WARNING: THERE IS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. THERE IS MENTION OF DEATH AND SUICIDE.


Again, the entire room was silent. Sokka was holding his breath. Suki had tightly shut her eyes and was squeezing Sokka's hands. Uncle Iroh stared ahead with a blank expression, and Katara had her eyes glued on Aang. They had waited endlessly for this moment, yet no one was ready to hear the verdict.

Aang sat in his chair with the same expressionless face. His heart was pounding in his chest. If Azula had to have her bending taken away, he was the only one that could do it. It was his burden to bear, and he wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

Her words pounded in his head as he watched the jury return to their seats. "You think you're so good, but you're not. You're a monster, just like me."

Was he a monster?

When Aang had learned about the option to take Ozai's bending away, he thought it was a fix-all, a solution to end all questions. Ozai was dangerous and unpredictable. He had to be stopped. So, Aang took away his bending. His power was gone, his country had a new leader, and the world was free to move on.

"Without my bending, I am nothing. Just like my father. You stripped him of everything that he was. You stole his identity and left him to suffer as an empty shell of a person. Do you honestly believe that that is more merciful than death?" Azula's voice screamed in his head.

At that moment, Aang felt truly insane. Azula hadn't made eye contact with him once the entire day, yet she was somehow inside his head. Did she have that effect over everyone? Was this a new ability that he had never heard of.

Aang could feel his anxiety begin to creep over him. It felt exactly like he did that day. Then, he was confused about who he was. He knew that he couldn't take her bending away feeling like that, or else he might chance losing himself and his Avatar powers. Now, he felt like a coward. He felt like a monster. Even though he did not take Ozai's life, his suicide was on Aang's hands.

He didn't want to feel like that ever again.

He didn't want to be a monster.

He didn't want to be a failure.

Then, there was the chance that the jury may punish her to death. He wasn't sure of the exact terms of that sentence, but he could only pray that he wouldn't be the one doing the killing. Still, her death would be on his hands.

Her voice came to him again. "You're about to take all that I am away from me… I'd rather you just kill me."

Oh, how he wished there was another solution to all of this. He had gotten lucky all those years ago, and it looked like he had used all of that luck. There didn't seem to be another solution.

After the jury sat down, the final session began. This was it.

Aang stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began in a strong and steady voice, but it was an act. He was feeling anything but strong and steady. "Thank you for being here today, and that you for your patience and manners. It seems that the jury has decided the fate of Azula. Will the spokesperson please present me with the verdict?"

A short and plump Earth Kingdom man stood from the chair closest to Aang. He walked to Aang and bowed before him. "Avatar," he said as he handed Aang a scroll.

Aang quickly unrolled it and read the message before him. Then, he rolled it back up and handed it back to the Earth Kingdom man. The man quickly returned to his seat.

Aang looked at Katara and could see her curious, blue eyes staring back at him. To anyone that knew him, Aang looked paler and older. Like the sentence he had just read was meant for him.

Katara's stomach sank. This can't be good, she thought to herself.

Once again, Aang's voice filled the room. It was as expressionless as his face. "Spokesperson, please read the verdict."

The spokesperson stood from his seat. With shaking hands, he unrolled the scroll. In an uneasy voice, he read, "As a jury composed of the Four Nations find Azula of the Fire Nation to be guilty of all the crimes against her. The overwhelming evidence has led us to make the decision of her fate as one of death in the manner of hanging."

The man sat back down.

The room stayed silent.

There were no gasps of shock.

There were no protests, not even from Azula herself. Instead, she looked at Aang from her seat and gave him her signature smirk though a metal mouthpiece, completely void of insanity.

Aang was taken aback by this. For a single second, he saw the old Azula. The Azula that chased the group out of the Western Air Temple and almost fell to her death. The same Azula that evaded them in Tu Zin. The exact Azula that had calculated and schemed a take over of the Earth King's palace. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Then, the smirk was gone. Aang almost thought he imagined it, but then he realized that he was the only gasp in the entire room.

Every pair of eyes were on him.

Quickly recovering, Aang coughed and stood. "Arrangements will be posted outside of the palace soon. You are dismissed."

Azula was led away by guards, and Aang hurried over to his friends. He felt lightheaded and was unsure if it came from the verdict or his sudden shock. Katara immediately embraced him, and he felt a rush of calmness wash over his body.

But it wasn't enough.

"Aang," Katara whispered into his shoulder.

"It's okay," he whispered back.

When they parted, he quickly looked over the rest of the group. Uncle Iroh was still seated in his spot. As much as he wanted to see justice for Azula's crimes, it still hurt that his niece was going to die. If he had been killed for his heinous actions, he would have never redeemed himself.

Suki and Sokka were watching Aang closely. This wasn't easy for them, and they knew it was even harder for Aang. Sokka was the first to speak. "I guess we should go share the news with the others."

"Yeah," Aang said in a raspy voice.

In complete silence, the group walked back to the palace.


"Aang, I would never make you personally carry out this verdict," Zuko said to assure the Avatar.

The children had been put down for a nap, and the adults were sitting in the formal lounge. Somewhere in a meeting room, the other world leaders were soaking in the verdict as well.

"I know, Zuko," was all Aang could muster.

"Since she is a member of the Fire Nation, I will ensure that this is taken care of."

"Wow, Zuko," Sokka butted in. "Seems like you've out a lot of thought into this."

Zuko gave Sokka a death glare. "Yeah, well that kind of happens when you might have to kill your sister."

Sokka immediately turned red as he realized his comment was rude and not funny. This wasn't the time for a funny man. "I'll stay quiet."

"Good," Suki, Katara, and Zuko said in unison.

"I should get back to the others. I'll see you all at dinner tonight," Zuko said before quickly departing.

"Wow," Toph finally spoke. She had remained quiet during the conversation that revealed Azula's fate. "I can't believe it."

Everyone agreed. It all seemed so unreal.


Dinner that night was somewhat festive despite the horrific news. Zuko had hired a band and requested that all the attendees come dressed in semi formal attire. For Aang, this meant his ceremonial robes. The rest wore their nicest Fire Nation outfits as it was incredible hot in that part of the world.

The band was playing an upbeat tune, and the other attendees were lively chatting. Aang wasn't in the mood for talking, but he headed over to the main table begrudgingly.

The rest of the group headed over to their usually table and settled in. Like Aang, they were not in the mood to socialize. Instead, they played a memory game with the Tenzin and Ursa to pass time. By the time the dinner started, their moods had significantly improved.

To signal the start of the dinner. Zuko stood to welcome everyone. His speech was informal but still embodied the Firelord in him. He was a natural at public speaking. He always had been. He kept it short and sweet and allowed for the waiters to being bringing out the first course.

Dinner passed by quickly and before Katara knew it, Aang was carrying Tenzin and walking her back to their room. Once there, he gave them both a quick kiss and excused himself. He had to attend a late meeting to discuss Azula's hanging.

"It's not enough that they made you oversee the entire trial while they sat around eating hor dourves and the fact that you are anti violence, but now they are making you plan her death?" Katara huffed in anger. This was a horrible thing to do to such a kind man.

"It's okay, Katara. I'm the Avatar. I have to be there. Besides, I'm not going get involved or express my opinion. I am simply there to observe." This wasn't enough to please his girlfriend, but would anything be good enough? Aang chuckled to himself at the thought of Katara being the only other person as upset as he was, but her reason was because he would be the one to hold on to it forever.

Finally, he was able to convince Katara to let him leave the room but not without a few promises once he comes back.

Aang quickly ran to the room where the meeting was being held. He was the last one to arrive. Zuko gave him a guilty smirk and announced, "Now that the Avatar has arrived, let us begin."


A PUBLIC HANGING?!

Aang was outraged, so outraged that he stormed out of the room, grabbed his glider, and took off into the night.

How could anyone think it was okay to have a public hanging of a former Fire Nation princess in the middle of an area. Areas are meant for bending, not killing. Death was not supposed to be a spectacle.

The cold night air did nothing to put Aang at ease. His mind kept going over every little detail. They were all so horrible that he couldn't focus on just one.

Zuko took full responsibility. He was the Firelord, and they were in the Fire Nation. He would take care of the preparations and would give a guard the orders to execute his sister.

How noble of him, Aang thought sarcastically to himself. But not, that discussion was probably the only one that didn't make him see red.

He didn't know who mentioned a public execution, but he did know that it passed unanimously… although he and Zuko did not vote. Aang tried to object, but the others were not listening to his "world peace bullshit," as the new King of Omashu put it… Aang's opinion on that guy was quickly falling.

Then, they decided on when the execution would take place. The next day, a sign would be places outside of the palace with all the details on it. The day after that would be the execution day.

It all felt too soon for Aang, but the other leaders wanted to be there for it. They had spent enough time away from their people and were eager to return. They were ready to move on.

Aang sighed. There was nothing he could do. As an Avatar that had abandoned the world twice, he didn't hold a lot of authority to the world leaders and the White Lotus. They did not care about his opinion on this matter. There was nothing he could do.

Aang spent several more moments flying around the city before heading back to the palace. He landed on his and Katara's balcony and let himself in. Once inside, he could see Katara peacefully sleeping in the moonlight. For a brief second, everything felt okay.

Then, the storm that was Katara flashed into his mind. Breakfast tomorrow would not be pretty once she heard those terrible details. He smiled. There was once a time where Katara was set on revenge, then she realized the violence wasn't the answer. Ever since, she had been trying to find peaceful solutions to problems. Aang could see it in the way she raised Tenzin.

As he laid beside her, a more welcoming thought appeared in his mind. Katara, Tenzin, and him celebrating with their friends at the Southern Air Temple…