Sorry this took so long! Writer's block and real life interfered. Enjoy!

It had been a stunning blow. Shocking, like a bolt from the blue. And Fire Lord Zuko gazed numbly at the smoking aftermath.

He had been making him way to the royal nursery, to give his five-year old grandson his first dagger. It was the very one his Uncle Iroh had given to him, and now he was bestowing it on Iroh's namesake. A few tears came to his eyes at the thought of his uncle, now passed, but he blinked them away as he turned down the corridor leading to the child's room.

Then he heard the thunder.

It was a noise that accompanied his nightmares of a madwoman with blue fire. Rushing toward the sickening smell of ozone, he ran through the destroyed door to the nursery, only to stop short at the sight of a charred Kyoshi warrior, his fans still burning away in his dead fists.

Hakoda. His mind spoke the name. The warrior who conquered his daughter's heart, dead. Oh, Izumi.

A cackle interrupted his thoughts. Looking up, what he saw was seared into his mind, the pain blocking out the sounds of guards running up the hallway toward them.

There she was, her hair gray-white, grayer than his, though he had been older. Her eyes were cold, conniving, and burned with mad triumph. One hand was fisted in a thick head of white streaked black hair, pulling at the bangs to reveal a white, slender throat, to which was held a steady blue flame.

Mai.

Wrapped in the long sleeves of the Fire Lady's robe was Iroh, his little black head pressed to his grandmother's heart, hiding from the light of the blue flame.

The guards had arrived at the door, freezing at the sight of the most feared criminal in all the Fire Nation.

"Well, Zuzu, that's no way to greet a Firelord. Didn't anyone teach you any manners?"

"Azula."

"Yes, I know, this was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping to find my niece. You never did introduce us,,Zuzu. But it's just as well. Mothers do become rather dramatic when it comes to their sons, and from what I've heard, she would have been particularly fiery."

"But she's too much like you, Zuzu. Once she finds her true love and son dead, she'll never have another heir again. And I doubt you'll last too long without Mai. So, in the end, I'm Firelord."

She smiled cruelly, making the flame at Mai's neck glow white-hot. "However, as Fire Lord, I may be merciful if I am given the proper respect tradition demands. So, what are you waiting for, Zuzu? Bow."

Fire Lord Zuko didn't hesitate a moment.

To the gasps and grunts of the shocked guards, the ruler of the Fire Nation broke sacred tradition, and knelt, head to the floor. He could almost FEEL Azula smirk in triumph.

"Too late."

It all happened with the speed of a lightning strike.

Zuko tossed the pearl dagger to Mai, while Mai shoved little Iroh out of danger and into his grandfather's arms. Azula brought the flame down on Mai's neck, while in the same moment, Mai shoved the dagger into Azula's.

The flame guttered and died with its mistress' breath. Mai turned her eyes to Zuko's, the slit on her neck still smoldering, and calmly handed him the bloodied dagger.

"Never give up without a fight, huh." she whispered, smiling fondly. "Zuko, you and your cheesy cliques."

He reached for her hand.

Mai smirked at him. "What's next? 'I love Mai more than I fear you.' Oh wait, that's my line."

He went through the next week in daze, like a warrior so used to fighting he didn't bother to think through his moves. Plowing through obstructions, he set in order what had to be done, fighting the good fight. No, Azula, though of royal blood, would not be buried in the Royal Cemetery. Yes, Hakoda, of mixed Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom origin, would have a place in the Garden of Tranquil Souls. No, Mai would not be cremated. She had always hated the idea. Tradition after tradition had to be torn down and buried to lay the dead to rest.

Azula had told him he wouldn't last long without Mai by his side. For once she hadn't lied.

His hair was graying, streaked with white. His gait was stiffer, his fire not as bright.

He was reaching the end of his reign.

And as he stood before the people to give his final, farewell speech, he turned to his daughter.

"Do you feel you can handle this, Izumi."

Her hair, gray with the shock, had been pulled back into a traditional topknot. The Crown Princess nodded.

"I'll do it. For Iroh and for my people." She turned to the Fire Lord, her father. "And for you."

"Well," Fire Lord stepped in front of his subjects for the last time, then motioned for a shocked Fire Sage to remove his crown and place it on his daughter. He then turned to the crowd and began to speak.

"It is time to break tradition."

THE END.

This is my first major completed Fanfiction. I shall give a bow and a sigh of relief.

-ARIOLFO