Lake Laogai
"Zuzu?"
Zuko froze in his tracks.
Only one person he knew of called him Zuzu.
He slowly turned around. "Azula, you know I hate that name."
Azula ignored him. "So, you broke into this secure earth kingdom prison, presumably fought your way past how many agents of the Dai Li, and all this for me? Clearly I haven't been giving you enough credit."
"Sadly no. I actually already have the person I came here for."
He turned around and began to walk away.
"Father will be ever so grateful."
Father. Firelord Ozai had never been grateful to Zuko for anything. All he had ever wanted was to make his father proud, and he had been too preoccupied with his own desire for power to notice it. That was why he had been so bent on capturing the Avatar. If he got Azula out though, he might not need the Avatar to be allowed to return. Azula was the prodigy, and Ozai had loved her in a way he had never loved him. For her sake, he would be grateful. Yes... Zuko was beginning to appreciate this plan.
Another voice suddenly spoke up in his head, and this one sounded like Uncle. It said that there was no way of truly earning his father's love, and that his sister had a high chance of betraying him and locking him in the cell he rescued her from if he made the mistake of trusting her. After all, Azula always lies. It had been a hard lesson to learn, but Zuko had learnt it.
Azula must have seen Zuko's confusion and indecision on his face. She pounced on it eagerly.
"Just think what father will think when we return to him together and I tell him what you did! You'll be the hero to him! You'll finally prove to him that you can help him."
Zuko found that last sentence didn't really help Azula's case, given it implied that Ozai only loved anyone because of what they could do for him.
"You won't be Zuko the failure any more. You will be accepted back home with open arms, and the people will look to you as a hero and as a future Firelord!"
In his heart of hearts, Zuko suspected that Azula didn't really mean the last part. Ozai was the younger son of Firelord Azulon and had become Firelord, and Azula must have had designs on repeating that. Still, home sounded good. He hadn't been back to the Fire Nation, not counting hisflying visit to an Avatar temple in pursuit of the Avatar, in at least three years. At this point it may have even been approaching four.
Thinking of home, Zuko made his choice. He moved towards Azula's cell door.
The Fire Nation Siege camp
The Firelord took another step into the tent.
"No, really. I am tremendously glad that you two are here."
"Why?" Suki levelled her war-fan at him.
"Please, put that toy down. It won't do you much good, Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors."
Suki was shocked for a second that Ozai knew who she was, but then she remembered that she was surrounded by her friends who could easily have told him.
Sokka stepped up beside her, pulling out his boomerang and his club.
"And you must be Sokka. I've heard all about you too. You travel with the Avatar now. So does your sister. This is turning out incredibly well."
Suki narrowed her eyes. You didn't answer my question. Why?"
She had an unfortunate feeling that she could guess why though.
"Because where one or two of the Avatar's friends get into trouble, the rest are soon to follow. Including the Avatar himself."
Suki felt like kicking herself. Of course it was a trap. Why wouldn't it have been a trap? She decided that she would have to settle for kicking Ozai instead though.
Before she could get the chance, the fabric of the tent suddenly vanished, receding into the sky as the earthen foundations underneath them heaved. Ozai was knocked over.
"Well are you dunderheads coming or not?" Toph called, possessing, as ever, the subtlety and grace of a brick. Beside her, Katara opened her pouch and prepared a water whip.
The Firelord didn't seem unhappy about the new arrivals.
"You're the little girl who was with the Earth King!" He addressed Toph.
"Don't call me little!" snarled Toph.
With their sudden exposure to the open air, a circle of fire nation soldiers were beginning to surround them. Toph slammed her foot into the ground and swung her arms in a circle. A miniature dust storm erupted around them, forming a circle that separated the Fire Lord, the Avatar's companions, the Kyoshi Warriors and the unfortunate earth kingdom prisoners from the rest of the Fire Nation camp.
"So, it's like this." Ozai got into a fighting stance. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you. I need you alive for the time being."
Katara was the first to act, lashing out with her water whip. Ozai dodged out of the way and managed to evaporate it with a blast of fire. He then parried Sokka's club with his forearm and threw the non-bender back several feet. Sokka was swiftly replaced by Suki, who attacked him with her war-fans. Ozai launched a plume of flame straight at her face that forced her to duck, and then kicked her while she was down. Katara's water whip returned to its liquid form and now she lashed out again. Again Ozai dodged, and instead it hit Sokka, who had been charging him from behind with his club raised above his head.
"Ow!"
"Sorry!"
Ozai grinned, surrounded. "You have me outnumbered, but you're all peasants with middling control over inferior elements- those of you with any control over the elements, that is. Do you really think you can defeat me and end this war?"
"That doesn't matter. It's not our job to end this war." Katara responded.
Suki noticed her eyes flick to something above and behind the Firelord for a second.
"It's his."
And a gust of wind knocked the Firelord off his feet.
Aang was back. He folded his glider back into its staff and stood a few meters away from the Firelord.
"Is everyone OK?"
Everyone nodded.
Ozai got back to his feet. "Now the fun begins. The Avatar himself graces us with his presence! I would say I was honoured, but that would be a lie."
"Firelord Ozai! You have caused immense suffering across the world, as have your forefathers. You have attacked this city, and now you have come after my friends."
"I have done all of that. And I don't have to defend myself to you."
Faster than even Suki could react, Ozai launched a lightning bolt at Aang, who jumped out of the way as the thunderclap deafened everyone nearby. The Avatar responded by bending the ground under Ozai's feet, causing him to fall over again, and then sending a section of earth to slam into Ozai's chest. Ozai managed to roll out of the way in time and so the boulder only smashed harmlessly against the ground. Ozai sent a blast of fire at Aang, who deflected it into the air with his airbending.
"Toph!" He shouted at the Earthbender. "Start getting everyone out of here!"
"I'll try!"
Toph was already concentrating on keeping her dust storm up, but now she stretched one arm down in front of her. A ramp appeared leading down into the earth. "Everyone into the hole!"
All the prisoners had been untied by this point, and so the first of them began to descend down the ramp. Suki and Sokka helped a few of the more infirm ones to do it. Meanwhile, the battle raged around them, the master of fire taking on the not-quite master of three other elements.
"I taught him that move!" Suki said excitedly to Sokka, watching Aang combine an attack she had demonstrated to him with some airbending to push his opponent back several feet.
Suddenly, Ozai turned and blasted not at Aang, but at Katara. Katara managed to dodge out of the way, but Aang was distracted for a second. He stopped moving, called out Katara's name.
Ozai's second lightning bolt of the night did not miss.
Aang crumpled to the ground.
"And now for you."
In triumph, Ozai turned around towards the group and made the circular movements with his hands to generate lightning, but Katara reacted faster. With what little water she had available, she created a shield that absorbed the lightning bolt and then thrust out her arm. A tendril of the electrified water shot out and touched Ozai's arm. The Firelord convulsed and collapsed, the electricity escaping from the water through his body.
She then ran over to Aang's inert body, threw herself down beside it and began cradling it, tears flowing down her face. "Katara, come on!" Toph shouted, crying herself.
Sokka and Suki ran over to them and helped her pick up Aang's body. They carried it down the ramp, and then the earth closed over them.