So this is my first ever fanfiction. This is a new take on the ATLA episode "The Crossroads of Destiny". It explores the possibility of Zuko intervening just as Azula delivers her lightning strike against Aang, and Katara's actions in the face of Azula's wrath at her brother. An eventual Zutara AU that I intend to continue till past the final episode of the canon story.
"I thought you had changed!"
"I have changed."
As his fire met her water, as they battled, steam filled the vast cavern. Rage coursed through Katara. She had placed all her faith, all her trust, put aside her mother for him, and yet he still attacked them. Still sided with his sister. Betrayed her. In the corner of her vision, she saw Aang charge at Azula. Of course, he thought she'd fight honorably. She shoots off a blast of fire, sending Aang flying into the crystalline walls of this impromptu arena.
It took the reflexes of a warrior, of someone who had seen far too much war to stop Azula's next blast of fire. Her ice shields were rapidly depleting- too quickly for her to maintain them, especially now that Zuko was concentrating his flame in unison with his sister, both intent on destroying Katara's defenses.
As the last of the ice melts away, Katara desperately feels for the remaining liquid in her waterskin, but it's too late. Azula's blast lifts her off the ground and slams her into the wall of crystals- mercifully knocking her out.
Zuko ceased his attack immediately, pausing. His uncle's words rang in his ears. Words of redemption, and how it would never come from his father, nor from his sister. Of looking into his heart. But how could Zuko believe Iroh? How, when Azula offered his honor, and the long-neglected desire for love. And it was right in front of him. He looked at Aang as he pushed himself off of the crystal wall, tendrils of guilt creeping up his spine. But Katara. She... She gave me acceptance. And it was... sincere. She was going to heal me. My scar...
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the wave of earth that Aang had produced coming right at him. He used his firebending to propel himself, like a rocket, off of the ground, dodging the attack. As he touched down once more, he saw the Dai Li surround them, cornering Katara and Aang. He saw that the waterbender had regained consciousness. The girl gazed at him. It was a look of pure pain, mixed with raw fury. Zuko averted his eyes from Katara, opting to focus on Aang, who had taken to creating some sort of crystalline shelter. As he enters what appears to be a meditative state, his tattoos glow.
At this exact moment, Iroh's words ring in his ears once more. "Zuko! Look into your heart, find the truth within!" It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but he saw all his decisions come before him. The decision to challenge the general's plan, to accept the Agni Kai. The decision to beg for mercy from an unrepentant, cruel father (cruel). The decision to hunt for the Avatar, to attack the Southern Water Tribe.
The memories seemed to flash quicker now. Him deciding not to rob a young couple with a pregnant woman, even on the brink of starvation. Him letting the Avatar's bison free. The decision to save Aang from Zhao, the decision to befriend Jet, and then... his decision to trust Katara, even for a moment. He felt so... accepted. Appreciated. Loved. The cacophony of voices and visions filled his head, materializing once more into Iroh's booming voice: "You have the answers within. Follow your heart."
And so he did. And his heart presented him with one ultimate conclusion, one option, one solution to his plight: Stop Azula.
He hadn't even seen Azula aim her fingers at a floating Aang, he just knew. As he lunged to the right, a blast of fire just beginning to form on his fingertips, Azula fired her lightning. At this very moment, his burning palm collided with her shoulder, sending her strike slightly off-center.
Not enough.
As Katara watched the brilliant whitish-blue begin to exit Azula's fingertips, she watched the blur that was Zuko knock Azula to the side. His face was contorted into some sort of mix of realization, fear, guilt, and determination. As Azula registered this sudden betrayal (he had betrayed Katara, and now his sister. But had he really betrayed her? Katara could only wonder), the lightning struck the side of Aang's stomach, lighting him up in a beautiful, but somehow hellish display of sheer electrical power. As Aang convulsed and fell back to earth, a few things registered for her. One, Aang had just been struck by lightning in the Avatar State. Two, Zuko's last-second action had sent the trajectory of the bolt off of Aang's chest, and into his stomach. Three, Zuko was on their side. Right?
Her answer came in the form of a firebending kick directed not at Katara, but at the Dai Li. She shifted her vision from Aang, who was motionless on the ground, and to Zuko, who had managed this feat of bending while simultaneously struggling with Azula. But this action would cost him. Azula, fully registering her brother's betrayal, had unleashed a funnel of fire at him. Zuko held his own, but felt himself slipping backwards- she was just too powerful. In his peripheral vision, he saw Katara use an octopus bending form to unleash an enormous wave against the remaining Dai Li, knocking them out of the fight. Zuko somehow felt elated by this, and pushed harder against his sister, his flames intensifying, brightening. He could have sworn he'd seen a glint of blue appear within the shimmering mass of plasma. He felt as if all his decisions leading up to this moment were irrelevant, just a side act in comparison to the realization he'd just made. She'd shown him friendship. And he would have betrayed her. Betrayed Uncle. Betrayed Mother. As his thoughts continued down this vein of contemplation, reality seemed to slowly ebb away. A plethora of visions began flashing before his very eyes.
I'll save you from the pirates.
My honor. My throne. My country. I'm about to lose them all.
He hadn't even noticed his bending die out, as he lost sight of Azula, shifting his focus into the dark, mangled, broken mind of his that he had just found a way to heal. He faintly registered the flash of light that seemed to draw closer and closer to him, but he didn't care about that. All he saw were two pairs of eyes. One a vivid cerulean blue, another a shimmering amber. As he imagined the acceptance shown by his mother, and now... Katara, he simply froze, like a hippo-deer caught in the path of a ball of flame.
All Katara knew was her instinct to save. As Aang began to twitch on the ground (he's not dead), she saw Azula train her fingertips on Zuko. Realizing with horror that Zuko was about to be smited by his sister, she charged forth, lunging as the second bolt of lightning left Azula's frame. She didn't take into account that Zuko had only betrayed her mere minutes earlier, or that he had chased them around the world for months. All she knew was that Zuko, in this moment, was a friend. And that's all it took for her to put herself in the path of lightning bolt aimed at Zuko's heart. Her world turned white the moment it contacted her body.
Zuko was sent out of his trance by the weight of Katara's body slamming into his, the bolt having dissipated just as soon as it had materialized. As they both tumbled backwards, Zuko moved to protect Katara's body. As she convulsed under his own frame, he realized what had happened. In that moment, he lost self-control. Azula promised me acceptance... and she's ripped from me the one person I have who's offered it to me. Azula always lies... Azula always lies... Azula... ALWAYS LIES.
It seems rather fitting that Zuko wouldn't remember himself generating lightning for the very first time. That it would be generated in a fit of passion, rather than the cold precision that powered Azula's bolts. What he did register however was Azula's face of pure shock, as his lightning hit her own fingertips, her struggle to redirect this new form of lightning, one powered by rage, not cold malice. As Azula redirected the lightning, he made sure to force her to redirect it in another direction, away from him, by twisting his fingertips to the left.
As this struggle between the two siblings took place, Katara stopped convulsing, her breathing miraculously still present, but faint. The lightning strike hadn't delivered instant death only because of the thin water layer that all waterbenders possessed, providing a degree of protection against firebenders. Even so, the strike had critically wounded her, and she remained unconscious, a scorched scar having developed on her left arm and trailing onto her torso She laid sprawled out on the cavern's floor. Some 20 feet from her lay Aang, who was just now beginning to regain consciousness. The strike hadn't channeled directly to his heart, and thus, he remained alive. Being the Avatar helped his changes of waking up. As he slowly crawled to his feet, he saw Katara laying motionless, seemingly dead. To her left he saw Zuko fighting against... Azula!? Both were fighting with fire whips, with the occasional flaming daggers being summoned forth in an attempt to decapitate one another.
At that moment Appa appears, with Toph and Sokka in the saddle. He recalled the meditation, how he had let Katara go. Let her go... and he had survived lightning. Turning to see Katara lying on the ground, tears welled up in his eyes, as his weak frame shuddered. She was... dead? He couldn't believe it, but yet his eyes refused to show him any other truth. Summoning all of his strength, he got off the ground, and looked down at his stomach, seeing the devastating scar that had manifested itself. With an excruciating level of effort, and an unholy level of pain, he airbended himself to the saddle, promptly collapsing once making contact with Toph, against whom he laid his weight. He lay there dazed, hearing Sokka's wails of grief, as he presumably saw his sister, and seeing Toph's pale face, as she took in the horrific scene. He felt Sokka's weight leave the saddle, followed immediately by Toph's. He was weak... so weak. He heard a distant shout, the distinct sound of earth being sent forth by Toph. Through out this, Appa was panicking, narrowly avoiding what he assumed were blasts of fire. I want to help Aang thought to himself. But I'm so... weak.
He didn't know how long had passed, all he knew was that Sokka and Toph had returned to the saddle, with Katara absent. That confirmed his fears for him. With that, he drifted off into the welcoming abyss of unconsciousness. The last thing he could remember was Sokka's pained 'yip yip', and them lifting off without Katara. The Avatar Cycle would live on for now... but at what cost?
Zuko and Azula were locked in an equal match of wills. At this point, both were motivated by rage. Both motivated by betrayal. It seemed hopeless, as the two benders appeared to be destined to wear each other out, perhaps kill each other through exhaustion. After the water tribe boy and earthbending girl had gotten off the saddle, Azula had directed blasts at both Zuko and the other two teenagers. He had attempted to coordinate with the earthbender, with both Zuko and the girl sending waves of fire and earth respectively at Azula. But it was hopeless. It seemed as if Azula had ascended to a level of bending prowess unattainable by either of the two other benders. When Azula had sent her fire blast at the water tribe boy, the girl sent out a plate of rock from the ground, blocking the attack. Realizing their situation, and unable to get to Katara (who was still laying on the ground behind Zuko), they had retreated. As he saw the bison leave, he realized the gravity of his situation. Alone. Cornered. He intensified his pillar of flame, knowing that he was now fighting for his and Katara's life, when had he started caring like that? Just as he began to feel his control slip again, a tremendous blast of fire came from one of the faces of the crystal walls, jutting out forth between Zuko and Azula's opposing plasma pillars, making them dissipate. They both looked at the same time to see Iroh, both of his hands consumed in vivid balls of flame.
"Zuko!" he called. "Escape with the girl while you can, I'll hold off your sister!" At this, Zuko's indecision slipped away. Before Azula had a chance to fire off a ball of fire that she was aiming at her brother, she was forced to defend herself against Iroh. Watching his uncle push Azula back with his flames, he knew that the moniker 'Dragon of the West' was a fitting one. He sprinted to Katara, his heart quickening upon seeing the condition she was in. No no no no, don't be dead, don't be dead, don't leave me like Mother Zuko thought as he got down on his knees before her. Guilt seized him, as he realized that he had led this to happen. If only he had sided with Katara and the Avatar, maybe she wouldn't be like this. On the verge of death, Zuko decided, as his fingertips were gently pressed against her neck, her pulse faint. As his alabaster, callused fingertips met the soft, brown flesh, a surge of protectiveness shot through him. He felt the heat behind him intensify, as his uncle fought with Azula. He quickly turned his head, but saw Iroh being pushed back slowly, his pillar of fire being edged further and further back by Azula's unrelenting blue plasma. "Just go!" Iroh yelled with a finality that spurred him into action. He gently but quickly scooped the limp girl into his arms. He looked around, seeing the burn marks, abrasions, sheets of ice, and the motionless bodies of dozens of Dai Li members strewn around the cavern, evidence of this battle. He found the opening through which he initially entered the cavern from, and decided to make a run for it. As he made his way towards the entrance, he heard Azula's yells and shouts, screams for her 'cowardly brother' to return to the fray of war. He held confidence in Iroh, and could only hope that he prevailed against his sister He looked down at Katara's visage, taking in that pained look of hers. He would protect her, make up for his betrayal, his inaction, and his failures. Grunting, he went forth in a resolute manner.
As Iroh saw Zuko leave the cavern carrying the waterbending girl, he knew that he wouldn't see his nephew again in a long time- maybe ever.
Alright, the first chapter's done. I know, I know, Toph and Sokka not being able to retrieve Katara might be considered OOC. But remember, Azula was all rage and fury- as opposed to her cold, calculating bending style.
I would appreciate any reviews that y'all could leave. As this is my first time, don't hold back with any criticism or other feedback that y'all might think I need lol