For Katara
Fire, taking over all, engulfing everything in heat and flames and death.
It was his fault. Zuko grabbed his head, as if it were about to explode from stress, and fell to the floor of what was once his home. It was too much… His father's cruelty had once again taken away someone dear to him, yet another woman he cared for; and Zuko had done nothing to stop it. He was too weak to stand up to his father, too weak to change the policy of war of his Nation, and too weak even to protect the people he loved. When he had first gotten exiled; he didn't do anything. He didn't fight back, he didn't object to his father's will. He had just left; crawled away with his Uncle and his wounds. Why didn't he see that his father never loved him? Because he had wanted to believe that his father loved him. Because he wanted to believe that he'd be able to go back to his past, to undo his mistake and be welcomed with open arms. He had believed that he could simply go home.
Aang stared at the burned body of the girl he had once loved. It was all he could do to not cry, not while he still hadn't completed his prophecy. She had been beside him from the beginning, helping him along and cheering him up when he was down. He had counted on her to be there; not just as his Water bending teacher, but as his friend, and maybe even more. Now she was gone… Katara was gone. He always let down the people he loved; even when they all were counting on him, he let them down again and again. The nation he had loved, he had let them all down by running away. And now he had let down the girl he loved; and it was once again because of the same reason. Because he was the Avatar.
Sokka was overcome with grief. All the defining moments of his life flashed before his eyes in painful succession. His sister's birth, when his father and mother had told him he had to be a strong brother and protect his little sister. When the Fire Nation had raided his home in the first wave of the war; when he had failed to protect his mother from the soldiers. The North Pole, when he had held Yue's lifeless body in his arms; tears falling onto her cold face; when he had failed to protect her. Even though he loved her, even though he had promised, he had failed. Now his sister had been killed. He promised to protect her; protect her from all the bad and evil in the world. He'd broken his promise, for the second time.
Toph had never been one to cry. When she was told that she couldn't leave her family's property, and couldn't ever go to school or have friends or be normal, she hadn't cried. When she would hear her mother and father fighting at night about her blindness she hadn't cried. When she had been told that none of the doctors could help her, and that she'd never be able to see, she hadn't cried. Even as a baby she hadn't cried like other children might have done; she had yelled and screamed and made a fuss but not a tear ran from her eyes. Now, as she stood in the middle of that enormous room that had been built for fights and dueling and blood and death; as she felt the vibrations of the three boys tremble in sadness and anger and grief and her companion, her friend, lay lifelessly on the ground; a tear streaked down her face from her pale eyes. Now, she cried; all the grief and misery and regrets in her life pouring out from her, escaping the lock she had hid them under for all her years. Toph cried for her friend, Katara.
The only sound other than the angry, grief-stricken yells and sobs and whispers of apologies and regret was a chuckle from the man who had caused them. He stood tall and strong in the front of the room wearing red and gold armor of the finest quality. His face was set in a slight grin, as if he was proud of the heinous acts he had committed. Proud of all the misery and pain and grief he caused. He took a stance, trying to cause more of it. The Avatar, a young boy, a girl, even his own son; it didn't matter who it was now, he just wanted to kill. To prove his strength and might and superiority; to crush all those that opposed him or refused to bow before his mighty Nation. He wanted to parade his fire in the faces of his enemies; showing his proud art and proving that fire conquered all. The other elements were weak and riddled with faults; he would prove the strength of fire.
Zuko had enough of it. He understood now everything his Uncle had tried to tell him; that his father never cared for nor loved him. As his father shot a wave of fire at Katara's companions Zuko defiantly knocked it away; his father's fire slamming into the wall, causing a crater in the centuries-old walls of what he had once considered his home. Now all he wanted to do was destroy those illusions and false memories of love he had been hanging on to all those years. He glared at the man he'd once wanted the respect and attentions of; standing up to take them. If he wouldn't be respected and loved as a son, he'd be respected and feared as an enemy.
Aang rose to his feet, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. He and Zuko looked into each other's eyes and understood that they were no longer enemies; but allies facing a common foe. They stood side by side, taking their stances. Aang may not have ever mastered his fire, but Aang and Zuko together had the powers of the four elements. Not exactly as prophesized, but close enough.
Ozai let loose another wave of fire towards the two boys, Zuko stopping the fire midway and, together with Aang's Air bending, sent it right back at him. Ozai, sweeping his arms to the side grandly, blocked their attack almost effortlessly. Grinning, he didn't see the boulder that was hidden behind the first attack until the fire had cleared from the air. Toph was up and standing, stains still on her face from tears. Too late to block or dodge, it hit Ozai squarely in the chest, sending him flying into the back wall of the arena. His body slammed against the stone wall, and his son's fist connected with his face from out of nowhere. Quickly he landed a kick in Zuko's stomach, sending the boy backwards. Ozai stood and spat blood on the ground; they would pay for that.
As Zuko, Aang, and Toph stood facing off with the Fire Lord, Sokka still kneeled by his sister. The boy was crying over her form, oblivious to the fight behind him. Even as Aang yelled for him to join them, Sokka couldn't bring himself to move away from her. Sympathetically, Aang gave up trying to coax his companion from his grief and concentrated on defeating his greatest enemy.
Zuko stood with difficulty, holding his stomach. His gold eyes, filled with anger, were fixed on his opponent as the boy wiped a dribble of blood from his mouth. There would be no mercy in this fight, and for once Zuko had no problem with a three-on-one match. Nothing mattered as long as they defeated Ozai. The very war he had once been fighting for he would now fight to end. It didn't matter if he was a traitor to his Nation; his country had long ago cast him out and forgotten him.
They were locked in a stare-off for however long it was, every second seeming ten times as long as it should have been. None of them moved for a moment, and then it seemed they all moved at once. Aang shot a jet of air at Ozai, who blocked it with fire and shot a flame towards Toph, who then sent a wave of earth hurling towards Ozai at the same time as Zuko sent a fireball at him. Ozai dodged them both, leaping back and into the air, where Aang sent him flying with another air jet.
Ozai landed roughly on his feet, holding a hand to where the air attack made impact. His eyes shot open in surprise as Toph bended the Earth around his feet, locking him to the floor. Aang and Zuko simultaneously sent their respective elements at him, air and fire combining into a blow that he couldn't block with only Fire bending. They hit in a miniature explosion, Toph and Aang raising an earth shield to protect the three of them from it.
Before they even got a chance to move into their next attack, Ozai's flaming fist burst through the Earth shield, punching Aang in the jaw. Toph, to his left, shifted the Earth under Ozai's feet, bringing the man to the ground roughly. With his fists flaming Zuko leapt at his opponent, the two of them engaging in a duel of fire.
While Zuko held Ozai in a battle between the two, Toph ran over to Aang's side. "Twinkle toes, you all right?" Said the girl, helping him to his feet.
"I'm fine. Let's go, Toph; Zuko needs our help." It still felt weird to the both of them to call Zuko their ally; it reminded them of when the six of them had faced Azula together. Aang only hoped this battle didn't have the same results.
The two Earth benders joined together to raise a chunk of earth into the air, Aang yelling out, "Zuko! Move!" before sending it hurling at Ozai. The older boy jumped out of the way just in time as it landed on target, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The three allies tensed, waiting as it cleared to see their opponent's condition. As the smoke cleared they saw no sign that Ozai had lived, and relaxed. Each one smiled at one another; but their expressions changed quickly as they were each hit by a strong wave of fire, and they all fell backwards to the ground. Ozai landed on the ground—he had launched into the air propelled by his fire and hung from a rafter high overhead and out of sight. He was bleeding several places and his arm looked broken, but he was alive and had taken out his opponents.
Sokka stood up beside his sister, wiping away his tears. Ozai stood several yards in front of him, with his back to the Water Tribe boy. Spread out in front of Ozai laid Sokka's fallen comrades. Ozai stood, trying to regain his breath in order to finish them off.
His voice shaky, Sokka whispered inaudibly, "This is for you, Katara…" Taking his weapon from its holster, the boy charged forward with a cry that was filled with rage and anger. This time Ozai didn't dodge, and Sokka's blade pierced his back, coming out the other side of the man's body covered in blood.
Fire Lord Ozai shuddered and looked down, each action coming slowly and with difficulty. A blue and silver blade pierced his flesh, right through his armor, at his heart. He closed his eyes and cursed. The young man that he had overlooked before now pulled his blade from the man, and Ozai fell to his knees and then to the ground in front of him, his crimson blood pooling around him before sliding off to the side and downhill to drainage in the floor. His blood was red, the colour of the last hundred years. Now he and his war were both finished. With his last breath, he spat out a final curse, and then laid unmoving in death.
"It's over."
Sokka stumbled backwards and collapsed on the ground, holding his head in his hands. "It's finally over."
Zuko struggled to his feet and looked out at the body of the man. His once-enemy Sokka laid in a heap on the floor a few feet away, his face downcast and buried in his hands. His weapon lay to his side, a blue and silver blade dripping crimson. He felt no regret at not having killed his former father himself, but was merely glad that chapter of his life was finished.
The Avatar… Aang… stood up to his left wearily and looked at the sight before him. When he at last peeled his eyes from it he went to the small girl and helped her from the floor. She couldn't see what had happened but seemed to understand.
At length they left the scene of the prior battle and went once again to Katara's side. Sokka, teary-eyed, held her lifeless hand. "We did it, Katara. We won." His body shook violently and he hid his face under his hands. Between sobs, he choked out, "We did it…"
Aang's face lit up, struck by an idea. "Sokka." The teen boy, keeping his face from view, stood and moved away from the girl. Zuko watched with curiosity as the boy took a canteen of water from Katara's waist and opened the top. Then he seemed to understand as the boy bended the water out.
"I am a Water bender, maybe I could…" Here he cut off as the water formed around his hands and glowed with a pale green luminance. He held his hands on her chest and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. As Aang concentrated, Sokka stood and came back over to watch hopefully. Minutes passed.
At length he removed his hands, bending the water back into the canteen. The four of them waited, hoping with all their hearts with the last bit of hope they still possessed. Her eyes blinked once, then twice, and finally Katara opened her eyes.. Her blue eyes looked around at Aang, then Toph, Sokka, and came to rest on Zuko's gold eyes.
Everyone in the group was overcome with joy. Aang helped the girl up and Sokka ran over to her, throwing his arms around her and half-choking his sister in a hug. Aang and Toph joined in a group hug, the young Water bender girl giggling and hugging them back just as tightly. Zuko was the only one to hang back, and when their embrace broke up she stood before him, the other three off to the side, wiping away stray tears.
Zuko smiled at her, and she smiled back. She threw her arms around him and they stood in a tight embrace as she whispered his name in his ear.
"I'm glad you're okay Katara," he said softly, "I'm so glad…"
And from the ashes of the past rises love, fragile as glass, as enduring as eternity.