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pukachujan19999: Thank you! I wanted to delve into Katara's fractured state of mind at this juncture. As for Zuko, he's grown attached to Katara simply because he's been so starved of affection and acceptance all his life. Having it from someone his age is a new experience for him, and he's going to have to navigate through it.

Balance123: I'm glad you gave me a chance then lol. This update is for you, for putting faith in my newbie writing skills ;)

The Dragon of the West knew that he had met his match. He should have expected this from the Crown Princess, but even so, the amount of raw energy and fury she emitted was breathtaking, and quite frankly absurd. This fourteen-year-old prodigy unleashed vortexes of fire that rivaled even those of Avatar Roku's dragon, Fang. The sheer energy behind her attacks put those of her father to shame. The vivid blue of her plasma jets were so enthralling, so beautiful... yet so lethal, so destructive, so horrific. From the day that Azula had begun to adopt her father's cruel tendencies, Iroh had pitied her. Pitied her blind faith behind his genocidal brother. Pitied the loss of a fulfilling childhood. She had been trained from the moment she had produced flame to take the throne, to continue the Fire Nation's policies of annihilation and assimilation. Behind her cold exterior, Iroh knew lay a deep-seated resentment, a mourning for the mother she felt she never had. The one that she felt Zuko had stolen from her. "Azula!" he called out, desperate to break through to her. He never hated her. He wanted to try to help her, guide her to the light that he had seen from the moment that he learned of his son's demise in this city all those years ago. "Please, let me help you!" he shouted, his voice barely making it through to her amid the powerful rushing sound of their opposing pillars of fire. "I will never listen to a traitor like you, Uncle!" she snarled back, the intensity of her blast only ratcheting up. Sweat coated the younger firebender's skin, mixed with streaks of tears as they slid down her visage. Her eyes were beginning to exhibit intense red streaks, her crazed concentration and hatred directed towards the enemy pushing her to her limits. "You should have perished here, alongside your pitiful excuse of a son!" she yelled, her expression displaying pure hatred for her uncle. Iroh resisted the urge right then to send a dagger of flame right through her heart. If he was truly looking to kill, he would have made such an attempt by then. "You don't know anything about being a warrior, Azula! You've been led astray by my brother!" he responded, intensifying his orange flames.

Iroh began to realize the plight that both firebenders were in. This was a bending lock, wherein both benders were forced to continue powering the same move indefinitely, until one, or both lost the ability to continue their bending. To maintain the attack, both parties would need to continually put more and more energy and effort into the same position, which could lead to severe injuries. For firebenders, this was a lethal predicament. Most continued blasts of fire against another opposing blast of fire would end in under 30 seconds. Iroh and Azula had been locked in the same position for nearly 4 minutes, and Iroh was rapidly approaching the limit of energy he could output at once. He could tell that Azula was approaching her limit too, with the way she was shuddering between breaths, and by the way her eyes nearly rolled back as she grunted, forcing herself to continue out of sheer hatred, or madness, both, Iroh decided. 5 minutes, he estimated to himself, resisting the urge to cry out from pain. It burned. Everything burned. He didn't want to kill her, but he had to get out of this lock. We would succumb to her flames if he didn't. He gave a final look at his niece, hoping to see something, anything that was a potential weakness, something to save himself without killing the young teen. He had to, for his nephew. He had to survive. He had to give him a chance to reason with his sister.

Then, he saw it. Gazing into his niece's once striking, amber eyes, he saw that they had glazed over. She didn't appear to register her surroundings anymore. He came to the conclusion that she'd completely surrendered control to her inner fire, relying on it to maintain the blasting form, which now appeared to grow weaker and weaker. Iroh lowered the intensity of his flame in response. An odd camaraderie seemed to develop between the two. Azula was long gone, clearly not in the present. Fresh tears were leaking down her flushed cheeks. So, when Azula's flames began to die out, Iroh mirrored her own fire, until eventually, the flames disappeared. A merciful silence overtake them. The faint ringing in his ears told Iroh everything he needed to know about the severity of what had just occurred. It took all his strength to not collapse right there and then. The heat persisted though, seeping into his very being. He cautiously surveyed Azula, who just... stared. Right into his being, into his very soul. It seemed that some comprehension had returned to her, but she remained still. Iroh knew that what he did next was probably a terrible idea, but he had to test this new person in front of him. The Azula he had known for the past 6 years would have continued fighting, even if it cost her life. He slowly lifted his right arm, shaking slightly as he did so. He took a deep breath, and called his element forth. A ball of fire formed in his hands. It appeared reflected in Azula's eyes, reflected in those glazed irises. He bent the flame into the form of a dagger. He observed Azula. A pause. Her hands began to shake. He took a step forward. Then, she made her first move. "Did mother love me?" she asked simply, Iroh observing that it took her some effort to keep her voice steady, perhaps devoid of emotion. Against the backdrop of a ruined cavern, bodies littered all around, it was a surreal situation. He noted that no other waves of Dai Li or any others had come down here. Perhaps the city's leaders knew what was happening in this cavern, and had left it isolated here, far away from the general populace. As of now, Ba Sing Se was in limbo, the city's fall or survival resting upon the shoulders of this 14-year-old girl, who had posed such a simple, yet such a profound question.

"Yes, Azula. She never stopped doing so." Iroh responded, panting as he made sure to keep his voice as soft as possible, his flaming dagger falling to his side, still lit however. Azula seemed to ponder this, in her own distinct, calculating way. Iroh had always understood that she was broken, hurt, ill. She needed this, to be able to sort through her thoughts for once. "I..." Azula began, betraying her own uncertainty, letting a hint of trepidation enter her voice. "I can't turn my back on father." she said quietly in a tone so unlike what he was used to hearing from her, as she looked down briefly before meeting Iroh's eyes once more. "I can't take back my actions. I can't join you, Uncle. Not now." The words were spoken with an effort to keep them neutral, but her uncle could instantly tell that the words hurt internally. "I know, my Azula. I know." The flaming dagger subsided. "Uncle... Leave. For your own good." Azula spoke, a finality entering her voice. Iroh knew that Azula had offered him escape- something she had never done before. "Leave the city... before you force my hand." There it is, Iroh thought, recognizing the familiar cold tone. Iroh simply nodded at her, turning away, towards the vertical entrance to the cavern. An hour ago he would have never turned his back to his niece. But now... he knew some mutual understanding was present between them. "Follow your heart, like my dear nephew did." he said, before summoning his inner inferno once more. The span of time he had spent not using firebending was enough to mostly regenerate his strength. He felt the flames return in earnest, as his feet and legs suddenly output a jet of flames. Taking a deep breath, he flared his inner fire, and before he knew it, he was rocketing through the air. When he realized that Azula hadn't attempt a parting blast at him, he felt confident that Ba Sing Se would remain sovereign, for now. As he ascended out of the cavern, and into the sky, he knew that his flaming form would be seen by most of the inner city, and certainly the Dai Li manning the walls that kept the city segregated and ordered. No shot, no arrow, no earth projectile came, however. Those who saw the rocketing form simply watched. All the better for him, Iroh mused. Once he left this city he'd be on the run once more, this time without his nephew. He recalled that soft, tender expression that Zuko had as he scooped the waterbending girl into his arms. He smiled, knowing that the girl would help him get through this. And so he faced the sky before him, as he accelerated his rocketing form away from Ba Sing Se.

As Zuko and Katara left the subterranean depths and reached the surface, they knew they had to hide- fast. Zuko picked up the pace, forcing Katara in turn to move her legs faster, much to her displeasure. She blinked wearily looking around. They had surfaced in an alleyway behind a row of tightly packed houses. They were in the Lower Ring of the city. As he pulled Katara further down the alleyway, he started to tug on the doorknobs of the wooden doors that they passed. Locked, locked, locked, locked- wait, he thought to himself. Twisting the doorknob of the last door he had tried once more, he heard a clattering sound. Giving the home that the door led into a brief up-down inspection, he suspected that it was abandoned. Perfect. Checking around to make sure no one was watching, he guided Katara over to the wall next to the doorframe. "Try to keep standing." he spoke softly. Katara nodded, managing to hold herself up. Zuko felt for the weakest point of the door and, with one last look at his surroundings, gave a quick but powerful kick just above the doorknob. The lock gave way, and the door opened forth. He pulled Katara into him, and allowed her to sling her arm over his shoulder again. He quickly pulled her inside, and shut the door, satisfied that it still closed, even if the lock was now compromised. Both Katara and Zuko had to wait a few seconds for their eyesight to slowly adapt to the dark interior. Light streamed in through old, dirty windows at the front of the home. It was a decrepit abode, with furniture strewn about, and dust covering every surface. "Well then... home sweet home?" Zuko offered, earning him a weak chuckle from Katara. "Yeah, sure." she said giving him a playful look. After a few seconds, Zuko decided to be bold, and he promptly scooped the girl off of the ground and directly into his arms. "Wha- Zuko?" she began, but Zuko simply looked forward, as he began exploring the house for something to put Katara down on. "O-Okay, I guess." she murmured, more to herself than anything. Tui and La, I'm so tired, she thought to herself. "Zuko?" she said, her tone quieter now. He paused and looked at her. "Can... I sleep?" she asked, hating how uncertain and timid that she sounded. "I mean, uh... sure? I'll uh, find a bed or couch or something, alright?" Zuko replied, taken aback by the silly request. "Hmmm... alright... Thank you..." she murmured, and before she knew it, all her energy seemed to dissipate. Sleep gracefully took her over, leaving Zuko to find a place to set her down.

After walking through the home for about a minute, he came upon a simple single bed with a somewhat scuffed mattress. Though dusty, it wasn't in too bad of a condition, and so he gently laid down Katara upon the bed. There was a thin grey blanket laying balled up by the foot of the bed. Sighing, he took the blanket, smacked it several times against the walls in an effort to rid it of dust, and then used his heated-up breath to warm the blanket. Once satisfied, he carefully draped it over the sleeping girl, leaving her injured arm outside the blanket however. There were several urgent affairs to address now. First, he took off the outer robe that he wore, and began to tie it around Katara's wound. Whenever he pressed against it, she whimpered softly in her sleep, sending guilt creeping through him again. If only I hadn't blacked out, if I hadn't betrayed her in the first place, maybe she'd be fine, he said to himself silently as he watched her eyelids briefly scrunch up tightly before relaxing. After a few moments, he moved away from her, now looking for a source of water. He moved from the bedroom, and crept quietly through the run-down home, wincing each time a floorboard groaned underneath his weight. He made his way to the kitchen, hoping to find a wooden bowl from which to collect water from outside. What he didn't expect to find was a water faucet. In the Fire Nation, he was used to luxuries such as these, but had become accustomed to not finding such modern technology outside of Caldera City. When he had come across one in the tea shop him and Uncle worked in, he had been blown away. And now, in a run-down, abandoned home in the Lower Ring? He moved his hand to the lever for the faucet and hesitated, before pulling up on it. To his utter astonishment, water began to flow out from the faucet, and it appeared to be clear too! He made a mental note to further respect those who had kept this metropolis running and had built it with such modern innovations in mind. He quickly looked around, finding an upside down wooden bowl laying on a stone counter. He rinsed the bowl briefly, before filling it up about two-thirds of the way. He turned off the faucet, and carried the bowl back to Katara who was still asleep. Good, he thought to himself: she needs all the rest she can get. He knelt down and placed the bowl down by the side of the bed, and then stood back up again. His eyes moved away from her and onto the dust particles that he saw floating in the rays of light that entered through the bedroom window. Zuko was set apart from Azula in many ways, and this was one of them. He recalled that she never really cared for the small things in nature, or even those around her. Never saw her gaze out at a sunset or sunrise like he had frequently, his mother by his side for many of them. She was always just... so focused. So intent on pleasing her father. Zuko could have almost felt bad for her, but then he remembered the situation he was in, and the wounds that Katara had sustained. He shook his head, hoping to rid himself of these melancholic recollections. As if on cue just to spite him, a memory of his mother explaining how to tend for wounds played in his head.

"Remember to wash out the wound using clean water or another disinfectant." Ursa told her son. "Mmhm." Zuko replied, wanting his mother to continue. "Once that's been done, then you wrap the wound, but not too tightly, otherwise the skin can't breathe, and then the healing won't be as quick." she told Zuko, her soft ambers meeting his. "Okay mama." was his reply. Just as the memory receded from his head, he realized something: he had wrapped Katara's wound before washing it out! Smacking his forehead, he knelt down beside the bed, and gently but swiftly unwrapped his robe from around her arm, earning another hiss from Katara in her sleep. If she wasn't in the throes of weakness-induced sleep, she would probably have woken up, he thought to himself. He very carefully picked up the bowl and brought the edge of wooden container to the wound's surface, and began pouring the water onto the badly damaged tissue. Katara whimpered again, her eyes scrunching up once more as the liquid seeped into the wound, while also dripping down onto the mattress. The water became filled with particles of charred, dead skin, and clots of blood, and the unsavory elements were pooled next to her body on the bed. Putting the bowl down, he used his robe to sweep them off of the bed, away from Katara, before picking the bowl back up and continuing to wash out the wound. Once he was satisfied, he put the now half-empty bowl down onto the ground, and now applied the makeshift dressing to the wound. This time, Katara didn't react as harshly, which was a good sign. Content with his efforts, he moved away from the bed, and opted to lean against the wooden wall, deciding that he would very much appreciate some rest himself. For now, they were safe. And that's all that mattered to Zuko. Slowly, his eyelids closed shut, as he let the bliss of sleep take him over.

They had been flying for hours now. Aang still hadn't waken up, and neither Toph nor Sokka had made any attempt to rouse him. All they had done thus far was to rinse his wound with some of the water that they had been carrying around with them, and had covered it with a shawl that Sokka had brought with him. Appa was beginning to groan wearily, signalling that they would need to land soon. With a sigh, Sokka began to guide Appa down, scouting out a clearing in which to set up camp. The sun was just about to crest under the horizon, and Sokka could already see several stars in the late evening sky. He looked back at Toph, who had taken to curling up beside Aang, clutching onto the saddle. She didn't appear to quite be there. Sokka had never seen her like this before, never seen her so weak. Turning back to scan his surroundings, he spotted a grassy clearing below next to a river, surrounded by a somewhat densely packed forest. This will do, he mused to himself, as he guided Appa down at a rather steep angle. "Sokka?" he heard Toph call, her voice tinged with a hint of fear. Turning around, he saw the reason: the speed of his descent was causing Toph to struggle holding on the side of the saddle, and Aang had shifted further back. "O-Oh, right..." he said, tugging back on Appa's reins to slow their descent. Eventually, they reached the solid ground once more. He first helped Toph get off, and then heaved Aang up over his shoulder, making sure not to put too much pressure on his stomach. He slid down Appa's body, before placing the airbender down on the soft, somewhat damp grass. Sokka checked Aang's breathing, finding it was at a normal, safe rhythm. Of course it is, a dark corner of Sokka's mind whispered. His face hardening, he resolved to not get too close to Aang, lest his resentment towards the younger boy cloud his judgement. Instead, he opted to gather all the belongings from the saddle. After a couple minutes, he had laid them all down neatly on a blanket they had brought with them. He set to work on setting up a tent. He glanced at Toph, who had been staring out into the woods, sitting next to Aang. He decided to not trouble her with this task.

Toph didn't know what to make of her world anymore. How could things have gone so horribly wrong? How... wasn't the Avatar supposed to keep his friends safe? Even though she knew, practically speaking, that Aang still had a ways to go in terms of his bending prowess, she had to blame someone for the catastrophic turn of events. She had grown fond of Katara, despite the initial animosity that existed between them. Heh. Katara. She was so used to referring to her as 'Sugar Queen' that her real name seemed almost foreign, especially when pronounced in her head. She thought about her friend, and her fate. She recalled the moment in the caverns when she scanned for her distinct heartbeat, and failed to sense it. At least, she thought she hadn't. There was a very faint sensation she had detected. It might have been Katara's, Toph thought to herself, but the fact was that such a weak heartbeat, if it was that at all, could only be present within someone on the verge of death. And they had left her to the crazed Fire Princess, leaving only Zuko to defend her. Zuko defending Katara. If you had told Toph that this had occurred even a day ago, she would have probably checked your heartbeat, hoping to tell just exactly what you were intoxicated on. But Toph knew it when she sensed the Fire Prince's pulse. That tight, defensive, coiled up beat, a rapid thudding, and the way that his head had darted to his sides, as if he was checking to see behind him. Every time that he did glance back, that heartbeat would respond in kind, which left one conclusion. How this had transpired, Toph couldn't fathom. She hadn't believed he could have compassion and empathy for anyone outside the Fire Nation, but as the events of this day had proven, it was possible for logic that had thus far worked out well to be completely upended. As she recalled Zuko's actions, she also realized that she had actually been bending with Zuko, somewhat synchronizing their respective elements' attacks. Her subconscious realization that he was on their side had probably played a role in her actions. Then, of course, Sokka froze. Whether it was from fear, panic, guilt, or a combination of all three, she hadn't quite ascertained yet. His boomerang was in his hand, but yet he didn't act. When she felt the ball of sheer heat spiraling towards her friend, she had acted on an instinct born of a strong faith in her element. The rocky plate withstood the initial impact of the blast, but had crumpled upon being moved slightly backwards. Then, the overwhelming heat of the dual blasts of fire she detected began to scramble what she could 'see', the sensations of earth and the distinct signatures of the other people present blurring. If she hadn't retreated at that moment, she suspected that she would have been left truly blind, and left defenseless against the wrath of the Crown Princess. It wasn't that she didn't trust Zuko to defend her (she had to have faith in him, him shielding Katara left no room for argument. But, still, it felt so weird to think of their enemy like this), it was that she didn't think Zuko could defend her, even he wanted to. His sister was just too powerful, and Toph reckoned that Zuko defending both the waterbender behind him and Toph herself would have been an impossible task. Besides, she knew that he would choose Katara to defend. She wasn't aware of any bond or connection between the two teens, but Zuko's heartbeat told her all she needed to know about his priorities.

As the moon began to spread its light on the landscape around them, Toph stood up from the ground where she had been sitting next to Aang's resting form. He would need the attention of a healer soon, if only Katara had been here, she bitterly mused to herself. She sighed, and let the eyelids covering her non-seeing eyes shut. It was best to relax her muscles. Inhaling and exhaling once more, she stomped her right foot on the ground, generating a mental image of her surroundings. She registered the location of a small river next to their clearing by the way her earthbending senses got blurry and out of focus as her senses reached the edge of the body of liquid. She registered a mental image of the forests that stretched out all around them, picking up individual grains of sand, the stray pebbles, the vibrant wholeness of the earth beneath her feet. It was a way for her to let the trauma slowly ease away, to temporarily take her mind off of the reality that the remaining members of Team Avatar faced. She focused on Sokka's figure now, having not concentrated on his signature throughout the length of her feat of bending. It was getting closer to her. "Toph?" the Water Tribe boy called out, his voice somewhat hesitant. Toph turned around, 'looking' at him. "I, uh... Sorry." Toph replied, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. "It's fine." he replied, smiling softly. Toph looked down at Aang's curled up form. "Let's bring him inside, then?" she asked, motioning at the Avatar. "Yeah... sure." Sokka replied, not bothering to completely remove the hostility for the younger boy from his voice. Sokka and Toph took his arms and legs respectively, and moved the unconscious airbender inside the tent that Sokka had managed to erect whilst Toph had gathered her thoughts. Once they deposited the boy inside, Toph placed a second blanket over his sleeping form. A sudden wave of sleepiness sunk over Sokka and Toph at this moment. "Ah, well... I guess sleep it is?" Sokka asked, shrugging, stifling a yawn. "Y-Yeah." Toph replied, letting out her own soft yawn immediately following these words. She went back outside to the collection of items and necessities they had brought with them, and picked out two blankets of her own. "Goodnight, Sokka." she called out, the word 'Sokka' hanging from her lips for a second longer than usual. "Goodnight." he called back, causing Toph to smile faintly. She chose an area just adjacent to the tent that Sokka and Aang were in, and earthbended a tent for herself, the bending taking longer than usual owing to her tiredness. Placing the blankets down, she quickly curled into a fetal position, and allowed the rhythm of the Earth beneath her to rock herself to sleep.

Sokka stepped out of the tent after a few minutes. He took in the calm night, observing the moon as it began its arc over the night sky. Yue, he thought to himself. Please, bring my sister back, he spoke mentally. He could have sworn he had seen the moon shimmer brighter in response- or maybe it was just his sleep-deprived and exhausted mind playing tricks on him. Whatever the case, he collected his own blanket from the pile outside the tent, and walked back in the tent. He looked at Aang once more, fighting the urge to lash out at him, before sleeping at the absolute corner, putting as much distance between him and the other boy as possible. He wrapped the blanket around himself, and within a few minutes fell into an uneasy sleep.

Well, that was that. Sorry for the delayed update!

I feel that the tension that Sokka is experiencing around Aang is an incarnation of his protectiveness over Katara. Unable to protect his sister himself, he's taken to resenting the Avatar, the only other person present during the battle. Hell, he actually respects Zuko more than Aang at the moment, because at least he's seen some evidence that Zuko had acted to protect Sokka's sister, even though she was his enemy.

As always, I would greatly appreciate your reviews!

In the next chapter I will start off in the morning with all the core members of the Gaang, plus Zuko. In addition, I'll be briefly exploring Azula's POV, and how her actions immediately after the battle keep Ba Sing Se free and unconquered.