Disclaimer: This is the final chapter before the epilogue. Things are about to step up, so hold on! And I don't own Avatar. What makes you think that?

----------

Interlude – Time Passes, the Avatar and his friends leave for a few short months only to return when the news of the new little princess arrives. Zuko and Mai agree to name her in honor of the late Fire Lady, Ursa, and the Nation celebrated. Contrary to Zuko's initial statement when Azula arrived, she was not sent away and continued to reside at the palace, wondering if Zuzu would ever make up his mind.

----------

"What do you mean it's been called off?! We've waited for months!" The angry whispers in the aristocratic quarter's teashop were those of outrage. The shop had been closed for hours and had been designated to be the final rendezvous before the men of the Order made their move. The Order was, of course, the remaining few who still stood by Ozai, though long gone. They stood for everything they decided that their new Fire Lord was not and had been known to cause trouble every so often for the royal family. Up until now, it had been petty things like spreading slander or writing nasty criticism in the news that was simply not true. About six months ago, they had been given the biggest job of their lives. The assassination of the royal family in exchange for 'a seat of power in the new world order', that was their task. Weeks upon weeks of preparation went into the perfect orchestration of the plan. Their employer could not reach them, however, due to her current residence.

The plan they had devised was simple, so as not to compromise their mission. They carefully placed phony guards, a process that had gone on since the birth of the project; they would take down the rest from the inside and out. Once the guards were disposed of, they'd hunt down the Fire Lord, the Lady, and even their new child. It would not be as easy as it seemed on paper, with the accomplished fire-bending skills of Fire Lord Zuko and the assassin's skills of Lady Mai and all.

As exciting as the prospect was, their anticipation was blown to smithereens when a messenger arrived in secret. He was, of course, disposed of. The leader of the Order sat there, curses flying from his mouth so fast that some of those near by were blasted off their feet.

"We're not going to stand for this! She expects us just to call it quits because she's gone soft?" The leader, an old general from before the war, pounded his fist onto the table, an action that left an obvious indention in the wood. "We will go through as planned and ignore the message. We've wasted enough time. There will be one change, however. Once we're done with the Fire Lord and his wife, we'll take her down as well. She will learn not to break her word with the Order!" And then, in the cover of the darkness, the half a dozen government officials and aristocrats came upon the palace, taking down each and every guard swiftly and silently.

-----

"You know, this is the easy part. Wait until she's a teenager." Zuko tickled his newborn's tummy. She squealed with delight in response, her bright eyes sparkling with warmth. Mai looked at her husband, concluding that he would make a wonderful father.

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes." She commented as she took all of the ornaments out of her hair. "Then again, it's wise to be prepared." Mai put her head on Zuko's shoulder, leaning in from behind to gaze at the crib. She put her lips to his cheek in a tender kiss, lightly laughing into his hair. Tiny Ursa was their expression of love, the story of journey their relationship had taken, all wrapped into a cute, babbling little package.

"It's a shame the Avatar couldn't stay longer."

"True. He does adore children. When do you suppose he and Katara will settle down?" Mai said with a sly grin.

"Who knows? He's a busy guy. Apparently there's been some trouble in the Earth Kingdom that he's been dealing with for a time. That's why they left again, you know." The Fire Lady straightened and was about to fetch something from her nightstand, but was interrupted. Azula barged in, sweat trickling down from her brow. She was panting to catch her breath, but it was clear that there was not much time.

"We have a situation." She spat out quickly. "Hurry."

Before Zuko could turn, Mai was already back by his side, scooping the child into her arms. Her old poker face returned. The porcelain doll was back, securing her spare stilettos with one hand, holding her child in the other. Azula motioned them to follow, muttering curses. The only thing Zuko could hear was something about hating that the Avatar had left just that afternoon.

The three glided down the hall, silent in their slippered feet. Then Zuko saw the trouble, down at the end of the hall. A guard was flung from a connecting corridor, laced in flames, screaming. The six figures that appeared were clearly men, their silhouettes defined by the blaze behind them. There was no since in trying to escape at this point; they would never make it out without someone getting wounded. The Fire Lord glanced at Mai and saw the angry scowl on her face. She was frustrated that she could not attack them directly with Ursa in her arms. Zuko stepped up instead.

"What do you want?" He demanded, controlling the fury that rose in his mind. One man stepped forward, allegedly the leader. He did not speak, but threw his head back in a mad cackle.

Azula cast her eyes to the side, averting her sight from the scene that was about to unfold. She realized, much to her dismay, that things would not end well. She did not wait for the madman of the Order to finish his bellowing laughter. She sprung into the air, as agile as ever, and kicked a burst of flame into his face, reeling into a back flip. She skidded back a few inches on her landing and saw that her attack had barely scathed her foe. He was bent backward, still chuckling loudly.

"Foolish princess." He spat, leaping past her. Zuko took a fire bending stance and attacked as he landed. Of course, now the other five joined in the fray. Mai was forced to stand from a distance, shielding Ursa from the fire and sending stilettos and knives flying into people when the opportunity arose. Zuko and Azula, in a breathtaking display, beat back their enemies, not unlike they had in the battle for Ba Sing Se. The Fire Lord was improved beyond what most people thought; he even sent blots of lightning hurling through his fingertips. These bolts flew true, striking their targets. Two of the assassians crumpled to the floor convulsing, then they were dead.

Azula snarled, turning on her heels to face Mai. Something was amiss. She could feel it in that moment. She looked at the child in the Fire Lady's arms and her heart sank. There was not a second to spare, for the beast of a man was only step from mother and child. Zuko finished off two more and made the calculations quickly. Six minus two is four and four minus two is two. But where were the other two? Horror struck his face as he wheeled to look to Mai.

It couldn't have lasted more than twenty seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. The assassin behind Mai looked at Azula sinisterly, a twisted smile contorted on his lips. A brightly polished dagger was clutched in his powerful hands, poised to strike. Zuko heard himself scream from down the hall, but it was detached from his consciousness. He watched in terror as the last two assassins fell. There were three bodies lying on the ground. Lady Mai was sitting down next to the wall, comforting the crying baby. She had been pushed out of the way. The moment the fire lashed out at her from the front, the dagger had come from behind. But neither the blade nor the flame reached their intended targets. The blur of lighting vanished as quickly as it had come.

Zuko ran to them, struggling to keep face. There she was, breathing much to shallowly. He kneeled next to her, blood soaking into his robes. His sister's clothes were singed away for the most part, though they did not rob her of decency. The blade was there, too. It had entered her chest at an odd angle. There was no doubt that it had done some major damage.

Azula was dying.

"…Zula.." He managed to croak. She smiled up at him.

"I've been bad, Zuzu." She coughed, reaching into the pouch of the fallen chief of the Order. She brought from the pocket two letters, both signed in her name. The despairing Fire Lord lifted the papers from his sister's broken body, setting them aside.

"But you…why?" He sobbed, suddenly overcome by emotion. Never in a million years would he have thought that Azula, Azula, would do such a thing.

"I guess mother's genes finally decided to show up." She simply said. A thin streak of blood trailed from her mouth. "She deserves to live." The fire princess motioned to Mai and the infant. Zuko saw the sadness welled up in his wife's eyes. The child was quiet, but Mai wept softly, trying to hide her tears.

When he looked back down, he saw that her eyes were empty.

Princess Azula, daughter of Ursa and Ozai, was dead.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments : I hope you've enjoyed the ride. I had so much fun writing this. Stick around for the epilogue. Tissue anyone?