~~~S2 E20: The Crossroads of Destiny~~~
The next morning, a messenger arrived to inform Iroh that he was to have the honor of serving tea to the Earth King that day, and that his newly arrived nephew was invited to join him.
Iroh was brimming with excitement as he made the preparations. Zuko agreed to go. He wasn't really sure what the point of him being there would be, but he was unwilling to deflate his uncle's happiness.
When they left, Katara moved through the house aimlessly. She wondered where her friends might have gone and tried to formulate some kind of plan to find them. But with Appa returned to them, they were going to be even harder to find than ever.
She was making herself a cup of tea in the kitchen when she thought she heard a faint thump in the living area. There was no way Iroh and Zuko would be back yet—they'd only just left. Months of being hunted—ironically, by the same people whose house she was now making herself at home in—and on the road made her hyperalert to the slightest indication of attack.
She told herself it was probably nothing, but still her heart raced as she bent the boiling water from the teapot and crept toward the living room. When she came around the corner to find an empty room, she let out a sigh of relief and shook herself, feeling silly. She swooshed the tea back into the pot.
The next second, she heard a thunderous crash from the window next to her and her hands were encased in earth-cuffs. Katara dashed for the front door but three Dai Li agents stepped in front of her, sending rock hands to hold her feet to the floor and stopping her in her tracks.
"What the hell?!" Katara snarled at the closest agent.
They said nothing. Katara fought them uselessly as they dragged her out of the house and threw her into a carriage that stood waiting in the street.
O – O – O – O – O – O
Katara found herself alone in a cavern deep underground, which was littered with crystals, some taller than she was, that gave off an eerie green glow. She paced while she tried to figure out how to escape.
She had no idea why the Dai Li had grabbed her in the first place. Was it to do with Zuko and Iroh? Or Aang? Or was it because she was a waterbender? Had they somehow found out that her passport was fake?
After what felt like forever, but surely couldn't have been more than a few hours, she heard the scraping of rocks above her. A hole opened up to the sky and before she knew what was happening, Zuko was tumbling down to join her. The opening above them closed once more.
He landed in a heap on the hard ground.
"Zuko!" Katara ran to him, helping him to sit up and checking for serious wounds. When she didn't find any, she kissed him soundly. "What happened?"
"My sister happened," Zuko grumbled angrily, glaring at the ceiling.
"Azula?!"
"She's here. She's infiltrated the Earth King's palace. She ambushed us."
"What about Iroh? Is he okay?"
"He got away. I tried to fight her, but she had the Dai Li working for her."
"The Dai Li picked me up at Iroh's house. I hope he has the good sense not to go back there."
"We have to get out of here," Zuko said, his face set with determination.
"I've been trying for hours. I can't find any way out. There's not even any water anywhere." She shook her head.
"With the both of us, we'll figure something out," he said confidently.
Katara was glad for the company, but it only amounted to the two of them pacing around and failing to find any viable solution to their predicament.
They still hadn't made any progress after another hour, when there was a sudden huge crash in the cavern wall. Startled, they turned, ready to confront whatever was about to come through.
In a rush of rocks, Aang came bursting through the wall.
Katara's face lit up with elation. Aang! Somehow, against all odds, Aang had found her in the end.
"Aang!" she shouted. She dashed to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.
Aang hugged her back fiercely, shooting Zuko a glower over her shoulder.
Zuko just had time to return the glare when Iroh rushed in and enfolded Zuko in a hug.
Ignoring Zuko entirely now, Aang grabbed Katara's shoulders and held her in front of him. His expression was filled with joy and relief.
"I was so worried!" Aang said, his voice breaking from emotion. "We went back and looked for you in the desert, but we couldn't find you anywhere! I thought—I didn't know what to think. I just got Appa back recently and the Earth King needed our help, but as soon as we were done here, I was going to look for you everywhere. Oh Katara, I can't tell you how happy I am that you're okay!"
"It's okay, Aang. I'm okay. I missed you so much!" Katara said, tears in her eyes to match his.
"When I thought you might be—that we might not find you…" Aang trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. "I couldn't bear it. Katara. I love you! I'm in love with you."
Aang pulled her into a kiss, his hands pressing against the back of her head as he poured all of his passion and weeks of worry into it. Katara was completely taken off guard and for a moment stood frozen, motionless in shock, as he kissed her.
Zuko's heart stopped. An intense stab of jealousy flushed him with scorching rage and made him shudder with cold terror at the same time. The world seemed to spin, and the kiss… it seemed to go on forever. She isn't pulling away. She's kissing the Avatar RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. He felt like he was in physical pain. He couldn't see straight.
His gut wrenched with a hard knot of anger that made his stomach churn. She was abandoning him. Just like that. He thought he'd been prepared for whatever was to come, but this? This was excruciating.
Just then, there was another crash from above, startling everyone. Crystal spikes leapt from the ground, forming around Iroh, Katara, and Aang, holding them each in place. Azula and the Dai Li slid down into the cave.
Zuko held his hands up at the ready.
Azula said calmly, "Fraternizing with the enemy. I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko. Prince Zuko. You're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor. Are you?"
"Shut up Azula!" Katara shouted.
"Your betters are speaking, do be quiet."
"Excuseme?!"
"Release them immediately," Zuko commanded.
"It's not too late for you, Zuko," Azula entreated. "You can still redeem yourself."
"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you," Iroh said.
"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle?" said Azula.
"What are you waiting for? Help us, Zuko!" Katara said.
Azula continued, "I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father's love. Look, we already have the Avatar. Not so hard to capture after all, was he? You will have everything you want."
"That's a lie!" Katara yelled. "Zuko, please. You can't actually be considering this?"
Aang ignored them all, struggling with the crystals holding him and trying to bend without the use of his arms. He made a tiny crack along the base but could not yet get free.
Iroh implored, "Zuko, I am begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want." He caught Zuko's eye and looked pointedly at Katara.
Zuko followed his uncle's gaze, his eyes resting on Katara. His chest felt tight and his throat burned. Then he looked at the Avatar. A hot coal boiled in his belly. He could feel the blood rushing in his temples. The compulsion to lash out at the one who dared to kiss her. The need to regain his honor. Redemption. His father's love. Everything he'd yearned for all these years of exile.
His face became hard and cold.
"Zuko." Katara said again, beseeching him, tears in her eyes. I love you, she thought. She knew that look, and it was not a good one. She whispered, "Please."
Looking into her eyes, Zuko's couldn't help but soften. He wavered.
At that moment, Aang broke free of his crystal prison, shattering it and sending shards toward both Zuko and Azula.
Blocking the attack, Zuko's fury reignited, erupting in a primal scream as he shot fireballs at Aang, over and over and over. The urge to strike this man—no, boy—who was taking Katara away from him was too powerful. The allure of finally gaining a place at his father's side was too strong.
Aang danced out of the way of the blasts and quickly earth-bent Katara free.
"Zuko, stop!" she screamed, but Zuko was beyond hearing anything as he vented his wrath at the Avatar.
Azula gave them a smug smirk and took a firebending stance.
"Come on, Katara," Aang shouted, tugging Katara towards the passage where he and Iroh had broken into the cavern.
Katara allowed herself to be pulled. As she went, she could see the rage in Zuko's face as he continued to send fire after them. Her heart shattered into countless tiny fragments.
But there was no time for that now.
Aang and Katara ran through the next section of the cave system, an enormous cavern with more green crystals, what looked like crumbling dwellings from some long-ago civilization, and human-made waterways running in straight lines through it.
At least there is water to bend, Katara thought miserably.
"Where are Sokka and Toph?" Katara asked as they sprinted.
"They went to help the Earth King. We have to find them!" Aang replied.
They had not gotten far into the cavern when a blast of blue fire flared behind them. Aang turned, rapidly bending the earth in front of them like a shield.
Azula stood in the wake of the fire. Katara felt so angry with this horrible person, who could somehow worm her way into Zuko's head, despite everything. She rushed toward the fire princess, pulling a wave of water as she went and crashing it toward Azula.
Azula created a huge explosion that vaporized the water in a cloud of steam. Then she was running up the wall, shooting blue fire at them. Katara and Aang worked together to create a shield from the water, just in time to stop the blasts.
Aang earth-bent the outcropping Azula stood on, causing her to plunge to the ground between Aang and Katara. She landed on her feet and held her fingers out in either direction, daring either of them to make a move.
A tense micro-second passed.
Orange fire burst toward Aang and when the smoke cleared, Zuko stood facing them in a fighting posture. Zuko and Azula looked at each other.
"Zuko!" Katara shouted, still not willing to believe what was happening. Trying to make him see reason before he did something he couldn't take back. "Come with me!"
Zuko took one look at her and the hurt and rage rose again, roiling in his stomach. How could she? I was nothing to her. Just a passing diversion. Until she could get back to her precious Avatar.
All he wanted was to smash his fist into the Avatar's stupid mouth.
Zuko channeled all of his anger into his fire, throwing a wall of flame at Aang. Aang only just managed to jump away and dispel it with air.
Azula rounded on Katara, shooting streams of blue fire to match Katara's water as Katara deflected again and again.
Zuko released firebolt after firebolt at Aang, relentless and unremitting. Aang wove and dodged around the entire cavern, using his airbending to dispel the fire and propel him out of the way of the blasts. The two were locked in mortal conflict.
Aang found himself perched on some crystals near the ceiling when Zuko willed a continuous stream of flame from his hands, making massive fire whips. He cracked them at Aang, breaking the crystals and sending Aang flying. Aang was on the defense—it was all he could do to avoid Zuko's ferocity.
Finally Zuko agitated the cavern enough that a huge cone of stone fell from the ceiling. Aang rode it down, pushing it into the ground with all the force of his bending and causing a shockwave to ripple out through the rocks. Zuko was knocked back.
Katara coated herself with water, creating huge squid-arms that she lashed out at Azula. Azula's returning blast of fire was annihilated by Katara's water, and Katara encased Azula's arm in water, making it impossible for her to bend with it. Azula answered by kicking flame at Katara, but Katara was ready for it and surrounded Azula's leg with water as well. She lifted Azula into the air, preparing to smash her into the ground, when Zuko jumped toward them, unleashing a wave of fire that broke Katara's water tendrils.
It was the move he had learned to do in their sparring sessions. Katara felt a surge of anger, heartache, and despair but she pushed it away for now.
Azula, now free, sneered.
Aang climbed out of the hole he'd made in the ground, his strength clearly flagging.
Katara re-formed her water whips and slammed them toward Zuko, who was across the waterway from her. Zuko answered with fire whips, growing larger and larger with each swish.
"I thought you had changed!" she cried.
Fire and water came together again in a furious clash.
"I have changed. Thanks for reminding me of my place."
"What are you talking about? I cared about you!"
"So you say," Zuko said coldly.
Meanwhile, Azula turned on the weakened Aang. Using her fire to propel herself toward him, she dashed at him. Aang bent the crystals around him and encased himself in them, then rushed toward her, pushing himself forward with the force of air.
Just before they collided, Azula released a torrent of fire that shattered Aang's protective crystal armor and knocked him across the cavern, into the side of one of the old stone dwellings.
With Aang out of the fight for the moment, Azula joined Zuko against Katara. Zuko hadn't been aiming to injure her, but Azula held nothing back. An inferno coming at her from all sides, Katara's water could only block so much before she was knocked backward into a cluster of crystals by one of Azula's blue blasts.
"Ughh," she groaned as she lost consciousness briefly.
Azula lifted her hand to shoot another blast and finish off the waterbender but Zuko held out his hand to stop her.
"No! Leave her. She's…" He clenched his jaw. "Not worth the effort."
"Whatever you say, brother," Azula drawled nonchalantly.
A crash came from where Aang had fallen. Zuko and Azula turned as Aang came barreling toward them on a churning ball of stone.
Before he reached them, the Dai Li showed up. A Dai Li agent jumped in front of Aang and flung him off. Aang skidded to a stop on the ground, leaving a fissure behind where he slid.
Aang and Katara both pushed themselves upright, dazed, as the entire Dai Li army swarmed around them. Katara leapt to her feet and pulled water around her as rows of Dai Li agents surrounded her on every side. She created a ring of tendrils, ready to defend or attack as needed.
Aang stood to face the Fire Nation prince and princess. Zuko trembled with barely controlled fury. Beside him, Azula only smiled.
Aang looked at Katara, besieged by enemies and grimaced. "I'm sorry Katara," he said softly, turning away.
Zuko glanced at Katara as well, then back to Aang. It enraged him even further that this airbender had the woman that Zuko wanted, said the words that Zuko hadn't been able to say, and the pathetic fool wasn't even going to protect her. He vowed to make the little monk pay—for everything.
Aang forged a dome of crystals around him and settled down to meditate. The situation was dire. It was time to enter the Avatar state.
A glow came from within the crystals and light shot out in a wide ring. Aang floated high above them all, his eyes and tattoos alight with the telltale white radiance of the Avatar state. Everyone cowered, waiting for the first blow to fall.
Everyone except Azula. Lightning crackled through the air, striking Aang dead-on, in the center of his spine. The light in his eyes flickered, then went out.
Katara watched in horror as he plummeted. Tears unnoticed spilled from her eyes. She fueled her waterbending with the agony in her heart, creating a massive tidal wave that washed over the Dai Li agents and carried her to Aang. When the water drained away, she was left holding his limp body in her arms.
Zuko and Azula came toward her.
"How could you?" she whispered to Zuko, betrayal permeating her every feature.
Fire flashed in front of the two royal firebenders, cutting them off from Katara and Aang. Iroh leapt in between them, prepared to battle his niece and nephew.
Over his shoulder, Iroh said to Katara, "You've got to get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can."
With expert precision, he began to firebend at Zuko, Azula, and the entire Dai Li army.
Draping Aang's arm over her shoulder, Katara dragged him away from the scene as fast as she could. Rocks flew at Iroh as he defended their retreat.
Katara made her way to a huge waterfall at the back of the cavern, which opened to the outside. She created a funnel of water to wrap around her and Aang, and lifted them out of the cave.
When they had escaped, Iroh allowed himself to be captured. Zuko looked at him with an unreadable expression. Iroh held his stare with his own disappointed gaze, until Zuko finally looked away.
O – O – O – O – O – O
It was a sorrowful reunion with Sokka and Toph. As they all fled the city on Appa, Katara took out her vial of spirit water from the sacred pool in the North Pole. It was supposed to have special healing powers. It was her only hope of reviving Aang.
His body was already going cold.
Hugging Aang to her and weeping, Katara poured everything she had into her healing ability. It had to work. It had to. Not only was the Avatar their only hope against the Fire Nation, but she couldn't lose her friend. She couldn't bear it.
She held her breath. The moments went by in slow motion, the wait agonizing. Finally, Aang groaned.
Katara gasped, smiling through her tears as Aang opened his eyes and looked at her hazily. Registering her face, he smiled. Katara's mouth wobbled as she smiled wider, more tears flowing. She hugged him again, and this time he hugged her back.
O – O – O – O – O – O
Zuko stood at Azula's side as she lounged on the Earth King's throne, presiding over an empty court.
"We've done it, Zuko. It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se."
Zuko's eyes looked hollow. With the heat of battle behind them, his rage had ebbed, leaving behind only a pervading feeling of disquiet.
"I betrayed Uncle." I betrayed Katara. My beautiful, strong, kind-hearted waterbender. The look on her face. How could I have done that to her?
"No, he betrayed you," Azula said.
Zuko furrowed his brow. Katara certainly had betrayed him. Kissing the Avatar right in front of me. After everything. How COULD she? And Uncle. Did Uncle betray me too?
Azula continued, "Zuko, when you return home, father will welcome you as a war hero."
"But I don't have the Avatar. What if father doesn't restore my honor?" His honor was all he had left, now. He had to have it back. It was the only thing that would make any of this worth it.
Azula placed a hand on his shoulder in her best attempt to be reassuring. "He doesn't need to, Zuko. Today, you restored your own honor."
He willed himself to believe Azula. But he couldn't help but feel like today he'd relinquished something irretrievable. Not restored his honor, but betrayed it. He was about to get everything he had ever wanted, so why did it feel like he'd lost it all?
A.N.: I know this is a super rough turn of events. A few commenters mentioned they'd stop reading if this happened. Obviously, bottom line: you do you. If you really want to stop reading then that's your choice (Again, obviously. It's not like I can stop you haha :P ).
But I wanted to mention a few things that hopefully can keep you going:
1. I tagged this story with Happy Ending for a reason. If you stop here, you'll be stopping at the most unhappy part of the story, which would be kind of a bummer.
2. There is a lot of good stuff to come, including some of my favorite parts of the fic.
3. I honestly believe that this moment and what follows with Zuko in the Fire Nation is so absolutely crucial to Zuko's character development that he wouldn't be the Zuko we know and love without it. In my opinion he has to make this mistake and grapple with the consequences to grow into the person he becomes. He has to get what he thought he wanted to realize he doesn't want it. He has to have these experiences to work though his sense of right and wrong. Also, his choice to help the Gaang means way more when he has to give up everything in order to do what he thinks is right, instead of just kind of falling in with them because he got banished and it was the path of least resistance. In my opinion, the strength of his character and his resolve to do the right thing later in the story would not have the same weight without this moment, this failure. And, this route means his choice later is much harder and therefore that much more admirable.
I wanted to do the best I could by these characters.
Also on the character development note, I didn't want this to be a story where "the love of a good woman" turns him to the good side. I think that does a disservice to his character growth and to their relationship. He has to do it himself. For himself… not for Katara or anyone else.
Anyway, I love all you readers and I hope you stick with it :) . There's angst coming, yes, but also lots more happy stuff too.