Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons

Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence

Author's Note: I will neither confirm nor deny if there is a Major Character Death in this chapter...read ahead at your own discretion

Chapter 14: Sozin's Comet: Part 2

They say it's what you make

I say it's up to fate

It's woven in my soul

I need to let you go

Azula is just stepping out of the front of her palace when Appa lands. Zuko and Katara spring off, facing the girl.

"Oh, how convenient," Azula says. "I was just searching for you, brother." Her eyes swivel to Katara and she sneers. "And you survived. Of course you did."

"Where's the Fire Lord?" Katara demands.

"The Fire Lord is no more." Azula raises her arms. "Now is the era of the Phoenix - "

"I don't care what he's calling himself these days," Zuko interrupts. "Where is Father?"

Azula frowns and strokes her chin with her pale fingers. "Hmm. Good question. I would say over there - " she points in a general direction to the outskirts of the city, "but I'm not sure where they took him."

"We're not playing your games anymore." Katara steps forward. "Tell me where Ozai is."

A wide smile spreads across Azula's face. "Oh, dear. You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Zuko demands.

"If only you had let me finish my sentence earlier, Zuzu. But you're so impatient. You always have been." Azula's eyes flash with amusement. "There is no longer a Fire Lord because the title has been upgraded to the Phoenix Queen. You really should bow, you know."

"What are you talking about?" Katara glances around. "And where is everyone?"

"I sent them away." Azula waves her hand absently. "They were all traitors. They were all jealous of me and my throne."

"Your throne?" Zuko splutters. "You think you could just take control of the Fire Nation while Father went off to fight the war? What happens when he comes back? He's going to kill you."

"No, he's not." Azula twirls a strand of her hair between her fingers.

"He doesn't love you, Azula. He never will. It's all a lie. He's manipulating you."

She drops her finger and narrows her eyes at him. "You think I don't know that? I'm not stupid, Zuko. Ozai had to manipulate us because it was the only real power he had. He used us to do his dirty work and make him look good. He stole our power and ideas and presented it as his own."

Katara and Zuko exchange a look. This is not what they were expecting. But maybe they can use it to their advantage.

"It's not too late for you, Azula," Katara says, softening her voice. "If you help us defeat him -"

"Help you?" Azula begins laughing, but it's not a normal laugh. It's a cackling, crazy laugh. "I am strong enough to defeat Ozai on my own. I am stronger than you." She turns back to Zuko. "Father is not going to kill me because he's already dead."

Zuko takes a step back in surprise. "What? How?"

Katara is already beginning to understand. She's putting the pieces together, and the image is horrifying.

"Zuko…" She takes a step toward him, reaching out with a hand.

"I killed him myself." Azula grins triumphantly. "I stood in his shadow for too long. I am the rightful heir to the throne - I always have been. And since Father was too shortsighted to see it, I had to take the matter into my own hands."

"You killed him?" Zuko repeats.

"All it took was a well-aimed lightning strike. I've never felt so alive." Azula raises her palms, igniting small fires in her hands. "Although the power from the comet is thrilling. I was waiting to unleash my full power until I was at the front lines, leading my army to a complete and total victory, but I suppose I can make an exception." She fixes her eyes on him. "I knew you would come, Zuzu. I knew you would try to take what I rightfully earned. You've been doing it for years."

He shakes his head. "You're wrong. You're the one who's been trying to take what was mine by birth!"

"You may have been born first, but you were always the inferior sibling." Azula takes a step forward. "You want to have the throne? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be." Her eyes gleam with anticipation. "Agni Kai!"

Zuko doesn't back down. "You're on."

Katara reaches out and grabs his arm. "Zuko -"

He shakes her off. "This is my fight. I have to do this, Katara."

"Yes," Azula agrees. "And when I'm finished with him, you're next."

"Zuko, what are you doing?"

Katara is enraged. She's rarely been this upset before, but today has grated the last of her nerves down. Saying goodbye to the others made her realize how much she stands to lose if things go wrong; knowing that she never opened her final chakra left a sense of dread in her stomach; but coming to the palace and encountering the most twisted and evil version of Azula yet has pushed her over the edge.

"She's my sister."

Out of the two of them, Katara is usually the calm one and Zuko is the riled up one. But today their roles are switched. Zuko is calm and collected while Katara is a mess.

"So? She'll kill you! Even you admitted that she was better than you! And if she really killed your father, then she's stronger than even me."

"There's something off about her."

"If by 'off' you mean she turned into a murderous psychopath who won't hesitate to shoot us up full of lightning then yes, there's something off about her!" Katara grabs his arms, forcing him to face her. "Zuko, she's trying to separate us. She knows that she can beat us if she fights us one at a time instead of together."

Zuko shakes his head. "No, she's slipping. I can see it in her. She was always deadly because she was so cold and emotionless. Now she's a mess."

"Are you sure she just isn't more dangerous?"

He reaches out and touches her face. "It's okay, Katara. I've got this. I'm stronger than ever, and I can redirect her strongest attacks. I can win this. I have to."

She places her hand over his. "You have nothing to prove, Zuko. You've already restored your honor. You're an amazing Firebender. You don't have to fight Azula to prove that you deserve the throne."

His golden eyes fill with sadness. "This isn't about the throne, Katara. Remember what I told you on the island? How it reminded me of how great Azula and I were together? It made me sad because I could see what could have been. But this is what we are instead, and this is my destiny. I have to finish this."

Katara feels her eyes fill with tears. In a way she can't explain, she feels like she's already losing him. "What about my destiny?"

"What about your destiny?"

"I'm supposed to defeat the Fire Lord. I'm supposed to bring balance to the universe. This is what I've been training for. This is my life's purpose." She looks away, unable to admit it to his face. "Everything I've done in the past year is worth nothing if I don't fight the Fire Lord. Everything bad that happened to me happened for nothing." Her voice breaks. "My parents and tribe died for nothing."

She feels him pull her to his chest. "It's not for nothing," he assures her. "You still have a whole life of Avatar duties ahead of you. And if it wasn't for you, I might have been where Azula is now. You've done so much. You deserve to sit this fight out."

It all feels wrong. So, so wrong. Katara was supposed to fight Fire Lord Ozai. She was prepared to. But something went horribly wrong and Azula fought him instead.

Katara knows she should be thankful that she doesn't have to risk her life or kill Ozai, but somehow this turn of events doesn't feel like a victory. It feels the beginning of something much, much worse.

Ozai may be dead, but the universe isn't in balance. If anything, it's in an even more precarious situation. Ozai may have been cruel, but Azula is crazy. Something flipped in her and she's out of control and ruthless now.

Katara doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know what she's supposed to do. She feels empty inside, completely drained out. No more ideas, no more inspiration, no more past lives to help her figure out this problem.

She hates to give up so easily, but Zuko might be right. This is his fight now. Azula is in his hands.

Katara pulls away from him, craning her neck up to look him in the eyes.

"Beat her," she says. "End this war. For all of us."

He leans down and kisses her. It's a desperate kiss, neither of them knowing if it will be their last. It says all the things they can't put into words.

Katara hopes they'll live long enough to find the right words.

Zuko stands in the arena, the empty seats surrounding him. He's been here, in this exact spot, before. The stands were full of people screaming for his blood then. Four years ago now, he was crouched in this very position, begging for mercy from his father. Now it's his sister kneeling across the arena.

This time, there will be no merciful ending. This time is to the death.

Zuko knows this, and it pains him, but he also knows that it's the only way. His sister has grown too powerful and out of control. If she escapes the palace today, she will be unstoppable. Zuko has to beat her before she has the chance to destroy the world.

There was a time when she would have hesitated to kill him; he knows that time is long passed. She's unhinged, insane - she even killed their father, a man she spent most of her life revering and loving. Now she believes herself above all others.

It makes Zuko sad to see her this way. He still remembers the Azula who buried him in sand on Ember Island when they were kids or played hide and seek with him in the palace. He remembers playing pranks on the guards with her and helping each other sneak out at night. He remembers Azula before her eyes were hardened and her heart froze over. She no longer resembles the same girl who he grew up with.

And maybe that's why he's able to be in this arena, knowing that he has to end this. Because although she shares the same body as the Azula he grew up with, she's not the same girl. She grew up and became something terrible.

As her brother and only remaining family member, it's his responsibility to take care of her. Even if taking care of her means ending her.

Part of him wonders what his mother would think of this, and suddenly a lance of pain spikes through him. His mother would be destroyed if she knew her two children were dueling each other, each with the intent to kill the other. Ursa would be heartbroken. As sad as he is that their mother is gone, Zuko is glad that she'll never have to know about this. She never had to see her children kill each other.

Zuko takes a deep breath and then stands. No use delaying this any longer; it's going to happen eventually. It was always going to happen eventually. No matter what paths he and Azula took in life, it would always lead to this showdown between them for the throne. It's the way they were raised.

Azula rises on the other side of the arena. She dramatically pulls off her outer robe and drops it onto the ground.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother," she says, the corners of her lips twisted upwards.

"No, you're not."

He holds out a hand, the palm facing towards her, ready to deflect whatever attack she decides to use.

"You're right."

She whirls in a circle and sends a ball of fire towards him. He moves his hands in a circle in front of him, summoning up a shield of flames to deflect her attack. The two fires meet in the middle, her blue flame contrasting against his orange ones. The fire comes so easily from him, and in much larger amounts than ever before possible. As their fires compete for dominance between them, they spread out across the entire arena.

Azula jumps in the air, kicking out a slash of fire as she lands and then two more to follow the first one up. Zuko pushes back the attacks with a slice kick of flames.

The battle continues. For how long, he's not sure; in the moment, it feels like a lifetime. It's just him and Azula and the damage that's been done to them by others and the damage they've done to each other.

Zuko has never been at Azula's level before, never even been able to compete with her. But now, after learning the origin of firebending and finding peace within himself, he finds that he's more than able to compete with her. She may have fancier moves, but he's mastered the basics and made them his own. He's not just guiding his fire, he's mastering it.

He can see the frustration playing out over Azula's features as he blocks her best attacks. She's always been good at keeping her emotions in check, which is why he knows she's slipping. He almost feels bad fighting her like this, but then he remembers all the times she fought or demeaned him and he's able to push the guilt away.

Zuko punches out fire at the same time as she does, and their fire once again meets in the middle. She adjusts the aim of her fire slightly, so that half of it burns past his shield and to his side. He throws up a forearm to hold the flames back as he continues to press his own attack. He feels his foot sliding against the ground under the force of her offense, threatening to compromise his position, so he shifts it back into place and gives a final shove of fire. Azula is forced to abandon her attack to disband the flames flying her way.

He watches as she turns to see the royal box of the arena going up in flames, lit up by the strength of his attack. She turns, flyaway hair plastered to her neck and her unevenly cut bangs hanging above her wide eyes. He can see the disbelief written on her features. She doesn't understand how he's keeping up with her.

Part of him wonders how quickly his father went down.

She blasts herself into the air, sending a thick column of concentrated fire tornadoing his way. He crosses his arms over his chest, slicing them down to his sides as her fire reaches him. The move creates a wall of his own flames to disband hers without him having to sidestep to avoid them.

Azula is still crouched, not having moved from the position she'd landed in with that last attack. She's breathing hard; her mouth is parted slightly, and her forehead is wrinkled. He can see desperation displayed in all her features, and he keeps a fist stretched out in front of him in defense.

She narrows her eyes. Zuko does something he's never done against her before: he attacks first. He sends a stream of roaring fire that eats up the arena as it crawls towards her. With eyes wide in surprise, she forfeits her position and leaps to the side to avoid being fried. He can see his orange flames reflected in her eyes as she watches it burn through the air where she'd just been standing.

She pushes her arms back, propelling herself forward with rockets exploding from her fists. She thrusts one forward and he jumps fifteen feet straight up into the air to safely clear the fire. She throws another shot at him which he slices to disband mid-air and then he lands in a crouch on the ground, his hands pressed together and pointed down. When his fingertips touch the ground, another wave of fire fans out.

Azula is forced to rocket around it, approaching from his left side. She fires again and he deflects. Then he thrusts his fist forward, chasing her with an unending stream of fire. As she rockets straight towards him, he leans to the ground and whirls his legs in a circle, sending a kick of fire that hits her in the chest.

She flies backward, hitting the ground hard and rolling. He can hear her cries of pain and it breaks apart something within him. The only thing keeping him from rushing to her side and seeing if she's okay is knowing that she would take advantage of the moment to kill him.

She recovers quickly, pulling herself to her feet. She sways, glaring out at him from under a curtain of hair. Her ribbon fell out when he hit her, and now her hair is tumbling freely over her shoulders.

Azula doesn't look much like a queen right now; she looks like a fifteen year old girl who has been manipulated and neglected.

Zuko is ready for this to end. If he stays much longer in this fight, he'll lose his conviction to do what's necessary to win it and save his people. He needs to get under her skin, to get her to keep fighting him.

"No lightning today?" he taunts. "What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?"

He slices his hand through the air in demonstration. Azula narrows her eyes, and he sees them start to gleam again. Good. She's ready to keep fighting.

"Oh," she growls, "I'll show you lightning!"

She spins her arms, gathering lightning around her. Zuko takes a deep breath and lines up his hands. Unlike their father, who could generate lightning near instantly, Azula requires a few seconds. Just enough time for Zuko to prepare himself for what he has to do. What he's about to do.

Leaders have to make the hard decisions and carry them out. Zuko's about to make his first one.

Azula's eyes twitch to his side just before she throws the lightning. It's not aimed at him; it's aimed slightly to the right of him. Why would she -

Zuko turns his head and horror fills him. Katara is standing a few paces behind him, in the corner of the arena. Her eyes are wide as the bright blue lightning arcs straight toward her.

Time slows down to a crawl. A million thoughts cross Zuko's mind. He thinks of his future, of the future of his people. He remembers Sokka's warning about him needing to be Fire Lord or else the throne will be up for grabs and the war will never end as generals fight each other for it. He thinks of a universe doomed for perpetual war because no one is there to educate the Fire Nation citizens on all the lies they've been fed for the past one hundred years. He thinks of his friends trying to pick up their lives after failing to end the war.

He thinks of the next generations that will follow, thousands of people destined to live in a world that is forever burning until there's nothing left but ash.

Then he thinks of a world with him in it after today. He thinks of an era with peace. Katara is dead, but so is Ozai and Azula. The universe is once again in balance. Zuko works with Toph and Suki to return the colonies to the Earth Kingdom and he helps Sokka make peace treaties with the Water Tribe survivors. A new Avatar is born and grows up without the horrors of war. Kids grow up in a world without fear and pain and loss. Laughter fills the streets. Mothers no longer have to send their husbands and children to war; now they can stay at home and live long, happy lives. Men can stay home and farm or mine or do whatever they want to bring money home - because they will come home.

Zuko thinks of old Fire Nation traditions being brought back. He thinks of people being able to travel freely between the nations without fear. He thinks of prisons closing down and parks being built. He thinks of an era of happiness wiping away one hundred years of suffering.

And he throws it all away.

Without hesitation, he leaps in front of the lightning, catching it in his stomach and hands and feeling its energy release within him. His veins explode in a wave of fire and he falls to the ground in a curled up position, trying to lessen the agony of having every cell on fire.

The energy courses through his body, causing his muscles and limbs to twitch. This is too much power contained in a human vessel. It's tearing him apart from the inside.

"Zuko!"

He hears his name being called out, but he can't answer; his body is no longer under his control. His limbs fall away limply, spreading out across the ground, and he stares up at the beautiful red and orange sky. A fiery horizon, burning out at the same time he is.

He would have liked his last memory to be of her bright blue eyes, but this isn't a bad view, either.

"Zuko!"

The scream spills out of her. Her fear of being struck by lightning again had paralyzed her; the horror of what Zuko has done has cripplied her. She feels an abyss in her stomach taking shape. It's a strange feeling - not rage or sadness, just emptiness.

Then the practical part of her, the motherly instincts that always overpower her when someone she cares about is in need, comes to life, filling the abyss up. Her brain kicks into overdrive as she accesses the situation and determines what needs to be done.

First, she needs to get to Zuko, to see if she can heal him. Maybe the hit wasn't as bad as she thought. Maybe there's a reason why he's lying completely motionless on the ground. Maybe there's still hope if she reaches him in time.

She starts to run, closing the distance between them, when a blast of fire explodes in front of her feet, causing her to veer away. On the other side of Zuko's body, Azula stumbles forward, laughing maniacally.

"You're weak," Azula taunts, taking another step forward. Katara's eyes dart between her and Zuko. "The Waterbenders were the first to be destroyed because they did not deserve to live in this world. In my world!" She takes another step, standing right next to Zuko. "My reign will be filled with fire. We will burn you away!"

She steps over Zuko's body. Katara is forced to take a step back. Every second she spends fighting Azula is another second that Zuko is closer to dying - if he's not dead already.

Katara shoots up a platform of rock beneath Azula's feet, sending her flying away. Katara begins running towards Zuko again, but three steps from him a wave of fire shoots down, once again stopping her.

Azula jumps back in the battle. "You'll have to try harder than that," she sneers. She blasts another ball of fire towards her, and Katara barely douses it with water.

Then Katara begins running. Azula laughs madly as she gathers lightning, chasing Katara around the arena and slamming deadly bolts into the dirt. Katara isn't sure if the other girl's aim is off, or if she's just moving quick enough to avoid getting blasted. Either way, she can't keep this up forever.

Azula jumps to the roof of one of the boxes, waving her arms around her as she gathers more lightning.

"I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu, if you don't mind!" she calls down.

Katara narrows her eyes. Azula is no longer the cocky, misguided princess that Katara first met; now she's a deadly, fatal force. She didn't hesitate to kill her brother, and she won't hesitate to kill Katara.

Katara sidesteps the lightning, but loses her footing as Azula blasts more fire down at her. She runs for the cover of the stands, shielding her body behind one of the pillars holding up the roof. Azula's fire licks the air around her. Katara has to shield her head with her hands.

The fire stops and Katara waits a moment before inching around the pillar. The arena is a mess, orange and blue fires burning in random intervals and craters blasted from Azula's lightning. Zuko is lying in the middle, and Azula is nowhere to be seen.

"Zuzu, you don't look so good," the princess says in a mocking tone. Katara takes a step forward, and then instantly leaps back as lightning blasts where she had just been standing.

Katara bends water from a well and douses the rooftop where Azula is, but she's disappeared. Katara glances around, frantically looking for the other girl. Where is she?

She turns just in time to see Azula blasting towards her on her firejets. Katara throws out a wave of water and rides it away, Azula in hot pursuit.

Katara ducks behind another column, landing in a crouch as Azula's fire continues to burn past her. She has her head down, panting, when she notices that she's landed on a grate. Water flows underneath her. Then she looks up, and she sees a chain hanging from the wall.

An idea begins to grow in her mind then. She just hopes Zuko can hold on long enough for her to see it through.

She stands up and grabs the chain. She barely has time to turn as Azula stalks toward her.

"There you are, peasant," the younger girl spits out.

They face each other off silently for a moment before Katara moves, spinning around and bending small streams of water to attack Azula from a dozen different angles. Azula sprints forward. Azula dodges them, rolling to the ground and jumping back up to her feet. She takes two steps, her arm moving to summon lightning. Just as she steps onto the grate, Katara throws her arms up into the air.

Everything stops. The water Katara had summoned surrounds them and freezes instantly, holding them in place. Azula's fingers, a moment before crackling with lightning, are two inches from Katara's face. She gulps at the realization of how close she had come to death and then breathes out, turning the ice around her to water.

She takes the chain and wraps it around Azula's wrist, pulling the arm with her as she swims through the ice to Azula's back to secure her other arm. She pulls both down and loops the ends of the chain through the iron of the grate, yanking it secure before allowing the water to drop back.

They both pant for a moment, sucking in oxygen and coughing. Azula yanks at the chains holding her arms back. Katara hesitates, waiting to make sure it will hold her.

She has to leap back as Azula cries out fiercely, fire shooting from her mouth. Satisfied that the girl is secure, Katara runs towards Zuko.

She's just reached him when she hears a screeching sound coming from behind. She whirls to see Azula yanking the chains free from the gate, half-melted. The girl shakes the remains off and glowers at Katara.

"You really thought a material that could melt could hold me back at the peak of my power?" Azula throws her arms out and lightning answers her call, crackling around her in an unnatural blue color. "I thought you were the Avatar, master of all four elements. Where is your air? Where is your fire?"

Katara throws up a rock shield in time to intercept the blast of lightning from her. The shield breaks apart from the force of the blow, blasting all around them. Katara glances at Zuko once more before turning and running. She doesn't want to risk him getting hit again.

She shelters herself behind another column, trying to think. How does she get herself and Zuko out of this alive? Zuko was wrong when he said Azula was weaker because she was unhinged. She's stronger than ever. Maybe she doesn't fight as smart as she used to, but she's also thrown caution to the wind and is desperate. Azula is as dangerous as a caged animal right now.

Katara glances around the pillar back at Zuko. He's not moving. It's probably already too late. And Katara isn't strong enough to defeat Azula. She doesn't feel confident enough in her newer elements to attempt using them.

She's beginning to doubt there is a way for her to stop Azula and save Zuko. The thought physically pains her, and she slouches against the pillar.

Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. Katara was never supposed to fight Azula. She's been preparing for the last year to fight Ozai, not his daughter. She came into this fight taken completely off guard and feeling lost. Her destiny, just thrown away. And now that Zuko's dying and she can't get to him to save him, or at least say goodbye…

She can't do this. It's too much. She had a plan, but all the factors except herself changed. Now she's alone in enemy territory with a hyped up enemy and no hope.

You have to let him go.

The voice resonates inside her, breaking the walls she'd built up around her heart. Her eyes begin stinging and her vision blurs.

The thought chakra is located at the crown of the head. It deals with pure, cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachment. Guru Pathik's voice echoes in her mind. Once you open this chakra, you will be able to go in and out of the Avatar State at will.

One chakra separates Katara from the power and wisdom of all her past lives. With their help, she can defeat Azula. She can harness the power of all four elements and take down the girl.

But not without a sacrifice.

Meditate on what attaches you to this world.

Katara closes her eyes tightly, feeling the tears slip down her cheeks. She sees her entire family - Sokka, Suki, Aang, Toph, and Zuko. The past few days of them hanging out together at Ember Island replays in her mind. Other snippets of their adventures play through. She remembers all the good times, all the bad times, and she holds tightly onto them all.

Now let go of all those attachments. Let them flow down the river...forgotten.

She feels them all for one moment more before letting go. They all disappear, fading away like dandelion seeds in the wind.

Only Zuko remains. A flurry of memories whirls through her mind: watching the fireworks on Whale Tail island together; cuddling on the ship while listening to the crew members play traditional Fire Nation songs; their first kiss under the stars; when he chose to fight his sister instead of her; their reunion after his prison break; the first time she saw him after he found peace; all the others moments they shared, in happiness or in pain or somewhere in the middle.

Learn to let him go or you cannot let the pure, cosmic energy flow in from the universe.

Katara feels her chest constrict, as if her entire body is rebelling. Every cell in her wants to fight, to find another way. But she's tried fighting her destiny, and it led to her almost dying and many of her friends being imprisoned. This is their last chance to overthrow the dominance of the Fire Nation. This is their last chance to end the war before it ends them.

She is their only hope.

Surrender yourself.

Her hands shaking so much that she balls them into fists, she breathes in deeply, holding it for just one moment longer. Then she exhales, and Zuko disappears with the others. Gone, like her village and her people. Gone, like her parents and her home.

Gone.

Katara opens her eyes and they are no longer her eyes; they are glowing orbs. She steps out from behind the cover of the pillar and into the arena, where Azula is waiting for her. Katara can feel everything around her in a hum of energy. She can sense the low energy spilling out of Zuko's body and the high energy bursting from the seams of Azula's; she can feel the vibrations of the four elements all around her.

Water, her first element, comes to her first, wrapping around her body in a ribbon from her left shoulder down to her right leg and then back around. Air surrounds her in a sphere, an impenetrable shield. A ring of fire bursts to life, wrapping around her outside the sphere, starting at her right side and wrapping down past her left leg. Blocks of earth levitate around the middle.

She's an unstoppable force. Azula stumbles back, her eyes widening at the sight. She begins blasting fire and lightning at her, but it doesn't touch Katara through the shield of her elements. She sends earth chunks flying at Azula, tripping up her feet. Fire meets fire in a spectacular show, and then a ribbon of water douses the other girl. Air slices through walls of flames, parting them harmlessly to the sides.

Azula doesn't stand a chance against Katara in the Avatar State. She never did.

No one stands a chance against the Avatar at full power.

For her credit, Azula tries. But she's growing weak while Katara only grows stronger. In the end, Katara is standing in front of Azula, the other girl on her knees.

"Just go ahead and end it," Azula spits out, eyes shining crazily. "Do what my brother never could."

"It's not my decision," Katara says calmly. "You're not my destiny."

Then she backhands the girl with a fist of rock and Azula slumps to the ground, unconscious.

The Avatar State abandons Katara, its purpose fulfilled. She falls to her knees in front of Azula, breathing heavily. The sudden disconnection from the cosmic energy leaves her feeling drained and disconcerted.

Her eyes rove over the battlefield and, in between the rubble and destruction, she spots a red tunic. She pulls herself to her feet and runs toward him. Zuko's still laying on his back, his eyes closed. Katara feels for a pulse, but she doesn't find one.

"No," she whispers, her fingers moving to the large, ugly wound on his stomach. She fumbles the water skin at her side open and bends the water out, trying to heal the fatal injury.

Nothing. She's too late, and the injury too great.

She lifts his head into her lap. "You can't leave me," she sobs. "Not after everything we've been through. Not after how hard we fought."

She's seen too many people she loves die. She's not sure she can bear to lose him, too.

Her hand drifts up to her mother's necklace. It isn't until she touches the crystal-shaped pendant that she remembers she doesn't have her mother's necklace anymore. This was a gift from Zuko - maybe the last thing she'll ever have from him.

Her hand suddenly freezes around the pendent. She remembers the moment Zuko gave it to her as if it was yesterday.

"This is the spirit water that Sokka's been holding on to for you since the invasion of the South Pole. He gave it to me to use to heal you, but the Waterbenders at the North Pole used their own," he had said. "That spirit water gave me hope when I was sure you were lost. You've always been the one to give me hope, but I know you're struggling right now. So if you ever feel overwhelmed or lost again, I want that to remind you that I will never lose hope in you."

Katara rips the necklace off and pops open the top of the vial. She pours the spirit water out onto his wound and begins to work her healing magic.

"Please work," she whispers. "C'mon, please."

After a harrowing minute, she feels a slight movement and turns to see his lips parting and his eyes blinking open. Tears of relief spring to her eyes. She doesn't even care that she's cried like five times in the last hour - she's just so happy to see him alive.

"Thank you, Katara," he whispers, his voice hoarse.

She wipes at her face with the back of her hand. "I think I should be the one thanking you."

Katara moves a hand to his back and helps him sit up. Then she throws her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

It's over. Ozai is dead, Azula is defeated, and Katara and Zuko are still, miraculously, alive.

The sun is setting on a new era.