"Well, well well." Azula sneered, as she walked towards them.
"You!" Zuko subconsciously stepped in front of Katara and glared at Azula.
Azula cocked her head to the right, confused at the sight of people behind Zuko.
"Hello, brother."
Katara stepped up in front of Zuko and armed herself with some of the water from the river beside her.
Azula's face broke out into a grin. "I haven't seen either of you in years."
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for my chance to get my revenge on you." Cold, quiet fury filled Katara's face as she looked at her with a hatred so powerful, even Azula shivered.
"For what? Killing your little Avatar friend?" Azula heard Katara take a sharp breath. It was working. "Because Aang isn't the only Avatar I know. I took control of another one."
Katara looked at Azula with horror and confusion. She was distracted.
Azula continued. "You see, I knew the second that I killed the Avatar, a new one would pop up somewhere. So I searched and searched until finally, I found a water tribe baby who could bend fire. I didn't kill her. I'm not a soulless monster, but I DID raise her. She owes her life to me, so she is MY weapon. My ward."
Zuko looked at her. "Azula-"
"It's Fire Lord Azula!" Azula yelled at her brother.
Zuko gritted his teeth and turned to Katara. She looked at him and they nodded. Over their travels together, they had met many people who had tried to attack them. Of course, they couldn't hold a candle to Azula, but they created a very effective move. their eyes meeting was a message to each other to try that move out on the young Fire Lord.
Suddenly they moved in a circle, a ring of water and fire, forever circling each other. They made a tornado and forced it onto Azula and her troops. The soldiers tripped over their feet, leaving their weapons behind to get out of the way and run before the tornado caught up to them.
"AHHH!" Azula screamed in frustration and walked through the tornado. By the time she got to the other side, everyone was gone.
She followed the tracks they left behind, and eventually saw them running towards the cave. She was going to finish them once and for all.
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"Come on, Zuko!" Katara tugged on his sleeve. "We have to put as much distance between us and Azula as possible."
Zuko stole one last glance backward, before running along with her. His uncle slowed down and walked alongside him.
"I always thought that maybe someday she'd get better, but now she is Fire lord. She has everything she ever wanted and she is just as crazy. Maybe even more so." Zuko sighed as he watched the sun graced the sky one last time with its marvelous colors, before setting and taking energy from him.
"Even though fire can be beautiful, it's still fire. It is dangerous and unpredictable. Always angry, always consuming, always wanting more. Azula does have everything she ever wanted, yes. But now, she wants more. She will always want more. It will never be enough for her." His uncle replied in a sad tone.
I nodded and we walked in silence until we reached the cave.
Katara was walking in front of him and heard everything uncle had to say. What if he was right? What if Azula never stopped?
"Hey, don't look now, but I think that's the prince of the fire nation." The man whispered in Katara's year.
Katara winced and nodded, "Yeah, maybe." He shook his head, contemplating something. Then he turned to Zuko.
"This is where we have to leave you. We would love to find a way through the cave, but your crazy sister is probably going to kill all of us, and just in case crazy runs in the family, we'd rather not be stuck in a cave that's probably impossible to get out of. no offense." He added when I elbowed him.
Zuko broke out into a grin. "None taken." Zuko, Katara, and Iroh walked up to the cave and waved to their new friends until they were out of sight.
Then they turned to the cave.
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Azula stopped when she reached the cave. They must've gone inside, she thought. Usually, she would've ordered the Dai Li to close the cave, so they would die inside, but all her soldiers had run away. "Idiots." She thought to herself. She took a deep breath and followed her enemies into the cave.
Once she was inside, she kept up a blue fire in her hands so she could see. Her brother's tracks ended, so when she got to the first fork, she cursed silently under her breath. She frowned. She heard whispers. Soon she saw distant fire. She quickly snuffed out her own, as her brother and Katara came into view.
"-didn't work. Maybe your Uncle found a better way?"
"Agni, I hope so. If he didn't we are never going to get out of here."
Azula was about to jump out and burn them, but at that moment Iroh walked out and gestured for them to come his way. "I think I found something."
They all went down the left passageway, and Azula quietly followed them.
"Uncle. This is a dead end." Zuko sighed. There was no way out of here.
"No. There was a passageway right here." Iroh sounded confused.
"Well, that's not possible." He thought for a second."Unless-"
"Unless the tunnels are moving." Katara finished his sentence.
Zuko nodded gravely.
"Well, then what's the point?!?! We're just going to die down here anyway." Katara yelled in frustration.
Scared, Azula tried to go back from where she came from, but there was only a wall there. She was stuck there with the rest of them.
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"I guess it doesn't matter now." Azula's voice rang out through the air, and Katara whipped her head around to see the young Fire Lord.
"What are you doing here?" Katara's voice was dripping with venom. She was really angry.
"Are you going to kill me? Well, I'm gonna die down here anyway, so I don't care."
Katara threw herself at Azula, but Zuko caught her. "She isn't worth it Katara. Besides, if you kill her she'll probably come back from the dead, just to haunt you. Right now, we have to figure out a way to get through that wall." Just as he said that, a badger mole suddenly leapt through the wall and jumped on top of Zuko. He fell on the floor and the badger mole sniffed him. Then it ran off.
Katara quickly helped him get on his feet and fussed over him to see if he had been hurt. He was mostly just embarrassed though. He shook Katara off and pointed at the hole the mole had made.
"Wait. What are we going to do about her?" Katara nodded at Azula.
"I don't know. Maybe we should take her prisoner?"
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!!"
Iroh laughed at her, but before anyone could see anything, he had Azula's arms pinned behind her back. Sometimes, Katara forgot how powerful he was, even in his old age.
They followed the pathway until they found an opening. Katara expected to see light but there were two tombs and a statue.
"What is this? I thought we would've been back out by now." Zuko was getting frustrated. He hated feeling helpless, but there was nothing he could do.
"Wait, this statue has an inscription on it." Katara read it out loud. "Love is brightest in the dark."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zuko looked miffed.
At that moment, when Iroh was distracted Azula got out and blew fire in Zuko's face. He ducked and did something his uncle taught him to do, stop the fire by absorbing it with his hand. Azula looked at him. "Since when can you do that?"
"Since you destroyed my life." Zuko replied snarkily.
He was about to put a fire on again, but Katara gasped and stopped him.
"What?" He asked, annoyed. Then he saw the faint soft blue light coming from the ceiling. He slowly looked up and gasped when he saw the crystals.
"WOW. Pretty crystals underground. What a big surprise." Azula said sarcastically. She scoffed, but she was looking at the crystals , mesmerized.
"Oh shush." Iroh took Azula and followed the crystals. Zuko and Katara walked behind them.
"I thought we were going to die down here." Katara said after walking in silence for a few minutes.
"I know. I did too. But I knew you were there for me. I knew that..." He shook his head. "I thought I'd never see you again, so when I did..." Zuko didn't finish his thought. He didn't have to.
Without warning, he turned to face Katara and kissed her. She was surprised and quickly stepped away. Zuko looked mortified.
"Oh no. Katara, I'm sorry. I didn't mea-"
Katara cut him off. "I like you Zuko. I do. But..." She sighed and threw her head back. "It's just that we would get distracted and when trying to save the world..."
"Distractions and romance are luxuries we can't afford." Zuko finished for her and Katara wordlessly nodded her head. He smiled and swallowed his disappointment which was quickly threatening to become angry when he saw that she wanted him too.
He had waited for her for years. He could wait a little longer.