They arrived at the base camp to find it was in full operation. The Water Tribe warriors had gathered, the Earth Kingdom soldiers had gathered, many of the White Lotus had gathered, and even a few people Aang and the others had met during their travels had come, including an Earth Kingdom Mechanist. Sokka and the guy were basically joined at the hip these days, though he peeled himself away from the inventions to get in on the welcome back hugs.

Everyone was relieved. Everyone was also tense. Aside from the fact that many were not pleased to see Azula, Zuko's group had cut it close with their timing. The eclipse was tomorrow.

"This is really happening, isn't it?" Aang murmured, once they'd all settled in and were waiting for the briefing to start. "Tomorrow we're going to attack the capital."

Zuko looked down at him. "Nervous?"

"Yeah."

He placed his hand on Aang's shoulder. "Me too."

They both fell quiet.

"I know what everyone's going to say in the meeting," Aang murmured, lowering his gaze. "They're going to tell me I have to kill the Fire Lord."

"What will you do?"

"What I have to, I guess. I'll make my case, I'll tell them that energybending is an option, but even I know the risks." His voice got quieter. "Everyone has gathered here to fight. They're all depending on me to do my part and stop the Fire Lord. I can't let them down."

Zuko's eyes widened before his expression softened into a smile. "You've changed, you know."

Aang's gaze darted to his in question.

"I used to look at you and see a dumb kid."

"Hey—"

"But now I see an Avatar." A beat. "And a dumb kid."

Aang folded his arms and put on his best grumpy, koalasheep face.

"I'm just teasing." Zuko looked around at the tents and people preparing for the upcoming battle. "But you have changed. You're not the same kid you were when we first met. It makes me glad I gave you that chance."

Aang unfolded his arms. "What do you mean?"

"When we were in that abandoned town, when I wasn't sure what to do or who to trust, you asked me to give you chance. You said you wanted to prove you could be a better friend and a better Avatar."

"I remember."

Zuko met his gaze. "You've proven that, Aang. I know that whatever happens tomorrow, you'll make sure this war ends. I know we can follow you with confidence."

Colour dusted Aang's cheek and he rubbed the base of his neck. "Oh."

"Don't let it get to your head, though." Zuko gave a half-pat, half-push to his head.

Aang ducked away from his hand with a smile, though he sobered a second later. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Are you really okay with the fact we're going up against your dad?"

Zuko tensed. "You're asking me that now?"

"Sorry. I just … I remembered what you said when we were unlocking the chakras together, and I wondered if it's hard for you—being here, knowing what we have to do tomorrow."

Zuko sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking the other way. "I try not to think about it."

"Oh. Then you still—"

"He's my father. I can't change that." His voice hardened. "But I do want him stopped. What he's planning, what he'll do with the comet, we can't let that happen. So I'll fight against my people tomorrow. I'll fight him if I have to, and if defeating him means he has to die, so be it."

Aang frowned. "It still doesn't seem right … or fair."

"War isn't fair, and my father brought this on himself. Don't pity him. That kind of feeling will get you killed."

"It's not that."

"Then what?"

"I just hate that it has to be this way. I hate how this war has screwed everything up. Families, nations, the whole world. It's all screwed up."

"Well, that's what we're here to fix, right? When we win tomorrow, we can start making things right again."

Aang's lips curved. "Yeah, you're right."

Zuko noticed a crowd gathering around the board with the maps and plans. "Looks like it's starting." He gripped Aang's shoulder. "Come on. Time to try convince everyone."

oOo

"This is ridiculous," Azula muttered, resisting the urge to pace.

There had been … resistance when she'd gone to attend the briefing. People did not want her listening to their plans. People did not want her at the base camp at all—at least not while she was unrestrained. So she had chosen not to push the matter. She would not beg these people. She would not lower herself for them.

But it still hurt.

It hurt like the stinging lash of a whip she'd thought she'd already dodged.

"Why don't you sit down?" Ursa suggested, patting the spot next to her.

Azula remained standing and glared at the crowd. "They're going to make me stay here tomorrow."

"Perhaps, but …"

"But what, Mother?"

"Perhaps that is for the best."

Azula's fingers twitched towards her palms. "Is that what you think?"

"You've been through so much and—"

"Don't give me that rubbish. The fact is you don't trust me, do you?"

"That's not true."

Azula turned to face her. "Then look me in the eye and tell me why you don't think I should go with Zuko tomorrow. Why should I stay here?"

Ursa's gaze skittered to the side before meeting her eyes again. "I simply think it will be better for you to stay. I'll be here as well. We can—"

A brittle laugh. "I knew it. You're worried I'll side with Father. You're just like them."

"Azula." Ursa stood up and reached for her. "Let's just—"

"No, Mother. Let's not."

Azula stalked away from the tent with her back ramrod straight. There was an odd tightness in her chest and throat. Her eyes prickled.

"What did you expect?"

Her chest tightened even more. She gritted her teeth and forced her breathing to slow. Control. She had to be in control. Even if fire licked under her skin, even if Jet's voice hissed and pushed at the seams of her mind, threatening to shatter the precious quiet.

"They don't trust you. They'll never trust you, and why should they?"

She resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her ears.

"You haven't changed. You're a lie, a fake."

"I have changed," she whispered.

"Liar. You're like a wolfbat pretending you're a koalasheep. You keep trying to fit in, but one of these days you're going to crack. Why do you think you get so frustrated with these people? Why do you think they're so wary of you?"

Her fingers curled into her palms. "What would you know? You're nothing now. You're dead."

"I know. You killed me, remember?"

She stopped abruptly. Jet stood in front of her with that familiar smile on his lips, except he was all ruined flesh and more like a reanimated corpse from a nightmare. She backed up a step, her heart pounding and pounding.

"What's the matter?" he taunted. "Don't like looking at your handiwork?"

"You're not real." She backed up another step, shaking her head. "You can't be real. You're dead. I watched you die."

"Yet here I am." He spread his arms and his smile widened even more.

Her heartbeat skittered and stuttered. None of the voices had taken physical form except Mother, and even those apparitions had stopped. Why was he here? Why was this happening again? Her chest got tighter and tighter as if steel was clamping down on her ribcage. It was so hard to get air through her lungs.

"You're not real," she repeated.

She walked in the other direction, hoping he would disappear, but he followed like a burn-ravaged wraith. He hissed taunts in her ear about how she was wasting her time in this place. He said she'd always be a monster because, deep down, she enjoyed it. She enjoyed inflicting pain, enjoyed seeing people squirm in fear.

"Shut up," she gritted out.

"Just accept it." He blocked her path and met her eyes. "I know you. We're the same, and people like us can never fit in with people like them."

"You're wrong. I'm not like that anymore. Even Zuko thinks I've changed."

"Then why are you not with him now? Why are you the only one shut out?"

Her jaw locked with tension.

"Face it. All they're doing is trying to keep you on a leash. They want you where they can see you, they'll use you when they find a purpose for you, but they'll never trust you. They'll never let you be free."

The prickle was back in her eyes.

"Is that really what you want, Azula? To be excluded, humiliated? To be treated like something inferior just because some fools are scared you'll turn on them?"

"Shut up."

"Your own mother doesn't believe in you, yet you did so much to keep everyone safe on the Ito Islands. It's frustrating, isn't it? It makes you want to—"

"I said shut up!"

He laughed. "You know, maybe your mother is right. You should stay here tomorrow. If your father saw you, he would think you're pathetic. He would think you deserved to die."

Flames sparked from her fingers and shot out to consume him in a swell of sapphire. He laughed until every trace of him was gone.

oOo

That night, everyone gathered in their own groups. Katara caught up with Sokka, Hakoda, and other members of her tribe. Ty Lee and Aang were busy teaching each other games and practicing airbending while Toph, Mai and Suki sat nearby and chatted in their own circle. As for Zuko, he spent his time with his family and Shizue. Azula seemed oddly withdrawn, but then he supposed she had always been closer to their father than him. This was probably difficult for her. Or maybe she was frustrated because everyone wanted her to stay behind tomorrow; he knew it would frustrate him.

Iroh steered the conversation towards matters of royal succession. He believed that Zuko should be the one to take the throne. Zuko thought his uncle was joking. He protested a lot once he realised this wasn't the case.

"It has to be you," Iroh said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The people are already used to the idea of you being the Crown Prince."

"Banished prince," Zuko pointed out. "Besides, the crown is rightfully yours. Father was the one who took it from you."

Iroh was not persuaded. The debate was lost when Ursa and Shizue sided with him. They didn't seem to think it mattered that Zuko was only sixteen and had spent the past three years banished from the Fire Nation. They didn't seem to understand the thought of becoming Fire Lord made his pulse race and his gut wriggle and churn as if butterfly-snakes had taken up residence inside. He half hoped that Azula would step in to support him, but she simply watched with an unreadable expression.

"You won't have to do this alone, Zuko," Ursa said with a reassuring smile. "We'll be there with you."

That was a small comfort. Iroh suggested they could think about making Ursa regent until Zuko came of proper age if needed, but the important thing was that Zuko should be the one to assume the throne. He was the best equipped to heal the nation, or so they believed.

"But I'm a fire healer," he murmured. "Won't that … complicate things?"

"That is why it has to be you," Ursa said. "This is a chance to make things right, not just for the Fire Nation but also for fire healers."

He frowned at his hands.

oOo

"You really don't want to be Fire Lord, do you?" Azula observed once she and Zuko were alone.

"No," he admitted.

A soft laugh. "Typical. You know, I always thought I deserved to be the heir more than you. You were never a great tactician, you did poorly in your studies, and you're way too impulsive and emotional."

"You realise this isn't helping at all."

Her gaze met his. "You'll probably keep making mistakes as well if you become Fire Lord—"

"Still not helping."

"—but people follow you, Zuko. They follow you because they want to, not because you've intimidated them into submission. Uncle sees that too. So does Mother and Shizue. That's why they say it has to be you. That's why it should be you."

His eyes widened. "You really think that?"

"Well, it can't be me." Her tone took on a bitter edge. "I'm too much like Father, it seems."

He frowned.

She brushed past him and started to walk away.

"Hey, Azula?"

"What?"

"Um … is everything okay?"

"Why would you think it isn't?"

"Because you seem kind of … upset."

She tensed and her expression became as hard as steel, but there was a flicker of vulnerability in her eyes as well.

"You can tell me," he prompted gently. "Whatever it is."

Her mouth twisted and she tried to deflect the conversation in her usual sharp way, but something in him whispered not to let this one go. He asked her again to tell him what was going on. With further prodding, he got the truth out of her. She said their mum didn't trust her not to betray them. Pretty much everyone in this camp wanted to lock her away. It seemed like it didn't matter what she did or how much she tried to change, because people were always going to be wary of her.

"Give it time," he said. "People didn't warm to me straight away either."

"How much time?"

"I don't know."

She made a scoffing sound. "This is what I don't understand. I'm expected to play nice in order to win these people over, but if I can't persuade them to trust me, am I just expected to keep playing nice even when they want to exclude me? Where is the logic in that?"

"It's not about winning people over."

"Then what is it about?"

"Doing the right thing."

Her nose scrunched.

"Look, I know you're used to being able to calculate and act so you can get what you want, but trust and forgiveness don't work on a points system. It's not like one good deed will negate one bad thing you've done. For the most part you have to want to do the right thing and let people choose whether they'll trust you or not."

"Well, that seems stupid."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I'm not saying good deeds don't help. Aang considers you his friend now, and Katara has got closer to you as well. There's also Yuzo and Atsuo, and Ty Lee has always been your friend …"

"But that doesn't mean they trust me. Not even Mother trusts me."

He bit his lip. "I'm sure Mum has her reasons for not wanting you to fight tomorrow, and I'm sure it's not because she doesn't trust you. I think … I think she's more worried about you."

"You must think I'm a naïve idiot if you expect me to believe that."

"I'm serious." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "When I told Mum I thought you'd changed, she was really happy. I know she believes in you."

Azula looked away. "Have I changed, though?"

Her voice was quiet yet the bitterness lingered like sharp stones scraping against skin. Creases formed on his brow.

"All I've been doing is acting in a way that I think will please Mother. I don't care if I have to hurt someone. I don't care if I have to lie or manipulate in order to get things done." She looked him dead in the eye. "The fact is that 'doing the right thing' means nothing to me. So if good deeds can't fix bad ones and people aren't going to trust me anyway, I frankly don't see the point in continuing to try."

He frowned. "I don't think you mean that."

"What if I do mean it? What if this is just who I am?"

Her tone was bold now, almost a challenge, but there was a plea hidden among all her upraised chin and hard eyes. The questions took on new words, ones she was too proud to say aloud.

Is this who I am? Will you give me a reason to keep trying?

He didn't know the right response. He wasn't even that good at putting his thoughts into words, but he could sense she was struggling—far deeper than she was letting on. Though he wasn't consciously trying to connect more with her energy, that didn't change they were always connected. All that swell of cold fire was right there at his fingertips, but so was the disquieting sense of sickness, of imbalance.

"I don't think that's who you are," he said slowly, "or at least not who you have to be."

She rolled her eyes. "If you're going to give me some 'you can be anything you want' speech, save your breath. I've already heard it from Mother."

"She's not wrong."

An unimpressed look.

"She's not. Only you can decide who you want to be, but …"

"But what?"

"I think you've already made that decision."

Her head tilted in question.

"You say you're just putting on an act to please Mum, but then why do you even care about pleasing her? Why put up with any of us? You could leave now. We're in the Fire Nation, and it wouldn't be hard for you to steal an eel-hound and go back to the palace. You could return to Father if you really wanted."

She gave him that steeled, calculating stare. "You're not worried I'll do it?"

"No."

"Why not? Everyone else is."

"Because I don't think you want to go back to Father, and I don't think you want to be like him either."

The steel in her expression shattered. She looked young and her bottom lip trembled. An edge of panic flickered in her eyes—the panic of realising she was about to cry in front of him. Zuko knew what would happen next. She would leave or she would say something cutting, anything to stop him from seeing her tears or thinking her weak. But crying wasn't weakness, and he also knew what she really needed right now. He had been in her shoes before.

He took two steps closer and pulled her into his arms. She stiffened all over like a statue, but she didn't fight him. They stood there like that, trying to ignore the awkwardness, the fact that they just didn't do things like this. It was difficult. She hadn't responded to the hug at all. A part of him wanted to let go, but instead he held her tighter and closed his eyes.

Tentatively, oh so tentatively, her arms curled around him. She pressed her cheek to his chest and let out a deep, deep sigh.

"Do you really want to fight with us tomorrow?" he asked.

"I think … I think I need to … for closure."

"Okay." He pulled back enough to meet her gaze. "Then stick with me."

"You know the others don't want me to come."

He raised his eyebrow. "You're actually going to let that stop you?"

A spark of her old cunning glinted in her eyes. "No. I guess not."

oOo

"This could be dangerous," Shizue observed. "You know what she can be like. You know what he can be like."

Ursa watched as Azula talked with Aang, Zuko and Ty Lee. Toph soon joined them, and her son went red at something that was said before the others all spilled into laughter. "Look at her," Ursa said softly. "She seems happy now."

"But—"

"I was wrong." Ursa turned away from the group. "I thought I could protect her if I kept her from Ozai, but all it did was turn her against me."

"Better for her to be mad at you for a while than to risk her being pulled under Ozai's influence again. Tomorrow's battle is critical. We can't risk any problems."

"No, I don't want to make the same mistakes. I failed her once. I won't do it again." Her voice took on a pained tone. "She felt I didn't trust her, Shizue. She looked at me as if I'd taken her heart and stomped on it."

"Like I said, she would have got over it."

Ursa shook her head. "No matter how good my intentions, keeping her here would have only driven her back to her old ways. We need to believe in her. We need to believe she can make the right decisions even if she's tempted not to."

A sigh. "I still don't think this is a good idea."

"I know you don't, just as I know you're not the only one, but look how far she's come." Her gaze drifted back to Azula, who was leaning close to Ty Lee to say something in her ear. The two girls shared a smile. "Seeing her like this is everything I ever wanted for her."

Silence settled between them.

"Will you still stay here tomorrow?" Shizue asked.

"I'll only be a liability if I go." Ursa gave a self-deprecating smile and gestured at her emaciated frame. "I'm hardly battle-ready, and I was never much of a fighter anyway."

"Then I'll stay with you."

"But the—"

"I already lost you for three years." Shizue took her hand and met her gaze. "I would not be able to forgive myself if something happened to you again."

Ursa's eyes widened before her expression softened. "You know, things aren't like what they were. That pledge you made to serve and protect me—I don't expect you to keep it. I would not stop you if you wished to go your own way. You deserve to live your life as you please."

"My Lady Ursa, all I wish is to stay by your side."

Ursa's heart warmed and she gently squeezed Shizue's hand. "Very well, if that is what you wish."

"It is."

oOo

Katara snuck into Zuko's bed that night. He blushed and stuttered upon sight of her, but all she wanted was to cuddle. She complained that she couldn't sleep, couldn't stop thinking about the battle. She wanted him to distract her.

They talked in whispers under the cover of his blanket. They talked until there were no words left except the ones that neither of them really wanted to say.

I'm scared.

What if something goes wrong during the battle?

I don't want to lose you.

Her hand found his. "I'll have your back tomorrow, okay?"

"And I'll have yours."

She touched his cheek, fingers skimming to find his lips. The kiss was a little more desperate this time, a little more needy. His heart pounded and pounded as their lips slanted and parted. Breath was exchanged. It sent tingles all the way to his toes and made his blood hum.

He pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers. His pulse was still racing. "We should try to get some sleep. We have to get up early."

"I know."

They lay there like that in the dark before he placed a small kiss on her temple and whispered goodnight.

"Goodnight, Zuko."

She snuggled more into him and he was more than happy to wrap his arms around her. Everything would be decided tomorrow, but for now he wanted to stay in this moment. He wanted to stay with her.

For those who may wonder about Azula's behaviour in this chapter, she's been under a huge amount of emotional stress for a long, long time. Her hallucinations did fade for a while, but the whole thing with her mum triggered everything again. So when Zuko says all that stuff, she can't keep it in anymore (especially since she really does want to be loved and not feel like she has to follow Ozai's ways.) I don't think they'll ever really be 'huggy' siblings, but they're at least getting to a healthier place with each other.