Aang stood over the dead body of Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko gazed at him, his heart squeezing in his chest. He knew how much it must hurt the gentle Airbender to have taken a life.

"Aang!" He looked over his shoulder at Zuko and smiled briefly before falling to the ground. "AANG!" Zuko ran to him and fell to his knees beside the Airbender he loved. "No…" Aang's shirt was in tatters. His narrow chest was covered in blood from a gaping wound. "You'll be alright. Katara will be here soon, she can heal you," Zuko whispered his voice thick with tears. Aang smiled weakly at him.

"I'm dying, Zuzu. She won't make it in time." He brushed a tear from Zuko's cheek. "Promise me you'll be a good Fire Lord."

"I will be, Aang. But I need you to help me. You can't leave me…. Please don't leave me. I can't do this without you."

"We'll be together again, Zuko. I promise. True love never dies…it just takes a different form. I'll always be with you, Zuzu." Zuko dully realized that Katara and the rest of their group had joined him.

"Aang, please. Please hold on." Zuko looked pleadingly at Katara. "Do something!" he cried. She knelt beside Aang, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. But without Spirit Water, there's nothing I can do. The wound's too deep."

"You have to at least try. You can't just give up!" He clutched Aang close, feeling the other boy's heartbeat growing weaker.

"I love you, Zuko." Aang's words were so soft Zuko could barely hear them.

"I love you, too, Aangy." He kissed Aang tenderly, knowing that he wasn't going to have his precious love much longer. "I'll never forget you, my love. I'll always love you."

"Zuko…he's gone. You have to let go of him now." Zuko glared at Katara. The bitch hadn't even tried to save his Aang.

"Get away from us." She didn't budge. "LEAVE! Now!" Zuko sent a wall of fire at her, causing her to flinch away. Good. Zuko hoped she'd been burned, that she'd have a scar. It would be a fair price for her to pay for letting the love of his life die without even lifting a finger to help. She'd probably just heal it if he had managed to burn her, though.

"C'mon, little sis. Leave him be to grieve." Zuko remained hunched over Aang's body, crying, until his uncle joined him and put an arm around him.

"It's time to let go, my nephew. He wouldn't want you to cry over him for the rest of your life, Zuko." Zuko looked up miserably. He felt a dull sense of shock that it was dawn already.

"I don't think I can do that, Uncle."

"I know you can my nephew. Just as Aang knew you can."

"I promised him I would be a good Fire Lord. But I don't think I can without him to help me."

"Of course you can, Zuko. Aang wouldn't have asked it of you if you couldn't do it. He'll always be with you, my nephew. Not even death can sever a bond like the one you shared with him."

Zuko kept the promise he had made to the dying Avatar. He went down in history as one of the greatest Fire Lords to have ever reigned, and he never forgot the beautiful Avatar who had taught him so much.