Kona came to consciousness slowly, easing in and out of her slumber like the waves crashing on a beach. The first thing she noticed as her eyes finally fluttered open was how little light was in the room. Second, she realized how alone she was. All around her were metal walls, cold even through the fabric of clothing. There was nothing around her but the sound of her breath and the dim light streaming through the cracks in the cell door.

The pain came third.

She clutched at her head, pulling her knees to her chest, but she recoiled and abandoned the notion as her ankle protested. It was worse than last time. She thought it may even be broken.

Kona took a fluttering breath, forcing herself to gingerly prod at the swollen joint, ignoring the stabbing pain. Regardless of its current state, walking would be a challenge. Kona looked down at her once beautiful silken robe. It was stained with sand and dirt and the threads of the more delicate embroidery were pulled, marring the artistry.

She fought the pain in her heart as she reached for her shoulder and yanked, pulling off the elegant belle sleeve from her garment with one tug. She could be sad later, feel later. For now, she needed to wrap her ankle.

So she did.

It didn't help with the pain, but it would help support it. That would do for now.

She forced herself to her feet, though it took her much longer than anticipated given her injury. Kona gulped, forcing herself to take a deep breath before she took a step for the entry of the room. She hissed through her teeth, but kept moving until her hands could cling to the iron protrusions on her cell door.

A cell. That's where she was. She was in a dungeon cell.

She looked around once more. Metal surrounded her; someone clearly designed it to hold earthbenders. How do you escape from a metal prison?

With another forced breath, she pushed onto the tips of her toes on her left foot, letting her other leg dangle uselessly. She pressed her cheeks between the bars, trying to see anything, anyone. There was nothing in the darkness. The little light there was came from the glow of the large crystals protruding from the walls. If she wasn't trapped, she may have even considered them beautiful.

Eyes failing to find anything, she listened for a moment.

Hearing nothing, she finally let herself whisper. "Zuko! Are you there?"

She waited with bated breath for a few heartbeats, but no one responded.

Kona fought the wobble in her lip. If they didn't lock him up, where could he be? Surely, it was better for him to be out of a cell. Right? That was good. Maybe he escaped.

He wouldn't leave without you.

Kona shook her head. He had to. If he had the chance, he needed to go. He was the rightful heir to the Fire Nation. He needed to protect himself to make the world a better place. Like he wanted.

A sudden crash nearby made Kona freeze. The clanking of metal, dense metal, made her hair stand on end. But she couldn't make herself move. She remained where she was, eyes roving across what little she could see.

Suddenly, a face appeared before hers and Kona almost screamed, but the sound died in her throat at the familiar grin.

"I knew that I heard you, turtle duckling!"

"Toph."

The breath of relief that escaped her was so genuine that her entire body almost fell away from the door. Toph clouded eyes crinkled under the weight of her fierce grin and Kona couldn't help but smile back.

"Kona?"

"Sokka!" Kona fought the tears in her eyes, her rising hope overwhelming her as she took in his form behind Toph. "How did you get down here?"

"Later," Toph said, and cracked her knuckles. "Stand in the corner of your cell."

Kona blinked, but complied, huddling as far as she could into the corner.

The sound she heard earlier suddenly made sense as she watched the dense metal door crumple suddenly and fly into the far wall. Kona coughed at the dust, but she barely processed it as she stared wide-eyed at the destroyed door.

"Did you just… metal bend?" The words sounded impossible,as they left her mouth, but there was no other explanation as the wrinkled metal glinted from the opposite side of the room.

Her question went unanswered as Sokka pushed his way into the cell crowding her vision.

"You look awful," he said in greeting, but ducked to put her arm over his shoulder. Kona fought the hysterical laughter that bubbled in her throat.

"I'm fine."

Her ankle disagreed, and by the look on his face, so did Sokka.

He helped her out the door and into the cavernous hallway. There she saw a bespectacled man in luxurious robes and decidedly pale skin. Fine jewelry hung from his neck and sat on every finger, and his shoes were ostentatious in their buckles. She knew who he was in an instant.

"Pleasure to meet you, Earth King." Kona tried to bow, but given how Sokka was propping her up, it was barely more than a nod of the head.

"The pleasure is mine," he said in response, but the weakness in his voice betrayed his disposition. Azula had outwitted the poor man. Kona knew all too well how that felt.

"We need to find Bosco and get out of here," Sokka said, pulling Kona forward.

"I need to find Zuko. The Dai Li—Azula got him too." Kona tried to pull herself from Sokka's grip, but he resisted. Her feet scrabbled against the dirt, fighting his hold.

"Your old man is going to get him, Kona. He found us for help. Let us help you."

Though it warmed her heart to hear of Iroh's plan to rescue them, she couldn't stay put. She knew if Zuko wasn't here, he was with Azula. That was never a good place for Zuko. And that was enough to keep her going.

"Stop fighting!" Sokka clutched at her waist to keep her in place. His grip was almost painful, but Kona knew that was from her movements rather than his hold.

"I can't just leave him! You don't understand, Sokka," Kona said, more desperation than she cared to admit leaked into her voice. "Azula could confuse him or threaten him unless I'm there to help him."

"If he listens to Azula of all people, that's on him. He needs to think for himself, Kona," Sokka argued, and his argument pinged in her head as true. Zuko needed to think for himself. But he was, wasn't he? He was choosing to make a choice with her.

"He does! Sokka, he prioritizes others over himself! If he thinks I'm hurt, he'll go along with whatever Azula says to keep me safe. He won't care about anything else, including your friends."

Sokka sighed, but she could see him relenting as his grip on her loosened. "That isn't thinking for himself. That's making bad choices in your name."

Kona's lips twisted, but she couldn't argue with his logic. "You don't need to come. Toph already got me out. Just get the Earth King out of here," Kona said and to prove her point, she pulled from his arms. She took a step forward, fighting her flinch, and turned back to look at the three people standing behind her.

"We can't let you go on your own, Kona. Not when you're limping like that," Toph said, pointing at her bad ankle.

It was so easy to forget she was blind with how much she could see through her bending.

After a pause, Toph turned her attention to Sokka. "I've got the duckling. Take the king, find Bosco, and get out."

Sokka shifted his feet, uncomfortable with the plan, but after a long, calculating stare in Kona's direction, he gave a curt nod. "The Dai Li will be wherever the others are. Be careful."

Sokka and the Earth King disappeared around the corner, leaving Kona alone with Toph in the dimness of the dungeon.

"Let's go," Toph said, grabbing Kona's arm. At first, Kona wondered how that would possibly help her walk when the earth beneath her bare feet rumbled and in a blink, they were riding forward on a small earthen platform.

"Thank you, Toph," Kona called over the crumbling rock below them. While she had been willing to make the trek on her own, and she stood by that, the journey would have been agony.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get mushy. Let's just find your boyfriend," Toph said, rotating her free arm to keep their small platform moving.

Reflexively, Kona almost corrected her, but she realized with a jolt she didn't need to.

Instead, she focused on trying to see before her as they moved through tunnel after tunnel, making turns that Kona knew she wouldn't have thought to make on her own. She could have easily gotten lost in this labyrinth.

Suddenly, as quickly as they started their journey, Toph stopped and, a few dozen paces away, a doorway lit up their view. The glow of the crystals gave an eerie green tinge to the air, and Kona tried not to shudder. The only relief from the glow were the brilliant flashes of blue and orange. A shiver went down her spine when a final bright flash lit up their tunnel, along with a loud crash. Azula was bending lightning.

"You should stay back for now. I can get through to Zuko, but if Azula sees you with me, it's over for both of us. Find your friends," Kona whispered and started marching forward to the glow, filled with a newfound resolve.

"Stay safe," she heard Toph whisper, followed by the rumble of stone. A glance over Kona's shoulder showed that the girl was gone.

Squaring her shoulders, Kona started running forward, her bare feet slapping against the dirt as she fought to hide her limp. She burst through the doorway, blinking away the sudden light as her eyes adjusted.

She immediately found Zuko and Azula, standing with menacing intent over the prone Katara and Aang.

Kona's heart stuttered, but kept moving, leaping over the small river caused by the burbling waterfall that cut into the wall of the enormous cavern surrounding them. Her step faltered, and she nearly went down as she landed on the other side. It was pure willpower that kept her standing, though she knew her ankle was starting to give.

However, her pained wince drew attention. The siblings turned to Kona's entrance, and she stood panting, trying not to convey any weakness under their analytical stares. Behind them, the Dai Li stood at attention. Waiting for Azula's command.

"Kona," Zuko said, his voice odd. He was panting, fists still raised, eyes determined as they danced between her sudden arrival and the people around them. No one else knew what he was thinking. What he was doing.

Kona knew.

He wanted them to choose.

She fought the pang in her heart, Sokka's words ringing in her head. He had helped Azula in Kona's name. By their stances, they had worked together to take Aang down. She forced herself to look the Avatar's way. Katara. She was sobbing, clutching Aang's limp form to her chest. How had that happened? Had… had Zuko done that?

She moved her attention back to the siblings. There stood Azula, not a hair out of place. The wicked gleam from within her burned brighter than Kona had ever seen it. So Azula had done it. She had… no, Aang had to be alive.

But Zuko had helped. In Kona's name.

Kona pursed her lips, fighting back her panic.

She knew the time would come; she knew they she would have to choose, eventually. Somehow, it had felt so far away when the promises left their lips under the setting sun of Ba Sing Se. It would be a more mature Zuko and Kona that had to make the decision that altered their lives. Surely.

There was a lump in her throat as she tried to force herself to breathe. They had agreed to choose together and yet Zuko hadn't hesitated to help Azula.

She knew he would do that. She had told Toph and Sokka he would do that, so why was this ugly feeling bubbling in her chest?

She knew that there wasn't much of a choice to make now.

To choose to return the Fire Nation now would be to turn her back on the people that had, through some miracle, helped her, trusted her. It would be to take back the growing bonds she felt with Sokka and Toph. It would condemn the Avatar to death and the world to the Fire Lord's cruel rule.

Alternatively, to choose the Avatar would be to condemn Zuko to be without his home, away from his memories of his mother forever—just like her. It would mean turning her back on Azula once and for all. She had already grown so wicked in these last few years. To leave her behind on purpose… that would be willful negligence to her. It was giving up on someone who may, deep down inside, still be redeemable.

But… Kona supposed those weren't her problems, were they?

They were theirs.

The easy option was the one she latched onto; she realized. She had let someone else help her decide her hardest choices in life, so she wouldn't have to live with the guilt her decisions would cause.

The decisions she had already made long ago.

She could fight Katara, her unlikely friend, or fight Azula, her rival and the person who pushed her to be better.

Fight the Avatar or fight her childhood.

Fight on the winning side or fight the suicide mission—the Dai Li were starting to move in from a subtle signal that Kona wasn't privy to.

It was a simple choice.

She could chew out Zuko for her epiphany later. She knew he would follow her lead. He had agreed to it.

With shaking hands, Kona raised her fists. The Avatar it is.

A blast of heat cut her off when she opened her mouth to give Zuko her answer.

She raised her arms to brace herself from the heat, but that control, that power, could only be from one person. She knew it wouldn't hurt her.

Before her, Iroh stood, panting and glaring at his niece and nephew. At that moment, staring at his opposing form, she knew that she was making the right choice. The choice that her Iroh would be proud of.

"You've got to get out of here!" He called, stronger than she had heard in many moons. The voice of the Dragon of the West, General of the Fire Nation, was out full-force. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katara trying to maneuver Aang into a new position, so she could move him. They just needed to get to the waterfall and Katara could get away.

With Iroh helping, it didn't feel quite as suicidal to take on Azula and her Dai Li. Kona wouldn't be much help, but she could be a distraction while Zuko and Iroh fought. Suddenly, Kona remembered the blade hidden within her pocket. Her hand lunged for her pocket, feeling its weight there. They never confiscated it. Why?

Kona flinched before she could reach it, recoiling as Iroh released a rampaging blast. If she hadn't put up her hair, surely it would have been singed from the proximity of the heat. Why had he fired this way? She was far apart from where Azula and Zuko stood, nearly adjacent to Iroh himself.

Was it just to wall off Katara and Aang's escape?

Fire burned behind his gaze, and Kona's heart jumped. Why was he looking at her like that?

Iroh bared his teeth. And that anger… Why did he look so angry? "After everything I've done to prepare you, you leave me no choice," he spat across the echoing cavern and Kona physically reeled, stumbling back as her weak ankle came against the earth below her.

"I–Iroh?"

It slipped out before she could stop it, and she watched that angry look twist into something she could only call torment.

"You've forced my hand, my dear. Prepare yourself."

But she couldn't. How could she? Her mind whirled, trying to understand Iroh's change in demeanor. This was what they had talked about. Defecting from the Fire Nation—they had talked about it. He had friends outside their nation; she knew that.

So why?

Why did he look so angry at her?

Kona's heart skipped a beat as his firebending form shifted. With wide eyes, she watched his hands fold into a familiar gesture and his chest heave with controlled breath.

"After today, you are no longer my student, no longer my child," he said, his voice harsh, but his eyes wet with tears as the blue energy crackled around him.

She could feel a thudding in her ears—it must have been her heartbeat. She tried to blink him away. Surely she was just dreaming.

But there he stood.

Against her? It didn't make sense.

She felt her heartbeat once more, hard in her chest, as the crackling energy he had built up shot out of his arm—so bright, so powerful, so Iroh.

Fighting every instinct, she reached out to him, as if she could embrace him one last time.

His agony was clear on his face. She wished he would smile.

Someone yelled her name.

Her heart beat again.

And for the second time that day, she only knew darkness.

I'm not completely happy with how it came out, but I delayed the release for too long already by getting sick.

This ending to book 2 was always the plan. It was in the original outline I found in my drive (admittedly, it was much more OOC). I knew I could change it, but instead I challenged myself to find a way to clear up the plotholes that were originally there and I think I managed that. Though, you'll have to wait for Book 3 to see the fallout :)

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed Book 2! Like last time, there will now be a hiatus while I complete Book 3. I'm hoping NaNoWriMo will help me out with that, so I can begin posting before New Years! If you ever want to talk Avatar or anything else, reach out to me on tumblr 3

Bye for now!