Prologue

Avatar Aang, the last airbender is dead. Killed by the newly crowned Phoenix King Ozai when he failed to go into the Avatar state in the midst of their epic battle at Wulong Forest, he like his past lives will be reincarnated into the Water Tribe. Although the cycle has not been broken, the Fire Nation has sealed the cap on the 100 Year War with his death. The world mourns his passing greviously and remembers how it was his selfless sacrifice that stalled the Phoenix King long enough for Sozin's Comet to pass over.

Immediately following the duel, Ozai ordered battalions of reinforcement soldiers to overwhelm the members of the White Lotus at the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. Half their members died fighting off the fresh forces, many civilians were caught in the crossfire of the conflict. With no choice and the city lost, the survivors of Master Pakku, King Bumi, Master Jeong Jeong, and General Iroh have fled underground without a trace before they were apprehended.

The Avatar's friends are almost all deceased. Not long after Suki was separated from Sokka and Toph, the brave leader of the Kyoshi Warriors fell to her death but not before taking one more airship down with her. Sokka did not have enough strength to hold Toph and himself after his bone-breaking fall onto the airship platform, and they too fell to their deaths hand in hand.

Last that are left is Katara and Zuko.

The Final Inferno

"There you are, filthy peasant!"

Katara paused a few seconds staring at the face of Zuko's mentally unstable witch of a sister, Azula. The Fire Nation princess had been so busy going after her like a madwoman, she didn't even realize what was under her own feet. Katara swiftly bended the water from underneath the grates shooting out octopus-like tendrils towards Azula, luring her to dodge and land over the grate, right into the trap she had set.

"This might be a watery grave" Katara morbidly thought, bringing her thoughts to the badly wounded Zuko lying on the ground with steam rolling off his clothes while he gasped for breath. A death by water was no less than what Azula deserved for the harm and pain she had wreaked on so many others, but it is not Katara's place to be the executioner to dole out justice's punishment. As Azula was about to shoot another stream of blazing blue fire with a wicked smile Katara bought the rest of the water up, enclosing the two of them in it before freezing them together in a block of ice. Azula appeared flabbergasted, as if the possibility of her being stuck in an opponent's trap was something that had never crossed her mind, her current mental state definitely dulled her usually sharp senses.

Releasing bubbles from her nose to loosen the insides of the ice, she came towards the princess with the chain links she had grabbed from the pillar just before. Azula' eyes frantically watched her as she looped part of the chain around her wrist then going behind her and tying both her arms together and wrapping the chain at the bottom of the grate before finally releasing them from the water. Katara let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion, but Zuko needed her so she tightened Azula's bonds to the grate then ran hurriedly to the middle of the courtyard where he lay.

The prince she had once despised, but now considered a close friend was near death. Azula's lightning strike was much more powerful than it looked and it had hit him dead in the heart, if it hadn't been for him she would be the one on the tiles. Katara took a deep breath, she acknowledged that in order to save him, it was going to take an enormous effort and she had to harness the rest of her strength. There was no magical North Pole oasis water to help her this time. She was a great healer, but even she needed more practice and conceded the limits of her capabilities.

Gently flipping Zuko onto his back she uncorked her water pouch and started healing his wound as he watched her with fading eyes.

"K-katara…"

"Stay with me Zuko," she said through clenched teeth feeling his heartbeat growing fainter, a bad sign that signaled he could be knocking on death's door soon. This was much worse than she thought. "come on!"

She would not let him die, she was going to make sure he lived. She would make sure he would live so that he would be Fire Lord, to continue having tea with his sweet uncle, to finally make peace with the other nations, to find his mother, and he was a part of their Team Avatar family. She would ensure he lived, even if she had to call on La the moon spirit for mercy. Across from the courtyard Azula watched them, laughing maniacally.

"Poor Zu-Zu! The water peasant is not much of a healer after all. It's a shame we wiped out the rest of the Southern waterbenders really, I'm sure they could have taught you a thing or two."

Katara's vision swam red with anger but refused to give into her taunting. If she lost concentration now, Zuko would be lost, something that Katara would never forgive herself for. She doubled her concentration and fully exerted the healing powers of the glowing water surrounding her hands. Zuko lay still but his heartbeat was beating, too slow. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead and dropped onto his neck as she desperately hoped this worked.

Zuko felt physically and mentally drained, like he had just run until he collapsed and got smushed by a boulder. If he got out of this alive and Aang had succeeded, his first official act as Fire Lord was to have his sibling thrown into a nuthouse. He let out a small, ragged breath as Katara healed him. The red-tinged wound gradually began to disappear into fair skin, Zuko's breathing evened and his heartbeat became regular, opening his eyes wider he saw Katara was sweating and pale, her entire being completely focused on the task at hand.

There, that ought to do it she grinned, relaxing and for the first time in three days felt a sense of calm.

"Thank you Katara." Zuko smiles up gratefully at the water tribe girl, who returns with a smile of her own. Suddenly, Katara's entire body goes slack, and she gives out falling limply on her side next to him. Her last thoughts were that Zuko would live on.

"No! Katara!"

He weakly stretched his arm towards her, and placed his fingers on her pulse. She would live, thank Agni she would live. She must have overexerted herself trying to fight off Azula and save him from the brink of death. Zuko's eye site was becoming blurry. He tried to move to stand up and call on Appa, but like Katara he was alive but his body had given out on him. Until one of them regained enough strength they would be lying here in the middle of the grand courtyard at the Fire Nation palace with his crazy sister chained close by, unless Aang's mission was successful, Katara and him were not safe here. The palace remained silent but he had lived in its walls long enough to expect a squadron of guards to pop out at any second.

"Oh Zu-Zu!"

Zuko could barely make out Azula chained not too far from him, she was smirking and her hacked bangs were in disarray. She tormented him in a shrill voice-

"If you don't run now, father will find you."

His breathing hitched. Last time he saw his father, he lit him up and smashed him into a wall with a redirected bolt of lightning after declaring his allegiance to Aang's cause. He had auspicious luck in that situation when he fled the scene before the Fire Lord could get his hands on him. He had put his neck on the line, no such luck occurs twice.

"And when he does you will all BURN!" she screeched. She laughed, laughed so much Zuko was amazed she had not started choking for air. He sucked in a deep breath and aimed his right arm towards her, shooting out one last stream of fire. She had always known what to say, how to push his buttons. He did not know what happened to Azula in those next few seconds it took for the fire to reach her. Zuko's vision darkened and he lost consciousness, the last thing he saw before darkness overtook him was the bleeding red sky above.

—-—

Katara shifted into a more comfortable position. She was used to having this problem, she spent the past few years of her life constantly on the run and the majority of it spent on the back of a flying bison, she had to make some changes to get a decent sleep. What happened?

Blinking and fully awake she realized that she was bound by rope on both wrists and where she was. Inside of a tall, cold metal cage suspended off the floor she was imprisoned in one of the dungeons beneath the palace. Rows of identical cages disappeared into the darker parts of the room. There was no water to be found or sensed anywhere, and a sick feeling gave Katara a thought that told her she was in this dungeon for that specific reason. Four imperial firebender guards stood at rigid attention at the front of her cage. One of them peeked over his shoulder seeing that she had awoken, she watched him march to the exit and call on a messenger's name.

"Inform Phoenix King Ozai the water tribe prisoner is awake, make haste."

Katara struggled against her bonds. This can't be happening, she thought in absolute dread. What happened to Aang, her brother, Toph and Suki? Where was Zuko? Did they make it? She was not one to give up hope easily, but she knew that if the Phoenix King lived, Aang was probably dead, laying on some dried up plain in the Earth Kingdom with his body badly burnt. Tears leaked from Katara's eyes and she barely held back a sob as she tried to keep the image of a dead Aang from her mind. Prisons like this were meant to break people, she would allow herself a few minutes to wallow in sadness and despair before getting her act together for whatever came next. She couldn't.

For the next few minutes she cried and sobbed until her throat hurt and her eyes were milked clean of tears, hearing oncoming footsteps she sniffled and took a deep breath. If she was going to come face to face with that man, she had to get her act together.

"Bring the prisoner to the throne room, make sure she is bound securely!"

The guards unlocked and opened the cage door. Two guards went in and momentarily freed Katara of her bonds, but just as quickly as she was freed they efficiently tied loops and tight knots around her wrists. They pushed her out of the cage. She caught her foot on the edge and fell to the hard stone floor. She hit the ground on one side of her face, gritting her teeth to stop a gasp of pain as her wavy chestnut hair fanned out. The two guards jumped and landed beside her, grabbing both her arms to pull her up into a standing position.

"Move."

Katara raised her chin and held her head high as the two guards pulled her forward with them, their gloves digging into her skin. The remaining guards fell in line behind them as an escort to their destination. Katara felt better from her fight with Azula but stumbled on the stairs a few times. She wondered what Zuko's father wanted with her, hoping that Zuko would be there and Azula had somehow managed to die. If there were two people in the world she would avoid being in a room with at all costs it was Yon Rha, the person responsible for her mother's murder and the Phoenix King. For a while they were going through a series of hallways throughout the palace, having grown up in igloos in the South Pole Katara marveled living with all this space and furniture.

After a final turn, they arrived at a massive gold double door, the guards on duty pushed them open. Katara readied herself swallowing her nervousness down as they entered.

The throne room was befitting of a Fire Lord. A long, tall room tinted with gold filigree and finely crafted pillars served as the throne room, with a roofed structure over the throne. A long line of fire stoked in front of the throne, covering the man sitting on it from her view.

"Ah, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Katara saw King Ozai's face through the flames separating them. He was younger looking than she expected, he had high cheekbones, dark hair, and was strongly built. Zuko was the spitting physical image of him, but the difference between them were their eyes. Zuko had amber eyes, whereas his father had dark golden ones. Voluminous maroon robes held together under gold armor moved as Ozai stood from his perch and looked down at her imperiously.

"Funny, I can't say the same for you your majesty" she said the last two words mockingly. She had no care for whatever sort of egotistical title he had so generously bestowed upon himself, in her book he deserved the lowest of respects.

"I do hope your accommodations were not too… uncomfortable." Ozai chuckled as he walked toward the wall of flames. He continued speaking in the fake sweet voice much similar to Azula but with a masculine tone, he almost sounded as if he genuinely cared about whether she was actually comfortable, but his malevolent eyes gave him away."I thought you would feel at home, the dungeon you are staying in is one of many that your brothers and sisters from the Southern Tribe were kept. Headstrong waterbenders, but all eventually broken or deceased. I understand you are the last of the Southern benders, it seems destiny meant to have brought you here."

"Those benders did not deserve to be ripped from their families and tribes who loved them just because they were a threat to you and your ilk! Those raids desolated our home. Where is Aang?!" Katara was through with the small talk. If he had her taken to him just so that he could enjoy provoking her, she would prefer the cage to his company.

Her heart sank as Ozai cruelly smiled, she already knew what the answer was, she had known but she needed a confirmation. He took pleasure in sharing the news that was spreading throughout the world.

"I slayed the Avatar. Your precious airbender lies at Wulong Forest, along with the rest of his delinquent friends after they destroyed my airship fleet." He walked through the flames, not even grimacing at the heat and came closer to Katara. She had wept out all her tears already, it didn't stop her chin from wobbling. "That boy may have ruined my plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom, but with him gone and my disgrace of a brother vanished there is no one who stands in my path to total world dominance." He stood in front of Katara, towering above her.

"Now, what to do with you? You have caused a grave deal of trouble for my country these past years."

"You deserved every bit of it" she found herself saying shoving any idea of staying emotionless out of the window. She knew she wasn't going to be let go. At this point, options were either death or imprisonment. An image of her spending the rest of her life at the bottom of that inhumane dungeon like the rest of her brethren made her sick to the stomach. "You are a monster. I cannot believe Zuko shares any relation with you at all! You are the epitome of vile evil, do you wonder why so many people hate you?! You murdered an innocent boy who was the world's last hope! I cannot comprehend how you sleep at night. You are a despicable genocidal maniac where it's not even beneath you to mutilate your own son, and separate his mother fro-"

A large hand harshly grabbed and encased her chin and was so big it covered her whole mouth. She looked up into his snarling face, which had been at ease and cruelly amused minutes ago, but was now contorted in anger.

"Choose your next words carefully or I will have your tongue cut out, you dare to speak of her." She had clearly hit a nerve at last, and she reveled in it but felt a renewed wave of tears about to come on. With the confirmation that almost all her loved ones were dead, she was barely holding it together as it was. She felt like she had failed. She was not about to shame herself in front of this villainous being by having an emotional meltdown on his stupid, over the top extravagant carpeted floor. She shook her head out of his grasp.

"You have taken everything from me. You took away my mother, you took away the waterbenders, attacked my home, forced my dad to leave, you ruthlessly hunted my friends and I while bringing harm to anyone who helped us along the way, and you took away my friends, who were part of my family. " She continued speaking in a low, stern tone a monster like this doesn't care about the pain he has caused others, but she was going to have her say given the fate that awaited her. "If you want to cut out my tongue, be my guest because it's very little to what I have already had taken from me and it will save me from speaking to you any longer."

The waterbender braced herself in anticipation of one of the guards yanking her head back and pulling on her wavy locks while having the other take out a dagger and cut her appendage out of her mouth. Only nothing happened. Ozai had paused, staring at her intensely, not a muscle on his face twitched, not an emotion betrayed him. With a smirk he let out a small sigh, back at ease he held his hands behind him.

"Very well, you may keep your tongue."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. Was he joking?

"Phoenix King Ozai, I have urgent news-" A messenger had run in as if his very life depended on it, his hair which was supposed to be tied back into a neat ponytail had stray hairs sticking out. He bowed to Ozai who motioned for him to leave and wait outside when he was done with her. The messenger gave Katara a quick glance of pity before departing. The doors slammed shut and Ozai returned his attention back to her.

" Before you leave my presence Katara of the Water Tribe, I make you this solemn promise- I will take one more, but only one more part of your life from you, then I shall never take anything else ever again from you."

Katara waited in suspension heartbeat picking up rapidly not quite sure if she heard him correctly. He began to chuckle once more, as if he had a personal inside joke and was about to reveal the punchline to her.

"The interesting part is, it's actually all the pieces of your life I am going to have taken away." Ozai grabbed her chin again although with a gentle, featherlight touch. "At first light of dawn, Katara, daughter of Chief Hakoda and last waterbender of the Southern Tribe, will be burned at the stake for the crime of regicide against Princess Azula, heir to my throne. Such a shame, your beautiful hair reminds me of Ursa."

Katara stood frozen, mouth dropped open. Burn at the stake?! She scrambled to suppress her panic and horror, one of the worst ways to die and she had a matter of hours left in the land of the living. She had really hit absolute rock bottom.

"Perhaps if my forces find your father, I'll be sure to send him a traditional Fire Nation urn with your ashes stored inside."

That did it. She had her arms securely tied behind her back and it prevented her from bending. She wasn't entirely sure of what she tried to do but she lunged away from the guards grip towards Ozai. Perhaps she meant to headbut into his forehead and crack him open like an egg? She didn't care, not as long as she could get a blow on him she had not felt this level of fury for a long time, it outdid her brief run-in with Yon Rha. All too soon the firm grip of the guards restrained her yet despite that she struggled, kicked, and flailed to get them off of her, requiring the remaining guards to hold her in place and parts of her blue tunic to got torn in the hectic madness.

"Orders your majesty?"

"Send the messenger inside. This matter has been settled." With a dismissive wave of his hand, Ozai turned around to go return to his throne.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me you disgusting filthy, coward! You'll get what's coming to you, just wait and see! The next Avatar will rain the heavens down on you!" Katara has a sack thrown over her head, rendering her partially blind, and much to her humiliation is practically carried back to the dungeons on the guard's shoulders while ongoing servants watch.

When they arrive, the sack is removed and she is back in the cage. They don't bother tying her up this time, and why would they? This isn't like the in past when the Avatar gang has gotten themselves captured and made plenty of miraculous escapes, because this time Katara had no one. She didn't have Aang and his sneaky luck, no Toph that could metal bend this dungeon to scraps, no Sokka to come up with a strategy to give the bad guys the slip, there was not a drop of water even in the air of the dungeon that she could use to slice the bars. The only person she did have left was Zuko, and she didn't even know if he was alive or locked up against his will too. Out of all this, she hoped that Appa had safely flown out of the Fire Nation's territory, she would never bear to see Appa become a beast of burden for the Fire Nation and be miserable, that instead he was flying in the clouds amongst mountains freely.

Three of her guards went to dinner shortly after, one guard remained behind to make sure there was still somebody present to watch her in case she attempted to make any last second escapes. The moon was not full tonight, perhaps if it had been she could mount an escape plan much like that old woman Hama used to free herself all those years ago. The feeling of time spent in the cage was akin to years. She imagined what life would be like for her if she busted out and stowed away on a merchant vessel en route to open waters. She'd live out the rest of her life in a backwoods Earth Kingdom village in disguise dressed in an embroidered evergreen colored dress, the owner of an apothecary store to provide healing to the sick and injured while managing to keep to herself in a modest cottage with a vast meadow as her backyard. Any idea of trying to "settle down" to create a family and marry some local village boy would put them in danger. Maybe, seeking refuge in the swamp and exploring the bending opportunities it held, she couldn't afford the luxury of staying with Hakoda and Gran-Gran in the South Pole. Word spreads fast and it wouldn't surprise her if Fire Navy ships arrived at her tribe's doorstep, demanding her custody.

What was the point of living if there are no loved ones to share it with? Katara was silent for a while, picking pebbles off the floor of her cage and staring at them.

She looked around at all the other cages thinking how many Southern Water Tribe benders had perished in this place, how old were they when they had been held hostage, what families in her tribe did they belong to? She uses all this as a distraction if only to stall the incoming stage of despair she would go through, the thoughts of her end and the experiences these years with everyone in the group, the good and the difficult. Those will be saved for later. She only had tonight, not even morning to even consider the acceptance of her fate. The Phoenix King set her execution for the first light at dawn. Symbolic, she noted the last remnants of night when waterbenders are their strongest under the moon, disappears for the blazing ball of sun where firebenders reaped their power to start a new day.

"Hey, listen I know you're not allowed to speak but I'm going to die tomorrow and there are just some things I would like to have clarified." She waited for the guard to ignore her, but honestly what has she got to lose?

The guard groaned and turned hesitantly towards her. He so wished he had been amongst the guards to grab some grub at the barracks dining hall, the last thing he needed was to get into trouble for talking with a high-level criminal and lose his job. He had already thinned his wife's patience when he was demoted from the elite imperial firebenders platoon for mistaking an order. Not exactly his brightest moment considering the level of expectations in the professionalism and respect that job had required. But he digressed, he had a daughter of his own around the girl's age and what could it hurt to quickly answer a simple question? "Alright fine, what is it you want clarified?"

"How many waterbenders met their end here?"

"I don't have specific numbers, but I know it totals somewhere in the hundreds."

"Are there any left?"

"No, the last one alive here was nearly five years ago, it was an old woman who arrived here when she was pretty young and at that point, she was mentally suffering from being caged for so long but died of sickness first."

The guard let loose a sigh tiring of humoring her. He just did this job because he was good at fire bending, standing around, a relative that worked in the kitchens landed him in this, and was a highly trained martial arts professional. He just did this to get paid a decent wage and keep the mistress happy. "Is that all?"

"Yes" she nodded, curling into a ball. An hour passed, the guard who spoke to her was temporarily relieved of watch by the three guards who had eaten their fill before. They paid no attention to her, didn't even speak amongst themselves, they reminded her of statues, perfectly still and motionless. Her heart tightened as she started reflecting on how she has lived her last few years, the friends she had made, all because Sokka and her found the boy in the iceberg that fateful day. The chain of events that lead after that day had its happy moments, and its gut-wrenching moments, Katara had but one regret, she should have told Aang she wanted to be with him. She wanted to say good-bye to her dad and Gran-Gran. When your end is only a matter of hours away, you look back on your life to assure yourself you did everything in your power to do the right thing and set things right, that you leave with little regrets. Her heart ached knowing that nearly all her loved ones had passed on, if there was an afterlife she would be reunited with them soon.

She imagined if each of them were here, what they would say to her.

Aang would smile reassuringly and tell her "we had a good run Katara, I want you to know what you have probably found out- I want to be with you. We still can be, it'll not be long before we see each other again." He would squeeze her hand, give her a hug, and kiss her cheek.

Sokka would insist she'd need to strategize a way out of here and offer his boomerang. He'd try to crack some of signature Sokka jokes to cheer her up, before giving her a hug. "I'll see you soon, 'Tara."

Toph would swat her on the shoulder and say "Listen up Sugar Queen, you're tough as nails don't let these fools see you cry come morning. You'll get through this."

Zuko would apologize for his family's transgressions and tell her to be strong, compliment her on taking down his sister, that he wished that he had joined them sooner and was glad to have become a part of their family.

Katara made a final decision regarding tomorrow. When the guards came for her to escort her to the execution, she would not cry. She would probably cry tonight, but in the dark. When they came to collect her before dawn, she was going to walk with her head held high in pride, if her knees were going to buckle she would force them to stay straight, she was not going to give the guards, Ozai, or anyone else in this place the satisfaction of seeing the last Southern Water Tribe bender go to her death pyre kicking and screaming in a dramatic scene with tears running down her cheeks as she begged for mercy.

She had fought the good fight, she had been brave enough to fight against and almost bring down a powerful, tyrannical dynasty to defend the world from harm at her age. She was the Avatar's waterbender master, but most of all she was Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.

Feeling somewhat better, she decided to braid her hair before dozing off into a deep sleep. Whatever awaited her tomorrow, she was ready.

Someone was shaking her by the shoulder. Blinking herself awake, Katara saw it was one of her guards, specifically the one she had spoken with only hours before. Judging by the look on his face he had a long night, bags hung under his eyes.

"It's time."

She let out a long, shaky breath and sat up. "Very well then." They had let her spend her last night unbound from the ropes, perhaps when they opened the door, she could-

"Don't even try, you're hardly the first to attempt an escape" the guard grimly stared at her, as if reading her mind. "Also, put this on."

He opened the cage and threw a bundle of white cotton in her lap. She unfolded it seeing that it was a long dress, more of a shift with a leather belt to tie around her waist. "What is this for?"

"Phoenix King's orders, traditionally the condemned wear grey but you'll be wearing white. Your other clothes will be burned upstairs."

He and the other guards gave her privacy as she shouldered off her tunic and pulled down her leggings, she slid off her boots figuring it was best to leave them. She kept her mother's necklace around her neck. The dress was short-sleeved and thankfully not see-through material, the length went down to her ankles.

"One last item." The guard carried a bowl with a yellow substance that reeked of olives. "Rub this on your arms and legs, it's to help with the fire."

How thoughtful Katara said to herself sarcastically. Her suffering would not last as long, maybe she'll get lucky and die from smoke inhalation. Not the worst way to go. Drawing herself into a straight-backed stance and chin up, she determinedly informed them she was ready. Two guards opened the door and they formed a square formation around her before moving out into the bleakly lighted corridor.

A few staircases later their procession led them past one of the palace gardens, the flowers were in full bloom and had vibrant colors, their sweet scent wafted into her nostrils and she heard the quacking noises of a turtleduck family swimming in one of the pools.

Katara felt at peace for a split second, it was still night, early morning but the sun still had to rise. She hoped when she came to her destination there would be flowerbeds nearby and she could hear of the crashing waves in the ocean in the distance.

First part up! If you've made it this far, stay tuned for more of this dark plot twist on events surrounding Sozin's Comet.