Well... this chapter has a number of parts to it. It's got the end of the final battle, as well as the coronation, and then a little thing to wrap it all up (before the epilogue, of course). It really feels great to have gotten to this point and I'm very happy to. I hope you guys have enjoyed the adventure as much as I have.

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA or any of its characters. Only Kala and the other OCs.


For the first time since understanding I would have to fight Ozai, I was scared. I was completely and utterly afraid of dying. I thought I was going to end up just like Lady Ursa had, burning in a silent death. The image of her final moments passed through my mind and I whimpered once more. She'd just stood there, staring… staring at me.

With a start, I realized that Lady Ursa had known I was there and had stared into my eyes until the moment I had run away. As the memory of her burning ripped through my consciousness, my mind was then brought to all the other people who had been hurt by the Fire Lord. The woman who'd given me my necklace, Zelia, Yue, Kayl, Song, the people of the fishing village, Katara, Sokka, Momma, Papa, Chief Hakoda, Toph, Suki, and Aang. I hadn't been able to help some of them, but I knew I couldn't allow those who were left to be hurt anymore.

I began taking deep breaths from where I was, within the rock cocoon with Aang. I knew what I had to do to put an end to Ozai's reign of terror, and I was willing to do anything to reach it. I went through the chakras, just as Guru Pathik had gone through with Aang and me what felt like a lifetime ago. No longer was I stuck in the Throat Chakra, for I had realized the lies I'd told myself. I quickly passed through the next one and came upon the chakra where I would have to release my worldly ties. With another deep breath, I unlocked the chakra.

"Come on out, Avatar!" Ozai screamed as he threw more flames at our rock protection.

I felt a surge of power course through me, and when I opened my eyes I saw that our tiny shelter was now illuminated. I figured this was what the others had been referring to when they talked about Aang and me glowing. I couldn't tell where I was glowing from, but I didn't really care at the moment. I had power of all four elements at my beckon call, and for the first time, I had complete control over my body.

In the next moment, our encasement was destroyed and I flew high above, bending his fire away from me as I did so. I stared down at where I'd last seen Aang, worried he'd been hurt by the flames. As Ozai leaned forward, I readied a fire blast. I only stopped because I saw a hand reach out from beneath the rubble and grab his beard. It was Aang! And from the looks of it, he'd gone into the True Avatar State as well. Ozai tried to attack Aang, but the other Half easily shoved the fire away with a quick movement of the wrist. In the next instant, the Fire Lord was being thrown back by a huge wave of air and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Let's bring this war to an end, Aang!" I yelled from where I was flying. I was a bit surprised to hear that my voice was not my own, but a mixture of all the voices of my past lives.

Aang nodded in response and flew with me toward Ozai. We surrounded ourselves with all four arts of bending, each prepared to take on whatever Ozai tried to throw at us. For the first time in my life, the Fire Lord looked worried, and I couldn't help but take a bit of pride in knowing that he was afraid of me just as much as he feared Aang.

We attacked Ozai head-on, throwing him even farther back and Aang already had. And though the Fire Lord tried to evade us, it quickly proved futile. I used my newly-acquired Earthbending skills to fire stone projectiles at him and the surrounding area, providing him with fewer places to hide. Aang threw a water whip at the Fire Lord, which only narrowly missed but managed to put out the flames he'd tried to throw at us.

I quickly realized that Ozai was trying to run away from us. He was too afraid to face us head-on anymore, now that we possessed the power to take him out once and for all. He was trying to lose us in the landscape so that he could continue with his attack. Well, it wasn't going to work. With every shot of fire Ozai threw at us, we were able to match tenfold with not only fire, but the other elements. He didn't stand a chance against us. Aang countered his fire with water, something he hadn't been able to do before now, and I pinned the Fire Lord to the nearest pillar with a gust of air, which I now understood what a joyous element it was.

It wasn't long before we'd stopped Ozai where he was flying and I wrapped him up with a stream of water. I dragged him to the top of another pillar, while Aang trapped him with the ground locking his feet and hands. Ozai's face could be read as pure terror for what Aang and I could do to him now that he'd been left vulnerable.

"Ozai, you and your forefathers have devastated the balance of this world," Aang said. His voice also reflected those of his past lives along with his own.

"And now, you shall pay the ultimate price!" I yelled, ready to douse him in flames, just as he had done to Lady Ursa, Zuko and me in the past. I was stopped when I saw Aang leave the True Avatar State, taking on his own form and I remembered what he'd wanted to do since I joined him. I stopped my flames of revenge, and returned to my normal state, just as Aang released the earth around Ozai's limbs.

"No. We're not gonna end it like this."

"Even with all the power in the world, you are still weak," Ozai growled as he started to get up.

The moment he moved to attack us with Firebending, I extinguished them with my Waterbending and Aang trapped his arms once more in the rock and lowered him to kneel before us. Aang placed his hands on Ozai's forehead and chest, just as he'd done to me when I'd joined him at the beginning of this battle. I didn't hesitate in standing beside the other Half and placing my hands in the same position. If this was going to work, it would require the both of us, as the full embodiment of the Avatar. I'd learned from Aang, who had learned from a giant lion-turtle, that prior to the creation of the Avatar in the two people, it was not elements that were bended but energy itself.

In under a second, the battle quickly stopped being one of power and the elements, but one of strength of will. Our very auras were battling for dominance. Aang and I against Ozai. I could feel Ozai's energy winning, engulfing us with the fires of his hatred. It felt as though it was burning my soul, but I wasn't about to give in, and I knew Aang wasn't either. I thought once again to all the people I'd wanted to save, and all that I'd learned through my travels not only with Zuko, but with Aang.

Remember who you are.

It's not about forgetting the bad. It's about remembering the good.

Together, we pushed back with everything we had, overtaking Ozai's energy with a radiant blue light that erupted from us. We pulled away and Aang released Ozai's arms, letting the Fire Lord fall limply to the ground. He quickly sat up and tried to Firebend at us, but nothing happened. Nothing would happen ever again.

"It's no use, Ozai," I told him. "You're no longer a Firebender, and you will never be able to hurt people with it again."

"Time for some damage control," Aang murmured as he stared out at the burning forests. I nodded and took a deep breath before pulling water from the nearby oceans and rivers to carefully douse the flames without drowning whatever wildlife might be left. Once the flames were out, I replaced the water back to where it belonged and turned to Aang.

"We did it, Aang," I whispered. "And you found a way to do it without killing him." I pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you. You saved me from becoming a monster like him."


Soon after, Sokka, Toph and Suki joined us on the pillar, having taken a hijacked airship to where we were. I noticed Sokka leaning heavily on Toph and Suki and wondered what had happened to him. Had he gotten hurt while they were taking out the fleet?

"You did it! You should've seen yourselves! It was amazing!" Sokka exclaimed. When he began reenacting our battle with his own sound effects, I knew he couldn't have been hurt too badly and chuckled at him.

"So did you guys, you know, finish the job?" Suki asked as she looked over Ozai's weakened form.

"I'm still alive," he growled and Suki pulled back.

"I learned there was another way to defeat him and restore balance, and I showed it to Kala. We took his bending away," Aang explained, earning surprised expressions from our friends.

"Wow… Who taught you that?" Toph asked.

"A giant lion-turtle."

"Trust me, it's best not to ask and just go with it at this point," I told them when their confused expressions didn't disappear.

"You have the craziest adventures when you disappear," Toph said as she shook her head.


With Ozai having been put in his place and balance restored to the world, daybreak came with the knowledge that I would no longer be fighting for my very existence anymore. It was, actually, really nice. Of course, the moment I had awoken, I was immediately pulled out of bed and the servants within the Fire Nation Royal Palace began tending to me. It was so strange to see these women, whom I'd grown up with, suddenly taking care of me. I'd tried to tell them not to, but they plainly refused.

"Miss Kala, we are happy to help you prepared for Fire Lord Zuko's coronation," Ritzu answered once I'd emerged from the bath. She immediately began filing my nails—though there wasn't much to work with as I'd made sure to keep them short prior to the final battle—while three other women helped me dress and combed my hair, as it was too short to style. "Zelia would be so happy to see you like this."

I smiled sadly. "I know," I murmured. Ritzu suddenly stopped and smiled up at me coyly.

"Kala, why didn't you tell us before?"

"Tell you what?"

She held up my hand, which still wore Zuko's ring. "That you and the Fire Lord are engaged!" I quickly pulled my hand out of her grasp.

"No, no. That's not what it is at all. I'd actually forgotten I was wearing it. I need to return it to him. He'd given it to me because I'd given him my Water Tribe necklace. It was meant to say that we wanted to see each other alive again once this war was over. I should bring it to him now." I began standing, but Ritzu quickly pulled me back into my seat.

"You can see Fire Lord Zuko after we've finished preparing you for the coronation," she answered. "You may be Half the Avatar, but that doesn't you're not the same little Kala that we raised."

As soon as I was freed by the women I'd grown up with, I ran down the corridors of the Royal Palace, earning many stares from the people I passed. Many of them smiled at me as well, pointing towards Zuko's room, as they knew he was the one I was running to. When I came to his opened door, I saw him struggling to put on his robes. While he'd managed to get one sleeve on, he groaned in pain at the action. I chuckled softly as I walked into the room.

"Let me help you," I suggested softly, causing Zuko to turn to see me.

"Kala, I'm glad to see you," he said as I helped him put his other arm through its proper sleeve.

I carefully overlapped the front of his robe, my fingers lingering over the bandages on his torso before I began tying the sash. I'd heard the night before about how he'd saved Katara's life from Azula's lightning, and how it had almost killed him in the process. When I'd heard about this, I'd ran to him as quickly as I could and threw my arms around him while he was in the middle of a healing session. It hurt for me to see the bandages now, but I figured it was better than seeing him dead.

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Not at all," Zuko answered and kissed me before tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "You're wearing Water Tribe clothes." I glanced down at my outfit with a faint smile. I was wearing a deep blue kimono with white trimmings and waves stitched into the bottom and cuffs of my sleeves. A white sash was used to hold it closed, and I wore an image of the moon proudly on my back.

I rolled my eyes at Zuko. "Master Pakku insisted I wear the attire of my nation. You'll see Aang in some oversized monk robes in a few minutes. I'm just glad I don't have to wear the coat. I'd die from the heat." Zuko chuckled in response.

"You look beautiful."

"You're not too bad yourself, Fire Lord Zuko," I answered as I finished adjusting his robes.

"I'm going to have trouble getting used to the new title."

"Just don't let it go to your head, or else you'll have a turtle-duck pond with your name on it." Both of us started laughing and I couldn't help but feel that this was the way it was always meant to be. Zuko and I were together, and we were happy.

"You've changed so much since we found out you were Half the Avatar," Zuko told me and I shrugged.

"Not really. I'm still the same person I've always been."

"No. You're bolder now. It's like there's a fire in your eyes."

I shook my head in response. "You've changed too," I answered and he glanced away sadly.

"I know." I placed a hand on his scarred cheek.

"Most definitely for the better." I leaned forward and kissed him. When we pulled apart, Zuko held up my necklace that I'd given him to wear during the battle with Azula. He carefully put it on me, clasping it closed behind my neck. It felt right to be wearing it again, as though it was a part of me. I then began pulling off his ring and started to hand it back to him.

"Keep it," Zuko said. I stared at him for a moment, confused by what he'd just told me. Did he really want me to keep his family ring? But… That was the engagement ritual of the Fire Nation. A man would give his family ring to the woman he wanted to marry, much like my people made betrothal necklaces for their future brides. Zuko telling me to keep his ring would have to mean…

"Zuko, do you really mean-" I began asking.

"Yeah." I smiled brightly and replaced the ring on my finger before throwing my arms around Zuko and kissing him again.

"Come on," I whispered as we pulled apart. "It's time for you to officially become Fire Lord."


Zuko was declared Fire Lord, and the war was declared to be over. We all knew we'd have a long road ahead of us, doing away with the scars that had been made on the world by Sozin, Azulon and Ozai. But right now, on the night after all this had taken place, it was time to take a deep breath and realize just how much had been accomplished.

As I stood outside by the turtle-duck pond, I couldn't believe where I was. A short time ago, I was at this very pond teaching myself how to Waterbend in secrecy. Now, I was back not as a servant, but as the future Fire Lady, though nobody was aware of it yet. Zuko and I had decided to wait until we were eighteen before actually having the marriage ceremony. For now, as far as anyone knew, we were dating, but not engaged. We'd announce the engagement next year.

"You've done it, Kala," a familiar, feminine voice said and I smiled softly as I stared up at the moon. Yue's translucent form appeared before me, hovering just inches above the pond and I turned my gaze to her as a tear fell from my eyes.

"I couldn't have done it alone," I answered softly. "I had all my friends right there with me." Yue nodded with a smile.

"Congratulations on the engagement. I'm sure you will be very happy with him. I could see it when the two of you came to save the spirits, and I see it even more now." I played with the ring on my finger, but couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks.

"Yue, I'm so sorry. I wasn't able to save you, or Tui, at the North Pole. And I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my promise to travel the world with you."

"Kala, I don't blame you for what happened at the North Pole, and you did keep your promise. You traveled the whole world, and I was with you every step of the way. We did see the world together. Please, don't let this be the one thing that keeps you from being happy with where you are in your life now. You have so much to be happy for. Besides, now I can always be with you, no matter where you are."

I nodded slowly, realizing she was right in that respect. I supposed that, in a way, I hadn't really lost her after all. I was still saddened by the knowledge that she could never live out her full life as it was meant to be, but now she was a timeless spirit of the moon, and she would not only watch over me, but all my friends and the rest of the world. Yue smiled at me one last time before disappearing. Moments later, I heard footsteps coming from behind me and a hand resting on my shoulder.

"Kala, what are you doing out here?" Zuko asked. I wiped my eyes and smiled up at him.

"Talking to the moon."


Come on, did you guys really think I could bring this to an end without using the 'talking to the moon' thing that showed up in the first two seasons. I had to use it again. It's, like, Kala's thing. lol. And what do you guys think about the proposal scene? Not exactly what some people would expect huh? No down-on-one-knee stuff, no gushy confessions of love. Just, a promise. And I liked having it like that because, let's face it, they're sixteen. While Kala is of marrying age, that doesn't necessarily mean she's ready to be married yet, especially considering how short a time she and Zuko were 'officially' a couple. So, it's like a promise ring and an engagement ring in one. How's that for cute, huh? lol

Anyway, only an epilogue chapter to post after this. I really hope you guys have enjoyed Kala's tale. Please R&R.