Chapter 7
"Are you alright?" Su asked, after listening to a good five minutes of Zari tapping his foot on the ground. When she agreed to wait for his mother to be done with Katara, she thought they'd spent the time talking, not just sitting in awkward silence filled with tapping.
"To be honest, I've been better." the Prince was sitting on one of the chairs in his mother's tent so with nothing to do being still wasn't that easy. With some strength of will he steadied his legs and reached under his shirt for his father's necklace. He was developing a habit of holding onto it in hard times.
"You don't have to worry. Aunt Katara is the best at what she does, even my mom admits that. And your mom is easily the best firebender in the world, you don't have to worry." she may have told him not to worry one too many times for it to be believable.
"You're not going?" he asked to change the subject.
"No, I've been grounded in the middle of battle… That's gonna be a funny story when I'm old." Su smiled, but Zari didn't follow her lead.
"Tell me what to do?" Su asked since she was lost, "Should I keep talking? Should I just shut up? Help me out…"
"I don't want you to shut up." he paused after that and let go of his necklace, "You know what my parents used to do when they were in a tight spot like this?"
Suyin shook her head no.
"My mom told me that whenever they found themselves with their back against the wall, they'd make each other promises on what they will do if they manage to fight their way out alive. Just start a sentence with If we get out of this…"
"If we get out of this, I… I don't think I have anything. I just want things back to normal right now. You got one?"
"If we get out of this," he started, "I'm not coming back to my crew. I'm going back home and I'm enrolling in university. That's what I want to do, I don't care what anyone thinks."
"If we get out of this, I…" Su looked around the room thinking, "I'm going to try and fix things with Lin. We've never really gotten along, but she's been kind of nice to me lately."
"But you have to really do the things you promise here. That's the point."
"I know. I'll really do it. Your turn." she moved to the edge of her chair to be closer to him.
"If we get out of this, I want to take you to that play I promised when we first met. Just the two of us." he reached over and took her hands into his.
"I'd like that." Su saw he was getting closer as well and realized this could be it. Her first kiss. She'd imagined it countless times, reading all kinds of romance novels Kya lent her, and it was finally going to happen. She was ready! She saw Zari leaning in and closed her eyes like all the girls in the books did. Finally, after what felt like forever she felt his lips… On her cheek. That didn't count, did it?
She opened her eyes to find him studying her face for a reaction. If you want something done right…
"I think you missed." she smiled and leaned towards him to lock their lips.
Even though the kiss didn't realistically last that long, it was still long enough for them to get caught. They were interrupted by Azula's fake caught.
When they saw her the kids immediately jumped away from each other, like that'd fix anything... Su even took it as far as to actually get up like she was leaving.
"Oh, don't let me interrupt. I can come back." Azula smiled after realizing what had happened.
"No, I was just here while he waited for you." Su explained, heading outside.
"Just out of curiosity, who finally gave in?" Azula asked, shocking both Su and Zari.
"Mom!" Zari couldn't believe she just asked that aloud.
"Well, whoever it was I still win the bet…" Azula shrugged and walked inside.
"What bet?" Su asked.
"With your father. Since it was rather obvious you two would eventually end up together in one way or another, Sokka and I both placed a bet."
"Wait, you bet your children would end up together?" Zari cut in.
"Of course not. We bet on when our children would end up together. I had before the age of eighteen, so I win. And we added who'd make the first move as a bonus."
"Well, Su made the first move so I'm afraid you didn't win everything," Zari smiled.
Azula didn't say anything, just gave him a look.
"Seriously, you bet against me?" he finally realized, while Su couldn't help but laugh a little.
"I'll let you two talk, since that's why we came here." she left the tent.
There were a few seconds of silence between the mother and son, while he studied her face. She was smiling, but she still looked off, even with the new armor and tidy hair. He could see she was in constant pain and her eyes were the ones to give it away.
"Was Katara able to help?" he asked.
"Yes, she only wishes she could have worked on me sooner."
That wasn't a total lie. Katara was able to help with her symptoms since they were similar to withdrawal, but she could do nothing to help how it felt. How it hurt not to draw heat from anything she could get her hands on. Katara helped make Azula presentable, which is what they needed.
"I know you didn't want to see me, but I-" he started.
"No, love. I didn't want you to see me like this." she stopped herself from going too much into detail, "I still wish you weren't going."
"You know what I wish? I wish I never asked you to go out of hiding. I wish it was still just the two of us running our fleet…"
"You don't mean that. You got to see the world, like you wanted. You met so many people, your uncle, your cousin, Suyin."
"But I do." his eyes filled with tears, "It's all my fault. If I just lived with you without looking for something more, we wouldn't be involved in any of this. I should have been happy with what we had. You gave me everything. You always kept me safe…"
"And now I'm doing the same thing. Keeping you safe. You and everyone else."
"But why does it have to be you? There are so many living legends out there, real heroes… It's not fair."
"Because we don't need a hero right now. Those men we're fighting are monsters and the only thing that can beat them is an even bigger monster. And I'm the only monster we have."
"You're not a monster, you're my mom." he uttered before taking a step closer to hug her. He was holding on for a long time and she started suspecting that maybe Zuko had told him this might be the last time he sees her.
But he didn't know. He couldn't, but somehow he was feeling it.
oooooooooo
In a few minutes Zari left the tent and announced his mother to the large crowd already waiting outside. Azula came out with her head held high, looking like she could keep fighting this war forever. Like nothing was wrong. She was supposed to lead the march to the battlefield from their camp, and she'd be damned if she didn't do it like a princess.
"Thank you for this." Aang whispered, standing next to Azula.
"Thank me when I've actually done it, Avatar."
"I just meant… This is usually my job."
"Let's just call it recompense for the time I spent making your job considerably harder."
"I wouldn't call it considerably…"
"I would." she smirked.
Kya was also a part of the large group of gathered people. She was standing next to her mother when she noticed Lin and Tenzin standing beside Azula. Since they were on opposite sides of the crowd they couldn't really speak, but Kya used a series of hand gestures to make it clear she wanted to meet Lin away from the others to talk.
"What?" Lin asked once they were away from all the noise.
"What are you doing here?! You were supposed to stay where it's safe!" Kya grabbed Lin's shoulders, "I can't believe I even have to say this, but this is not a child-friendly war. You saw what those people do."
Kya stopped, since she was suddenly flooded with memories of losing Nuo on that beach.
"I can protect myself. I couldn't stay behind knowing all of you were in trouble." Lin insisted.
"We're not! Azula can handle this and-"
"Did you see her?! She's not good, Kya! Izumi will have to finish this and we have to be there to help her. It's on us now too."
"Lin, I don't want to watch anyone else die…"
"Then you stay behind! Because even if I am going to be a mother now, I'm still a friend and a sister and a police officer and I will never just stand aside."
Kya didn't know how to respond to that. One look at Lin's face and it was obvious nothing she said would change her mind. Her thoughts were interrupted when Su ran between them and hugged her sister.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Lin asked, returning the hug carefully.
"I have something to tell you. You won't believe who just showed up last minute with an army… Your-"
"Lin!" Toph yelled, "Why aren't you in armor yet?! We're moving out! This isn't your little vacation anymore! Come on!"
"Duty calls, sis. Kya." Lin got out of the hug and ran to find her suit. She was going to be careful. Yeah… No big whoop.
oooooooooo
Princess Azula was the one to lead their forces towards the battlefield since Aang was forced to stay behind. The Fire Lord and Prince Zari walked right next to the Princess, while Izumi was in the back with Bumi.
"Are you nervous?" Bumi asked while they were walking. He wanted to keep her mind off the threat for as long as possible, and honestly, his own too.
"I'm good."
"I just thought I'd ask since I remember you used to have those panic attacks from time to time."
"I'm not a teenager anymore. I've grown out of them."
"Sorry. Last time we were together you-"
"I know. I'm not that girl anymore."
"May I ask what your secret is?"
"I don't know. I just stopped thinking like that. Azula taught me some breathing techniques. And that was it…"
"Good for you." Bumi said and looked away.
"Princess," one of the soldiers approached the two of them, "Princess Azula requests your presence at the front."
"I'm coming." she said and immediately started heading for her aunt. Bumi followed behind, but the soldier stopped him.
"Just Princess Izumi, I'm afraid."
"Listen, you-" Bumi started, but was interrupted.
"Bumi, just wait for me here. I'm sure it won't be long." Izumi asked and got a nod as a response. She followed the soldier to Azula next and found herself at the front of the army.
Now she could clearly see the flames in the distance. It looked like the Earth Kingdom unit was putting up one hell of a resistance. Toph couldn't see it, but she could feel people bending and then stopping suddenly. The stopping was happening a lot and it kind of made her nervous. It's not that she cared if Kanto died, or anything, she just didn't want it like this.
"You wanted to see me, Aunt Azula?" Izumi asked.
"Yes, final instructions." Azula looked at the horizon, "If I go down… I need you to finish this."
"But I…"
"You're the next strongest firebender we have. I don't know if your father has it in him. Nevertheless, I'm counting on you."
"Alright. I practiced, I got this."
"No. You don't go in with heat absorption, unless I'm down. Understood?"
"Why not? I can take it!"
"No. Listen, when you start it'll hurt and it'll be hard, but then you'll start to get the hang of it. You'll feel like you can do it… That's when you stop. Or you'll cross the point of no return. Understand?!"
"Yes. Do it, but don't like it."
"Exactly. And, Izumi? Remember, one day you could be the single greatest Fire Lord our nation ever had. So you have to come back."
"I'm not sure about greatest…"
"Yes, you will be! I know these things."
oooooooooo
They soon reached the battlefield, but before they were even there one of their enemies fired a lightning bolt at the Fire Lord. Azula realized what he was planning and jumped in front of Zuko to intercept it. The lightning hit right into her chest, but she absorbed all of it.
"I thought you said I was ready to try it?" Zuko asked.
"Not this ready." she turned to his attacker and fired the lightning back at him, stronger this time. Zuko helped her with his fire and soon they overloaded the man's absorbing power.
After that Azula continued taking down firebenders in quite the same way as she did on the North Pole. Others just helped occupy some of the enemies so they wouldn't all swarm the Princess at the same time.
Izumi stuck to regular bending this time, even though she felt a slight pull to start using the new technique again. Guess, she wasn't as far from the edge as she thought. She mostly stayed next to Bumi and Sokka in the off chance they faced something that was more than their swords could handle.
Kya kept close to her mother, since they used each other's water often, while Tenzin lingered around Lin and Toph whose joined earthbending moves were making the ground tremble miles in every direction.
Then out of nowhere, a big fire stream comes straight for Lin. She saw it just in time to pull up a giant wall of earth in front of the blast, but it wasn't enough. The blast kicked down the wall and sent debris and Lin flying across the field.
"No!" Kya screamed.
"Not my daughter!" Toph immediately crushed the firebender responsible beneath a ton of rocks.
"Is she…" Katara started.
"She's alive!" Toph said, feeling the ground with her hand, sensing her daughter's heartbeat.
"Then leave her! We cleared this area, she'll be fine!" Katara yelled and turned around to keep fighting her way forward.
"She's pregnant!" Kya couldn't hold her tongue anymore. Why couldn't Lin just listen to her?!
Upon hearing that, both Katara and Toph ran to Lin. Kya didn't realize Tenzin was in the earshot of those news as well, but as soon as she spilled Lin's secret he stopped everything he was doing and ran over too.
"Lin, sweetie, can you hear me?" Katara kneeled on the ground next to her and started assessing her condition, "Kya, you go on!"
Kya listened to her mother and ran further to help Bumi out, while Tenzin continued standing next to them, shocked out of his mind.
"In or out, Baby Daddy?" Toph asked, before putting up an earth tent around them to give Katara the peace to work. Tenzin knew he was supposed to be on the inside of it, but not much else. He didn't do much except stare in shock. His head was spinning trying to cope with what he'd just heard.
"Lin, I really need you to answer!" Katara tried louder.
"Mhm… I hear… You." Lin managed, "I'm sorry…"
She wasn't really sure who she meant that for. Maybe for Tenzin for not telling him when she should have. Maybe for her mother and Katara for endangering their grandchild. And maybe for the baby who didn't deserve any of this.
Then suddenly, Lin felt her mother take her hand.
"Lin, I'm going to check if the baby is alright now." Katara said and took out her bending water to place it on Lin's stomach.
"I'm not feeling a heartbeat for the baby." Toph said with one of her hands on the ground to get a better feel.
"Oh, no…" Lin turned her head away from everyone as tears started pouring down her face. Then she felt her mother's hand squeeze hers.
"What I mean is, I've been around you a lot these past few weeks and I never felt two heartbeats. Unless it's really early…"
"And you felt a… Heartbeat for me?" Lin asked through the tears.
"Of course. There I was, getting ready for bed when I feel something. I didn't get what it was right away, but it soon became my favorite thing in the world."
"There never was a baby." Katara concluded her examination, "Kya must have made a mistake."
Everyone there seemed relieved, not just Lin.
"I can't breathe." she managed.
"That's because your ribs are cracked. I'll need to work on them right now."
oooooooooo
As Azula was using her new power more and more she started feeling like a normal person again. Her mind cleared and her body stopped aching. But like any addiction, she had to be aware it wouldn't stay like this. She had to know she could reach her limit at any moment.
Then, suddenly a giant lightning struck the sky above them. The thunder sound was deafening and it left Azula disoriented for a few moments. When she snapped back into reality she realized that every single one of her enemies had stopped attacking. She looked back at Zuko, Zari and the rest, but they looked as confused as she was.
Then she noticed someone was coming towards her. A woman, roughly her age was making her way across the battlefield while firebenders just cleared out of her way.
So she was in charge…
"That's close enough!" Azula yelled and the woman stopped.
"The legendary Princess Azula! I see you've taken to our way of life."
"It's not a way of life, it is a death sentence!" Zuko cut in.
"You will not speak here! A firebender famous for his burn… Pathetic!" the woman shut him up.
"I came here to fight you. This is between you and me." Azula said, preparing to react to a strike at any moment.
Be the monster. Be the monster. Be the…
"You know, our original plan involved putting you back on the throne." the woman said.
"I'm flattered, but I organize my own coups, thank you very much."
"But look at you now! A woman who was once a firebending legend, now no more than her brother's shadow…"
"You know, under the right light, a shadow can be much, much larger than the man that casts it." Azula smirked, "Now are you finally going to shut up and fight me?"
"You can't seriously believe you'd beat me with a technique I brought back from the dead. I spent my entire life studying it."
"And I flipped through the texts over a slow weekend. But you're still afraid…"
"I'm not afraid!" the woman got visibly agitated.
"Then give your men the signal and let's finish this!" Azula got into her stance.
"I will kill you, don't worry. But not until you remember me."
"I don't know you."
"But you do. You just need a little reminder… Royal Fire Academy for Girls." the woman pulled her hair back to give the Princess a better look at her face.
"Akai?" Azula's smile disappeared.
"You know her?" Zuko asked.
"From school." Azula said.
"No, no… Tell him. Tell your brother what you did." Akai insisted.
"Azula?"
"She was the fourth friend," Azula reluctantly started, "It was me, Mai, Ty Lee and Akai. Until I had to show her to her place. She was always a bending elitist, but one day she decided Ty Lee and Mai were slowing us down. Then she attacked."
"Are you telling me this is some personal vendetta you have against my sister?!" Zuko couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Far from it. Azula's still welcome to join us." Akai answered.
"Are you sure? I know we were ten, but I destroyed you in that match."
"It was more of an ambush than a match."
"Well, I see you've moved past it."
"I have."
"Then, what are you waiting for? Afraid I'll beat you again?"
"So you're a hero now? Just like that?" Akai didn't look like she was interested in striking anytime soon, while Azula could feel her bending frenzy dissolving. She was going to start feeling withdrawal symptoms soon. And she could feel they'd be much worse.
"Trust me, I'm every bit as vicious as you remember me." Azula relaxed her posture to appear like she could go on like this forever.
"You know what I find hard to live with?"
"That face?"
"No. The fact that you're just forgiven now… I heard you were on the run and then five years ago, boom, here you are. A hero. My parents died in prison for what they did in the war, like they weren't just following orders when they burned those villages! And I was left alone to fend for myself!"
"And you think I got reworded for what I did?" Azula asked.
"I'm saying, if you want to punish war criminals, Fire Lord Zuko, you should start with the ones in your family tree! And if that's not enough, she also escaped prison and I can only imagine one does not stay on the run long without breaking the law repeatedly."
"Princess Azula got a royal pardon for helping the nation evade a crisis, years ago." Zuko explained.
"Exactly my point!" Akai smirked, "And who cares about the rest of us, who weren't born princesses! I hope you see now I had no choice, but to turn to the only advantage I had. My father had scrolls describing the hardest firebending ever known to human kind. He used them scarcely, like the coward he was, but I… I had nothing to lose and everything to gain…"
Akai stopped for a second and looked at Azula carefully. The Princess was beginning to tremble, a symptom she knew all too well.
"The trick, I discovered, was to ease yourself into it. Start slow, build on it patiently… Something that you probably wish you'd done right about now." Akai smirked.
"Enough! I challenge you to an Agni Kai!" Azula yelled.
"Why would I accept when we all know my army is stronger?"
"Because you've been waiting for this rematch since you were ten…"
"Fine. Just me and you. Anyone who dares interrupt will die at my hand instantly."
Satisfied with how terrible the Princess looked, Akai jumped forward until she was a few meters from Azula and put out her hand. In seconds Azula felt an incredible coldness overcome her. So that was how it felt…
She quickly mimicked the woman's stance and begun matching her attack. She was always a strong believer in offense as the best defense. She'd managed to drain people without touching them on the Pole and she hoped she'd be able to repeat that now.
Everyone watched speechlessly while the two women both groaned in pain, trying desperately to overpower the other. Zari should have been frozen with fear at that moment, but he wasn't. He believed with every fiber of his being that his mother couldn't lose. He'd never seen her fail at anything she set her mind to. She always won in the end, she always found a way. Always.
So however it pained him to watch her suffer like this, he stuck it out, since he knew… He knew she'd bounce back any minute now. Any minute now…
Then he noticed his mother was slowly getting paler with every second that passed. No! She couldn't… Her knees trembled, then finally buckled and in just a few moments Azula was kneeling on the ground, but still fighting off Akai just barely.
This sight reduced Zari to tears. He immediately prepared himself to run over there and help her, but he was stopped by Zuko pulling him into his arms. The boy struggled and tried to break free, but Zuko knew better than to let him go. He turned so that Zari was facing away from the scene and hugged the boy without a word. After a few moments Zari hugged back and buried his face in his uncle's shoulder to cry.
"That's right." Akai smirked looking down at Azula, "You know, I actually thought you'd be better."
"I am better!" Azula used all of her strength to push herself forward in hopes of getting a better grip on Akai, but her enemy anticipated this and moved out of the way. Azula hit the ground, stopping her attack altogether. She would have been dead if Akai didn't end her attack as well.
"This is it?! This is who you chose to protect you?! Is this the best you have?!" Akai yelled to the opposing army. Upon hearing it, Izumi took one step forward, with the intention of confronting her, but Bumi stopped her by grabbing her hand. He looked straight into her eyes and shook his head no.
Azula was already clinging to consciousness by a thread, but falling to the ground made things so much worse. Her eyes were open, but instead of seeing Akai grinning down at her she saw Zuko in their Agni Kai. It was just bits and quick flashes, but all the anger she felt back then, all that hurt came back in a sudden. No, this couldn't be happening now… Her breathing became quick and erratic. Slowly, she tried to push the images out of her head and stand. She made it back onto her knees, but couldn't get further up.
"I bet you regret you didn't keep me as an ally now…" Akai said.
"I don't regret."
As Akai pointed her hand towards her one last time, Azula closed her eyes. She felt she was moments from losing her consciousness anyway. At least it wouldn't hurt if she blacked out first.
The next flashes in her mind were ones she called forth. Her and Zuko playing in the gardens without any parents around. Discovering she could make her fire burn blue. Traveling with Ty Lee and Mai at her side. The look in her husband's eyes when she told him she'd marry him. Zari beating her at Pai Sho for the first time. Zuko inviting her back home.
She wasn't ready for that moment to come to an end yet, she would have done anything to hold on a little longer. There were so many memories…
Firebending comes from the breath.
She recalled and stopped herself from exhaling. It made her feel like she'd stopped time.
Then she felt a touch on her shoulder. A touch, but not pain.
She opened her eyes to see a very confused Akai staring down at her. She was touching her, but it didn't hurt. Akai looked like she had every intention on finishing her, but it wasn't happening.
Firebending comes from the breath. Lock the breath, stop the energy from flowing…
Azula stood up, still holding her breath and channeled all her strength into punching Akai in the face. As soon as the woman's hand was off her, Azula breathed in.
"How are you doing that?! What is that?!" the panic in Akai's voice was apparent.
"Something that allows me to do this." Azula stepped towards her, held her breath again and tried striking one of the points on the body Ty Lee showed her. Akai dodged, recognizing chi-blocking immediately. She seemed even more scared now since she retreated as far as she could without going into the crowd.
"No! I had you! You were half dead!" Akai yelled from a safe distance.
"Oh, this isn't over yet." Azula looked over to her side, to Sokka who understood immediately and threw her his sheathed sword.
She caught it and drew out the blade.
"I don't need to use my bending to beat you." Azula smiled, "What? No draining anymore? Afraid I'll block it?"
Akai looked in shock, before turning around towards the crowd of her own soldiers. She put her hands in the air and almost instantly drained around twenty of them. Her own people… Some others tried fighting back, but she only sucked in their attacks.
"Akai, stop! Surrender!" Azula started, "Surrender, damn you!"
"Let's see you ignore this away!" Akai started doing the movement for creating lightning. Since she absorbed so much energy before, the sparks flying from her fingers as she moved were huge.
Even the clouds started showing sparks directly above where the woman was standing.
"It's too much! Don't be stupid!" Azula screamed, but Akai didn't listen, "Stop!"
At the exact moment Akai's right hand was at its highest, a giant bolt of lightning from the clouds struck her. That was finally more than she could handle so she detonated. The blast threw all near bystanders onto the ground.
In a few moments all of them started getting up slowly, all of them except Azula.
"Mom!" Zari was the first one to reach the unconscious Princess. He knew he couldn't do much to help her, so he just took her hand and called for her.
"Mom, please! Please, wake up! Mom…"
"Zari, I'm sorry…" Zuko put a hand on the young man's shoulder in the hopes of pulling him away.
"No! She'll wake up, if she hears me!"
"Zari…" Zuko tried.
"Mom!" Zari felt for a pulse, but couldn't feel one.
"No…" tears blurred his vision, but he wiped them off with one move and put his hands above his mother's body. He breathed in deeply and sent a small electrical charge through her heart.
Azula's body twitched, but nothing changed. She was still lying down lifelessly.
"Come on, Zari…" Zuko couldn't bare look at this anymore, so he just started pulling his nephew away.
"Leave him." Azula spoke softly and then opened her eyes. Zari leaned down to hug her.
"You gave us quite the scare." Zuko smiled down at her, "We need a healer over here! Kya!"
The rest of Akai's army of firebenders was in a difficult position at that moment. They hadn't really built a chain of command and they were left without someone to take charge. It was also a little disheartening to see Azula completely counter the best firebender they had.
Izumi saw they were looking at one another, thinking about their next move. Her aunt barely made it out alive, her dad was trying to help her stay that way… Izumi felt it was on her to fix the situation now. She looked over to Bumi for approval and he gave her a nod.
"You are all Fire Nation citizens!" Izumi stepped forward so that everyone could see her, "And you are all unwell. Some of you chose this, others were forced or not given enough information, but all of you deserve to get better."
Izumi made a long pause and looked over to her dad to see if he agreed with what she was saying. Then she continued, even louder.
"I have read the texts, same as you! I have abused their tricks, same as you! A Lone Flame by Master Akal reads I have never heard of a colony of our kind surviving more than a month, and I do not believe it to be possible, for once one discovers the effects of new fire it becomes as essential to the body as air. Firebenders who've practiced this have a zero percent survival rate! That means if you continue down this road, you will die! But if you surrender now, you have my promise as a Princess to this great nation that you will be given the help you need, before even thinking about any kind of trial."
She seemed to have the people's attention, but they still didn't show any signs of moving.
"Surrender and we will all find a way to fight this together. Surrender and live!" Izumi added and one of the men standing closest to her dropped to his knees and put his hands on the ground in front of him. More and more soldiers followed his lead until they were all down on the ground.
oooooooooo
Alright…
Let me explain how Azula won, since I don't really think I made it that clear, but you know… Second language, struggling…
Let's use numbers (yeah, making things simpler with math…)
At first Azula and Akai were trying to drain each other at the same time so for Azula it was for example: -5, +5, -5, +5, -5, +5
But since Akai is slightly more powerful it was more like: -5, +4.99, -5, +4.99, -5, +4.99
So after some time Azula was beginning to lose her strength because those little -0.01s add up.
But then she stopped trying to take Akai's energy and instead focused on holding onto her own. So it was like: -5 *0, -5*0, -5*0
Sorry, this is the only way I can explain it.
And yes I know that you shouldn't shock people that flatline, but it's a TV trope and I wanted it in. It's all magic, we don't know what would happen… And there is something special about Zari restarting Azula's heart.
Anyway, there will be one more chapter to tie up all my loose ends and then goodbye for a while.
And remember, it takes hours upon hours to write this and only seconds to review :)
