Chapter 13: Day of Redemption

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Sweat poured down Aang's face as he practiced his strikes on a dummy. It was the day he had been waiting for a long time. The day that the city would finally be rid of Ozai's influence, and could then heal and go back to how it was before. Though he didn't truly know what the city had been like before, as he hadn't been around before Ozai started making moves. He hoped that the city would bounce back and not let another tyrant 'rule' them. But even if another rose to take Ozai's place, then Aang would be there to cut them down. The city and its people had suffered too long, and he wouldn't allow it to go on any longer. The only problem he had with the mission was that he was going after Zuko's father. Over the time Zuko and Mai had joined them, Zuko had quickly became Aang's best friend, though whether Zuko reciprocated that feeling, he did not know. At any rate, he was still reluctant to take his father's life because of that. Zuko didn't seem to mind, however. If anything, he appeared to be all for it. He understood that his father would only cause more damage, and likely because he still wanted revenge for his scar. Aang wasn't one to condone wanting revenge, but he understood the feeling. Though Aang hadn't known it until he killed Azula, Ozai was the one who had ordered the attack on him and his family and was the reason that all of this had happened. Ozai's reach extended farther then he had imagined, and it only encouraged him more to finish what he started.

"Aang?"

He turned around quickly after making a hard blow to the dummy that sent it back into the wall and saw it was Katara. "Oh. Hey Kat," he sighed in relief, still a little jittery from his thoughts.

She walked up to him with a concerned look on her face. "Is everything okay? You sort of… kicked the crap out of that dummy," she told him as she gestured to the almost destroyed dummy.

"Um… yeah," he laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I was just thinking of some things and I wasn't really paying attention to how hard I was striking."

Katara look of concern didn't go away. "What were you thinking about? Is everything alright?" she asked as she took his hand in hers.

He gave her a weak smile, still trying to catch his breath. "I'm fine," he assured her. "Just getting myself ready for the fight. I feel bad for the dummy, though," he joked, making her laugh a little.

"Okay… if you say so," she shrugged before tugging him. "Come on. You should get some rest and something to eat. We've got a big day ahead of us."

"Yeah, I guess we do," he agreed before allowing her to pull him out of the training room and to the elevator. "How's everyone doing so far?" he asked curiously as he punched in the code and sent them down.

She took a moment to think about it. "Well, we're all a little nervous, but we know that we can do this. I don't know why we're nervous though. With all of us working together, no one can beat us."

"It's pre-battle jitters," Aang explained as he looked at her. "Even if you have complete confidence in yourself and your team, there's always going to be that feeling where you can't help but worry. It's completely normal," he assured her.

"I wish it wasn't," she sighed as she looked at their intertwined fingers. "I don't like it."

Aang couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. "No one likes it. Just like no one likes going to war. No one sane, at least," he amended.

Katara giggled a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"What's important is that we don't let it get to us," he continued as he looked her in the eyes. "The best warriors know that they have fear, but the difference between them and a coward is that they face their fear and do what they need to anyway. A real warrior accepts that they're scared, but doesn't let it overtake them." He squeezed her hand. "And I know that you're a real warrior, so you have nothing to worry about."

She smiled warmly and kissed him. "Thanks, Aang. That means a lot to me." Pausing for a second, she couldn't help but let some of the worry consume her. "Aang… what if one of us doesn't make it back?"

Aang squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Kat, we can do this. We'll make it back alive. I've got your back like you've got mine, right?"

Another moment of silence passed before a small smile crept on her face. "Right," she agreed with a sigh. "As long as we stick together, we'll be fine."

"Exactly," Aang grinned and kissed her cheek. "We've got this. I love you, Kat."

"I love you too," she replied before kissing him again, reveling in the sweet taste of his lips. After a few moments, the elevator door opened and they were greeted by an unwelcome sight.

"Will you two stop?" Sokka whined with his arms crossed. "I already have to see you guys hug and stuff. I don't need to see my little sister making out with my best friend."

They pulled apart quickly and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry Sokka," Aang apologized before taking Katara's hand and walking with Sokka to the lunch room where everyone was waiting. Taking the only two open seats, Katara and Aang quickly sat down while Sokka walked back to his girlfriend.

"So," Suki started as she looked at Ty Lee and Haru who were shamelessly flirting with each other. "Are you guys dating or what?"

Both blushed and looked at each other and shrugged. "I'm down for it if you are," Haru told her with a smile.

Ty Lee smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Sounds good to me, cutie." Haru smiled and moved a little closer to put his arm around her shoulders with her resting her head on his chest.

Katara couldn't help but laugh a little. It didn't take very long for Ty Lee to get a boyfriend, it seemed. Looking over to her right, she saw her boyfriend stand up to address everyone. "How's it going everyone? You guys ever had airline food?" he fake joked, earning some boos and a couple pity laughs. He just laughed in return. "Sorry about that. Just thought I'd warm up with a bad joke." He quickly became serious again. "So, you all know what day it is, right?" Everyone nodded in response. "Good. I want to hear from what you guys think about it. Are you scared? Excited? Get it all out now. If I know anything about going on a mission like this, it's not good to let your feelings be bottled up, so get it all out now."

There was silence for a few moments before Suki finally spoke up. "I have to admit, I"m a little nervous," she sighed as she looked down at her food.

"That's okay," Aang assured her as he looked her in the eyes. "Fear is completely natural in a situation like this."

"But I'm not supposed to be afraid of anything," Suki argued with a downcast look on her face. "I have to be fearless to be able to do this."

Aang looked at her in disbelief. "Suki, you don't need to be fearless to do this. Fear comes with the territory."

"But you're not scared to do this," Suki responded with a disbelieving roll of her eyes. "You're not scared of anything."

"Not scared of anything?" Aang repeated incredulously. "Believe me, Suki. I'm scared of a lot of things," he told her, making her look up at him in surprise. "I'm scared that if I don't make it out of this mission alive, that my people will be extinct. I'm worried that my friends, my family, could not make it back. And most of all… I'm scared of failing," he sighed in resignation while Katara rubbed his back reassuringly. Everyone was silent, hanging onto his every word before he looked back up to them. "Everyone's scared of something, Suki. As long as you're human, even a very powerful human, you have fear in you. Anyone who says otherwise just doesn't want to admit that they're scared." He took a deep breath and swept his gaze over the group. "Even the most powerful leaders of the world have fear. Fear for their families, fear for their rule, and fear for themselves. What matters is what we choose to do with the fear we have. We can either let it take over us and run away, or we can face it and make a difference. Only you can choose what you do with it."

Teo scoffed. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Most Powerful Bender on Earth."

Aang looked at him seriously and looked to Toph. "Toph, remember what I trained you to do in case I lose it?" Toph nodded reluctantly. "Do it."

"Okay," Toph replied with a shaky breath. Taking out her meteorite, she expanded it until it was big enough for her to trap him in a shell that he couldn't get out of.

"Now I'm as defenseless as anyone else," Aang said as he demonstrated how he couldn't move before turning to Sokka. "Attack me," he ordered.

Sokka's eyes widened in surprise, but he knew better than to defy him at this point. Quickly getting up, he aimed a blow at Aang who dodged and rolled himself to trip Sokka who landed on the ground with a thud. "Ow," Sokka muttered as he rubbed his face.

Aang took the meteorite off and handed it to Toph who put it back on her wrist. "See? Even with me defenseless, instead of letting the fear take me over, I made the most of it and still managed to defeat my opponent."

"But Sokka doesn't count," Toph joked, making everyone but Sokka laugh when a thought came to mind. "If you can just bend it, then how is that supposed to restrain you?"

"It's not going to restrain me for long," he agreed as he looked at her. "It's just supposed to hold me long enough so you can knock me out or kill me if needed."

Katara gulped and looked at Toph sadly as she thought about it. "Please don't kill him."

Toph snorted and laid back in her chair with her hands behind her head. "Don't worry, Sugar Queen. Wouldn't dream of it." Katara sighed in relief and turned her attention back to Aang who was resuming his point.

"Anyway," he continued as he looked at the group. "As I showed you, I couldn't use my powers and I still fought back despite having the fear of getting hurt. If I can do this, I know that you guys can."

"You really think so?" Sokka asked unsurely.

Aang grinned and nodded to him. "I know so. You all have it in you to do this, and we'll all be there to help each other. We're a family, remember?" They all smiled and nodded. "Good."

"What about my brother and I?" Jin asked as she looked at him. "What are we going to do?"

"You guys just started here about a week ago. Unfortunately you guys aren't quite ready for field work, but Teo will be staying back here to help us with logistics, so you can help him if you want," he offered.

Teo noticeably let out a sigh of relief as he heard he wouldn't be on the mission, making everyone laugh as he blushed in embarrassment. "Okay," Jin sighed in defeat before she looked over at Zuko. Aang had noticed that she had a bit of a crush on Zuko as well as him, and she made it pretty obvious. He just hoped she wouldn't try to do anything to come between him and Katara or Mai and Zuko.

Quickly snapping out of his thoughts, he shook his head and turned back to the group. "Anything else you want to get off your chests before we do this?" No one said anything. "Okay. Remember: If you guys want to talk, my door is always open." Katara whispered in his ear, making his eyes widen as a deep blush covered his face. "Okay, maybe not always open," he amended, making everyone laugh at their embarrassment. "Go on and get ready. We head out for Ozai's tower in six hours. Get your gear and make sure that you're confident with your skills. I'll let everyone in on the rest of the plan before we leave."

"Yes sir," Toph sarcastically saluted him, making everyone laugh as they walked out to the elevator. Aang and Katara stayed behind for a moment. Katara could feel the waves of nervousness rolling off of her boyfriend.

"Is everything alright?" she asked in concern as she pulled him down to his seat.

He nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, I just can't help but feel like something's going to go wrong. Something almost always goes wrong on missions like this."

Katara kissed him on the cheek. "It's going to be okay, Aang. As long as we have each other's backs, we'll make it out of it. Okay?" He still didn't look sure, so she gave him a long kiss, making him melt on the spot. After a couple minutes, she pulled away and smiled at the happy look on his face. "Okay?" she repeated herself softly.

"Okay," he agreed. Standing up, he offered his hand to her. "Come on. We should go get ready." She took it with a soft smile and walked over the elevator and made their way to their armor, silently preparing themselves for what their future held.

Several hours later, it was finally time for the mission. Everyone was nervous as they put on their armor, but they had confidence that they could do it if they worked together. It was a new day for the city, a day in which no one would be tortured by Ozai's influence any longer. Everyone lined up at the stealth jet and waited for Aang to speak. "Okay," he started as he looked them all in the eye. "Here's the plan. Zuko has gotten in contact with his uncle who is going to go inside and disable the security for the vents." Sokka raised his hand. "Yeah, Sokka?"

Sokka put his hand back down. "Why doesn't he just disable all of the security protocols? Wouldn't that make it easier?"

"It would," Aang agreed. "But if we turn them all off, then an alarm will go off and someone will have to go check in on it which will lead to Ozai knowing that we're after him. We can turn them all off once Ozai's been dealt with, but for now we need to make sure that no one knows what we're planning." Sokka nodded and remained silent. "Anyway, while Iroh does that, Piandao and his friends will distract the soldiers guarding the place." He turned to Piandao. "How many students are your friends bringing with them?" he wondered.

"All of them," Piandao replied as he pulled out a picture that had the three masters with their students, making Katara gasp.

"Pakku?" she whispered in complete surprise.

Piandao looked at her curiously. "Do you know Pakku?"

Katara nodded slowly. "Yeah, he's my step-grandfather. He sort of disappeared after my grandmother died. I haven't heard from him in years."

"You'll have your chance to talk to him later," Aang promised as he re-routed the conversation where it needed to be. "While the soldiers are distracted, each team of people will go into a vent on each side of the building on my mark." He turned to look at Zuko and Mai. "You guys are going to join me and Katara in fighting." They nodded and he turned to Sokka and Suki. "You guys will do your best to stir up trouble around the place to keep the soldiers who stay inside distracted. We don't want anymore of them coming in to help Ozai when we fight him." They nodded and he finally turned his attention to Toph and Ty Lee. "You two will be in charge of destroying stuff. Ty Lee, I want you to use your pressure point technique to disable the soldiers and have them tell you where the rest of the prisoners are being kept. Then you and Toph will get them out of there and then come back to destroy what you can. No equipment should be left working by the time it's over. Sound good?"

Toph grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Sounds perfect, Twinkle Toes."

Aang grinned and looked at them all in the face. "We can do this. I know you can do this. Remember: Watch each other's backs and don't hesitate. The soldiers certainly won't. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Sokka cheered, earning cheers from everyone else.

"On three." They all put their hands together. "One, two, three, team!" they all yelled together before getting into the stealth jet. Quickly getting settled in, Aang started up the jet and opened up the hanger doors above them. "Hold on tight!" he yelled over the noise before taking off and out, making his way over towards Ozai tower. He looked in disgust as he saw the familiar face of his enemy plastered on the top of the tower.

"Disgusts you too, huh?' Zuko asked as he and Mai moved up behind them. Aang nodded solemnly. "The first thing I'm going to do once we're done is rip that thing down."

"I'd be more than happy to help you with that," Aang agreed as he activated the camouflage and flew over to a rooftop North of the building and hovered over it. "Alright, Toph and Ty Lee! This one's yours!" They nodded and jumped out quickly and landed on their feet before waving to them as they moved onto the next. Aang went to the East rooftop and dropped off Sokka and Suki. He then went to the West rooftop and dropped off Zuko and Mai. "We'll see you soon!" Aang promised before going over to the South rooftop and landed the jet silently. Letting out a sigh of relief, he and Katara climbed out of the jet and looked over to at the control center through their goggles, seeing Iroh who was talking with the guard there. "Good luck, Iroh," Aang said over his earpiece.

Iroh looked around as he made his way towards the security room. The tower had been updated since the last time he had been there, but fortunately for him, most of the rooms were the same as they used to be, and he easily found the security control room. One soldier standing guard greeted him pleasantly. "General Iroh. It's good to see you again."

He had no idea who this person was, as he couldn't see his face behind a mask, but he pretended to recognize him all the same. "And it's nice to see you too. How have you been?"

"Oh you know," The soldier started with a smile underneath his mask. "Same old same old. I swear, the boss only ever puts me at this door. I guess he trusts me to watch over it."

"I suppose so," Iroh agreed with a fake smile. He felt bad about what he was about to do, but he knew there was no choice. Looking around quickly, he leaned into him with a cup in his hand. "Would you mind doing me a favor?" he whispered.

"Of course, sir!" he responded enthusiastically, making Iroh feel worse and worse with every word.

"I have this tea that I've been trying out, but no one has the time to try it out, it seems!" he fake complained. "I just want someone to tell me if I should keep it or try something else."

The soldier took the cup from him. "I can help you with that, sir."

Iroh smiled as he watched him drink it. "Thank you, my boy. You are very kind." The soldier finally drank the rest of it and smacked his lips. "So… what do you think?" he asked curiously.

He thought about it more. "Well… it could use some… more…" he yawned loudly. "It could… use… some more… sugar…" he yawned again before promptly passing out in Iroh's arms. Iroh quickly took the body and walked into the room, ensuring no cameras or soldiers would be able to see him.

"I am sorry," Iroh apologized as he quickly tied up the soldier and set him in a corner. With that done, he shut the door and locked it, ensuring no one else would be able to come in without his say-so. Satisfied with his work, he made his way over to the security panel and stroked his beard in thought as he looked over the thousands of buttons. "Which one is it?" he mused before he saw one that read: Vent Security. "Aha!" Iroh said gleefully before pressing the button and looked at the main monitor as it turned to "off". "Good luck, Iroh," Aang said over the earpiece.

Iroh pressed the button on his earpiece. "It is done, Stormborn. Vent security is down."

"Great. Thank you again for your help, Iroh."

"It's my pleasure, young man," Iroh replied kindly.

"You can go home now if you want. There's about to be a big fight."

Iroh shook his head. "No, I will help the other masters fight. There are a lot of soldiers here. You will need all the help you can get."

Aang was silent for a moment. "Okay," he agreed reluctantly over the line. "But please be careful. Zuko already lost his sister and his mother. He doesn't need to lose his uncle too."

"I'll be careful," Iroh promised with a hearty chuckle. "You should be more worried about yourself. A word of advice for dealing with my brother. He is headstrong and proud. Use that to your advantage."

"I will. Thank you, Iroh. Good luck," Aang replied before the line went dead.

Iroh smiled a little. "Good luck, Stormborn."

Aang got off the earpiece and looked at Katara. "Security's down." She nodded and got herself ready while he radioed in to everyone else. "Vents are down. Go in whenever you're ready."

He heard Toph already zipping over to it. "Already on it, Twinkles!" she yelled over the wind.

"On it," Zuko replied before a loud thunk! could be heard.

"We're moving now," Suki finally responded before taking her shot as well.

"Good luck, everyone," Aang told them over the earpiece before he hit a button and ended it. He looked to Katara with a smile. "Are you ready, Kat?"

She nodded confidently with a smile back at him. "I'm ready." Aang prepared to shoot his launcher, but Katara pulled him into a quick kiss. "Just in case something happens," she explained as she noticed his confused look. He nodded slowly and they both zoomed over to the vent, Aang quickly kicking it down and crawling with Katara right behind him. Aang followed the blue prints and led the way towards Ozai's office. As he led the way, he couldn't help but wonder how everyone else was doing.

Sokka and Suki kicked open the vent and jumped down onto the floor, taking a few soldiers by surprise as they looked at the hooded figures. "Who the hell are you?" the leader asked menacingly as he pulled out his sword. Suki looked to Sokka who nodded and looked back at the soldiers. Without another word, they ran on opposite sides of the soldiers and cut down the first two until there was only the leader left. "You think that you can kill me?" he growled as he got into a defensive stance and faced them. A blade appeared from his chest as he quickly fell to the ground dead.

"No, but I can," Toph taunted as she wiped the blood off her blade.

"We had that covered, Bandit," Sokka sighed in annoyance as he huffed angrily.

Toph smirked and shrugged. "Well you should have been quicker. Have fun you two!" she called over her shoulder as she and Ty Lee ran towards the elevator and made their way to the prisoners in the basement. Suki rolled her eyes and looked around. "We're on the central floor," she mused aloud before she turned to Sokka. "What do you think we should do to get these soldiers distracted?"

Sokka thought about it for a moment before a loud rumble could be heard from outside. They quickly walked over to the front and were amazed at the sight below them. "Woah," Sokka breathed as he watched as four old men, including Piandao, stood on a raised platform as their hundreds of students cheered loudly. "What are they doing?"

Piandao looked to each of his friends. "Are you ready for this?" he asked them with a grin.

Pakku nodded with a smile on his face. "Certainly. It's been a long time since I've had fun like this."

"You know I am!" Bumi cackled with a twitch of his eye as he looked ahead at soldiers massing at the front of the tower.

Jeong Jeong smiled a little. "This will be a battle for the ages. We are ready," he told Piandao, making him smile as he returned his attention to the soldiers ahead of them before he called out to them.

"Soldiers! We need not fight!" he yelled loud enough for them to hear. "Stand down now and no one will have to suffer."

The leader of the soldiers snorted. "Over our dead bodies!" he yelled back and took out his sword, prompting the others to follow.

Piandao sighed and shook his head at him. "As you wish!" he yelled in return before taking his sword out and pointing it at them. "Leave none alive!" he roared over the cheers of the students who surged forward. The soldiers and students clashed, amplifying the sounds of war throughout the city as it came to life.

Sokka shook his head in disbelief as he witnessed the spectacle that was going on below them. "Wow. When Aang asked for an army, I didn't think Piandao would actually bring an army," he said in amazement.

"Yeah," Suki agreed with a laugh before she turned back to him. "We need to focus. Most of the soldiers are distracted, but there's still going to be a few who stay behind. What should we do?"

He thought about it for a few moments before an idea popped into his mind. "If we can get the rest of them into a room together, we can take them all out at once."

Suki thought about it for a moment and nodded slowly. "Okay, that might work, but how are we going to do that?"

Sokka took out his copy of the blueprints and looked until he found the commander's office. "If we make our way here, we can get the commander to force everyone into a room and deal with it there," he thought aloud.

"That just might work," Suki smiled before turning around. "Follow me!" she yelled over her shoulder as he struggled to catch up with her. After a few minutes, they finally reached the commander's office and were surprised to find no one inside. Curious, Suki opened the door and walked in, stopping in surprise as the commander held a gun to her head.

"Where do you think you're going?" he taunted, having no idea that Sokka was sneaking up behind him.

She smirked and looked over at him. "Just waiting," she replied simply. He looked confused but was not given the chance to question her further as Sokka ripped the gun out of his hand and held his blade to the commander's throat. She turned around quickly and smirked again. "Now you're going to help us…"

Toph and Ty Lee finally reached the bottom after what had felt like forever. Toph never knew an elevator ride could feel like an eternity until that day. The doors quickly opened as they ran out and looked around. Fortunately for them, most of the guards had been dispatched to help outside with the ensuing battle that was raging outside. "Come on! We've got to get these people out of here!" Ty Lee yelled to Toph as she took the lead and ran to the end of the hallway where a few soldiers stood guard. Motioning to Toph, they split up and jumped up on the railings just below the ceilings and crept their way over to the guards who were talking.

"Did you hear about Billy?" one of them asked as they yawned.

Another nodded slowly. "Yeah… I heard the boss had him gutted for not protecting the Warden."

"That's what I heard too," the third agreed as he took a sip of his coffee. "It's a shame. He was a cool guy." Before anything else could be said, Toph and Ty Lee dropped on the other guards, taking him by surprise as he dropped his mug of coffee, watching it shatter on the floor before he quickly looked back up at the attackers. "You two stay away from me!" he yelled while taking out his sword. Ty Lee and Toph looked at each other and nodded before both charged him and dodged his swing before Ty Lee stabbed him in the back and Toph stabbed him in his heart. He fell dead at their feet as they moved on to the cages where the prisoners were being kept.

"Don't worry," Ty Lee spoke calmly as she cut open one of the locks and opened the door for them. "We're here to get you guys out of this place."

"Thank you!" one of them said gratefully as they gathered around the two.

Toph walked over and pressed a few buttons on the control panel, opening a path that led out of there. "Come on, people! We don't have all day!" she ordered as the prisoners ran out quickly with them not far behind. I wonder how Fan Girl and Meathead are doing? She thought as they led the way out.

"Attention all soldiers! There has been a break-in in the East Sector of the building! Please report to the lunch room for further instructions!" a voice called over the intercom. The soldiers quickly gathered their gear and hustled their way over to the lunchroom while they patiently waited for the commander to show up.

"I wonder who broke in this time?" one of the soldiers asked another as he looked around for the commander.

"It's probably one of the students fighting outside," the other soldier simply shrugged. "Shouldn't be anything we can't handle."

The lights went out on them as they felt the fear hit them. "What's going on?!" one yelled in surprise as they attempted to find a light switch. After a few moments, no one said anything. "Hello? Is anyone still here?" he asked as the silence continued. "Shit," he muttered and took out his sword to reveal Sokka in front of him with his hood low on his face. "Stay away from me!" he shouted and pointed his sword at him.

"Okay," Sokka replied simply. The soldier became confused before he felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to see a blade sticking out of his chest. He fell down to the ground slowly as Suki retracted her blade and turned the lights back on, looking at the fallen soldiers in disgust.

"That wasn't very nice of you to give him false hope, Sokka," Suki chided as she wiped the blood off her blade and looked at him.

He just shrugged. "What can I say? He knew he was going to die one way or another. Might as well give him a little hope before he dies."

Suki shrugged as well and returned her attention to the dead soldiers. "Well, now that that's done, what do you think we should do now?" she wondered.

"We can either go help Aang fight an insane tyrant or go join the legions of students who are fighting a thousand soldiers." They both looked at each other and nodded. "Thousand soldiers it is," Sokka said as they walked back to the elevator and made their way down. As they neared the door, they were surprised to see that the four Masters had already made good progress on the enemy. "Shall we?" he asked as he grinned at Suki.

Suki grinned right back. "Let's," she agreed before tugging their hoods lower on their faces and joining the fight.

"Why are these vents so filthy," Mai complained as they crawled through and attempted to find their way towards Ozai's office. They had some trouble navigating through the vents and were running behind. Zuko just hoped that their delay wouldn't do anything to hurt Aang or Katara.

"Because no one ever cleans vents," Zuko chuckled as he checked the blue prints again. A loud shriek could be heard from underneath them as they looked through the bent opening and saw Ty Lee being held by a scientist with a gun to her head. He let out a long sigh and kicked open the vent before dropping down on the scientist and taking his life, saving Ty Lee from an early death.

"Thanks Hotman," she sighed in relief as she looked around. "Wait, where's Bandit?" Looking around quickly, she called out, "Bandit?!" There was no response for a few moments before Toph came running into the room with ten soldiers hot on her tail.

"A little help here, please!" she yelled before she turned around and took out her blade. Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee stood next to her with their blades out as the soldiers finally stopped running.

"Stand down, now!" a soldier with a gun threatened.

Toph snorted with a smirk. "Fat chance." The soldier opened fire while the rest surged forward, but Toph just dodged the bullets and took his life before turning back to the fight while the rest of them joined in. Toph kicked one over to Zuko who slit his throat and shot some fire at another who was disoriented enough for Ty Lee to stab him in the back and move onto the next target. Mai stabbed one and threw a shuriken right between the eyes of another who was fighting Toph. "Hey! You can't steal my kills!" she complained before stabbing another in the head.

Mai rolled her eyes. "This isn't a video game, Toph!" she drawled sarcastically. "Deal with it!" she yelled as they all surrounded the last guard and backed him into a corner. The soldier looked around for anything to help him and remembered the flashbangs in his pocket. Quickly taking it out, he threw it on the ground and disoriented everyone but Toph who was used to loud noises and being blinded. Without another word, Toph sensed his movements and took his life before waiting for her friends to recover.

"Dick," Zuko muttered as he rubbed his eyes. He would have said more, but he quickly remembered where he was supposed to be. "We've got to go! Good luck you two!" he yelled over his shoulder as he made his way to his father's office. As he arrived, he was surprised to see his father there simply doing paperwork.

"Are you ready for this?" Mai asked seriously as she looked at him.

He nodded quickly. "Yeah, I am." He gave her a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied with a small smile before they returned their attention to the door. The door was made of pure metal and could only be opened by a code. Luckily for them, Teo had prepared them for such a situation and gave them what they needed to get the job done. Taking four squares out of his pocket, he put them into a rectangle and pressed a button on the top left one, cutting a hole through the door before he kicked it open and stared at the man who had to die. "Hello father…"

Aang sighed in annoyance. The blueprints were not helping them find the way to Ozai's office. There had been so many wrong turns, Aang wasn't even sure if they were going in the right direction anymore. "How are you doing back there, Kat?" he asked while he looked over the blueprints.

"Oh you know, just getting acquainted with your butt," she joked, making him laugh a little.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly as he put the blueprints away and started moving again. "I don't know why, but for some reason it's hard to find Ozai's office."

Katara laughed a little as he spoke. "It's probably because they don't make paths for vents. They only worry about the normal way of getting to the office."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Aang agreed with a sigh. "But still, it's kind of annoying. We could have killed Ozai by now."

"It's fine, Sweetie," she assured him with an awkward pat on his butt, making him laugh as they continued crawling. After a few minutes, they finally found what they were looking for.

"Yes!" Aang whisper cheered before he heard a voice speak.

"Hello father."

He gasped and turned around to look at Katara. "Zuko!" he whispered. She nodded and they crawled to get a better look at what was going on.

"Ah. Prince Zuko. It's nice to see you again," Ozai chuckled darkly.

"No it's not," Zuko retorted. "You probably wish I was dead."

Ozai nodded in agreement. "Yes, I do. You have caused too much trouble for me, my son. What happened to the son who was so well-behaved?"

"That son was only like that because it was his only chance of survival," Zuko growled back before taking a deep breath. The Warden's words came to mind. One of the things I've learned after twenty years in the mercenary business is that those who let things become personal usually die. He couldn't let this be personal. Not if he wanted to make it out of there. Zuko was never one to reign in how he was feeling, at least when it came to his anger, but today would have to be an exception. "That son is gone. I'm all that's left," he finally finished.

"Oh really now?" Ozai asked calmly. "It's not too late, Zuko. You can come back and work for me. I'll give you the freedom you want and we can be a real family."

Zuko was silent for a moment, staring in disbelief at his father's words. "Do you think me so naive that I would actually believe you?" he asked incredulously as Ozai didn't answer. "Then you don't know me at all," he finally said and took out his blade with Mai doing the same. Before their conversation could go any further, a vent got kicked in and landed roughly on Ozai's desk who looked up in surprise to see Aang and Katara land on the ground with a hand on the ground and their blades out.

"Hope we're not too late," Aang grinned at Zuko who grinned back.

"Not at all," he promised before returning his attention to his father. "How would you like to do this, father? We can make it as quick and painless for you as possible, or it can be long and drawn out."

Ozai let out an evil laugh, one that sent chills down their spines. "I always knew you were brave, Zuko, but I didn't take you for a fool. Did you really think I wouldn't have some last line of defense?" he asked curiously. Before anyone could respond, he pressed a button and five soldiers stood at the ready. Each had two different elements held in their hands, making Aang a little nervous. "Yes," he continued with an evil smirk as he savored the fear on their faces. "I unfortunately was not able to make more, but I have these five to get the job done for me, so I'll just sit back and enjoy the show," he said while laying back in his chair.

"It's not too late Ozai," Aang warned him without taking his eyes off the soldiers. "You can stop this now. If you just surrender yourself, then no one else will get hurt."

Ozai just chuckled as he grinned at Aang. "Ever the Stormborn. Trying to play peacemaker, but you weren't made for peace. No, your kind was made for war."

"What are you talking about?" Aang gritted his teeth. "My people were the second most peaceful group in the world, right behind the Air Nomads."

"That may be," Ozai conceded with a malicious look at him. "But there's a reason why you are so powerful. Have you ever wondered why you're so inclined to fight? Why your people were targeted from the beginning to use for the other nations selfish purposes?" he asked seriously. Aang didn't answer, he just stared him down from underneath his hood. "Your people were made to be peacekeepers, but in so doing, they were also made for war. You cannot have peace without war."

Aang shook his head in disbelief at him. "You truly believe that war creates peace? War is chaos, the opposite of peace."

"But to create peace, a war must be won," Ozai pointed out. "Wars are inevitable in the fate of humanity. We simply cannot help ourselves from quarreling with our neighboring countries. It's not a matter of whether war truly creates peace or not, but rather what is done to stop the wars and create peace. And that's what your people were responsible for." He paused and smirked at Aang. "But they were wiped out, erased. Or so we thought until we found you and your family."

Aang growled and took a deep breath. Keep it together, Aang. Finally looking up, he pointed his blade at Ozai. "Enough of this. Surrender now and I'll make sure your end comes swiftly."

Ozai just smiled in response. "Did I get under your skin?" he taunted.

"No, but you did manage to make me more determined to take you down," Aang replied slowly, still trying to not let his anger get the best of him. After a few deep breaths, he managed to settle down enough to speak again. "It doesn't matter what my people were made to do. What matters is what I choose to do. And I choose to do is take you down."

Ozai fake sighed and put a hand on his face in boredom. "If you really want it to be that way."

Zuko looked to Aang quickly. "You and Ocean work on the soldiers. Mai and I will take care of my father." Aang nodded in agreement as they all go into a battle stance.

Ozai finally grinned as he kicked up his feet on the desk. "Soldiers, here are your orders! Leave none alive!" he finished with an evil smirk as the soldiers surged forward.