Zuko, I am begging you. Look inside your heart to see what it is that you truly want.

Uncle's words rang in Zuko's ears as he looked at the people in front of him. From the moment he had left that crystal prison to pursue his sister and the others, he had no idea what he would do when once he got there.

He was standing with his arm extended, his fists tightly clenched. In front of him were standing four people. The scorched stones between them was evidence that he had aimed his fire, but at who?

His eyes went to his sister: her amber eyes were small slits as she looked back at him. He knew why: she was waiting to see to whom he was truly loyal. To the Fire Nation, or would he join the band of traitors?

"You will have your honour back, you will have father's love."

Zuko's eyes went over the brunette waterbender. She was staring back at him with a look of surprise on her tanned face. In her eyes, he could read the uncertainty: would he fight with them or against them?

She had offered to heal him, to erase his scar from his face.

"Maybe you can be free of it. I have healing powers." Her soft hand carefully placed on his scar, he felt the coolness of her bending under her skin.

His eyes went over to the Avatar, wo was standing beside the waterbender and had his arms lifted to defend himself if Zuko attacked him. For him, there seemed to be no confusion: Zuko was here to fight him.

"Saving you, that's what." Aang glared with grey eyes at Zuko, looking almost annoyed.

The last person he could bear to look at, was Elyrie. Her face had an entirely different expression than the others: no anger, distrust or surprise. She looked calm, almost serene. The small smile that curled around her lips was one of trust and confidence.

Her blue eyes met his when he looked in her direction. He saw the small twinkle in them and he knew what she thought: he was here to fight with her.

With her. Or with them?

Zuko's jaw clenched when Elyrie's eyes went to the Avatar and the waterbender. He knew what she wanted to say to them: 'don't be afraid, he is here to help us.'

Us.

Before today, he hadn't doubt what she meant by 'us'. But now, she had joined another group to fight against Azula.

Not that he could blame her for going up against Azula. But he had hoped she would stay behind – stay with him, like she had done the last time Azula had crossed their paths.

But she didn't. She had guided the waterbender and Avatar out of the cave to the rest of their group. Only Uncle had stayed behind with him, and that was to scold him for his stubbornness.

He should have realised that he would never belong anywhere else, not in the way she does. Not in the way his Uncle does.

Look inside your heart to see what it is that you truly want.

He wanted to belong somewhere; and more than ever he wanted what was rightfully his. Something no one could ever take away from him.

In that moment, it was crystal clear where he belonged.

His eyes snapped back at the Avatar. At the moment they locked eyes, both knew what Zuko was about to do.

"Ya!" Zuko roared as he punched his fist forward in a powerful motion. The bright orange flames flew in the direction of the airbender. With a quick movement of his hand, the boy stopped the flames from hitting him.

Bam.

Bam.

Bam.

Zuko's eyes were wide open, his jaw clenched as het sent more and more fireballs in the direction of his source of anger. The source of all his misfortune. And now: his way back home.

Elyrie looked with wide eyes, but had not enough time to process what just happened.

"Zuko! Wh-," she began, but her throat seemed to close when she felt the heat of flames scorching past her face. Blinking, she snapped her head in the direction of the flames.

Azula wasted no time and immediately sent a blast of blue fire in her direction once she saw her brother attack the Avatar. Elyrie could have been hit but lucky for her, Katara was quicker to react and shielded them from the flames with a wall of ice

The flames and the ice evaporated, leaving only the heat of steam between them.

Panting, Elyrie saw Zuko in the corner of her eye. With a loud yell, she saw a massive force of fire coming from Zuko. The stones and crystals above the catacombs shattered when the flames hit them.

Elyrie had only enough time to jump out of the way, before Azula sent another blast of fire in her direction. The scorching heat of the fire went over her left shoulder, barely avoiding her face for a second time.

Katara yelled Aang's name when she saw him being knocked over by Zuko.

"Help him!" Elyrie said, finally coming back to her senses as she took her fighting stance at last.

"So you learned a new trick with lightening?" Azula smirked and the gleaming look in her eyes made it look almost feline, "But you never fought me one-on-one!"

"No," Elyrie answered as she lit her palms, "But I always wanted to."

That wisecrack was going to cost her dearly, because Azula aimed her ferocious power at Elyrie with all the frustration she felt. Blasting herself in the air, Elyrie jumped away from the attack.

Landing on the cold stones, she straightened her back again and blocked Azula's attack. Creating the ring of fire around her, she shot the flames back to the Princess.

Azula knocked the flames away with ease as she made her way over to her. But by doing so, she stepped in the puddles of water Katara left behind.

Hearing the splashing sounds, Elyrie got an idea. Time for some extra lighting, she thought as she placed her thumb on her middle- and indexfinger. Aiming at her wet boots, Elyrie snapped her fingers at Azula.

But nothing happened.

She looked astonished. Nothing but a few sparks came from her fingertips. "What the-?" she muttered as she looked at her hands.

"You thought that a few new tricks could make you a master?" Azula taunted her as she approached her, a predator toying with her prey. Elyrie only looked up in confusion and surprise.

Azula aimed at Elyrie's feet and made her loose her balance. With a second powerful blast, Elyrie was knocked back. She went flying through the air until the back of her head slammed against the crystals that filled the catacombs. Her body went limp and she fell on her knees.

Elyrie's vision became blurry, she felt a burning pain on her shoulder and the sickening stench of burning hair reached her nostrils just before she fell down in the cold water of the moat.

The blast had almost knocked her out, but the freezing cold was surprisingly just what she needed to snap out of the hazy state.

She couldn't pass out, not now.

Immediately reacting, she stretched her arms and swam back to the surface. Coughing, she lifted herself out of the water. "Get up." She mumbled as she forced herself to stand up again, "You'll die if you stay down."

Her hands slipped on the stones as she stood up and she wiped the wet strands out of her face. Her ends felt ragged and coarse. The skin on her left shoulder was exposed now that her clothing was burnt. She saw the burning red colour in sharp contrast with her white skin and realised that Azula had hit her full on this time.

As she felt her panic and agony grew, she wondered why the hadn't felt the finishing blow from Azula. As she lifted her eyelids, she saw that the Fire Nation Princess was too busy fighting off Aang and Katara.

But where was -,?

Then she saw him. He was standing a few feet away from her, looking at her with a concerned expression.

It cut right through her core.

He ran forward and grabbed her hands, but she pushed him away with all her strength. He lowered his arms and looked at her, not sure what to do next. But she spun around and fired a rapid shot in his direction. He had been standing too close to her, so he fell over.

"You…" he sputtered as he worked himself back onto his feet.

"Liar!" she yelled, shooting a fireball in his direction, "How could you do this?" Her inner fire blazed like a thousand suns, fuelled by her anger and increased by the passion of the heartbreak she felt.

"Who do you think you are, trying to prevent me from taking back my honour?" he yelled back at her, "If I take Ba Sing Se and the Avatar, I'll return home with honour!"

"You are delusional!" she screamed, but Zuko was faster and grabbed her hands again. His grip was firm on her cold, wet hands. He pulled her closer and for a moment, the sounds of the battleground silenced around them. She could only hear his soft breathing close to her ear and feel his hands entangled with her own.

"Don't you realise what this means?" he said, his voice suddenly surprisingly soft, "We could go back home. Together."

"But there is no-," she began, wanting to say all the things why she couldn't go back. She was branded a traitor, she was an outcast, she had family she needed to return to – but all of this died in her throat the moment she looked into his pleading eyes.

The pleading eyes of a child, craving his father's approval and the comfort of home.

You knew, despite everything, that you were loved.

This hit her like a lightning bolt – as if the world beneath her feet started to crumble. She thought that she had known everything, that everything would work out now that they had finally found each other. Now that Zuko finally had been given a sense of peace, of stability.

But all had been a whiff of smoke, a fleeting moment.

He didn't want the peace and stability: he wanted what had been taken from him. He had told her so many times, but she had just refused to believe it.

"Happiness alone would never have been enough for you." she said, her voice steady. It wasn't a question or a pleading for him to change sides. It was a simple fact.

Zuko halted for a moment as he heard her speak in that cold, unfamiliar voice.

"You don't know how to be anyone else." she continued, her voice finally breaking, "You only can be the Prince that lost his honour. And I have seen too much to join you now."

She pushed herself away from him but did not noticing how the ring slipped from her wet hand. The sound of the battleground emerged again, so no one heard the ring fall down on the stones.

She shot the fireblasts as soon as she could, trying to ignore the tears that were forming in her eyes. She had to turn against him now, because it would hurt all the more if she waited longer.

Zuko felt his blood run cold when he looked at her. Not because of what she said or even because of what she did. He saw that the blasts weren't particularly aimed at him, because none hit him and he did't make much of an effort to evade them.

But it was the way she looked at him. He never thought she would be able to look at him with such scorching pain and anger.

Zuko felt his flames grow fiercer than ever. He had been right all along: she would have left him. And now, he finally saw her for what she really was. A traitor. A selfish, spoiled girl that switched sides. To her, he had been nothing more than something to pass her boredom. To pass the long hours in the city.

They both took their fighting stance; but this time it wasn't a friendly sparring match.

What happened between then and now, Elyrie would never been able to recollect. She didn't trust her memory anymore.

All she remembered was that Aang's body contorted in an unnatural way as blue light illuminated the catabombs. Azula, who shot down the Avatar with a bolt of lightning had her perfectly manicured fingers aimed at him.

It seemed to happen in slow motion: his body fell to the unforgiving stones.

While everyone was distracted by the commotion, Katara used a tidal wave to overthrow them all. All the Dai Li-agents that were present, Azula and Zuko.

Elyrie took advantage of the moment and propelled herself off, over the wave Katara had formed to reach Aang. She landed next to them. Katara, who held the unconscious body of the Avatar in her arms, stared at her with desperation in her eyes.

In the corner of her eyes, Elyrie saw a whip of fire coming in their direction. Her hand flat, she pushed it aside in a reflex.

Zuko had cracked his firewhip, planning to finish it right there. The Water Tribe girl was occupied with the unconscious Avatar. He might even be dead for all he knew. Azula's lightning had struck him right in his back, effectively knocking him down. With those two finally captured, he could return with his honour like he always wanted.

Just as he stroked the whip, Elyrie jumped in front of the pair. She was able to redirect the whip away from them, but was too slow to avoid the string of fire herself in the process. As soon as he saw her jump between them, Zuko extinguished the whip. But it was too late.

The whip hit her already wounded shoulder. It set her clothes on fire, burning right through the fabric and touching her directly on her skin.

Her high voice screamed out and the cry echoed off the walls of the cave.

Zuko cringed at the sound of her scream. It was unlike any sound he had ever heard from her. The scream made his blood go cold and at the same time, heat up his entire body in fear.

Elyrie fell on her good side, hurting with every move. With a hateful glare, she gazed at Zuko.

Agni, it hurt so much. The first hit to the shoulder was bad enough, but now it felt as if her whole arm was burning. And it had been Zuko who had done this to her.

She forced herself to stand erect and resume her fighting pose next to Katara and Aang. She gritted her teeth together as the adrenaline pumped through her entire body. She met Katara's eyes and saw the same despair she felt. They were outnumbered and she was hurt. They could never escape now.

"Just give up," Azula taunted as her lips curved when she saw the burned skin, "You can never-."

A fireblast suddenly knocked Azula and Zuko off their feet. For a moment, Elyrie was sure she had imagined it.

It was the Dragon of the West himself, jumping onto the battleground. Fighting like a one-man army, he easily took out 10 Dai Li agents before he turned to the two girls.

"You have to get out of here! I hold them off as long as I can!" he yelled while shooting more fireballs to the attacking Dai Li agents.

"No! Uncle, please…" Elyrie began, but she was quickly cut off. "Go now! Get yourself to safety!" Uncle yelled as he motioned for her to get away.

Elyrie placed Aang's arm over her good shoulder, just as Katara did with the other arm and pulled him towards the waterfall.

"Hold on to him!" Katara said as she assembled the water around them. With the adrenaline still numbing part of the pain, she took advantage of the moment as she took over the unconscious Aang while Katara bended the water around them.

Holding on to Katara, who used her waterbending to get them up, Elyrie took one last look at Uncle, praying he would be alright.

Zuko watched Elyrie disappear; he saw his Uncle surrender and avert his eyes from him.

"Come, brother" Azula's voice called him, "Let's go home."

Home.

She was right: what he had done was the right choice. He finally got what he had worked for five long years. If his Uncle and Elyrie did not see that, they never wanted the best for him.

He turned around, but something glittering in the corner of his eye caught his attention. The sapphire shimmered in the light of the torches.

Elyrie's ring.

He picked it up and looked at it in his palm. Her mother's ring. The small sapphire sparkled in the light of the green crystals of the catacombs.

"Zuko!"

He turned around, quickly closing his hand to hide the ring. "Yes?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said let's go!" Azula said impatiently.

He nodded to his sister, but he let the ring slip in his pocket. He took one last look at the waterfall, which was back in its normal state. The water fell down as it always had, but something irrevocably had changed for Zuko.

His hand still in his pocket, he let his thumb caress the sapphire.

"Goodbye Lily." He whispered.

When they had landed at Chameleon Bay, Katara put down Aang. He'd live, but he was in a deep slumber. Tears still pricking in her eyes, she felt grateful she didn't waste the Spirit Water on Zuko. Now, Aang would live and everything would be allright.

Wiping her tears away, she hurried over to Elyrie. Sokka carried her off the saddle and placed her on the soft sand on the beach. Her features were contorted in pain as she held onto her shoulder.

Katara bend over to try and manage her wounds as best she could. "I am sorry I was not able to help earlier" she said apologizing as she placed a cool hand of water on the red skin.

"Don't be." Elyrie comforted her, exhaling at the pleasant feeling of the cool water on her skin. "I am a firebender, burns are about to happen" she added with a wry smile.

Katara chuckled, and continued the healing session. "It will take a few days to heal, and I am afraid it will leave a scar."

"I am fine with that." Elyrie said while sitting up straight and carefully stretched her arm. It did indeed feel better. Sokka handed his sister the cloths to wrap the wound, but he also handed Elyrie his pocketknife.

Elyrie looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Elyrie, I'm sorry to tell you, but your hair-..," Katara trailed off as she motioned above her wounded shoulder. Elyrie's hand flew up to her neck and felt the hard, uneven pieces were Azula had burned her hair off.

Now, she had to cut her hair again. I like it, Zuko had said about her longer hair.

Without hesitation, she took the knife and cut off her hair for the second time.

End of Book 2

Thank you to everyone who came this far! I apoligise for the late post, but I had trouble writing this final chapter. In the end, I had three possible outcomes and wasn't able to pick one.

Sending lots of love!