Fire | Distorted Reality [ 1 ] | ATLA

18

"Agni's eye"

She was mad with the power she was wielding.

After escaping from the prisons of Ba Sing Se, as a result of being captured on the failed invasion of the Day of Black Sun, the Avatar and his friends roamed the Earth Kingdom, witnessing destruction and death every day. Azula herself, Princess of the Fire Nation, was leading an army on one of the last free peoples of the Earth Kingdom – the Northern Air Temple refugees. Mai and Ty Lee were by her side, silent as ever as their friend relished in the tyranny. Her father was ruler of the world – she the Lord of the Fire Nation – the Air Nomads were long gone, the Water Tribes were secluded in their ice, and the Earth Kingdom was ash beneath her feet. No one was able to stop her now, not even the Avatar, who was losing power every day with the growing hopelessness.

However, as always, until his hope was diminished, the Avatar was there to confront her again. Somehow, he was able to maneuver his bison through all the fire blasts up to her position on the warship in the sky, her traitorous brother and Sokka along with him. Mai and Ty Lee prepared for a fight by her side. Azula smirked, lighting up blue flames in her hands as the Avatar approached on his bison.

"Nice to see you again, Avatar! And dear brother, how I missed trying to kill you..." Her fingers were bent crudely as fire roared from her piercing fingernails, intending to clash with the Avatar on his bison. Mai threw a barrage of knives consecutively, but the former was blocked by an equally powerful red blast of fire and the latter was deflected with a slash of Sokka's black sword.

"Zuko, remember – I'll deal with Azula now. You hold off Mai," Aang reminded his friend, his face set on the evil firebender.

"You can't deal with her alone," he said. The Avatar didn't answer. He just leapt from Appa's back, hurling a fireball at Azula as he soared. Their fight had begun. Once Appa was close enough, Zuko and Sokka leapt from their mount and joined the fray against Mai and Ty Lee, respectively.

Mai was able to dodge his blasts of fire with a grim face, hurling knives through the flames with the intent to kill him. Their past love was ignored – Mai still chose to disregard the destruction and side with Azula in her tyranny. She was an enemy.

A sword would not work against the might of Ty Lee, and neither would a club or a machete or a boomerang. She always managed to get around his strikes and disable him quickly. Now, however, with training from his late girlfriend, Suki, Sokka was able to match her hand-to-hand prowess.

"Where's the water wench?" Azula taunted Aang amidst the blasts of fire, air, and water. "Still grieving over the girly-man earthbender? Or her father? Or dear King Bumi?" Aang answered her with a cold blast of air and ice, shooting her out into the sky. With jet-packed blasts of her fire, she propelled herself to the top of one of the other zeppelins. Aang followed.