She woke up as if entangled in a web of floating thoughts... dreams... unsure of how much time had elapsed since that moment she'd sunk into crumbling cement. All her blue eyes could note was a ceiling, then – and thank goodness, it was intact. No smoke. No tremors from the ground that came from deadly, threatening fire blasts.
And she remembered Zuko.
Her head jerked, searching for her friend's face and realizing she'd been sleeping on a bed – a flat, hospital cot that could only be from Nurse Yugoda's clinic. A brief sense of relief came to her mind; she knew she was safe. But... what about the others? She wriggled her legs a little under the bedsheet and felt the bruises still present all over... as bandaged-up as she must've looked now.
Strangely... Katara also felt a set of scrawny arms holding onto her... like a belt around her waist.
Aang?
Her heart rate quickened, craning her neck over in slight pain to see the person's face.
She smiled as she recognized those blue tattoos, however filthy and scarred his arms appeared. Apparently, the boy had fallen asleep in the midst of hugging her tightly, and Katara gazed at his closed eyes tenderly. In spite of how bandaged he was, lying crookedly next to her at the waist... the young airbender had never looked so peaceful.
Without fearing that the pain would agonize her, Katara raised an arm to brush some fingers behind Aang's ear. He stirred tenderly in his sleep, and the girl's eyes glimmered happily... silently thanking this amazing boy who'd stopped at nothing to protect the girl he loved.
Was it love?
She couldn't help but wonder, but nevertheless she didn't care. It felt so special, and undeserving at the same time. All Katara could do was smile.
It must've been a few, calm breaths before the rest of the hospital wing finally registered through her eyes. Song was making the rounds carefully tending to another student, and she saw Kuzon, massaging one of On Ji's ankles as they shared a cot in the corner. Katara then cautiously turned her head, noticing a lovely bouquet of waterlilies sitting on her night-stand, with a small card that could only be in Sokka's handwriting. As she looked closer, the signatures of Haru, Suki, Yue and a few others from the Omashu play appeared at the bottom.
She was just about to reach for a waterlily when a familiar face came through the door... who incidentally almost made Song spill her entire ointment bowl on the patient's knee as she turned.
Zuko was bandaged at the waist underneath his slightly-open robe, and if it hadn't been for a cast on one of his arms, Katara knew the boy would've done what he could to cover his bare chest. The prince could hardly contain that blushing foolishness about him, caving in at the frame as he exchanged a glance with his friend. She raised a brow.
"Is that... a chest hair?"
"Shut up," Zuko rolled his eyes, leaning his body against the nearest wall.
Katara laughed, softly so to not wake Aang up. "I'm glad to see you're okay."
"Yeah. You too," the prince turned his gaze down to the sleeping boy, and gave a slight chuckling sound. "Nurse Yugoda kept asking him to go rest on his own bed, but the kid wouldn't budge."
The girl smiled admirably back to her little hero, beginning to caress the blue tattoo on his head. "He saved us, didn't he?"
Zuko nodded, rubbing his bandaged stomach with his free arm. "My Uncle came to visit earlier... he said that Principal Roku is back. I think he's interrogating my sister as we speak."
"Hah, suddenly everything sounds so simple," she replied. "This means I still have to say my speech tomorrow, doesn't it," Katara pursed her lips in teasing disgust.
"Quit complaining," Zuko rasped mockingly, "at least you won't have to make cheesy, inspirational speeches to large masses of people for the rest of your life."
They laughed softly each to their own as Aang snuggled peacefully where he was. The shy little medical intern kept spotting their interaction every now and then, and it was Katara's instincts that led her to the next bold move.
Zuko had noted Song as she'd crossed the room to another patient, watching the girl's cheeks turn pink in an instant. As he awkwardly turned to Katara, she nudged him at a certain direction with her blue eyes.
"Go on," she said in a whisper, "go ask her!"
His good brow rose, taking another look at Song with a slight color in his cheeks. But after a moment's pause, Zuko sighed, making an inevitable grin that proved he was willing to try. Carefully, Katara reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a waterlily from her bouquet, handing it out to Zuko.
"Give this to her, first," she advised to her friend's nervous face as he received the flower, "Girls always like that."
Katara smiled, giving Zuko a reassuring look as the young prince stared deeply at the flower in his hand. He lingered for a bit, but then took a small breath and moved forward... but not without slightly stumbling in his walk. He must've looked so ridiculous, with his hair messed up and his robe slightly untied by the bandages, but Katara fought not to laugh - even as she watched the boy nervously scratch his head the moment he met Song.
The young waterbender grinned, seeing the two people awkwardly exchange facial expressions and inaudible words from the other side of that hospital room. By the look of Song's radiant smile as she received the flower, Katara knew this would end well... and she returned her focus to Aang to give those two a sense of privacy.
His grip on her waist hadn't changed, and the girl returned to caressing his head. She tried not to think about OmaShu, or the speech she would have to give right after the play was over. Her thoughts only lingered on this boy, whom she felt so lucky to have as a date for the Year-End dance.
"You got it!"
Smellerbee caught the small squeak in her voice and almost choked, but Mai didn't seem to notice. She was too enveloped in the multiple Salsa turns that Pipsqueak was giving her, trying to mimic the gracefulness of Bee and Longshot, while Jet watched both pairs in utter delight beneath the Oak Tree.
"What'd I tell you, Sharpy?" Jet teased, playing with a piece of straw in his mouth. "You're a natural with these turns."
"Whatever," Mai muttered, with only Pipsqueak close enough to note the grin on her face.
"I think we're ready for the final OmaShu piece," the tree-dweller then said, bringing himself out of the Oak's shade and taking his place in the routine. "Let's take it from the last Salsa dip and transition to the Hip-Hop lock."
Mai nodded, taking a small breath with Pipsqueak and Smellerbee as they formed a line behind Jet and Longshot. She could feel her insides tightening as she followed the movements, not having enough room in her mind to wonder when exactly she'd decided be a part of this strange group of dance-crazed kids. In a way, they didn't seem to be so strange to her anymore.
"MAI!"
A high-pitched voice came running out from the school, and Ty Lee's worried face bombarded through the dance lines to get the pale girl's attention.
"The hell–?" Pipsqueak couldn't even finish his stunned remark as Ty Lee started crying, hugging Mai so tightly.
"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry! I swear I didn't know what she was doing..." Ty Lee said between her sobs, all dramatic and childish, and the dark girl could only raise a questioning brow at her friend... and at Jet.
"Ty L--" the boy said carefully.
"She burned them." The once perky cheerleader lost all color in her face, her eyes splotched from the tears rolling against Mai's clothing. "She tore them off the walls, and... and I tried to Speak to her but she didn't stop! She just piled them up in the courtyard..."
Mai's eyes widened, feeling her lips fall dry as she exchanged a shocked, almost lifeless look to Jet. Smellerbee and Longshot also stared in disbelief, knowing exactly what the girl must've been referring to. The pale girl stepped back slightly, with Ty Lee losing her clutch as she looked up at Mai's bewildered face.
No... the girl thought, feeling her copper eyes glisten into a silver lining. She didn't...
"Mai?"
Jet called to her carefully, like he was mentally losing her as she stepped away. And immediately, the girl with jet black hair broke into fierce run towards the Praying Mantis courtyard. Her world was falling more into a blurry dark chasm with each step, feeling her heartbeats almost pound like thunder.
"Mai!"
The tree-dweller soon followed after her without question, along with a sniffling Ty Lee and the rest of the Oak Tree clan right behind him.
"Katara, um, could you help me a little?"
The day of the OmaShu performance had sprung to him as if waking up from a very intense, mesmerizing dream... and Aang was trembling so much onstage, he could barely place the cream-colored foundation over his face evenly. Kuzon had gone off immediately to help Haru after finishing his own make-up and the young airbender felt the bruises from yesterday's violent incidents suddenly return to him stressfully.
He spotted the lovely waterbender helping On Ji fit into her extravagant maiden costume nervously - a dress that now carried the autumn colors of the air nomads, instead of the traditional green of OmaShu's story. Katara had even taken the liberty of painting an intricate blue arrow beneath On Ji's forehead earlier, and Aang had never seen On Ji look so radiant and proud about her culture.
When Katara heard her name, the boy's heart gave a slight flutter as usual. She smiled and immediately finished sewing On Ji's tightly before going over to help Aang with his make-up.
Apparently Sokka had beaten her into helping the boy with his costume, but this Shu character looked like he had just stepped out of a airbender's ragged tent... his long orange shawl wrapped so sloppily around his shoulders.
"Here, let me do this first," Katara complied, silently asking Aang to hold his arms out so she could unwrap the shawl from his frame and redo it.
The loss of fabric almost gave the boy goosebumps, and Katara couldn't help but feel her stomach jump at the first sight of Aang's developing torso. She fought a blush on her cheeks, but it was too late. Even Toph - who had been getting costume-fitted by Suki at the very end of the stage - couldn't help but snort loudly by what she sensed. It felt a bit awkward... slowly holding out the shawl and intricately wrapping it tightly around Aang's frame... but as Katara kept her gaze towards the fearless young boy, the whole awkwardness seemed to disappear.
It even made her smile a bit, as Aang watched her with utter fascination.
"Thanks!" He said when he could finally bring his arms down and relax... his heart dangling wildly on a string as he tugged on his own shawl. "That actually feels much better."
"Oh, you're welcome," Katara responded sweetly, unable to take the smile from her face as she got the make-up kit. "Um... by the way, I'm not sure if I ever thanked you for what you did--"
"Katara... it's okay," the boy lingered on the ground, sitting meditatively while the girl placed a delicate cloth into the creme powder, "I mean it was my fault; I shouldn't have followed you into the lab. If I'd just listened, you and Zuko probably wouldn't have gotten in danger."
"No Aang, if it's anyone's fault... it's mine," Katara stared shamefully at the make-up for second, right before placing the first bit onto Aang's soft cheek. "I was the one who thought it was safe to deal with Azula alone... and Zuko told me himself... she was ready to kill you. I'm glad Principal Roku's back to deal with her; hopefully she'll get kicked out for good."
Those words brought somewhat of a relief back to Aang's system, and the soft touch of Katara's hand was practically bringing him into a deep sense of slumber as he sat down... but the boy's mind was troubled by something else. It was an image of that deadly, yet very graceful woman who had looked so passionate fighting with her own fire-blasts out in the open Earthbending Football field. The fact that Aang had never been able to understand Azula's fury was deepening him into a feeling of failure... like his duty as the Avatar was suffering because of it.
Wasn't it the Avatar's responsibility to know all sides of a certain story before any rash decisions were made?
Katara kept placing the make-up on his face, calmly and delicately, when the boy took up the courage to say what he felt... as ridiculous as it sounded.
"Do you think she deserves to be hated?"
The waterbender froze, stunned by such a question. "Deserves? Aang... think about what she did to you... and to On Ji, and to all the non-benders! She would've gladly let me die in that laboratory with Zuko if it meant that she could win this election without another fight. I could drown her easily for everything she'd tried to do this year..."
That image was grotesque, but Aang didn't argue with Katara's feelings, as she had every right to be upset. But still, Aang's mind lingered... going back to the very idea of Roku himself dealing with the betrayal of the Fire Lord - his best friend at the time - and leaving him to feel pain and humiliation for the rest of his life without ever picking him up from that shame. For the twelve-year-old boy... the image of seeing a radiant, determined young Princess fall into utter loneliness did not seem to be right thing to do.
But still, he remembered that fight in the woods. He remembered her dangerous fury to destroy the one thing that kept her from fulfilling her dream. And Aang could not help but feel that he'd sensed an unlikely fear within the princess's chiseling copper eyes.
The fear that she would always pass through this alone.
People were frantically gathering the last few pieces of stage set and props into the grand entrance of the Praying Mantis theater, as far as she could tell... watching with burrowing brows from the school's courtyard like a quiet, deadly rat viper. Haru was hauling orders as calmly as he could from one place to another, On Ji practically carrying her weight in costumes and makeup into the stage door.
It seemed plausible that nobody would notice a little bonfire happening from the back walls, the fumes of dry paint and canvas creating a surprisingly refreshing scent for the princess who stood at the corner. In her mind, this was a token of her own appreciation for them... not just for Mai, but for the ones who considered a fire before a grand theater performance a bad omen.
She massaged her aching right arm, remembering that horrible blow Jet had thrown with a hooked sword at some point in the woods, calling her a monster for trying to hurt a kid. And now Mai would arrive to this place at any moment, watching a small bonfire sprucing to life out of her own work. And the look on her face would be brilliant.
Azula turned around to hear the fast-paced feet in the distance, hearing the little husky voice of that scrawny girl scream something obscene at the sight of overhead smoke. It didn't take long for Mai's tear-stricken face to appear, her body slowing down into a yield as if the burning canvases and papers were slowing her own heartbeats. Her breaths came in spasms, and Azula watched the pale woman nearly cower in pain just before Jet caught up, holding her in place.
It disturbed Azula, strangely... watching Mai pant in small breaths as Jet embraced her, as if keeping her insides from exploding everywhere through her skin.
Sniffling, Ty Lee showed up within the Oak Tree crowd, bringing herself closer to Mai and touching her shoulder while she stared at Azula... extreme disappointment in her silver eyes.
And the princess felt herself swallow, an odd tremble going down her throat when these strange kids all began to glare at her direction, past the fire and past the overbearing smoke.
When Mai finally brought her head up to meet her former friend, her copper eyes looked as watery as glass, but just as fearless as her own. Azula huffed, bringing her chest up in as much pride as she could muster, understanding that she couldn't show any remorse with what she'd done.
Mai continued to breathe, slower... hearing the steady voice of Jet at her side telling her to calm down while she kept looking at the flame. It was slowly dying out.
Azula eyed it, too. "Would you care to feed the fire a little more?"
"BITCH!" Smellerbee immediately went at the princess, picking up a small rock from the ground and taking aim just before Longshot stopped her arm. Mai ended up holding her back, too. She seemed absolutely calm.
Jet looked apprehensive, letting Mai take her own steps with so much pain still coursing through her, and knowing full well she could swiftly reveal a dagger from under her sleeves. But instead, the pale girl crossed her arms in front of the fire, staring at Azula with so much hatred and regret filtering through her breaths.
"Aren't you going to fight me?" Azula asked then, her curious voice fuming.
When Mai spoke in her husk, it came with an unfamiliar sense of peace that made Ty Lee blink.
"Even if you burned my entire portfolio... I would never give you that satisfaction, Highness," she brought a small step back towards the Oak Tree clan as if protecting them with her very being. "Why don't you go find someone else to hurt, and see if they'll defend your stupid campaign?"
Azula felt her mouth trembling ferociously into a close, but Mai kept her calm and continued.
"But if you go after any of these people, I will fight you, Azula..." the girl didn't blink once as she spoke, holding herself close to the Oak Tree clan behind her, "...and I don't think anyone will care about what happens to you."
Ty Lee's eyes were glimmering, in such awe and fear by the sound of Mai's determined nature in front of the princess she'd once been so loyal to. She stared at Azula's mesmerized face, as if she'd just watched her own death be prophesied right before her eyes.
And the Oak Tree clan turned around and walked away from the flaking bonfire, with the defeated Fire Nation princess looking just as lonely as the cold cinders that marked the ground.
People had gathered into the grand auditorium of the Praying Mantis theater with great anticipation, and Katara could not help but feel giddy at the sight of her own teachers, her father, and even some of her Water Tennis teammates take seats and support her campaign. Aang was too busy going over his lines with On Ji somewhere backstage to look nervous at all... but one look at her distraught brother, and Katara wondered if Sokka would stay conscious to say his favorite line: "CHARGE!" Suki was trying the best she could to calm him down, while Toph flexed her arms roughly to prepare herself for some killer Earthbending maneuvurs with the Football Team. It made Yue and the delicate-looking waterbenders as well as the dance-passionate Oak Tree clan almost afraid to step on their toes backstage.
Katara made a small attempt to wave 'hello' at Zuko, who had just entered the vicinity with Song dressed as lovely as ever by his side. It felt a little sad, not being able to have Zuko in the production after all, but she felt happy to see the young man in such good company. Haru was standing near the wings, watching the crowd sit themselves down as well, feeling much more confident about this new take on The Tale of OmaShu.
The sudden presence of Principal Avatar Roku at the entrance almost made Haru's heart jump clearly out of his chest, and Katara gasped in utter delight... until the appearance of a silent, brooding Azula followed the Principal into the auditorium, along with Ms. Ursa, Mr. Iroh, and a very pissed-off vice principal Zhao. Things seemed to be going in her favor, but Katara could not help but see the sickened look on Azula's face as the girl scanned over the OmaShu set.
Haru let a small intake of breath, holding himself proudly before he stepped onstage before an applauding crowd to welcome everyone to his long-awaited production. Katara smiled happily for him, hearing the usually-sensitive boy sound so expressive before a large group of people. She just hoped she could sound that eloquent and inspirational at the very end of the show...
And so the show began, with the drawing of both curtains promptly by Teo's brilliant mechanical means, and the warriors of both the East and West drew themselves out in high honor. Sokka looked like he was going to fall sick to his stomach, but Suki elbowed him on the ribs to get him to promptly open a scroll and recite the beginning of the play:
"The story of OmaShu embarks us into an ancient past, where the division of East and West was to violently forever last. This tale is a grand witness to the sheer odds of destiny, the beauty of forgiveness, and how in the end... only a strong heart can outdo an unbreakable hatred. We take you first to village of the East, in all of its splendid diversity of cultures..."
As the play continued forward, Katara stood there in amazement, watching as every bit of the OmaShu story got somewhat altered to fit with the current happenings at Praying Mantis High and in their own World's history. She noticed the sheer hatred that the Fire Nation had plagued among the smaller, more diverse nations in the East, considering their own Western culture the most deserving in survival.
She saw Aang and On Ji go through their lines as two very brave airbenders, in love with each other and determined to make the world more proud with diversity. Aang became the peaceful air-nomad of the East, so talented in his bending as well as in his interpretive dancing to desire a world entirely in understanding with itself... while On Ji became the hidden, almost ashamed airbender of the West, wanting nothing but to bring back the pride of her birth culture before the ruthless Fire Nation she had been born into. These two characters find hope through their very words and through the ongoing encouragement of their friends from the Water tribes and the grand Earth Kingdom... and Katara almost fell teary-eyed by the radiant water-bending performance of her own classmate, Yue... showing that no matter what turmoil she had survived in the past... it had only made her stronger.
Katara saw the amazement in the audience's eyes, observing the intensity of the Oak Tree's non-bending dance routine, showing how lacking a spiritual power didn't necessarily mean they were not destined for great things. Ty Lee had been sitting in the audience with Hide, clapping hysterically at the graceful movements of Mai's salsa-dancing with Jet in one solo number. The spotlight had been on them, and she noticed Aang on the other side of the stage... staring right to Katara's own eyes at the very end of that routine, like he was giving her a promise.
But the most beautiful scene of the entire show had to be near the end of the first act, when On Ji and Aang met up within the caves of the Earth Kingdom to bid each other a farewell before battle. The delicateness of On Ji's voice was present in that vulnerable scene, and Katara herself knew how difficult it was to grasp... and the little airbender nailed it completely. Katara even felt a tinge of jealousy as Aang brought his hand to lift On Ji's chin with honest reassurance, that very soon he would return, and that Shu and Oma would always be together.
Foolishly, Katara shut her eyes the moment Aang and On Ji embraced in a kiss, feeling her cheeks flush with color as the scene formed into a monstrous battle between the East and West. As the girl opened her eyes, though, she saw that the figure of Azula had strangely disappeared from the audience... and that not soon after, Zuko's dark-looming presence had whispered something to Song at the ear, only to get up from his seat and head silently out of the Praying Mantis theater into the night sky.
The girl furrowed her brows apprehensively, took a small second to think as she watched Aang get himself ready for the second act on the other side of the stage... before heading towards the stage door to confront Zuko.
"Will you make sure that Song gets home safely?" Zuko requested, the moment he felt her approaching.
He didn't need to turn his face to acknowledge Katara's presence just yards away, since he'd long accepted that her natural concern would follow him anywhere. It wasn't that he would've minded this company... but Zuko thinned his eyes, searching for words... knowing this was something he had to do alone.
It was a family affair.
"What happened?" she attempted, her blue eyes reluctant to blink as she walked closer.
"She lost. She already knows it." Zuko held his breath, still looking into the darkness where his sister's footsteps led. "I need to go find her."
"But what about the speech?" Katara mentally slapped herself from sounding so selfish, but her focus remained on him. She felt scared – so terrified, she could feel herself trembling from the cold. "I mean... the play's almost over, and..."
"Katara, you can do it." It was then when Zuko turned to meet her concerned eyes, as hidden as they seemed to be in that dark school courtyard. "Just say it the way you would say anything to me. They'll listen."
They were only a few feet apart, but it seemed like miles by the way they spoke to each other.
Katara hugged her arms tightly from the cold, looking elsewhere. Brooding. She was trying so hard to not speak her thoughts at that moment... but glancing back at the determined, dark boy she had gotten to know so well... she just couldn't help herself.
"Zuko, she's dangerous." Her voice was firm, but it could not hide the shaking in her voice. How she was so frightened by what Zuko could possibly face. "She might not be herself right now. I... I don't want her to..."
The young man withheld calmness from his Shaolin nature as he stared back at Katara... struggling to not let those worrisome eyes sink further into his conscience. But she needed reassurance, and he wasn't about to lie to her.
Slowly, Zuko moved to her, dismissing the first signs of rain as it started to fall on his jacket.
"I'll be fine. I promise."
And without thinking twice, as if it were as natural as holding a pencil, the boy hugged her. Something about his scent startled Katara, perhaps realizing that his jacket no longer smelled like smoke. She hugged him back, scooping her arms all the way to his shoulders, not caring about the seconds that seemed to pass there in the cold.
She closed her eyes to prevent foolish tears from shedding, oblivious about the drizzling rain.
"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Katara managed.
"Thanks," Zuko mumbled sarcastically, clutching her shoulders to hug her more tightly. The first real friend he had ever made.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
With an unspoken exchange of luck by the touching of their heads, Zuko closed his eyes as well. He let the comfort of Katara's arms keep him at bay... reminding him how he needed to be careful with whatever he was to face with his sister.
And without a moment's notice, they parted... and Katara watched her best friend walk towards that drizzling darkness ahead. It wasn't long before she tightened her own stomach, to run back into the crowded Praying Mantis auditorium.
Back into the reality that was waiting for her.
He found his sister in the small patch of light of her own flames, that seemed to encapsulate her within that vast Shaolin arena of the school grounds. Not so long ago had she taken the deep surprise on to him in the middle of his practices in this very place...but strangely watching Azula sit meditatively in the grand darkness of this arena made is look much more foreign. As if he'd never set foot inside the arena before.
And Zuko took a few steps forward, curious and cautiously, with a sudden flinch of his weight as he notices his sister holding a small shimmering dagger by a hand... so loosely, it could've been a child's toy.
"Azula... what are you doing--"
"Shut up, Zuko!" Azula threw a lifeless, dangerous glare at her faraway brother. "A Fire Nation royal surrenders with dignity."
Her clutch held the sharp dagger in place, and even at the distance between them, Zuko recognized the blade by its insignia that shone against his sister's blazed hands. His mouth trembled, lost for words... pondering the unthinkable and painful.
Never give up without a fight.
It was a dagger the royal siblings knew far too well, as the one that their own father, Grand Prince Ozai... had attempted to use on himself. A dagger that left the entire royal family in shame as they snatched it away... only to find the man missing soon afterwards... assuming that their Grand Prince had run off into the unknown, abandoning his country forever.
But Zuko still trembled with those nightmares from long ago, imagining his father take his own life with that inscription piercing his heart to the very hilt of the blade. The boy knew his father's ambition for power even at the age of seven... when Uncle's willingness to rule the Fire Nation with extraordinary balance and grace overcame Ozai. The man had no other reason to stay.
Not even for his wife. His children.
A solitary tear began to stream down Zuko's trembling eyes, seeing his sister kneel in that meditative posture, with the fright and realization that his sister was absolutely certain... conscious of what she was about to do.
"There is no dignity in this... Azula."
He chose his words carefully as he spoke, not taking his eyes off the gilded blade as she held it over her royal topknot. Zuko couldn't tell by her backside if she was listening to him... but that didn't matter... not as much as the blade still being in his sight.
The prince already knew his sister's strength and perseverance, but he had never seen her so quiet, so vulnerable before. Those small seconds that passed between his words made those thoughts even more deadly in his mind.
"How would you know the first rule of dignity, brother?"
Azula's voice came in breaths, like a code set into the tiniest of whispers, and Zuko's eyes rose even higher. His heart was beating wildly, terrified as the girl he'd grown up with suddenly spoke so foreign to him.
Her dark hair locks were slightly covering the corners of her eyes... those sad, piercing copper eyes that turned to see him
"Azula..."
The boy kept attempting to reach her. It was like a sudden tidal wave of memories - images - were drenching him into such confusion, wondering if there had ever been a moment that he had missed. A moment where he could have acted as the big brother to her.
"Tell, me, Zuko." In spite of her hidden maniacal voice, Azula managed to challenge her brother, as usual. Her head turned slightly at an angle to meet one of his matching copper eyes. "How long did you believe that stupid lie I told you, of our great grandfather's death?"
Zuko's lips felt numb and dry, suddenly losing its ability to close. His eyelids refused to blink as Azula continued to speak...
"Fire Lord Sozin was trying to give our Nation the greatest acknowledgment and pride this world had even seen. He found his chance in the form of a comet... Sozin's Comet, Zuko."
"I know this." Zuko clenched his fists to speak out clearly, but in the calmest way he could ever speak to his sister. "It was the Comet that broke the friendship between our great grandfather and the Avatar Roku. He never forgave him for the damage he'd caused to the four Nations."
"Yes..." Azula's voice was mimicking more like a serpent's hiss in every small second. "And when Fire Lord Sozin realized that absolute power was no longer possible for him, and it had cost him his best friend's trust... he surrendered his heart, mind, and spirit... willingly."
"What are you talking about?"
"HE DID NOT DIE IN HIS SLEEP, ZUKO!"
The loud words spat themselves out of Azula's lips like daggers as she flinched her face towards her brother. Her maniacal glare was insulting the young prince's ability to think clearly, hurting him with an absolute truth.
"Azula, if there is anything I could--"
"Do you know how it feels, dear brother?" The girl rasped in her deadly, yet still conversational voice, keeping the dagger with two fists over her eyes steadily. "Having that drive for respect -- for power -- suddenly get taken from you..."
"No," the boy said quietly, feeling his voice shiver. It wasn't a response, but a simple plea for his little sister to put the dagger to the ground. "Azula, y– you don't have to see it like that..."
"...watching your friends abandon you..."
"Sister..."
"...and leave you all alone, with nothing?"
"You're not alone!"
"You're right, Zuko. I'm not." Her mouth was slowly drawing to a close as she continued to stare at her brother viciously. "Because now I understand. Dad, and Great-Grandfather Sozin... they felt exactly the same way."
Azula took a calming, yet tremulous breath. It was the most dangerous sense of peace Zuko had ever witnessed in her.
It can't be true, Zuko pleaded with his mind, Father disappeared. His body was never found. He wouldn't take his own life! He would NEVER do that to his family.
"It's a tradition, you know."
Azula's velvety voice crept back into the silence, like the smallest of spider fleas crawling along the walls.
"Fire Nation royalty have always learned about this passing; surrendering one's heart and spirit into flames. I read about it... just after Dad had decided to do it to himself," the girl made a hint of a laugh by her own words, and Zuko's copper eyes began to glimmer. "But not everyone carries the circumstances to do it. That means it is quite an honor for to me to leave this way..."
Zuko stepped forward on instinct, seeing how the blade was moving out of his contact, hiding obscurely behind his sister's head. But as Azula kept talking sincerely, he knew that it was still outside of range.
"A long meditation, both arms clutching the sky with an honorable blade... and with the right amount of energy, we conjure what our family has called the Passage of Agni... our life force leaving our body... never to disturb the balance of anything again."
Zuko swallowed hard beneath his heavy jaw. He was disgusted and utterly frightened about this form of death, still appalled at how their father had decided to leave this world. The boy's heart beat rapidly, and goosebumps formed on his skin, seeing how his sister was ready to do the same. In his mind... an in that slight distance that held them apart... Zuko couldn't help but see her as the little girl.
That adventurous little girl, who laughed so warmly under the arms of her big brother.
Zuko's voice trembled as he spoke, reaching out a hand to distantly hold his sister intact.
"Azula... don't..."
"Fire Lord Sozin used the Passage when he realized his failure with the Comet. Our dad used it when he lost the Agni Kai to our uncle Iroh, unable to accept that defeat. And me?"
Zuko felt his legs take an unexpected forward... and he approached her quickly, not wanting to hear any more words.
But as Azula blinked her magnificent copper eyes to her brother... Zuko saw her undying determination in them... along with a rapid fire ball that she let loose from one of her quick-moving fists. The boy's body dodged it and fell offside to the marble floor with a grunt, feeling his own heart begin to crush when he turned around to lock eyes with his sister again.
Her lips were small and trembling over to him, as if she were fighting to urge to weep.
"A princess knows when she is defeated, Zuko. I won't bother you, or Mom, or anyone else... anymore."
At that, the small blue flames came into existence from her very hands clutching the blade, while Azula's face looked so unbelievably calm from her self-proclaimed surrender. It was when Zuko faintly got up and tried to reach her again... to help in any way a big brother could... that Azula's copper eyes turned lifeless.
"Get AWAY from here." Azula threatened her brother as the blue flame began to levitate into a circle around the blade... sending blue sparks violently outward to the space that surrounded the girl. It took Zuko by immediate surprise, stumbling backwards on his own two feet.
His mind returned to that night on Ember Island, sitting on a beach with a girl who had dared to bring a hand to a troubled boy's face... remembering how a few simple words and gestures had brought meaning back into his life. It was something that would stay close to his heart forever.
But watching his own sister fall prey to this nothingness, Zuko realized.... that he couldn't hold this transformation only for himself.
Tears began to run down the boy's cheeks. She was once just an annoying, gifted, beautiful little girl. Zuko's mind lingered along those memories, his fingers trembling. What went wrong?
He had to help her. He would never forgive himself if he didn't.
"No," he barely heard himself speak from the internal sobbing that was forming in his throat, placing his palms firmly to the ground. "Zules, I'm not leaving you."
She didn't blink.
"It is for my own honor." Whether she was speaking to her brother, or to the very source of energy that was keeping her alive... the boy couldn't tell. Her voice was so sullen at that moment, as she held dagger up as if offering her self to the grand ceiling before them.
A few meditative breaths released themselves from her part, and Zuko saw the unthinkable; the beautiful blue flame slowly engulfing the entire dagger... the arms that held it... taking life all the way down to the girl's very toes... as if devouring Azula's very being. He witnessed how her sleek hair suddenly levitated on her scalp like she was slowly getting electrocuted. But her eyes remained serenely closed... letting her body surrender under her own iconic blue flames...
"AZULA!!!!"
Zuko tried to stop her incredulously with another lunge from his two feet, but the woman launched a flame from her body like a tentacle, without having to move a hand from her dagger. The boy ducked the whip of the deadly flame as it passed him on his left side... but it brushed onto the edge of his thigh into a burn, and the boy cried out in pain.
It was near the end of the second act when Aang gave a dreadful grunt of pain onstage, and On Ji flinched towards him in surprise.
He'd been in the middle of saying his final monologue, and a small rustling of whispered began to brew from the audience... wondering why the boy had stopped so abruptly. Did he get a stomachache? The airbender girl comfortingly placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, who now seemed to be gritting his teeth with the pain occuring from the inside.
Wh– what's wrong? On Ji attempted to Speak to him, but Aang just stared at her frighteningly.
There was no time, he thought flustered. He had to get to Azula before things turned out for the absolute worse. The play had to end... now.
Kiss me, On Ji, he responded to her through his mind nervously, but anxiously.
Huh? The girl's eyes rose immediately. But Aang...
We have to get to Azula before she– another ache in came towards his frame like an icy dagger. On Ji, please... kiss me now! We need to finish this!
And slowly the young girl nodded... bravely breathing in, and shutting her eyes before taking Aang's pain-stricken face tightly to her own.
A/N: Lots of drama, no? So before people complain about the "I love you" moment, let me explain: Zuko and Katara are best friends. It's so much easier to say "I love you" to a friend who's going through a tough time, rather than to someone you're falling romantically for. Even if she can't say it to Aang right away, Katara's a very demonstrative person and would probably show this love through her actions. That's kinda how I saw her in the Avatar series, anyway. Hah, you have no idea how long I debated keeping that "I love you" moment in there, but I just felt it was needed. –MM
