Daughter of Hate

by Blutus Mindpretzel

The war is over. Azula's motives remain unknowable as her child stands to shake the foundation of everything built since the fall of Fire Lord Ozai. For Toph, Mai, Aang, Katara and the rest, the world is an even more dangerous place than it was when they were children. And despite being long since gone, Sasuke's impact continues to shudder their world, perhaps more than they know.

45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Blue Fire

Seated where he was at his desk, Chief Tangith toyed with the glowing sphere that rested atop the ornate wood surface, gently pushing it back and forth with his finger in an almost transfixed ritual. Contrary to when he had shone the artifact to Sasuke, the sphere now only flickered intermittently with intensely bright surges of light that forced him to squint before dying down to a gentle pulsing with its energy within. There was something almost sickening about its throbbing colors, far more unnatural they seemed to him then what he had seen in years past.

There came a rap at his door, but he gave no reply. He knew that if it was something that actually required his attention, the knocking party would enter regardless, which they did.

"Sir, the damage to the harbor is being evaluated, but it seemed the ships took most of the damage," Lorna said after she had stepped into his office, bowing before she did. "The salvage captains want to know what you want done with—"

"Any wooden vessels that can be recovered, move them to the shipbuilding hangars. Ones that are in too much of a damaged state to be moved, move them ashore and break them down, we'll use them as kindling for storm season. Beach any damaged ironclad vessels, unless they too would represent a cost to great to repair; have those in said condition scuttled."

He replied dully without a wasted word. Much of his thoughts seemed to be operating on autopilot, and that seemed to be too where his orders were coming from. Lorna seemed almost surprised that such a complete response had been given to her and she nodded in confirmation.

Tangith had rather wanted to have her thrown into a cell for her insubordination in assisting the Avatar and his companions in their departure from the city. He had traced it back to her when the guards on watch, almost panicking in the face of his anger, had told him they had received orders to let a single airship into the city near the palace and then depart shortly thereafter, all of them naming Lorna as the ordering party. Though he supposed much of his anger had come from his own lack of awareness in allowing them to leave, Tangith had shouted at Lorna for nearly fifteen minutes before leaving the recovery efforts in the hands of both her and his other advisors, and then excusing himself to his office.

It didn't really matter that they had all denied his orders and left, he had supposed; something told him they would have found a way to wiggle out from under his thumb one way or another, he just hadn't expected his own advisor, his most trusted one at that, to be the one to aid them.

Lorna aided them because she believes that it is the right thing to do. I don't very know myself what the right thing to do is, so who am I to punish her for holding an actual perspective, rather than I?

"That's… quite the interesting artifact," Lorna dared to say near his door. "What is it?"

It certainly went to show just how brave she was, staying in his presence for longer than was necessary after what had just transpired between them not hours ago.

"An eye," Tangith replied in a mutter. In a sense, it wasn't much of a lie. It was the closest thing he had to actually seeing the state of the conflict that raged within his world. Lorna clearly took his unspecific reply as dismissal and excused herself from his office without a word, closing the door behind her.

The chief remained seated at his desk for quite a while longer before sighing and sitting up straight. He took the sphere and held it in his hand, wishing it could show him the nature of the colors that pulsed within it, illuminating the room one moment and then fading away to near nothing the next. Somewhere, the future of Tangith's world was being decided, and he had no way of knowing what that outcome might be. He was powerless to do anything about it, but he supposed that made him just as much one with the people he ruled over and did everything in his power to protect. This must have been how it felt for them, knowing that things were transpiring that were far beyond their power or understanding, things that could change their lives in the blink of an eye.

And so Tangith forced himself to do what he knew his people must have done when Avatar Kyoshi and her army of spirits had arrived on the doorstep of his city. He forced calmness upon himself and relaxed in his chair, doing everything that he could to trust Aang, Sasuke, and the others to carry him and the people of the Four Nations through this chaos.

---

Soza didn't know what to do.

She knew there wasn't much she could do, but even then, what her best course of action was still eluded her.

Soza wanted to fall upon her father and hug him, begging him to be okay and to not be hurt as badly as he looked. She wanted to glare at Madara with all the anger that she could muster for what he had done to her dad. She wanted to run to her mother and beg her to make things right, to stop all this and just wake her up from this absolute nightmare that had become her reality. She wanted to run to Toph and bury her face in her friend's side, hugging her tight and blocking out all this from her sight.

In the end, she wanted to tear out her eyes and pulverize her ears, blinding and deafening herself to all that she was being forced to witness. But Soza did none of these things as she knelt beside her father who desperately tried to struggle to his hands and knees, but even that seemed beyond him in his current state. Tears of desperation and fear poured down her cheeks as she despised herself for being so completely useless, and she knew that was entirely what she was then, useless. Just a stupid child in the middle of all this chaos, helpless to do anything and helpless to make a difference.

In the end, that was what angered her the most.

---

Aang's entire body felt numb to the bone.

Not moments ago, he had been feeling something like genuine hope as he laid eyes on Kyoshi and Rangi and wondered if this was perhaps a turning point. Ursa had not only managed to hold her ground and bring Kyoshi to her knees, but it seemed like they now knew just what it was that had been driving the other Avatar on in the first place. Just by inferring from the words spoken between the two reunited women, he knew fully well why it was that Kyoshi had led this invasion and with the leverage that had been being used against her now freed and at her side, maybe that was how they could turn the tide.

And then, Sasuke's body had landed in their midst, and Madara had arrived with it. And Aang felt completely hopeless once more.

He had seen Sasuke draw to life a serpent the size of a small mountain to do his bidding. He had seen him summon a thunderstorm that he was able to focus and use to decimate an army. He had seen Sasuke enter the body of a massive violet demonic figure and become one with it, flying and slashing with blazing swords the length of buildings. He had seen black fire come into being from Sasuke's eyes alone, burning stronger than any flame that Aang had ever seen. He had watched Sasuke move with a speed and skill that was faster than the eye could track, allowing him to dispatch armed and trained soldiers like they were children. Aang had clung to this person at the chances he had received, before when he was a child and now too as a young man. There was an affection and love for Sasuke that he knew manifested itself in different ways, from friendship, the feeling of an older brother, to a crush that had unsuccessfully tried to hide.

Sasuke was invincible: that had been one of the few certainties that Aang had been able to cling to through all the mystery and anxiety that had been clustered in his mind over the course of the last several weeks. And now, he was lying on the ground near the group's feet, bloody, beaten, and clearly in more pain than Aang likely even understood.

The physical trauma that had clearly been laid against him would have been one thing; seeing him like this would have been a horrible shock to Aang under any circumstances, but even seeing all this, seeing Sasuke like this was nothing compared to the look Aang saw in his eyes.

Behind a pained and angry mask that made up his expression, Aang could see the fear in Sasuke's dark orbs. And then, even more awfully, he croaked out words, directed towards the group as he weakly made it to his hands and knees, blood dripping down as he didn't manage to so much meet any of their eyes.

"…run… I can't… beat him…"

It wasn't loud enough for likely anyone other than them to hear, but Aang still felt nothing short of horror drench his conscience at these five weakly uttered words. Beside him, Soza looked at her father with nothing but pure terror in her eyes and gingerly placed a hand on his back.

"Dad, get up… please…"

And above them, looking down with complete and utter control on his expression, Madara smirked.

"You all ought to know," he said, loud enough for his voice to carry to them all. "This was his decision. I offered freedom to him and to you, those that he has deemed all this chaos necessary in order to protect."

Even hearing Toph's voice felt surreal to Aang; it felt like he was in a different time and place than everyone else as his will shut down within him.

"You're going to lie, now?!" she barked up at Madara, but the expression on her face was one of reserved terror, no doubt at being able to feel Sasuke's weakened and shaking body. "Even if we'd believe that, what was the catch?! Like you'd really just offer that to him!"

Madara raised an eyebrow as he looked callously down towards Toph.

"Nothing more than privacy. I offered him free reign to go wherever he pleased with all of you in two. I only asked that I be left alone to conduct my work, to achieve my dream in peace. You all could have been on a boat sailing wherever you'd like by now, had he just had an ounce of sense in his twisted, self-righteous little mind."

Sasuke attempted to crawl forward a pace, but even this seemed to much for him and his face twisted in pain as he released a rasping snarl; he bowed his head and pressed it to the dirt beneath him as Soza shook with fresh tears. Ursa, who had positioned herself in such a way that she could stand freely between him and Madara, didn't seem able to hold herself in such a position any longer. Spinning on her heel at the sound of Sasuke's agony, she swept down to him and went to her knees, bracing Sasuke's neck and head against her lap. He rolled weakly onto his side, his head resting near her belly as he released quavering, rattling breaths. Soza remained where she was, one of her small hands reaching out and gently stroking her father's head, her lower lip shaking as she cried quietly at the sight of him.

Ursa looked up with barely controlled ire in her eyes as she held Sasuke.

"Any one of us could have told you that he wouldn't have given up this world, even if it meant protecting us. Because he knows that this is our world, not your playground to do with what you wish. He has more heart than you'll ever know."

As she snapped the words bitterly up at Madara, Aang realized then actually what Sasuke had been willing to sacrifice.

If Madara is telling the truth… that he really just offered that if Sasuke would leave him in peace to do what he wanted to our world…

He thought of the brash and brazen person Sasuke had been as a teenager, and still found himself doubting even then that he would have allowed such a thing to happen.

He could walk out of here, save us all, protect us all… but he knows that this is our world. He wouldn't allow that to be taken from us.

And as Aang imagined Sasuke sailing freely away from all of this chaos, and then turned his eye to the present and saw Sasuke's battered and wounded body lying shivering against Ursa's lap, he felt his vision blur with tears and his body heaved with a sob.

Why do you fight so hard for us?

Whatever force that Madara had been using to levitate himself faded and he dropped to land powerfully with a thud a dozen meters from where Sasuke lay. Ursa raised the hand that wasn't holding Sasuke to her, sword still gripped tightly in it.

"You touch him again, I'll flay you alive," she snarled. Madara gave her a pitying smile.

"My dear woman, if he couldn't land a scratch on me, what makes you think that you'll be able to manage?"

She grit her teeth and opened her mouth, no doubt to say something in rebuttal of Madara's taunt before Sasuke's hand weakly rose to clutch almost desperately at the front of her robes. Ursa turned her head down as Sasuke stared blankly off into the distance, his eyes not even seeming to register where he was.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered hoarsely. "I'm sorry… please… just run…"

Aang watched Ursa's expression blossom with fear and hurt at seeing the young man she loved in such a lowly state and Aang tried to force his legs to join her in standing at Sasuke's side, but he still felt so paralyzed with shock and fear. It seemed an easier task to collapse where he stood then take a single step, so he remained rooted where he was, his body shaking with silent tears. Then, a moment later, someone shoved past him; it wasn't much more than a brush but, in his state, it was nearly enough to knock him over as he looked after the person to see who had stepped free of their group.

Azula crossed the short distance in only about ten paces, her face no longer possessed with the same shock that had gripped Aang and the others. She stopped in front of Sasuke, her mother, and her daughter, turning her back on all three as she met Madara's gaze with a hardened expression. Her beautiful, predatory eyes locked on his with a silent promise as she stared him down and he gave his head a small, almost sad shake.

"The princess… I will say, it has truly been rather remarkable watching the way you've learned to care for people other than yourself. But surely you've matured enough to understand that after what you've done to him—"

"I don't care how he feels about me," Azula snapped, her clear and ringing voice cutting off Madara smoothly. "I will spend the rest of my life paying for my sins, but none of that matters. Regardless of the circumstances, Sasuke is the father of my child. I will not let you touch him. I will not let you touch any of them."

In terms of maturity, Aang could hardly believe the words coming from the woman he had so long believed to be void of empathy and caring. But Azula spoke them with such a force that he could hardly keep himself from believing that she really would on her own be able to prevent Madara from harming Sasuke any further. There was the sort of motherly assurance in her voice that Aang had heard Ursa use before, the certainty of a parent knowing they would do anything to protect. Even as she kept her hand on her father, Soza looked to her mother with a sort of awe finding its way onto her agonized face.

"This is not the first time I've heard such an assertion," Madara said, his powerful voice tinged with annoyance now even as he looked patronizingly at Azula. He seemed entirely ignorant of the couple hundred soldiers encircling them, nor the spirits above, until he raised his voice loudly; his words echoed unnaturally around the landscape, no doubt reaching all present.

"Soldiers and spirits. This is not your fight, nor has it ever been. Leave us now, preserve your own existence. No harm will come to you."

Sasuke released a sound from where he rested on Ursa's lap that sounded like a hacking chuckle, but it quickly devolved into several pained coughs as Ursa and Soza looked onto his weakened form anxiously and fearfully. Aang could see many of the Earth Nation soldiers looking to one another with various levels of uncertainty; looking hardly daunted, General Gokan took a powerful step forward.

"We will not be bullied into inaction by the words of a madman!" he rumbled and Aang managed to find a voice when he knew what such denial might imply.

"General, please!" he called out and Gokan looked to him. "If he wishes to kill you… I fear there's nothing you could do to stop him."

Madara nodded appreciatively, and the general looked at him with furrowed brow before turning his gaze back to Aang.

"Death or not, it is completely out of the question to abandon—"

"General, pull your men back to the wall," Zuko said clearly and evenly. His eyes never left Madara as he addressed Gokan. "Leave this matter to us. It is as personal as it is conflictual. You have my eternal gratitude for coming to our aid, but we must be the ones to finish it, we're the only ones who can."

Gokan's eyes traveled over the Fire Lord, to Aang who gave a pleading nod, to the rest of the group present. For a moment, Aang was sure he would continue to fight this request before a dark look passed over his face.

"Should anything happen to any of you…" he growled, the implication clear before he moved back and raised a hand into the air, marching towards Ba Sing Se without a look back. Silently, his soldiers pulled apart the perimeter they had formed and cleared away from the area. As neither anyone from Aang's group or Madara spoke to give the soldiers a moment to move out, Suki turned to her warriors; the pain that she was hiding in her expression was clear, even as she spoke strongly.

"All of you, pull back with Ba Sing Se's army."

Reina straightened her back, the look of outrage on her face matching the expressions of the women behind her. Based purely on their faces, Aang expected there would be more difficulty in managing to persuade them to leave, but Suki continued before they had a chance to air their grievances.

"I know you all would stand by me through the gates of hell," Suki said, her voice thick with emotion. "But Fire Lord Zuko is correct. The true root of this conflict is a personal one and it must be settled here. Stand down."

The looks of outrage turned to ones of conflicted emotions, but Reina still didn't seem ready to back down. Suki looked up at the taller woman, and her eyes flashed.

"That's an order, Reina."

The Kyoshi Warrior stared back at Kyoshi in a moment of stunned silence, the impersonal nature of the order clearly seeming to have affected her. Then, her eyes turned up towards Madara and then came back down to Suki, emotion audible in her tone then too.

"We will stand ready. Should we be needed, we will not hesitate to come to your side."

Suki said nothing in response to this and a moment later, Reina had snapped the order off to the rest of the garbed Kyoshi Warriors. They marched in formation after the Earth Nation soldiers, not a single one of them sparing a look at Kyoshi as they passed by. Madara, however, did turn to look at the taller Avatar, his grey eyes twinkling darkly.

"That goes for your forces as well."

The look of raw loathing that Kyoshi gave him then was as much emotion as any Aang had seen out of her, but she closed her eyes then and seemed to concentrate briefly. With that, the spirits above and around them silently floated their way to follow the other retreating army, making their way back towards the massive wall of Ba Sing Se. Aang didn't take his eyes to Madara as the exodus from where they were took place; the sky seemed to be visible as not a pure black blanket across the sky any longer, the indigo of dawn creeping near the horizon. And as the number standing on the ragged earth outside of Ba Sing Se fell drastically, Aang was forced to turn his thoughts to the single, pressing matter to which he desperately hoped there was an answer.

What do we do?

It had all come down to one man, one single person who was standing between them and the peace that Aang had found himself so desperately wishing for. If someone had told him that was the case in the days previous, he imagined he would likely have smiled confidently at them. For what was there that a single man could do against Sasuke, the most powerful being Aang had ever known?

But such an optimistic thought was something that seemed to only mock him now. That one man had clearly pulverized Sasuke to a dangerously low point. He rested still with his head in Ursa's lap, shivering and shaking, while his daughter stroked at his head with a sort of reserved desperation in her eyes as though performing such motions were all she could do to keep herself sane.

Sasuke had lost. Despite all the confidence he had possessed which had so often bordered on arrogance, he was now lying helplessly on the ground at their feet, more vulnerable then Aang had ever known him to be. Just even glancing towards his body now was enough to bring fresh tears surging back into his eyes to spill down over his cheeks.

Sasuke, why? Why did you go off like this, why did you get yourself into this mess…

Aang knew why, of course. In all of his incessant desire to tackle problems on his own, Sasuke had been sure that he could cut down the conflict at its roots to end the war and keep them all from danger. Sasuke, in his stupid, insufferable insistence that he could handle anything on his own, had all but gotten himself killed and now, Aang was faced with perhaps the most hopeless situation he had ever been confronted with.

Madara looked over his shoulder after a couple minutes or so to see the spirits hovering atop the wall and the Kyoshi Warriors and Earth Nation soldiers all in formation a good kilometer away down the plateau upon which he and the others now stood. Aang realized that now, it was just him and his friends looking across the short distance at Madara now; Kyoshi and Rangi stood to the side, both looking at Madara with pure hate in their eyes, though neither had moved or said a word. The horizon was now a genuine pink, splaying their shadows softly over the ground in long, surreal angles.

"Excellent, alone at last," Madara said, and he clapped his hands together as though he were an eccentric uncle at a family gathering; his fingers then blurred together and a moment later, Aang realized that, despite his own mental reservations that he wasn't able to move out of shock and fear, he now found that he physically couldn't move in the slightest. He seemed perfectly capable still of breathing and making sound, and his head was free to look around, but nothing else worked; his feet were rooted to the ground, his legs immobile, his torso stiff and immovable, and his arms stuck down at his sides. As he looked around at the others, he saw that only he and Kyoshi seemed to be the ones affected by this bizarre containment; he could see her face straining as she tried to move

"Just a little insurance policy," Madara said airily as though he were commenting on the consistency of clouds above. As Aang looked down to his feet, he saw with a start that his shadow was now connected by a swirling dark tendril to Madara's shadow as was Kyoshi's. No one seemed to have noticed how she and Aang were bound, but as Kyoshi tried to force her ensnared body into movement and couldn't quite manage so much as a step forward, she fixed her gaze with bitter fury on Madara.

"Coward," she snarled. The usual reserve she had always seemed to conduct herself with had seemingly left as she looked ahead towards Madara with an ire that suggested she wanted to do nothing more than rush him and choke the life from his smirking face. "Let me free of this and I'll show you just—"

"Kyoshi, keep quiet or I'll rip Rangi's guts out," Madara said softly without looking at her. Her expression becoming that of someone who had just choked on a bite of food, Kyoshi swallowed hard and jammed her mouth shut. Beside her, Rangi swelled up, just as furious as the Avatar beside her looked.

"Don't you fucking talk to her like that! I'd rip you apart myself if you didn't—!"

"Rangi, keep quiet or I'll break every bone in Kyoshi's body," Madara added, just as softly and just like that, both women were thrust into silence as they stared daggers at the man who had just threatened them. Madara looked entirely unconcerned with the fury being sent his way through their intense gazes and he only smirked further.

"Love makes people pathetically easy to control," he intoned, seemingly to no one in particular before he cocked his head to look past Azula towards Soza. "You could have seen this coming yourself, couldn't you have, child? After all, you did confirm with Kyoshi yourself the nature of her binding. Her response should have made that crystal clear."

Soza cast a single terrified and spiteful glare Madara's way before turning back to her father without a word. Azula furrowed her brow further then as she moved to fully block her daughter from Madara's view.

"Don't you speak to her," she growled. "You don't say a word to her."

"Well, rather humorlessly, if we leave Kyoshi and Rangi to the side as well as poor Sasuke there, Soza is the one I've gotten to know the best," Madara said, smiling at Azula in an instigating fashion. "Though I've spoken with her only once, I've learned much about her, and she certainly is quite the specimen to be proud of."

Azula's restraint snapped at those few, taunting words.

"DON'T YOU—!" she started, taking an angry step forward before stopping rather suddenly. She looked down in surprise and Aang followed her eyes to see Sasuke had reached out desperately and wrapped a hand around her ankle. His arm seemed limp and his grip loose, but the action alone seemed enough to completely derail Azula's sudden and furious advance. She looked down at him with wide and frightened eyes, and Aang could only wonder what was going on inside her head; Azula had been the one the most infatuated with Sasuke, with his being and his power. What was it doing to her now to see him in such a state?

"Don't…" he croaked, barely able to lift his head from Ursa's lap. "Don't…"

"Sasuke…" Azula whispered and from across the way, Madara gave a loud chuckle.

"Even now, he's doing all he can to keep the lot of you safe," he said with a shake of his head.

"And what more should he do?!"

The angry raised voice came from Katara who, despite all that was happening, Aang's heart still leapt for a multitude of reasons at seeing her. There was no denying the deep feelings he still had for her, but he couldn't reason in his head how it was possible that she was there with them now. He had seen her, and Mai arrive with Rangi and the sight of her had only added to his speechlessness. It hadn't taken long for him to remember however that there was much more pressing matters at hand just then.

"Sasuke might be one of the biggest jackasses I've ever met," Katara continued in a fierce growl, her expression alive and angry. "But he also has one of the largest hearts I've ever known. I wouldn't have needed to be told that he had been through what he has today on our behalf, because I would have known it just as easily. He loves us and he'll do anything to protect us."

"And look where that's gotten him," Madara replied coolly. "Right on the edge of death's doorstep because he couldn't separate this heart you speak of from reason. He's doomed himself because of his emotional stubbornness."

There came a laugh then, but it wasn't from Madara. He, along with the rest of the group, turned to look in surprise at Sokka who, despite the clear tension on his face, was somehow smiling.

"Look," he said, raising his hands in a gesture of goodwill towards Madara. "I don't know how well you think you know Sasuke. Considering you both come from the same world, I'd hazard a guess and say that you probably know a good bit about him. But… you haven't got a damn clue if you think the word 'stubbornness' so much as comes close to covering it."

He continued to smile at Madara with perhaps the only confidence the group had among them.

"He's not finished yet. I don't know how, but you're gonna lose."

Madara looked at Sokka for a long while, slowly raising an eyebrow. Suki was looking at her husband with an expression that suggested she rather wanted to slap him for so much as even potentially provoking Madara.

"Do not assume that I've gone as far as underestimating Sasuke," he finally replied, gazing coldly towards Sokka with his grey and piercing eyes. "For example, I haven't so much as once taken my attention away from him since I rather unceremoniously dumped him at your feet. Though I rather doubt he could even stand right now on his own, his chakra is likely surely working to heal his wounds. However slow that might be, even in the state he's in now, he's more of a threat than all of you combined."

He inclined his head.

"I simply thought I'd show you what had become of your little 'hero' before I properly dispose of him."

Aang heard a cry of anguish from his left and he turned in time for Toph to go lunging past him; she made it a couple paces was all before Ty Lee and Jin intercepted her, holding her tightly and straining to keep her from making the mistake of charging a being like Madara. Even with both of them restraining her, Aang could see them both grit their teeth at the effort it took to keep Toph where she was.

"You're a monster!" she roared, after a moment of struggling against the grips of her friends. "You've come here, thrown our world into chaos, tortured Sasuke, and for what?! Why are you doing all this?! You find hurting us amusing?!"

Half-expecting Madara's smile to only widen at the clear distress he had provoked in Toph, Aang watched as the corners of the black-haired man's mouth rather turned down in a small frown.

"The struggles of your little entourage have always been something I've found rather humorous to observe," he said quietly. "But I find it rather insulting that you would assume that so simple a task to achieve would be my end goal."

Toph released a short, angry scream through clenched teeth as she redoubled her efforts against Ty Lee and Jin, but she stopped immediately when a hoarse groan resounded from behind Azula.

Sasuke was somehow trying to get himself into what might have been a sitting position but was clearly struggling with even so simple a task. He made it only about halfway before falling back and Ursa caught him against her chest, her sword dropping to her side as she threw both her arms gently around Sasuke's limp body. As Ursa held him to her and Soza gripped the ripped sleeve of his shirt, he locked tired eyes on Madara and even then, they still seemed to glow with a vicious intensity.

"Tell them… then…" he growled out. "Tell… them… what the… whole point… is…"

He gave a violent shake and Aang saw tears finally break over Ursa's cheeks as she held him a touch tighter. Madara nodded understandingly at Sasuke.

"I have no complaint in doing that," he said. "I will be doing them the largest favor I can after all, despite your complete lack of faith in such a circumstance."

Sasuke merely glared at him which prompted Madara to give him a small smirk before he gestured around to the lot of them, spreading his arms.

"When Sasuke has been appropriately disposed of, I will be placing your entire world, every last man, woman, and child, under a jutsu. You will all fall into a deep sleep, one you will not even know you are within for, once asleep, your dreams will become your reality. These dreams will be of whatever you desire the most for your future and your consciousness will live out the remainder of its existence in peaceful bliss. Perhaps you will find yourself back in this moment, defeating me, and going on to live your lives as normal."

His eyes flicked to Azula.

"Perhaps you will find yourself in a place of ultimate power, where nothing is able to resist you."

They flicked to Mai.

"Perhaps you will see yourself in the most pure and perfect relationship, that what you fear in this present reality you can never achieve."

They moved down to Ursa.

"Perhaps you will see yourself and your family, completely free and safe from all threats and fear, happy for the remainder of your days."

He gave a slow nod.

"This is what I will be giving to you," Madara said, seeming to be under the impression that he was in fact truly granting them all the most substantial favor that could ever be bestowed. "You will be free of the anxieties, the fears, the dangers, the obstacles, the unfairness, the pain that muddles your lives. Your world will be an example to myself, proof that I might indeed be able to use a powerful enough reservoir of energy to force peace upon the worlds of men. Humanity will never truly be able to distance itself from conflict and war; I will dissipate this plague for you all. There will be no more meaningless death and suffering by cause of selfishness, greed, and ire. You will be given the future that you most wish to see for yourself and will be none the wiser that the reality you live in is an illusion within your mind. You will be able to live long, happy, and fulfilling lives within this new reality that I will create for you."

Aang's heart no longer even felt as though it was beating. With each word that Madara uttered, he felt as though he were being pulled away further and further, as though his consciousness was separating from his body. This already felt like a dream; it shouldn't have been possible for such a power to even be wielded, for Madara to truly wipe them all of their lives and force them into an eternal slumber, but Aang knew fully well that the power of people like this was never to be underestimated.

"You would strip away… everything we have," Yue murmured, her eyes wide and horrified. "And turn us into nothing more than dormant beings, lost within a dreamworld?"

Madara looked at her without his smile wavering in the slightest.

"Let me ask you this, Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe," he said assuringly. "If you could close your eyes and then open them to find yourself back in your home alongside your parents, with no memory of any of this happening, would you accept that? Or you could remember that all your struggles took place, and that right now, you somehow land a final blow on me and end all this. A different reality that you would have no idea is inside your head, perfect and serene, and without you having any clue that it was actually an illusion. To have that ease upon you, to have all this burden lifted from your shoulders, would you not want that chance? To be free of such pain?"

Yue didn't look able to reply to Madara's words, but Ty Lee spoke up then, her voice choked and pained.

"Free? There's no freedom in what you're telling us you're going to subject us to," she said hollowly. "We would lose everything that makes us human, no free will, no—"

"No hurt, no pain, no agony, no fear, no despair," Madara cut her off, a touch of genuine impatience creeping into his tone then. He turned his vision towards Soza who was still silently crying beside her father.

"What this child has seen, what she has suffered through, both in recent days and at the hands of her sociopathic mother in her upbringing, would it not be a mercy to put her in reality where nothing can harm her?"

Azula bristled while Toph seemed to find her voice again at the mention of Soza.

"If you do anything to her, I'll—"

Her no doubt soon-to-be threat was cut off then by the softest of voices, speaking just gently from behind Azula.

"No."

Soza's voice was a gentle breeze against Madara's rumbling tone and Aang needed nearly to strain his ears to hear her words. Her miserable eyes never left her father as she remained loyally beside him, but it was no question as to who her words were addressed to.

"I don't want to lose this. Right now… it hurts more than anything. I hate seeing what… what you've done to my dad. I hate knowing that people have been hurt because of me. I hate that I'm a monster."

Azula's face seemed to shatter in pain as she turned back to look at her daughter with all the emotion on her face that suggested she wanted nothing more than to break down and hug Soza, the first time Aang could ever remember seeing her wear such an expression.

"But…" Soza continued quietly, picking at the fraying fabric on Sasuke's sleeve. "…that hurt just means that I'm alive. That I'm real. I want to live. And I want to be real. Even when it hurts, I don't want this to be… fake. I don't want a perfect illusion. Even if it makes me forget all of this pain, I don't want that. I want it to be real."

The blank look in Sasuke's eyes seemed to shine with clarity then as he looked at his daughter with what was very clearly pride glistening there. Azula stared at her daughter in shock as a smile touched Ursa's tear-soaked face. Toph's rage was still clearly present, but her face had tightened more so with emotion then as she grit her teeth while her face turned in the direction of Soza. Aang felt his own heart swell with affection for the girl then too; it was amazing to him how, with everything that she had been forced to deal with over the past several weeks, rather than beat her down and force her to crumble, she seemed to have grown more than anything.

Madara, however, looked anything but pleased as he looked at Soza with a disgruntled look in his eyes.

"How fitting," he muttered. "Those are very near to the same words your father spoke to me when I originally presented him with this same plan."

"That's what this is all for then?" Jin asked him, her grip still tight on Toph as her voice was quite high in pitch. "Peace? That's your end goal?"

"As should be the end goal of man itself," Madara said irritably. "If there is one thing more pathetic than man's attempts to rise above his fellow, it is man's lack of desire to try and strive for peace as they sow endless conflict. I have watched my own world tear itself asunder year after year, with no clear end in sight and having spent time in your world, it isn't remotely better off than my own. I will cast out all possibility of war between them both and free all of you from this burden, regardless of your notion than I might somehow be in the wrong for my actions."

"How can you possibly equate taking away a person's freedom to setting them free?!" Mai shouted out then. "Can you really not see how contradictory that is?!"

"They may share the same root word, but they are very different things," Madara replied icily. "If you truly think you would be happier with the bleak, brutal reality of freedom, it's merely because you've never lived within paradise. Paradise is not something that can be achieved by humanity, it can only be granted to you as I will bring about. Before the sun has reached its peak in the sky today, you will not remember the anxiety and the pain you feel now. It will be erased from the consciousness, and you will thrive in true paradise, the paradise that only the mind can accurately create."

He pointed towards Sasuke's reposed body.

"I will deal with him, and then all will be made right."

Jin released Toph's arm to step forward.

"Peace!" she cried out towards Madara who looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"Peace!" she said loudly again. "You say you want peace! For us, for everyone!"

"Astutely noted," Madara replied dryly, and Jin pulled in a deep swallow before continuing.

"Then please, please, don't kill him!" she begged. "What good comes of it now?! You've beaten him! He can't get up and fight you any longer! If you're going to let all of us live in this paradise you're talking about, why can't he—"

"It doesn't matter if he's alive or not," Madara cut her off. "I have no doubt that in all your minds, you will see Sasuke alive and well, acting out whatever role you most wish him to play in your lives."

He glanced at Zuko with an almost pitying expression.

"Perhaps not in yours. I imagine you hold enough grievance towards him that perhaps your fantasy would result in him being entirely excluded from the equation. I suppose you rather hold a fair bite of hate for him, don't you, Fire Lord?"

Zuko turned his eyes down with his lips tightening. He took deep long breaths as Mai looked over at him with emotions of all sorts etched onto her face. Aang opened his mouth to interject and keep Madara from winding Zuko up even more until the Fire Lord jammed his eyes shut and spoke, his face turned downwards.

"You're right… I do hate him."

It somehow grew more silent as Zuko's admittance passed over them all. Azula fixed her brother with a somewhat judgmental glare, Ursa looked more miserable than ever before, and Mai turned her head away so that Aang couldn't see her expression.

"After what's happened between him and my sister, and my mother, and…"

The discomfort jammed its way into Aang's gut as he knew it did with everyone else present; though it had hardly been discussed openly between any of them as far as Aang knew, no one could have missed Mai's overall reaction to Sasuke since he had rejoined their number.

Speaking of Sasuke, Aang looked down and saw his exhausted, pained eyes still looking at Zuko and Aang thought he could see regret flickering in Sasuke's dark orbs.

"But… I don't want him gone. For all the reasons I have to dislike him, he's saved my life well more than once. And more importantly than that, he's saved the lives of the people I care most about. Regardless of how I feel about him, I know that he cares about… me. Just as he cares about everyone else here whose lives you've made miserable since you started using Kyoshi and the spirits to chase us. And even more so, despite how I might feel about them…"

He looked up and Aang couldn't believe the genuine smile that was on Zuko's face then.

"He makes my mom happy."

Ursa looked at her son in surprise and tears immediately brimmed in her wide eyes. Zuko gave his head a small shake as though he couldn't believe he was even able to say such a thing.

"More than I hate Sasuke, I love him for the good he's done for all of us. Maybe chaos and pain have followed him since he arrived and we've been caught up in that as such, but it was never his choice. We became part of his life, and he became a part of ours."

He took a deep breath before clenching his fists at his side.

"Which is why I know that everyone standing here next to me will die before they let you lay a hand on him."

And as Aang looked at the expressions of all his friends, he knew that Zuko had spoken truth. Suki, Sokka, Yue, Ty Lee, Jin, Toph, Mai, and Katara all had adopted looks of raw determination and from where she knelt, Ursa looked just as assuredly towards Madara with a fierce expression behind an emotional smile.

"Well said, brother," Azula said softly with a smile of her own. Soza was looking around as though she couldn't believe that everyone was actually willing to take a stand against Madara; it was clear from the stunned look in her eyes that she hadn't expected something like to even be possible. But with a hearty sniff, she leaned in and gave Sasuke a kiss on the cheek before standing, squaring her shoulders, and moving to stand beside her mother. Azula's eyes flicked briefly to look at her daughter.

"Soza, stay behind me," she ordered quietly, but Soza didn't listen. She instead stared across the way at Madara who looked at her unreadably.

"You asked me what victory was," she said, her voice ringing out clearly. "And you asked me what I would be willing to give for it."

She clenched her fists at her side and then brought them up into a readied firebending stance.

"I think you should know full well what this means then."

Madara stared at her as though entirely sure of what to think before releasing a sigh. From where he lay in Ursa's hold, Sasuke struggled to move, rasping out at all of them angrily.

"Stop… don't… try it… run!"

His voice desperately croaked out, but no one seemed to heed his words. Aang struggled against the invisible hold pinning him in place as Madara gave another sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

"Very well."

His hands once again moved just as Aang had seen them before and at once, he along with nearly all of his friends were forced to their knees by an invisible force, their arms pulled behind them. As Aang looked, he saw that Madara's shadow had extended to each of them in turn.

"I had hoped this wouldn't be necessary," Madara said almost thoughtfully as though still deeply considering his options. "But as I have no wish to kill any of you…"

Ahead of him, Aang realized that Ursa had been the only ones spared. Azula, who had crashed to her knees and was furiously straining against the pull of the shadow, turned to look at her mother with her face pulled in a furious snarl.

"Mother, take Sasuke and run!"

Ursa was looking around at all of them as though trying to figure what had just taken place. Aang was no longer alone in his struggles then as he watched his friends all grit their teeth and struggle intensely against the grip that now tightly kept them from moving. It was terrifyingly just as it had been when Koh had summoned the shadowy spirits to pin them in place back at the Northern Water Tribe. There was a terrifying difference between being surrounded to actually being forced into immobility for Aang, Zuko, Toph, Katara, Soza, and Azula; without being able to move their bodies, bending was out of the question.

Not again… not again!

Once again, Aang realized he had no choice but to watch in unity with his friends as they waited for their judgement to be delivered.

"Get… out of here…" Sasuke whispered, bringing a hand up to grip Ursa's and Aang saw that he was shaking no longer. She merely looked down at him for a moment with a rather blank expression as she slowly took her hand to run against his dirt and blood-soaked cheek. Then, a sad smile graced Ursa's lips as she looked down wearily at him.

"I won't leave you. Never again," she said gently and bent down to kiss him on the forehead just as Soza had.

"I promised, remember?"

Sasuke's face tightened in agony as though he were about to break into tears himself, but Ursa lowered her head to kiss him on the lips then, the longevity of the moment suggesting that she was fully aware this would be the last time. Moving him gently, Ursa laid Sasuke down on the ground before standing in front of him, angling her sword towards Madara.

"What are you doing?!" Azula screamed, but Ursa's attention seemed to be fully locked forward. Madara looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

"I didn't bind you on purpose," he admitted after several painful seconds of silence. "I know where all these others stand with Sasuke, and I know they would never abandon him. But you… you've only known of his very existence for… how long? A month? Perhaps a little longer? And yet… you stand here, pregnant with his child, and clearly willing to die just as readily for him as any of the others."

He gave his head a slow shake, truly seeming at a loss.

"How can this be? Has he cast some jutsu on you even I don't know the extent of?"

It was almost gratifying to hear Ursa laugh then, a genuine and full sound, openly disparaging Madara's confusion. She looked at him with tired eyes and a broad smile on her face.

"I should have died long ago," she said plainly. "I should have died for what I did to my children for a start. But even when I had taken to the seas so many miles away from here, I had always felt that I was somehow on borrowed time. It didn't seem logical to think so, not with how hardened of a ship I ran, but I was just waiting for us to finally get in a ship-to-ship battle we couldn't win, or for one of my crew to stab me in the back. It was strange; years were passing as I simply ran through the motions, getting better and better at what I did as a captain, as a master of the sword, as a leader. And it never quite felt real, as though I were already in some purgatory, supposed to be learning some lesson I didn't understand."

Her eyes turned down a moment before closing and Sasuke could see the emotion on her face.

"But you should have seen me that night. Sitting in that oceanside pub, speaking with two of my crew about my plans for our next voyage, and he comes walking right up and sits down in front of me."

It didn't take much guesswork to understand that she was talking about Sasuke.

"I wasn't in love with him then, but it didn't take long. I learned quickly that he was capable of powers I knew I would likely never be able to understand, but that didn't matter all that much to me. Because his powers were nothing compared to the person I was getting to know after he hired myself and my crew to take him back here to the Four Nations. He was still so young a man, and yet his eyes were those of a person who had seen enough hurt and pain for well over a lifetime."

Her words didn't grow abashed in the slightest as the personal nature of her relationship with Sasuke was admitted to, something Aang hadn't ever expected to hear.

"I won't lie, I pursued him. His powerful and yet vulnerable nature was attractive to me, and I told myself that it was just a physical attraction that I needed out of my system. Before I knew it, I was pushing myself onto him, and from there, I had already lost. I fell in love with Sasuke as incredibly hard as it is possible to fall in love with a person. I awoke from those years of purgatory with fire in my heart, and purpose to live, to get back to my children, to right the wrongs I had left behind here, and to love this boy with all my heart, just as I would find he loved me."

She glanced at the edge of her sword as though trying to imagine how it might be possible that she would be able to use it to somehow emerge victorious from what was so incredibly obvious a venture into suicide.

"You speak of placing everyone in an illusion, a perfect dream where their consciousness will remain happy for the rest of time, and thus you will impose peace on the world."

Madara nodded slowly, his expression back to unreadable. Ursa registered the motion of his head, before giving her own a small shake.

"My granddaughter is quite right; a life with pain reminds you that there is good to be sought in that life. There is no part of me that would want to live a life in a dream, no matter how much I would…"

Her words choked off slightly and Aang knew why. It was the same reason that he knew he would have struggled in denying such a thing had he needed to speak on it himself.

I don't want to live as a slave to my own mind… but if I had no idea it was happening at all… and it really was as perfect as Madara says… yeah, I guess there's a part of me that would want that.

Ursa seemed to get herself over that same hump relatively quickly and she looked up to look strongly back at Madara, her smile glowing every stronger.

"If this is how it has to be, yes, I will die protecting him."

Azula and Zuko both erupted in cries of denial, but at a wave from Madara, the shadowy possession of their bodies forced their mouths shut. His eyes never left Ursa's as he didn't seem like he even wanted to look away from her as though it might break some invisible spell that was so intriguing him about her explanation.

"Death… instead of blissful, ignorant heaven," he murmured softly.

Ursa nodded and Madara's face ever so gradually began to twist with something that looked like genuine, frustrated anger though he kept the emotion well in check as he looked up towards the lightening sky.

"Why… why is everyone so content in living in such miserable freedom…? Can no one see the mercy in this…?"

Releasing a long, almost detached sigh through his nostrils, he looked back to the lot of them and then forward to Ursa.

"I understand."

His shadow flashed out with another extension along its black surface, binding it tightly to Ursa's. Within a moment, she was yanked to the side, a distance between Sasuke and the group as she too was forced to her knees. Crying out, she tried to fight against it, but just as the rest of them had found, there was no avail in it. Madara looked at her with still some intrigue, but resignment having taken over his expression.

"As said, I have no desire to kill any of you. Your choice of free will is certainly… interesting. But only one more life must be taken today."

He turned his eyes back towards Sasuke and Ursa released a furious roar, the sound of a mother wanting to protect her children, the sound of a lover faced with tragedy. Madara ignored her as he looked at the weak form of Sasuke who was struggling to prop himself up onto his elbows as he looked ahead in defiance.

"I did tell you, Sasuke," he said. "You had your choice. You could have left with them, and you could all have run away to live the rest of your lives in miserable reality. Or you could be joining them now as they pass into blissful peace. But this is what you chose."

Toph gave another scream through her gritted teeth and strained furiously against her bonds before turning her head towards Madara, her rage replaced by a terrified and imploring expression.

"Please!" she begged. "You said you gave him the option to leave! Just let him go! You've beaten him, it's over now!"

Madara didn't look away from Sasuke as he replied gently to her.

"If I were to free Sasuke into the wilderness, he would return for me. He would try and free you by destroying me and the peace I've created, and I would only be forced to defeat him again."

"No, he wouldn't!" Toph cried. "He'd leave you be! He'd leave this all alone, he wouldn't come back!"

Azula heard the hope in Toph's plea and joined in, her voice much lower and controlled, but there was the same imploring nature in her measured tone.

"That's right. He doesn't want any more of this; all he's wanted is to be free of the conflict that's followed him. Conflict forced upon you by him, and conflict that we, that I, have forced on him. That's what this is all about, isn't it? Eliminating conflict?"

Madara looked carefully at Sasuke while Azula continued, Toph turning her way with gratitude on her face; Aang knew he wasn't alone in being stunned by Azula's admittance in her harming of Sasuke.

"You let him go, let him be free of this. Just let him go, and finish this, put us all in your illusion," she growled. "There's nothing left to prove. Just let him go."

Slowly, the corners of Madara's mouth turned up in a smirk, but there was no denying the pain behind it and it caused Aang to blink.

Why does he look so hurt?

"What do you think, Sasuke?" Madara asked. "Should I let you walk away?"

The sounds of the group struggling fell to complete silence as every pair of eyes went to Sasuke. He had managed to get himself up to one elbow from where he rested on the rugged dirt. Toph and Azula both looked like they were unable to breathe as they waited for an answer out of him and Ursa had closed her eyes tightly, her lips tight as Aang saw fresh tears leak around the corners of her eyelids.

"I think…" Sasuke growled from the ground between his daughter and daughter's mother. "…that if you let me go, I'll come right back as long as I have life in my bones."

Azula turned her gaze up in agonized frustration as Toph released a cry that harkened of the same. Ursa bowed her head, and the tears splashed the ground at her feet. Madara gave an understanding nod, not looking either amused or disappointed, merely as though his point had been proven for him.

"I know you would," he said quietly and then, with no further ceremony to be had, blue ribs sprouted around his body and the upper torso of his Susanoo formed around him with a single arm projecting from its shoulder. The still growing light of dawn was completely swallowed by the bright blue glow of its being as it pulled a sword back behind its head.

"Know this, Sasuke," Madara said, his voice almost sounding apologetic. "They will suffer no longer. For they hold you in their hearts, they will see you again. I only lament you will be unable to join them in paradise."

Sasuke only smiled defiantly forward as the massive blade came up over Madara's head. Aang heard his own voice scream out in a final, desperate plea and heard the chorus of cries around him that joined his miserable and hopeless shout. Madara didn't pay a single of them any mind, his sole focus on Sasuke, as the giant, flickering blue blade hovered just a moment above his Susanoo's head before coming down and connecting with an explosive retort, a cloud of dirt kicking up blindingly around it. Aang jammed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep himself from being blinded by the particles but as he felt his face cease to be pelted with particles of dust, he found he didn't want to open his eyes.

He didn't want to see what had happened; he wanted to keep his eyes closed forever. But eventually, with a sob, he defied his own wishes and cracked them open.

And what he had been imagining in his head was nothing like what he saw then.

---

Soza didn't know quite how it had happened. A piece of her mind was picking at itself rather relentlessly, trying to figure how any of this could even be possible. What she did know, however, was what it had brought it on.

She hadn't had much time to think about the man known as Madara Uchiha. For all the words she had shared with him, nothing short of total fear had eclipsed her heart when standing in his presence. It was like her father, but with none of the comforts of knowing she was safe with him. Madara wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them should he find it necessary and even then as he showed nearly all of them mercy, he was openly preparing to destroy her father.

We lost.

It was a concept that was completely foreign to her in every sense of the word, but she knew it to be true. They were all being held, powerless to stop this, and watching as Sasuke, her father, was about to meet his end. She had heard Toph, her mother, her grandmother, all of the people she had traveled with for weeks crying out in a final sort of agony, and she had felt herself screaming as well.

And then her scream had stopped. For her agony was replaced.

Hate, complete and surging hate burst from her heart and spread through every inch of her body. She looked ahead at the man who was so ready to damn their world without any word from its inhabitants, she saw the man who more or less had orchestrated every awful thing that had happened to them, and she glared at Madara, the one who would take her father from her. The hate gathered, blisteringly hot and unfathomably powerful, until it exploded out all around her; Soza felt the shadowy grip that had pinned her be burned away as her voice rang out in a spiteful bellow.

"Leave him ALONE!"

The hate kept her from really reacting to what was happening around her then. She was distantly aware of the giant, glowing torso that had formed around her, flamingly scarlet with a more feminine profile than Madara's, with broad, spreading wings instead of arms and the head of a dragon instead of that of a person. She saw Madara look from where he stood within his own translucent body, his eyes widening and Soza felt vicious satisfaction ripple through her form as, though it were an extension of her own head, the sizzling, shimmering dragon head above her opened its mouth and belched an unrelenting geyser of blue flame, drowning Madara's Susanoo in a pure azure inferno.

For every second that the fire billowed from the mouth of the humanoid dragon form that had gathered around Soza, she felt her hate burst from her, replenishing just as quickly. The flame that scorched the form of Madara ahead of her was the same blue fire that she had inherited from her mother, but Soza was distantly aware of the other power that was mixing with it. This power mixed with the fire of her bending was in fact melting the blue Susanoo before her and, whether it was from frustration or actual hurt, she could see Madara roaring when the crackling flame briefly allowed her to see his face.

Yes… YES!

She knew that it was the same hate that had allowed her to so enjoyably burn the life from Lord Gilbert, but it seemed even more ravenous now. The fiery red figure that had formed around her seemed to glisten with her very fury and utter despisement for Madara made her feel like she could continue to blast his being with her fire until the end of time, and she gave a furious bellow as the dragon's head above continued to project her hate in the form of a raging inferno. Madara seemed to be trying to reform his Susanoo but was failing to sustain it any more than Soza could burn its very essence into nothingness, and she could see her attack getting through his defenses as he grit his teeth intently just before her. The wings of her newfound being thudded enormously behind her and she hoped more than anything that this would be the end of Madara here and now; by some miracle, she could—

The blinding bolt of white and blue light slashed through the firestorm that she was doing everything in her power to immolate Madara within and struck her Susanoo dead center in its chest. Its body acted as a conductor as the lightning sparked down and Soza felt herself scream as it suddenly felt as though her body was being pierced by hundreds of knives. The great monstrous form around her flickered for a moment and then faded away into nothingness as she felt herself no longer able to sustain it. Suddenly, she was just a child, falling weakly to her knees as she blurrily saw what looked like steam rising from her arms.

Ahead of her, the blue fire she had been hammering Madara with faded away into nothing, revealing the man still standing there sans his own Susanoo. Soza saw him panting, his mouth slightly open as he stared at her with a mixture of anger and bewilderment on his face, and she felt only pain limpen her heart, pain that was more than the burst of electricity that had just rocked her body.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't destroy him.

She dropped back onto her rear, hating how pathetic she knew she would have had to look just then. When she heard the muffled sound of her mother and Toph both crying her name, she realized that her hearing had been at least temporarily damaged. With a weak, jerking movement, she turned her head to see her father behind her.

He had made it up to one knee, despite how much even that effort seemed to have cost him dearly, but the pain he was no doubt suffering through didn't make it to his expression. His eyes were only on Soza, almost blank as they gazed at her.

She felt tears in her eyes then; with no chance of holding them back, her body gave a weak sob that caused shivering pain to flush through her body.

"Dad, I'm sorry!" she cried out, twisting her aching form to try and reach him. Soza was only able to crawl a couple paces before she felt herself falling only for her father to reach out an arm to catch her. She heard him grimace at the effort, but before she could look up to him, he had pulled her to his chest. Hearing the thumping of his heart, Soza pulled her legs up, tucking her arms close to her chest, not caring then if anyone saw how weak she looked. She curled like the worthless child she knew she was in her father's arms, crying quietly, and apologizing again and again.

I couldn't do it. Even with all that hate… I couldn't beat him. I couldn't protect dad… I couldn't do anything.

And now, she had nothing left but to pray that the moment she now had in her father's arms would last forever, knowing that when it did end, she couldn't do anything to keep him from being pulled from her.

---

Sasuke had never felt quite so miserable in his life.

He had spent the previous hours trying to do all that he could to get some kind of upper hand on Madara, to find some way past his defenses, but after his failure with using Kamui, he had never come anywhere close to regaining the confidence he had initially led the fight with. Madara had beaten him down with deadly precision and sent him crashing to the ground at the feet of his friends.

His chakra flow had started to work on mending his more grievous injuries, but with the fixing of the numbing feeling that had kept his head so fuzzy, he had been forced into fresh pain as his awareness of the damage dealt to his body became crystal clear. But he would have taken that physical pain a hundred times over if he could to spare himself the hurt in his heart that came when Madara stepped down, ordered the Earth Nation soldiers and spirits away, and it had come down to just him and the people he cared so much for against a man he could see no way of stopping.

It had hurt bad enough when he had heard his friends speak on his behalf, confirming that they would stand by him to the death. It had hurt worse when he had felt the immeasurable comfort of Ursa's body against him, holding him to her as Sasuke wondered if it would be the last time he would ever feel her touch. It was utter agony to know that there was nothing he could do to stop Madara from killing him and then forcing his family and friends into complete and utter submission by means of a vast eternal dream.

But to watch his daughter explode with a wrath he would never have wanted to see from her, coalescing into a Susanoo of her very own, only to be battered down by Madara's endless reserve of power, to then look at him with a fear that had taken him a moment to identify had broken his heart.

She's sorry she disappointed me.

Soza had thought somehow, with this sudden explosion of power on her part that had inevitably been beaten down, that she had disappointed her father and the heartbroken apology that had spilled from her had crushed his spirit even beyond the point that it already was.

Now he rested on the ground with Soza, holding her tight to him while she cried, feeling as horrible as he ever had. More than ever, he wanted to be able to end this all, but he now knew more than ever that it simply wasn't possible.

Sasuke couldn't do it. He didn't know how he could beat Madara.

He was distantly aware of the others beside him; Azula had been flung to the side by the explosive burst of Soza's Susanoo, but Madara had quickly grabbed her again and she was pinned beside her mother. Sasuke could hear the both of them and the others trying to say things to him, or to continue to plead with Madara to leave him and Soza alone. Sasuke didn't really register what they were saying beyond the bare meaning; while his body ached horribly, the world around him had gone strangely numb.

Madara was slowly advancing on him now and he forced himself to tune in what the other Uchiha was saying.

"That child… truly is something. Perhaps I won't put her under my sleep with the rest of this world," he said in a growl. "She might be too informative for me to just lay aside like that."

"IF YOU LAY A HAND ON HER, I SWEAR I'LL—"

Toph gave a cry of pain that cut off her would be threat as Madara's shadow twisted her arms to a hurtful degree; his eyes never left Sasuke and Soza however as he drew ever nearer.

"Perhaps… perhaps I misjudged what you and that vile princess were capable of making," he continued softly and Sasuke drew his gaze slowly up to glare disdainfully at Madara. Stopping a couple meters away, Madara took in a long breath before spreading his arms and Sasuke furrowed his brow as his enemy gave a small grimace.

Is he… hurt?

"But no matter," Madara said, gazing down condescendingly on the pair of them; Soza gripped Sasuke's shirt all the tighter as she wept harder still at hearing Madara so close to them. "It was an impressive last-ditch effort child, but I'm afraid that—"

Sasuke never saw it coming. He doubted anyone there being held hostage by Madara's jutsu saw it coming.

And most importantly, Madara certainly never saw it coming.

There was the barest flicker of shining blue behind his mane of jet-black hair before something struck him in the back. After a moment that lasted only the blink of an eye, a thundering explosion erupted from Madara's back as a fountain of lightning spat outwards. As the shockwave hit Sasuke and about knocked the wind from him, he had time to see Madara's face shine with a brief moment of surprise before his body went shooting over Sasuke's head as the retort of the blast sent his body sailing like a rock skipping over water. In the blink of an eye, Madara had been shot off towards the horizon, perhaps skidding kilometers away towards the faintest glimmer of the rising sun.

A pair of feet touched down lightly next to Sasuke, and he didn't need to look to know who had just joined them.

"Appreciate it… but I could have done with you showing up a little earlier."

He turned his eyes up then to see his old sensei looking back at him, his voice light, but Sasuke could see the seriousness in his expression.

"Figured better late than never."

---

Minutes Prior

Kakashi suddenly found himself waking up as a harsh powerful odor washed through his nostrils. He jerked his head up as his expression scrunched almost involuntarily and looked around immediately to survey his surroundings.

It seemed to be another room within the palace, though not the one that he had been imprisoned with Soza in. There was no bed and it seemed a touch smaller, perhaps a small parlor; he was lying on his back on a long sofa, his whole body feeling rather numb as he flexed his muscles and tried to force blood back through his joints. Blinking, he turned his gaze around the room and saw June leaning against a wall near the door, putting what looked a small container into her pocket.

"Didn't think smelling salts would do any good on you, you honestly looked like you were in a damn coma," she said.

Kakashi pushed himself to a sitting position and she took a couple steps toward him, her expression as rather apathetic as he remembered, but he could see the furrow of concern in her brow.

"Hey, hey, don't go moving too quickly, you've been—"

"Where's Soza?" he said abruptly, and her eyes looked back at him blankly.

"Who?"

Kakashi swung his legs over the size of the sofa.

"The girl that was in the room with me."

June turned her eyes towards the door for the briefest moment, looking like she was trying not to look guilty.

"I, uh… just grabbed you," she said matter-of-factly which was enough to get Kakashi on his feet.

"You what?"

She immediately fired back at him, crossing her arms indignantly.

"What, you just wanted me to pick up the kid along with you? I'm no shrimp but lugging the both of you down all these stairs would have been tough enough, and I didn't even know who this kid was! It was just you knocked out on the floor and her sleeping in a chair, it honestly looked like she had taken you out and then just dozed off. But yeah, don't mind me, just saving your life and all that…"

"Where even are we?" Kakashi asked, ignoring June's passive aggressive remarking. He wanted to further ask about Soza, but he knew that his time could well be very limited and collecting as much information as quickly was prudent.

"I brought you down a few floors, we're just outside the back entrance hall," she replied. "I wanted to get you free of the palace, but everything's gone to hell out there. Spirits all booked it north of the city, city was going fucking wild when I made my way back here, civilians running around like crazy, and then right when I got to the palace, the sky went full blue, bright as day. Big shockwave hit after, surprised that didn't wake you, no damn clue what could have caused that…"

Kakashi was fairly certain he knew exactly what might have been the cause of such an event, feeling his blood run cold.

I'm too late.

"Why did you come back for me?" he asked, only half paying attention as he checked his body to see if anything had been taken from him in terms of equipment; he needed to get out and moving before any more time was wasted.

"Well, you… I…. just thought after what you… you know, after you protected us, I'm assuming… I didn't want to leave you here."

As he turned his head up, he saw that there was the slightest pink tinge to her cheeks, and she turned away from him quickly.

Oh, sheesh.

This was certainly something he didn't have time to deal with and he moved past her towards the door.

"I need to find Sasuke," he said, almost to himself before adding over his shoulder. "Thank you for finding me."

"You… wait!" she said loudly after him. "You're going into that shitstorm?! I didn't come to get you out of here just for you to run out and get killed, you ass!"

"I don't have a choice," Kakashi said as he put his hand on the door handle.

"I think you oughta at least explain that to me then!" she barked, dropping a hand on his shoulder. "You're telling me that Sasuke was actually here?! Why did you leave me and the girl knocked out outside the palace?! Do you know what's going on out there?!"

Though he supposed he did perhaps owe June some semblance of an explanation, he also knew that there was no time to offer one. Perhaps, if the day was to be survived, he could pay it to her then.

"When I have dealt with this, I will explain everything to you if you wish," he offered, but could tell that this wasn't remotely satisfactory as he opened the door. June started to bark something else at him, but as he stepped into the hallway, him nearly colliding with another woman brought him to a complete halt and cut off what would have likely been an angry reply from June.

For a moment, he thought he had run into Aang by the first look he got before he saw the brown flowing hair and the feminine face and profile. He had clearly startled her by exiting the room so suddenly and he stared back at her as she regarded him with wide eyes as June followed him out. As she did, she released a sound that was almost a growl as she looked at the orange-robed woman who bore the same tattoos as Aang had.

"This is her," she said quietly beside him. "The Avatar who attacked our world alongside Kyoshi."

The woman looked far less indignant over June's bitter words and more depressed than anything. As he looked at her, Kakashi couldn't imagine her as being someone who would have done something like lead a full-scale invasion with the full force of the spirits. To him, she looked a depressed and rather lost looking woman more than anything.

But, if June had indeed correctly identified her as the Avatar who had jointly led this attack alongside Avatar Kyoshi, she was exactly the person that Kakashi needed to speak with.

"Avatar Yangchen?" he asked of her and after a moment of looking at him quietly, she nodded sullenly without a word.

"Do you know of Sasuke Uchiha's whereabouts?" he asked immediately after the confirmation. She looked at him with the same tired gaze, looking far from glad to have heard that name.

"Likely with Avatar Kyoshi as they try to murder one another," she said with a mixture of weariness and sadness.

"I need to find him," Kakashi said urgently, and she looked at him with a frown.

"Only death will follow those two. What reason could you possibly have to want to find him?"

For whatever reason, Kakashi felt no urge to lie.

"I'm his teacher. I wish to make sure he lives past this day."

He watched then as several emotions flashed through Yangchen's eyes. There was suspicion, fear, disbelief, and then back to suspicion again, but through at all, it seemed that she believed him.

"Are you… like him?" she asked carefully. Without hesitation, Kakashi brought his fingers together and made several hand signs and with a series of poofs, dozens of shadow clones now stood up and down the hallway. He felt June tense and inhale sharply at the sight, but Yangchen never took her eyes off Kakashi as he banished the shadow clones a moment later as they disappeared with another series of poofs. As they stared at one another, he started to wonder if perhaps she was going to try and fight him after he had just proven what he was. He couldn't assume that her allegiance no longer rested with the spirits and he had just openly admitted to wanting to find Sasuke in order to aid him; what reason would she have to aid him then?

I can only pray she doesn't make me resort to violence. If I have to beat her down and interrogate her, I will.

But as he watched her, Yangchen didn't move beyond her mouth opening and closing just barely a few times as though she couldn't decide what she wanted to say. Then, she turned her head down, looking more miserable then when he had first seen her, but he could hear the hope in her voice.

"Can you… end this?"

The stress and exhaustion in her tone could not be missed and, knowing that it was the truth, Kakashi replied without a pause.

"I will do everything in my power to do so."

Yangchen looked up at him with those same tired eyes, but there was a fierceness then in her gaze as well.

---

Present

Mai couldn't have felt more at a loss for what to do.

Kakashi had just made a stunning return, the second person within the last couple minutes to save Sasuke's life. Avatar Yangchen was at his side, a determination in her eyes and Mai had felt a defensive urge at the sight of her, but she hadn't so much as looked over at Avatar Kyoshi as she stood a distance from the rest. It was then that Mai found she was able to move again; apparently, Madara having been battered across a distance she couldn't be sure of had banished the shadowy grip that was holding them all hostage.

Sasuke had shakily gotten to his feet, looking better than when he had first crashed into their midst, but still rather savaged. He was speaking with Kakashi in a tone that she couldn't make out as Soza clung to him like he was her very lifeforce.

Soza…

Throughout all the time she had known her, Mai had found Soza to be irritating, rude, and even despicable in her formative years with how cruel she could be, but she had never quite managed to be scared of her. But when she had seen the glowing red feminine body erupt around Soza, topped with the head of a dragon and with great pounding wings, Mai had felt fear.

She couldn't erase the blue fire from her mind, the way it had so scorched away Madara's Susanoo and had him screaming beneath its blaze. It hadn't seemed to damage him, but the way it had neutered him had given Mai the only hope that perhaps this man was beatable.

But he had beaten her back and only the sudden appearance of Kakashi had bought them precious more time.

But without Soza's attack… it might already have been too late by the time Kakashi showed up.

Mai knew she wasn't alone watching the horizon in the direction that Madara had been flung. They had all been freed from their binding, but there was no gathering around Sasuke in the joy of a reunion; not even Aang or Jin walking up and slapping him for scaring them so. Because the fear was far from over, and in fact, it might only have just gotten worse.

Madara was surely not defeated by such a blow. And as she looked around at her friends and though she saw some gazes flicking towards Sasuke, Soza, and Kakashi, everyone kept looking back towards the horizon in tense anticipation. No one dared to so much as turn their back on where he would return from, ready to counter in whatever way they could when he did.

What's the fucking point?

Mai's heart was more or less in her feet by that point, so far had it sunk. Her knives felt as useless as twigs in her hands. When their enemy could stop them from even moving, from so much as trying to attack, what could be done? What were they doing but delaying the inevitable?

Kyoshi and Rangi stood a distance back as well. They had remained silent during the majority of the entire damnable scene, and Mai wondered why they hadn't already eloped; if Rangi truly was what Madara had been using to force Kyoshi to instigate this entire event, what good did it do them to stay?

She felt her shoulder bump someone else's and turned to see Ty Lee standing beside her. There were tears in her eyes and Mai knew she was thinking about the same thing as she was, as she knew everyone was. Sokka, Suki, Yue, and Jin all looked forcibly determined, Zuko, Aang, and Katara looked desperate and lost, Azula looked like she wanted to rush and hold her daughter but was rooted to where she stood, Toph's head was turned down and she was shaking, and Ursa, the only one not looking at least mostly towards the horizon, was looking miserably at Sasuke with tears rolling down her cheeks. And yet Mai knew everyone was thinking the same thing.

What dream am I going to have? Where will I be when this is over? When he kills Sasuke and we are left to his mercy? What will be my dream?

"Alright, everyone listen up."

Mai blinked and looked over as she gripped Ty Lee's hand in her own. Sasuke was stumping towards them, his eyes moving from the group, but also to Yangchen, Kyoshi, and Rangi. Everyone turned in response to his pained and exhausted, yet steeled, voice.

"I know how we can beat him."

Mai felt her heart jump from her feet to her throat.

What?

Sasuke swallowed, a movement that looked painful for him.

"It will take everyone here. But we can beat him."

Everyone straightened and looked at him with as much attention as might ever have been paid by another human being; even Kyoshi looked to him expectantly.

In a series of short sentences, Sasuke explained exactly what his plan was. And Mai felt her heart rate only increase in speed.

No way.

Was it possible? Could they actually manage to defeat Madara? She could feel the sensation in the air around her, emanating from all her friends and filling the air with an almost palpable feeling as everyone present began, even just daring, to hope.

"Wait," Azula snarled before jabbing a finger at Kyoshi. "Are we really going to trust her with this?"

Rangi stepped up beside Kyoshi, looking ready to spout off in defense of the woman she clearly loved, but it was the Avatar herself who replied, her voice resounding coolly in response to Azula's accusation.

"My allegiance was never to Madara, nor was my heart ever part of this invasion. I acted selfishly in defense of Rangi, and that was all. I would accept any repercussion for what I've done, just as I would command every spirit behind me against Madara if Sasuke wished it of me now. I want nothing more than to destroy the man who tore my life in half."

"This plan doesn't work without her," Sasuke added, looking to Azula poignantly. "Everything I did with trying to set up having Rangi freed, I thought getting Kyoshi off Madara's hook would be allow us to turn the tide against him in an all out attack. All of us, spirits, soldiers, everything we had, if my first plan failed which it did. But I know now that even with all that, we never could manage and I honestly thought there was nothing we could do. But now, I know that she's just as key as I had originally thought, even more so."

The princess narrowed her eyes but said nothing in response. Mai could see the excitement flickering however in her eyes, the same excitement now racing heartily through them all. Yangchen had stepped up as well, looking ready to play her part beside Kyoshi and as she looked around, Mai could no longer see the hopelessness that had so surrounded her. Ty Lee squeezed her hand and Mai could feel her shaking with the hope that was now rushing through all of them.

She felt the hope then too.

---

"Sasuke."

Turning at the sound of his name, Sasuke looked over to see Kyoshi moving towards him as everyone began to get into position. He looked up to her, unable to ignore just how powerful and imposing she looked even when she had clearly been on the receiving end of at least one powerful beating as of late.

"You should know… I did always hate you," she said.

Sasuke furrowed his brow.

"Thanks," he grunted. "Very glad to hear that right when we're—"

"But," Kyoshi continued, looking over her shoulder at Rangi who was standing a respectful distance away to allow Kyoshi to speak her peace. "I never would have done a thing like this on my own volition. I hated you and what you seemed to doing to our world, but this… I will hold pain in my heart for the rest of my existence for what I've done to this world, the measures I resorted to, and the actions I've taken."

Her next words seemed difficult for her to say.

"And I do apologize for that."

Sasuke wanted to say that an apology damn near didn't come anywhere close to making things right, but he held his tongue. If Kyoshi was able to play her part, he might be able to find some part of him that might consider forgiving her. He merely chose to nod and she returned the gesture before moving away as well to get ready.

Sasuke looked around at all his friends, the people he cared so much about getting ready. He saw Soza and Azula, standing side by side, Toph speaking quickly with Aang about something, and Ursa standing near Yue, Zuko and Sokka, sparing him a brief look and a small, affectionate smile that nearly caused him to run into her arms then and there, as achy as he was.

But the fact that none of them were coming to speak with him, to wish him luck, to speak some final words told him exactly what he had been hoping for; they all believed in their hearts that this would work.

"This won't work, you know."

The words came almost perfectly on cue with Sasuke's thoughts from Kakashi who walked up beside him. Sasuke didn't look over, but replied to his sensei, in a voice that he knew none of the others could hear.

"I know."

Kakashi looked at him closely.

"If you know, then I assume that—"

Quietly and curtly, Sasuke told Kakashi the rest of his plan.

Releasing a long sigh through his nose, Kakashi looked up towards the pale blue sky as he surely considered what he had just been told.

"I see."

"Obviously, I'll need your help to make it all work," Sasuke said.

"You know I'm not able to perform—"

"It doesn't matter," he said, cutting Kakashi off. "He just needs to think that you can."

Silence fell between them then and after several long seconds, his sensei sighed again.

"You're sure about this?"

"Why?" Sasuke asked bluntly. "You don't think it can work?"

"Oh, not at all," Kakashi replied. "I'm asking if you're ready to pay this price."

Sasuke looked out over everyone there. He saw his daughter, he saw Toph, Azula, Aang, all the others. He saw Ursa, the woman pregnant with his child. Kakashi's question seemed incredibly unnecessary then.

"They're worth it," he said softly.

Kakashi nodded and after several long seconds, said, "Then, I will do this with you."

Slowly, Sasuke turned to look at him, his eyes glowing with a question of their own. Kakashi saw it and gave his head a small shake.

"I believe you when you tell me that they're worth this. And that's good enough for me."

Realizing what Kakashi was truly saying, Sasuke felt a throb of emotion in his gut that he wasn't used to feeling.

"Thank you."

The two stood side by side a moment longer watching everyone prepare.

"You hit Madara pretty fucking hard."

Kakashi laughed at Sasuke's remark.

"It took more chakra than I've ever put into a jutsu to send him flying that far."

Sasuke believed that. A question occurred to him then and he turned to look at his sensei again.

"How did you get out of the palace?"

"June, a woman I was traveling with. Madara must have knocked me out and put me in a room within the palace to hold me, but she managed to find me. She's no doubt fuming at me for rushing off to this battle after she risked so much to free me in the first place."

His eye flashed with some regret then that Sasuke couldn't identify and it fell silent between them again for the longest time yet. Kakashi finally broke the silence then, his voice quieter than it had been.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell any of them?"

Sasuke gave a short, bitter laugh. He was feeling more pain than ever before

"You really think they'd be going through with this if I did?"

Kakashi cocked his head.

"No… I suppose they wouldn't."

With that, Sasuke turned away from his friends with a horrible tug on his heart as he looked towards the sunrise and the man who would accompany it, finally feeling ready to face Madara down.

One last time.