ZW 2015 Day 4: Rue

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Lost

Azula will rue the day she cheated in the Agni Kai, Zuko vows, holding Katara's body in his arms as his sister disappears into the flames.

The double headed rat viper has poisoned his sister, and as Zuko watches the blood drain from her body and pool at her side, he feels no vindication, no satisfaction, only a greater despair that bottoms out his heart.

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Azula will rue the day she cheated in the Agni Kai, Zuko vows, holding Katara's body in his arms as his sister disappears into the flames. Electricity still stands in the air, making his hair stand on end and his fingertips spark against ruined clothes. Choking back the stench of burnt skin and blood, he pulls Katara close to his chest and calls Appa, voice ragged from the smoke and mind muddled from the battle.

"Do you think Aang came back?" He asks the beast.

Appa responds with a mournful low, and Zuko wonders where he should go, what he should do. They hadn't made a plan for where to meet-they hadn't known if any of them would live through the night, or whether Aang would fight the Fire Lord-and Zuko knows he'll never defeat his father if the Fire Lord returns, but he can't carry a dead waterbender six ways across the world until he finds her brother, either.

He'll stay here, just for a few moments, and rest. Uncle said a man needs his rest.

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The others arrive after hours that stretch out like days. General Iroh sets to installing Ozai in prison as the children bicker amongst themselves about whether Aang did the right thing, but in the end, the man is locked away and it doesn't matter anyway. "Where are Katara and Zuko?" Aang finally asks, shifting his staff from hand to hand.

Sokka's jaw clenches. "They probably thought the war balloon meant the Fire Lord won. We'll have to find them. Toph, can you see them?"

Toph frowns. "I'm not sure."

"Way to give us confidence, Toph!" His voice is just a little too shrill.

"Sorry," she mutters. Stamping her foot harder, Toph listens, waiting. The silence is thick and heavy. Sokka adjusts his weight, leaning heavily on Suki.

"I think I see Zuko."

"Where?!" Aang demands. "Where's Katara?"

Toph huffs. "Just because I'm the greatest earthbender in the world doesn't mean I know everything!"

In lighter times, Sokka might ask for that in writing, but these are not light times. "Let's just go find Zuko. He'll know where Katara is."

Toph takes off toward a smoking pile of ruin on the far side of the palace, with Sokka (aided by Suki and a thick walking stick) and Aang not far behind.

A knot forms in Sokka's stomach when they enter the arena. There's Zuko, in scorched and ragged clothes, on his knees before a girl in blue. He is bent over, forehead nearly touching the floor. Toph skids to a stop, mouth open, and then she sprints and dives into Zuko. There's red in his eyes when he looks up and sees them. He clutches Toph to his chest, embracing her around the shoulders and waist as he struggles upright so her feet are a few inches above the ground.

"Sokka. I'm so, so sorry." He struggles to keep his voice from breaking over the words.

The other boy reacts differently than Zuko expects-he had been anticipating being attacked, screamed at, spit on. Instead, Sokka's face crumples, and he turns away, hobbling on his badly injured leg. "It should have been me," he whispers, and then he is gone in the clouds of smoke. Suki stays a beat, hand over her mouth and salty water in her eyes, deliberating. She follows him, sparing another glance over her shoulder.

Aang's fingers hover over the lightning burn on Katara's chest. "Why didn't you save her?" He demands.

"I tried," Zuko growls. "I wasn't fast enough."

"You should have redirected the lightning!"

"I tried!" Zuko bellows. "I told her to stay out of the fight. I tried to intercept the lightning before it hit her. I sent Appa away in case the Fire Lord came back. I did everything I could."

Aang's arrow begins to glow white. "You didn't save her." A thousand voices echo in the arena as he begins to rise from the packed dirt.

"You think I don't know that?"

"Stop it!" Toph shouts, squirming out of Zuko's grip. She jerks a rock out of the ground, slamming it into Aang and bringing him down. The white light fades as his eyes flutter closed. "Maybe he'll feel better after a nap." Her tone is caustic.

Zuko slumps, putting his head in his hands. "I just wasn't fast enough."

"I know," Toph whispers, and she sinks to the ground next to him. What would Katara say? "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," he growls, but he drops back down to his knees.

She can tell he's lying. "What happened to Azula?"

"She's dead."

Toph tilts her head. "Where?"

Zuko shrugs noncommittally. Probably halfway to the Earth Kingdom, the way the wind is going."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"There was something off about her. I thought I could handle Azula, but I was wrong."

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His muscles screamed as he leaped out of a dead sprint, and the electricity scorched his fingertips as he reached for the lightning bolt. Then he was falling, hitting the dirt with a heavy thud and a few sharp cracks, and the lightning was still moving, running, flying, colliding. She didn't make a sound. "Katara!" Please heal yourself. Don't let it end like this.

Azula screeched, a sharp cackle that ripped through his head like an axe. "Oh, Zuzu. Mother is disappointed in you."

Gingerly, he pushed himself to his feet. "Mom isn't here, Azula."

Her eyes were wild and her hair stood on end as she called the lightning to her again. "Of course she is," Azula spat. "She's been following me around all day."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

Her arms began to move in the familiar circular motion, and Zuko stretched his hand out to meet the bolt. None came. The energy exploded in her face, knocking her halfway across the arena, rolling and bouncing violently across the smooth surface. Zuko took the opportunity to run to Katara-Please don't be gone, please, please-but when he skidded to a stop at her side, she was limp, hands beginning to cool where he touched them. The lightning had struck her heart. Trembling, Zuko turned her to face up and pulled her close. "This wasn't supposed to happen, Katara. You were supposed to stay out of the way. You were supposed to let me fight Azula." He shuddered. "She won't get away with this. She'll be sorry."

But then there was a shriek in his ear as his sister launched herself at him, flames burning blue-tinged gold behind her, and Zuko reacted. He pulled his knife out of his boot, the engraving flashing in the light, and he stopped her, stopped dead. She looked at him, shocked, for the first time in as long as he could remember.

"You wouldn't."

Zuko swallowed, his throat suddenly tight. "I did."

Azula's laugh had become garbled, as if she was underwater. He had his revenge. The double headed rat viper had poisoned his sister, and as Zuko watched the blood drain from her body and pool at her side, he felt no vindication, no satisfaction, only despair. She was right, after all. Mom would have been disappointed, and Katara was quiet and still on his other side. The double headed rat viper poisoned him, too.

So he made a stream of fire, steady, white hot, controlled. Hot enough to melt down the steel of his knife, hot enough to turn bone to ash, hot enough that he could say his sister, born of fire, died by the same, that no one will know she lost to a blade or that her lightning failed her.

And then he dropped to his knees, touching his forehead to the ground to keep the nausea at bay, and he rested.

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A/N: My muse is being a buttface. You guys will tell me if I've completely failed to make this readable, right? It was a bear.