One. More. Chapter. It's hard to believe it's almost over...


Chapter 43: More Than Blood Can Stand


Stepping out of the Spirit Oasis and onto the ice was like waking from a dream.

Inside it had been tense during the standoff with Zhao, but it had been quiet, insulated from the raging battle outside. As soon as Zuko cleared the door, the noise of battle assaulted him.

The sound of officers shouting orders, of soldiers yelling a battle cry, of ice crashing to the ground, the sizzle and crackling of fire. The screams of the injured.

People ran to and fro, often in groups, but occasionally the lone individual crept or crawled or ran at top speed past them, away from some unknown danger.

He stared dumbly at the commotion, trying to decide what course of action to take first. No one had noticed them - yet. But there was no way to get past them without drawing a great deal of fire.

"Look, there's the Avatar!"

Lee pointed to the sky, where Appa hovered above the battle. Aang spotted them and gestured to the saddle. He sent a blast of air to clear the ground beneath him of firebenders and descended.

Zuko, Lee, Yuto, and Aki ran forward and leapt up onto the bison, but hot on their heels were the firebenders. Appa whipped his massive tail, creating a gust of wind that both propelled them into the sky and redirected the incoming fire.

Once they had stopped their mad ascent, Aang called over his shoulder, "You're looking better."

Zuko scowled; the middle of battle was no time for pleasantries.

"I heard Ozai and Iroh were both here."

"Yeah." He pointed to a circle on the ice, a distance in front of them, where the fire seemed to be more intense. "There."

Zuko could just make out his father and uncle circling each other, massive bursts of fire coming from their hands, feet, and even occasionally their mouths. There was more fighting going on in the group surrounding them, though no one intruded on the fight in the center.

No one, that is, except Azula. Her blue fire interrupted their battle at random intervals, a sharp contrast to their more traditional fire. Father and Uncle brushed it off as though she were a pesky firefly, never pausing in their duel.

"I can land over there," Aang said, pointing to a space near the fight - but not so near that it would endanger Appa.

He nodded. "Let's end this."

Zuko and his guards hovered at the edge of the saddle, ready to engage the enemy as soon as their feet hit the ice. But a few yards above the ground, Appa paused. Aang stood in the saddle, his hand over his eyes blocking the glare from the comet, and peering into the distance.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Firebenders - a lot of them. Headed this way, and more coming over the walls behind them." He swiveled his head to look at the rest of them, and to Zuko it looked like Aang had aged a decade in the last week. There was a seriousness in his expression that didn't belong on a twelve-year-old's face. "They're going to swarm over us. There's no way you can fight them all."

"We don't have a choice."

"Of course we do." Aang furrowed his brow. "You get off here. It's your destiny to face Ozai, not to fight your own people." As he turned to face the approaching horde, the arrow on his forehead began to glow, and his voice took on an unearthly timbre, as if hundreds of voices were speaking with him. "I will deal with this myself."

A shiver passed through him, and he thanked whatever forces had led him to be the Avatar's ally instead of his enemy. He and his guards leapt to the ground and made their way towards the firestorm.


Aang had never before gone into the Avatar State as a conscious act. In fact, it had been months since he'd been in the Avatar State at all. He remembered how it had overtaken him when he'd seen Gyatso's corpse at the Southern Air Temple, how the feelings of righteous anger, grief, and hopelessness had been amplified many times over and all he'd wanted to do was destroy.

And he remembered how at the temple in the Fire Nation on the Winter Solstice, Roku had taken control of him and burned a path of vengeance against those who had turned against him, utterly destroying the temple built in his honor.

Roku had taught him how to enter the Avatar State at will when he'd visited the temple the second time, and so he had known it was possible, but he'd always held back because of the warning he'd been given: only as a last resort. He'd considered using it on the first day of the battle, when the Fire Navy began shelling them. And then he'd almost died in that blast. What would have happened if he'd been in the Avatar State and been hit? No, it was better to save it for a truly dire need.

But seeing the way the hordes of firebenders were overwhelming the Northern Water Tribe since the comet arrived, how the walls had melted and the ice was receding… if not now, when?

And so, for the first time in his life, he put himself into the Avatar State.

It was a strange feeling, even more strange than the times he'd been in it before. Then, he'd been overcome by emotions too powerful to suppress.

This time, he had some semblance of control. While he felt the influence of his past lives, he retained a sense of self and an ability to pick and choose both his emotions and actions.

Which was simultaneously thrilling and sobering.

The power rushed through his veins, and he rose off Appa, floating in the air. He had chosen to use the Avatar State to end this war, and he would be sure it happened sooner, rather than later.

He pushed the air past him, flying at speeds he'd never before felt, watching the soldiers grow from tiny pinpricks in the distance to people whose individual faces and expressions he could make out.

There were shouts as he approached, some of fear and others of exaltation.

"Kill the Avatar!" one of them cried. Other soldiers repeated it, until it became a chant, almost a war cry.

He hovered in the air above them and spoke in the disembodied voice of thousands of Avatars.

"Turn back now, and your lives will be spared."

Okay, so maybe he wasn't in full control yet. That wasn't something he would ordinarily say. He certainly had no intention of killing any of them if he could help it.

His Avatar voice seemed to have the wrong effect. Some soldiers stopped their advance, and a few even ran away, but most of them repeated their battle cry.

Officers gave orders, and a wall of fire shot towards him, a wall so massive it towered above where he floated in the sky. It wasn't hard to imagine how an army of firebenders with this kind of power had destroyed his people.

He brought his arms in close to him and created a spherical shield around him made of fire and air. The wall of fire from the soldiers hit his shield and glanced off harmlessly.

The soldiers attacked again, and this time Aang flew above the reach of their fire. He spread out his arms and bent the water on the ground - plentiful as the ice continued to melt - and fashioned it like a massive, serpentine whip in his hands. He sent it crashing to the ground, knocking large swaths of soldiers off their feet.

He dove down towards them, blasting air at them, causing even more to lose their footing.

But those that remained attacked again, and this time he was in range. He again formed his protective shield, not stopping his descent.

He barrelled full-speed at them, even as they regrouped and prepared another attack. At this close distance, he could feel the heat from the fire begin to filter through his shield, but still he didn't stop.

At the last minute, the formation gave way as the soldiers dove for cover. Aang skidded to a halt, landing on the ice and putting his hand to the ground.

"You can't win this fight. Give up now."

He had hoped that most of them would stay where they were, crouching and cowering, and make this easy for him. But the Fire Nation hadn't conquered most of the world with an army full of cowards. Slowly at first, a handful of soldiers began to advance towards him. Then, like a snowball rolling down a hill, more and more soldiers joined them, until nearly the entire company was running at him, yelling and shooting their comet-enhanced fire at him.

With a resigned sigh, Aang melted the ice beneath their feet. They fell into the ocean with loud gasps at the shock of the frigid water.

He wouldn't let them drown, of course, but if he let them get cold enough, they wouldn't be able to firebend.

There were continued gaspings and splashings, and he had to use waterbending to keep many of the heads above water. But it worked; none of them could manage more than weak puffs of fire, which they were using to warm themselves rather than to attack him.

He glanced past them, satisfied in his plan, only to have his stomach drop when he saw another massive force as large as the one he'd just destroyed, ready to take their place, and another climbing onto the ice behind them.

Through the haze of voices in his head giving him knowledge and advice, a memory rose to the top - and this time it was his own memory. It was Mai's voice, something she'd said to him the morning they'd left the North Pole months ago.

Don't destroy one nation for the good of the rest of the world.

How many firebenders would he have to destroy? Would he have to become what he hated in order to win this war?

No. He wouldn't allow that.

He pursed his lips, faced his new opponents, and hoped against all hope that he could keep that promise.


"Wow… I didn't expect the sky to be so red."

"It's frightening."

"It's like nothing I've ever seen, that's for sure," Toph said, ignoring the way the other earthbenders grew uncomfortable with her joke, incongruous to such a serious moment.

Forget them. She was on a boat - a wooden boat on the water, so even her earthen shoes couldn't help her see - headed toward hundreds of Fire Navy ships during Sozin's Comet. If she couldn't make light of the situation, she would never have the courage to do this.

Their boats were moving swiftly through the water, thanks to the one waterbender aboard each ship. Or at least Toph assumed they were moving quickly; the wind felt strong on her face and the swells of the waves seemed to come one on top of the other. But she was truly blind. She had no idea how close they were to the Fire Navy ships.

They didn't have to be right next to them. Just in striking distance.

A sudden splash to her right sent the ship careening and listing to the side. They were drenched with a huge wave of water, which set her to spluttering and coughing. If the ship capsized... No. She couldn't think about that.

Another explosion rocked the boat, and she slipped from her seat. With great effort, she clawed her way back up and gripped the side of the boat until she thought the wood might crack under her knuckles. The floor of the boat was slippery now, and there was enough water inside it to lap at her toes. Her heart thudded so hard that someone without seismic sense could surely feel it.

Make a joke. Act like it's nothing, she told herself. But nothing remotely funny or sarcastic came to mind. She gulped and tried to keep her breakfast where it belonged. Her knees were shaking slightly, making it harder for her to anchor herself to the wet floor.

Then, from what sounded like far away but was probably only a few boat's lengths away, came Bumi's crazy cackle.

"And a mountain divides them apart!" he crooned. He cackled again as Toph's boat came to a stop.

"We're going down," the waterbender said, and the next thing she knew the boat began to drop. She bit back a scream. Her stomach now seemed to be located somewhere in the vicinity of her throat. She debated taking one hand off the railing to clutch her stomach, but quickly decided being sick would beat drowning. At least inside the boat, the waterbender was keeping the ocean at bay.

The descent seemed to take an eternity, but finally the bottom of the boat hit something solid and came to a scraping halt. And then, like magic, her sight returned.

Oh sweet, sweet earth. She nearly sobbed in relief.

But she was here to do a job, and there was no time to waste.

The earthbenders climbed out of the boat and onto the sea floor. Her shoes sank slightly into the wet ground, but not so much that she was afraid of getting stuck.

"That's our target," Ming, the senior earthbender in her boat, said, pointing above him to what she could only imagine was the ship they'd been aiming for. "Follow me."

She trudged along with the rest of the group until the leader stopped.

"On three," he said. "One…. two…. Three!"

In unison, spikes of earth shot up hundreds of feet, creating huge earthen pillars rising high above the sea floor. She felt the jolt when they made contact with the ship's hull, felt the metal give way to the earth and begin to fill up with water. And then, before the ships could begin to sink, they rose higher still, until they hovered dozens of feet above the water level.

"Good job," Ming said. "Let's move on to the next one."

As they again plodded across the sea floor, Toph felt another group of earthbenders creating a wall of earth separating the still floating ships from the mainland, and a grin broke out on her face. Their mission had been a success. Any Fire Nation soldiers who weren't already on land (or ice, she reminded herself) were stranded.

They had done their job. Now it was up to Twinkle Toes and His Royal Angstfest to do theirs.


As soon as Zuko's feet hit the ice, he began running for cover. There were a few buildings still standing at the edge of the clearing, but he headed for the rubble from one that had been partially demolished. He skidded to a halt behind a large block of ice and waited for Aki, Yuto, and Lee to catch up with him.

"So what's the plan?" Yuto asked.

"Lee, can you get a good shot from here?"

He lifted his eyes just above the ice and put an arrow to his bow. "Ozai or Azula?"

"Either," Zuko said grimly.

"Yes, I've got a clear shot on Ozai."

A part of him rebelled at the thought of killing his father in this way, by a hidden Yuyan archer. But the practical side of him knew that the quickest way to end the battle with the least overall loss of life would be to eliminate his father.

"Take it."

Lee pulled the bowstring back and took aim. A moment later, the string twanged and the arrow shot towards its mark.

The next moment, a giant flame shot towards their hiding spot, and they all dove for cover.

The fire whooshed in, shooting out all three sides of the block of ice, hot enough to singe the edge of Zuko's robe even at that distance. He felt drops of water fall onto his head and looked up to see that the block of ice had melted considerably from what it had been a moment ago.

Lee peered over the edge of the ice again and let out a curse. "He's still alive. The comet-enhanced fire must be strong enough to destroy the arrow."

"And now they know we're here." Zuko could have kicked himself. They'd given away their hiding spot, and he'd not even had time to think of another plan.

"Eh, so the easy way won't work," Yuto said with a shrug. "A direct assault is always more satisfying."

"More satisfying for you," Lee grumbled. "I'm a sitting turtleduck if they can incinerate my weapons.

"Then you stay back under cover," Zuko said. "Do what you can from here while we draw the fire." He gave a wry smile. "They can only burn up your arrows if they see them coming."

Lee nodded.

"Aki and Yuto," he continued, "you focus on capturing Azula."

"And leave you unprotected?" Aki hissed.

"The Fire Lord and I are more than a match for Ozai," he said grimly.

She didn't look happy at this, but she shut her mouth tightly and nodded.

"All right, let's go."

The three of them burst out from behind the block of ice with a powerful display of firebending. They worked their way across the clearing, fighting their way through the fight until they came to the inner circle where the real battle was taking place.

"Zuko!" Uncle faltered when he saw him, only barely managing to stop the double streams of fire from Father and Azula before they incinerated him.

He didn't reply. The last thing he'd wanted was for his presence to cause Uncle more problems. And he knew that he would lose his focus, too, if he allowed himself to think about it.

Uncle, alive. Not just alive, but here, next to him. Fighting beside him.

No. He shook his head and refocused on the battle.

He ran at his father, punching and kicking fire with a power that almost frightened him. The effects of the comet surged through his veins, intensifying both the strength of his bending, but also his emotions.

"I won't let you win," he heard himself growl.

For a moment it looked like his all-out assault would overwhelm Father. He took a faltering step back and though he blocked shot after shot, there were several that nearly got through.

But then he had to block a blast from Azula, and Father had time to recover himself.

It was pandemonium. Uncle, Zuko, Aki, and Yuto versus Father and Azula. Fire flew in every direction, barely under the control of its wielder. Though they were fighting in the North Pole on top of snow and ice, Zuko was dripping sweat.

He knew at this part of the city that the ice was too thick to melt. At least, that was what they'd said in the war meeting when they'd discussed this. But now he wasn't so sure. The ice was slick with water, and more than once he nearly slipped on it.

Uncle looked winded; there was no telling how long he'd been fighting both Azula and Father before he and his guards had shown up, and it had obviously begun to wear on him. But now that he had had help, the odds were more even.

Around and around they went, neither side gaining an advantage. Azula was more than a match for Aki and Yuto, and they were only saved by her insistence on inserting herself into the family feud every now and then.

But it was strange. Azula's fire lacked direction. Father had to dodge it just as often as he and Uncle did. It wasn't like her to be so imprecise.

If he hadn't been in a fight for his life, Zuko might have tried to figure out why.

Zuko stopped a particularly large fire blast from his father, and was just about to send one back, when there was a gasp from the crowd and a scream from Azula.

He chanced a glance to his left, where she had been fighting, and saw that her armor was pinned to the ice by an arrow. Even as he watched, another arrow joined the first, pinning her other arm.

Aki and Yuto rushed in, further wrestling her to the ground and subduing her. She let out another screech of anger and began to writhe like a madwoman.

The next thing he knew, Uncle had slammed him to the ground and a whoosh of fire raced past where he'd just been.

"Uncle," he said feebly, wishing there was time to say more. He wanted to hug him, he wanted to sit down and have a tea ceremony with him. He wanted to yell all his frustrations and heartbreak from the last nine months until his voice was gone.

"Capture them!" Father yelled. "And the archer, too."

The battle around them fragmented as his father's firebenders rushed to do his bidding.

Zuko scrambled to his feet, and would have helped Uncle up, too, if it hadn't been for the dozen firebenders he suddenly had to fight off.

They weren't elite troops, but it was never easy to fight off that many enemies at once. Close combat during the comet also complicated matters. There was no room for error.

He dropped into a spinning kick that knocked several of them down and drove the others back, and then he repeated the move, pushing his fire even further to give him the room he needed to fight.

With a jump propelled by his firebending, he regained his feet and let loose a double-handed stream of fire while spinning in a circle. That took care of the rest, who either fell to the ground or retreated to find another fight.

Father's soft laugh brought him up short.

"Well done, my son," he said ironically. "Too bad your side has already lost the battle."

A quick glance around the circle showed that it was true. The battle had almost ended, with most of his soldiers captured or incapacitated, and - he felt an icy grip on his heart - Uncle bound by a group of soldiers at the edge of the circle.

Aki and Yuto still had Azula captured, but Father's soldiers were creeping ever closer to them.

No. He couldn't lose. Fighting the rage and despair that were creeping into his mind, he spun to face his father.

"I'm not your son," he snarled. "You gave me up."

"Perhaps I want you back," Father said, shrugging. "You are showing some promise."

"There's nothing you could do to make me want to come back. Uncle is my only father."

His father's eye narrowed. "Then perhaps that needs to change."

Lightning crackled at his feet, charging into something Zuko could feel even across the distance. Uncle struggled against his captors, but he was held fast.

Then it was up to him - to Zuko - to save Uncle's life.

He fought against the panic and the rage, remembering what Uncle had taught him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, feeling the power of the comet inside him, flowing through his chi paths.

Fire is life. Not just destruction.

He sank into a deep horse stance, something less like firebending and more like earthbending. He could hear Toph's voice in his head, trying to explain it to Aang.

The key is being completely rooted. Physically and mentally unmovable.

Then he stood up, spreading his hands out wide in front of him, and called up the dragon fire.

It burned brighter and more colorful than before, an iridescent rainbow of colors he'd never even seen. It gave off heat, but it was warmth and comfort instead of pain.

This fire he formed into a wall between Father and Uncle, easily absorbing the lightning. Then he closed his hands into fists and drew the fire into a ring, with Father in the center.

Father punched a massive fireball at it, only to watch it merge with the dragon fire. Then he spun in a circle, as if looking for an escape. When he didn't find one, he turned back to Zuko and laughed.

"What a pretty light show. All elegance with no ruthlessness; that's always been your weakness."

"I don't see you escaping," Zuko replied, his voice tight.

"I don't have to escape. You will let me out yourself."

"Why would I do that?"

Father smirked, then raised a hand.

"You have captured me. But I have your father." The way he said the word, as though it were a curse and a joke, made Zuko bristle. "Release me and I will release him."

"He won't accept that offer," Uncle said, as he glared defiantly back. "He knows how to make sacrifices for the greater good."

"Do you?" Father's eyes bored into his.

Zuko dug his heels into the ice and drew the fire ring a few inches closer. "I don't see how you're in a position to negotiate here. If you harm him, I will kill you."

"Ah, so you are willing to trade your father for the throne. But what about your mother?"

Zuko's heart dropped. No.

"Bring her out," he called to the soldiers behind him. "Let us see how the great Fire Lord responds to a true negotiation."

The crowd parted to reveal a bound and gagged prisoner.

"Mother," he said in a croaking half whisper, before whirling on his father and tightening the circle further, so that the flames licked at the edges of his armor. "What is the meaning of this?"

"It is a simple trade: your mother's life for the throne. You acknowledge me as the rightful Fire Lord, and I release her unharmed. Or you don't, and…" He tilted his head meaningfully.

Zuko knew he ought to say something, but he couldn't speak past the panic that had engulfed him. Father threatening Uncle's life was bad enough, but at least Uncle was a powerful bender. There was every reason to believe he could free himself. But Mother? He shuddered.

"Right and wrong is not a matter of negotiation, Ozai," Uncle said, his voice like steel. "Zuko knows what's most important."

"And what do you say to that?" Father looked straight at him, and he drew in a sharp breath. If he didn't know better, the look seemed tender, almost loving. "Zuko," he continued, and it felt like he was driving a knife straight through his heart. "You love your mother, I know you do. You can save her. We could be a family again, the way it was meant to be. The four of us, with you as my heir, still the Crown Prince." From his left, he could hear Azula let out a shriek. "Don't you want that, my son?"

And he did. He wanted that more than anything he'd ever wanted in his life. Memories flooded his mind, scenes he hadn't thought of for years, of when they'd been a happy family. Of the days before Lu Ten had died, before Uncle had been forced to adopt him, before Father and Azula had turned on him. He longed for them to be a family again. For Father to want him, for Mother to be happy again, for Azula to not hate him.

"Zuko," Uncle pleaded, "don't listen to him. The fate of the world is too important."

"You see how little he cares for your mother's life?"

It… wasn't true. It couldn't be.

Uncle frowned. "I am not the one threatening her."

His eyes darted between the two of them, his two fathers. Both of whom had hurt him. Both of whom he loved despite it.

Uncle was right; he knew that deep down. Father was trying to commit genocide. Father was the one keeping Mother bound and gagged. He was using her as a pawn to gain power, so he could destroy the Water Tribe and rule the world.

But could he sacrifice his mother for the sake of the world? He couldn't, and he didn't know how Uncle could expect him to make that decision.

Did that make him a bad Fire Lord? Shouldn't he be able to make hard decisions for the greater good?

His eyes finally landed on his mother's, pleading for permission. She couldn't say anything through the gag, couldn't tell him what to do, but she nodded her head slightly. Giving him permission to do what was best for the world.

Then she turned her head towards Azula, her eyes soft and loving and sad. Azula broke eye contact first, letting out a soft moan and struggling again against her restraints.

When Mother looked back at him, there were tears running down her cheeks.

It was more than he could stand.

His fists began to lower, and he opened his mouth to tell the soldiers to let her go, that Father had won.

A feral scream broke through his tunnel vision. Azula had thrown off Aki and Yuto and was running at him, winding up for a lightning attack. He immediately fell into the redirection stance Uncle had taught him.

"I won't let you get away with it," she hissed, tears streaming down her face and her hair flying behind her in stringy wisps. "I won't."

Her arm shifted a fraction, and she released the lightning.

Zuko felt the hair on his head stand up as it neared him, but her aim was off. It flew over his shoulder.

In the direction of his father.

He spun around, at the same time diving towards the lightning in order to direct it harmlessly away, but it was too late.

The look of horror on his father's face was illuminated by the lightning for a brief moment before the cracking, rumbling explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Father lay motionless on the ground.