The darkness of the sky slowly turned blood-red as Sozin's Comet streaked across the sky. All the firebenders aboard the airship fleet felt their chi strengthening; felt the incredible power brought on by the comet. They waited patiently for the signal of the commander, the Phoenix King.

"It's time for this world to end in fire... And for a new world to be born from the ashes!"

Once the comet was within sight, they set off.

After the mess in the Royal Spa, Azula headed for the throne room and called for the Dai Li. She sat on the throne as her father did and blue flames brought the room a dim light. Her anger grew each passing second that she was alone, making the flames burn higher.

Finally, seven agents came in and knelt before the princess. "You sent for us, princess? Is everything alright?"

"Actually, everything's not all right!" She glared down at the men with her golden eyes. "Do you know how long it took you to get here?!"

"Uh... A few minutes, I guess?"

"Five, to be precise! In which time an assassin could have snuck in, done away with me, and been on his merry way!"

The Dai Li bowed their heads, hiding their expressions with their wide brimmed helmets. "My apologies, princess."

But she was far from done. "Is this how you plan to treat your new Fire Lord?! With tardiness and disloyalty?!"

"The Dai Li would never betray you!" One of the agents dared look up and spoke fiercely.

"And I'm sure that's just what you told Long Feng before you turned against him and joined me!" For Azula, there was absolutely no one she could trust. Everyone else has already betrayed her. "It's better to take out the weed before it takes root." "You are all banished!"

"B-but—"

"Goodbye!"

With unreadable expressions in every individual, the Dai Li left.

"No one can be trusted. No one."

Chiyo looked up at the bright comet as it flew across the sky. Had it been any other occasion, she would've described the phenomenon as beautiful. But the mere thought of it being used as a means of destruction and conquest made all positive thoughts about it disappear.

The sky bison flew as fast as it can towards the Fire Nation Capital. Katara noticed Zuko's brooding expression and she tried to console him. "Don't worry, Zuko. We can take Azula."

"I'm not worried about her." He countered and looked far ahead. They were close to the Capital, and just as his uncle said, his sister will be there waiting for him. But at the moment, she was the least of his worries. "I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father? What if he loses?"

Katara steeled her resolve. "Aang won't lose. He's gonna come back." She looked back in the direction where they came from. If Aang didn't come back, the whole Earth Kingdom will be burned down. And it might only be a matter of time when they continue on to the Water Tribes. "He has to."

Zuko reached out and held Chiyo's hand. "Do you remember the conditions I asked of you?"

She nodded and gripped his hand tight. "This comet will give you tremendous power, as well as Azula. You have to be careful. You have to be fast, and decisive."

"I will. As long as you stay on Appa, hidden. Clear?"

"Crystal."

He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Zuko will do everything it takes to end this war and keep her safe. Only then can they live in an era of peace and prosperity.

Only then can they live by each other's side with a future to look forward to.

Azula glared at her reflection in the mirror, trying her best to put her damp hair up into her usual bun. The princess has never done her hair by herself before. She had servants to bathe her and dress her ever since she was a child.

But in a momentary lapse of judgement, Azula had them banished simply for leaving a pit in a cherry she had been eating.

"Rightfully so! If I choked on that stupid pit and died, would they say it was just an accident? How dare they?!"

She failed miserably as she looped the ribbon around her hair and ended up tying one of her fingers as well. She tugged her hand free and her hair fell loose covering her eyes. She shrieked in frustration and grabbed a pair of scissors from the dresser. "Alright, hair! It's time to meet your doom!"

The princess hacked at the locks covering her face, chunks and strands falling to her feet. She grinned satisfactorily at her handiwork after she was done.

"What a shame. You always had such beautiful hair."

Her grin disappeared as she looked into the mirror and saw that she wasn't alone in her room. There behind her, stood the first person who betrayed her trust. The first person who left her. The first person to ever hurt her.

Her mother.

There she stood just as she could remember her; tall, elegant, fair-skinned, beautiful. Like she never left.

"What are you doing here?" Azula snapped meeting her eyes through the mirror.

"I didn't want to miss my own daughter's coronation."

"You managed to miss half of my entire life, and now you want to be part of it?!" She thought bitterly, hating the way her mother's eyes looked at her as she thought they have never before. With worry. "Don't pretend to act proud! I know what you really think of me. You think I'm a monster."

"I think you're confused. All your life, you've used fear to control people, like your friends, Chiyo, Mai, and Ty Lee."

"But what other choice do I have?!" She shouted and turned away from the mirror to look at her mother head-on, but found no one behind her. "Trust is for fools!" She shouted at the empty room. "Fear is the only reliable way! Father said so! It's better to be feared than loved! Even you fear me!"

"No. I love you, Azula. I do."

How long had Azula wished to hear those words back when they were younger? But it was too late. Hate and anger had consumed every fiber of her being until all that was left was the firebending prodigy his father was proud of, his vicious and manipulative right hand. All those years, she had learned to live without her mother's love.

And she certainly didn't need it now that she was about to become the Fire Lord.

She swiped the hairbrush on top of the dresser and hurled it at the mirror. She watched as it shattered upon impact, shards falling on the floor, leaving her staring at a cracked reflection, facets of her dissolving into tears as they spilled helplessly from her eyes.

Her mother was gone in the mirror. And she was left all alone.

As she always has been.

The airships sailed smoothly in formation as they approached the nearest Earth Kingdom territory. Ozai breathed in deeply as the comet flew above them, feeling the most alive he had been in decades.

Only once in a lifetime can a firebender experience this much power. And at this moment in time, he shall fulfill the task his father, and his father before him, could only ever dream of doing.

He raised his arms and harnessed power in his hands, then directed it towards the nearest land mass of the territory. Immense flames rained down on the land, far larger and destructive than any he had ever created.

His men followed his lead, taking their stances at the airship's plank and sending blasts of fire down to scorch the land.

Large boulders whipped past King Ozai's head and hurtled right at the airship's engine. He looked down at where it came from and saw the Avatar, sending an equally powerful blast of fire towards the engine, rendering it incapacitated.

He removed the useless garb, the golden armor plates and the dark red robes that weighed him down. He propelled himself away from the airship and landed on one of the tall pillars of rock, facing the Avatar. "After generations of Fire lords failed to find you, now the universe delivers you to me as an act of providence!" He extended his arms as if to thank the universe for this magnanimous opportunity.

"Please, listen to me! We don't have to fight!" Aang tried to reason with him. "You have the power to end it here and stop what you are doing!"

"You are right." King Ozai smirked. "I do have the power! I have all the power in the world!" He breathed out and showed the Avatar the scale of his power, magnified by the comet.

The battle commenced, one trying to end the world in fire, the other trying not to end his opponent at all costs.

The Fire Sage elder raised the emblem of the Fire Lord, a golden metal flame, above Azula as she knelt before them. "By decree of the Phoenix King, I now crown you Fire Lord—"

Azula frowned as they stopped. She growled in frustration at the elders. "What are you waiting for?! Do it!"

She heard the low grumbling of the animal before she looked up and saw the Avatar's sky bison. On the saddle, there sat her foolish brother and the Avatar's girlfriend.

Zuko instructed Chiyo to crouch low and hide in the saddle before jumping out and facing his sister. "Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today! I am!" He looked at her, an ounce of pity flashing inside him as he saw his younger sister's dishevelled state. But he knew she was a lost cause, corrupted by his father and power. If she takes the throne, who knows what will happen to the Fire Nation?

Azula laughed, clutching her stomach for effect. "You're hilarious!"

"And you're going down." Katara stood by Zuko's side, directing her icy gaze up at the princess.

She merely raised a brow as she stood up. "You want to be Fire Lord, Zuko? Fine! Let's settle this! Just you and me, brother! The showdown that was always meant to be! Agni Kai!"

He gritted his teeth, not expecting to be challenged into an Agni Kai. But he didn't come this far to back down. "You're on."

"What are you doing?!" Katara turned to Zuko. "She's playing you! She knows she can't take us both so she's trying to separate us!"

"I know. But I can take her this time."

"But even you admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula!"

"There's something off about her." Zuko explained as he kept his eyes trained on his sister. "I can't explain it, but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt." He hoped Katara would catch on to his meaning.

The Fire Sages led them to the Palace courtyard where the Agni Kai for the throne will take place. The palace chambers reserved especially for these events won't be enough to hold them both at their current empowered state.

The duellers stood paces apart and knelt as was tradition, offering up a silent prayer to the gods and the spirits before standing up and facing each other.

Azula took off her robes, leaving her in her armor. "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother."

"No, you're not." Zuko assumed a fighting stance, preparing himself mentally for this inevitable fight.

The princess attacked first, conjuring a fire blast headed straight for her opponent. Zuko countered her with his own. Blue and orange flames clashed against one another, creating a wall of flames between them, taller than any tower in the Capital.

Once the wall dissipated, Azula pushed forward, sending quick jabs and kicks in succession. The prince avoided them all, sending back counter-attacks one after the other.

As the fight went on, several buildings and storage houses of the palace burned. The Fire Sages had to leave immediately in fear of being a casualty in the fight.

For the first time, Azula was trying to catch her breath. The strength of her attacks was taking a toll on her body, yet Zuko was still standing there, deflecting her every move with his own.

She had never seen her brother this powerful before. The thought scared her, but mostly, it fuelled her anger even more.

Her eyes widened as Zuko sent a powerful blast in her direction, one she barely avoided by propelling herself away. She was fast, but not enough to avoid the second gust that sent her flying away, falling flat on her back.

She hastily got back up, not wanting to show him that she was weak.

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

She heard her brother's taunting voice amidst the ones already in her head, telling her that she was weak, telling her that she was going to lose. Despite her labored breathing, she looked up at him and readied herself. "Oh, I'll show you lightning!"

Once he saw her harnessing electricity in her hands, Zuko prepared himself to use the technique his uncle taught him. He was more than ready to redirect lightning. He had done it once before, and he'll do it again.

She was ready to strike her brother, but a quick sideways glance gave her a brilliant idea. She released the lightning and aimed not at Zuko, but at the waterbender by the sidelines.

The prince saw what she was after and ran, jumping forward to catch the lightning in his hand before it reaches Katara. "NO!" With great effort, he managed to redirect the massive power up to the sky.

But the power was too much, and he felt the lightning creeping towards his heart.

Chiyo looked up and saw the bright streaks of lightning against the blood-red sky. A sudden, ominous feeling bloomed within her and she knew what she had to do.

She jumped down from Appa and ran for the courtyard, but she wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her.

Azula stood over her brother's form on the ground where he lay groaning in pain and twitching from the effects of the lightning. She saw the princess's hand ignite, ready to end her brother once and for all.

And much like before, she did the only thing she could think of at that moment.

Chiyo ran as fast as she could, grabbed Azula's arm and lifted it with all her might. The action threw off Azula's aim away from Zuko and sent the lightning up to the dark sky.

Azula turned to face the interference, only to see the familiar face of the apprentice of her father's concubine. Her old friend.

"C-ch..Chiyo?!"

She step forward, positioning herself between Azula and Zuko to shield the latter. "Princess Azula."