Yes, this is the last chapter. This is how the story would have ended whether I finished the middle or not. If you're confused, then read my profile.

This chapter starts out a little bit after Azula convinced Zuko to join her side in the crystal catacombs of the season finale. In less words than that, it's post CoD.

The poem by Robert Frost, which is half at the beginning of the chapter, half at the end, is not necessary for the story, but I thought it went well with this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I know this story would have made a bigger impact if I wrote it all the way through, but seeing as that's out of the question, I hope this last chapter suffices.

Chapter Seven

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire...

It was far too easy.

For someone such as myself, who loves challenges, it was not at all entertaining. Perhaps its effortlessness was for the better; for when it came to something as momentous and significant as this, there was no room for mistakes. Everything had to be executed perfectly, every detail had to be in line.

I must commend myself for saying exactly what Zuzu wanted to hear in those crystal catacombs. Of course, I knew that one could draw more flies with honey rather than vinegar, and there I stood, ready to whisper sweet poison into his ears; ready to tell him exactly what he needed to hear. And my brother, who I doubt is capable of truly changing his ways at all, was ready to fall when I expected him to. The path he chose to walk along was new for him, but I suppose the last thing he expected was for me to be hiding in the bushes, ready to trip him and watch his downfall.

That's how it happened, however. Everything had worked according to plan. Mai, Ty Lee, and myself had successfully overthrown Ba Sing Se, the stronghold that my idiot Uncle had not been able to conquer. I suppose it just proves his unworthiness to be Fire Lord to an even greater extent. Likewise, it set me up on the highest pedestal, the greatest honor was bestowed upon me as the One Who Conquered the Unconquerable.

Life was supposed to be this easy for me. It was just the way the cards were laid out with my birth. I was given all the skill, while Zuko was left with nothing… or perhaps, if anything, a conscience. Not that that would do him any good out in the world.

Perhaps, as a way for him to show his submission to me, I would order that he hand his knife over to me. Surely he still owned it -- the one that read, "Never give up without a fight," -- I doubt he would have thrown it away or lost it, especially since he held it so dear. It was with these intentions on mind that I approached my dear brother in his room within the Palace one day.

"Zuko," I said, coming into the room.

"What do you want?" He asked as he sat on the edge of his bed, his head resting in his hands.

"Still bitter towards me, I see," I said as I strode into the room. I had my wits and charm about me, as I always did. There was no use to relax my guard, even though I needed to appear so before him so as not to stir him up.

He did not answer. He did not even look in my direction. I eyed the knife that he had set on the nightstand beside his bed. Later, I told myself. First I must earn his trust.

"I wanted to let you know that what you did was the right thing," I said as I gingerly sat on the bed next to him. He shifted his weight a little in the direction opposite of me, though I chose to ignore it.

"Father will be pleased to know that you are still loyal to your family," I continued.

"Even without the Avatar?" he asked, sounding vulnerable. I could tell by his expression that he was regretting the actions he took. No matter. That could be changed.

"We already discussed this, Brother," I responded. My next line took on a softer tone. "You don't need the Avatar. Your honor has been restored by your own hand." I spoke soothingly, knowing that in order to have him believe me, I needed to appear sincere.

"But… Uncle…" he said, looking perplexed.

"Uncle is a traitor," I said, my voice hardening slightly. "If he loved you, would he have turned on you at the last minute? If he cared about you, would he have let the Avatar escape, knowing that your honor depended on it?"

Zuko hesitated.

"Uncle has chosen his path in life, Zuko, and it has led him to where he is today; rotting in the cells beneath this palace," I straightened my back as I continued to speak. "The path you have chosen has led you thus far; to a nice room in the palace with everything you need. Not to mention a ticket back home."

"Home," Zuko said, though I don't think he intended for me to hear it. I did, though. And it gave me the perfect opportunity to convince him all the more.

"Yes, home," I said. "Back at the Fire Nation Palace. I'm sure being in a lofty building such as this has made you miss where you really belong," I stood up and started pacing the floor as I continued my speech. "In this season, I imagine the flowers in the orchard would be blooming soon. The baby turtle-duck hatchlings would be growing up more each day, and the temperature would be perfect for sparring out in the courtyard."

I read the look on his face. I could tell he missed it so much, he so dearly wanted to go home and have his life, or what was left of it, turn back to normal. He wanted Father to accept him with loving arms and welcome him as the heir to the throne. There were a few things wrong with what he wanted, however. Though I wouldn't be the one to tell him that.

Father, as I had learned ever since I was so very young, was not at all the type to accept another being with loving arms. Especially when that being that repeatedly proved himself as a failure. Zuko was entirely and completely wrong in his thinking of this. However, I willingly sat back and let him believe it; I even spurned him on to think it was true. After all, if he was not the fool in the family, then who would be?

Secondly, I knew there was no way he would ever gain the title of Fire Lord. Not now, and not ever. In the deepest recesses of my heart, I knew that Father had every intention of proclaiming me his heir even before Zuko's banishment. Why ever else would be have spent my entire life molding me into the picture of perfection? Yes, the throne would one day be mine. Perhaps sooner than my Father realized…

"You want to go back, don't you?" I asked him gently. "I can see it in your face."

He did not answer, yet again. His face hardened, as if he was trying to thwart my attempts at reading his mind. Oh dear brother, when will you learn that it's easiest to read you when you're trying to prevent it from happening?

"Once we go home, things can go back to the way they used to be. You and I will live at the Palace as if that horrible banishment never happened."

"You and I," he repeated, looking at me for the first time since I entered the room. "Yes, Azula. I suppose we will go back to the Palace together."

What was this tone? I narrowed my eyes as I stared at him, trying to interpret what exactly it was he meant by those words. Surely there was a double meaning. Crossing my arms over my chest, I was ready to spit back a threat, or some sort of venomous phrase, when the door behind me opened.

I turned around as Zuko straightened his back to see around me. The person who opened the door revealed herself to be Mai, dressed in Kyoshi Warrior garb. She stood at the door with a perpetually bored expression, crossing her arms as she spoke.

"Azula, Ty Lee needs to see you immediately."

"Why?" I asked, looking her straight in the eye. Her expression did not waver.

"Something about a Dai Li agent speaking with Iroh through the cell bars…"

"What?" I said, nearly jumping out of my skin. "How could you and Ty Lee let such a thing happen, Mai? The Dai Li may be loyal to me, but they are not to be trusted!"

"Ty Lee was going down to bring Iroh his daily piece of rotting bread, and said that as she approached, she heard hushed whispers. When she got close enough, she realized that a Dai Li agent was speaking with Iroh, but he quickly moved on with his patrol when he heard Ty Lee's footsteps." Mai explained.

"Where is Ty Lee? I need to speak with her immediately."

"She's waiting in the Dining Hall," Mai responded, stepping into the room with Zuko and I.

I immediately rushed out, walking as fast as I could down to the Dining Hall. I did not hear Mai following behind, supposing she went back to her room or somewhere else in the palace.

Suddenly, I stopped in the middle of the hallway. Something odd was afoot; Ty Lee was never the one to bring Iroh his daily bread. That was usually left up to one of the Dai Li agents, or perhaps a servant in the palace. Even more strange was the fact that Ty Lee had taken Iroh his bread at such an untimely hour; he usually only received his small morsel around suppertime. When I was in Zuko's room, the sun was high in the sky; I surmised around midday.

A decidedly evil glare crossed my face, and I felt my anger rising within my blood. Had I been sparring, or fighting an enemy, I would have burst out powerful blue flames, watching as they engulfed everything in sight. But I had to keep my head level. Something was definitely wrong. And now Ty Lee was waiting for me in the Dining Hall. What else was waiting for me? Perhaps a hired assassin, ready to take me out the second I stepped foot inside the room? Or maybe Ty Lee herself was waiting to throw one of her quick jabs at me, rendering my bending powers useless.

How pathetic, I thought to myself. Their attempt at a rebellion is useless. I am far too smart for them to execute any plans designed to bring about my downfall. They will learn.

As always, I was one step ahead of everyone else. I smiled cruelly. They would surely learn their lesson. As of late, I had begun to question Mai and Ty Lee's loyalty toward me. But perhaps a harsh punishment to keep them in line was in need.

I continued walking toward the Dining Hall, my steps much slower and more regal this time. When I reached the double doors that opened up to the Dining Hall, I paused. At that second, a Dai Li agent rounded the corner, making his daily patrol of the palace.

"You!" I shouted, pointing a finger at him. He stopped in his tracks, bowing as he approached.

"Go inside this door, please," I said.

"Yes, Princess," he said without question, and he opened the door and walked in. I watched from behind, and upon seeing that nothing happened to him, as I thought perhaps the supposed assassin would attack the next thing that walked in the door, I sauntered in behind him, on my toes just in case.

"Azula!" Ty Lee said, bounding over toward me. I took a stance as she approached, just in case she tried to pull a fast one on me. Nothing happened.

She gave me a strange look for a second, and so I relaxed, waiting for her to proceed.

"There was a Dai Li agent talking with your Uncle in the cells today," she said quietly, taking on a more serious tone. "I just thought you should know."

I wasn't sure whether to believe her or not. At one point I had believed it to be a story, fabricated only to draw my attention to the Dining Hall so that I could be taken care of. But nothing was happening now, so perhaps they were telling the truth. And yet there were too many small details that didn't fit together that made my gut tell me something was wrong. I decided to play along until I could figure something out.

"Did you hear what they were speaking about?" I asked.

"No," Ty Lee responded. "When I got close enough to listen, they heard my footsteps and stopped. But I'm positive I heard them! Maybe you should keep an eye on them."

"Two eyes," I responded as I turned to leave the room. I suddenly stopped in my tracks. "Ty Lee," I said. "Come walk behind me. With your back facing me. And stay as close as possible."

Ty Lee put on a confused face. "Why?" she asked, though I noticed that she did it anyway.

"Because I told you to," I said, though what I was thinking was, Because if someone tries to shoot me in the back, they'll hit you instead.

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

Knocking out the Dai Li agent was easy enough. It surprised me that his clothes were actually not incredibly large on me; I suppose I happened across a particularly petite one. Leaving him in his undergarments on the floor in the dead of the night, I tiptoed down the hall, pulling the rim of the hat down to cover as much of my face as possible. It occurred to me that Mai had stayed in Zuko's room while I went to chat with Ty Lee earlier that day, and perhaps they all planned to escape that night, or worse, perhaps they decided to send an assassin in my room and kill me. This was my reasoning behind dressing as a Dai Li agent; I supposed it would be safest for me to not appear as myself, and a smart move to spy on my dear brother, while perhaps Mai or Ty Lee was preparing themselves to attack the diversion I left in my bed, underneath the blankets.

I shuffled through the darkness, counting the doors until I came upon the fifth one. I cautiously held out a hand and reached to open it. Slowly and apprehensively, I opened the door, taking care to make no noise as I slid it open.

One foot in. The other foot followed. I squeezed myself through the narrow opening of the door, since I had not opened it all the way. Immediately glancing at the bed, I noticed no one was there.

So, Zuko's not here… then they are planning some kind of coup or rebellion… but where is he? Thoughts raced through my mind as I cautiously took a few more steps in the room to examine my surroundings. Perhaps he was hiding underneath the bed, ready to jump out and attack at any given second.

A noise. What was that? I thought as I whipped around, immediately surveying the darkness behind me. Nothing. My heartbeat slowed from it's fast pace. Another step toward the bed. Almost there.

A creek in the floorboards. Of that I was sure. I gripped the post of the bed and began to turn around…

"Huh….!" I breathed in sharply and deeply as I felt a cold pain pierce my stomach and shoot through every part of my body. My breath stayed in my throat, and I slowly began to sink to the floor, my limbs starting to fail me. A hand reached up and tipped over my hat, and the figure to which it belonged staggered backwards a step when my face was revealed.

"Azula!" he said, sounding surprised. I looked up from my fading vision to see my brother.

Zuko.

One hand still on the bedpost, I brought my other one to my stomach, where the source of the pain was still planted deep within me. His dagger. I ran my hand along the delicately carved handle as my other hand slowly slipped down the bedpost with every inch that I lowered to the floor.

His face hardened as he watched me drop.

"I'm not sorry," he finally said as he stared at me, and I at him.

Mistaken for a Dai Li agent sent to assassinate him. Is this how the life of the Princess would end?

My body began to go numb from the pain, and my vision blurred with every passing second. My life was ending; of that I was sure. It's over. The words echoed in my mind as I sank to the floorboards.

A pair of strong arms lifted me up and set me on the bed, though I was unaware of the soft sheets beneath me. They did not matter, anyway -- it was all going to be over in a minute or two. My hand reached for my stomach, thinking maybe it could stop the pain with its touch, but instead all I felt was blood. My blood. It covered my fingers and seeped through my clothes. It was everywhere.

Zuko reached over and pulled the covers up to my chin. I lay on my side, so the knife did not affect this process. His eyes quickly broke from watching me to looking at the window outside, where a storm had just begun. The lightning flashed and reflected on his face, illuminating it for merely one half of a second; but still long enough for me to notice a single tear slide down his face; yet nothing more.

While he was bent over me, a surge of energy, probably adrenaline, rushed through my body, and I almost immediately kicked out my foot to jab him harshly in the stomach. Not expecting this sudden act, he doubled over with his fists clutching his middle. Glaring into my eyes, he muttered under his breath, "Damn it, Azula! Do you always have to have the last hit?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. My words were stuck in my throat, where the pain had paralyzed them. I merely made a desperate breathing noise, as if I was trying to suck in the last sweet breaths of air before the life departed from my body entirely. It was with faded vision that I watched him lean over and set the edge of the bed on fire. He took a few steps backwards as I closed my eyes, feeling the heat grow ever closer.

"No, Azula, we won't be going back to the Fire Nation Palace together," he said, responding to a statement I had made hours before. "Because there's no way my life can go back to normal now. I didn't know killing you would be part of the plan…" he breathed in deeply, obviously still somewhat shocked that I was the one in the Dai Li uniform. "…but so be it."

He turned to walk out of the room, stopping at the door to look at me once more before he left. I could have sworn his mouth moved to make words, words that might have said, "You're my favorite sister, Azula…"

But I was dying. Perhaps it was all imagined.

I sighed one last breath and waited, wondering which would get me first; the loss of blood or the fire that slowly crept closer and closer.

...But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

--Robert Frost

The End

More notes that will hopefully clear up confusion about this chapter will be posted in my profile once a question is asked via review or I think of any details that need to be cleared up.