Fire Behind Blue Eyes ch. 36

The Final Battle pt. 2

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"I've been expecting you, Avatar."

The dark figure moved forward a step into the light, his face still hidden in the shadows. Aang suddenly found it very hard to breathe and pulled at the neck of his shirt. Katara held the water around her ready for anything, but she was tensed up as the others were. Zuko looked at the sunlight and it finally clicked that he could use his bending now. His dual swords erupted in deep red, almost purple, flames, surprising everyone. Azula's smirk faltered a little, but held.

"I told you I would get them here, father," she sneered, stepping forward. "There was a little interference, but they're here. Enemies and traitors."

Ty Lee and Mai stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Did she make traitors plural?" Ty Lee whispered to Mai. She nodded and looked on, hurt shining in her eyes.

"Well done, Princess Azula," he replied, taking another step forward. "You've proven yourself worthy of your title."

Katara's eyes narrowed at the girl she'd just helped not moments before. "You betrayed us.." she seethed. Zuko looked down at her, worried at her tone. He could see the fire from his swords shining in her blue eyes and thought it suited her current mood.

"Did you honestly think I would stoop to your level, peasant?"

"I'm more a princess than you will ever be."

"And how do you figure that?"

"I don't have a heart of ICE!" she yelled, accentuating her point with a quick thrust of her arm; an ice dagger followed her command and went straight for Azula's heart. Azula was taken offguard and kicked her foot up a little late and it embedded itself in her leg. Katara ran at her with her water still around her, glad that she'd brought that much up with her, and knocked Azula against the hard wall and froze her there. Azula blew steam from her nose and melted the ice, sending a barrage of her own attacks at Katara.

"Katara, remember our fight at the North Pole!" Zuko yelled, remembering how he'd done the same thing.

"I don't need your help, Zuko!" she yelled back as she sent a dozen more ice daggers at Azula. She dodged them with little grace, still trying to remove the ice from her leg.

"Prince Zuko? Where is your mark, boy?"

He turned his attention to his father. "Let's say I made friends with some very powerful people. Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"For banishing me from this dishonorable nation."

Aang, who'd been watching the intense fight between Azula and Katara, turned to the rest of the gang. "You guys go stand guard outside in case anyone tries to come in and interfere. We'll be fine." He grabbed Toph's hand before she left and rubbed his thumb over it one last time before he let her go for good. He could see the tears in her eyes as she walked away with the others. When they were gone, he finally addressed the Fire Lord. "Your time here is done, Ozai. Step down or I'll be forced to remove you."

"You think you are powerful enough to defeat me, Avatar?"

"Now that the sun is out again, I'm 4 times as powerful as you are. I'm the Avatar." Aang glared at the man and Zuko stepped up to stand right next to him. "Plus, I've got extra help."

Ozai glared right back at them, then reared his head as fire spouted from his mouth. Aang had seen the same scene before while he was opening his chakras and didn't seem fazed by it. Zuko's grip on his flaming swords tightened and an uncharacteristic evil smile widened across his face. Aang noticed it and had to admit he looked rather intimidating, but so did his Avatar State.

Zuko glanced over to Katara and Azula's fight to make sure she was doing okay, then decided he was done waiting and made the first move. He swung his swords out one at a time, sending fire discs at Ozai. He pulled up a wall of fire and blocked them. Aang nodded at him, then pulled water from a nearby vase and doused the wall, giving Zuko a clear shot. One struck him right in the chest, but he didn't make any sound of pain.

Aang surrounded himself and Zuko in stone to block the fire blasts coming at them. He punched his wall and a stone went flying at Ozai, but a powerful blast turned it to rubble. Aang continued like that for a couple minutes, managing to get a decent hit or two. He noticed Zuko's leg was bleeding again and Zuko followed his gaze and shook his head, assuring him he was fine. Finally, Aang just sent their whole shield flying at Ozai, but he rolled out of the way just in time.

On the other side of the big room, Katara and Azula were still having it out. Katara was handling her pretty good, both of them being prodigies and what not. Everytime Azula would start to throw a fire blast, Katara would whip at her fingers or feet, dousing the flames that started to form there before they got too big. She let some of the water cover her body and extend off of her arms into thick, giant water whips. Azula started to blast from her left arm, but Katara was faster and engulfed her entire arm in the water and held it. Her right leg was about to kick flames out at her, but Katara engulfed that as well.

It was the first time since the night she joined their group that Katara had seen panic in her eyes. Azula was clearly being outmatched. She silently hoped her father wasn't watching them because he'd be disappointed in her. Katara lifted her off the ground and slowly let the water engulf the rest of her body except her head. Azula was stuck. She couldn't move to free herself and her mind started working hard to think of a way out of that.

She took a deep breath and fire burst from her mouth, severing the water ties holding her up. She fell to the ground, but still landed somewhat gracefully. The ice in her leg had finally melted and now the wound was bleeding freely, but she didn't pay attention as she ran at Katara. She had a new game plan: evaporate all of her water and she can't fight.

The hot blue flames now went after the water instead of Katara and she had the faintest idea of what Azula was trying to do. For some reason, it didn't bother her. There was a waterbending trick that she'd learned about that no one, not even Master Pakku, was immoral enough to attempt. Should all her water disappear, she would still have that trick. And that trick alone would most likely save her life.

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"I can't believe we got stuck with guard duty!" Toph moaned, pacing back and forth in the main entrance to the palace. "I wanted to be in the action!"

"Yeah, and why is Katara still in there?" Sokka asked no one in particular. "Aang just said he and Zuko were fighting. She should be out of there by now!"

Toph rolled her blind eyes at him. "She was fighting Azula when we left, I doubt they're done- hey, do you guys feel that?"

Ty Lee cocked her head. "Feel what?"

She knelt down and put her hands on the ground. "Something's coming."

As soon as she said it, part of the wall surrounding the palace exploded. Sokka, Ty Lee, and Mai started coughing on the dust that covered the area, but Toph pushed her hands downwards and the dust cleared immediately. A group of burly earthbenders stopped in front of them and lowered the big platform they'd been riding on.

Sokka narrowed his eyes at the leader. "General Fong? What are you doing here?"

Fong smiled when he noticed Sokka. "We are part of Operation Solar Eclipse. It didn't last nearly as long at we thought it was supposed to, but we took down most of the army before the sun showed up again. I suppose the Avatar is already here?"

"Yes, he is, though I don't see why you care," Sokka spat. "Who's in charge of this operation? Who else knew about the eclipse?"

"We were recruited by the new Earth King himself," he told them. "He said a young Miss Bei Fong informed him of the eclipse when he took the throne, so he put together an invasion plan."

Sokka looked down at Toph, who had a smug grin on her face. "Well, way to go, Miss Bei Fong."

"Hey Snoozles, taking down the Fire Nation is going to take more than just defeating the Fire Lord." She turned her attention to the general standing before them. "Where else are they attacking?"

"There were troops sent all along the coast of the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Nation infested towns and a couple more to the larger cities in both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. There was a rather large platoon sent to save Omashu as well. The eclipse is over already, so we can only hope everyone did their jobs in time."

"Hope is basically all we can do from here," said Ty Lee.

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A cloud of dust surrounded the three men, but still they battled. Zuko hadn't been able to get close enough to use his swords, but he held onto them anyway and let his firebending extend from them. He created two big fire whips when he saw Katara doing the same with her water across the room, then started lashing out at Ozai. While he was dodging them, Aang was sending water whips underneath them. When that wasn't proving effective, he tried to manuever the water under Ozai's feet and freeze it so he'd fall, but that didn't work either as Ozai noticed it.

Aang punched his fist out and Ozai was knocked back when the stone in front of him shot up and hit him in the stomach. Dark laughter filled the room, but Katara and Azula were so enveloped in their fight they didn't seem to hear it. Ozai stood up and looked down at Zuko and Aang, who were standing in their ready stances.

"You've put up quite a fight, but enough nonsense now. It's time to stop playing around," he said as a flame formed in his hand.

Zuko sheathed his swords and the same evil grin came back as he glared at his father. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated hard. He could feel doors opening through his mind, his throat tingled, his fingers twitched, and the power surged through his entire body. When he opened his eyes, Aang was watching him with an astonished expression on his face. He chanced a glance down at himself to see his entire body drenched in light blue (almost white) flames, but it didn't hurt his skin or clothes.

He pointed at his father with a menacing blue-coated finger and said, "Azula may have been born lucky, but only those who work for it have true power. May Agni himself have no mercy on your soul, Lord Ozai." He'd never felt so powerful in his entire life and he enjoyed every second of it. And he fully intended to use his newfound power.

Azula had finally accomplished the rather challenging feat of evaporating Katara's large amount of water and she was now helpless.. or so she thought. Azula shot two large fireballs at her and she dodged them easily, but another one grazed her upper thigh. She hissed in pain and decided if she was going to use that dreaded trick, now would be the perfect time to seeing as Azula was doing the motions she recognized as lightning. Katara had no other choice.

Katara held her hands out, her fingers spread apart evenly, and concentrated, feeling for the water source she knew was in front of her. When she finally felt it, she turned her hands palm up and lifted them. A scream rang through the entirety of the room as Azula rose off the ground, her lightning temporarily forgotten. Katara looked up to see Azula writhing in the air in a desperate attempt to break the hold the waterbender had on her. She straightened her fingers out and stopped Azula's squirming, then brought her down to her level, though just a couple inches above the ground.

"What are you doing to me?" Azula managed to ask her.

"Giving you what you deserve, Princess," Katara spat. "You know how easily I could kill you in this position? All I'd have to do is lift my hand and all the fluid leaves your body and you die instantly of dehydration. Or, and this one is good, I could use that fluid to fill your lungs and kill you. Tell me, which way do you prefer to die for your treachery to my friends?"

"I've failed," she whispered.

Katara was caught offguard by the statement. "What?"

"I've failed," she repeated a little louder. "I've failed to be the best, I've failed my nation, I've failed my family."

"You failed your family when you turned your back on your only brother," Katara told her, her brows furrowing. "You failed your family when you killed your own uncle. You failed your family when you betrayed your mother. And you only fail your nation if you don't look out for their best interest before your crazy father's. That's why Zuko joined us. He's only got the Fire Nation's best interest at heart, he's doing what he thinks is right for the nation and the world. Peace needs to be restored or the world will be thrown out of balance and all will be chaos for generations to come. Tell me, do you want that on your conscience, assuming you have one?"

"No," came her barely audible response. Katara was surprised to see tears brimming the evil girl's eyes. "I want the throne, but I can't lead a nation in chaos. All my life I've been so selfish, I've strived for power, tried numerous times to destroy the people in my way of getting what I want.. even my own friends. I would rather have Zuko as Fire Lord in a peaceful world than be on the throne myself and watch my people die because I wasn't thinking of them. Please, Katara.. help."

She passed the crossroads of her destiny, Katara thought as she relinquished her hold on Azula. The princess took that opportunity to move her limbs a little before following Katara unsteadily to the other fight. She was incredibly surprised to see her brother, the one she'd once thought weak, a living bluish-white flame. He and Aang were attacking Ozai mercilessly and they all had their share of wounds. Aang's clothes were ripped across his torso and there was a burn mark there. Zuko had cuts along his legs and a noticable burn on the side of his neck. Ozai had cuts and bruises covering his arms, a giant bruise on his stomach, and two burn marks on his left leg.

Zuko took a deep breath and pushed both his arms and his breath out, fire shooting from his hands and mouth at the same time. It struck Ozai on his right arm as he tried to dodge it awkwardly. He looked towards the throne room doors for a brief moment and his attack faltered, giving them an opening. Aang stepped forward and clapped his hands together in front of him, a large, twirling, powerful stream of blazing orange fire blasting directly to where Ozai was dodging to. It hit him directly in the chest where the large bruise was and knocked him back against a wall with a sickening crunch that made Katara and Aang wince.

The boys were out of breath when Katara walked up to them, hugging them individually and uncaring of the sweat that now covered her clothes because of it. Aang grinned at her. "And I.. did it.. without.. the.. Avatar State.." he panted.

"I'm proud of both of you," she whispered, bringing both of them into the hug. They both hugged her back and Azula was left standing off to the side feeling uncomfortable but left out.

"Ahem."

All four of them turned to the doorway where Ursa and Alec stood, looking around the room at the wreckage. Ursa had her eyes pinned to the limp body she'd just seen go down and seemed to not want to enter, but Alec tugged on her sleeve and pulled her inside. He instantly ran up to Katara and jumped into her arms and she eagerly returned the hug. Ursa, on the other hand, approached the still form of her husband. She bit her lip to hold back her tears as she knelt down beside him and observed the blood pooling on the floor beside him.

She jumped when a warm hand touched her shoulder and she turned to see Zuko standing over her. When she attempted to smile, a tear came out and he knelt beside her and hugged her. He knew how hard this was for her. He could only imagine what he'd be like if he ever lost Katara.

"We did it!" Toph yelled as she came running into the room with the others, including General Fong and his men. "The Fire Nation was stopped in the Earth Kingdom too! We did it! We won!"

She ran right up to Aang and hugged him, almost knocking him down in the process. He laughed and they victory danced happily around the room with Alec chasing them trying to join in. Katara took what was left of Aang's water and healed Azula's leg for her, then went to Zuko.

"Zuko, you need to be healed up a little," she said quietly. He nodded to her but kept comforting his mother. She placed her hand on his neck and healed the burn there, then moved to a couple other smaller injuries and healed what she could before her water ran out. "What happens now?"

"Now, the Fire Nation needs a ruler," he replied quietly. His mother wiped her eyes and backed away a little. "And since technically I'm still banished, Azula gets the throne."

"But you deserve it more." Azula came up behind them and looked down. "You worked harder for it, I just worked to destroy people for it. Our people would be so lucky to have someone so willing to betray his country and risk his life to save them. You can have it.. as long as I can keep my title, at least."

And Zuko smiled. For the first time in a long time, Zuko smiled a real smile for his little sister and he hugged her. Katara wanted to cry at the touching family moment, especially when Ursa joined them. They were a family again. Tears that had threatened to spill over finally did when her own brother hugged her, holding her as close as he could like he would lose her any second.

When all the hugs and cheers were over, everyone started out of the throne room. Azula said they needed to consult with the high council, but they decided they needed to take a breather before they got back into that stuff. As they were about to leave, Toph sensed movement. Azula picked up on her pause and turned just in time to see flames heading towards them. She deflected it and hit Ozai with lightning, silencing him for good.

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Zuko was crowned Fire Lord a couple weeks later and the new Fire Lady was crowned at their wedding on the winter solstice. It was both Zuko and Katara's happiest day, and even Hakoda was there to help his daughter through it. Sokka was on the verge of tears at the thought of no longer being able to protect her, but he knew Zuko was a good man and would lay down his life for her if need be.

Azula was kept in the palace and appointed personal advisor to her brother and head of the royal navy. With a little help from Aang, Toph, and Katara, the remaining living nations came together and signed a peace treaty. Katara visited her home in the Southern Water Tribe after Master Pakku declared the rebuilding complete. They'd built a room in the palace especially for her for when she decided to come for a visit.

Ursa and Alec were allowed to stay in the palace and Alec was finally united with his father, Lieuteniant Jee, at the wedding (Zuko had personally invited him). Toph visited home and explained everything, but her parents still refused to understand. She and Aang ended up traveling the Earth Kingdom together, dissipating all the rebellions that sprouted up, including several of Jet's own.

Prince Kenai was born a waterbender with physical firebender traits. It was the opposite when Princess Mika was born 3 years later. Zuko spent as much time with them as he could spare, wanting to be the complete opposite of his father no matter how much he looked like him. The siblings got along great most of the time, especially when teaming up to prank Uncle Sokka.

And they all lived happily ever after..

NOT!