A Search within the Force and Flame

XVI

Fire roared in her hands, the heat searing the air around her as she brought her flaming blade down in a furious arc.

CLASH.

Logan met the strike with his saber mid-swing, deflecting it in a shower of blue and orange sparks. He stepped back into the small amount of Form III — calm, tight footwork, he knew, letting her aggression wash over him like waves crashing on rock. Azula spun and struck again, this time going low. Logan blocked with the shaft of his saber, stepping to the side instead of countering. He wasn't trying to win. Not yet.

"Stop this," he said through clenched teeth.

Azula snarled. "You don't get to tell me what to do!"

She pivoted sharply, unleashing a spinning backhand slice. Logan ducked it and used the Force to shove her just enough to knock her off balance — but she recovered fast. Too fast. She launched a fireball at his face.

He batted it away mid-air with the Force.

"Azula—!"

"Shut up!" she shrieked, fire bursting from her mouth with the word.

She surged forward, feinting left and coming at him from the right, her flameblade slashing wildly. Logan blocked each hit, but she was relentless. Her attacks were faster, angrier, more erratic. Each strike screamed a thousand unsaid things.

"You act like you care—but you don't!"

CRASH. He caught her wrist mid-swing and twisted, disarming the flame for a moment — but her knee came up, slamming into his ribs.

He gasped and stumbled back.

"You just want to feel like a hero!"

She struck again — flame dancing between her palms — but this time Logan sidestepped, caught her arm, and spun her, slamming her back-first into a tree. He pressed his forearm across her collarbone and held her there.

Their faces inches apart.

He was breathing hard. So was she.

"You think I don't care?" he growled. "I stayed."

"You stayed because you had to!"

"I stayed because I wanted to!"

Her eyes flinched—just for a second.

Logan stepped back.

Azula blinked, stunned at the sudden release.

He took a breath, deactivated his saber with a quiet snap-hiss, and let the silence fall around them.

Then—

He spun the hilt in his hand, walked forward, and placed it in hers. Her fingers closed around the cold metal instinctively. He didn't let go. Instead, he guided her hand up—slowly, deliberately—until the emitter was pressed against the center of his chest.

His free hand wrapped gently around hers, holding it steady. The activation switch was under her thumb. She could feel his heartbeat against her palm.

"I'm not afraid of you," he said quietly.

She said nothing.

"I'm not here to stop you," he whispered. "Not like this. If this is the only way you'll believe me... do it."

Azula's hand trembled.

"You've hated me since the moment we met. Called me Space wizard. Laughed at me. Mocked me."