It took almost everything that the two combatants had just to stare at each other across the destroyed battlefield. Their clothes were torn, their bodies were bruised and cut, and several of their bones were broken. Scorch marks, impaled rocks, ankle-high water covering the rocky ground, and the signs of vicious winds riddled the area that had once been the Fire Nation Imperial City. Whether the chaos was limited to just the city was uncertain as the walls of the dormant volcano that served as the city's borders were completely gone, leaving only random hills and creators in the wake.
It was everything one could expect from a battle between a fully realized avatar in the avatar state and a vicious phoenix lord who's already great power had been increased more than 10 fold by the dreaded Sozin's Comet.
The two had just taken an all or nothing chance and unleashed all of the power they possessed in a final, climactic attack against the other. Now, the dust was settling, and both of their bodies were struggling to stay alive. They were breathing slowly and heavily. It was all that they could do.
Suddenly, the great Phoenix Lord Ozai felt a sudden jerk in his body and collapsed. The avatar, Aang, took a look at his fallen foe and let a smile form on his burnt face before falling backwards into the water in exhaustion. He started laughing. It hurt so much to do so, but he couldn't help it. Ozai was dead and he was alive.
"Aang! Aang, where are you?" He heard the voice of his firebending teacher, Zuko, yell.
"He's over that way!" His earthbending teacher, Toph, shouted. "Suki, go get Sugar Queen over here! One way or another, he needs healing!"
"I'm on it!" He heard the kyoshi warrior, Suki reply.
A few moments later, Zuko and Toph were kneeling next to him, looking as beat up as he did. He knew Toph fought the Fire Nation's earthbending warriors and Zuko fought the Fire Nation princess. However, when he looked at Zuko, he felt something wasn't right. His exhausted brain began slowly working on what it could be.
"You did it, Aang." Zuko said with a loud note of pride in his voice.
"He's right, Twinkle Toes. I can't feel a single heart beat from Pigeon Lord Ozai. You won."
"Aang!" His waterbending teacher, Katara, yelled as she ran through the water along with her brother, Sokka, and Suki.
Katara quickly ran over to him with tears running down her cheeks and a smile on her face. She knelt down and was about to give him a huge hug, but got stopped by Toph's arm.
"Hey, Sugar Queen, what do you think is going to happen if you touch him? I'm going to guess he's going to scream out in pain."
Katara's look of shock at Toph quickly relaxed as she nodded. "You're right, Toph. Sorry for almost putting you in mortal pain, Aang."
"Well, gee, Katara, I thought I was the only one who got to say that to him." Zuko said with a laugh.
The rest group, including Aang, laughed while Katara playfully stuck out her tongue at the fire prince. She then began to bend some of the water around her and started it to heal the wounded and burnt avatar's body. As the water restored some of Aang's health, his mind finally registered what was different about Zuko.
"Zuko, your scar." He said slowly. "It's gone… how?"
The laughter died down and the Fire Nation prince proudly stood up and smiled at him. "It's cause of you. When you went into the avatar state and summoned that huge wave to heal everyone who was fighting for us, the water healed me completely, including my scar. It also gave me the second wind that I needed to defeat my sister. Still took a lot out of me, but I did it."
"Azula's dead?" Katara asked while trying to stay focused on healing.
"Actually, no." Zuko responded in a low voice. "I was about to finish her, when my mother stopped me." He noticed a slight twitch from Katara when he mentioned Ursa, his mother. He continued anyway. "She told me that she was still my sister and that I couldn't do that to her."
"You're lying… a little." Toph said.
"Well, it was a bit more in depth then that. I was just giving you guys the shortened version."
"Ok, that's the truth." The blind earthbender replied.
"Where are they, Azula and your mother?" Sokka asked.
"My mom took her and my uncle-" Zuko paused abruptly to let the tears slide down his cheek. His uncle, Iroh, had died while fighting his father, Phoenix Lord Ozai while Aang prepared to go into the avatar state. Even Aang's healing water couldn't save him.
He took a deep breath and continued. "She took them back to where the prison that Hakoda's using as a strong hold."
The group looked at him in pity. Suki put a hand on his shoulder before giving him a quick hug. "Your uncle was one of the best, Zuko, and I know he's proud of you."
"Thank you." Zuko replied, returning the hug.
They let go of the light embrace and Suki turned to her boyfriend. "You and I need to go spread the word. Others are still fighting the Fire Nation's soldiers. We need to end this war."
Sokka nodded his head. "Right!"
With that, the two began slowly and painfully marching towards the battlefield; but they wouldn't get far.
"Someone's coming!" Toph shouted.
All at once, a three story tall ring of rock surrounded the entire group. It created a closed in area that was the size of the now destroyed imperial palace's court yard. Phoenix Lord Ozai's body rose, encased it a coffin of stone. Suddenly, tons of earth flew up from the ground and back down to crush Ozai's corpse in a snake-like manner.
Everyone was shocked and turned to Toph.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zuko shouted in rage. He was already having mixed feelings about his father's death, but to destroy the corpse like that was just wrong.
"It wasn't me!" Toph shouted.
Farther outside the main battlefield, Ursa had placed Iroh's body on the ground of the prison and laid it in a proper postion. She was about to head back out and help the ones that were holding the ground when a she heard a loud explosion coming from the cell she placed an unconscious and tied up Azula in.
Ursa sprinted to the cell and found it empty and a large hole in the outside wall. She opened the door and ran to the opening to scan the area. But her daughter was no where to be seen.
Back in the remains of the Imperial City, everyone except for Aang was slowly getting up as a lone figure burst out of the ground about 30 yards away. He was a tall man with a long black pony tail while the rest of his head was bald, save for a slick goatee on his face. Green robes and rock gauntlets were his attire and an evil smirk was his expression. He and Zuko stared right at each other. While the man kept his evil smile, Zuko wore an expression of confusion.
"I know you…" He whispered inaudibly.
"Long Feng!" Katara shouted.
"What do you want?" Sokka asked with a sneer as he and Suki ran back to the others.
"Sokka, who is that guy?" Suki asked as she and her boyfriend slowly and painfully drew their swords. They were both tired and injured from battle but they were willing to fight. Sokka's sword was black, formed from a meteorite. Suki's was shiny, well polished steel. Both were long and over several inches wide.
"His name is Long Feng." Sokka began. "He's the former head of the Dai Li, the elite guards of Ba Sing Se. He captured Appa and tried to use it to manipulate us into helping him keep power in his hands instead of the Earth Kings. He later sided the Dai Li with Azula and helped her in the take over."
"So, he's someone that needs to die?" She asked in a threatening tone as she raised her sword.
"Yeah, pretty much." He replied.
Sokka then turned his attention to his earthbending friend. "Toph, can you bend the walls open?"
"I tried. I'm too tired to beat his control right now." She replied.
"What do you mean? He's not moving them anymore."
"Yes, he is, Sokka. He's holding them there like if someone was holding a cup down against a table. Even though he's not moving it, he's still keeping it there."
As Sokka began complaining, Zuko was once again asking himself questions.
"But how do I know you?" Zuko had heard of Long Feng when he was in Ba Sing Se, but he had never seen him. Maybe in passing? No. That wasn't it at all. He knew that he knew this man from somewhere.
"My compliments to you and your friends for defeating the fire lord, Avatar Aang." Long Feng calmly said while lowering of his head. He walked towards them, leisurely with his hands relaxed behind his back.
"What do you want?" Aang shouted. Some of his strength had returned, but a sharp pain told him that shouting wasn't the best thing to do.
"Hehe… Always to the point, eh, Avatar?" Long Feng chuckled. "You really need to learn patience."
Everyone but Zuko, who was still puzzled, focused on him. He sighed and decided to reveal his purpose here. "I came to take the credit for defeating Ozai and be known as the greatest hero of this war."
Now, everyone looked at him. Not with focused energy, but bewilderment.
"Um… There's a slight flaw in your plan, Fengy." Sokka said with a small laugh. "You didn't."
"Oh, I know. I never said that I was here to kill Ozai, just take the credit for killing him. That's why I crushed his body with rocks. I needed it to look like an earthbender gave the final blow. Unfortunately, since you six know the truth, I'm going to have to kill all of you."
They snapped at attention, except for Aang and Katara. She was busy slowly picking him up. Once she did, he was able to stand.
"Do you really think you are able to stop me? Look at all of you! You are exhausted, beaten, tired, and weak." Long Feng then smiled as he turned to Zuko. "Except you, Prince Zuko, and I am quite glad you are still strong."
Zuko sneered at him. "I don't know how I recognize you, but if you want to fight me, I'm more than willing to accept."
"Oh, you don't recognize me?" Long Feng asked in rhetoric sarcasm. "Well, then, let me tell you a little tale in order to refresh your memory."
"Katara, Aang, don't acknowledge me, just listen." Sokka whispered, holding his sword in front of his mouth so that Long Feng couldn't see it move. "He's right, we are weak. While he's talking, Katara, heal Aang as unnoticeably as you can."
They got the message and Aang pretended to stagger. Katara "caught" him and began healing him with a hand that was being covered.
Long Feng's smirk grew, he knew what Katara was doing, but it didn't matter. Part of his plan was to tell the story so that they would hate him, focus on their anger, and not on how to solve the problem.
He began the story. "Our tale begins some time after the avatar left to meet with that guru. Keep in mind that I knew that the Dragon of the West and the prince of the Fire Nation were inside the city. However, you weren't causing any trouble, so I decided not to risk exposure. Anyway, my agents discovered Azula's identity and brought her to me. I 'convinced' her to help me restore my place as the true ruler of Ba Sing Se. However, she began to do more than help, she took over my position as leader of the Dai Li and it was obvious that she was planning to over take Ba Sing Se for herself.
"Well, I decided that something had to be done. I couldn't let that arrogant child win. But, what could I do? I realized that, if I took Ba Sing Se then, the avatar would return after completing whatever training the guru had for him. I would instantly be overthrown and the Earth King would be restored to the throne. But, if I took it later, the Fire Nation would attack when the comet came and Ba Sing Se would fall. Either way, it looked like I was trapped.
"But then, I thought of a third way. Yes, wait until the comet came and let Ozai and the avatar fight to the death while I waited patiently. I knew the attack on the day of eclipse would fail. Azula would have already known about it by disguising herself as a Kyoshi warrior and would make a plan to prevent its success. However, I also knew that the avatar would eventually find a firebending teacher. Lucky for me, I was also able to guess who it would be.
"I knew your battle with the Fire Lord would be quite astounding and that it would end in the death of one of you and the other would be severely weakened. Then, all that was left was for me to come in, kill the one that remained, and get all the glory for killing Ozai. It's unfortunate that I have to kill your friends, Avatar, but they know that you killed him, so I have to do away with them as well."
"Sorry, but there's another flaw." Sokka said with a smirk. "Everyone knows that you helped Azula. No one will believe you."
"No, she used the Dai Li. I made sure that no one outside of my agents ever saw me interacting with her." Long Feng then started talking in a fake innocent voice. "I only went along with her plan because she threatened to kill all of my Dai Li agents if I didn't. Also, I knew that it was the avatar's destiny to defeat Ozai, so I knew we all would be safe in the end. But, when I saw him fall to Ozai's fire, I knew that I had to act, or all would be lost."
Everyone in the group began to get angry. They were breathing more heavily and sternly.
"How do I know you?" Zuko shouted.
"Please, please, Prince Zuko, all questions will be answered."
The group lowered themselves in their stances, ready to strike. Long Feng needed to get them more agitated. They were still too calm.
"Very well, I can skip a few details." Long Feng chuckled. "Zuko, do you remember your fateful decision in the Crystal Catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se?"
The fire prince huffed as he smirked. "Don't try to play that off of me. I've forgiven myself for it and so has everyone else."
"Yeah!" Katara shouted, still carefully healing Aang with her covered hand. "We all have."
"Well then, good for all of you." The Dai Li leader laughed.
A wily, twisted smile appeared on his face before he said, "But it was meaningless."
The group mentally took a step back. What was he saying?
"I know what you are thinking. 'Why is it meaningless, it was the second chance that we gave Zuko?' I'll tell you why. It's because I made him do it!"
"WHAT!" Katara yelled, almost exposing her hand.
Zuko looked stunned and remained that way as Long Feng continued.
"To answer your question, Prince Zuko, do you remember when you left your uncle incased in crystal to join the battle?"
The frozen fire prince didn't speak or move his head at all.
"Well, regardless, I'm sure that you don't remember, and believe me, I am sure. You see, you tried to free him, but couldn't risk using too much fire without burning him, so he told you to go help the avatar and his waterbending friend while he freed himself. You threw off your coat and went speeding down the cavern. That's where you bumped into me.
"Although, I suppose it's more appropriate to say that I bumped you into the side of the cavern wall and trapped you there while I hypnotized you."
Zuko unfroze just enough to exchange expressionless glances with Katara.
"I had to work fast, though. Azula would be no match for both the avatar and a waterbender that was good enough to be his teacher. However, it turns out that I had enough time after all. I did what I needed to do, erased it from your memory, and sent you on your way. Oh sure, I did a little extra when you were in the palace, enjoying your days as a hero. However, with you in the public eye so much and Azula keeping tabs on me, those chances were few and far between. Plus, I could see that you were headed on the right path to helping the avatar anyway, so I decided to focus on planning and training."
Everyone's blood was boiling. Long Feng could see it in their eyes and he could feel it as well. One thing that everyone seemed to have not noticed was that his feet were bare. He smiled and decided to throw the last straw on the camel's back.
Long Feng sighed as he daintily looked at his right hand. "You know, Prince Zuko, it's a shame that your uncle died without knowing that you never actually betrayed him. Oh well, I guess he had to die hating you."
That was it for Zuko. His hands became engulfed in the multi-colored fire that he had named "dragon fire." Then, in a commanding voice, he told the others, "Stay here and don't interfere! He's mine!"
The others nodded their understanding, but, before Zuko could begin battling, Katara had something to say.
"Zuko!" The waterbender yelled to get his attention.
"What?" He asked sternly without taking his eyes off of Long Feng, who was looking like he didn't have a care in the world.
She smirked as she replied. "End his destiny; right here and now!"
He mimicked her smirk for a quick instant before a scowl returned to his face and he let lose a powerful stream of fire at the Dai Li's former leader.
Long Feng quickly jumped to the side and said, "Glad to see you are still fighting fit."
Zuko ignored his comments and created two powerful fire sabers in his hands that were similar to the swords that melted in his battle with Azula. He then rushed at his foe.
"What's wrong, Prince Zuko, don't you want to talk?" Long Feng asked sarcastically as water was being splashed up from Zuko's charge. "After all, I have a very important message for you."
Aang's eyes shot wide open. "A message? Zuko, don't listen to him! Kill him quickly!"
Zuko didn't care what Aang had to say. He wanted Long Feng to die slowly and painfully for what he did.
"What's wrong, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.
"This is just what he did with Jet." Aang spoke anxiously as he pulled away from Katara. "Quick, Toph, knock Long Feng down! Keep him form talking!"
"Zuko…" Long Feng began.
"But Zuko wanted us to…" Toph tried to plead.
"DO IT!" Aang shouted.
But Toph was too late. With the sabers mere moments away from hitting his throat, Long Feng drew out a calm and wicked voice to say what Aang feared that he would.
"… the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."
With that one phrase, Zuko stopped in his tracks. The fire sabers dissipated and he stood before Long Feng. He was expressionless and will-less. All he did was utter a response.
"I am honored to accept his invitation."
"Kill the avatar, Zuko!" Long Feng ordered.
A look of rage came over Zuko as he turned around and quickly launched a powerful ball of dragon fire towards his friends.
Thinking fast, Aang pushed every one away with a gust off air that he then used to then launch himself high into the air.
"Zuko, snap out of it!" Aang yelled as pain coursed through his body.
"Zuko, what are you doing?" Katara yelled.
"He's brainwashed, Katara!" The airbender yelled. "Don't try to stop him! Just get Long Feng!" He then turned to the fire prince. "Zuko, it's me, Aang! You don't have to do this! Listen to me!"
Zuko's response was two quick and powerful fireballs that were aimed at directly at the avatar. Another gust of air propelled the weakened airbender's body straight down and helped him dodge the attacks. As the brainwashed prince charged at Aang, Toph attacked Long Feng with several rocks while Katara tried to freeze Zuko's legs so he couldn't move.
Long Feng easily deflected the boulders and Zuko used his own body heat to melt the ice and evaporate the surrounding water. The fire prince, noticing what Katara had tried to do, turned his attention to her and punched several fireballs at her.
Sokka quickly tackled her out of the way, but got his back burned in the process.
A scream of pain from Sokka caught Aang's attention. He earthbent a box around Zuko before trying to rush to the aid of his friends. But Zuko easily burst out of his encasing and let loose a train car-sized roundhouse kick of fire at Aang. The wave was too powerful. He knew he couldn't block it and it was too large to dodge. He only had one choice.
His eyes and tattoos glowed brightly as he entered the powerful avatar state. Using its amazing strength, he bent the fire away from him and into the air. The move took its toll on Aang's already beaten body. He had to get through to his friend.
"Zuko, stop!" The avatar yelled.
There was no reply, just Zuko charging in with his fits immolated with dragon fire.
Meanwhile, Katara was desperately trying to heal Sokka's wounds while an injured and exhausted Toph did all that she could just to hold Long Feng back. It didn't work. A quick shot at the ground and a few rocks through the air resulted in Toph getting hit hard and knocked down. She began coughing up blood and as Long Feng turned his attention to the water tribe siblings, Suki made her move.
Suki had been hiding behind one of the boulders that Aang had used against Ozai and was waiting for Long Feng to drop his guard. Taking the moment to strike, she aimed and was ready to fling her sword through the air. Before she could, though, Long Feng moved his hands quickly and the boulder that she was next to broke apart and a piece was shot directly into her gut.
"Did you really think you could sneak up on me, girl?" He asked without even looking at her.
That was when she noticed that he was barefoot.
"He can see like Toph!" She shouted just before a wave of earth knocked her back.
The Kyoshi warrior took the chance and threw the sword through the air, but it missed him completely. She hit the ground with a loud thud that shook Sokka.
"Suki!" He yelled.
He pushed Katara away and ignored the pain from the burn. Katara followed her brother in to battle. Using the water around him, she wrapped Long Feng's legs in ice and began to freeze his entire body while her brother moved in for the kill.
"Zuko, shoot fire between me and Sokka!" Long Feng ordered.
Zuko, engaged in battling Aang, used a wide blast to push him away before quickly turning and launching his dragon fire between Long Feng and Sokka. Katara tried to block it with water from the ground, but it was too hot. The fire not only stopped Sokka in his tracks, but it also melted enough ice for Long Feng to earthbend the ground he was standing on into a pillar that shot him several stories up.
"Let's see what I can do from up here."
As Long Feng began striking at Katara and Sokka with boulders and earth, Zuko continued his assault on Aang. The two were going blow for blow, but Aang was weakening quickly.
Zuko quickly sliced at him with a fire saber. Aang hastily combined the four elements around his arm tried to block, the airbender exhausted some of the fire blade, but the rest managed to burn him. The avatar used a kick to quickly shoot a huge wave of air at the fire prince's chest. The attack sent him flying and skidding across the ground.
Aang took a deep breath and pushed himself into making a rock-cocoon to hold Zuko in place. He knew that it wouldn't last. He could already see his firebending teacher building up the fire needed to escape.
"Zuko, you need to listen! Long Feng is tricking you! If it wasn't for him, your uncle Iroh would still be alive and we would have won this war long ago!"
All that he got as a reply was Zuko's old look of anger and rage as well a powerful expanding sphere of fire that freed his brainwashed friend from his cocoon.
The sphere was followed by a series of dragon kicks and punches that were used to box Aang in to place. The avatar countered by bending the fire away and exhaustingly sending it back at the prince.
Zuko easily deflected the fire and once again got in close. The two engaged in a close combat battle.
Aang hit Zuko in side of his face with a frozen fist.
Zuko came back with a blazing kick to Aang's side.
Aang used air to accelerate his own kick that caught Zuko in the ribs.
Zuko shot Aang with a fiery elbow to the jaw.
Aang clocked Zuko with a rock-fist uppercut.
Zuko headbutted Aang in the face and followed with several immolated punches.
Aang struck Zuko again with the rock fist, this time in the chest.
Zuko countered with an immolated knee to the avatar's gut.
Aang wrapped water around his hand as he landed another punch on Zuko's face. The water turned to ice just after the impact and incased the firebender's mouth, nose, and eyes.
It wouldn't last long, but Aang didn't need it to. He just needed Zuko to use the time to melt the ice so that he could send the prince up with a heavy gust of wind and then slam him into the ground.
The fire prince hit the ground with a loud crash and for a few moments, he didn't move. Aang feared that he had killed his friend, but just then, Zuko's eyes shot open and he created a powerful cyclone of fire by spinning his feet in a circle.
Aang tried to use his own firebending to deflect it, but he couldn't this time. The avatar was reaching his limits while Zuko, beaten, burnt, bruised, and even more, didn't look like he was feeling any pain.
The airbender ended up getting shot back and scorched. His already singed flesh cried out in agony from the pain and he let one out to match.
Zuko jumped into the air and aimed to land right where Aang was lying. The avatar quickly water and airbent to push himself out of the way.
The fire prince landed hard and created huge fire that ended up melting some of the rock that was where he landed. When the flames died down, Aang noticed muscles spasming in the leg that the firebender had landed on while the prince himself wasn't even flinching.
"The hypnosis must be blocking out the pain." Aang surmised.
Aang heard a loud scream of pain and quickly blasted Zuko with a powerful wave of air. The fire prince looked over and saw Long Feng holding up Sokka by the throat. The avatar threw the water beneath Long Feng's arm up in a blade formation that would cut it clean off.
The Dai Li leader saw this and quickly let go of the watertribe warrior so that he could move his arm out of the way. Aang was about to launch another attack when Zuko came charging back at him with fire balls blazing.
Toph felt Sokka fall to the ground and felt him slip into unconsciousness. She felt Katara struggling to stand. Suki was almost gone.
"I have to do something." The little earthbender ordered herself.
Turning her second sight inward, Toph saw that she had several internal organs damaged and bones fractured.
"It doesn't matter. I have to fight."
Summoning a small pillar up from the ground, Toph used it as a crutch to pull herself up. Long Feng noticed her stand and bent a boulder at her. Toph heard it coming, took a horse stance, and instantly deflected it away.
However, the move put a heavy strain on the already hurt earthbender.
Long Feng wasted no time taking advantage of her hurt state and got in closer and closer to her as he threw more and more boulders at her. Toph dodged as best she could but she was failing horribly and her counter attacks were turning out just as bad. She got scared. She knew what was coming, there was only one move that any sane earthbender would get close for and it was a killing move. What's worse, she didn't have the strength left to try to beat him to the punch. But she did have one idea that could stop him.
Toph tried bending the ground at him, but Long Feng could sense that the attacks were coming just like she could sense his. Her attaks sailed past him as he got to within 10 yards of her.
As he got closer and closer he yelled. "Thank you for showing me that one can see with earthbending! When this is over, I'll thank you for showing me that metal bending is possible to!" With that, he swung his hands to the ground.
"I'll show you in hell!" Toph shouted back as she used almost all of her strength to stop his attack.
Long Feng found himself stuck. He was standing less than a foot away from Toph, bent over, and his hands were mere inches away from the ground, but they were stuck there. The blind earthbender smiled as her plan continued to work.
"I know what you were planning, Dai Loser." She smirked as she strained to hold him. "You were planning on making an earth tent with my head at the top. It would have crushed my neck and killed me." She groaned as she held him. "You knew that I wouldn't be able to move quick enough to beat you to the punch, heck, I can't move my legs at all, but you forgot something. You're wearing stone gauntlets and I can bend them."
"Impossible!" Long Feng yelled in complaint as he struggled. "I'm holding them in place the same way that I'm holding the rock ring!" He grunted as he tried to move his hands. "I should be able to bend them away!"
"Nope." Toph said with a strained smile. "You are too close to me now. Your rock ring may take a lot to move, but two gloves, too close, that don't take much. All I have to do now is wait…" She paused as she wrestled her bending with his. "… for Sugar Queen to get up and finish you. Plus, I know that you can't get a good shot in with your feet from where you are, so you're as good as dead."
Long Feng Scoffed . "Well then, little girl, I must say, you saw right through my plan. Unfortunately, you forgot one thing as well. I may not be able to hit you with anything with my feet, but I can raise a mound of rock under where my hands are!"
Toph gasped at the realization. Long Feng quickly pushed his feet into the ground and raised crude and uneven mounds of earth to his hands. Toph gave her the last burst of strength to attack his feet with sharp rocks, but her burst was just that. It was her last.
Long Feng shot bending energy down against the ground and two stone slabs shot up at his command. They met each other at Toph's neck. Her strong, proud body instantly went limp. Free, from the earthbender's grip Long Feng stood and slid the slabs back into the earth. Toph's body fell to the ground, dead.
"TOPH!" Katara cried hysterically.
She sensed her earthbending friend's lifeless body through the water. A thousand emotions swirled through Katara's mind and they all wanted one thing. They all wanted Long Feng dead.
Long Fend felt sharp pains in his feet as he tried to move. He looked down and noticed that there was blood coming out his both of his soles. Although her last attack didn't stop him, it did cut pretty deep. He could fight through the pain, but he wouldn't be able to use his earth-sight until they healed.
Meanwhile, Aang felt Toph's body through the ground and froze. A swift fire kick by Zuko knocked him back to his senses but he still couldn't believe it. Toph, his teacher, was dead.
"Zuko! That's enough!" Aang shouted as he unleashed a powerful blast of fire at point blank range. There was no time for Zuko to react.
The fire swept over the prince's body and left him with horrible burn marks. Still, the prince stood. Two fire sabers emerged from his hands and he thrusted them straight for Aang's chest. The avatar cancelled them out by summoning up the water that was one the ground and unleashed every element at his firebending teacher.
A blast of air pushed him back. A wave of water pressed him against the earth. A sharp boulder knocked him into the air. Finally, a mighty eruption of fire was sent up at him.
"Oh, no! What am I doing?" Aang yelled at himself as he came to his senses.
Before the fire could roast the prince alive, Aang bent it aside and it sailed cleanly past him. He then used his air bending to catch Zuko before he hit the ground.
The prince was struggling to stay conscious. He kept pushing himself to stand until he finally won the battle, rose to his feet, and quickly gave a sharp fire blast to Aang's chest. The avatar was thrown back the same time Long Feng knocked Katara through the air in the same direction.
When Katara landed, she was less than half of a foot to the right of a passed-out Aang and could only move her right arm. She tried bending, but couldn't. All that she could do was watch as Zuko and Long Feng slowly walked over to her and her friend.
"So this is how it ends?" She asked no one. "We beat the fire lord and then we die. Were we just some means to an end for the balance of this stupid universe?"
"Seems that way." Long Feng replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Katara looked at him fiercely. "The next avatar will hunt you down. Aang will make sure to-"
"To what?" Long Feng cut her off with a laugh. "Use the avatar legacy to get revenge? Especially when there's no proof?
"Why do you think I needed Prince Zuko? I needed a firebender to roast your corpses so that it would look convincing. After he is done with all of you, I will have him use his firebending on himself."
The Dai Li leader looked over at Toph. "I suppose that having one die from a cause that wasn't fire-related can be talked out of. Yes, I'm sure I can come up with something."
But Katara wasn't listening to him. She was staring at Zuko and crying. "How could you let this happen to yourself, Zuko? You are stronger than this."
The fire prince didn't seem phased, even though his muscles were spasming and body was covered in blood, bruises, and burns.
"Don't let yourself be controlled." She pleaded as tears ran down her face and into the water. "Don't let him stop you from fulfilling your destiny."
"His destiny?" Long Feng laughed. "I heard he always thought that his destiny was to defeat the avatar. Then, he thought that it was to help the avatar defeat the fire lord." He was laughing hysterically. "Who knew that it'd be both?"
Katara strained herself to tune out his laughter.
"Enough of this banter!" Long Feng snapped, regaining his composure. "Zuko, kill the avatar!"
"Please, don't Zuko!" Katara screamed as Zuko formed a saber of dragon fire.
"Don't do it!"
He raised it into the air.
"You swore you'd never anything like this AGAIN!"
He swung.
"YOU SWORE YOU'D NEVER FORGET WHO YOU ARE!"
He stopped.
With less than a centimeter between Aang's head and the tip of the saber, Zuko froze. Long Feng was shocked as was Katara. Neither of them knew why that got the firebender to stop, but it did. They didn't know that his mother had said something similar to that right before she left. They both stared at Zuko who had dispersed his fire saber and seemed to be wrestling in his mind.
Long Feng was quick to act. "Zuko, the earth king has invited you to Lake Laogai!"
Zuko's internal struggle seemed to subside, but Katara yelled, "You swore you'd never forget who you are!"
The struggle resumed and both Long Feng and Katara repeated their messages to him. Eventually, Long Feng grew tired and carefully placed his foot on Katara's throat, stopping her from speaking.
"Don't worry, my dear. I won't kill you. I need you to die from fire." He snorted at the waterbender. "Now, Zuko, the earth king has invited you to Lake Laogai."
The fire prince relaxed and once again said, "I am honored to accept his invitation."
"Do what you were always meant to do, Zuko." Long Feng said with an evil smirk.
Katara desperately flailed to get Long Feng's foot off of her throat, but couldn't. She tried bending, but couldn't. What she did find on the ground as she flailed was Suki's sword; her shiny, well polished sword. Somehow, during the fighting, the sword must have ended up next to where she had landed. Katara quickly grabbed it and stabbed Long Feng in the leg that was over her throat.
He screamed and fell over from the pain. If his feet weren't damaged, he could have seen that coming.
"ZUKO, KILL AANG!"
But the fire prince didn't move, instead he just stared at the sword that Katara was right now holding in between him and Aang. In the sword he saw his reflection; his beaten, bruised, burned, yet scarless reflection.
Katara began talking weakly as she looked into his eyes. "Zuko, it's gone. Your scar is gone. You aren't marked. You aren't the banished prince anymore. You don't have to chase the avatar."
His face began twitching. He started moaning and growling. Feelings of pain and remorse flowed through his body. He began losing control of his fire and it blazed into the air, heating everything around him as he screamed. By the time everything settled, the water around them was evaporated and he was struggling just to stand.
Long Feng stood, grabbed the sword with his rock gauntlet, and yanked it away from Katara. He then bent the ground and held it around her neck.
"You are still going to die from fire, little girl, and I will walk away this day as the greatest hero of the war." He laughed a little. "I should thank you and your friends for these injuries. It'll make my story that I fought Ozai more convincing. I'll have to get Zuko to burn me a little before he kills himself to add to the believability."
He turned to the fire prince who looked like he was still wrestling. But the fight was almost over. Soon, the real Zuko would win for good unless Long Feng acted fast.
"Zuko,…"
Katara was helpless now. She couldn't speak.
"…the earth king…"
She threw a rock, Long Feng blocked it without effort.
"…has…"
It was over. For all that she had done and all that she had struggled through, it was over.
"…invited you…"
There had to be something, someone who could save them.
"…to…"
Some light in the darkness.
"…Lake…"
A savior of the saviors. Someone, anyone.
"…LaogAAHHHHHHH!"
Long Feng cried in mortal pain. But some other sound was there. It was a sound that Katara recognized. A flashback to Ba Sing Se as well as a quick burst of heat near her neck, which freed her throat, shocked her to her senses.
Katara turned her head in Long Feng's direction and saw him collapsing. His eyes were rolled back and she noticed that his green robe had a large hole in the back. He also had a deep burn mark on his spine. It perfectly resembled the one that Aang had. The waterbender looked up and saw Azula, more than 20 yards away and slowly walking towards her.
As the fire princess closed in on them, Zuko finally won his battle and fell to the ground in pain and exhaustion.
"Azula." The prince muttered in disgust. He desperately tried to form fire in his hand, but none came. He was too hurt to stop her.
"Oh, relax, Zuzu, and stop being so dramatic. I could use a thank you, though."
Zuko looked at Azula, confused. Then he looked at Katara, who was just as confused. Zuko didn't know what just happened, but they both felt like that they had just gotten out of the frying pan and gone into the fire. Now the fire sounded like it was saying, "I'm not going to burn you."
"Well, Zuzu? I am waiting." Azula spoke with a slight disdain.
"Th… Thank you?" Her brother replied with uncertainty.
"Geez, Zuzu. Be a little more confident. I mean, look at me. I'm as beat up as… well, no. No one is as beat up as you. But look, I'm weak right now, father is dead, I don't have Mai or Ty Lee with me, half of the army is occupied at the moment, and all of my Dai Li agents get their butts kicked by your earth… Ew."
Azula made a disgusted face when she looked over at Toph. "Anyway, Zuzu, the war's over. You guys won. Even if I killed all of you right now and declared myself the first female fire lord, I don't exactly look that proud and menacing right now. With all of the warriors out there, a small handful of them could take me out; especially those Sun Warrior friends of yours or if mom decided to do me in."
She shrugged her shoulders casually. "So, I figured I'd do my good deed for the lifetime and save your butt."
"That can't be all, Azula." Zuko said. "I know you better than that."
The princess smiled. "You caught me." She gave a quick kick to Long Feng's corpse. "I really just didn't want him to beat me at my game. The part about how futile it'd be to kill all of you now is also true, though."
Zuko chuckled. "Now that, I can believe."
Katara, finally getting her strength back, had a question of her own to ask. "How did you get here? We're surrounded by Long Feng's rock ring."
Azula rolled her eyes. "Oh, gee. Maybe a whole mess of attacks broke a few holes in the wall. And, maybe, I was able to walk through one those holes."
"Ok, I get it." Katara said. "But what are you going to do now?" She scoffed at the fire princess. "Surrender with honor?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha… No." She shook her head. "I'll head somewhere, do some things, see some stuff… Hey, don't worry. If I ever want to see you again, I will. But don't try to find me, you won't be able to."
With that, knowing that they were too weak to capture her, she bid ado to Katara and her brother and walked off.
Minutes later, Ursa, Hakoda, and several others entered the stone ring and found them. Healers were instantly brought in and the Fire Lord's body was carried out as proof that the avatar had won. The battle was over, the evil was defeated, but a good friend had fallen.
In the following years, peace and order returned to the world. The nations ceased being divided and benders began mixing in different regions of the planet. Proud statues of Toph Be Fong were erected all over in her honor as well as statues of all the others who fought so bravely for peace. Azula was never heard from again. Finally, until her last days, Katara would tell her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren about her earthbending friend whose final gift was taking away a weapon that she had shown a murderer how to use.