The Warrior's Gambit (Zutara)

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Everything was going to shit.

Well, Zuko was not surprised that it was going to shit (he'd reasonably predicted this). What surprised him was how horribly it was going to shit.

Yes, he'd had many nightmares that somehow Aang's identity would be found out in the palace. Sure, he'd had moments of panic when he thought someone might be an Airbender and his father would call for their head. And of course, he had general thoughts that something awful was just waiting to happen, like someone pulling on a thread, and it was unraveling, unraveling, unraveling...

But great Agni; he'd never expected all these three equally terrible things to happen at the same time.

The only thing that could make things worse was if Katara was kicked out of the competition for good and, from the way she'd nearly leaped into the fray, he'd been sure that was about to happen too. His father would look for any excuse to send her packing.

Backing up to the moments before the world seemed like it was literally flipped, it was Aang who had brought it to Zuko's attention that Azula was being more than her 'I-just-love-winning' self in her fight with Ty Lee.

"That's not... she's...Zuko, look!" Aang said, tugging him away from where he was asking one of the servants to bring him some food. At first, he just chalked Aang's worry up to the usual way a lover is concerned of their significant other, but when he really looked...

"That can't be right," Zuko said, pushing past Aang and leaning to get a better look at the fight. Lu Ten was behind him, his Uncle already there.

"This is inappropriate," Iroh said sternly, shaking his head, "Azula is out of line."

"She's merely participating in the tournament," Ozai argued firmly, unconcerned.

"Participating?" Zuko choked. "Father, she will annihilate Ty Lee if this keeps up! Do you want to have to deal with the crowd seeing a contestant killed in front of them?"

For a second, he saw a flicker of doubt on his father's face. But, then it was smoothed over as his father shook his head.

"She would not go that far."

"You don't know Azula, Uncle," Lu Ten said with more venom than Zuko had ever heard his cousin use.

"You!" Zuko found a Fire Stage standing near. "You must announce the round over!" he demanded.

"Sir...I...well..." The sage sputtered, red in the face and sweating at this conundrum, "It is not our place! There are four ways a match ends and that is none of them."

"Call a re-match! Have her fight someone else then, but by Agni, are you going to let this continue?" Zuko was about to pull out his hair. Azula was gaining on Ty Lee. "Lady Ty Lee is a favorite contestant. It would reflect poorly on The Choice for her to be slaughtered in an arena like an animal."

Just as Zuko was sure he'd won over the sage and there would be some stall, some fix to this, out of the corner of his eye, the worst thing happened.

Ty Lee airbended.

Aang was standing straight as a board, staring incredulously. The entire Royal Family was completely shocked, sans Iroh, who just looked concerned. Zuko thought that, apart from Aang and himself, his uncle might be the only person on this side of the arena to realize immediately what had just occurred.

Katara, across the arena, had come to the same realization. He saw the way her knuckles clenched the bar separating her from the fighting ground, and he just prayed that she wasn't about to do something stupid.

"Lady Ty Lee is an Airbender! She is an enemy to the nation, seize her!"

"What?" Aang sputtered, staring at Ozai.