Zuko opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing, his mouth tasted like ash, and something large and wet was lapping at his back. Zuko lifted his head and glanced behind him. He found Appa was licking him.
"Hey, buddy, I'm okay. That's enough. I'm okay. Thanks for checking on me."
Zuko pulled himself up onto his knees and cast a look around. What he saw made panic well up within him. Aang and the Conduit lay in a crumpled heap on the far side of the crater. It wasn't exactly like what he had seen under the Pond's influence, but it was close enough to make his blood run cold.
No.
He scrambled to his feet and hurried over to them. He grabbed Aang and rolled the young man onto his back. His eyes were closed, but Zuko could see his chest rising and falling. Zuko closed his eyes as a relieved breath left him.
Then Aang's eyes snapped open. "Zuko?"
"Aang!" Zuko couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "You're okay."
The Avatar sat up slowly, and Zuko helped him. Aang looked over at the Conduit. "She should be waking up any minute."
Zuko glanced at her. "Did...did you break Azula's hold over her? Did it work?"
"Yeah, it's broken. But I don't think I really did anything." Aang frowned. "I was in the Avatar State, and Avatar Yangchen was in charge. But she heard you, and somehow, she knew what to do."
Zuko exhaled a breath of relief. "Well, I'm glad someone did."
"But how did you know, Zuko?"
Zuko looked at Aang. He thought of Katara, and the guilt nipped at him. He pushed the feeling away. He could deal with that later. Right now, he needed to get back down to the palace and take back his throne.
"Katara and I have been through a lot," Zuko said quietly. "And I promise I'll tell you everything when this is over. But for now, we need to get back down there." He gestured to the palace. "Toph got hurt, bad. The other members of the Order showed up, but it's just them against all of Azula's men. And that includes the Dai Li, the Kage Noshi, and some traitorous palace guards."
Aang shook his head at the list of enemies as his face twisted with worry for Toph. But he had to remain focused on the task at hand. He still had to finish this, before he could think about the battle ensuing below.
"I can't go yet." Aang looked down at the Conduit. "We haven't...we haven't stopped the prophecy yet. We still have to spiritually fuse."
Zuko swallowed. "Oh." He was hoping that Aang and the Conduit would be able to help. He had seen them both in action; they would make a powerful duo. He stood up. "I've got to get back then. Will you be okay?"
Aang got to his feet. "Yeah, I'll be okay. She doesn't want to hurt me any more than I want to hurt her. When she comes to, we'll finish this. Then we'll be down there to help take Azula and her men out."
He bowed to Zuko, hand over fist, fingers pointing to Agni. Zuko hesitated for a moment before he returned the gesture. Then he and Aang stood wordlessly for a moment. Aang nodded his head, as if he had heard something Zuko hadn't, before he looked up at Appa.
Now that the fighting had died down up here, the bison had sidled over to them. Aang went to his companion and rubbed his broad nose affectionately.
"Hey, buddy, thanks for bringing Zuko up here," Aang murmured to him. "This will all be over soon. I promise." The bison bellowed and nudged him, and Aang smiled softly. "Yeah, I'll be careful. You too, okay?" He pressed his face into Appa's soft fur and squeezed his spirit animal lovingly before he pulled back. "Now I need you to take Zuko back down there. Can you do that for me, buddy?"
Appa snorted before he turned towards Zuko. He clambered back up onto the bison's head and looked down at Aang. They held each other's gaze for a moment before Aang turned back to the Conduit to wait for her to wake up.
Zuko patted Appa affectionately. "Aang's gonna be alright, buddy. Let's go help our friends. Yip yip."
Appa rose smoothly into the air, and with one final roar, they started back toward the palace.
Katara pushed through the heavy doors of the palace and into the entry hall. Her heart was thundering in her chest and sweat slicked her palms, but she pushed aside her fear. She needed to focus on finding Sokka and the others.
She didn't know the layout of the palace well, but Zuko had told her about the old dungeons beneath the palace on the flight home. He told her that was likely where Azula would be holding them. She wouldn't want to move them to the prisoner tower where his father was held. She would want to keep them close.
Katara kept the cap off of her water skin as she maneuvered carefully down the empty corridors. It had seemed like the entire force of the palace guard had been out in the main courtyard, but she couldn't afford to be careless. She peered cautiously around every corner for any signs of enemies, but the palace almost seemed to be...abandoned.
But Katara would err on the side of caution. It was bad enough Toph was out of this fight. She couldn't afford to be brash and get hurt, or worse—killed. Katara pushed that thought away. She needed to keep her head clear. She had one focus: find Sokka and the others. Then she would go after Azula.
The thought of facing off against Azula chilled her. Katara had barely defeated her during the Agni Kai. Granted, Azula had been powered up by Sozin's Comet then, but that didn't make it any less terrifying now. It had been years since Katara had faced her. How much had Azula changed in the last six years?
She was certain that Azula would have at least kept up on her firebending practice over the years. Being a wanted criminal didn't take away the fact that she was a prodigy, and it was likely that her skill had only increased over time.
But Katara had recently had a whole lot of practice herself. And if she could face the Conduit, and her terrifying power, then Katara would face Azula too. No matter how much the thought unsettled her. She was just glad that Zuko would be by her side.
That was, of course, assuming that Katara didn't run into her before then. And she really hoped she didn't run into her before then. But Azula could be anywhere.
Katara descended yet another flight of steps. The hallway was dim, and the temperature here was considerably cooler. She suspected that she must be underground, so she had to be getting close. The palace was a labyrinth, and the directions Zuko had given were rudimentary at best, but Katara kept her eyes peeled for a portrait of dragons that Zuko said marked the right corridor.
Katara slowly poked her head around a corner and spotted the portrait. The two guards posted at the doors at the far end only confirmed that she was on the right path. She pulled the water from her skin and froze it into two ice daggers. She lined them up, ready to let them fly, when the doors flew open and Azula emerged.
She had Kiyi.
Katara gasped and pulled back around the corner, pressing herself flat against the wall. She held her ice daggers in her hands, ready to attack. She could hear the young girl's terrified sobs, and her heart pulled painfully. Her mind raced as her window of opportunity narrowed. What could she do?
Azula was using Kiyi as a shield. As long as Azula had her, there wasn't much Katara could do. She had to think carefully about her next move, and she was running out of time.
Katara closed her eyes and reached out, searching for her element in her environment. She felt the frantic beating of Kiyi's heart, and beyond that, she could feel Azula's heartbeat. It was erratic, and her blood thundered in her veins.
Azula, calm, collected Azula, was panicking.
Katara took a deep breath as she steeled her nerves. She had one shot, and she only hoped it would work. The moon wasn't full. Would she be strong enough? All Katara knew was that she had to try.
She latched onto the water in Azula's blood. Her fingers twitched.
But then the princess burst around the corner with the young girl in tow, and knocked right into Katara.
Her ice daggers shattered against the stone ground as Katara fell, her grip on Azula's blood breaking just like her weapons. Water from her open waterskin pooled on the floor beneath her.
Azula stopped, her eyes wide. Her lips curled back in a snarl when she saw Katara.
"You!" she hissed.
Azula brought up her free hand and blue flame burned brightly in her palm. Katara rolled aside as the burst of fire struck the space she had just been occupying. Katara pushed herself to her feet and pulled her remaining water from the skin at her waist and faced Azula. She gritted her teeth and hoped she looked intimidating as she stared her down.
The princess held Kiyi in front of her, one arm against the girl's throat, while her other hand threatened the young girl with flames. Tears streamed down Kiyi's face, and she looked at Katara pleadingly.
"Let her go, Azula," Katara said.
"Seeing as I don't feel like being taken prisoner again, that isn't going to happen." Azula started to back away. "And if you try to attack me, I'll kill her. Think very wisely about what you're going to do next, peasant." She smiled cruelly at Katara. "Or should I call you concubine instead? Since my dear brother has decided to add you to his collection after all."
Katara clenched her teeth but she refused to rise to the bait. She wouldn't let Azula get under her skin.
Azula's smirk widened. "That's all you are, you know. Just another notch in my brother's belt. He'll use you up and throw you away, just like he did with all of the others."
"Forget it, Azula!" Katara shook her head to push away Azula's words. "I'm not listening to your lies. Now let Kiyi go!"
"Oh please!" Azula snorted. "You think I'm lying? Why, you already know some of them! Like Mai and Alasie, for example."
"That doesn't mean anything!" Katara spat back.
"Please! Do you truly believe those are the only two? Do you know how many women throw themselves at him just because he's the Fire Lord? And you can't honestly believe he would turn them all away, do you? He's the Fire. Lord. They always take whoever they want, whenever they want, and they don't give a damn about it." Azula's voice dropped low as her wicked smile creased her face. "Concubines are just one of the perks. Didn't you know?"
But Katara wasn't listening anymore. She couldn't allow Azula's words to affect her.
She appraised the situation as cold dread settled in her gut. She could try to bloodbend Azula, but the moon wasn't full. She could feel her blood, but that didn't mean Katara was strong enough that she could use it against the princess. And if she tried, and failed, Azula would know Katara was doing something, and then she might hurt Kiyi.
Katara glared at the princess as she dropped her hands. Her water fell in a useless puddle at her feet. Tears pricked her eyes and she glowered at Azula as a seething hatred filled her. She has caused so much pain, Katara thought. How much more pain will she cause?
The corners of Azula's lips once again curled up in a cruel smirk. "Good choice, concubine." Her eyes flashed. "It wouldn't be wise for you to try to follow me either, so don't."
Katara swallowed hard. All she could do was watch as Azula and Kiyi disappeared up the stairs. Once they were gone, she swept up her water and reformed her daggers. She stepped out into the open and flicked them through the air. The two guards didn't even have time to respond before her weapons were embedded into their legs, pinning them to the wall. Katara followed through with two jets of water that knocked the guards unconscious.
She didn't look at them as she pressed through the doors.
"Katara!"
Katara looked up and found Sokka in a cell. She rushed forward and saw the others: Suki, Ty Lee, Ursa, the Kyoshi Warriors...and even Mai. There were others, too. Katara recognized Alasie hunched in the back corner of a cell. And Zuko's chamberlain, Mal-Chin, was there as well.
"Azula took Kiyi," Ursa cried out as Katara shook Sokka's cell door.
Katara clenched her jaw. "I know. I...saw them." She forced herself to look at Zuko's mother. "I'm so sorry, Princess Ursa. I couldn't...I couldn't get her away from Azula."
"We'll get her back," Sokka said determinedly. He grabbed Katara's hand through the bars of his cell. "I'm just glad you're here. I was beginning to think…"
"And if you're here, does that mean Zuko is alive?" Ursa's eyes were wide.
Katara nodded. "Yes, we're both alive. But Azula's assassins thought they killed him." She looked up at her brother. "I'm sorry we didn't send word. Everything has been happening so fast."
She drew water from her waterskin and fed it into the lock before she froze it. The mechanism cracked, and the cell door swung open. Sokka pushed through it and embraced her quickly.
"I'm sure we've got a lot to catch up on," Sokka muttered as he let her go. "For now, let's get out of here and get Kiyi back from Azula." He glanced at Katara's ice, and then the lock. "There's got to be a faster way. You didn't happen to snag the keys off of Azula, did you?"
"If only." Then she dropped her eyes. "There's some guards outside. Maybe they have a key."
Sokka ducked out of the room and Katara moved on to Suki's cell that she was sharing with a few other Kyoshi Warriors. Katara fed the water into the lock and broke the door open. Suki hugged her quickly.
"I've been so worried about you," Suki whispered into her ear.
"Me too," Katara murmured.
Sokka came back in and he held up a set of keys. He cut over to the next cell and freed Ty Lee and Mai before he moved on. Katara looked over at Mal-Chin and Alasie.
"Why are they here?" she asked Suki.
Suki put her hand on Katara's shoulder. "They were a part of this, Katara. They helped Azula."
Katara glanced at Alasie, stunned and horrified. The young woman couldn't quite meet Katara's eye, and she was glad. She thought of Zuko, of the trust he had put into Alasie. Katara was sickened.
But she couldn't focus on that now. They had a battle to win.
"Let's just get everyone else out of here," Katara said quietly.
Sokka freed everyone except the traitors with the stolen keys. As soon as she was free, Ursa strode up to Katara, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
She gripped Katara's shoulders with bruising strength. "Did she hurt her?"
"No," Katara answered honestly. "But she told me...she would if I went after them."
"We can't leave Kiyi with Azula," Ty Lee interjected. "Azula is crazy!"
Ursa looked at her, her jaw set in a tense line as she released her hold on Katara. "We won't."
Katara met Ursa's burning gaze. "You're right. We won't." She looked around at everyone. "Iroh and the Order of the White Lotus are fighting off Azula's men. Aang has gone to face off against the Conduit, and Zuko went to help. Right now, we need every able body up there to fight"
"What are you going to do?" Sokka watched her carefully.
Katara took a deep breath and pushed aside her fear. She knew Zuko had told her not to go after her alone, but what else could she do? Azula has Kiyi. "I'm going after Azula."
Sokka's eyes widened. "Not by yourself, you're not!" he protested. "That's suicide!"
"Sokka is right," Suki agreed. "Katara, you can't go after her alone."
"I'll go with her."
The three of them turned to Mai. Katara gaped openly after her. She was the last person Katara had expected to volunteer for the job. But there wasn't any time to question it.
"Okay," Katara said.
"I don't know about this—"
"Sokka, we don't have time to argue about this," Katara cut him off. "Every minute we waste talking about what we should do is a minute we spend not doing what we know we have to. Mai and I will go after Azula. The rest of you will go and fight Azula's men."
The siblings locked gazes for a moment. Sokka searched his sister's face. He could see that the last few weeks had changed her. He couldn't quite say in what ways, but Katara was different now. He swallowed hard before he nodded tersely.
He turned back to the Kyoshi Warriors. "Alright, let's go. Our weapons are in a cabinet just through a door out there." He gestured to the doorway. "We can grab them on the way." He looked at Ursa. "You need to go somewhere safe until this is over."
Ursa opened her mouth as if to protest before she nodded. "There's a hidden bunker down here. I don't think even Azula knows where it is. But Zuko does. I'll wait there."
"Yoko, I want you to go with her," Suki commanded her warrior. "Just in case."
"Yes, of course." Yoko bowed to her.
Katara looked around at all of them, her eyes hard with determination. She nodded once. "Okay. We all know what we have to do. Let's go."
Zuko brought Appa down in the wreckage of the courtyard. He could not believe the sight before him.
The battle between the Order and Azula's men waged on. It was bloody, and violent. Bodies littered the palace grounds. Some of them weren't moving. The Dai Li agents had destroyed much of the lawns and stonework, and the firebenders' flames licked at anything that could burn. Smoke rose in the air, thick and cloying amidst the smell of blood and destruction.
He leaped down from the bison's head and conjured fire in his fists as enemies came toward him. Zuko lashed out as his inner fire roared within him.
This place, this was his. It was his home, his throne, everything he had worked towards for the last six years. And it was being destroyed right in front of his eyes. But it wasn't just the palace, with its pristine lawns and quiet gardens. It was his family, his friends. Everyone he loved was here, putting their lives on the line, for him. His mother and Kiyi were now at Azula's mercy because of him...because he had let her get away.
He had been too lenient in his punishment, and because of that, Azula had escaped. Zuko should have tried harder to find her. He told himself he had exhausted all options. He'd hired the best investigators to search for her...but that wasn't quite the truth.
If he had really wanted to find Azula, he would have hired June. But he didn't, because Azula had just...disappeared. And there weren't any signs she was coming for him, and there was always some other pressing matter, some other issue that demanded his attention. With no traces of her for months, she had hoped that perhaps she had left behind delusions of grandeur and just wanted to be left alone, and with that, Zuko had allowed her to slip from his mind.
That was a grave mistake. He wondered who would pay for it. He thought of the Pond, and the blood it demanded. Would the Pond come to call tonight? And if so, who would it claim?
Or had it already come to collect its due? Zuko thought about Toph with her burnt feet, and Katara's uncertainty about being able to hear her. Would Toph's sight be the price he paid? Zuko didn't know if he could bear the weight of that guilt.
Zuko's fire ignited an enemy's clothes. The man dropped with a scream that hurt his ears, but he turned away, looking for the next attacker. There was no more time to think. All he could do was act.
Searing pain hit his shoulder, and Zuko shied away from the unexpected flames. He spun on his heel, bringing his leg up in an arc of fire that scored the enemy across the face. The palace guard dropped, but not before Zuko recognized him.
Rage boiled up within him, hot and all-consuming. Zuko twisted around as yellow flames licked up his fists. He zeroed in on a Dai Li agent and launched himself at the man. He brought his flaming fist around and punched the earthbender in the face with more force than was truly necessary, but Zuko wasn't thinking straight.
He was barely thinking at all.
He could feel the heat of his flames, could feel the bones crunching beneath his fists, and could smell the burning flesh in the air. But all he could see was red.
"Zuko!"
Something slammed into his side, and suddenly Zuko found himself looking up at the star-studded night sky obscured by a film of smoke. He blinked, and then Sokka's face filled his vision.
"Man, what are you doing?"
Zuko blinked again. "I—"
"Come on!" Sokka hauled him to his feet. "That guy is...well, he won't be a problem anymore." He gripped Zuko's shoulder. "But we've still got more bad guys to deal with."
Zuko looked around. He spotted Suki, Ty Lee, and the other Kyoshi Warriors joining the fight. The fan-wielding fighters threw themselves into the thick of the fray, their faces fierce in the flickering light of the burning fires. Toph sat perched atop Dagny as the phoenix breathed fire on anyone who got too close. The Order of the White Lotus were still battling. As far as Zuko could tell, no one from their side had been hurt or killed since Toph. But he didn't see Katara.
Zuko turned back to Sokka. "Where—"
"She's with Mai." Sokka's grip on his shoulder tightened. "Your mother is safe. But Kiyi...Azula has her."
The world seemed to lurch for a moment, and Sokka caught Zuko to keep him on his feet. His anger flared, and Zuko pulled himself away from the water tribe prince.
"Zuko, no." Sokka clamped his hand down on Zuko's shoulder again. "You can't go in there fists blazing, okay? Azula is...spirits, she's really lost it, Zuko. We have to be smart about this."
"I won't let Katara face her alone!" Zuko snapped.
"You don't have to. I'm coming with you." Sokka looked around. "Where's Aang?"
Zuko turned back towards the volcano. "He and the Conduit are playing their part in this."
"Good." Sokka nodded once. "Now it's our turn to play ours. Come on."
Zuko swallowed hard. Everything in him was telling him to hunt down Azula. He scrubbed his bloodied hand down his face before he let out a shaky breath. Zuko nodded again.
And then the Water Tribe Prince and the Fire Lord threw themselves into the battle, cutting through their enemies so they could reach their sisters.
The Conduit opened her eyes and found the Avatar sitting beside her. She pushed herself up on one elbow. She felt...free. The pain that had filled her recent days was gone. She could feel her chi and her power flowing freely for the first time in weeks. She stretched, marveling at the peace she felt for being completely, utterly herself.
"Are you ready to do this?" Aang asked without preamble.
The Conduit nodded. "Do you know what you're doing?"
"Yeah. The Sieshin Lord told me."
Aang stood up and held out his hand. The Conduit took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. They faced each other for a moment. Aang seemed to be waiting for something, but the Conduit wasn't sure what. Then he nodded once.
"We need to power up," he said. "Avatar State and Conduit State. That's when we're our most powerful, and when our energies are the most pure."
The Conduit appraised him. "What, exactly, are we doing?"
"The Avatar was formed when Wan fused with Raava. He absorbed her spiritual energy, and they became one." Aang inhaled deeply. "The Sieshin Lord told me that the only way for us to stop the prophecy, and to end the cycle between us, is to fuse our energies. Our spiritual energy must become one—dark and light, good and evil. Only then will we know balance."
The Conduit nodded slowly as she absorbed this information. She met Aang's gaze. "Let's do it then."
Aang nodded. He closed his eyes and called upon the Avatar State.
Ryoko followed suit and closed her eyes as well. She called upon her Conduit State.
Aang's spiritual energy rose up within him, spreading along his chi paths until it filled him. He could feel his past lives swirling through his veins. He could feel their energies pooling together in the pit of his stomach. He felt Ryoko's dark spiritual energy rising up to meet his.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the world through the white fog of his power. The Conduit stood before him. Darkness swirled around her. He could sense her dark energy. It prodded at his light energy, searching for a way in, as if it wanted to fuse with him. Her black eyes were trained on him.
Aang took a deep breath, and took a step toward her. Their energies began to convalesce. The darkness seeped in, tinging the white light that filled him. At the same time, his energy flowed towards her. Dark and light circled each other, drawing in closer and closer until Aang could feel their respective energies pushing and pulling against each other.
It wrapped around them, pulling the Avatar and the Conduit closer together until they stood face-to-face. Aang looked into her eyes, and suddenly, he saw it all.
He saw the Avatar and the Conduit through the ages, things his past lives had never revealed to him. He saw Avatar Kyoshi tracking down Conduit Kaida with the Dai Li. He saw Avatar Kuruk going after Koh the Face Stealer after Conduit Ryu lured Kuruk's love, Ummi, to the spirit.
He saw them all, through the ages, the endless dance they had performed, neither one gaining the upper hand.
Aang saw Raava and Vaatu, and their dance, the one they had been doing since before man lived on lion turtles. He saw the way their energies pushed and pulled, equal, yet opposite, different, yet the same.
It's like Guru Pathik said, Aang realized. Life's greatest illusion is that everything is separate. But it's actually all one and the same.
Aang reached out for the Conduit. He raised one hand and held it in the air, facing his palm towards her. The Conduit understood and placed her palm on his. Aang felt the darkness flow into him, buzzing in his veins, as his light poured into her. Their energies intensified, and Aang could feel their powers growing, searching, fusing.
The Conduit raised her other hand, and Aang pressed his palm to hers.
No longer was the dark and light energy a separate entity. They swirled together in a shimmering silver fog that was soothing and calm. The wind picked up as their energies churned into a powerful sphere that encompassed them. A brilliant light glowed between them, growing larger and brighter until it was all the Avatar and the Conduit could see.
Together, they faced their true destiny.