Chapter 48.2- And so the Dragons Danced

I felt for my inner flames and brought them to the forefront in another explosion of green fire. When I landed on the ground, it was right at the outskirts of the tornado’s range. When it got closer and closer to me, I kept my feet pressed against the ground. Or at least I tried to. Thankfully, Toph could feel what I was doing. The ground lifted up, locking my lower body into place. Good thing she hadn’t stpped at just my feet. That would be a very unfortunate way to get crippled.

The tornado reached me and I thrust out both my hands against its flow. As much fire as I could release, I released. As much of my inner flame as could be unleashed in one go, I let go of. And it worked. The winds pressed against me at first, but eventually they began to lose their kick. To lose their strength. Any regular fire bender would have died trying something like this. Good thing I wasn’t regular then. My verdant flames meant that I could produce more heat and explosive force than any other.

If I’d expected the tornado to die down in a slow gradual manner, I was disappointed. It was like a switch being flicked. One second it was there, and the next, it was nothing. The winds flew up, driven upwards by the heat of my flames and I slumped against the earthen platform holding me still.

The earth dropped away once I began to stand on my own power. Aang landed on the ground right in front of me.

“If I had fought you when I was alive, we would have made a million songs” His mouth spoke the words, but they were clearly not his. He began walking towards me, and then it happened.

A flash of light, a boom of sound, and the lightning struck him. But it struck him wrongly. Tired as I was, I could see the way his body reacted. He was allowing the lightning to flow through him just like I did when I redirected it. He turned around, fingers aimed at Azula, and then unleashed it. At least, I assumed he unleashed it— I never got to see that much because I was already moving in that time. My inner flame had been whittled down to nothing but embers. I’d have failed to use lightning right then and there if I’d tried. I’d probably have failed to use a firebending attack even.

But somehow, Toph knew exactly what I intended. I stretched a hand out and the knife flew into my grip, handle first. I didn’t need to bring my fire out of my body. It did a good enough job inside. Aang was still occupied with his lightning and so I moved. I moved faster than I’d ever moved before, spurred on by adrenaline, desperation, and who knows what else. This was my one and only shot. If this failed, I was dead. But it didn’t fail. Azula’s lightning bolt had been massive, and it seemed he was not as practiced at redirecting lightning as he should have been. The electricity numbed his reflexes. He tried to turn as I set off, but he was too slow. His body did not respond as it should have.

I stabbed the knife into his back, straight into where I knew his heart would be, and then I twisted it.

 A/N: F in the chat for Aang and Azula?