Bella [AANGXOC]

Chapter 121: Bella

An excruciating, smoldering pain hit me instantaneously. It was similar to when I got the scar, but worse, so much worse. It was all over, it was deeper, it was somehow hotter.

My bones rippled, my veins went jagged, my muscles turned inside out. My blood pumped ice cold on one side, and boiling hot on the other. Every muscle had a single, agonizing, unanimous, twitch, and my thoughts fell apart.

My heart beat increased into humming, like it had been given too much energy. Sound turned into ringing in my ears, sight into darkness, and touch into pain. Harrowing vibrations rippled through my middle, my legs, and then my feet.

And then, all at once, it stopped. And it was replaced with numbness.

Death.

I opened my eyes.

I was still facing Azula. I had never seen her look so astonished, so bewildered, so shocked. I somehow still had the capacity to wonder why she was shocked.

And then I was shocked too, because I was still standing.

And I stayed standing for that soundless moment in time.

Then I fell.

I had a sudden realization that I was extremely exhausted. Like everything in me had already fallen asleep but my brain. I hit the ground hard, but no pain reached me. My eyelids laid like bricks on my eyes but I strained them open high enough to watch Azula.

Her shock transformed into rage and before long she was racing towards me with blue fire in her fists.

If I wasn't already dead, it would surely come now.

I couldn't find any willpower to move, or bend, or try. I was just so tired. I felt as if I was melting into the floor and my eyes were dripping into the back of my head.

All I wanted was to fall into a deep sleep, and I was fine if that meant I wouldn't wake up. As long as I could sleep.

Just as Azula would've reached me, just as I was about to be burned alive, just as my eyes were finally closing, Azula was swept away by a wave of water.

A bubbling groan left my throat as I tried to turn over to see what was happening.

Azula wasn't paying attention to me now, she was fighting someone else. A waterbender.

Katara, of course.

I bent my legs and used that momentum to flip myself over, It gave me a perfect view of the battle. But another wave of fatigue crashed down and intervened with my focus.

Why was I so suddenly tired?

Katara was okay. By the looks of it, more than okay, she was fighting with vitality.

I moved my focus over to Zuko, slowly remembering what had happened. He was hit with lightning. I couldn't see from here if he was breathing or not.