tied, she couldn't do a thing. The rope was cutting painfully into her skin, rubbing her wrists raw. "What do you want?"
"Shut up, you little brat," Bato silenced her. Half a dozen of his soldiers were still with him – one or two of them disabled for the moment, because of the little Princess. It took all of them to fight her off and hold her back. "You're the Princess of the Golden City – take a guess."
Ty Lee stopped struggling for a moment, and screwed her face up in concentration. "Hmm… I dunno."
Bato slapped his forehead. "You're a suitable hostage, you idiot!"
"Ohh…" she exclaimed softly. "That sorta makes sense. You're kinda creepy though."
Bato stared at her blankly. She'd be a good insurance plan, as long as his plan worked. "Your father will have to make a choice… the life of his daughter… or his city."
"No!" Ty Lee shouted, her face becoming angry. "I would die for my city."
"Oh, but would your father make the right decision?" he asked, his eyes glinting. Everything was falling into place – this girl was just a boon.
Behind him, masquerading as one of his hooded waterbenders, Sokka crept away from the group into the night.
Zuko was able to notify the High Chief of the Golden City in time. In response, Zhuzhen called in all the defenders of the metropolis. Many Sun Warriors and soldiers in standard Fire Nation uniform were congregated in the central hall of Zhuzhen's Palace. Aang, Azula, and Zuko were quiet as he spoke.
"This will be one of our greatest moments," Zhuzhen began, speaking loudly. All eyes and ears were on him. "As many of you know, a massive Water Tribe fleet is on our waters. They will stop at nothing – except death – until we are out of their way. Fight hard, everyone. Fight with the fire in our hearts. Our strength will prevail. We will eradicate the Water Tribes from our fiery land. To victory!"
Some men and women had tears in their eyes. Some were tense and expecting many faces to disappear forever. However, everyone cheered at his words.
Quietly, so no one else could hear him, Zhuzhen spoke to Zuko. "Come with me. I have a special mission for you." Aang and Azula nodded at their friend and brother as he stood up to stand by Zhuzhen and Jeong Jeong.
"What is it?" Zuko asked him. Chan suddenly appeared at the High Chief's side.
"I want the two of you to find my daughter and keep her safe."
The sun was rising. It was a new day.
"The quietness before battle is deafening," Zhuzhen said privately to Aang, sitting on Appa, as they waited for their soldiers to finish preparations. The two were sitting in front of the Golden Palace, overlooking the shining sea of gold before them. They could not see the ocean – Aang felt constricted and tense. They would not immediately know when the Water Navy was coming.
"I'm used to it," Aang said gruffly. Zhuzhen sent him a questioning look. "I was there when my people were attacked. But I couldn't save them. Maybe things will be different this time." Aang didn't voice it, but he was thinking on a much larger scale than just this battle.
Zhuzhen nodded. "I hope so."
Aang gripped Appa's reins. "Well, I better get going now. I'll see their numbers and I'll try to hold them back as long as I can." And, after double checking to see if his sword was at his side, he soared into the sky on his bison's back, over the crater's rim and past the gigantic mountain.
…But there were already Water Tribe soldiers climbing up the mountain.
The city was eerily silent as Zuko and Chan returned together back to where Ty Lee was kidnapped. Zuko did not like this turn of events, but he was trying to find Ty Lee, and he would do anything to complete his task… even work with his bitter rival. Chan, as usual, was annoying and full of himself, thinking he could recover Ty Lee alone.
"She's my fiancé, man. I should be saving her," Chan said once.
"What?!" Zuko roared, turning on the other teenager. "Ty Lee has to marry you?"
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Chan asked unflinchingly. Zuko took a deep, calming breath and turned away from him.
"Nothing… let's just keep looking…"
Azula was at the front of the Palace, hating every moment she could not be out there fighting with Aang. His stupid logic said she would be safer in the city while he fought the soldiers on the mountain – alone – and try to prevent them from entering. She could not believe how stupid he was being. He left her behind to fight with all the other Golden City forces, if they ever infiltrated the natural walls of the volcano's rim.
She was torn between dismissing him in his stupidity and ripping her hair out in worry.
Why did he make her feel this way?
Almost as if on cue, Aang seemed to materialize in the sunlight. First, he was a shadowed blob, but as he neared, she was able to identify the Avatar on his bison. He landed right in front of her, but Zhuzhen rushed over to the scene.
"What happened?" Azula asked him sharply. "You're back early."
He was panting and sweating. "There's too many of them."
A cold weight dropped into her stomach. If the Avatar couldn't help them, who could…?
"They have too many catapults, too much water that they're carrying with them," Aang continued. "There are so many marching up to the mountain. I blew some of them off, but they kept coming back. They don't need the Navy. They outnumber us already."
And then a massive block of ice sailed into the city, crashing into stone and obliterating a building. More followed from the catapults perched on the mountain. That meant that the portion of the city outside of the volcano must have been attacked already… they were being overrun. Soon, the troops would storm in through the main entrance. The Golden City couldn't risk shooting their own fireballs outside of the volcano … they might end up hitting the poorer townspeople outside.
"Do you have any ideas?" Zhuzhen asked hopelessly. Aang thought for a moment, but then something clicked. He seemed cautious, but excited.
"Are there any spirits nearby?"
Aang mentally cheered as Zhuzhen nodded and told him of the most spiritual place in the city. He began to lead them to the back of the Palace. Aang had a plan … he wondered what would await him there. Everything depended on what would happen once he got there. Was it a Spirit Oasis? Something else?
He needed to talk to Koh. Or some other ancient spirit. It didn't matter.
"Are you going to ask the spirits for some powerful spirit bomb attack?" Azula asked eagerly. Aang laughed.
"No, but some wisdom would be nice," he answered. She visibly deflated in response.
"Aang! Azula!" Three heads turned to Zuko, who was running toward them and shouting their names. "What are you doing? What's going on?"
"Where is my daughter?" Zhuzhen immediately interjected.
"I don't know," Zuko said to him quickly. "Chan gave up on the search. I don't know where he went … but there's no sign of her."
"You're giving up, too? What if she's in danger?" Zhuzhen asked aggressively.
"She's not," said Aang confidently. "Since she was kidnapped, they probably want to use her as a hostage or something. They might want either gold or the city."
"Gold is fine. The city, not so much," said Zhuzhen.
"We won't let that happen – but either way, they'll contact us first," Aang said. "She'll be fine until then." There's something more important now.
Zhuzhen sighed. "Ty Lee is very important to me."
"Well, you certainly gave her a warm welcome," Azula said sarcastically.
"I know," Zhuzhen said sadly. "Ty Lee has so much on her shoulders. She deserves so much more. Her responsibility extends past just the needs of the city."
"What do you mean?" Zuko asked.
This is it…
"I will explain when we get to the Altar," Zhuzhen said flatly. Zuko and Azula nodded. Aang almost fell over.
"Where is it?" Azula asked. "What is it?"
As soon as Azula asked her question, a grand, golden door became visible to them. It was inlaid with glittering rubies and sunstones, and etched runes dictating an ancient man surrounded by two dragons, blowing fire from their maws. Three cylindrical tubes spouted from the door.
It was a lock.
And firebending was the key.
Aang, Azula, and Zhuzhen seemed to think of this with a shared mind. And, as one, they all moved to blow fire into the tubes. Slowly, the door began to grind open, and the sight they saw elicited three gasps.
The first thing that dominated their view was a T-shaped structure, except that it was enormous. It was actually a grand, steep staircase with walkways on the top that led into two opposite tunnels. On the floor, at the base of the stairs, was a series of watery canals that coiled around the middle, then spread outwards. Standing in the middle, Aang realized that the water formed the shape of the sun, if it were to be viewed from above.
"This is the Dragon Altar," Zhuzhen told them. And then it hit the airbender – this was the location of the last two dragons in his world.
"Are there really dragons here?" Azula looked around eagerly, as if one of them were to pop out at her.
"Yes… the last two," Zhuzhen stated. "The rest were killed at the beginning of the war, fighting with the firebenders on the front lines."
"Why are firebenders so close to the dragons?" Azula asked. "I saw murals of them all over town."
"Firebenders originally learned from the dragons, Azula," Aang said, remembering that tidbit of information.
"They admired their majesty and inner strength and made it their own," Zhuzhen added.
"So where are they?" Azula asked grudgingly.
"In their tunnels, obviously," Zuko stated. He turned to Zhuzhen. "So what were you saying about Ty Lee…?" He seemed slightly afraid to ask.
The High Chief sighed. "She has a terrible responsibility on her shoulders… one I would not like to see carried out." Aang held his breath. "When she was born, she was terribly sick. We knew she wasn't going to live." It was coming. "She was our youngest daughter of seven, and we were deeply saddened by the news… The Fire Sages told us to offer her body to Agni, the First Dragon living in the sky and the sun. She was placed on top of this altar."
Aang, Zuko, and Azula were silent.
"Then, to our astonishment, the two dragons burst from their lairs and flew in circles around her," Zhuzhen said. "We didn't know what was happening. We were afraid to go and retrieve the baby. And suddenly, they perched on the sides of the altar… and blew fire at my daughter." Zuko's eyes were wide. Azula was indifferent. Aang expected something like that. "We thought they burned her to a crisp as punishment…but instead, the fire seemed to be life-giving. They rejuvenated her and gave her the strength to overcome her sickness.
"Now, Ty Lee literally lives with the spirit of Fire inside of her."
And that was what Aang needed to know. He moved to the center of the water-Sun and sat on the ground, pushing his fists together.
"Aang, what are you doing?" Azula asked, staring at him oddly.
"I'm meditating. I need to be in the Spirit World. I'll be right back. We don't have much time." He closed his eyes. When they opened again, they were glowing with the power of the Avatar Spirit.
"That was quick…" Zuko commented.
"We'll protect Aang," Azula said, half to Zhuzhen and half to herself. "We can't let anybody get to his physical body, or he won't be able to find his way back." The heavily robed man seemed very interested.
"Go find Chan," the High Chief said to Zuko. "He should help, since he ran off earlier. With the Water Tribe forces in the city, you'll need all the help you can get." Zuko didn't seem too happy about it, but he acquiesced.
Zuko quickly witnessed the destruction of the Golden City firsthand.
The waterbenders stormed into the city, using all four of their water skins to rip down any opposition. And since they entered the city, more water was available to them. They were intimidating in their wolf-like armor. However, the Fire Nation soldiers rose up against them, wielding spears and swords and their element. Komodo rhinos clashed with buffalo-yaks. They were passionate and true to their name – they each carried a bit of the spirit of Agni.
Was Chan down there somewhere? Or was he hiding like a coward?
Were the other major players of this game present at the Golden City? Were Bato and Sokka there?
Aang's body was motionless and he was silent. Azula stared at the boy – his shaggy dark hair covering his head and most of his arrows, his glowing eyes, his clothes, so reminiscent of a firebender's… As she watched, she protected. And she was prepared for anything. With the sun on her back, she now felt that she could conquer any foe.
"You don't have to worry, Aang," she said to him quietly, clenching her fist. She seemed to forget Zhuzhen was still there. "I'll protect you."
"You really think so, don't you?" Azula's head spun to the direction of the voice. She let out a small gasp of surprise and immediately took a controlled firebending stance. She should have expected this.
"I'm not surprised to see you, Sokka," she answered.
"I'll go find Zuko!" Zhuzhen said to Azula, rushing past Sokka unhindered to go get help. Aang was Sokka's target. Azula was just in the way.
The firebender was the first to attack, shooting rapid fireballs from her pointed fingers. Azula wanted to damn the streams of water all around her and Aang – it would serve to be her disadvantage. And Sokka took full use of them, calling up a wall of water to block her attack. It circled around him and returned at her, but she spread her arms wide and evaporated the attack with a wall of fire. The red blockade stretched into the sky, where it dissipated with nothing left to burn.
Sokka attacked now, running at her as he gathered water behind him, ready to send it in a rush at the girl. Azula could not dodge – Aang was behind her and the attack would hit him. So she simply rose to the challenge with a blast of fire aimed at the Water Prince, but the liquid swirled in front of him and blocked the blow. He sent it at her once, which was blocked, and then spun it at her again, which was also stopped with another wall of fire.
Sokka was slightly short of breath. "You filthy savage. You've found a master, haven't you?"
She simply smirked in reply.
She punched, kicked, and blew flames at him, but with solid footing he slid water across the floor, blocking every one of her attacks. They were extremely close to each other now. She had the advantage of close combat. Fire wreathed her fist as she sent a solid punch at the waterbender. He blocked the brunt of the blow with a watery defense, but the force of it still pushed him back.
Azula took a deep breath, feeling the power of the sun enhancing her strength. She shot a stream of fire from her right hand, but extended it and thinned it, turning it into a whip as she pulled it away from Sokka. She twisted and coiled it in the air, sending each concentrated lash at the waterbender. She had him on the run. She was winning.
It felt glorious … she felt powerful.
Sokka suddenly found time to stop, raising his arms and causing water to rush at the firebender from both sides. She surrounded herself in a dome of fire, protecting her from attack, but when she lowered it she saw ice spikes levitating on either side. They rushed in at her.
Regular fire would not be enough to melt them in time. A simple shield wouldn't protect her from the piercing attacks. It was feeble to try and protect herself.
But Azula wasn't the type to give up.
She pointed her fists at the clusters of ice spikes and forced as much fire from them as she could. The heat from the flames she was expelling overwhelmed her, but she needed more, faster, before the spikes could reach. She pumped more heat and more energy into the flames.
And, quite suddenly, the golden fire turned an electric blue. She was glowing brighter than any other fire in the dimming sunlight.
Azula smirked again. The ice spikes were obliterated.
She shot a torrent of the blue fire into the air, only exerting a little more energy than normal to maintain it, and dragged the fire down to the ground, right on top of Sokka. He threw himself onto his back, summoning a large amount of water to dispel the attack, causing a hiss of steam to rise from his form.
Sokka was still able to stand. He wore a look of pure rage as he looked at the girl, his single blue eye narrowed to a slit. And then they both realized something.
Night had fallen. The moon was releasing silver light above, full and bright. Now it was Sokka's turn to smirk.
Water rose on all sides of Azula, storming out of the sun design, glowing ethereally with blue. She could not hope to combat Sokka's full power under the full moon. Before she could react, the whole torrent of water clashed with her and threw her against the stone ground, unmoving.
When the water and steam from her feeble defense cleared, Azula's head swimming, she saw Sokka standing victoriously over her, holding Aang by the collar of his shirt. He had won. As she was swimming in and out of consciousness, Sokka spoke.
"You rise with the sun. I rise with the moon."
Several hours later, well into the night, Azula awoke. The first thing she did, of course, was to search around, panicked. Where was Aang?!
Sokka had taken him… she had failed. The Avatar was taken right out from under her.
…She still wasn't strong enough.
Author's Note: And that ends Part 1 of the finale of Book 1! Tell me how it was in a review, everybody :)
Part 2 is coming soon...
