A/N: Thank you everyone who read and reviewed. Have you guys seen the commercial for the finale? OMG, it's going to be great!! Well, here it is, the second part of the final battle. Don't forget to review and the epilogue will be posted Saturday. I may be a little late in responding to reviews since I'll be working on a commercial for the next 2 days, but I will respond. Thank you again everyone and don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar
Chapter 34
Aang was using every trick he could think of and knew he was winning slowly, but Ozai's madness kept the Avatar on edge. The fire lord was pulling out every thing he knew and wouldn't give an inch, though he was burned and bleeding. Aang had a few burns as well, but they were nothing compared to the fire lords'. Ozai's left side was black, and the robe had burned through to show blackened skin. The fire lords' left hand was also blackened and slightly shriveled, though Ozai continued to use it as if it were whole. Blood trickled from Ozai's temple where an icicle had made its way through and also from a tear in his right arm and left leg where boulders had clipped him.
Aang and Ozai faced each other from opposite corners of the room. Both were breathing heavily and watched each other after a series of complicated and exhausting attacks and defenses. They were almost evenly matched and every move Aang had made was countered by the fire lord. Aang thought back to when he had battled Bumi and the earth king's words rang in his head. Think like a mad genius.
Aang smiled and started the movements for a water whip, controlling and bringing together the water Ozai had evaporated and Ozai smiled. Before the fire lord could blast a fireball at the water whip, Aang shifted his foot, bending the ground under Ozai, tripping the fire lord. Aang fired blasts of air and fire at Ozai as the fire lord regained his balance quickly and blocked the fire and air with fire. Aang knew he would have to end this soon. The sounds from the other side of the doors were muffled, but were steadily growing louder. Aang moved to send a large fireball and blast of air at Ozai again, and Ozai started the movements for lightning. Aang stopped his own movements and brought his hands up to encase Ozai in earth before the fire lord could separate the powers to create lightning.
A massive earthquake shook the palace and the Avatar and Fire Lord. Aang barely stayed on his feet as Lung fell down next to the door. Ozai used the distraction to try and blast out of his earthen prison, but Aang quickly moved his hands, felt the water within the fire lord and stopped Ozai from within.
A feeling of revulsion passed over Aang as he willed Ozai's body to stop struggling and he finally understood why Katara hated bloodbending so much. She had told him about it and the feelings that went with it after she had used it on the Combustion Man, but he had never really understood until that moment. Ozai stared at Aang as his body stopped struggling and relaxed against his will. Aang slowly moved closer and lessened his hold on Ozai's blood as he increased the strength of the earth surrounding the fire lord.
"You are defeated. Yield," Aang said as he stood before Ozai.
Ozai sneered at the Avatar. "Finish it."
"No," Aang replied calmly.
"Finish it!" Oazi screamed into Aang's face.
"You must finish the Agni Kai," Lung said calmly from the door.
"No, I will not take a life," Aang said. "Even yours," he told the enraged fire lord. "My teacher was spared and he spared another, showing more honor than anyone I've ever known. I follow his teaching and that of my people."
Ozai sneered again and was about to speak when the door burst open. Aang moved to be behind Ozai, creating a fire dagger and holding it to the fire lords' throat as a middle aged general with large sideburns, looking very similar to Zhou walked in, followed by five royal guards and twenty firebenders. The royal guards each held a different prisoner.
Aang struggled to remain calm as he looked on his injured friends in the hands of the enemy. Katara had several gashes on her arms and legs, and her left arm was limp as it was held, the upper bone at an odd angle. Sokka and Suki had several burns covering their clothes and arms and Suki had two wounds wrapped in makeshift bandages, one on her thigh and one on her right arm. Sokka looked better, but had scratches all over his face and arms as well as a bound wound on his arm. Zuko was barely conscious, his arms and legs covered in gashes and bruises while his clothes were covered in dust. A small wound bled from his temple, staining the unscarred side of his face red as the blood made a line down around his eye and down his cheek. Toph appeared unconscious, covered in dust, gashes and bruises, but she was the only one not visibly bleeding.
"Release the Fire Lord and we'll spare you're friends," the general told Aang, looking down his nose at the Avatar.
"Don't do it Aang!" Katara cried and the cry seemed to rouse Zuko.
"Finish him Aang. Stop this war," Zuko said, his eyes meeting Aang's.
"Quiet traitor!" the general said, turning back to Zuko and backhanding the prince.
Zuko took the hit without comment and simply glared at the general as the man walked away from him. Aang noticed that Lung and the royal guards looked startled for a fraction of a second at the strike on Zuko, but then their features and stances returned to deadly calm again. Lung turned his attention back to Aang, but the Avatar saw his brown eyes glance towards Zuko occasionally.
Ozai had started smiling and was now laughing at Zuko's look of pure hatred as the prince glared at the general. The fire lord stopped suddenly as Zuko turned to look at Toph, the princes' face softening in concern as the earthbender moved her head as if she were starting to wake up. The movements from both of them caused the light to catch the rose marble and red paint in their headpieces around their topknots.
"Where did you get that?" Ozai growled in a low voice. "And why does that…thing wear the sacred flame?!"
The fire lords' voice had risen and Zuko turned from looking at Toph to look at his father, his golden eyes narrowing dangerously as Zuko sent Ozai a hard look.
"I am the crown prince," Zuko stated calmly, "and Lady Toph is my fiancée."
Aang felt Ozai try to move out of his earthen prison, to lunge at Zuko or kill the prince and the Avatar focused his will onto the earth, holding the fire lord in.
"How dare you…" the general started as he moved to hit Zuko again.
"Your turn Rockhead ," Zuko said with a smile as he watched Zo approach him.
Toph brought her head up and winked at Aang before his five friends disappeared into the floor, right through the arms of their captors. The soldiers and general looked alarmed at the sudden disappearance and slowly turned to Aang as he held the fire lord imprisoned when the five popped up behind the firebenders.
Toph flicked her wrist, closing the massive doors to where a hundred troops could be seen beyond before she turned to the firebenders with an evil grin and started pounding them with boulders. Katara, Suki and Sokka joined in the fray, focusing more on the royal guards and made their way through them and the firebenders who got in their way as Zuko fired at the general. Aang kept his control on the fire lords' prison, barely containing him as fire blasts surrounded them.
A stray blast from a firebender hit Ozai's prison and it cracked. Aang desperately tried to repair it, but Ozai blasted out and turned to fire on the Avatar, madness glowing in the fire lord's golden eyes. The blast Ozai had used to break out flung Aang several feet away and left him lying on the ground. Aang rolled out of the way of several firebenders and dodged past Sokka while trying to regain his footing as Ozai closed in on him. Aang ducked behind a slab of marble kicked up by his earthbending, trying to get a clear shot at Ozai while evading the fire lord. Not able to get to the Avatar, Ozai turned towards Zuko whose back was to the fire lord. Aang got to his feet, dodging several blasts from firebenders and saw Ozai smile with malice from across the room as he turned to Zuko who was dueling the general in an all out Agni Kai.
Aang watched in slow motion as Ozai moved both hands to create lightning quickly and just reacted, stepping out moving his own hands even more quickly, emphasizing speed over power, to separate the energies and then he launched the bolt of lightning towards the fire lord.
--
Zuko faced General Zo, knowing the man would look for any sign of weakness in the prince. Fire flew between them both, both dodging and blocking expertly as they attacked each other. Zo became enraged as Zuko held on and started beating the general back into a corner. Zo looked around, knowing Toph was Zuko's weakness after the declaration he had made, but the prince deftly maneuvered Zo away from Toph as she took out the firebenders from the door.
The smell of burnt ozone filled the room and Zuko saw lightning out of the corner of his eye as he blasted a fireball again at Zo. The general moved to block, but suddenly stopped, staring in disbelief at something to the side and behind Zuko before the fireball hit him in the gut and sent him flying back into the wall and then to the ground. Zuko rushed to Zo, ready to fight again, but the general was unconscious. Zuko was unnerved by the silence that had suddenly filled the room and turned to see his father crumple to the ground, his chest smoking.
Katara ran to Aang at the other side of the room as the Avatar fell to his knees, tears flowing freely from his grey eyes as he stared at Ozai. Sokka and Suki rushed to stand between their friends and the remaining firebenders as Katara hugged Aang to her, whispering that it was ok.
Zuko saw Toph standing at the door, ready to take on anyone, but he knew her concentration was on everyone, including him. The prince turned to Lung as the man walked calmly to Ozai and knelt to examine the fire lord. Lung turned his face to Zuko, his eyes sad, though his face remained motionless.
"The Fire Lord is dead," Lung said calmly. He stood and turned fully to Zuko; kneeling before the prince as the two royal guards still standing did the same. "We await your orders, my Lord," Lung said.
Zuko saw Sokka and Suki stare at him in shock as he inclined his head to Lung.
"Rise," the prince said to the kneeling men. "I will not be Fire Lord if my uncle survives this night. Send word out to stop fighting. Anyone who continues to fight after the word reaches them, whether fire, earth or water, shall be imprisoned, though fairly. Send hawks with my insignia to my uncle, and the commanders that it's over. That Ozai is dead."
Lung bowed and hurried towards the door. Toph gave him a searching look before moving aside and opening the door with a flick of her wrist. The man bowed to her quickly before hurrying through, issuing orders to the captains and lieutenants waiting in the ruined room as he hurried through. Zuko watched Lung leave and waited for Toph to come to him before he hurried to Aang and Katara.
"You can trust the royal guards," Zuko told Sokka and Suki as they watched the guards who had kneeled to Zuko move to stand between the teens and the eight remaining firebenders. "Though watch the others."
Sokka nodded dumbly, still not understanding as Zuko passed him and went to Aang. The Avatar was still crying silently, his face in shock as it had been since he had fallen to his knees. Katara continued to hug Aang to her, crying softly as she pleaded in a whisper for Aang to respond, that everything was ok. Zuko knelt before the Avatar, blocking the fire lord's corpse from Aang.
"You did what you had to do," Zuko told Aang. "And I think I owe you my life because of it. If you're as strong as I always thought you were, then you'll snap out of this."
"Either that, or I'll pound you till you do," Toph said from behind Zuko, an evil grin in her voice.
Aang closed his eyes and shook his head, looking at Zuko and then up at Toph. He slowly smiled and turned to kiss Katara soundly on the mouth. Zuko rose, knowing Aang would be ok and turned to Toph who was studying him with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Care to explain before Snoozles' head explodes?" she asked him.
Zuko responded by bending down and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, but after a few seconds she pulled back and grinned at him.
"As much as I appreciate that, you still need to explain," Toph whispered. "Especially the guys actually taking orders from you."
Zuko nodded and let her go, turning to their friends. "The royal guards and the Dracons are loyal to the royal line. Since I'm the prince, with…my father…dead, they have to listen to me and protect me."
"Dracons?" Sokka asked skeptically.
"A family of bodyguards loyal to the Fire Lord and his family. They're his personal advisors as well," Zuko answered. "Though Ozai never listened to them," he finished dryly, glancing at Ozai's body as several sages entered and went to the corpse, carrying it away in respect.
"And this guy will listen to you?" Suki asked, eyeing Lung skeptically as he came back in and bowed to them.
"Yes," Zuko answered and returned the bow. "Has my uncle been located?" he asked Lung.
"Not yet, may I speak with you, my prince?" Lung asked, eyeing Toph as she studied him.
Zuko nodded and walked a few steps away from the others as Lung followed him.
"Forgive me, my prince," Lung said quietly. "But what you said to the Fire Lord about the…lady. Was it the truth?"
Zuko studied the man before him. He had only known Lung briefly when he was a child. Lung had accompanied Iroh and so the prince had not seen him much and then when Ozai had risen to Fire Lord, Lung had retreated to the shadows as a bodyguard to Ozai.
"Yes, she is my intended, though we'll wait until we're older before we go any further," Zuko told Lung.
"You mean until I'm older," Toph said from next to Zuko, frowning up at him. "What if I want to get married when I'm 14. My mom was married when she was 14."
"It's too young," Zuko said. "Can't we talk about this later?"
"No," Toph said, stomping her foot down and making the ground quiver for emphasis.
Lung looked warily at Toph, but Zuko just let a smile tug at his mouth as he faced Toph.
"I'm too young and I'm not ready. Can we wait until you're 16?"
Toph continued to frown up at him, tapping her foot.
"We just defeated the fire lord, ended the war, and you guys are arguing about…marrying age?!" Sokka cried, pulling at his hair.
"Yes," Toph replied with a smile. "Now hush." She turned back from Sokka to face Zuko again and Sokka was about to storm over when he disappeared to his neck in the floor. He gave a last glare at Toph before turning to Aang.
"Little help here Aang?" Sokka asked.
"Nope," Aang said, chucking lightly. "You got yourself into it. Get yourself out."
Zuko gave a shrug to Sokka who looked at him, imploring for help silently, before turning back to Toph. He sighed and took her hand in his.
"Toph, you know I love you, but I'd like to wait a little longer. We're both too young and I want to help my uncle start rebuilding my country first. But I still want you at my side."
Toph turned thoughtful and Zuko waited for an answer. Finally, he sighed. "Please?" he asked quietly.
The earthbender smiled up at him and nodded once. "But it'll be when I say so. Ok?"
"Done. But you didn't have to try and kill yourself to prove your point."
"Same for you," Toph replied as Zuko smiled at her and wrapped her in a hug.
Lung had just watched with mild amusement as the couple argued and then coughed lightly as they hugged each other. Toph backed away and grinned up at Lung.
"I'll leave you guys alone now," she said and walked back to Aang and Katara where the two remained sitting. Sokka popped out of the ground suddenly as Toph walked by and looked like he was going to glare at Toph, but instead moved to hug Suki.
"You two remind me of my wife and I," Lung said, watching Toph talking with Katara.
Zuko studied the bodyguard but shrugged it off when Lung didn't elaborate. Zuko was about to ask what else needed doing when a large party entered the ruined hall.
"Stop!" Zuko cried as he recognized Jet and Mai in the lead. "Don't attack," he told the firebenders who took defensive positions before the group.
The firebenders stopped and slowly dropped their hands in submission as Mai, Jet, Ty Lee and Haru ran through the room followed by a handful of others to the smaller room where Zuko and Aang were. Ty Lee hugged Zuko before running to hug the rest of their friends. Jet eyed Zuko appreciatively before smiling and offering his hand. Zuko grasped his arm in greeting, smiling back at the freedom fighter. Ty Lee was still hugging people, asking what had happened as a blue eyed man in prison clothing approached and the water tribe siblings rushed to him.
"Forgive me, but what of your sister?" Lung asked quietly as Zuko watched the family reunite with a pang of bitterness.
"Azula? She's our prisoner," Zuko said, turning away from the others to concentrate on Lung. "In the Earth Kingdom."
"Who could imprison her?" Lung asked, startled.
"My mother," Zuko said quietly. "I'll send word to them as soon as it's safe and they can return."
Lung appeared surprised, but nodded, accepting the answer. An animal roar sounded from the balcony and Aang started grinning.
"Appa!" he cried and got up, running back towards the balcony. Momo barely held onto his shoulders, still tired and injured with some blackened fur.
The others followed the Avatar and came upon Iroh and Bumi descending from the flying bison in the dawn light. Aang rushed to his furry companion first before bowing respectfully to Iroh and Bumi who were looking at the ruined hall in shock and thoughtfulness.
"It appears to be the Blind Bandit's work," Bumi said with a wry smile as he spotted Toph.
She nodded, smiling, and stopped next to Zuko as Lung bowed to Iroh. The dragon of the west took charge quickly and almost effortlessly, moving them out of the ruined room and towards the throne room. Toph stayed next to Zuko, but stopped suddenly with a grimace of pain as she turned to follow the others.
"You ok?" Zuko asked as he stopped and hurried back to her.
"Yeah," she replied as she shifted her stance. "I think I twisted my ankle."
Zuko knelt and examined her ankle. It was bruised and swollen, though not as bad as it could have been. It looked like she had twisted it earlier, but adrenaline had kept her from feeling it. Katara was already ahead of them and leaning on Aang, her arm still broken as they followed Iroh towards the throne room.
"I can carry you if you want," Zuko whispered to her.
Toph looked down at him, looking thoughtful before nodding. The prince easily picked her up and carried her close to him.
"Just because I let you doesn't mean I'm helpless," Toph said before she yawned and snuggled into his embrace.
"No, you're never helpless," Zuko whispered back to her.
"Liar," she teased in a tired voice. Zuko just smiled down at her as he followed his uncle. Everything had turned out all right. His father was dead, the war was over and he had Toph. There was a lot left to do to ensure that peace, but for the moment, he could enjoy holding and cherishing the small earthbender that meant more to him than life itself.