to everyone who read this before, i advise you reread this chapter

in front of the mirror with her hands tangled in her hair. She looked much older than she actually was, a result of being treated as a weapon.

She stared at her hair with a crazed look in her eye as she swooped her front hair into her hands.

"Alright hair, it's time to face your doom." She slashed through her hair roughly, creating uneven bangs. The black haired girl grinned crazily as she continued to stare at herself, but the grin slowly faded when she noticed a taller figure standing behind her.

"What a shame, you always had such beautiful hair. What would Uzume say? She loved braiding it." A motherly voice spoke from behind Azula. Azula continued staring into the mirror.

"What are you doing here?" Azula spoke with distaste.

"I didn't want to miss my own daughter's coronation." Ursa stood unmoving, eyes seemingly cold. Azula scoffed, "Don't pretend to act proud. I know what you really think of me. You think I'm a monster." Azula's grip on her scissors tightened as her face scrunched.

"I think you're confused. All your life you used fear to control people. Like your friends Mai and Ty Lee. Even Uzume," Ursa paused before letting out a tut, "Such a shame, Azula, she loves you."

"But what choice do I have?! Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way. Even you fear me," Azula paused, "Even Uzume fears me."

"No. I love you, Azula. I do."

Azula shuttered as her mom's voice began to morph into a familiar 14 year old girl. Tears ran down her face as she tightened her grip on a brush. She swiftly turned around and shattered the mirror as she fell to her knees and sobbed. In her peripheral vision she saw a short figure approaching her through the reflection of the shattered mirror. The figure wavered through Azula's tears.

A small hand placed itself on Azula's shoulder, making her let out a heartbreaking scream as she pushed the hand off a scrambled into a ball. In front of Azula seemed to be Uzume, who stared down at her sympathetically. Eyes over run by tears, Azula blinked, but when she opened her eyes Uzume wasn't there trying to hold her hand anymore.

-

Uzume stared down at the empty town as she sat atop Appa. Katara was clenching her hand as Zuko steered them to the palace, everyone mentally cursing their nerves. Katara squeezed her hand tighter, causing her to look up and into her blue eyes. Katara and Uzume stared into each other's eyes a bit before Katara leaned into her and put her forehead against hers. Uzume felt her lip quiver as she thought about the approaching events. Katara felt her friend shake and fully embraced her as they began to land

They pulled away from each other as they heard Zuko address Azula.

"Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today," Zuko jumped off of Appa and stood proudly, "I am."

Azula cackled as she sized up Zuko, "You're hilarious."

Katara helped Uzume step down from Appa before she turned to Azula, "And you're going down." Azula and Uzume made eye contact, both girls feeling overly emotional about the other. The fire sage began to crown Azula when she stopped him, finally breaking eye contact from the short asian girl.

"Wait. You want to be Fire Lord Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

"You're on." Azula's lips began to curl into a morbid smile.

"What are you doing? She's playing you. She knows she can't take us all so she is trying to separate us." Katara whispered to the idiotic boy Uzume loved so much.

Zuko eyed Azula, "I know. But I can take her this time."

Katara narrowed her eyes, "But even you admitted to your Uncle that you would need help facing Azula."

"There's something off about her, I can't explain it but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt." Uzume snorted unamused at his words.

"Of course she's slipping," She mumbled to the two of them, "She's never been okay." Katara had to physically drag Uzume off to the side and out of the siblings' way.

Zuko and Azula started by kneeling at opposite ends as they slowly rose.

Azula slowly stood up menacingly, "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother."

Zuko clenched his jaw as he took on a wide stance, "No, you're not."

Uzume and Katara had to take cover multiple times as they watched the way the siblings fought. Uzume felt her heart ache. They weren't fighting an evil irredeemable person, they were fighting her best friend and possibly her first romantic love.

Uzume watched as the plaza began to burn down from the Agni Kai and her eyes watered as she watched Azula lose grip of her sanity. Her fighting got sloppier and faster, but to her relief, Zuko stayed calm and calculated.

Uzume could see her fear in her eyes and she couldn't stop staring at the beautiful siblings, even when Katara pulled up a water wall to protect them from a stray flame.

One of Zuko's attacks connects with Azula, causing there to be a pause as Azula caught her breath.

"No lightning, today? What's the matter? Afraid I'll re-direct it?" Zuko taunted his unstable sister

For reasons Uzume couldn't even think of, Katara decided to stand behind Zuko, as if showing support.

Azula smirked in a way that shook Uzume, "Oh, I'LL SHOW YOU LIGHTNING!" She began to generate lightning and began to get in a position that indicated she was aiming for Zuko. However, Uzume could see her eyes glance at the brown girl in blue. Zuko also seemed to catch on at the same time as Uzume, as the both began to run to stand in front of Katara. Everything seemed to slow for Uzume as she ran.

Uzume watched as she slightly pushed Zuko out of the way and that's when she realized how everything she was experiencing was like an out of body experience.

That scared her.

A pulse went through her body and that's when it really scared her. The feeling of the electricity flowing through her, too fast but too slow at the same time as it made it's way to her heart.

It all seemed so blurry and so unfair. So, so unbelievably unfair.

Blood? Blood was everywhere. In her mouth, it covered her hands, she felt like she was melting.

So unfair.

She saw three bodies run towards her as she saw her own body fall to the ground. Uzume felt herself close her eyes tightly and when she opened them, she felt like she was in her own body, and it burned. A pained wail came from her throat when she tasted metal in her mouth and that burned her too, everything just burned. She felt small soft hands place themselves over her stomach, she assumed that's where she was hit.

The water was soothing, but Uzume knew it wouldn't save her.

Warm blood covered Katara's hands as warm tears covered her face. Uzume tried to lift her scarred hands to hold Katara's but nothing in her had the will to move.

Zuko tried to move towards Uzume when he noticed Azula in another lightning conjuring stance and he hardly had enough time to redirect it, causing him to redirect it incorrectly. Uzume let out another choked sob as she watched Zuko fall beside her.

What had she done to deserve this? All she ever wanted to do was dance and lead people to goodness.

This was so so so so unfair.

It hurt her to keep breathing.

"NO ONE CAN TOUCH UZUME!" Azula let out a crazed scream and Uzume felt her sight blur. She could hear everything, but she couldn't move. She could hear as Katara ran from Azula and as Azula taunted her, sounding more and more crazy by the second.

However, she used all the energy she had to move her hand slowly towards Zuko's who breathed erratically next to her. She turned her head towards him and her tears began to fall sideways down her face. Zuko turned to meet her eyes and their hands touched, and that's when Uzume knew she didn't have it in her anymore.

Zuko watched her with horrified eyes as she grimaced while trying to smile. He tried to sit himself up and began to grasp at her sleeves as her eyes began to dim.

"Uzume... Uzume please," Zuko choked out a sob. He slowly sat up and placed her head in his lap, "Please, please, please." He whispered into her hair as he tried brushing it back to see her face. Her ears began ringing, and anything he said after that was nonsense to her.

"Remember...," Uzume spoke up despite how raw her throat felt, "When we were younger... and we played that one game," Uzume watched Zuko's confused eyes, "Where I had to save you from the dragon? The blue dragon. It's always been Azula, even before Iroh told us it was her." Zuko's tears began to drip onto her face as she continued talking.

"I tried so hard," She spoke as blood gurgled in her mouth, "To save you from her, like Iroh told me to, the dragon." Zuko shook his head as he hyperventilated while he held Uzume's head.

"I-I should have protected you from her. This whole time she was slowly killing you and I didn't stop her." Zuko shouted out the end of his sentence while Uzume noticeably began to drift from their conversation. Zuko began to softly shake her, "Hey, stay awake please. Katara can heal you." Uzume softly shook her head at the boy, sensing through her fuzzed hearing that he wanted to heal her and her grip on his hand began to loosen, "Tell Toph... tell her... tell Toph that it wasn't her fault." Uzume let out a pathetic wheeze as she tried to take in air, "She'll blame herself... she'll say it was cause she wasn't with me..."

It hurt her so bad to keep breathing. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear and all she could taste was blood.

"Uzume, I've loved you since my mother made Azula introduce you to me. And it's so unfair..." Zuko let out a sob.

"I love you," Uzume managed to croak out before she felt her body completely shut down on herself.

"Uzume... Uzume!" Two fire siblings cried out from the courtyard. Zuko holding said girl and Azula chained down. Katara ignored the royal girls wails as ran to Zuko and Uzume and softly pushed him aside to get a better look at her injuries. Katara placed two fingers to Uzume's neck and she felt her heart drop when her own friend's heart didn't beat against her fingers. Katara began to frantically feel around her neck before she looked up at Zuko and softly shook her head.

Zuko's face hardened as he began to stand with Katara's help and approach his sister who was wailing and contorting herself to get out of the chains.

When they got too close she roared out fire towards them, her throat burning similarly to Uzume's as the airbender died.

"Uzume!" Azula wailed, "Don't leave me!"

"I love you! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"

Zuko watched his sister personify his emotions while he gripped his side and looked away from her.

The love of both of their lives stopped breathing that day.

-

IM BACK! sorry! Im in the middle of a move and dont have my desktop but i got a laptop now!

to everyone i told that uzume wouldnt die... i lied