Chapter 7 is here; I hope everyone enjoys it.

Sorry this is so late; I had a miniature vacation over the weekend and was unable to get around to posting this beforehand. This chapter will bring everything back into the context of the avatar timeline. It essentially covers the finale of book two.

Azula

I captured Iroh, he at least managed to make things relatively interesting and Zuko has been given a choice. But he doesn't matter; I have an avatar to kill. I stood at the crest of a hill looking down at the avatar and his friend as they ran. I grinned and began to form lightning.

The avatar lifted a rock wall between us that was blasted through like paper. Katara ran towards me and drew a wall of water from the pool beside us. A massive tidal wave formed and I was forced to generate a huge wall of flame to protect myself from it.

Using the steam that was created as cover as I ran up a large crystal and jumped up over the two, firing balls of flame at them as I passed by.

They raised a wall of water to block my attack as I landed on a pillar of rock. The avatar went through several earth bending forms and the ledge I was on shattered, forcing me back to ground level, between the two benders. I pointed my hands at each of them, ready to strike against them.

We stood; tense each waiting for the other to make the first move. A massive fire ball hit the ground between myself and the avatar. As one we all looked up to see who it was from. Zuko stood, ready to do battle, he slowly advanced towards us.

For a moment I was unsure of which side he was joining, but then as his gaze shifted to the avatar, I knew I had won this day.

He attacked the avatar, forcing him to block and doge. I focused on Katara. I threw fire at her, which she blocked with a whip of water. We continued to trade blows; both of us were evenly matched. That was surprising.

As our fight continued I was able to notice that my brother was gaining ground on the avatar. It seemed as though the crystals here were not as solid as the rocks above. I was knocked back to reality as I was nearly hit with another water whip.

As I raced towards katara, I realized that I was on a puddle of water as she brought up a small wall and sent it at me. I managed to dodge just in time, as it cut through a strand of my hair. I saw my brother had cornered the avatar and was nearing his victory when the avatar was able to regain the upper hand.

I was struck by a whip and forced back. As I began to right myself, my opponent drew water up around herself. I threw a fire ball at her, but she used the water to block it and capture my arm. I kicked at her and she did the same. I was trapped.

She lifted me upwards to get rid of me when Zuko cut me free from across the stream and began to fight her, leaving the avatar to me.

He came from the crater he had made half dazed. This was going to be easy. We stood and faced each other down. Fierce determination was evident in his stance. I drew fire to my hands and feet, and lunged at him. He drew several crystals to himself and charged at me.

Just as we were about to collide I stopped and let my fire envelope him, shattering his crystal shield and throwing him back into a wall. With him out of the way, I turned to Zuko and the Katara. We both attacked her, and overwhelmed her, forcing her back. She stumbled into a crystal and went down.

A fierce rumbling echoed throughout the cavern. The avatar soared up to the ceiling and came back down, causing a massive shock wave, and creating a ball of rock, that he rode towards us.

As he came closer a Dai Lee agent jumped in front of him, and knocked him from the earth ball. Scores of Dai Lee began to fill the room. Several dozen surrounded the recovering Katara. The rest formed up behind my broth and I. the avatar stood and looked around.

Realizing his plight he drew up a shield of crystal and encased himself in it. "He's going to enter the avatar state, this is my chance." I thought to myself. As a bright light began to become visible I ran around, so I could come up behind him. After a moment the crystals shattered and he rose upwards. I hit him with my lightning, right in the back.

A huge wave came from nowhere and enveloped everyone here. Katara grabbed him as he fell. She looked up at us, tears in her eyes. Zuko and I approached her.

A fire ball hit the ground in front of us, and we looked up to see uncle Iroh. He leapt down and stood between us and the avatar. "You've got to get out of here; I'll hold them off as long as I can." He yelled to the girl.

He fired several blasts of flame as she stood and carried the avatar to the waterfall. Iroh managed to keep us at bay until she had escaped. It didn't matter though. The avatar was dead.

Later that day

I sat on the earth king's throne as I spoke to my brother; "we've done it Zuko, its taken a hundred years. But now the fire nation has conquered Ba Sing Sea."

He seemed dejected as he spoke; "I betrayed uncle."

"No he betrayed you." I paused and stood to better look at him. "Zuko… when you return home, father will welcome you as a war hero."

"But I don't have the Avatar, what if father doesn't restore my honor?"

"He doesn't need to, Zuko… today you restored your own honor." He looked away from me. "We are leaving for Omashu in the morning, I have to collect some things, and then we will head home." I waved my hand and a Dai Lee agent appeared; "I need you to bring me Long Feng… I have need of him."

Suki

I sat up drenched in sweat and feeling horrible. I started to shiver uncontrollably and hugged myself into my corner. "It was only a dream, just a dream… someone will come for us. I know he will. I don't have to worry. Everything will be fine."

I had the same dream again, the one where I take my own life for killing a soldier that looks like Sokka. Every so often it came and went.

I shook my head and picked up my rock. It was all I had. I turned it over in front of my face, barely able to see it in the dark. I didn't have the energy or strength in me to toss around anymore. However long I had been here, all I had been given was a small beaker of water, barely a few mouthfuls, and some vile tasting thin gruel days had gone by since then, I hoped they hadn't forgotten about me.

The sound of a bolt being drawn back scared me and I dropped my rock as I huddled in fright in my corner. The door was thrown open and I was bathed in light. Pain lanced through my head as I raised a hand to shield my burning eyes.

A guard stood outlined in the door way. "What do you want?" I asked defiantly. Though I couldn't help that from my dry throat my voice rasped and sounded sickened, which is certainly no better than I felt.

My spirits lifted for a moment as it seemed he about to come closer. But they again fell as he dropped something and turned to leave. The door slammed shut, granting a reprieve to my aching eyes. I heard muffled talking and scooted closer to the door. I picked up the bowl of thin gruel that had been dropped for me and pressed my ear against the door hoping to hear something.

"Can you believe that she is still alive? I figured her for dead since she stopped tossing that rock against the walls."

"It was a rock? Damn, then I owe you don't I?"

"Yeah you do, but I don't get it, she's been in there a almost a week now, with almost nothing, how is she alive?"

"Those earth kingdom people are tough. How many years have we been trying to wipe them out?

"A week and a half, that's how long I had been here? How long would I be left to rot down here?" I sniffed my gruel and felt my strength begin to return, and with it, my resolve. I picked up a handful and ate it. I knew that it should have tasted terrible, and that at any other time, I would have probably thrown up at the smell. But now, after a week without food and almost no water, it was heavenly. As I swallowed my mouthful euphoria passed through my body. A tingle came from my stomach and I leaned back against the door.

A low moan of contented pleasure came from my cracked lips. I lifted the bowl and began to eat feverously. I pulled away from it to breathe before I dived back into it. As the slightly warmed viscous near fluid that was the gruel slid down my throat I smiled to myself.

I felt my stomach twist and I groaned as my gorge rose. I fought to keep it down, but couldn't. My throat burned horribly as threw up the meager contents of my stomach. I felt so weak; I fell into the puddle of filth I had just expelled. I continued to dry heave into the mess as tears flowed freely from my eyes, cutting paths down my dirty cheeks. The room began to spin and my head felt as if it was going to explode, my eyes clouded over. I faintly heard a door open behind me.

Ira

I sat in my cell, wondering what had happened to Azula. She had disappeared well over a week ago. The guards said that she was going to kill the king and avatar. I hoped that that wasn't the truth. I told Ellyona about the slip I had made and she seemed not to care. Before the princess disappeared she had told me that if I would swear loyalty to the royal family I would be let free, and be given a chance to serve in the army.

I had made the foolish mistake of accepting. I want to get out of here. I had never gone a day without seeing the sun, and I dearly missed it. Ell said that I took the chance because I was weak, and that I had no faith in the avatar or his friends, or even Suki, and that if I wanted out so badly I should just learn to bend and leave.

She always was jealous of benders. I think they are amazing, so powerful and graceful. The strength that Azula radiated was intoxicating. Just being near her made me think that I could do anything she asked of me. I only had to wait for her to return.