The resistance had somehow managed to reach the royal palace, much to the surprise of the royal family. Azula watched, amazed, as her brother stood side by side with the Avatar much as he had all those months ago. Then, it had been circumstance that had caused her traitorous brother to fight alongside the Avatar. Now, it seemed, Zuko had chosen to commit yet another act of betrayal.
So be it, she thought. If he wants to be an enemy of the fire nation, then he will be treated as such.
Zuko, for his part, wondered what would happen now that he was face to face with his sister again. He did not know, but one thing he was sure of. He had made the right choice in working to help the Avatar. It had been a difficult journey for all involved, but everything was turning out the way it was meant to. Aang believed it, and slowly Zuko had come to believe it, too.
"Zuzu," came the taunting endearment.
The familiar swell of rage rose within the young prince but he ignored it, his mind focused completely on the task at hand.
"Aren't you going to greet me properly, brother? Where are your manners?"
"Reserved for those who deserve the honor of them," Zuko replied simply.
Azula shook her head, the look of contempt that was so familiar to Zuko plastered all over her face.
"I should have known you'd join them, those traitors and peasants. You deserve each other."
Zuko glanced at Aang and the rest of his friends, engaged in battles of their own.
"If you really knew them, you'd know that you've paid me a great compliment," Zuko said, a small smile on his face.
Azula simply stared at Zuko, a growing confusion seeming to come over her graceful features. There was something different about her brother, and it was more than a little disconcerting. Finally, she simply sighed mockingly.
"Are we going to sit here talking all day or can I just kill you now?"
Zuko's smile widened.
"You can try."
Suddenly both siblings were in motion as Azula threw a ball of blue flame at her brother's chest. Defly he deflected it and in one fluid motion had drawn both of his deadly broadswords. Since the last time he had seen his sister he had become quite adept at using them in combat to augment his firebending.
The princess and banished prince fought ferociously and, it seemed, tirelessly. Azula threw a bolt of lightning at her brother and was shocked that he simply redirected it into the wall behind him. Her shock caused her to hesitate a moment too long and Zuko had spun, bringing his leg around to knock Azula to the ground. In the next moment he had the point of one of his deadly broadswords pressed against her throat.
"Well, that was a neat trick," the princess said contemptuously.
"It's over, Azula," Zuko said. Several long moments passed before Azula broke the tense silence.
"So what are you waiting for? Finish it!"
"I already have," Zuko said, a chilling note of finality in his voice. "I don't need to kill you to defeat you. For a long time I've compared myself to you, thinking I wasn't as good because you were always father's favorite. But you aren't my family anymore and neither is he. You have no more power over me, Azula. As for what happens to you now, I'll let the Avatar decide that."
Turning away, Zuko had hardly taken a few steps when he heard the scream of rage from behind him. He did not even have time to turn around, however, before the sound changed to a scream of surprise. Aang had deflected a flame that Azula had shot at Zuko's turned back. The Avatar was now standing between the two siblings, his stance relaxed but a cold determination in his steel-gray eyes.
"That was a cheap shot, Azula. Hardly dignified behavior for a princess," Aang said.
"Figures you would hide behind a mere boy, Zuko," Azula said hautily.
"And it figures you would underestimate an opponent based on mere age," Zuko replied.
"Walk away, Azula," Aang said quietly, and his voice held a sincerity that surprised both siblings.
"Why? Because you don't want to fight me?"
"Because I don't want to have to hurt you," Aang said, and there was no malice in his statement, only determination and strength.
Azula looked at the Avatar and at her brother. She never would have imagined she'd see them like this, standing side by side against her. As allies. She was cornered, just as she'd been before. It seems she should have learned her lesson then. She had not.
Once more she attacked but this time it was the Avatar she targeted. Once more Zuko saw his sister attack someone he cared about and was powerless to stop it. This time, though, Azula had more than met her match. Using his airbending to diffuse her attack the Avatar did something none of them could have anticipated, least of all Azula.
Aang attacked the fire nation princess not with ordinary bending, but with Azula's trademark. The Avatar had sent a bolt of lightning straight through her heart just as she had done to her uncle. Unlike her uncle, however, Azula did not survive.
Stunned, Zuko watched as Aang knelt next to Azula. Through all the fighting, all the war they had all seen, Aang remained a peaceful airbender deep down. He never wanted to be the cause of another's death, even if that person was an enemy.
Aang's head was bowed over his fallen opponent and Zuko could see silent tears falling from his eyes. Zuko knelt beside Aang and laid a hand on his shoulder, surprised that his sister's death should affect the Avatar more than it did him.
"I'm sorry," said Aang, his voice barely audible.
"For what? You gave her every chance to walk away. She didn't." Zuko sighed.
"Do you want to know the truth? I'm glad. I'm finally free of her and the misery she's caused me."
Aang looked up at the banished prince, and there was a deep sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Zuko. It isn't fair that your family…was what it was."
Zuko looked down at his sister, and all he could feel was a sense of overwhelming relief.
"She stopped being my family a long time ago."
Zuko looked at the young Avatar and felt, for the first time in a long time, that he was where he belonged.
"Come on, Aang. Let's finish this war once and for all."