Twin blades flashed out like a pair of snakes, slapping a firebender's fist to the side just as he finished settling into a standard military firebending stance. Flames erupted from his fist, bellowing not into the rebels, as had been the original target, but into another firebender beside him.
The first firebender jolted back in shock at his inadvertent friendly fire whilst the the second yelped in surprise, and that second of distraction cost them both as the rebels they'd been trying to hold back surged forwards, knocking them to the ground.
The palace library was one huge, messy melee as both sides fought tooth and nail. Rocks, fireballs and the occasional heavy book flew wildly through the air in all directions, and only a few possessed the awareness to fight and avoid the projectiles at the same time.
Zuko was one of those people.
All five senses were strained to their limit as he ducked and weaved through the hail of danger. His ears pricked at the crackling of wildfire and he weaved like a serpent, letting a fireball sail past inches away from the back of his head. Then his blades shot out again: deflecting a poorly aimed rock into the path of a fire nation soldier.
Duck!
His gut instincts screamed at him, and without pausing to consider why Zuko began to drop low as fast as he could. Milliseconds later a small thud smacked into his masked forehead right above his right eye. The object had been too small for his eyes and ears to pick up amidst the chaos, and if he had moved even a fraction of a moment later it would have stolen his eyeball. His gloves hands reached up to pluck the object from his mask.
It was a tiny stiletto knife, and he recognised the craftsmanship.
He looked up at the direction the knife had come from, already knowing who the thrower was yet hoping against all odds that he was mistaken. He wasn't. Standing atop one of the library shelves, staring down at him with her trademark deadpan expression, was Mai.
Despite knowing that she shouldn't allow her so much as an extra second to throw another knife, Zuko hesitated. Mai wasn't his friend, not really. She was Azula's friend who he'd become acquainted with through her.
Yet as sad as it was to admit, Mai and Ty Lee were the closest things he'd had to friends of his own age.
Something within him recoiled at the thought of causing her harm, even if logically he knew she was tough enough to take it and dish it back out again with a vengeance. Seeing Mai dedicate herself to mastering a weapon was one of the things that had inspired him to take up swordsmanship.
The moment of hesitation cost him. With an acrobatic leap Mai was in the air, and a veritable shower of knives burst from the folds of her sleeves to rain down upon him.
Zuko's twin swords became a blur of flashing silver as he swiped whichever ones he could out of the air and dodged the rest, directing every bit of concentration he could muster into tracking the paths of Mai's knives. One lapse in focus was all it would take to get a sharp blade somewhere between his ribs.
It was when Mai landed on the ground, bringing her hands down to brace against the impact of landing, that Zuko had his opportunity to close the gap between them. Mai was deadly at mid-range, but if he could keep the fight in close quarters he'd have the advantage. He might not be able to firebend without giving himself away, but he had enough skill with swords to hold his own against her so long as he could keep the circumstances in his favour.
Unfortunately Mai was no fool, and had no doubt reached the same conclusion. As he drew closer Mai hopped back, vanishing amongst the crowds of fighting soldiers surrounding them. Zuko pushed through to the point where she'd been standing, but by then it was already too late. Mai was gone.
Another buzz of metal, and Zuko swerved his head as a knife flew at him from the left, brushing past his ear before sinking into the back of a soldier behind him. Great, so they were playing hide and seek now were they? He gave his swords a twirl, then darted off into the crowd after her. Fortunately for him that was one game he was actually pretty good at.
...
Waves of fire and ice hissed and roared as they collided together, filling the hall with a thick coating of steam.
With a twisting hand motion Katara drew some of the stray vapour to her, condensing it back together into an orb of water to replenish her reserves. A second later she spent it again, flattening it out into a shield above her head to block the trio of fireballs that came whizzing towards her like fireworks.
She stepped to the right, her stance flowing down low and her arms dancing in twisting arcs as she smoothly reshaped the shield into a whip, lashing out at a shadow of blonde hair she saw moving in the steam.
This was, without a doubt, the most difficult fight of her life. Despite having crossed paths often recently, this was the first time that Katara had actually fought Tanya head-to-head, and she was beginning to see that Tanya's moniker as a demon was well earned. All of her talent, all her drive, all the power of the moon, and every trick Pakku had ever drilled into her was barely allowing her to keep pace with the furious little firebender.
The refinement of Tanya's technique was matched only by the brutality of her strategy. When she attacked head on she was quick, precise and unrelenting.
But the moment you focused too hard on keeping up with the flow of her attacks she'd throw in some misdirection: delayed fireballs sweeping in from behind, bright flares of blinding firelight, or even sudden burst of jet flames that changed the speed and direction of her kicks halfway through the manoeuvre. Katara had defeated powerful fighters and tricky fighters before, but never someone who was both of those things at once.
Yet she refused to lose. Not tonight! Not to her! She'd be damned if she let that devil get away with murdering master Pakku without at least a proper beatdown for payback! It was high time that someone gave the devil a taste of her own medicine, and taught her and her people that they couldn't go around bullying the rest of the world without expecting someone to push them back!
A stream of fire came whooshing out towards her front, and with speed born from constant practice Katara twirled in her stance, spinning her water whip around to gather momentum and launching it like a spear right at the fire stream. Yet even as she did so she kept her awareness focused outwards, wary of an attack from the side or above.
It took her by surprise when the stream of fire parted before the water hit, revealing that Tanya had in fact hidden herself within. The blonde devil jumped up and twisted, letting Katara's water spear pass inches beneath her spine, and her feet burst into bright flames as she rocketed forwards straight towards her.
The surprise only lasted a split second, but that moment of hesitation was enough to put Katara on the back foot as Tanya engaged her in a vicious fistfight. Jabs and stabs wreathed in fire came in from every direction, and Katara had to give ground again and again as she struggled to keep her guard up.
Her palm slapped away a fist just before it crashed into her nose, only to wince as the heat scalded her skin. Each new blow she blocked brought a fresh wave of pain, and in a sudden flash of insight Katara realised that that was Tanya's plan! Cause enough agony to her hands and it would weaken her ability to bend! She needed to create some distance again, and quickly!
Thinking on her feet, Katara rolled with the first idea that popped to mind. She had seen firebenders breathe fire before, and there was enough moisture in the air from all the steam for her to gather a decent amount of water just by breathing.
She inhaled sharply, pulling a visible cloud of steam into her mouth with her bending, cooled it, and then breathed out a cloud of icy mist so blisteringly cold that it chapped her lips.
The move caught Tanya by surprise and struck her in the shoulder before she could fully retreat, ripping a large hole in her red robes and leaving a nasty patch of blistered, frostbitten skin.
...
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