Chapter Text
“Oh, I’ll show you lightning!”
And at that moment, the surge of blue electricity was meant to hit Katara. And Zuko knew he couldn’t let that happen, so he moved, fully expecting to bear the attack himself.
For a split second, maybe something shifted in Azula’s expression. Perhaps the manic glint in her eyes had disappeared as she realized, at that same moment, that Zuko was most likely going to die at her hands.
But here’s where the story changes and leaves all three benders reeling as, from out of nowhere, a woman clad in a scarlet dress with a black-veiled hat concealing her face, appears from thin air, landing straight in front of the frightened waterbender and ex-prince, as if she were protecting them.
And before Azula can react, before she can scream at the top of her lungs, the mysterious woman is redirecting her lightning and hitting Azula square in the chest.
There’s a sharp intake of air from the waterbender. And screaming, from her brother no less.
Azula fell backwards to the ground, a searing pain coursing through her body. It burns, but her rage burns brighter. She’s angry, angry that she lost, angry that her brother would have the audacity to be upset by this turn of events because she swears she wouldn’t feel the same.
She wouldn’t.
She’s still angry as the world begins to flicker to black around her. She can’t even look the woman who’s defeated her in the eyes.
Azula tries to open her mouth, to scream, to cry, to promise revenge? She has no idea. But it doesn’t matter. It’s all in vain.
And then her world, which was filled with glowing reds and blues just moments ago, fades to an empty black.
~~
Color.
So much color.
As Azula’s eyes slowly flickered open, she had to fight the urge to snap them shut at the sudden onslaught of vibrance and saturation.
It felt like she was being persecuted by a rainbow.
From the startling mix of bright cyans and purples shooting across the sky, to the almost neon glow of the plants...or flowers? They might have been flowers, but Azula didn’t know, nor did she care...to the golden orange stars that seemed to be falling out of the sky...
Azula gave in and shut her eyes again, practically demanding the universe to take her out of this nightmare, this universe, whatever it was , and bring her back so she could finish Zuko, the waterbender and the woman in red, off, once and for all.
Unbeknownst to the young firebender, however, was that the home she dreamt of was far far away...in a whole other word, actually.
And she wouldn’t be returning there for a very, very long time.
Sensing that her “prayers” weren’t working, Azula let out a scream that should’ve been accompanied by a wild surge of blue flames, wiping out all the flowers beneath her, burning the ground to a crisp.
At least, that’s what should’ve happened.
There was a yell, that echoed through the rainbow field. But there were no flames.
There were no flames.
~~
An hour had passed.
An hour where Azula lay alone, in the middle of this “enchanted forest” of sorts. It was beautiful, but she couldn’t fathom its beauty. She was much more focused on the fact that her powers were gone .
Gone.
Just like that.
She’d been mulling over it for the entire hour, unable to move from the ground. The hour felt like centuries.
The origin of the tears that pooled in her eyes was uncertain-were they from anger? The same anger she’d felt as she’d lost the Agni Kai? Sadness? Sadness that the best and brightest part of her had been snuffed out the moment she’d landed here , wherever here was.
A mix of both?
“I’ll kill her,” Azula whispered to herself. And then she whispered it again, and again, her mantra the only thing anchoring her to the present moment.
She would kill the woman in red, and the only way to do that was to revive her bending and leave this wretched place.
“I’ll kill her.”
Azula finally sat up, glaring at the multicolored sky with disdain. The moon shined brightly back at her, and she took its exuberance as a challenge. She rose from the ground, legs wobbling ever-so-slightly as she tried to remain in balance.
“I’ll kill her.” It was final.
Azula would be the one to destroy the woman in red.
It was a promise.
She began walking through the endless field. And her only destination in mind was revenge.
~
Azula stormed through the forest, and with every step, the scenery seemed to shift before her.
Grass grew. Flowers died. And then came back. The sky had turned orange at one point. Turquoise another. Red the next. The grass grew even taller. Creatures came out of their hiding spots, animals that were far too intelligent, powerful, and astute, to truly just be animals.
But Azula ignored them all, going so far as to glare at one creature who dared crossed paths with her, satisfied with the way it flew far, far away.
She ignored every single shift in the atmosphere except for one.
Azula paused in her tracks, almost frozen.
The moon was no longer in the sky.
And she didn’t know it yet, but it was, in fact, standing right in front of her.