DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor am I in any way affiliated with Michael Dante DiMartino or Bryan Konietzko. This story is purely fan-made.
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"You've got to be kidding." Zuko groaned. His hand was still entwined with Katara's, and he showed no signs of letting go anytime soon, which suited Katara just fine.She never wanted to be anywhere else but here, by his side. It felt right, felt natural, as though she'd never been anywhere else. At his words, Katara gave Zuko's hand a reassuring squeeze. He glanced at her and briefly smiled his gratitude, before turning back to Toph, serious once more.
"How far away are they?"
Toph shook her head silently, and then crouched low to the ground, placing both her palms flat. For a moment her face creased in concentration, and no one dared to move in case they disturbed whatever vibrations Toph might be picking up.
"They're about a mile away. But they're moving unnaturally fast."
Toph stood up straight and pointed to a solid wall ahead of them. "They're coming from that direction."
"But that's solid rock." Katara pointed out, before falling silent. "Oh." She whispered, as realization struck.
"I'd say it's safe to assume that Azula has rallied all the Dai Li agents and is now on her way here." Iroh said softly. No one spoke for a moment, as this news sunk in. Each was weak from days of not eating or sleeping properly, so no one's bending was at its peak. Azula and the agents however would be at full power, and would spare no mercy. If a fight ensued it would end in bloodshed.
"What do we do?" Katara asked, breaking the silence.
"We fight." Zuko replied evenly. Each of the people around him looked at him, their expressions that of disbelief.
"We have no other choice." Zuko said angrily, in answer to the questionable looks he was receiving. "Toph, you're surrounded by your element, Katara has a river right next to her and I've already proven that it's possible to Firebend down here."
"There's…what?" Toph asked, tilting her head to the side to imitate thinking. "About two hundred Dai Li agents? And there are four of us. Do the math Zuko."
"Azula isn't susceptible to people begging for mercy." Zuko snapped. "We fight, and we stand a chance."
"A chance of what?" Toph snapped back, "Living for another five minutes?"
"Guys." Katara cut across. Zuko's grip had tightened with every word Toph was saying, and she could feel the heat building. If he wasn't soothed soon, he'd end up burning her. "We don't have time. Zuko's right, we have to try."
"Fine." Toph said shortly, knowing she was outnumbered. "But if any of you die then I'm holding Zuko responsible."
"And if I die?" Zuko asked dryly. Toph paused momentarily, and then grinned.
"All our problems would be solved."
Zuko's eyes narrowed, and his grip on Katara's hand became so tight that she accidentally yelled out. Zuko snapped his gaze towards her, then immediately dropped her hand guiltily.
"Sorry." He murmured.
"It's fine." Katara said, although she shook her hand a couple of times to ease the pain. "Spread out across the chamber. As soon as the first sign of anyone coming through the wall shows, attack it. If we can drive them back then we may stand a chance."
Everyone nodded at her command, then proceeded to spread out. Toph and Iroh took the left side of the enormous cavern, whilst Katara parted the water so that she and Zuko could get across easily to the other side. Once they had, Katara allowed the water to crash back down, but she made sure none of the precious liquid was wasted.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Zuko said, gently threading his fingers through Katara's. Katara smiled, both at his words and his sign of affection.
"Thanks, but last time I checked I can hold my own."
"I know. It's just one of the many reasons why I love you." Zuko replied, smiling himself. Katara stopped walking momentarily and stared at Zuko, who also stopped walking, but averted his gaze.
"What did you just say?" She whispered, stunned.
Zuko considered lying and telling her that she had heard him wrong. After all, he wasn't good with expressing his emotions, especially to someone who meant as much to him as Katara did. Then again, if he really felt that strongly then why deny it? So a trademark smirk appeared on his face, and he looked down into Katara's eyes.
"In brief, I said I love you. Is that a problem?"
Katara smiled her beautiful smile and shook her head, squeezing Zuko's hand.
"Good." Zuko replied. His smirk remained, but inside Zuko was shining with happiness.
"I love you too." Katara replied softly. She turned to face Zuko fully and slipped her free hand through his. Zuko, surprised, closed his fingers around her smaller ones. In truth, he hadn't expected a reply. Sure, he'd hoped for one, but years of Azula's torment had left Zuko believing that no one would love him. But here Katara was, smiling up at him, just mere centimetres from his face…his lips. The gentle look in her sapphire eyes told Zuko everything he needed to know about this girl: that he loved her and he would not lose her.
Zuko slowly lowered his head and leant in, eyes closed, until his lips met Katara's softly. He could feel her smiling as she kissed him back, and she too leant in until she was close as she could be to Zuko. All thoughts of the impending battle fled from her mind, because now was a time for passion and for love. However, before things could get too passionate, an irritable voice rang out to them.
"Come on guys, focus!" Toph snapped. Katara opened her eyes and moved back slightly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. She glanced up at Zuko and saw that he was smirking, although his cheeks had the smallest tint of red on them also.
Now smiling, Katara gently unhooked Zuko's fingers from her own and stepped back, before walking away.
"Where's my goodbye?" Zuko called after her, slightly nonplussed.
"What goodbye?" Katara called back, a small smirk of her own appearing. "I'll be standing about ten metres away from you, if that."
"Right." Zuko replied, catching up to Katara, before pointing to his right. "Stand over there."
"That's the furthest point away from the wall, Zuko." Katara said, bemused.
"I know. So stand there."
Shaking her head at him in a teasing way, Katara did as she was told. It was sweet that Zuko felt the need to protect her, but she resisted the urge to remind Zuko of all the times she had kicked his ass in a battle. Besides, far away she may be, she still had a clear shot at the offending spot.
Turning back towards the river, Katara jerked her arms sharply upwards, and a large stream of water followed. She pulled back her arms, this time gracefully, and held them like that in an attacking stance, concentrating on her breathing. Soon she would be fighting for her life, and could not allow herself to be distracted by any means. Casting a quick glance sideways, she could see that Zuko had formed a similar stance, a torrent of fire spread between his hands. He too was concentrating, although his gaze was fixed on the wall, where any moment now his sister would burst through. Further on from Zuko stood Toph, her blind eyes narrowed in concentration. In between her hands a large piece of glowing crystal rested, its points sharp and most likely deadly. A few metres beside Toph stood Iroh, in a similar stance to Zuko, his face expressionless, his eyes staring ahead.
A few minutes passed in complete silence. There had been no attack, and Katara's arms were starting to get sore. She began to gnaw on her lip quickly glancing around. Her companions were still in the same positions, and they looked as fed up as she was.
"Uh, Toph?" Katara asked hesitantly, putting her arms down to her immense relief. Her blind friend's head snapped up, her mouth a grim line.
"They're still there." Toph replied, before Katara could even get her question out. "But they're just…waiting."
"Trap?" Zuko asked, his own eyes narrowing. He began to move forward, but Katara put a hand out, in signal for him to stop.
"If it is you're walking right into it." She explained, walking quickly to catch up with him.
"We could reverse the trap." Toph murmured, beginning to walk forward herself. "If we're quiet then they won't know we're coming until it's too late."
"Ah, the element of surprise." Iroh said, and chuckled slightly. "That brings back memories.
"Reminisce later, when we're alive." Zuko interrupted, still walking slowly to the wall, the others close behind him.
It seemed to take an age to get there, but that may just have been the anticipation making every step they took slower. Katara's heart began beating erratically again, and her legs shook slightly. Refusing to be afraid, she held her head higher and continued to walk, avoiding the shattered crystals around her.
They walked the way in silence, and it took them perhaps thirty seconds to get to the wall silently. Once there, they resumed the same positions they had been in previously, with the exception that Toph was standing in front of everyone else, her arms stretched as far out in front of her as they would go.
"On the count of three, I'll demolish the wall and you throw your strongest attacks. Got it?" She asked, through gritted teeth. They each nodded. There was a pause, before Toph continued. "I'm assuming you're all nodding, because in case you forgot, I can't see a damn thing."
"We're nodding." Katara confirmed, trying to hide her smile.
"Good." Toph replied. "One, t-"
There was suddenly a huge explosion, sending Toph, Katara, Zuko and Iroh flying backwards. Katara smacked painfully into the cavern's far wall, then fell to the floor. She did not move for a moment, for fear something may be broken; it had been a hell of a fall. She could taste blood in her mouth, and her eyes remained shut. Around her she could hear dim sounds, and that snapped her back to what was going on.
Around her she could see groups of men in green uniforms, running and moving erratically. They seemed to be rushing towards her, but she couldn't understand why. Then, comprehension came hurtling towards her.
It was a trap…Katara thought, as it dawned on her. They caught us by surprise, and we paid the price. They outnumber us four hundred to four.
She glanced around the cavern again. Well, maybe not four hundred, but we're still screwed, she amended.
She began to push herself off the floor as she noticed several figures clad in green rushing towards her. She stumbled back, her balance still off, but managed to stay upright. She could see Zuko in the corner of her eye, busy fighting off at least twenty Dai Li agents by himself. Just as Katara was about to run off to assist him, a stream of blue fire narrowly missed her right leg and she jumped backwards, cursing under her breath.
Azula stood nearby, smirking, her hands positioned to deliver another blow, and Katara quickly recovered from the shock and ran towards the river, her logic overpowering her as her mind began to panic. Her eyes swiftly glanced around the chamber, and it was even more painfully obvious that Katara, Zuko, Toph and Iroh were outnumbered. Way outnumbered.
Katara briefly turned around to collect some water, and when she turned back, ready to attack, Azula had vanished. But before Katara could breathe a sigh of relief, approximately ten Dai Li agents had surrounded her in a semi-circle, trapping her against the river.
Without a second thought, Katara withdrew more water and made a ball of it between her palms. She quickly thrust her hands outwards, causing the ball to expand. Pushing with all her might outwards, the water followed suit and smacked a few of the agents in the face, causing them to be temporarily distracted. It gave Katara time to withdraw more water, but it was not time enough to think of a more suitable battle plan.
Stay alive, Katara told herself sternly. That's the only thing that matters right now.
"We have been instructed not to kill you." Came the gravely voice of one of the agents, but Katara could not tell which one.
"What?" Katara asked, pausing for a moment in her confused state. Her eyebrows furrowed, but before she thought any further, she continually repeated her attacks, making them more and more powerful each time, until there were no more Dai Li agents standing around her.
Her chest heaving, Katara tried to catch her breath whilst looking around to see if any of her friends needed help. Before she could, however, a soft thud was heard in front of her, and ten more Dai Li agents surrounded her, each assuming an attack stance.
Cursing under her breath, Katara summoned more water.
"There are more of us than you can hope to defeat." Came a deep voice. Katara jerked her head to where she thought the source of the noise was, but each agent was now silent, their heads down and their eyes covered by shadows.
"You guys are creepy." Katara decided, knowing now was the time to start attacking again. However before she could throw a single drop of water, each agent, moving faster than Katara could have anticipated, tore a piece of earth from the ground, and aimed it directly at Katara. Her eyes widened as her eyes flicked from agent to agent, trying to find a weak spot. When the jagged pieces of earth slanted, forming a shield, Katara knew that escape would be impossible without assistance. Unfortunately, the only people that could help her were busy trying not to get killed themselves, so it was up to her to free herself.
Glancing behind herself swiftly, Katara knew that if she could just get across the river then she may stand a chance.
"We'll crush you before you can even think about it." An agent said suddenly, nodding his head towards the river.
"I thought you said you weren't going to kill me." Katara pointed out, a lot braver than she felt. She was annoyed that her only decent plan of escape had been ruined before it was even executed.
"Who says it'd kill you?" Asked another agent coldly. "A few broken bones here and there…it would stop you running off at any rate."
Katara nodded to show she understood, her mind frantically going through any possible plans for escape that didn't involve a slow, painful death. She decided that, for now, she'd have to play along to whatever game these agents were playing with her.
"I'm just going to look behind me. Don't kill me." Katara dryly told the men surrounding her, before slowly turning around. She saw each of her companions in similar situations, all surrounded and unable to fight. Then she saw Azula, followed by Mai and Ty Lee, walking around the groups, an extremely satisfied look on her face.
"Dai Li." She called out, her harsh voice ringing around the chamber. "Bring the prisoners here. I'm going to teach them what it means to trifle with royalty."
The two agents closest to the water swiftly stepped forward and grasped Katara by her upper arms. She didn't struggle, but allowed herself to be led over to where Azula was stood triumphantly, and where Toph, Iroh and Zuko were already forced on their knees in front of her.
Katara hissed through her teeth as she was roughly pushed down to the hard earth, barely missing the shattered remains of sharp crystals.
"You didn't seriously think you'd get away, did you?" Azula asked, the obvious gloating note in her voice nauseating. She stood impressively tall in front of her captives, Mai and Ty Lee standing behind her and the Dai Li assembled into neat lines behind them.
"I think it's rather obvious that we did indeed think that." Iroh told his niece, a polite smile on his face. Katara had to stifle a smirk, but Zuko shot his uncle a filthy look, then turned back to Azula.
"How did you know, anyway? That the Avatar wasn't where I said he was?" He asked, struggling to keep to contempt out of his voice. "Why did you come back?"
Azula smirked, and leant down so she was at eye level with her brother.
"Zuzu…" She began in a gentle, soft voice. Then her eyes narrowed and she stood up straight. When she continued to speak, her voice was harder and harsh. "I have Fire Nation soldiers posted every two hundred metres in a five mile radius outside of Omashu. Anything from an ant-worm to a ten ton flying bison could not have made it into Omashu without my knowledge." Azula paused. "Also, I was the one who taught you to lie. Do you really think I can't tell when you're lying?"
"I believe it was foolish of Prince Zuko to try to lie to you, Azula. After all, there can only be one lying, manipulating spoilt child in this family and that is none other than yourself."
Katara had expected Azula to be happy to receive such comments, after all she was all that Iroh had called her, and more, but instead she scowled.
"Odd, but for a retired "hero of our nation" you are surprisingly stupid in the face of death." Azula hissed, her lip curling.
"I am not afraid of death. I prefer to think of it not as the end of a journey, but merely the start-"
"Of something new." Azula finished, cutting him off. "But I can assure you, the only new thing you will be experiencing is excruciating pain any moment now."
"So why don't you just get it over with?" Snapped Toph suddenly. Katara closed her eyes and inwardly groaned, Zuko narrowed his eyes at Toph, and Iroh's expression remained neutral, with just a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Because I'm gloating." Azula explained with a smirk. "Although I'm not sure why. I mean, it wasn't much of a challenge subduing the four of you, was it?"
"Yeah, especially since you had a couple hundred helpers on hand. What's up, couldn't handle us by yourself?" Toph asked, now smirking herself.
"Shut up!" Zuko spat, sending death-glares to Toph, not that she could see them.
Azula's smirk vanished rapidly, to be replaced by a snarl. "I will not be spoken to in that way."
"Why not, it's the truth isn't it?" Katara asked, catching on to what Toph was trying to do. If they insulted Azula like this, then she may send the agents away and demand another fight against Toph, herself, Zuko and Iroh, a fight in which they stood a fair chance. Or it could have the opposite effect and make Azula kill them all.
But I'm trying to be optimistic, Katara reminded herself. Zuko shot her a look of disbelief, one that clearly asked "Have you gone mad?!"
"How dare you suggest I could not defeat peasants such as yourself?" Azula asked angrily, her composure starting to slip.
"We're not peasants. Well, Katara is." Toph started, much to Katara's annoyance. "But Zuko is your brother, and Iroh is your uncle, making them both members of the royal family. Oh, and go home and ask Daddy who the Bei Fong family is. Then come back and call me a peasant."
Does the Fire Lord have information on powerful families in the Earth Kingdom? Katara wondered, but did not dare say this out loud. What Toph said had sounded impressive…apart from the "Katara being a peasant" part. How long would it be until everyone saw past her background, and started seeing her power? Maybe after she managed to beat Azula would they see. After all, Katara was confident that, had Zuko not interrupted, Katara would have beaten Azula in the previous fight in the catacombs.
"You dare to speak to me in this way?" Azula hissed, her upper lip rising into an alarming snarl.
"We dare." Katara replied, smirking. Even if Azula would kill them, it was just plain fun to see her this mad.
Azula said nothing for several minutes. She stood there, glaring at the people in front of her and Katara could feel the heat radiating from her. The four guards stood behind them to ensure they didn't escape were starting to fidget uncomfortably, undoubtedly from seeing their leader this unbalanced. Even Mai and Ty Lee were glancing around nervously.
"You really think that you can beat me?" Azula asked finally.
"Oh good, you said something. I thought you'd forgotten about us." Toph muttered, adding fuel to the fire that was Azula's fury.
"Dai Li, leave." Azula said dangerously. Her eyes were flashing, and although they had succeeded in what they had planned to do, Katara was beginning to regret making Azula this angry.
"Mai, Ty Lee, stay." Azula continued. "Get up." She snarled to the four people in front of her, who obliged without hesitation, immediately getting into their attacking stance.
"I'm going to do you a great favour. I'll allow you all to die with a shred of honour, although I can guarantee that's all you'll have left by the time I'm through with you." Azula said, making circular motions with her arms, then placing her fingers together. Nobody had time to move, which was a good thing since Azula aimed her lightning not at them, but directly above herself. It was a sign of power more than anything else, as if they needed reminding of that. Suddenly regaining her calm, Azula turned to her enemies with an unnerving smile.
"I'm going to show you what happens when you mess with Fire Nation royalty."
A/N:
So…cliff-hanger again, huh? Sorry about that, but I wanted to finish the chapter. Hope there was more fluff, this being my first fanfic I'm not great at fluff yet lol. I read this through, but I was a little distracted, so if there any mistakes let me know and I'll rectify them as soon as I get back :D
I'm going to Spain tomorrow, so I won't be able to update for a week. Thanks to my reviewers, if you've got questions, comments, or praise, the don't hesitate to PM me or review (preferably review lol). Oh, and as always criticism is accepted, but please make it constructive! Thanks, and see you soon :D