Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Avatar. Unfortunately for us Zutarians. -sigh- (and yes, I will contnue to insist I am right :p 3 seasons of foreshadowing and allusions cannot be wrong! i know, i know, i need a life, please don't tell me.)

Also, just as a warning, this one is rather long and detailed. But it's an epic fight scene, right? Right. And I could not allow myself to skimp on the details at the end, since it is my favorite part of this chapter. And, in my opinion, how it should have gone in the movie. So blame DiMartino for this one, mkay? Had he ended it right, you would have been spared. :p Allow me to apologize for him. Anyhoo, ONWARD!

Ignition

Chapter 2: Flames

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother…" Azula muttered from the opposite end of the battle field, her voice laden with disdain at the word "brother", as if the mere reference to the identical blood flowing in their veins put a bitter taste in her mouth.

"No, you're not." Zuko growled in reply. He knew for a fact that she was enjoying every moment of what she assumed would be a perfect victory. Her overconfidence annoyed him. It made him want to lash out and destroy her then and there. The desire to obliterate her, the images of her lying on the ground broken and wasted, her clothing scorched, were strong and threatened to crush him beneath their weight. Zuko shrugged it off. Her overconfidence was of no consequence, at least not for Zuko. He would not let it affect him, only her. After a moment's pause, he regained his composure and control. The prince brought his right hand to level with his shoulder, his palm open and his fingers spread, ready to defend. His left hand remained close to his body, ready to strike. His left food slid backwards easily and he bent at the knees, a small cloud of dust rising from the ground at his feet. His stance was centered and strong; powerful, just like him.

Azula swayed from side to side and steadied herself. Strands of her recently-brutalized hair fell across her face, partially shrouding her deranged eyes. With a toss of her inane head, she temporarily cleared her line of sight in time to see her brother take his stance. She paused for a moment, drawing her hands close to her chest, a maniacal smirk plastered upon her face. She smirked at her brother. Goodbye… she thought, before spinning on her heel. She thrust her hand forward and from it erupted a ribbon of blue fire, barreling down upon Zuko.

Zuko leapt into the air and landed with his feet separated, balanced, and brought his fists downwards to the earth in an aggressive thrust. Rings of flames encircled his fists and merged as one, sending a blazing orange and red inferno back towards Azula. The two conflagrations collided, causing the arena to retain an unearthly glow. The flames seemed to mix as well as oil and water. They refracted and sent streams of multicolored flames in every direction.

The heat from the fires was immense, and Katara began to sweat as she watched the wall of flames between the siblings grow in intensity and size. She watched as sparks flew. It was both beautiful and devastating at the same time; she knew one would not survive, and could only hope it would be Zuko.

The flames dissipated in what resembled a flaming cyclone. Without a moment's hesitation, Azula threw herself into the air, propelled by her fire. Multiple explosions emanated from her hands and feet and proceeded to rain down upon Zuko. Her movements were swift and aggressive, and obviously well-practiced. Her talent was blatant, her form nearly perfect.

Zuko returned his sister's attacks with equal ferocity. His hands and feet were nearly a blur as he spun, dodged, leapt, and attacked. His form had never felt so flawless, so refined. Zuko had never experienced such a challenge, yet never before had he been so at ease while fighting. It seemed…fitting. This only confirmed his belief that what he was doing was right, and he threw himself further into the battle with increased determination.

Their attacks did not weaken, their defenses did not fall. Neither retreated or made any signs of letting up. They did not flinch when the other's attack came within inches of their bodies. Zuko remained steady, his feet planted, despite a wave of his sister's electric blue flames raging less than a foot away from him. His attack did not falter in the slightest. In fact, the close proximity of his sister's power seemed to spur him on; his flames increased in strength, their color growing brighter as they raced past Azula. Each dispersed the attack of the other easily, and for an instant, all was still. The siblings glared at each other, their hatred almost as strong and capable of burning as the fire they had just extinguished. Azula looked, if possible, even more insane than she had previously; she had come to the bitter realization that this would not be as easy as she had previously thought. Zuko remained calm, controlling his anger and channeling it to increase his power. He noted with slight amusement that the building behind his sister had caught fire.

With renewed fury, they threw themselves back into the fray. Azula leapt high into the air and somersaulted forward, creating what looked like a fiery whip. It flew towards Zuko and threatened to wrap itself around him; to consume him. He created an orb of fire around himself and held his arms steady before sweeping them outwards. This broke the orb in half and propelled the fractions outward, parting Azula's attack like the Red Sea. There was another pause in the fighting whilst Azula merely stared at her brother, her breath growing heavier. Zuko returned to his defensive stance effortlessly. He shows no signs of tiring… she thought, How can this be? She ground her teeth and her eyes narrowed further. No matter…she would show him the meaning of exhaustion.

Zuko made the first move. He drew his right arm upwards and plunged it downwards, creating a twisting, serpentine line of fire that sped towards his sister at an alarming rate. Azula barely had time to react, and leapt aside as her brother's attack raced past her. She used it as a shield and propelled herself around it, speeding towards Zuko at breakneck speed. Wild and aggressive jabs with her fists sent blaze after blaze of blue fire hurtling towards Zuko, who launched himself into the air, allowing it to pass beneath him. He too created a fire whip and landed, hands clasped with his fingers pointing forward, to send it raging towards Azula. Their flames contrasted sharply: red against blue, brother against sister. Azula slowed her attack in order to project herself forward faster. She began to circle Zuko, similar to the way a wolf will circle its opponent, waiting to strike. Zuko followed his sister's movements and fired numerous attacks, which his sister managed to dodge. Growing tired of the proverbial cat-and-mouse, he threw himself to the ground and spun, creating a whirling inferno which he sent speeding towards Azula with a sharp, decisive kick. Azula was caught off-guard. Her brother's attack made full frontal contact and for a moment she was airborne. Her eyes widened as she was pitched into the air. This can't be happening… she thought before she hit the ground.

Azula's momentum caused her to roll sideways repeatedly before skidding to a stop. She groaned as she tried to stand. In the commotion, her hair had come loose and now hung, disheveled about her face. This only contributed to the flagrant air of insanity now surrounding her. Her breathing was labored and she swayed unsteadily, scowling at her brother. Her insignificant, banished brother. This was not supposed to happen. This could not happen. She would not allow it, and her word was law. Damn it, I was born to do this! she thought furiously.

"What, no lightning today?" Zuko called, his tone mocking, as if this was an argument on the playground among children. "What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?" he chided, goading her on. The furious look on his sister's face told him it was working. He had her in the palm of his hand. Now all he had to do was play his cards right…he took a more defensive stance.

"I'll show you lightning!" Azula growled. She began to sweep her arms from side to side and Zuko watched, anticipating the attack to come. He remembered his Uncle Iroh's technique for redirecting lighting and was prepared to employ it; he controlled his breathing. The lightning at Azula's fists grew rapidly as she twisted from side to side, almost dancing. Her movements reminded Katara of a cobra she had once seen being charmed, only she was quite sure there was no way to charm this serpent.

The lightning now surrounded Azula, giving the arena a flickering, blue glow. It wrapped itself around her like electric ribbons with Azula at the epicenter. Azula prepared to fire the lightning storm at her brother when something caught her eye. She realized her clever brother had placed himself between her and the Water Tribe mutt at the beginning of their battle, shielding her from his sister. In the course of the Agni Kai, he had moved slightly to the right, and Katara was now visible to Azula. With a smirk, Azula redirected her attention to Katara and thrust forward, sending the lightning towards her instead.

The bolts of lightning emitting from Azula's hands reached towards Katara like outstretched fingers waiting to bury themselves in her flesh. Katara barely had time to register the danger, let alone defend herself. No… she thought. She frowned, for she did not recollect crying out. With a start, she realized it had not been her, but Zuko who had cried out. She watched in awe and horror as the Fire Prince threw himself in front of her, defending her.

"Zuko NO!" she screamed, her words clawing their way out of her throat. Her voice was strained and shattered, full of emotions she could scarcely describe. Zuko crossed his arms, attempting to redirect the lightning, his attempt failing. He was suspended for what seemed like minutes in the air, floating almost angelically. The entire arena seemed to luminesce with the lightning's frightening blue light. Katara watched helplessly as the electricity tore through the body of the Fire Prince. No…

Zuko fell sideways and landed with a sickening crunch on his side, skidding in the dust. He lay there without moving for a moment before the electricity coursed through him once more, ravaging his body. He drew his legs and arms closer to his body, and tried to hold in the cries of pain attempting to erupt from his mouth. Another pulse caused him to shiver and cry out, twitching spasmodically.

Katara dashed forward towards Zuko but was cut off by a fire strike from Azula. She slid to a halt and turned to face her attacker. Oh you will pay…. she promised, her eyes narrowing as she too took her stance. Katara had no idea what she was doing, but she knew it felt right. She had to, she was supposed to, if only for him. She owed him this much, to say the least. "Come on Azula! Let's go!" she spat, stepping in front of Zuko defiantly.

Azula began laughing, the sound unbalanced and disturbing, even haunting. Katara knew she would remember that sound and the raving look on the face of the Fire Princess for as long as she lived. Azula continued to cackle as she charged forward towards Katara. She struck out at the water bender with blue fire. The young woman managed to remove herself from the line of fire at the last possible second. The fire that went raging past her was the hottest thing she had ever felt. More incentive for me to not let her make contact… Katara thought to herself as she rolled to a standing position.

Zuko watched helplessly as Azula attacked Katara. He attempted to sit up, to stand, but was instantly dropped to the ground once more as electricity continued to pulse through him. The pain was excruciating, however he forced his eyes to remain open, to see the end of the battle. He extended his hand towards Katara, wishing he could help. The prince continued to struggle, to make an effort to get up and help her. Being useless and helpless was not something at which he was very adept. "Katara…" he whispered. His voice was raspy and his breathing shallow. "Please…I can't…don't…" he stammered as he faded in and out of consciousness. You've got to live… he thought I've never wanted anything more…than for you to survive…you can't die for me… Zuko struggled to remain conscious. He managed to catch one last glimpse of Katara, his companion-turned-protector, her face defiant before his world faded to black.

Azula leapt onto the roof of the arena and began sent her strikes thundering down upon Katara. The water bender dodged them, darting back and forth across the arena before sprinting behind one of the alabaster pillars. She could still hear Azula's deranged laughter echoing across the battle field. "Zuzu, you don't look so good!" she crooned from the rooftop, her voice mocking and childlike. She raised her hands above her head in what Katara recognized as the stance which would send high voltage lightning to strike Zuko who remained prone, unmoving on the ground. Katara threw herself from behind the pillar to distract Azula; her ploy worked. The Princess fired lightning towards her instead of Zuko. Katara raced behind the next pillar as the one she hid behind moments before exploded and was reduced to rubble. It was then that she noticed the fountain to her right. Quickly, she drew the water from the fountain using her bending and hurled it to where Azula stood. She was shocked to find that the princess had moved. She panicked briefly before a flurry of movement caught her attention. She whirled around in time to see Azula speeding towards her, propelled by blue fire.

Katara ran forward and created a pathway of ice. She proceeded to slide forward at an incredible speed, forming the ice as she went. Azula continued chasing her, demolishing segments of Katara's ice as she did so. Suddenly, Katara ran out of water and was thrown forward. She landed with a thud on a metal grate. As she pushed herself up to stand, she noticed the incredible amount of water flowing beneath the grate. She also caught sight of a chain hanging on one of the pillars. Instantly, she began to formulate a plan.

Azula appeared from behind a pillar as Katara took her stance. "There you are filthy peasant!" Azula muttered, disgusted, as she staggered forward, the insanity in her eyes completely obvious. Katara stood still, unflinching, completely focused on what she was about to do and her target. In a flurry of movement, Katara conjured seveal tentacles of water, each of which lashed out at Azula from different directions. They fulfilled their purpose: to distract Azula. As she dispelled them, Katara created a huge wave between them. It peaked over Azula and froze, encasing her in water. All was still for a moment as the two stared at each other. Katara glanced at Azula's hand in striking position, poised and ready to fire at her heart. Katara allowed the water surrounding her to flow again, keeping the water surrounding Azula frozen. It required an immense amount of concentration, but she managed; she had to. She moved around Azula and chained her hands together and then chained her to the grate. As quickly as she could, she pulled the chain taunt before standing and running to Zuko's side.

Author's Note: I am so sorry. I am quite dreadful when it comes to fight scenes. Please, please, please, please, PLEASE correct me. And feel free to tell me how horrible this dribble is and how I should go fall off he face of the earth or something. Ugh... -flop- depression...This isn't quite finished unfortunately. My apologies.