~ Sozin's Comet ~
Into the Inferno
Ryuu POV
If it wasn't basically an incendiary bomb, it would've been beautiful. Orange hues bled through the sky in trailing patters as Appa shot quite briskly towards the capital, barely skimming the waves. The outline of the volcano was now visible on the horizon as Katara and Zuko stared ahead. The waves beneath us crackled with the reflection of the comet - which was screeching into the atmosphere. Zuko shivered suddenly.
"It'll be alright," I squeezed his shoulder softly, "You have us. Besides, What'sthe worst that could happen?"
Zuko shook his head and continued staring ahead, "It's not that... I feel - different. More- well - lighter, in a way."
Katana leaned over the edge of the saddle with a wistful smile, "Is it the comet? You know the magical power up thing."
"Yeah, probably..." He sighed heavily, "I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father? What if he loses?"
I glanced back at Katara, who was busy checking her water skin while answering cautiously, "Aang won't lose. He's gonna come back. He has to."
"He will," I smiled, determined to the point of craziness, "We will."
Zuko gripped the reigns as if he was strangling them, "You're right, Ryuu. We will win this... We will take down Azula and My Father - Together."
We ascended to graze over the flaming gates of Azulon and sped past the patrol boats without much bother. The capital loomed at us in the orange haze of the comet like a monster. Hideous, jagged teeth that wated to swallow us whole... With a sighing laugh, a thought struck me - it was my birthday. Flying towards mortal combat in a dormant volcano is not usually how one would spend their 16th birthday, but this was to end the mother of all wars. Zuko touched my hand, which snapped my attention towards him.
"If- if I shouldn't make it... promise you'll take care of Azula for me. I love you, you do know that, right?"
I pursed my lips, "You will make it-"
"Ryuu, please," his tone sounded pained. I nodded and leant over to hug him, "I promise. "
He submitted to the hig, but managed to catch my waist and pull me back and into a kiss. It was like the last kiss in Ba Sing Se - rushed and full of regret. Knowing, too, that it could well be our last. He pulled back and watched as a beam spread over my features.
"I promise that, in the rare occurrence you are... not able to fight, I'll do whatever it takes to protect Katara and take down Azula. "
Katara peeked over the saddle with a saddned smile as Zuko nodded slowly, "I won't, but if it comes to it - I can die in peace..."
Appa started to descend towards the capital - tired of flying so fast. Something big was happening in the capital as we came over rim of the volcano and pulled towards the Imperial Palace. Fire Sages. The crown glinted in the Comet light as it lowered dangerously close into Azula's top-knot. Zuko gasped and slid off of Appa's head just before we hit the ground, in a no-nonsense mood.
"Sorry, but you're not gonna become Fire Lord today. I am."
I slid down next to him - Katara his to other side - as Azula scoffed and burrowed her hazy golden discs into each of us in turn:
"You're hilarious."
Katara stepped forward hesitantly as the Fire Sage kept lowering the crown into Azula's top-knot, "And you're going down."
It took a moment before the Princess waved her hand and got to her feet, "Wait. You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"
Nope. Bad idea - very bad idea. I turned to Zuko as he agreed to it, however, and snarled at his poor choice. He grit his teeth and curved his lips into a distinct frown. Katara was neither very pleased about this decision.
"What are you doing? She's playing you. She knows she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us!" Katara hissed through barely moving lips. I nodded at the statement eagerly - Zuko ignored logic, "I know. But I can take her this time."
I huffed, "Are you crazy? You know you need help with her. Just let us sette this without having to fi-"
"Ryuu," Zuko snatched my hand quite harshly, "I need to do this - Azula would never see reason with words. Anyway, there's something off about her. She's slipping..."
He was right, I had to admit. Azula looked - well - insane. Her fringe was sliced at a jaunty angle and it hung loose over her face. Katara's hand unconsciously went to un-stopper her water skin as the Princess signalled for us to follow her towards the Agni Kai Courtyard.
...
"- it shouldn't go wrong, but if it does... Katara can heal me-"
"And I'll have to defeat Azula, " I drew a nervous breath as Zuko knelt down to Zduel his sister. Comet enhanced dualling, that was. Katara leaned against a pillar and drew her hands backwards and forwards, as if practicing healing Zuko. He gazed up at me with a surprising amount of fear in his eyes.
"I promise you I will win this," he forced a confident tone, "If anything should go wrong - wbich it won't - I love you, My Flame."
Azula, who knelt the otherside of the courtyard, got to her feet and threw her Fire Lord shoulder-pads to the floor. She hollered across as Zuko cautiously turned to face her, "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother."
Zuko cringed sligh, before icing over his features, "No you're not."
Ever the Captain Obvious... Azula kicked out a wall of Blue flame, which Zuko blocked fairly easily. It roared around him and at Katara and I. If it wasn't for Water Girl, I would've been toast - literally - as she caumy collar and hauled me behind a pillar. She grabbed my neck and clung onto me as the flames rippled to a hault. She was shaking with fear.
"Hey, It's okay," I murmured into her hair, "I know you're scared. It's fine, we all are..."
Fire and heat made the air crackle around us in the most ferocious and unforgiving way. All we could do was pray to our respective spirits that nothing bad would happen; Zuko yelled and an impenetrable wall of orange-red flame spiralled towards Azula.
He stood, bent over, panting, while waiting impatiently to see if the Princess was inceinirated or not. She wasn't as she propelled herself up using fire. The increasingly hotter flames wove themselves in the air; Katara gasped as an ember floated past us, followed by more and more. Smoke - a wooden building was on fire. Tiles shattered and exploded left, right and center from the extreme temperatures put apon them.
"Tui's gills... we're not going to make it..." Katara buried her face into my shoulder. I was thinking much the same as another turret of blue flame came precariously close to us. Zuko... how could he keep this up for much longer? A yell and the blast of red flame ricochet around the Court. That was our morbid answer; he was tiering. But do, fortunately, was Azula as she bought her leg down - creating a whip of fire.
Three more barrages of flames lashed like ever increasingly powerful waves as Katara and I huddled behind the pillar for dear life. Zuko grunted and orange flame billowed into the sky above us - another almost identical blue explosion shot into the sky above the Princess. Building crackled with the shere intensity of the heat as he two siblings continued the assault.
Streams of red and blue tumbled and mixed as they lit up the comet coloured sky in a deadly dance. One last surge almost burnt Water girl and I as we desperately sheltered behind the now baking hot stone pillar. Then something stopped the flames. We slowly peeked around the stone, before stepping out completely - extremely confused. Azula was stumbling as she took her stance. She propelled herself from jets of blue flame, but got hit with a triple kicked flame from Zuko.
She hit the ground but pushed back up with a determined snarl on her face. Her hair was loose and they way she stood was awkward - weaker and more erratic. Zuko began taunting her, which was never wise.
"No lightning today? What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?"
Katara gingerly let me go so she could get a better view of what Azula was doing. Said Princess pointed her fingers and barked: "I'll show you lightning!"
Light flickered and too many things all happened at one. The lightning burrowed its way thrthe air towards Katara. I growled and quickly proceeded to shove her out of the way - my arms raised over my head as I prepared to take the shock. But it never came. Zuko collapsed onto the ground; lightning arcing around his body. Realisation set in as Katara skidded over towards him. Smoke rose from his chest and a bloody scar was all too visible... he was burning inside-out. Katara drew water from her water skin and set about healing as I slid to thier side.
"What- what... Will he...?"
Katara was intently staring at the wound, "I don't know. "
I tried to remain laid-back and sarcastic as Zuko rasped a breath, "That fills me with confidence... please heal him..."
With a static nod, Katara worked harder and much more intently on the wound; The water glowered brighter and brighter as she put more of her own chi into the healing process. She was amazingly strong. It was impressive beyond belief as Zuko slowly opened his blood-shot eyes. His hazy golden discs stared at nothing in particular.
"Hey," My voice started to crack with tears, "Zuko? Can you- you-"
Katara clasped her eyes shut and the water glowered ever brighter as a result, "He can hear you. It's just- just his diaphragm... and heart... are dangerously close to being burnt..."
"No... no, no, no!" A few tears escaped my eyes, "No! He has to live!"
Water girl grimmaced and rolled her hands in a smoothing action so her palms quickly faced upwards, before she splayed out her fingers and massaged the glowing water with her fingertips. A tear rolled down her cheek, so I sweapt it away for her. With closed eyes and grimmaced mouth, she grunted a thanks. This was no time for me to be crying... Earlier I had made a promise to Zuko and it was time to keep it.
Said boy groaned and clawed at the cobblestones - he was still alive. Good. But only just. Bad. Katara took her concentration away from the water for a moment and stared up at me with a shaky breath.
"Go kick Azula's butt for me..."
On que, the Princess cackled and lifted her arm to attack. Her face was screwed up with hatred as I winced at the thought - 'How the blazing fire-fox am I supposed to deal with HER?!' This was some birthday...
