Chapter Text
“Can I…can I try to heal it?” Katara asked, eyes shining with unshed tears. Her hand drew ever closer to his scarred side, tentative, watching for his reaction. His eyes met hers, molten gold with flecks of yellow and orange. When her fingers made contact with the uneven flesh, Zuko’s eyes fluttered shut, his breath hitching. The glimmering crystals around them shrunk away, and time seemed to freeze as she ran her thumb along the edge of his scar. He reached for her then, a hand rising to cover her own.
“Katara, I -“ he breathed, shuttering. Her touch was electric on his skin, carrying a calming coolness that nearly swept him away. For a precious moment, he just let himself feel. Her fingers, their breaths mingling with their proximity. It rooted him in place and confused him all at once. His eyes cracked open as he felt her fingers slowly trace the outline of his scar, and for the first time, he felt hope bloom in his chest. Hope that he could be free.
It would seem that luck was not on his side today. A booming crash resounded through the cavern, littering the air with dust and rocks, clouding their vision.Their shoulders tensed as they turned to the noise, the moment broken and they backed away from one another.
“Get away from her!” Aang screamed, his gaze fierce and grey eyes staring straight at Zuko, his fist clenched tight around his staff, accusation in his stare. He spun it in his hand before pointing it towards the pair, a fierce protectiveness exploding from him. His orange and yellow robes billowed with his manufactured wind.
Katara glanced between the two men, brows knitted together as she took in Aang’s glare. What had she been doing? Zuko was their enemy - she had gotten caught up in the moment. She had always thought of him as the Fire Nation Prince, the face of evil. The face of everything she had come to associate with the pain in her life. Spirits, he had hunted them across the globe for years! She turned to Aang, her voice tight, “It’s okay, Aang. He wasn’t trying to hurt me.”
Zuko had taken several more steps away from her, holding his hands up.
Iroh caught up to them, immediately rushing past Aang and stopping at Zuko, In the dim green glow of the crystals, his face was taught with worry. “Zuko! Are you alright?” He placed both hands on Zuko’s shoulders, patting him down while checking for injury.
“I’m fine, uncle.” He still held up his hands, palms out and shoulders tensed, eyes fixed past his uncle and settled on the Avatar, uncertainty swirling unfamiliar in his gut.
Furious grey eyes slid back to Zuko as he contemplated her words and a tense beat passed before Aang spoke again. He ran his hand down his face in frustration like a knife sliding through the tension, “Fine. But we need to leave now. Azula is here.” He reached forward and grabbed Katara by the wrist and turned, pulling her with him. She turned back to Zuko and stumbled over her own feet as Aang yanked her towards the hole in the catacomb that he created. When she met his gaze, his eyes were burning with something unreadable. Zuko was being checked over by his uncle, patted down fiercely after a crushing hug, yet his molten gaze threatened to root her in place.
Aang continued to pull her through the twists and turns of the catacombs, “The entrance we came through is this way!” He shouted, but after a couple of moments of turns, they ended up back where they started. Katara twisted her hand free and pointed. “Water. There’s water over there, and a lot of it. I can feel it! I think it leads to the surface,” Aang shifted on his heel and nodded tersely, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
They stepped foot into a huge cavern full of sparkling, glittering crystals of various shapes and sizes that covered the earth in huge chunks, the light from above refracting and giving the room an iridescent glow. A large waterfall swooped down from above, bottoming out in a glittering underground pond. There was what looked like another small entrance to the cavern on the opposite side, the outline of which was ominously dark. The two of them broke out in a sprint towards the waterfall.
Blue fire erupted in front of them and they stumbled, hearts racing as they turned towards the source.
“How unfortunate. There is no leaving her alive for you today.” She stood tall at the entrance, hands folded neatly behind her back. Her golden eyes were sharp, calculating. Her lips upturned in a triumphant smirk. Dai Li agents fell in next to her, hands covered in earth. She absent mindedly brought her hand to her face, gazing at her nails. “If you come quietly, I’ll make it quick.”
Aang fell into a bending stance, his jaw set. “No chance, Azula!” He took a deep breath, steadying himself. A huge gust of wind erupted from his mouth and he launched himself backwards towards the water, out of Azula’s grasp while blowing the agents back several paces. Azula easily jumped out of the way, twisting her body unnaturally in mid air, “Have it your way.” She landed gracefully, her feet steady, form perfect. Her eyes shifted to Katara and summoned a fire whip, long and blazing. Katara could feel the heat on her face, sudden and blistering. She closed her eyes, crossed her arms and braced for impact, but the heat receded.
Zuko stood at the mouth of the catacombs, fists raised, chest heaving and eyes locked on Katara. The room turned to him, unsure if he was friend or foe. He tore his gaze away from her and let them settle on Azula.
“Zuzu,” She preened, “I’m so glad to see you’re ready to come home. This will be a glorious day in Fire Nation History. Father will welcome you home a hero.” Zuko said nothing, churning over her words. They struck a chord in his chest and he visibly flinched, his eyes shifting back to Katara. She was in a low defensive stance, hair loose, eyes pleading. Waiting. A wicked grin split Azula’s face before she sent several fire blasts in each direction, distracting them as she rose her hand, commanding the Dai Li forth.
Zuko turned his fist and orange, hot flames erupted, aimed at Azula. She didn’t move, she didn’t even flinch. She just looked at him, hands behind her back, shoulders back and chin high as two agents met the blow and disbursed it with a slab of earth.
The room erupted in fire, water and stone as Aang, Katara and Zuko exchanging blows with Azula and the Dai Li. “I see you’ve grown fond of the lesser nations. Your time away from home has made you weak! You’ll regret your treachery, Zuzu.” She sunk low, her index and middle finger pointed, her hands dancing as electricity sparked between them. She pointed, finding a flash of blue and releasing.
Zuko moved without thinking, pushing Katara hard out of the way, his shoulder landing in her stomach as he wrapped his arms around her. They landed in a mess of tangled limbs, Katara’s head hitting hard against the stone as white hot pain exploded behind her vision. A scream tore from her throat and she grimaced as her vision blackened at the edges and her head throbbed. “Shit, Katara”, Zuko quickly sat up, pulling her with him. Her vision swam as she scrambled for purchase. Her hand flew to the back of her head, fingers coming back bloody and she winced at the sensation of needles prickling her skull. “Can you stand?” She nodded weakly, standing trembling legs. His hand lingered on her waist as he helped steady her.
“You’ve gone soft, Zuzu!” Azula shouted again, punching another blast of blue flame towards them as she laughed maniacally.
A chunk of earth caught Katara’s hands, gripping tight around her wrists and a scream tore from her throat as her arms were jerked forward at an unnatural angle, the cuffs cementing themselves to the ground and lowering her to her knees.. Zuko fired a blast towards the offending agent, only to join her on the ground and he kicked and pulled frantically at his bound hands.
“It’s over, Zuko. Come nicely and maybe I won’t tell Father of your treachery.” Her eyes sought out Aang, who had enclosed himself in a shelter made of crystals. She launched a barrage of flame at the tiny hut, pieces crumbling and falling away. “I’ll just tell him you died.” She added.
“Aang!” Katara gasped, pulling and yanking on her bound wrists as more Dai Li surrounded them. “Please!”
A blinding light exploded out of the hut, shattering the crystals and causing everyone in the room to shield their eyes out of reflex.
Aang emerged in a storm of air, earth fire and water, tattoos glowing as he rose in the air. His hands were at his chest, fingers splayed wide as his eyes and tattoos glowed a fierce, blinding white. Katara and Zuko’s cuffs fell away with a flick of Aang’s wrist, and they stood, the room in awe of the Avatar State.
Lightening cracked through the air, the light flashing before their eyes before the sound reverberated in the small space, striking Aang directly in the chest. His body fell, limp and smoldering.
Katara heard a scream pierce the air and her vision had gone blurry. Her own scream, her own tears. Orange flames fired back and she realized Zuko was also free from his cuffs and was fighting as she stood, motionless. Everything was going in slow motion around her and she was sure she had a concussion. Her head felt so fuzzy and she felt like she really, really wanted to sleep. The edges of her vision were darkening dangerously. She felt her tears on her cheeks, openly flowing now, her blood at her scalp, on her hands, on her dress. She could feel the water in the room, dancing, rushing, pushing and pulling, calling to her. Her hands moved on their own accord, her blood rushing in her ears. Her vision went black, her hands shook and she could feel her heartbeat pulsing behind her eyes. She could taste it, the coppery, metallic sweet taste and -
It was too much. A sob broke out of her chest and she shut her eyes against the pain, the noise too much, the feel of it. Her head throbbed so violently, she just needed it to stop.
She fell to her knees, clenching her fists tightly.
Across the cavern, Azula fell with her.