The ruins of the forgotten village stretched around me — a graveyard of broken stones and burned memories. The wind carried the scent of soot and molten metal, and the sky, stained red, looked as if it were bleeding over me. 'It's a bad place to die...'
Two years. Two years since Aang fell to Ozai, taking with him the last thread of hope.
After the news spread, the resistance crumbled, reduced to ashes as the Fire Nation advanced, relentless, burning everything in its path.
Villages turned to dust. Cities became tombs. Katara, Sokka, Toph... they were still fighting, hidden somewhere in this hell, each of them carrying the weight of a dream that felt long dead.
Except me. I stopped believing the day Aang died. Buried my faith with him. And maybe that's why I'm here now — surrounded by ashes and ready to die — facing my sister one more time.
Azula stood just a few meters away, her loose hair falling in messy strands over her shoulders, the light armor of the Fire Nation gleaming under the glow of the blue flames dancing in her palms, ready to erupt.
Between her and Ozai, maybe I always knew who the real danger was. So even if I fall here, she's coming with me. Because only then will they have a chance to end this madness.
"Zuzu..." Her voice was a sharp whisper, laced with disdain — and something else, something I didn't want to name. "How many times are we going to repeat this pointless dance? Don't you get tired of losing?"
"I'm quite tired, actually." I bent my knees, feeling the heat rise in my chest as I prepared to firebend. "That's why this will be our last 'dance.'"
Azula tilted her head, a crooked smile curling her lips. She braced herself too, her stance a near-perfect mirror of mine. It didn't surprise me. Years of relentless fights had shaped us, like iron in a forge. I knew her every move, every trick, every breath. And she knew mine. We were broken mirrors, reflecting the worst and best in each other.
For a moment, the world went silent. The wind stilled. The distant crackle of flames faded. There was only the two of us, suspended in that instant, waiting for the first move.
Then she struck.
A wave of blue fire tore through the air, so fast the heat licked my skin before I could dodge, spinning to the side. I answered with a blast of orange fire, which she blocked with a precise motion of her own bending, our flames colliding in an explosion that made the ground tremble.
Dust rose, but there was no pause. I charged through the smoke where I knew she'd be, my fist engulfed in flames, aiming for her shoulder. She dodged, the air crackling as her blue fire countered, forcing me to leap back.
Our movements blurred — a dance of fire and instinct. My kick sent a spiral of flames; she responded with a wall of blue fire that swallowed my attack.
The heat was suffocating, the air trembling with the force of our bending. Every strike, every flame carried years of anger, guilt, and a twisted bond neither of us could break.
"You still think you can change anything, Zuzu?" she shouted, her voice cutting through the roar of fire as she hurled a blast that exploded against a pile of rubble, sending shards of stone flying. "The world is already ours! The Fire Nation is the future, and you... you're just a shadow of what you could've been!"
"How many times are we going to have this conversation?" I dodged another blast and launched my own. "I chose my side, Azula. And it's not yours."
She laughed, high-pitched and fractured. "Your side?" Azula spun, unleashing a whip of blue fire that I blocked with my own. "Your side is a joke! A dead Avatar and a ragged resistance. Why, Zuzu? Why? Why? WHY?!"
I didn't answer. Not with words. Instead, I channeled the heat from my chest, feeling the chi surge through my veins, and released a wave of fire that engulfed the space between us. Azula raised a barrier of blue flames, but the force of my attack made her step back.
I took the opening and surged forward with a burst of fire that carried me to her in a second.
"Now!" My hands moved in a perfect circle, just like Uncle Iroh taught me, and a sphere of fire formed in the air. I pushed it toward her chest.
In the few milliseconds before impact, I saw Azula's eyes widen — no time to react. The sphere hit her squarely, slamming her into a stone wall that crumbled under the force.
Dust and smoke rose, and for a moment, everything went still.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself as I waited for her to get back up. I knew full well that attack wouldn't be enough to stop her.
And just as expected, within seconds, I heard her voice again.
"Why, why, why, why, why?" Azula emerged from the rubble, her armor cracked, hair singed, but her eyes still burning with that twisted determination. "WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
Her scream made me pause the attack I was about to unleash. "Understand what?" I looked at her, confused, not grasping her point.
"Why do you insist on throwing away everything we could be? You've finally stopped being that pathetic failure, that sniveling boy who begged for everyone's approval! You're strong now. Like me. We could burn this world and rebuild it together. The Fire Nation... no, we would be unstoppable. Why do you choose those worms?!"
"You don't understand, Azula."
"I don't understand?" She laughed loudly. "You think these rebels, these filthy peasants, deserve your loyalty? They'll stab you in the back the moment they get the chance, Zuzu. Just like our father. Just like our mother. Just like everyone. Except me. I'll never abandon you. I offered you a place by my side, and you... you choose to reject it!"
"Haa... Let's end this."
I inhaled deeply, and the air seemed to vibrate around me. I moved, feeling electricity crackling at my fingertips — a cold tingling climbing up my arms and building in my chest.
My eyes locked onto hers, and I saw she was doing the same. Her arms moved slowly, but with precision, the tips of her fingers glowing with electricity.
She was channeling lightning, just like me.
"End this?" Azula repeated, our movements perfectly in sync. "You can't end me, brother. Not without ending yourself."
'Then that's what I'll do.' I raised my hand toward her, lightning pulsing at my fingertips.
She mirrored me, eyes locked with mine.
The world slowed. The air grew thick, heavy with the weight of what was coming. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat like a drum. I knew what this meant. I knew there was no turning back.
And then, lightning exploded from my hand — a spear of white light slicing through the air like a blade. At the same moment, Azula's lightning shot toward me — blue and deadly, ripping through the space between us.
The two bolts crossed paths, passing through each other in a moment that felt eternal. The next instant, I felt the heat, the electricity, the excruciating pain as her lightning struck my chest. And in that millisecond, I saw mine hit her too.
And then... everything vanished.
***
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, images or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.