Unexpected, an A:tlA fanfic by Tsunami Storm

Chapter 11: Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King

Morning dawned on Ember Island, and the only significant sounds other than tropical birds that could be heard were coming from the beach just outside the Royal Family's former beach house. Aang was practicing his Firebending punches, under the watchful eye of Zuko, who was evaluating his progress with crossed arms.

"More ferocious!" Zuko instructed, a bit impatiently. "Imagine striking through your opponent's heart!"

Aang stopped bending for a bit and turned to Zuko in half irritation, half confusion. "Ugh, I'm trying! But that way sounds like I'm fueling my fire with rage. That's not what the Masters and Sun Warriors showed us."

Zuko made a face. Dang it, the kid was right again. Shaking his head quickly, Zuko decided to come up with a better method when they didn't have the world's destruction literally hanging over their heads. "Now let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo!"

Aang spread his arms in the Firebending stance, a bit nervous as he gave a light growl. A puff of flame burst from his throat and palms, and the young Avatar grinned sheepishly at his mentor, just a little embarrassed.

Zuko frowned, clearly disappointed. He knew the boy could bend more fire than that! "That sounded pathetic! I said roar!"

Trying again, Aang put all he had into his second attempt, and his efforts were rewarded with three enormous fireballs erupting from his palms and mouth. Momo, who had been clinging to the young Airbender's leg, screeched in fright and dashed behind Zuko's leg instead, afraid of the extremely hot Firebending display. Five feet higher, Zuko nodded his head approvingly.

Further up the beach on the stairs of the beach house, Katara held up two watermelons, already sliced open and containing straws. "Who wants a nice, cool glass of watermelon juice?" She offered with a sweet smile.

Aang's face almost literally lit up with excitement at her words. "Ooh, ooh! Me, me, me!" He announced brightly as he dashed over to his girlfriend. That is, he tried to do so.

However, the boy's enthusiasm was cut short by a hand quickly darting after him and catching him by the neck of his robes. "Hey!" Zuko interrupted, holding the boy a foot off the ground as he continued to run uselessly in midair. "Your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!" He growled as he held the Avatar higher. Aang slouched in defeat.

Suki sighed as she lounged on the stairs with Sokka. "Come on, Zuko. Just take a break. What's the big deal?" She asked kindly, sipping her own glass of juice and inviting the Firebenders to relax for a few minutes. Training could wait that long, right?

Zuko huffed and let Aang run off happily to take a watermelon. "Fine! If you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead!" He turned and walked away down the beach to find another way to prepare for the coming Comet.

Sokka looked pensive. "Maybe Zuko's right. Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy." Setting his watermelon aside, he slowly stood to his feet. "But I know just the thing to change all that." In one fluid motion, he whipped off his robe, revealing a bathing suit underneath. "Beach party!" He exclaimed, jumping into an excited dive off the stairs before tucking into a roll and racing down the path to the shore. Even Aang looked surprised at the Water Tribe warrior's speed.

"Wow, Sokka! You sure are fast when you're excited! Are you sure you're not an Airbender?" Aang joked as he laughed and raced after one of his best friends down to the water.

A few minutes later found the whole Gaang minus Zuko having fun at the water's edge. Katara surfed some waves on a board made of ice, Suki lounged on a beach towel next to Mai that she'd borrowed from the house they were hiding in and watched her exuberant boyfriend carry various supplies from the water to the beach, crafting- she didn't know what yet. Aang embedded a last piece of driftwood into the head of a life-sized sand sculpture, revealing the log as a horn.

"Check out my Appa sand sculpture!" Aang announced proudly, and its wooly subject rumbled in approval at it. Meanwhile, Sokka was hard at work molding his own masterpiece out of seaweed, shells and watery sand. "Try and top that, Sokka!" The Airbender bragged in a highly uncharacteristic manner. It usually wasn't like the humble monk to boast.

Sokka finished the last touches on his sculpture and threw his arms outward. "Ta da!" He proclaimed proudly.

Aang snorted. "Is that a- blubbering blob monster?" He asked incredulously.

Sokka looked highly offended. "No! It's Suki!" He gasped defensively, affronted. At this, both Aang and Toph burst out laughing hysterically. "Suki, we'll all understand if you break up with him over this." Toph grinned at the Kyoshi Warrior.

"I think it's sweet." Suki countered, causing her boyfriend to slide in on his knees and grab her in an impromptu embrace, giving her a big smooch on the cheek for her kindness.

"But it doesn't even look like-" Aang began, but then his retort was cut off by a fire blast that turned Sokka's 'masterpiece' into a smoking crater. "Aah!" the Avatar yelled in surprise, running for his life from a crazed Fire Prince, who continued to blast at him with Firebending. Thinking quickly, Aang dove behind his sculpture of Appa. "What are you doing?!" He called, peeking out from behind the sculpture fearfully.

Zuko growled, no trace of humor in his voice. "Teaching you a lesson!" He answered before destroying the sculpture of Appa as well with a fire blast. Using a few well-honed Airbending techniques, Aang jumped back up to the house. Zuko followed right on his heels, continually firing blasts at him. Eventually the two made it to the roof of the beach house, this time trading words instead of flames. "Get a grip before I blast you off this roof!" Aang warned his Firebending teacher.

"Go ahead and do it!" Zuko challenged right back, following his statement with yet another fireball. Aang slid down the roof and into a hallway, Airbending a patch of safe ground when Zuko set the walls and ceiling ablaze with a tunnel of fire. "Enough!" Aang cried as he Airbent Zuko right through the back window of the house, sending him crashing into a palm tree.

As Katara and the others ran up, the young Waterbender shouted worriedly, "What's wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with all of you? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only three days away?" Zuko asked incredulously, earning several weird looks from everyone gathered there. Interestingly, Mai was not among them, having returned to the beach house to curl up with a good book. She was plenty prepared for the Comet, if Zuko would actually let her participate. Knowing him, he'd probably be too protective again. "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?" Zuko asked, confused now.

Aang stepped forward. "About Sozin's Comet- I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came." He admitted, drawing in the sand with his toe.

"After?!" Zuko breathed, shocked.

"I'm not ready. I need more time to master Firebending." The Avatar admitted, looking down in shame. "And frankly, your Earthbending could still use some work too." Toph interjected helpfully as Aang grimaced, sensing the way the burgeoning Avatar was standing. His stance was unbalanced. Jumpy. Nervous.

Zuko still looked confused. "So, you all knew Aang was going to wait?" He breathed, his voice barely betraying any emotion other than incredulity.

Sokka shrugged. "Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord now, he's gonna lose." Aang looked over at his friend as he said this, frowned, then closed his eyes in defeat. "No offense." The warrior amended, but this did nothing to calm the Avatar's nerves.

Katara stepped up then. "The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the Comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war. But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse." She frowned.

Zuko frowned too. He didn't want to hurt them, but they needed to know about this. His father's terrible plan. "You're wrong." He growled, turning away from them in shame. "It's about to get worse than you can even imagine." And with that, he launched right into the tale of what happened the day before the Day of Black Sun. "-I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't." Zuko finished, bowing his head. "My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance. But once I had it, I realized I'd lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."

Katara sank to her knees. "I can't believe this." She whispered in quiet horror. Her brother seemed to be in a similar state of shock. "I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but- his plan is just pure evil."

"What am I gonna do?" Aang agonized, burying his face in his hands.

Zuko stood up from the rock he'd been using as a seat and walked over to Aang, putting a gentle hand on the teen's shoulder. "I know you're scared, and I know you're not ready to save the world, but if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the Comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore."

Aang sank to his knees, just as Katara had earlier. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."

Katara, ever the comforting 'mother-figure' of the group, approached her closest friend and put a gentle hand on his shoulder, the opposite of the one that Zuko had touched. "Aang, you don't have to do this alone." She encouraged, and grinned proudly when Toph stepped up. "Yeah, if we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down." She encouraged in her own unique way.

Sokka grinned. He just got a great idea to boost everyone's morale. "All right! Team Avatar is back!" He crowed proudly, pointing grandly at Aang. "Air!" Then going around the circle of friends, continuing with his sister, "Water!" "Earth!" He called, pointing to Toph, who sensed his body position and grinned smugly. "Fire!" He blurted, causing the young Prince to blush a little. This was a tad embarrassing. Before ending with the last two members, he handed Suki a clump of leaves and held aloft a long, straight palm that resembled a blade. "Fan and sword!" He finished as his 'blade' flopped over, ruining the moment just a bit.

Glad for Sokka's enthusiasm, Aang smiled nervously, trying to force himself to feel better while encouraging the others at the same time. "Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together, but I wouldn't want to do it any other way."

"There's one technique you need to know before facing my father- how to redirect lightning." Zuko explained after a small break for lunch, and Aang grinned in anticipation. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." The young master used his fingers to demonstrate how the chi in a bender's body should flow. "You turn your opponents' energy against them."

Aang smiled excitedly as he joined his teacher in practicing the forms. "That's like Waterbending."

Zuko nodded, still redirecting his chi so it flowed in, down, up and out. "Exactly. My uncle invented this technique himself by studying Waterbenders."

"So have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang asked, somewhat awestruck.

Zuko nodded. "Once. Against my father."

"What did it feel like?" The young Avatar asked in anticipation, always eager to learn something new about his group of friends.

Zuko took a deep breath and calmed his chi, pushing both palms down as well as his energy. "Exhilarating. But terrifying." Aang's face fell to a look of dread rather than excitement. "You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know if you make the wrong move, it's over."

Aang chuckled nervously. "Well, not over, over. I mean, there's always Katara and a little Spirit Water action, am I right?" He turned to his girlfriend with a hopeful smile on his face.

Katara looked down, worried. "Actually, I used it all up after Azula shot you."

Aang's face fell. "Oh."

Zuko frowned. He knew how the kid felt, but this was no time for sympathy. This was war. "You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life- before he takes yours."

After a small training scenario at sunset in which Aang tried to defeat the 'Melon Lord' in a mock scenario cooked up by Sokka- and in which Toph was apparently having way too much fun chucking flaming rocks at everyone- twilight found the Gaang sharing a meal outside in the courtyard of the beach house, the same location in which Aang and Zuko had been training that morning. Katara approached the group holding a scroll. "I have a surprise for everyone! I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" She unfurled the scroll and showed a painting of a toddler painting a heavy-set older man while the man himself and a teenager stood off to the side, laughing heartily. "Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute?"

Everyone except Zuko laughed, and the young man in question turned beet-red and looked at his feet, extremely embarrassed.

"Oh, lighten up. I was just teasing." Katara defended her actions while Zuko attempted to rein in his emotions. "I was two. What'd you expect?" He hedged defensively while everyone else continued to giggle. Even Mai looked amused.

Sokka grinned. "So- I'm guessing you're the artist, and I recognize your uncle, but- who's the kid laughing his head off?" The Water Tribe warrior asked.

Zuko smiled sadly, his embarrassed flush already faded from his pale visage. "My cousin Lu Ten. He died almost six years ago in the Siege of Ba Sing Se." He explained sadly. "I forgot we had this picture here. I guess my mom was more sentimental than I thought. If we'd kept it at the palace, my father or Azula would probably have destroyed it by now, considering the last time I saw my father, he disowned me and ordered me killed. The only reason I'm here was 'cause of a sympathetic soul on the airship that exiled me. That fall should have ended my life, but they were flying at a low enough altitude for it not to be fatal."

Everyone looked down at their feet in horror at this, unable to process how one man could possibly be so evil, so cruel to his own firstborn. After everyone had finished their meal and separated to see to their own preparations for the coming Comet, Aang and Momo found themselves on the veranda, the Avatar meditating peacefully and Momo curled up on his lap, starting to nod off.

A strange feeling suddenly washed over the young Airbender when a mysterious island appeared from the mist-covered ocean, and the boy rose to his feet in one fluid motion, causing the lemur laying on his lap to quickly scramble up to his shoulder to avoid rolling off his master and onto the hard wooden floor. Even forsaking his glider, the Avatar vaulted over the rail surrounding the veranda and walked to the beach, still in a strange trance as he reached the waves and dove in, heading toward the mysterious island.

The next morning, the rest of the Gaang were preparing to leave Ember Island, and their biggest friend was finishing his breakfast of hay while Sokka sat in the saddle. "Okay, that's everything." He announced, mentally reciting a checklist of everything they needed.

Toph, however, disagreed. "No it's not. Where's Aang?"

Realizing they had completely forgotten the most important member of their group, Team Avatar ran back to the beach house. Zuko was the first up the stairs. "Aang? Aang!" He called, a bit nervous when his friend didn't answer. It didn't make sense. He was usually so prompt and one of the first to be ready in the morning. What was keeping him?

"Come on, lazy bones, let's go!" Toph called, apparently thinking along the same lines.

The group split off into pairs to search the house. After a few minutes, Zuko spotted the boy's glider resting against a beam on the porch, but no sign of the Airbender remained. Sokka walked over to the tool and picked it up. "He left his staff. That's so strange."

Later, Zuko walked out onto the porch with his fellow master and Earthbending friend. "Aang's not in the house. Let's check the beach." He suggested, turning his head in the correct direction.

At the shore, Sokka was the first to discover the second piece of evidence. "Look, there's his footprints." He announced. "The trail ends here." He observed as the prints indeed seemed to fade into the waves.

Suki cocked her head in confusion. "So, he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" She asked. Katara frowned, worried. "Maybe he was captured."

Sokka shook his head, disproving his sister's theorem. "I don't think so. There's no sign of a struggle." He elaborated as he knelt down to examine the footprints.

Toph crossed her arms and frowned. "I bet he ran away again." She assumed. But once again, Sokka shook his head. "Uh-uh. He left behind his glider and Appa."

The young Earthbender was a little miffed that he'd disproved her guess so quickly. "Then what do you think happened to him, oh sleuthy one?" She challenged.

Sokka put his hands on his hips. "It's pretty obvious. Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle?" He asked rhetorically, then pointed to the sky as if suddenly getting an idea. "He's definitely on a Spirit World journey!" He announced proudly.

Now it was Zuko's turn to play Devil's Advocate. "But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?"

Sokka deflated like a balloon. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

Katara shook her head at her brother's antics and reasoned, "Then he's got to be somewhere on Ember Island. Let's split up and look for him."

Toph suddenly latched onto Zuko's arm, making the young Prince blush again. "I'm going with Zuko!" She volunteered as everyone else stared at her in surprise, Zuko's blush deepening. "What? Everyone else got to go on a life-changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn!"

Everyone else shrugged and separated to go look for Aang in their own way. The three other girls- Katara, Suki and Mai- decided to check in town while Sokka and Appa decided to take the aerial route. Zuko and Toph continued along the beach, even though the blind Earthbender couldn't see very well in the fine, ever-shifting sand. It made everything look all murky and fuzzy.

"-And then when I was nine, I ran away again." Toph explained, trying something to diffuse the slightly awkward silence between the two master benders. "I know I shouldn't complain. My parents gave me everything I ever asked for, but they never gave me the one thing I really wanted: their love. You know what I mean?"

Surprisingly, Zuko nodded. "Yeah. My mother loved me- and Azula- with all her heart, but then she disappeared without warning. To this day, I still don't know what happened to her. The only one who does is my father, but there's as much chance of him telling me the truth that Aang has of suddenly becoming a carnivore. In other words, not gonna happen." He sighed dejectedly. "I know we both had a pretty rough childhood, and we really should focus on finding Aang, but I'm glad we got a chance to talk. We're more alike than I'd thought." Zuko smiled kindly, trying to give the young Earthbender a sign of hope. "Maybe when this war is over, your parents will see the light, and the error of their ways."

Toph huffed and blew her bangs out of her face. "I doubt it. But thanks, Sparky. For trying to cheer me up. And you're right. We should be looking for Twinkletoes."

Just then, the screech of a falcon-hawk sounded overhead, and Zuko turned skyward to spot the mighty hunter fowl as it searched for a suitable perch. Automatically, Zuko held out his forearm for the bird, and it descended gratefully onto the offered resting place, exhausted from flying so far to and from its destination.

"Hey, that sounds like-" Toph began as Zuko carefully opened the scroll-tube strapped to the messenger-hawk's back and unfurled the letter, scanning the missive carefully. Why would the Fire Nation be sending them a letter? Then again, something like this had happened before when Ty Lee had somehow sent his Dao swords all the way to the Western Air Temple. "I don't believe it. Is that Hawky?" The young girl asked in surprised confusion.

Now it was Zuko's turn to be confused. "Hawky?" He asked, and Toph elaborated. "Sokka bought a messenger-bird when we were traveling in the Fire Nation after the fall of Ba Sing Se. Before the Eclipse. I wanted to send a message to my mom, and we borrowed Sokka's bird to deliver it. I didn't think he'd ever come back, though. We're pretty hard to find."

Zuko nodded in realization, then unfurled the letter and summarized it for its illiterate recipient. "Well it looks like he found his target. It's from your mom. She says she loves you, and she wants you to come home. Your father-" He paused, shocked at the characters' message. "He- doesn't feel the same way. He's not there anymore. He's working with some Earth Kingdom citizens in one of the older Fire Nation colonies, trying to- 'liberate' Crane Fish Town from its Fire Nation leaders. Your father supports the Resistance?" He asked, surprised and confused.

"What?!" Toph asked, flummoxed. "No! My father hates bending. All forms of it. He only agreed for master Yu to train me at the beginner's level to keep my mother happy. She was actually proud that I'm an Earthbender. He wasn't."

"Wow." Zuko breathed, shocked that someone could feel so strongly about benders and nonbenders. Of course, his own father had almost been the same way, just on the opposite end of the spectrum. If Zuko hadn't been born a Firebender, he was almost positive that Ozai would have ended his own non-bending son right then and there. Thank Agni for his mother. "I'm so sorry, Toph."

Toph frowned. "Why? You didn't have anything to do with it. It's not like you're the one who set up the colonies. It was Sozin."

"Well, he's my great-grandfather." Zuko argued. "His blood runs through my veins."

"Family ties don't matter." Toph frowned stubbornly. "You're not your great-grandfather. You're you. Fire Prince Zuko, and- if everything goes smoothly for once after the war- eventually Fire Lord. Maybe you can finally clean up the mess your family's made of the world over the past hundred years."

Zuko looked at her, shocked. "You really think so? You really think I've got what it takes to fix everything? To be Fire Lord?" He breathed, completely nonplussed and honored at her suggestion.

"Well, yeah. I've said before that- to our group- you're like that really cool older cousin that everyone wishes they had. You're strong, brave, noble, and you have a pure heart. I can feel it. I can feel your righteous anger when you feel like someone's being treated unfairly, and you're willing to protect your friends to the death if necessary. The Fire Nation could use a Fire Lord like you. Heck, the whole world could use a ruler like you. The other nations could learn a thing or two from soon-to-be Fire Lord Zuko."

Honored beyond belief at the young Earthbender's affirmations, Zuko laughed breathlessly and dropped to his knees, so moved that he couldn't even keep his balance. On impulse, he grabbed the twelve-year-old master who was clearly wise beyond her years and nearly crushed her in an emotional hug, burying his face in her small shoulder. "Thank you." He sobbed. "Thank you so much!"

"Whoa, take it easy there, Sparky." Toph laughed as she teased her favorite 'cousin' just a bit. "I always knew you had a bit of a short fuse, but- who knew you could be so emotional? Come on, get up. This is a little embarrassing, and we really should keep looking for Aang. You can't be Fire Lord if he doesn't take your father down a peg or two first, right?"

Zuko chuckled a bit at that, then nodded and rose to his feet, following the wise young Earthbender back to the beach house to regroup with the others.

A few hours later found Toph, Zuko, Suki, Mai and Katara sitting on the beach house stairs, and Sokka landed the flying bison at their base, a concerned frown on his face.

"Judging by the looks on your faces, I'm guessing you guys didn't find Aang either." Sokka surmised as he jumped off Appa's head to the ground below.

Zuko looked down, ashamed. "No. It's like he just- disappeared."

Toph looked up then, coming to a realization. "Hey, wait a minute. Has anyone noticed that Momo is missing too?"

Sokka turned back to Appa in horror. "Oh no! I knew it was only a matter of time!" He cried dramatically, jumping down the stairs to Appa. "Appa ate Momo!" He exclaimed in horror as he lifted up Appa's mouth. "Momo! I'm coming for you, buddy!" He called as he looked in the bison's enormous maw.

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's over-dramatic antics. "Sokka, Appa didn't eat Momo. He's probably with Aang."

But Sokka wouldn't budge. "That's just what Appa wants you to think!" He growled back as he climbed into the aforementioned guardian animal's mouth as Appa closed his jaw, leaving just Sokka's feet sticking out as they wriggled around uselessly in the air.

Zuko also rolled his eyes. His first friend among Team Avatar could be really silly sometimes. "Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the Comet is only two days away."

Katara was concerned. "What should we do, Zuko?" She asked as everyone turned to look at the oldest human member of their group now that Aang was absent. In the background, Sokka slid out of Appa's mouth when the bison drooled, covered in saliva.

Zuko stood up. "I don't know." He admitted in defeat, then asked when everyone kept staring, "Why are you all looking at me?"

Katara cocked her head. "Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang." She suggested, thinking that it should have been pretty obvious.

"Yeah. If anyone's got experience hunting the Avatar, it's you." Toph agreed as Sokka tried to stand up in the background, only to trip in the slimy saliva and fall back down on his face. Zuko nodded in determination, an idea that they could try already forming in his mind.

The scene changed to Appa flying along the coast, led by Zuko. Sokka was confused. "Zuko, I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."

Zuko frowned in determination. He had a plan. "Just trust me."

On the opposite end of the 'Good and Evil' spectrum, Ozai and Azula were traveling in palanquins to a ship at the harbor in the Fire Nation. Azula's palanquin was lagging significantly behind her father's. "Come on, slowpokes! Faster!" She demanded, and her servants quickly picked up the pace, fearing her wrath. Arriving at the harbor, Ozai stepped out of his palanquin and walked up the stairs, Azula running up behind him and kneeling in a humble bow. "Sorry I'm late, father." She apologized. "Good palanquin bearers are so hard to come by these days. So, is everything ready for our departure?"

Ozai continued facing the ship. "There has been a change of plans, Azula." He growled emotionlessly.

A worried Azula demanded, "What?" feeling betrayed.

"I've decided to lead the fleet of airships to Ba Sing Se alone. You will remain here in the Fire Nation." Ozai explained, not even acknowledging his seething daughter.

Azula frowned, hurt. "But- I thought we were going to do this together!"

"My decision is final." Ozai growled, growing impatient with his petulant child.

"But it was my idea to burn everything to the ground! I deserve to be by your side!" She retaliated, betrayed and confused.

"Azula, silence yourself." Ozai nearly snarled, his patience wearing thin.

"You- you can't treat me like this!" She nearly cried, rising to her feet in anger. "You can't treat me like Zuko!"

"Azula!" Ozai snarled, his patience snapping as his daughter bowed her head, cowed. How dare she mention that traitor in his presence! "Listen to me. I need you here to watch over the homeland. It's a very important job that I can only entrust to you."

Azula looked shocked, raising her gaze once again in surprise. "Really?" She asked, caught off guard.

"And for your loyalty, I've decided to declare you the new Fire Lord." Ozai elaborated, knowing that feeding his daughter's ego was the best way to ensure her continued cooperation and avoid another tantrum.

A mollified Azula smiled in anticipation. "Fire Lord Azula? It does seem appropriate. But- what about you?" She asked in confusion.

Ozai grinned briefly in a moment of undisguised ambition. "Fire Lord Ozai is no more. Just as the world will be reborn in fire, I shall be reborn as the supreme ruler of the world." Three Fire Sages helped Ozai don his new royal garments. "From this moment on, I will be known as-" He raised his arms into the air in a grand gesture. "The Phoenix King!"

Servants stationed at the harbor pulled up the phoenix emblem behind Ozai as soldiers raised flags and banners beside the Fire Nation flags. Two more soldiers on either side of the emblem bent their element into the base of the flagpole, causing fire to shoot out of holes in the sides of the pole. The crowd bowed before their new king, and Ozai stood tall and proud as he observed his people, all prostrate before his supreme power as the new emperor of the world.

End of Chapter 11

Next chapter teaser: Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters

Well, we're getting there. Hopefully I'll have this story typed out and published by the end of the year. That will be at least one good thing to happen in 2020. Heh.

If you want to see that picture that Katara found in my story, it's 'And I drew Uncle too' by 'Maki-moun' on Deviantart. Or you can look at 'Elementianhero22's Deviantart page and look in my Story Art folder.

I kinda wished they'd done more with Hawky in the show, instead of him being just a one-off character, and that little 'field trip' with Toph and Zuko just felt awkward and didn't really fit with the story, so I added to it. Hope you like my changes!

Getting down to the last few chapters! Hooray! Then I'll finally be done with this platypus-bear of a story.

See all of you guys next chapter!

God Bless!

Tsunami Storm