Hello all! So this is my first published piece of fanfiction but it is in fact taking me forever to complete. In the first two chapters, I have to give credit to my best friend as she did help to write the original drafts of those chapters, but they've undergone major edits by me since then and everything past that is all me.

Speaking of edits, if you're an old fan of the story, you might want to go back and reread everything as it is undergoing a major edit (currently, the first three chapters have been edited. 4, 5 and 6 have not been). If you're new, then welcome! And lucky you, you didn't have to read my terrible writing from before! (Although the three latest chapters are still rather atrocious.)

Anyhooha, I'm hoping to have that done and over with in the next couple of weeks and then I can move on and write Chapter Seven, which is something I'm really looking forward to!

I'm going to give my general warning now: there is course language throughout (including slurs at some point in the future, I'm sure) and there is character death. It is strongly AU and there will be both a male/male relationship and a female/female relationship. The listed pairings will be mentioned/present but they aren't the focus of this story. I will eventually be writing a Jetko epic so follow me to be updated on when that comes out. :)

I'm going to try to update this more frequently, but it's easier if I have reviews to push me so if you like it (or even if you don't!) let me know in a review! :)

As always, check my profile to see what I'm working on!

Chapter: One
Title: Blood is Thicker Than Water
Rating: T
Warning: There's some mild language and violence (not too descriptive) but the main thing for this chapter is character death. If you're one of those people who needs to know which character before you emotionally commit to reading this, shoot me a message.
Chapter Summary: Team Avatar goes to take down the Fire Nation. Things go horribly wrong. Also in which only four characters actually appear. And if you read the summary of the story before clicking here then this chapter summary really gave you zero information.
Word Count: 4,913

There was an eerie feeling that crept up Zuko's spine as he stood, tense and ready, as the wind blew his raven hair out of his eyes. His hands were clenched tightly, fingers digging into his palms. There was a warmth that spread through him, not rage, but instead a clarity of purpose and direction that fueled his strength and mettle.

He raised his chin in challenge and defiance as he stared across the open ground to his opponent, who stood, casual and relaxed. The warm breeze ruffled her hair, which was tied up in a formal top knot with the Fire Lord's crown resting in it. Zuko narrowed his good eye as she glanced down at her shoes, feigning uninterest in him.

"Really ZuZu? You're going to fight me? Your own sister?" she said in that flat, cold tone she had so often used with him.

A thousand thoughts knocked at the walls Zuko had put up around them but he forced himself to ignore them. He had to do this; and so he took up a fighting stance. "Yes. I am," he replied, just as frostily.

Azula shrugged one shoulder in acceptance. "Alright then. It'll be your funeral."

There was a placid silence that fell across the dilapidated arena as brother and sister squared off in their match.

The two circled each other with silent footsteps as tension sizzled between them. There was a great deal of open space between them and Zuko mentally absorbed his surroundings, already wondering how he might use them to his advantage. He tried to ignore the butterfly feeling that was causing his stomach to turn.

Azula caught the slight movement of his eyes and, just as he should've expected, used it to her advantage. It was just enough of a distraction for her to strike first. As she spun and extended her arm, scorching blue flames flew from her two extended fingertips.

Zuko was taken off-guard for only the briefest of moments before regaining his focus and diving forward, toward the flames. He hit the ground, shoulder-first, and rolled into a lethal crouch. As he did so, he swung his foot out, pushing flames in a large wave across the stone towards his sister, who sent a wall of flame back at Zuko. Her flames engulfed his and traveled past, but as they reached Zuko, he widened his stance, caught the flames and swirled them until they vanished, leaving nothing but the faintest hint of smoke to prove they ever existed.

When he straightened and looked back at Azula, she was looking at her nails, not paying him much mind. Zuko set his jaw as anger rose from the pit of his stomach. Azula's face held that sickening grin that made him want to scream through his clenched teeth.

Like a sleek, deadly cobra-eel, Azula started forward with an onslaught of attacks. She spun and whirled, kicking and swinging her arms, two fingers of each hand extended. One after another, tendrils of growing blue flame found their way from her and toward her brother, attempting to ensnare him in a trap of cold fire. Her movements were fluid and practiced; and Zuko noticed, with a faint hint of contempt, she was a clear master of her firebending forms. Each attack linked into the next like a vicious, dangerous dance.

Zuko jerked back into action, ducking the first wave of flame just in time. He copied her elegant movement with a more hurried version of his own. He was driven backward by the weight of the attack, returning some of her own fire and avoiding the rest. He came to a stop and assessed how far backward he had moved. I need to get on the offensive, he thought worriedly.

"Do you see the power the comet brings us, Zuko?" Azula inquired, calling out to her brother over the open space. "This is why we are the superior nation. This is why we conquer. We harness the power bestowed upon us."

Zuko shook his head. "You're wrong, Azula. You abuse the power bestowed upon you." His eye widened as flames came rushing toward him again. He clapped his hands in front of himself quickly, creating a break in the flames as they rushed past him on both sides.

"Hush, ZuZu. You've become faint of heart; how could you possibly understand?" she asked.

"I've been one of the world's people. I understand more than you ever will," he called back. He didn't want to let himself get wrapped up in this conversation; he knew the memories of people who had suffered would come rushing back and distract him, but it was hard not to argue when she was so painfully wrong.

Azula began to speak again but Zuko wasn't listening; before his opportunity passed, Zuko stepped and punched one fist forward, sending a massive ball of bright orange flame at Azula. He didn't miss a beat as he quickly and deftly punched, swung, spun and kicked, flames flying across the way rapidly toward his sister. His tenacity displayed his equal, or perhaps even greater, mastery of his element than his sister, but if you looked at the two it was clear they weren't the same, something Zuko would only notice when he looked back on this weeks later. Azula on the one hand was very agile, yes, but also very much controlled by the imperialistic form of firebending she had been taught. Zuko, however, had a sort of finesse about him, a fluidity, strength and agility that spoke of a mixture of cultures.

Azula scoffed in shock and dismay as she frantically moved to deflect and dodge the attacks. Finally, wanting to avoid a horizontal wave of flames, she leaned back and stumbled, falling flat on her back.

Zuko didn't let up as he stepped closer to his fallen foe with each attack. Finally he was only ten feet away from the young woman who had tortured him for seventeen long years. For a brief moment, as he stood over her, fists poised, he thought of what she would do if their positions were switched. It wouldn't even be a thought. She would strike and he would be dead. But even now, his gut twisted and he couldn't do it. So instead, he met her eyes with a stare as menacing as he could muster.

"It's over, Azula. Give up," Zuko said, staying in his stance. That sickening grin spread across Azula's red lips once more.

"On the contrary, brother, it's just begun." Azula leapt lithely to her feet and danced gracefully backward. Zuko lowered his center of gravity in a defensive stance, holding one hand out toward her with two fingers up and the other behind him, elbow raised and hand in a fist.

Azula grinned mercilessly and with an angered yell, thrust her arm forward, shooting more flame than Zuko had ever seen come from a firebender.

This time, he remained calm. Now that they had been fighting for several minutes, he felt as though he were feeling more at ease, relaxing as he realized that he knew what he was doing and he did in fact have the strength to defeat her. He took a deep breath and as he punched his back hand forward, he exhaled powerfully, summoning the strength of the comet to fuel his fire.

The two forces met somewhere between the siblings, blue flame halting against orange fire. The flames continued to flow and they found themselves in a stalemate. Zuko felt a single bead of sweat roll down his face as watched his sister, seeing plainly on her face all the hatred and fury she was summoning, pulling it from deep within her to aid her in her fight. Zuko, however, closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Power in firebending comes from the breath, Prince Zuko! He even smiled as he heard his Uncle's voice in his head, a faint turning of his lips that was so very uncharacteristic. He drew strength from his purpose, his goal of protecting the people he cared about and restoring balance to the world.

When he opened his eyes, he could see the sheer panic on his sister's face. She was reeling and he could almost hear her thinking, how? He can't possibly be stronger than I am! But sure enough, the orange seemed to break through the blue and Azula's eyes widened in fear. "No!" she shouted as she stumbled back.

There was a large flash and then the flames dispersed, leaving small fires scattered about the arena and smoke billowing into the sky.

Azula lay on the ground on her side, her hair a ragged mess from the fight and the Fire Lord's crown laying several feet away, curled slightly and covered in ash. Zuko slumped a bit, feeling the oppression of fatigue wash over him, but he forced himself to stay standing. She was tiring as well and their fight would soon draw to a close one way or another. He could still see the panic flashing across her face as her mind scrambled for an idea, a trick of some sort. But Zuko was a step ahead of her now. He knew if he goaded her just a little bit, she would rush herself, do something completely rash, and he would be ready for it. Straightening his stance, he called, "What, Azula? No lightning, today?" his voice taking on a taunting tone as he and strode toward her motionless form. She stirred, pushing herself up on her elbows before moving into a crouch. "What's the matter, afraid I'll redirect it?" Zuko baited. I just need to get her to attack once more, expend all her energy. Then it'll really be over, he thought, trying to mentally ready himself to finish his sister once and for all. This was something he had to do.

"Oh, I'll show you lightning," Azula said coldly as she pushed herself to her feet. When Zuko looked at her now, she looked...insane. Her hair was in disarray, her eyes wide and crazed as lightning gathered around her sweeping hands. But Zuko was ready, taking his stance and breathing deeply, just as Uncle had taught him-

"Zuko!"

Zuko turned quickly upon hearing Katara's voice, his focus completely shattered; she was gliding gracefully into the arena on a thin sheet of ice that gathered before her.

"No! Get out of here, Katara!" Zuko called back. He was already looking back at Azula, apprehension in his eyes. Katara started to say something in protest but Zuko wasn't even listening.

Right before sending the lightning at him, Azula paused. Her eyes shifted to the waterbender before her, something Zuko's careful gaze didn't miss. Then, she shifted her stance ever so slightly. Zuko's heart skipped a beat in fear and panic and then he was forcing his tired limbs to move, running as quickly as he could as he yelled, "Katara!"

That's when time seemed to slow down into this sick, sluggish suspense. Zuko never looked back at Azula; it was like he had tunnel vision and he couldn't tear his eyes away from Katara's confused face. With the last of his strength, Zuko pushed his feet off the ground and himself into the air, diving in front of the lightning. The slow motion feeling dissipated just then and Zuko hit the ground quicker than he could blink. He more heard his failure than he felt it, as Katara screamed in pain and dropped to the ground beside him. Only then did he realize he felt the soft ache of hitting the stone beneath him and not the terrible agony of lightning.

Zuko pushed himself onto his elbows and then up, moving quickly to his knees beside the young girl. He watched helplessly as her body convulsed, the current reaching her heart. There was a brief moment of sheer panic as he looked helplessly down at her, his mind searching for what to do. In the next moment, he picked up her body and held her, clinging as if he were hanging off the edge of a cliff with his fingertips. "Katara? Katara, no… Katara, please. Katara you can't be… No, please, Katara! Katara!" There was no response and finally, he began to shake her, her head jerking back and forth, as if that would rouse her back into consciousness. "Come on, Katara!" He was shouting now, a roar that came from deep in his chest and resonated anguish. "Don't you quit now! They need you! Sokka and Aang and Toph need you!" But he couldn't even say he was surprised when she still didn't answer him, her eyes closed and her body limp. He pressed his lips together hard, trying to trap the sob that was bubbling up in his throat. "I need you…" And this time softer, with a wavering crack in his voice that he simply couldn't keep out. Then that sob did break through and he clutched her body against his, burying his face in her cold shoulder and clenching his teeth to keep the tears at bay. "Please Katara… You have to be okay." But there was a cold chill over him, a sickening feeling in his gut and he knew, he knew, he was only deceiving himself. He couldn't feel her heartbeat, couldn't hear any breath. ...She was gone. "I-... I'm so sorry, Katara…" Zuko whispered. He clenched his eyes tightly, holding Katara's cold hand to his cheek. His stomach sank even further when he let go of her fingers and they dropped, lifeless, to her side. "...Goodbye...Katara."

As Zuko stared down at Katara's lifeless form, he heard the unmistakable sound of flames. His eye widening, he turned toward Azula, panic striking his heart. He immediately let go of Katara's body, freeing his hands to defend himself. He reacted just in time to feel the flames singe the hair on his arms instead of burning his flesh. "This isn't over yet Zu-Zu!" she called, a disgusting grin playing at the edge's of her lips.

He rose to his feet slowly, taking careful steps away from Katara as he swallowed his emotions, but his hands were shaking as he clenched them into fists; his breath came unsteady and fast. I need to face her now and think about Katara later. "How could you Azula? All you do is hurt people. Do you have a heart at all?!" he yelled at her, feeling his anger bubble up inside him once again.

Azula strode towards him, the grin gone from her lips. "I do what needs to be done for the benefit of the Fire Nation; it's what any good Fire Lord would do." Another blast.

Who does she think she is, calling herself the Fire Lord? This isn't over. Zuko dodged sideways, but his heart skipped a beat as it came closer than he expected. He was slower, which was all it took for the nerves to rise back into the pit of his stomach, his confidence vanishing like fog with the sun. Forget Katara for now. You'll have time to feel guilty later.

He tried turning that guilt into some of his old anger, pushing several fire blasts in Azula's direction but he could feel it in the pit of his stomach immediately. The anger wasn't what fueled him anymore; in fact, it was blocking his power. In light of this, only more rage boiled up within him and he didn't know what to do but shout and punch fire through the air.

"You didn't even know her! She was kind and loyal and caring! All of those things I wish my sister had been! You're a monster, Azula. Mother was right," Zuko said, letting his fury own his words. His last few words were low and layered with hatred, wanting Azula to feel even a fraction of the pain that was clenching his heart.

Zuko could see her stumble on her counterattack, her face falling momentarily at the mention of their mother, but just as quickly, it was gone. "Mother was weak. She let her emotions cloud her judgment, but look where that got her. Don't you see, brother: caring is what gets you killed." She snarled to punctuate her words and sent a massive wall of fire his way.

Zuko's eye widened at the wave of flame that came barreling toward him and quickly formed a whip of fire. He cracked it forward, splitting the wall enough so that it passed right by him on both sides. Zuko shook his head. "As usual, you're wrong, Azula. Mother was a human being. She was like Katara. She had a heart. It was something I didn't have for a long time. It's something you'll never have. Look around you, Azula. You're all alone. And you always will be," he said, holding his arms out wide to make his point. The wind blew lightly, their only companion in the quiet arena.

As he stood there, pleading with his sister to see what he was saying, he had a startling realization. He didn't want to fight anymore. After taking another glance at Katara's motionless form, he had almost lost the will, but no way was he going to let Azula get away with murder without one hell of a fight. Using that as a new sense of purpose and clinging to it desperately, he kept hold of his makeshift whip and made his way quickly toward his sister, cracking and extending the length of flame toward her repeatedly while shooting bursts of flame with his other hand.

Flipping over the fireballs, Azula threw her hands down with a rush of blue flame, propelling herself upwards and onto the roof of the small building behind her. She kicked an arc of flame at him, but kept moving; agility was one of her greatest strengths so Zuko aimed at her legs, trying to slow her down. "Look where having a heart got them. Dead and 'missing'. I may be alone, but I'll never grieve like you. Besides, who needs friends when I have a whole nation to adore me?" Even as she spoke, she was relentless with her attacks, making Zuko dodge and counter over and over as he tried to focus. It took all of his self-control to not scream at Azula's blatant disregard for their mother. Ursa had been Zuko's world when she disappeared what started was the ever-growing snowball of a lifetime of misery and contempt for him.

He returned her attacks, blow for blow, but his fatigue and distracted mind were catching up to him as he focused more on not getting hit by the flames than actually hurting her. But as he moved through his firebending forms, he answered her with words that spoke of a wisdom only learned from the great Dragon of the West. "They don't love you. They fear you. You'll never know what love feels like. You can't," he said simply. Thinking of Uncle helped him to focus and he intentionally drew power from the comet to fuel his attack. With a large breath, he pushed a ball of flame at her large enough to encompass the whole roof she was poised on top of.

Azula dove towards the enormous ball, creating a shield of blue large enough to keep his flames at bay. A flash of heat and a few minor burn wounds later, Azula was crouched on the ground, catching her breath. "I have everything I've ever wanted. I don't need love. Not from you, not from anyone, especially not Mother." The sound she made then was something animalistic, like a cobra-jackal ripping into its prey. And then she threw her arms forward, sending two long trains of blue at her opponent.

Zuko dove forward as the two forces of fire came at him and came closer together, forming a "v" behind him as he rolled and landed in a crouch, pushing his arms up and out as he did so in one fluid movement, forming two trails of scorching flame that crackled in Azula's direction.

"Look out Azula!" a worried voice that sounded more like tinkling bells called from above. A lithe girl came tumbling into the arena in an array of acrobatics, finally landing gracefully on her feet. Azula smirked, stopping the oncoming flames with one hand, merging them together, the red turning to blue.

"Ty Lee, what a pleasant surprise." Zuko didn't fail to notice the uncharacteristic hint of warmth in her voice. Then Azula shot the ball back with a slight grunt.

With relative ease, Zuko deflected the flames into nonexistence and then shifted his stance, spreading his feet further apart and staying lower, more defensive, as he held one hand out in Azula's direction and the other in Ty Lee's. The first two fingers on each hand were up and ready to shoot flame while the others stayed carefully tucked into his palm.

Zuko looked at Ty Lee with an accusatory glint in his eyes, but his gaze didn't linger long; his eyes shifted quickly back to his sister. He knew who the real threat was "Where's Mai?!" he demanded of Ty Lee. He hadn't seen the gloomy girl since she had betrayed Azula to help him escape at the Boiling Rock. And that in and of itself was something he had never been expecting. Yes, they had history but to risk her life for him… He had been thoroughly surprised. Another thing for me to feel guilty about.

"Still in prison. After all, She did commit treason." Ty Lee's voice was quiet. It seemed as though she had mixed feelings on that last statement, but Zuko didn't feel bad for her. She chose her place, standing beside Azula, and she'd have to face the consequences of that choice.

"Feel free to join her ZuZu. Since it's your fault she's in there." Azula sent him a wave of fire to accompany her taunt.

Zuko gritted his teeth together in anger, guilt clenching his gut. He would've argued with Azula but he knew she was right. There was no one to blame for Mai's imprisonment but him. If he hadn't gone on a stupid suicide mission with Sokka, Mai wouldn't be in prison. Think about Mai later, he nearly snarled at himself, shaking his head roughly.

He refocused himself as he saw Azula's new wave of attacks almost as if it were in slow motion. He dodged and volleyed her attacks with perfect form, sending back his own flames when he could. Ty Lee was beginning to be a nuisance as she kept lunging for him and it became more and more difficult to engage in her little dance as well as focus on Azula. I need a plan, quick. His eyes flickered between his two opponents, analyzing how well they fought together. Azula carefully placed her flames so they would swerve around Ty Lee and reach him and Ty Lee was always a hair's breadth away from being burnt to a crisp but never panicking for it. It was almost kind of beautiful. It spoke of a trust and deeper understanding that people who weren't extremely close would never be able to achieve. An idea dawned on Zuko in that moment and in Ty Lee's next series of attacks, he moved toward her, blocking her fists instead of back away from her as he hand been. He could see the surprise on Ty Lee's face as he did this and the next time her small hand extended toward him, he dodged sideways and grabbed her wrist, pulling harshly and using her momentum against her. Then, he was jerking her back, spinning her around and cinching her other wrist in the process, twisting them both up painfully high behind her back. She cried out softly and he winced at the sound, but tried to will the guilty feeling away.

As he had hoped, Azula took pause at this. She straightened out of her battle stance and crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing, ZuZu?" she asked, her tone completely nonchalant and casually, as if she were simply asking him which kind of tea he preferred.

"Give it up, Azula," he replied.

Azula raised one carefully plucked brow. "Give what up? How do you think this is going to go, Zuko? You think you're going to hold her hostage and I'm just going to give in to you to spare her life?"

A frown formed between Zuko's eyebrows. "...Yes," he said finally. Laughter bubbled up from Azula's throat and Zuko grit his teeth in annoyance. "I mean it, Azula! I'll kill her." He tried to sound menacing, to keep his voice strong but somewhere in there, his voice caught a little bit.

That only made his sister laugh even harder. "Oh please, ZuZu. You and I both know you're not going to kill her," she said, her tone light and amused. Then, she sobered suddenly. "But I will. Don't think for a second, I won't burn her flesh from her bones to defeat you."

Zuko's eyes widened as he realized just how sick she was. She's a complete and utter sociopath. She doesn't care about anyone…. How can you beat someone who doesn't care? He pulled tighter against Ty Lee's arms, making her cry out. "I'm calling your bluff Azula," he called, not knowing what else to do.

"No, Brother," was her low, lethal response, "I'm calling yours." Blue flames rushed towards them and Zuko reacted purely on instinct, throwing Ty Lee to the side and holding his forearms up to protect his face. No time to bend properly! he thought as he felt the hair on his arms burn and his skin sting with the heat. His knees gave out then and he landed heavily on all four, panting with his head hung. His arms were screaming in protest at the abuse they'd just endured. He didn't even lift his head as Azula called out to taunt him again. "I knew you couldn't do it. You couldn't even let me do it. You're weak. Pathetic," she spat her words out at him, like the sight of him left a bad taste in her mouth. And knowing her, it probably did.

He was so focus on the pain wracking his body and trying to summon the determination to rise and fight again that he didn't notice Ty Lee push herself up behind him. He heard a soft, shaky, "Sorry Zuko," before feeling a series of quick jabs in half a dozen of his joints and pressure points.

A throaty grunt came from Zuko as he felt the horror of his chi halting inside his body. Ty Lee's words registered moments later and by then the ground was rushing toward him.

Another sound escaped him as his arms gave way and his face, followed by the rest of his body, hit the ground with a dull, silencing thud. His eyes were wide. I lost. How could I let them all down? Zuko dwelled on this thought as he watched Azula draw closer.

He turned his eyes on Ty Lee. The guilt was clear on her face and he could see that her hands were trembling before she clasped them tightly in front of her. He thought he saw her eyes shining a bit more than usual, but she looked away from him and toward the ground so quickly that he had to assume he was imagining things.

Azula looked down at him, a malicious grin on her face. "Check mate, brother," she said flatly, bending to pick up her discarded crown.

Zuko curled his lip as he felt Ty Lee's fingers pinch between his shoulder and his neck tightly. His vision fogged as he forced words from his mouth. "It's not...over..." he choked out in a whisper. Azula simply grinned as she placed her crown back into her top knot.

Then, Zuko's world went black.