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Kingdom of War	By : Jayrich Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female Views: 28040 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Kingdom of War 8
…To Go Our Separate Ways.
The desert sun blazed high in the sky, directly over the prison. It was exactly noon, and all eyes in the prison turned to the royal siblings of the Fire Nation. Ozai’s offspring, the duo to carry on his legacy, stared each other down with intense hatred for each other. And even though their facial expressions were like night & day, you could tell their thoughts were the same…it all ends here.
The sound of Azula’s attack was loud enough to be heard on the other side of the prison, which is what brought Aang & the rest of the group to the courtyard. “What’s going on?” Aang asked. “We heard a loud…Azula?”
The Avatar spotted her across from Zuko, the psychotic expression on her face was unmistakable; especially for Katara, who saw it from up close in their past meeting. “Don’t worry Zuko, we can both…”
“No…not this time.” Zuko’s voice was surprisingly calm considering the tenseness of the moment. “I’m fighting her alone.”
She protested. “But Zuko—!”
“No buts, Katara.” He told her.
“Look, if this is about your ‘Fire Nation’ business…”
“It’s more than that…” Zuko explained, before turning his gaze to his sister. “This is family business.”
Still, Katara wasn’t about to take ‘no’ for an answer. “Listen, you can’t—!”
FWOOOOSSSHHH!!!
The Waterbender was quickly silence as Zuko used his Firebending to create a wall of flames between him & the rest of the group. It shocked Katara that he would do this, and also infuriated her. She wouldn’t be denied so easily, but as she was about to reach for her pouch to extinguish the flames, Aang put his arm up in front of her.
“No, Katara.” He said.
“But Aang…”
“We need to let him handle this alone.” He stood firm in his decision. “I know you mean well, I know you’re trying to help, which is what’s so special about you…but you’re forgetting one thing Katara, they are family. You’re not related to either of them, and it wouldn’t be fare for you to get in their business.”
Katara reluctantly began to see the Avatar’s side. “But…they…”
“Like it or not, they have to settle this…between them.” Aang finished.
And Katara didn’t like it, but she was too late to react as the Royal Siblings were about to begin. “Are you doing this for your ego, ZuZu!?” Azula mocked. “Not confident you can be a fitting Fire Lord unless you defeat the true one!?”
“You’re not the Fire Lord.” Zuko answered with calm coldness. “You shouldn’t even be considered royalty.”
“YOU’RE THE ONE who shouldn’t be considered Royalty!” Azula shot back. “You’re a pathetic disgrace to ALL of the Fire Nation AND our entire family! You should’ve never been brought back from exile!”
Those words hurt Zuko, but over the years he was wounded so many times by his little sister, mentally & physically, that he brushed it off with ease and shot back. “That’s ironic…” He countered. “…you calling me a disgrace…when you’re the one that was dragged off crying & screaming after our Agni Kai.”
Those words hurt Azula even more. “If that little Water Bitch hadn’t had interfered then—!”
“She won’t now!” Zuko barked out, showing anger. The last thing he wanted was for Katara to have a reason to enter the fray. “What excuse do you have?”
To that, Azula showed off a sinister grin. “None, dear brother. So I guess there’s only one thing to do…I CHALLENGE YOU TO AGNI KAI!!!”
Gasps echoed through the courtyard as the challenge left Azula’s lips. It shocked nearly everyone to hear it…everyone except Zuko. “I accept.”
“Zuko, don’t.” Ty Lee pleaded. “There’s another way. I know there is! You don’t have to do this!”
The Fire Lord ignored the plea from her friend. But as he turned his back to his sister, he secretly desired the same. “I wish I didn’t have to…”
Azula mimicked her brother’s actions, keeping in tradition with Agni Kai. They remained kneeled down, backs against each other for several seconds, before standing up and facing each other. Their eyes met as they exchanged stares. Zuko could see the insanity & rage in Azula’s eyes, and she clearly noticed the focus & determination in his. With all eyes on them, they said their final words.
“I promise to have your ashes collected and saved at the palace, dear brother!” Azula said.
“Just shut up and fight.” Zuko replied.
It’s traditional for the Agni Kai to begin once the gong sounds. But as the tower bell in the prison rung, both siblings agreed to go by that. It was 12 noon, which is why the bell was being rung. Ty Lee watched with fear, feeling helpless to stop this. She wasn’t a bender, and even though she knew how to disable a bender’s abilities, both Zuko & Azula knew her technique too well. She’d never get close enough.
Katara felt almost the same way. It was bad enough when she saw the siblings fight in Agni Kai long ago. Back then, it was to stop Azula from becoming Fire Lord while Aang combated Ozai. Back then, the fight had a just cause. Now…it was personal. And it tore her apart that it would become so personal between brother & sister.
Not even Toph could enjoy this fight. She could register both Zuko & Azula’s heartbeat through the ground. Zuko’s was calm, even for such a moment; as if he knew what needed to be done, and was perfectly alright with it. Azula’s was slightly accelerated, but Toph chalked it up to anticipation. And from what she heard in the Fire Princess’ voice, the Earthbender knew she was playing for keeps.
Nine times the bell rung…three to come…the countdown began.
GONG!!!
GONG!!!
GONG!!!
And they began.
Both Zuko & Azula leapt forward, thrust their arms in front of them, and unleashed a torrent of fire that could scorch the sky. Orange & Blue fire streams met & mixed in the middle of the battlefield. The two combatant siblings pushed closer to the center, both trying to overpower the other by sheer Firebending alone. But after nearly a minute, they realized that they were deadlocked when it came to bending…and needed to rely on other skills.
The flames were quickly snuffed out, and the two charged each other ready & willing to go hand-to-hand. They met in the middle, and Azula greeted her brother ‘lovingly’ with a low sliding kick that sent him tumbling. He quickly regained his balance, only to find himself on the defensive as Azula rained down blows. Every punch, every kick was deflected with expert timing, but Zuko didn’t anticipate his sister’s speed.
“She’s…gotten quicker…” He thought to himself.
And though he was able to keep his defenses up for the moment, her speed began to increase, making it difficult to keep up. She poured on the pressure, keeping her attack flowing until…
THWACK!!!
…a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. It sent him tumbling violently, until he slid to a stop on the ground.
It also broke the cold look on Mai’s face, changing it to that of concern and anger. She felt just like Ty Lee in this situation, and Zuko’s flooring finally showed a sign of it. “Dammit, Zuko…”
The ruling Fire Lord quickly recovered, only to find his sister hovering above him, ready to plant an axe kick that would end the fight. He blocked the attack though, and jumped back to his feet before turning the tables on his sibling opponent. It was now Azula’s turn to be overwhelmed, as her brother’s strength served to chip away at her defense, which gave her more frustration.
“No! Dammit…no!” She tried to hold up her guard, to deflect every strike directed towards her. But eventually…
WHUD!!!
…Zuko would get his counter in, in the form of a hard right hand to her gut. She staggered back, holding her stomach and cursing her brother’s name. “Damn you…damn you, bastard.”
“I wish I were!” Zuko shot back.
“You don’t…deserve…his throne!” She struggled out. “You…deserve to DIE!!!”
And in the blink of an eye, Azula punctuated that statement by firing off a flame burst from her hand at point blank range…right in Zuko’s face.
“ZUKO!!!”
The Fire Lord feel to the ground, rolling around in pain as Mai called out to him. His sister was all too amused though, and she cackled as she stood over him. “You should learn to keep your guard up at all times, ZuZu!”
Her laughter would come to an abrupt end though, as Zuko suddenly shifted his weight and spun into the air. His feet became engulfed in fire, and he used it to strike back with a double-leg thrust kick that sent Azula on her back.
“And you should learn that I’m a lot tougher than before!” Zuko told her. “My own father scarred my face during Agni Kai; there’s nothing you can do that can be any worst!”
“You’d be surprised, dear brother…” She replied, climbing to her feet. Her hands were tightly compacted into fists and her gaze slowly became even more psychotic. She was ready to go all out. Flipping into the air, she clenched her hands together and called on her Firebending to create a whip made of pure flames, one strong enough to strike down her opposition.
Regretfully for her, it was a technique that Zuko scouted.
As the blue flame whip came crashing down, he took one step back, took a deep breath, and then exerted his own Firebending outward, snuffing out Azula’s attack before it could even touch him. He then responded with a maneuver of his own, one that his uncle taught him when they first searched for the Avatar so long ago…the Twin Dragon Flame.
Strengthening his stance, he thrust his fist forward, and two large, spinning streams of fire shot out. In the center of the battlefield, they combined to form one massive fireball, powerful enough for Azula to know she couldn’t snuff it out. It took all her agility to dive out of the way, but she avoided the attack, as the fireball passed outside of the battlefield, and crashed into the Prison Wall. It was a moment where the guards watching were fortunate the Wall was made out of pure rock, which doesn’t catch fire easily. But the enormous scorch mark left by the blast only showcased Zuko’s power more.
Zuko reeled back for another blast…but ceased as his noticed desperation in his sister’s eyes. He’s seen it before, and he knows how it will affect her. “She’s gonna do it…she’s gonna use it…”
He witnessed the sparks popping all around her body. The electricity coursing through her arms & torso as she moved gracefully into the stance she desired, the stance required to pull off the maneuver. Few Firebenders have ever mastered the art of bending Lightning; Azula was one of them, inheriting the skill from her father, and she wasn’t shy about using the technique. A storm of bolts surrounded the Fire Princess as she stopped cold in her movements; two fingers, her index & middle, were extended from her hand, pointed like a gun…with Zuko as the target.
With speed similar to her technique, she thrust her hand forward and fired the Lightning directly at her big brother, leaving him no time to react.
“GUHHHHRRRRRR…”
He absorbed the hit. It was more power than he had ever felt before. He was nearly doubled over in pain as he could barely concentrate…but he remained on his feet, to return the favor. It was no secret that the siblings uncle had taught Zuko the art of redirecting Lightning, since he was unable to generate any himself. But his limit for absorbing the blast had never been tested. He successfully redirected his father’s blast in their last confrontation long ago, but Azula, dare he thought, had become even stronger than Ozai in that department. Still, it didn’t stop the Fire Prince. And with the lightning running through his body, surrounding his very being, he extended his two fingers, and proceeded to give payback.
The lightning blast Zuko shot out was double the speed that Azula conjured for her initial attack. She took the brunt of the attack full force, as her body was propelled back several feet until it skid against the dirt of the courtyard. However, it still wasn’t enough to keep her down, as she quickly rose up to her feet, her rage giving into madness.
“I’M SICK OF THIS!!!” She yelled in frustration. “This chess game will end now! You’re gonna regret ever coming here, Zuko. You’re gonna regret getting involved in my life again, and hurting Jet!”
She dug her feet into the dirt under her, making sure her footing was solid as she formed her right hand into a fist. She reared it back, and began pacing her breathing as she stared a hole through her brother, whose eyes were wide with shock. He knew her stance.
“You wouldn’t…” He said to her. “…you can’t. You don’t even know that move!”
“You’d be surprised what one could learn from reading a few ancient scrolls.” Azula told him. “And if you don’t believe me…then don’t move!”
The sadistic grin was evident enough for Zuko that his sister had every intention on using this technique, whatever it was. But he wasn’t about to move…in fact, he mimicked her actions right down to the letter as he crunched his right hand into a fist, and controlled his breathing.
The grin on Azula’s face was replaced by shock. “You’re…you’re bluffing! You don’t know the move!”
“I’m the Fire Lord, remember?” Zuko reminded her. “It’s my duty to have knowledge of every Firebending technique, including this one.”
Azula only growled in response as she held her stance, bull-headedness controlling her rationality. Zuko stood firm on his stance as well, and soon, both of their fists began to glow. It was barely noticeable at first, but as the moments past they became almost as bright as the sun in the sky.
And it was a sight that instilled fear in Ty Lee & Mai. “Dammit, Zuko…”
Clenching her hands & gritting her teeth, Zuko’s love turned to the only one who could help in this situation. “You, Toph! You need to put up a wall, now.”
“O…K?” Toph responded, confused. “What’s got you so…”
“We don’t have time!” Mai barked, uncharacteristically raising her voice. “Use your Earthbending to make a wall around them, now!”
“She’s right.” Ty Lee agreed. “You have to do it, or a lot of people are gonna get hurt.”
“Wait a minute.” Katara chimed in. “What’s gonna happen between them that warrants a wall?”
“WHEW!!!” They were interrupted by Sokka, who wiped the sweat from his brow. “Is it me, or is it getting even hotter out here?”
“No…I feel it, too.” Toph noted.
“Toph, I think Mai and Ty Lee are right.” Aang pointed back towards the battlefield, where the image of the two siblings became warped & bent, due to the amount of heat generated from them. They both drew back as far as they could, preparing to unleash their final attack on each other.
“Toph, we need to make the wall! I’ll help!” Aang said.
Toph didn’t question things any further; though she couldn’t see the occurrence in front of her, feeling that much heat, even in the Si Wong Desert, was more than unnatural. They worked quickly in sync, stomping their lead foot into the ground before thrusting their arms upward. And just in time, for as they raised a thick wall of Earth that surrounded the battlefield, Azula & Zuko broke loose…
…
The blast could be seen from the Earth’s stratosphere, an eruption of pure white, followed by a blue & orange mix of flame which died down soon after. Smoke & dust rose from inside ground zero, which was still blocked off by the large wall of rock. Everyone remained silent, mostly from the awe of seeing such a gigantic & powerful blast from up close. After a moment, Toph bent the wall down to Earth, and the true amount of damage done by the joint moves was witnessed.
Scorched Earth. Black ash covered the ground where the battle took place, and piled up around it where Toph’s Earth wall once stood. In the middle of the charred area the two Fire siblings were spotted, both down on one knee, near their limit with exhaustion.
Finally, after moments of looking at the damage done, Sokka broke the silence. “OK…WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?”
“It’s called the Dragon’s Inferno.” Mai answered calmly, relieved that her love has survived.
“You know about that destructive move?” Katara asked.
Mai nodded. “Zuko told me about it around when he was crowned Fire Lord. He said it’s a move that his Father strived to learn, but his uncle didn’t want to. It’s supposed to focus all of your Fire Bending into one strong blast, powerful enough to burn everything. But it would also drain some of your life essence. Zuko’s uncle never used the technique because of that. But Zuko…he wanted to learn every Firebending technique he could, to be ready for anything…”
“Azula was the same.” Ty Lee added. “She wanted to learn the move so she could show her father that she could be as strong as him & Azulon. Her father never could master it though, and she never showed it to him.”
“I…I can’t believe it.” Katara uttered, in a state of complete shock. “How…how could they use a move like that…on each other?”
“No…”
All eyes turned back to the battlefield, as Azula slowly rose back up, still enraged. “No…you can’t…you can’t survive! YOU WON’T SURVIVE!!!”
And with what little strength she could muster, the Fire Princess prepared to perform the dangerous maneuver again. Bringing his weary head up, Zuko saw this, and responded accordingly…by readying another blast of his own.
“ZUKO, AZULA, STOP THIS!!!” Ty Lee pleaded, near tears.
Again, they fell on deaf ears. But to be noted from this turn of events was Katara’s expression of pure shock. It wasn’t uncommon for siblings to argue and even get into spats. Hell, Sokka made it easy most of the time. But this…Zuko & Azula were brother & sister…and readily willing to destroy each other. It was horrible to experience…and something she couldn’t just stand idly by and watch.
She broke away from the group, running as fast as her feet could carry her over to a well she spotted when they arrived here. The well stored most of the Prison’s water supply, and it was adequate for what she had in mind. As she reached the well, she used all of the Waterbending skill she could muster to draw the water up from underground. It rose up into the air like a geyser, gathering the attention of the group. Once she had enough, Katara turned her focus to the battlefield, and deposited the water right on tope of Azula & Zuko. She then waved her hands away from her body, turning the water into ice before the ground could absorb it…and locking the Fire siblings in place.
“What the…Katara, let me go!” Zuko demanded.
Azula, meanwhile, tried to force her way out on her own. “You stupid Water Peasant!”
“ENOUGH!!!” Katara yelled as she fearlessly marched in between them. “I…I can’t take this! You two are supposed to be family…your brother & sister and you’re trying to kill each other!”
“You don’t understand Katara, she—!”
The Waterbender used her skills to seal Zuko’s mouth with ice, before doing the same with his sister. “This isn’t right…none of this is right!” She continued. “This is all because of your father…this is all because of Ozai but he’s locked up now! The war’s over and there’s no need to fight each other…SO STOP FIGHTING!!!”
“She’s right…”
Katara turned her gaze forward, and dropped her jaw over the ‘ghost’ she saw in front of her, Jet. “Besides, there’s someone more important we need to fight…”
“Jet…” Katara was taken aback by the sight of him. “You’re…alive. But how, back at—!”
“Later Katara.” He told her. “Right now we…”
The scruffy-haired teen stopped himself in mid-sentence as he caught a glimpse of his psychotic love, using her Firebending to melt the ice. A moment later, she freed her right hand and crashed through the rest of her holding, releasing herself.
“Azula, wait!”
Jet’s words weren’t heard. Azula was in a state of blind rage, her vision only focused on her brother, who was still attempting to free himself. She dashed forward with intentions to strike him down where he stood trapped when…
“OOOMPH!!!”
…arms. Azula found arms wrapped around her, holding onto her. And though they were skinny, they maintained a surprisingly strong grip that didn’t allow her to move. Azula looked up and discovered the arms belonged to Ty Lee, who had streams of tears rolling down her face.
“GUH! URRGH! Let me GO, Ty Lee!” The Fire Princess demanded.
Now it was Azula’s turn to have her words be ignored. Ty Lee continued to clench her friend, determined to hold her in place as they both dropped to their knees.
“Let me GO! RELEASE ME!!!” Azula was ready to burn her way to freedom, but Ty Lee remained unrelenting. “TY LEE LET ME GO!!! LET ME GO!!! LET…Me…me…”
Ty Lee closed her eyes as she bravely dealt with Azula’s brutal attempted to get free. Finally, the Fire Princess stopped struggling, and sounds of sobbing rung clearly in Ty Lee’s ear. She opened her eyes to see that, indeed, Azula was crying. Unlike her breakdown during the war though, this wasn’t a decent into madness. No, there were sounds of regret with each sob given off. She let her arms hang at her side, and her whole body go limp, but Ty lee held on still, this time with a loving embrace as she cried along with her.
“It’s OK, Azula. We’re here.” She assured her. “You’re friends are here.”
The two were joined by Katara & Jet, and a moment later Zuko, who managed to free himself. He kneeled down beside his sister & his friend and just observed his sister crying as they rest of the group joined him.
“So what do you think is going on in there?”
Sokka asked that question as he paced around outside of the Warden’s office, where he & the rest of the group waited. It’s been over an hour since Zuko, Ty Lee, Mai & Jet entered with Azula, and no one knows what’s being discussed.
“Toph, can’t you use your feet to read the ground and find out what they’re saying?” Sokka asked.
“For the last time, it only works on heartbeat & pulse.” Toph explained.
Sokka just let out a disapproving grunt as he continued to pace back & forth.
“So did you find anything in Feng’s cell?” Toph inquired.
The question reminded Sokka of what he did find. “That’s right, we did.” Taking a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket, he handed it to the Earthbender. “Long Feng does have a plan, and he’s using several high-ranking Dai Li to pull it off. The one we beat on Kyoshi Island, Lo, he was the 4th-in-command. We still have to find the 3rd & 2nd and stop them, before Feng gains too much power.”
Suddenly, the door to the Warden’s office swung open. Everyone in the waiting room stood up as Azula was led out, huddled by Jet & Zuko. She was a mere shadow of her former intimidating self, even looking timid & shy as she hung her head, seemingly in shame.
“What’s going on?” Aang asked.
“We’re taking her.” Zuko answered.
“Wait, you mean Azula?” Katara said. “Where?”
“Home.” Zuko replied. “From everything Jet told me, she’s not the way she was in the past. But she’s still conflicted, even more than I was when I first left the Fire Nation to join the Avatar…and there’s only one person that can help her with that.” Zuko turned to the Avatar. “I’m sorry Aang, I have to do this. I promise as soon as I can I’ll help you find Long…”
Aang put his hand up, halting Zuko. “I understand. And this is more important to you, Zuko.”
The Fire Lord nodded his head and grinned. “I can arrange to have a fleet come and pick you up. They’ll know Sokka, so…”
“There’s no need for that…cause I’m going with you.”
Sokka’s words sent shock & collective gasps around the room. “But…Sokka…”
“I have to, Katara.” He told her.
“Look, you don’t have to.” Zuko said. “This is Fire Nation…”
“Don’t start up with that again.” Sokka interrupted. “Look, back when we were fighting the war, you helped me break into Boiling Rock to rescue Suki & and Dad. And you helped Katara confront the man who murdered our mother. Now, you and your family need help, and it’s time I repay you.”
Zuko looked the Water tribesman in his eyes and saw the sincerity there, and it drew his grin wider. “No use arguing, huh?” Sokka shook his head. “And I thought Firebenders were thickheaded.”
“Well you gotta…wait, was that a shot!?”
A few chuckles went through the room as Sokka moved to Ty Lee’s side. Before they could depart though…
“Wait, I’m going too.”
Suki stepped over from Aang’s side of the room to where Sokka stood. “Suki, you don’t have to…”
“Don’t waste your breath, Sokka.” She told him, putting her finger on his lips. “Besides, just like you, I think it’s time Zuko had some help.”
She then turned to Katara & the Avatar. “Aang, I want you to make a trip back to Kyoshi Island. Talk to Ayako, she and several other Kyoshi can help you out.”
“Thanks, Suki.” Aang said, before turning to face Zuko.
“Until we meet again, Avatar.” Zuko said, holding out his hand.
“And I hope it’s soon, Fire Lord.” Aang replied, shaking it.
Long Feng was on top of the world.
As he rested in King Bumi’s lavish & extravagant king-sized bed, he couldn’t help but to dream of greater things on the horizon for him. After all, he fully gained control over Omashu, a substantial province in the Earth Kingdom; and tomorrow he was to move on to Makapu Village with his troops. His plan to take over the Earth Kingdom was moving smoothly, and tonight he was able to sleep like a king.
The room was dark, and 5 Dai Li Agents guarded the only door inside. Being over a dozen stories up gave Feng a good sense of security. Unfortunately it wasn’t good enough, as a slender shadowy figure leapt into the window and sat there, almost in a pounce position. The intruder scanned through the darkness, making sure that no one was hiding within the room that could cause a hindrance. After a moment she stalked into the room, moving silently but swiftly across the floor. Barely a sound came from her footsteps as she hurried over to the bed where Long Feng rested. Once there, she silently withdrew a blade from her sheath, and held it high above her head…
“You do know visiting hours for Royalty are over, right?”
That voice was followed by a sudden rumble. Long Feng was awake, and he used his Earthbending skill to launch the intruder high into the air on a rock pillar. But surprisingly, she showed expert agility by diving off before it crashed into the ceiling, and landing gracefully right in front of Long Feng’s bed.
The Dai Li rushed into the room, hearing the commotion and letting the light from outside in. It was enough to illuminate the room and reveal the face of the silent assassin, one that didn’t surprise Long Feng one bit.
“I should’ve known my Bounty would rise so high it would peak your interest.” He said to the woman, now identified as June.
“Hey, a girl’s gotta make a living…”
- 7
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- 9
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Kingdom of War