Content Warning: minor racism
I included a line in this chapter that is definitely racist and offensive, but I put a lot of thought into it and decided that it fits the character who says it, and is not a reflection of me, but is just a part of a character. I went back and forth with my beta on it, and reached out for opinions, and the general consensus was that it was okay. Please don't come for me in the comments!
Katara cut through the hallways of the palace with Mai hot on her heels. There was no more time for caution, and the two warrior women slid around corners and burst through doorways without hesitation.
They were in an unfamiliar part of the palace to Katara, but she didn't think that really mattered now. There was no rhyme or reason to the corridors and stairwells she and Mai were sprinting through. They were desperate, and hoping to come across Azula and Kiyi.
"Where would Azula go?" Katara asked Mai over her shoulder. "You know her better than I do."
The stoic noblewoman shook her head as her eyes combed their surroundings. "I don't know. Azula is...she's not Azula anymore."
Katara skidded to a stop and growled in frustration. "We don't have time to waste looking through the whole palace. It's too big."
"Azula might try to leave the palace," Mai said. "In which case, we might not find her in time."
"We have to try." Katara looked around, her mind racing. Where would Azula go? "She wouldn't give up that easily. She won't just leave, not when she fought so hard to get here."
Mai's eyes cut to Katara as she thought of something. "The throne room." Mai started forward. "She might wait there. She's expecting someone to come after her. Maybe she'll be there."
Katara nodded. She didn't have any better suggestions. "Okay, we'll look there. Do you know how to get to the throne room from here?"
Mai started off. "This way."
Katara followed the knife thrower down an unfamiliar corridor. A thought crossed her mind: what if Mai wasn't on their side? She could be working with Azula, in which case this might be a trap. Mai could be leading Katara right to Azula with every intention of turning on her. And she doubted she could take on both of them alone.
But Katara couldn't doubt Mai now. Mai knew the palace far better than she did, and Katara would never be able to find the throne room on her own. She would have to trust Mai, and if Mai did betray her...Katara would make sure she regretted it.
They burst around a corner and spotted two guards coming their way. Katara drew her water, but before she could attack, Mai flicked her wrist out.
Two shuriken knives cut through the air and buried themselves into the guards before they could even react. They crumpled to the marble floor, and Mai nimbly leaped over the bodies. Katara pushed past them and followed Mai.
They seemed to run forever until Mai turned down a hallway Katara recognized. She couldn't quite place it in her mind, but the double doors at the end were familiar.
"This way," Mai said as she started for the doors. "It's a short cut. We'll go through the garden and get to the throne room faster."
The doors were slightly opened, and the pair slipped over the threshold. Katara found herself standing in a garden faintly illuminated by lanterns. The moon was a narrow sliver overhead. Thick clouds, heavy with rain, were rolling in across the sky. Smoke filled the air and she could hear the sound of battle, of earth being shifted and flames crackling, of metal on metal and cries of pain in the distance.
But what stopped her in her tracks wasn't the sound of warfare. It was the garden itself, with its familiar cherry blossom tree and the turtleduck pond.
It was Ursa's garden. And Azula and Kiyi were right there.
The princess held the young girl with one hand fisted in her hair. She was talking to her, but Katara couldn't hear the words she said. Kiyi was sobbing. If Katara didn't know better, it almost seemed like Azula was trying to comfort the young girl.
She hadn't seen Mai and Katara.
Katara's eyes flickered over to Mai. The knife thrower's shuriken knives glinted in the soft glow of the lanterns. Katara nodded once.
The knife flew through the air. Azula turned. She twisted down, pulling Kiyi down along with her, just in time to avoid being pierced by Mai's blade. She looked up at Mai and Katara and her expression contorted into one of rage.
Katara and Mai pressed forward. Katara drew her water out as Mai readied more knives. Azula pulled herself to her feet with Kiyi positioned in front of her. She held her flaming hand next to the girl's terrified face. Kiyi sobbed and strained to get away from the heat of Azula's fire.
"You insolent fools," Azula hissed. Her bloodshot eyes fell on Katara. "I warned you not to come after me!"
Katara steeled her nerves as her mind raced. They had to get Kiyi away from Azula. That was the only way they would be able to take Azula down. But how?
"Let her go, Azula." Mai's gravelly voice cut across the courtyard. "It's over. If you let her go, Zuko will go easy on you. If you hurt her, he'll kill you."
Azula's eyes darted between Mai and Katara. Her blue fire illuminated her face, and Katara could see the madness in her eyes. It reminded her of the final Agni Kai, but this look in her eyes was much, much worse.
"Then let him come and try," Azula snapped. "He has sat on my throne for six years while I lived in filthy hovels. The crown is mine. He is supposed to be dead!"
"He isn't," Katara said coldly. "The throne is still his. The only way to legitimize your claim is to challenge him to an Agni Kai."
Azula laughed wildly. The sound was jarring and unnerving. She grinned viciously at Katara.
"Oh, no," the princess said. "I learned my lesson the last time. Zuzu doesn't play fair. He brings his little water tribe pet to fight his battles for him."
Katara clenched her teeth. They were never going to get Kiyi away from Azula like this. The princess was too far gone. As it always seemed to be, Azula had the upper hand.
Time seemed to slow down as Katara wracked her brain for a solution. She could try to bloodbend. That really seemed to be her only option. Even if it only lasted for a moment, just enough to get Kiyi away from Azula.
But Katara didn't know if she possessed the strength to do it. The full moon had passed over them in the desert, and now it was a thin sliver in the sky. She could feel it giving her strength, but it wasn't enough. I've got to think of something else, Katara thought.
Her eyes cut around the courtyard. Azula stood to the side of the turtleduck pond, which could be to Katara's advantage once she got Kiyi away from Azula. But what else was there? If not her blood, then what else could Katara use?
She suddenly thought of an old woman she hadn't thought about in years. Hama. Katara thought of the words Hama had spoken to her before she showed her the darker side of waterbending. There's water in places you never think about.
Katara reached out, feeling for her element. It was strongest coming from the pond, and from the skin at her waist. But there was more, beyond that. She could feel the water flowing through the stalks of the grass, through the roots and boughs of the willow tree beside the pond. Katara thought of Huu, the swamp bender who could control vines. Katara had only experimented with plant-bending, but she knew she could do it. And it didn't take a full moon.
But how could she use that here?
Katara looked around. Azula and Kiyi stood beneath the willow tree. The long fronds trailed down into the water, and Katara could sense how plump they were with water. If she could move them slowly, carefully, behind Azula, perhaps she could grab Azula before she could react.
Katara peered over at Mai. They needed to keep Azula talking. Katara only hoped Mai would catch on to what she wanted to do, and help her distract the princess.
"Then what do you say we have a rematch?" Katara quipped. She moved her fingers fractionally, reaching out for the fronds. "Me and you, just like old times. Only without a comet to boost your bending this time, I'll understand if you don't feel confident enough to defeat a lowly water tribe peasant by yourself." She smirked arrogantly. "But, I'm pretty sure I can beat you again."
Azula's teeth gnashed together. "It was a fluke that you won, you filthy peasant! You are not worthy to even think you can challenge me to an Agni Kai."
"Sounds to me like you're scared," Katara drawled. "I mean, it does seem like you've lost your edge, using a little girl as a shield and all."
Her eyes flickered to the willow fronds. They were moving slowly through the water to the bank, snakelike and alive. They were just beyond Azula's peripheral vision, so hopefully, as long as Katara moved slowly, she wouldn't notice.
"I am afraid of nothing and no one!" Azula snapped. She pushed forward a step, pushing Kiyi forward. "I will kill you!"
Good, keep coming closer, Katara thought.
"So let Kiyi go and we can fight, right here and right now," Katara pressed on. She saw Mai glance at her from the corner of her eye, and Katara gave an imperceptible nod.
"Or better yet, why don't you fight me?" Mai said. "I think we have an unfinished score to settle."
Azula's burning gaze cut to the knife-thrower. "Oh, we absolutely do, Mai. I haven't forgotten your betrayal. What was it you said? That you loved my brother more than you feared me? That I miscalculated?" Azula smirked cruelly. "Well, it looks like you're the one who miscalculated. It seems my brother has an affinity for dark meat."
Mai's jaw tightened, but she didn't rise to the bait. "If given the chance, I'd do it again, Azula."
Azula's smile widened. "Well, it seems that chance might be coming very soon."
Just then, three things happened very suddenly and all at once. Azula stepped forward, lifting the hand holding the flames as though she was going to attack Mai. The willow frond, which Katara had carefully maneuvered behind the princess, rose up, ready to wrap around the wrist holding the fire. And then a great, blinding light flooded the night.
Katara shut her eyes against the brightness, but it permeated her eyelids and blurred her vision. She heard Kiyi's cry, and Mai's yelp of shock. A roaring sound split the night, like the wind rushing past one's ears when they jumped from a tall height. The sound rose into a crescendo as the light brightened, and Katara clapped her hands over her ears as she dropped to her knees at the sound. The plant she had been manipulating fell uselessly to the grass.
Then the light vanished as quickly as it had come. Katara opened her eyes. Azula was staring up at the sky, wide-eyed, her mouth agape. The flames still flickered in her hand, but she was utterly distracted by what was unfolding. She had loosened her grip on Kiyi. Katara followed her eyes, and what she saw took her breath away.
The entire sky was filled with a shimmering, silvery fog that was not of this realm. It swirled and pulsated like a living thing. Katara could feel its power in the air. It felt...familiar, somehow, but it was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
Katara couldn't believe her luck. Azula was still distracted by what was unfolding in the sky. She reached out with her hand and took control of the frond again. It responded to her, and Katara raised her arm. The frond obeyed her command, and Katara lashed it around Azula's wrist. With a jerk of her arm, the frond snapped back. Azula was pulled off-balance and the flames died in her hand as her hold on Kiyi lessened.
"Run, Kiyi!" Katara screamed as she rose to her feet and brought her other hand up.
The girl reacted quickly as she ducked out of Azula's grasp and sprinted across the garden. Mai scooped the girl up in her arms and retreated behind Katara. She lingered there, just in case Katara needed help.
Azula turned her fiery gaze on Katara. Her lips were pulled back in a feral snarl as she strained against the fron holding her hostage, like a caged animal.
Katara reached out for a second frond. Azula punched outwards, and a jet of blue fire left her fist and arced toward Katara. She dropped and rolled away from the blast, never letting go of her hold on the willow. Azula followed through with a second blast, and Katara used her free hand to pull the water from the skin on her waist to extinguish the fire.
"Mai, get Kiyi out of here!" Katara yelled as she whipped her water at Azula's face. "Find Zuko!"
"No!" Azula screamed. She brought her hands together and down and cut a large blast of fire at Mai and Kiyi.
Katara moved quickly, bringing her free hand up to draw water from the pond to create a wall between Azula and Mai and Kiyi. She froze it, and Azula's attack hit the ice. Katara's defense extinguished the flames, but Azula's fire still burned hot enough to melt through it before it died.
She didn't look over her shoulder to see if Mai listened to her, but the sound of Kiyi's sobs lessened until they were gone. Katara ducked to avoid another fireblast.
"Give up, Azula," Katara shouted. "It's over. No one has to get hurt!"
"I will never give up!" Azula shrieked.
She brought her free hand up. Blue flame pooled around her fist, and she launched a powerful jet of fire at Katara. Katara raised another wall of ice to protect herself, never relinquishing her hold on the frond that still held Azula's wrist.
Katara melted her ice wall and looked in time to see Azula bring her flaming hand down on the willow branch wrapped around her wrist. The frond gave out, and Katara found herself controlling a useless stub. She let it go and firmly planted her feet, remembering the lessons Zuko had given her on the ship about keeping her root. Katara held her water at the ready, preparing herself for Azula's next move.
The princess twisted back toward Katara and lashed out with whips of fire, growling ferociously. Katara jumped to the side as she formed whips of her own.
"Stay still, you filthy peasant!" Azula whipped at her, and Katara danced backwards as she deflected Azula's attacks. Katara had always found talking during a fight to be a waste of energy, but it didn't seem to affect Azula's skill.
Azula fought with fury, and Katara found she couldn't attack the princess. She could only block and parry Azula's flames. And each time Azula's fire whips made contact with Katara's water, it turned Katara's weapons into steam.
"What's the matter, peasant? Running out of steam already?" Azula cackled. "What happened to all of that big talk? Your weak attacks are pathetic!"
Azula was driving Katara back, away from the pond. And as hard as Katara tried to hold her ground and refuse to budge as she blocked Azula's blows, Azula was succeeding. The princess attacked with a strength that defied her haggard appearance. It nearly rivaled the force she possessed the day of the comet.
That's what desperation does to a person, Katara mused as she sidestepped a whip of fire and lashed out with a whip of her own. Azula knows she's backed into a corner. If she can't stop me and get away, she knows she'll go back to prison.
But desperation did something else to people too: it made them careless. Azula was not attacking with precision. She was using brute force. Katara had never quite encountered an Azula like this. The facade of the pristine, strategic princess had only been slipping on the day Sozin's Comet arrived. Now it had vanished entirely.
Azula was unpredictable and wild, and her distress would make her reckless. Katara could use that to her advantage. She searched for an opening.
Katara leapt back to avoid a wave of fire and countered with a deluge of water that whipped at Azula's ankles and forced the princess back a step. Katara saw her opportunity, and she took it, lashing Azula with her water whip. The attack scourged the princess across the cheek, and Azula reeled back, her mouth dropping open in shock. A trickle of blood seeped from the wound, and she touched her fingertips to her cheek. When she saw the crimson staining her skin, she turned her eyes back to Katara. Her eyes blazed as her lips curled back in their trademark feral snarl.
"You bitch! You dare to make me bleed?" she shrieked, and in a sudden, fitful frenzy, she launched herself at Katara. "I'll show you blood!"
Katara was not prepared for this unexpected attack, and Azula barrelled into her. The two went stumbling backwards over the grass, and Katara barely managed to stay on her feet as she raised her hands to block Azula's blows.
But Azula wasn't attacking with fire; she pummeled Katara with her bare fists, landing blows on Katara's face and shoulders. One punch sliced Katara's skin above her eye. Blood oozed warmly down her sweat-dampened face. Another bloodied her lip.
Azula kicked Katara in the stomach with her booted foot. The breath left her in a sharp gasp, and Katara staggered back from the blow. Azula pounced, like a tigerdillo coming in for the kill, and the two went tumbling to the ground.
Something rough and hard hit Katara's shoulder. She felt the burning scrape of her skin against rough stone as her tunic was torn and her shoulder grazed against one of the statues in the garden. Katara banged her head against the statue on the way down, and stars burst in her eyes. She blinked to clear her vision just in time to see Azula's foot coming down toward her.
The air was pushed from her lungs once more as Azula kicked her in the ribs. Katara could feel the sharp pain as her ribs cracked, and Katara curled into her side instinctively. Azula brought her foot down again, and Katara raised her hands to protect her head.
"You actually think you are worthy to fight me?" Azula screamed as she continued to lash out. "You are nothing but a water tribe peasant! Just another pathetic whore for my brother!"
The toe of her boot caught Katara's chin. She bit her tongue between her teeth and tasted blood in her mouth as her vision blackened at the edges.
Her shoulder was a mess of pain, and she could feel the blood from it soaking into her tunic. Her ribs were roaring in protest with every breath she took. She needed to get up. She couldn't continue to lay here and let Azula beat her down.
Katara caught another blow on her forearm, and with her free hand, she grabbed Azula's ankle and yanked. Azula wasn't expecting it, and she staggered, thrown off-balance. Katara pushed herself up into a sitting position, gritting her teeth against the agony in her ribs. She pushed against Azula as she leapt to her feet. Azula fell backwards and landed on her back in the grass. Katara sprinted away from her, back toward the pond. She needed her element in order to defeat Azula.
Her tongue throbbed, her jaw was sore, her shoulder burned with pain, but by far the worst was the aching stitch in her side where her ribs were fractured, or possibly broken. Katara was floundering, while the worst she had done to Azula was cut her cheek. If she didn't gain the upperhand, and soon, Katara didn't think she would at all.
But where was Mai with Zuko? Where was anyone? Were they all so preoccupied with the fighting that they didn't notice her continued absence? Or Azula's? But Katara couldn't focus on that now. She needed to focus on taking out Azula.
Azula twisted and pushed herself up onto her feet. She launched a fireball at Katara with a ferocious snarl. Katara blocked it with a wave of water and sent a trail cutting through the air at the princess. Azula punched through it and swept out with her leg. A wave of fire scorched the grass at Katara's feet and she batted it down with her water. But Azula was quick. While Katara was putting out the fire, Azula sent another jet of fire her way.
The flames grazed Katara's ribs, and she cried out at the sudden, horrific pain. Her tunic caught fire, and she frantically splashed water against her ribs. Pain pulsed through her, but Katara had no time to heal herself. Azula pressed forward, punching blasts of fire that Katara was hard-pressed to deflect. She was forced to favor her left side, where Azula had now wounded her twice.
Then she saw it. The move that she had been dreading to see again. Cold fear pooled in her belly. The lightning sparked at Azula's fingertips. Katara felt the electrical charge in the air. It raised the hairs on her forearms and crackled across her skin.
For a moment, all of the pain seemed to disappear and Katara felt like she had stepped into a memory. She could remember the helpless horror she felt when she had watched Azula conjure lightning under a blood-red sky, a feeling that had transformed into abject terror when she realized Azula was turning her deadly lightning on her. Only this time, Zuko wasn't there to save her.
Katara would have to save herself.
As the lightning left Azula's fingertips, the world around her seemed to slow down again. Katara brought her arms up, and poured everything she had left into that move, pulling as much water to her as she could.
The pond obeyed. A wall of water rose up between the two princesses. She ignored the burning ache in her ribs and gritted her teeth against the pain. Katara wasn't sure if the water would absorb the lightning the way it did on the open sea, or if it would pass through it. She was taking a risk here…
Then the lightning hit the water. Katara watched as it spread throughout the fluid, sizzling, sparking, surging. She could feel it there, in her element, charged and deadly.
Katara met Azula's gaze. The princess narrowed her eyes and brought her hands up again, more lightning sparking at her fingertips as a manic smile curved her lips. She intended to end Katara, right then and there.
Katara didn't think. She just reacted.
She pushed her arms out and the water responded. The electrified wall of water wrapped around Azula in a hollow whirlpool that rose above her head, trapping her. And with nowhere to go, the lightning continued to sizzle through the water. Azula stood in the center of it, her eyes never leaving Katara's as the lightning died at her fingertips.
Katara could see Azula's seething hatred. She could see the madness in her eyes, her unwavering drive for power and blood. She knew Azula would stop at nothing until Zuko was dead and she sat on the throne. She was dangerous.
Azula brought her hands up, conjuring blue fire. She was going to break through the water, and then the fight would be back on. Azula was filled with dark rage, and she would continue to attack Katara mercilessly. Zuko and Mai should be there any minute, but Katara didn't know if she could hold out against Azula for much longer.
She had lost too much blood from the cut on her shoulder. Her tunic was soaked with it. Her breath was shallow and ragged as her ribs pinched painfully. The edges of her vision were wavering and her head throbbed. It was taking all of her strength to hold up the water and stay on her feet. If Azula broke out of the whirlpool, be it from her own attacks or by Katara losing consciousness, Azula would win. But Katara knew she wouldn't just lose the battle. She would also lose her life.
Azula would never let her walk away from this.
Katara stared at the princess for a moment, panting hard and straining to keep her focus sharp. Something dawned in Azula's eyes as she registered the look on Katara's face, but it was too late.
Katara drew her arms in close, and the water wrapped around Azula like a blanket, encasing in her an electrified sphere. The water surged against Azula, utterly enveloping her.
The next few moments were utterly horrifying.
The galvanic charge from the lightning strike pulsed against the princess. Azula's body convulsed as the lightning, her lightning, passed through her, her arms and legs twitching and quivering. Azula's mouth was opened in a scream Katara couldn't hear over the electrical sizzle as air bubbles poured past her lips. Katara watched Azula's eyes roll up in the back of her head.
Then Katara dropped her hands, and the water collapsed. Azula fell to the grass with a dull thud, limp and unmoving. The smell of burnt flesh mixed with the odor of smoke and water and hung thickly in the air. She was dizzy, from the bloodloss, the pain, and the horrifying event that had just transpired. Her stomach lurched as she looked upon what she had done.
She found herself staggering across the grass toward Azula, cupping her injured side.
Azula lay still on the grass, thin wisps of black smoke rising from her burnt clothing. Katara fell to her knees next to her with a gasp of pain. Her vision wavered for a moment before it cleared, and she looked down at the princess. Azula's eyes were closed. Her skin was lacerated with burns, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Katara raised her hand to check for a pulse and saw the way her fingers trembled. She swallowed hard against the cold taste of horror rising in her throat. She touched her fingers to Azula's neck, and felt nothing.
Katara had killed Zuko's sister.
The world around her began to spin, and Katara choked back the bile that rose in her throat. She curled in on her injured side as a broken cry left her. Her ears roared as her vision darkened. Her wounds were bad. She didn't know how badly she was injured, but she knew that the wetness she felt running down her back wasn't just water from the battle, and the ache in her head was serious.
And now, there was Azula. She looked so young, so small, lying there in the grass. Peaceful, almost. If Katara didn't know better, she would think Azula was sleeping. Her hands lay limply at her sides, and it was hard to believe those hands, so fragile-looking, could conjure the power of storms and wreak havoc on the people Katara loved.
Katara was tired, so very tired. And, she suddenly realized, she was quite cold. Gooseflesh cropped up on her skin and she shivered. She didn't have the energy to shed the tears that welled up in her eyes. Sleep...she just needed some sleep. Maybe she would wake up feeling better. Or maybe she would find that it was all just a terrible dream. The blood and the bruises would only be a figment of her imagination. The pain wouldn't be real. Yes, that had to be it. She just needed to sleep.
Katara laid down beside the princess and let the darkness take over.