Sokka, Suki and Katara were sitting together at a small table in one of the kitchens, eating supper. Katara and Suki were both gloomy – even Sokka wasn't quite as cheerful as usual. The waterbender picked at her food. "Only one more hour," she murmured finally, voicing the unspoken thoughts of all three.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" The Kyoshi warrior's eyes flashed. "I keep having this nightmare…we head down into the dungeons to get her, and the door's swinging open, and I can hear her laughing, but we can't find her…"

Katara winced, looking away from her sister-in-law. She harbored a deep, burning hatred for Azula, stemming from the days when she and her fellow Kyoshi warriors had been thrown into prison. Some of them had lived. The survivors all had scars, both physical and mental. Katara sighed, pushing a lump of rice around her plate with her chopsticks. She understood hatred. She herself had once nursed a vicious anger against the man who had murdered her mother. With Zuko's help, she had almost killed him – but had stopped short. That had been a turning point in her life. She had realized at that moment that everyone was human. Everyone. Cautiously, she raised her sapphire eyes to look at Suki. "It won't really help you, you know."

The Kyoshi warrior's chopsticks hit the table with a bang. "Don't you dare preach at me, Katara," she snarled. "She made me a murderer. And besides, you weren't there in that prison. You didn't see what she did – what she had them do! You didn't have to watch while your friends were tortured to death!"

"No, I didn't. You're right." The waterbender nibbled a bit of spiced meat. "But all that won't end for you tonight."

"Maybe not." Suki's eyes darkened. "But I'm taking all the satisfaction I can out of it. It's just too bad they aren't going to beat her again." Katara couldn't help shivering at the young woman's black fervor. She glanced at Sokka; he was still eating. He caught her gaze and gave a helpless shrug.

The atmosphere in the kitchen suddenly felt hot and oppressive. Katara quietly slid her chair back and rose to her feet. "I need to get some air," she said. "I'll see you both later."

Her feet carried her back to her quarters. She moved out onto the balcony, resting her hands on the stone guardrail, and looked out over the city. The ocean was off in the distance to her right, but she didn't look at it; her thoughts were muddled. She frowned absently as her eyes traced the ridge of the crater the capital city rested in. Today, Azula dies. She looked up at the cloudless evening sky. It's just a day, like any other…a day like the day that Mai died. A day like the day that Ozai was defeated. Just…a day. She turned her thoughts back to Azula, and then to her brother. I wonder how Zuko is?

The decision was almost instantaneous. Katara turned from the balcony and left her quarters, heading for the wing of the palace where the Fire Lord's rooms were. The guards at the door looked at her, but didn't stop her from rapping on it with her knuckles; they knew who she was. "Go away!" came the growl from inside.

Katara bit her lip. "Zuko?" There was a pause. She took a deep breath. Well, I've come this far. "Zuko, can I come in?" Still, there was no response. Growing bolder, Katara twisted the knob and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

She had been in these rooms only once before. With a pang, she let her eyes linger over the large balcony, the red tapestries and the white divan. The last time she had been there, Mai had been sitting on that couch. With a sigh, she looked around, and finally spotted the tall, lean form of the Fire Lord out on the balcony. Katara slowly made her way out to stand beside him. For several minutes they simply stood there, looking out at the city. Finally, the waterbender looked at him. His face was calm, although his brows were lowered into something like a frown. "Are you all right, Zuko?" she asked softly.

"Yes." His voice was carefully neutral.

Katara pursed her lips. "Are you all right because you're really all right, or are you just all right because you have to be?"

"Both." His jaw set stubbornly; his golden eyes flicked to look at her for a moment before turning back to the view outside.

The Water Tribe woman sighed, looking down at the white marble guardrail. Her tan fingers brushed lightly over the smooth stone. "Zuko…is there any way that you can have mercy on her?"

"What?" Now he did turn to her, his face twisting in outrage. "Katara, why would you even ask me that? How in the world could I spare Azula?"

She took a step back, her hands raising defensively. "No! No, Zuko, that isn't what I meant," she said quickly. "I didn't ask you to spare her. I just wondered if there was any way you could make it less…painful." She bit her lips as he glowered. "I know she deserves it. Please don't ask me to explain, Zuko. I'm not really sure why I'm asking you, myself! But please, can't you do anything?"

The fury drained from his face. He closed his eyes, sighed, and turned away. "I could." He sat down on the guardrail morosely. "But I won't, Katara. I can't." There was a pause. "I hate her," he said suddenly. Katara looked at him. "I hate her!" he insisted. "She's always ruined everything, taken everything away from me. I've lived in her shadow nearly all my life. And how many times has she tried to kill me? She – she killed Mai!" His teeth gritted, and he let his head fall forward in defeat. "So why," he muttered, "why do I feel so awful about this?"

Katara didn't know what to say. Impulsively, she moved to his side and put her arms around him. His head rested on her shoulder – his breaths were long, slow and deliberate. "I miss her, Katara," he said at length. The waterbender knew he was no longer talking about his sister, but about his wife. "It just…it seems impossible that she's gone. I keep expecting the door to open, and for her to just walk in."

"I'm so sorry, Zuko," Katara said softly. Her throat ached. "I wish I could have done more to save her…" He sighed against her shoulder.

There came a sharp knocking at the door. Abruptly, Zuko pulled away from her and stood up straight. She watched as his face fell into the Fire Lord's mask of steely determination. "Come!" he said loudly.

An imperial guard entered, bowing. "It is time, my lord," he said.

"Very well." Zuko turned his eyes to Katara imperiously. "Will you be coming, Ambassador?" he asked. There was a subtle note of pleading in his tone.

"Yes, Fire Lord Zuko." The waterbender cast a glance at the imperial guard as she dropped a proper Fire Nation bow. One always does have to keep up appearances, she thought wryly. Oh, the world might be burning down around our ears, but we must maintain decorum, after all! The Fire Lord strode out, and Katara followed. She heard the footsteps of the soldier trailing behind her.

The courtyard was much as Katara remembered it, except that the whipping posts had been removed. Instead there was a wooden stake. The waterbender felt her guts clench; she cast a glance at the steel grate that covered the hole in the ground. It had not yet been moved. Did Azula know that she was so close to death, she wondered? They had probably warned her. She saw Suki standing amongst the soldiers. The Kyoshi warrior was in full armor and whiteface, and was even wearing the elaborate hair ornament that marked her high rank. She met her sister-in-law's ice-blue gaze unsmilingly; Katara broke the eye contact after a second or two, sighing and turning away. She took her place a few yards from Zuko, pretty much in the same spot from which she had watched Azula's flogging three weeks before.

At an unspoken signal from the Fire Lord, the metal cover was lifted from the hole, and the prisoner was lifted out.

Azula came out fighting. There was a blast of blue flame! One of the guards fell and lay writhing, clutching at his face. Then Azula vanished under a dogpile of soldiers. There was chaos for several minutes as they struggled to contain her. Even when they finally managed to pin her down on the ground, she could still breathe fire – another soldier went down, howling in agony!

"Muzzle her!" That was Zuko, his cold order cutting through the bedlam like a knife. Katara pulled the cork from her water skin and stood at readiness as Suki dove into the fray. The waterbender could see Azula twisting in the grip of her captors, snarling and snapping and breathing fire like a trapped dragon. Her physical strength had been sapped by her weeks of starvation, but her firebending still made her a force to be reckoned with. Suki's fingers finally tangled themselves in Azula's matted black hair, wrenching her head to one side. The prisoner let out a shriek of frustrated rage as a soldier forced the leather muzzle over her mouth and nose! It was buckled in place. Now the soldiers had the upper hand; Azula's arms were twisted behind her back and chained there. More chains pinned her legs together.

More or less helpless, Azula was reduced to shouting curses and profanities at her brother as she was dragged to his feet. They threw her down on her face; one of the guards pinned her there with a foot in between her shoulder blades. Breathing deeply, Katara closed her water skin and stood up straight, her eyes moving to Zuko's face. He looked angry. "Pull her up," he said coldly. The soldiers dragged the prisoner to her knees. Her yellow eyes were blazing – there was no mockery in them, only raging hatred. "Are you thinking about what you did, Azula?" he asked coolly. "Are you thinking about Mai?"

"You think you've won," she spat, jerking her hands in their chains. Her words were muffled by the muzzle. "Well, I know better, Zuzu! You're weak. You've always been weak! And when your loyal supporters figure that out, they'll pick you apart like the buzzard-wasps they are!"

"You're asking for another beating," he said. His voice was cold.

"Why? You think it'll make you feel better? You think it'll bring back your precious little Mai?" Azula sneered. "She deserved to die. The fool – choosing you over me!"

"You're done, Azula." Zuko gestured. The guards caught Azula by her bound arms and hauled her to her feet; Suki stepped forward and threw a number of precise jabs at the prisoner's back. Azula snarled in pain and fury as her firebending chi was cut off. "Carry out the sentence!" the Fire Lord ordered.

There was sharp pain in Katara's hands. She looked down to see that her own nails were digging into her palms; she forced her fists to unclench. She began drawing deep, deliberate breaths as they dragged Azula to the stake and tied her to it with chains. The captive was snarling and cursing them through her teeth, still trying fruitlessly to lash out with her bound limbs. Memories flashed through Katara's mind as she watched. Fleeing in desperate terror before the Fire Nation tanks, on and on throughout the night, growing more and more exhausted as their hunters came ever closer…the mocking laughter of the Fire Princess as the hands of her two lackeys dragged Katara to prison, just before Ba Sing Se fell…Azula's sneering face as Aang plummeted from the sky, shot down by a merciless bolt of lightning…her wild laughter as Zuko lay twitching and dying on the ground during the Agni Kai…Mai's scream of denial, just before Suki's blade struck her down...little Zulie's tears. The waterbender felt her heart grow very cold. Zuko's right. Azula doesn't deserve to be shown mercy.

The soldiers – with Suki there among them – began to toss bundles of sticks and hay about the foot of the stake. They buried the prisoner up to her knees in tinder. Then longer bundles of sticks were tied to the captive's body, so that she was encased in wood up to her waist. Azula's epithets began to be directed against her brother again, her voice choked with rage. Katara looked at him, concerned; his face was still cold. She couldn't find any trace of conflict in his golden eyes.

One of the soldiers began to tie a rope around Azula's neck. This was a measure of mercy, since the noose would strangle her before the flames could fully do their work. Zuko held up a hand. "No," he said, and the guard paused. "Take it off," the Fire Lord ordered. "She wanted to burn, so let her burn." Katara's eyes widened. She glanced at Suki; the Kyoshi warrior was off to one side, watching, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were fairly glowing with bloodlust – her red-painted lips were smirking.

Azula swore fluently, the string of curses going on for at least a minute. "You'll pay for this," she snarled at Zuko, squirming in her chains. "You think death will stop me? I'll find a way. I'll get you. I'll make you pay!"

He didn't flinch. "Light her up."

Everyone backed away from the stake. There was silence as two soldiers stepped forward and assumed firebending stances. Even Azula said nothing, her amber eyes glaring their futile rage over the leather facemask. Twin blasts of fire shot out, striking the tinder at the prisoner's feet! Katara flinched and turned her face away, squeezing her eyes shut. She could hear the crackle of the flames as they devoured the dry fuel.

Azula began to laugh. It was almost more horrible than if she had screamed – the laughter was high and hysterical. It reminded Katara painfully of the way the former Fire Princess had shrieked and babbled when her mind had snapped at the Agni Kai. She dared to look again. Azula was engulfed in flames to her waist; her head was thrown back and rocking from side to side in time to her peals of laughter. Shuddering, Katara looked toward her sister-in-law. Suki stood like a statue, her eyes narrowed and fixed unwaveringly on the doomed prisoner. She was still smiling coldly. The waterbender bit her lips.

When the laughter faded into agonized howls, Katara could stand it no longer. She clapped her hands over her ears to block out the sounds. Oh, Toph, I wish you were here! She could feel herself trembling. The heat of the fire grew almost unbearable after a while – she dared to lower her hands again. There was silence, but for the roaring of the hungry flames. Katara slowly looked up. The flames were already leaping six or seven feet in the air, effectively hiding what they were consuming in walls of shimmering heat and light. She could make out the vague outlines of the stake, and an indistinct form chained to it, but nothing more. Her stomach lurched – she had to turn away to control her nausea. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to run away, to plunge into the welcoming sea and purge all the horrible sounds and sights and smells of the past few weeks from her soul. At least it was done. She knew, now.

Azula would trouble them no more.

Katara was through - she was done with all this intrigue and vengeance and violence! She bowed half-heartedly in Zuko's direction – knowing that he didn't even see her. She glanced at Suki then, but the Kyoshi warrior still hadn't moved. With a sigh, Katara turned away and left the courtyard behind. Her steps echoed in the lonely halls as she headed for her quarters.

It was over. Now all she wanted was to go home.