--------------------------------------------------------
"Where is everyone?" Katara hissed to Zuko. "I thought this place would be swarming with guards."
They had been keeping to the morning shadows for an hour now, traipsing around the palace, leaving Appa just outside in the woods. They weren't really sure what they were looking for. The Fire Lord? A way in? They just found it extremely hard to believe that this place was dead silent. There wasn't a soul around to hear them. So why were they whispering?
"You don't think he fled...," said Aang in a low voice, "do you?" They looked up at the sun. The moon was no where near it. So where were they?
"There were so many ships out there," said Long Feng cautiously. "Perhaps all of the Fire Nation is out on the water in the protection of the boats."
"After what happened in the North Pole, the Fire Nation couldn't be that stupid," said Aang, shaking his head. "They would be sitting turtle-ducks out there."
Iroh looked alarmed. The Fire Lord couldn't have just left. "Let's try and see if we can get inside. The kitchen windows are always left unlocked."
Zuko gave his uncle an odd look. "How would you know that?"
Iroh merely grinned. The kitchens were in a building behind the palace, quite small in comparison. There was a hallway that ran beneath the ground from the kitchens to the palace to serve as a servant's corridor. Iroh, back when he had lived at the palace as a boy, had disassembled the locks on the windows to allow easy access from the courtyard. He had always been fond of food.
"Here we are," said Iroh, pushing the window open. He poked his head inside and looked right and left. There was no one. Zuko gave the old man a leg up and Iroh managed to squeeze himself through. Ty Lee went next, then Katara and Zuko. Long Feng helped Sokka through and he in turn pulled Toph up. Ty Lee scowled at them as Sokka set Toph down on the kitchen floor.
Iroh frowned as he looked around. Food was still set out as if someone had just been there. A pot full of stew was boiling over on the wood-burning stove. "This is strange," the old man commented as he stuffed a piece of bread in the left pocket of his robes. He took another piece and munched on it thoughtfully.
"But that doesn't stop you from stuffing your face," said Zuko dryly. Iroh gave his nephew a dirty look.
"Come on," said Iroh, "follow me." The group dutifully treaded behind him as they walked down a few steps into a dark hallway. There were several closed doors on either side. This must have been where the servants slept. Katara peaked in each of them in turn. The beds were made. The floors were swept. But it was still as silent as a crypt.
The corridor led to another empty hallway. However, this passageway was more elegant and the group assumed they were closer to where the Fire Lord stayed. They took a few turns to find that they had landed in the Great Hall. Dining tables stretched out before them, silvery and metallic. Fire Nation insignias hung from the ceiling on ornate tapestries. There were more hallways. This palace was much bigger than they had remembered.
"Maybe we should split up," said Katara. "Since we don't know where we are supposed to go."
"What if we're just wasting our time?" Zuko asked. "My father may not be here at all."
"That's a risk we have to take," said Katara. "We can't just leave. Come on, let's go in groups. Zuko, Ty Lee, and Sokka; come with me. Long Feng, Iroh, and Toph; go with Aang."
They divided up into their groups, but before they parted their ways, Aang turned to Katara and said, "I'm sorry about before. Just...Just be careful, okay?"
Katara nodded mutely and turned to face her brother. "Let's go."
--------------------------------------------------------
"Azula, you should stay in bed," Mai said for what had to be the millionth time. "We have men out looking for them. You needn't worry." They were floating along the shore as they had been for an hour. The sun was high overhead, but it gave them no strength. They knew what was to happen that day.
"I am not just going to sit here and do nothing," Azula snarled, "while the Avatar is out there looking to murder my father!" Her head still hurt tremendously, but that wasn't going to keep her in bed.
"Please, you're hurt," said Mai, sounding bored, "don't do this."
"I bet this is just apart of your plan," Azula accused. "You're trying to keep me here. Prevent me from fighting the Avatar. You want me to lose."
"Don't you think you're being a little paranoid?" Mai demanded. "If I remember correctly, I was the one that refused to follow Ty Lee. I could have left if I wanted to. But I didn't."
"But you did want to, Mai," said Azula hotly. "Badly. You wanted to leave me behind and run off with people you don't even know. They are not your friends, Mai. I am your friend. I have always been your friend. You just don't seem to care."
"I care more than you know," said Mai angrily. "I have stood by you even after you've lied to me and hurt me little by little. I continue to stand by you even when I don't believe what you're doing is right. I have always supported you even as you lie to yourself. Because that's what friends do. So don't you come to me thinking that I don't care. It's true that I hate you sometimes. No more than that. I hate you every day. I curse you when no one is around to hear. But I still stay. And you're right; I did want to leave. I wanted to leave all of this war behind because I know the Avatar will be the one to end it. I wanted to. But I couldn't. I couldn't leave you. And if you don't see that, then I guess it doesn't matter anymore. If you've given up on me, then maybe it isn't my place to be here anymore. Maybe you want me to leave."
Azula didn't know what to say to that. She merely stood up and marched out the door. She wanted to get off this ship.
"I guess you made your choice," Mai whispered sullenly, knowing that no one could hear her. She sighed as she followed the princess out onto the deck. She was leaving too.
--------------------------------------------------------
"Let's check the throne room," said Zuko, leading the group down another metallic hallway. He and Katara traveled alone. Sokka and Ty Lee had split up from them once they had reached a fork in the road.
A reddish velvet curtain awaited them into the throne room. Katara carelessly pushed it aside, feeling the material rub against her cheek. She suddenly wondered when they had put the new curtain up after the old one had burned down back when they had rescued Zuko. Because she was wondering about this, she didn't see the shadows moving from the corners of the room. She didn't see the spurt of flame bolting towards her. And she certainly didn't see the body flinging out to tackle her to the ground...She was much too busy running her hand down the velvet.
--------------------------------------------------------
"Did you hear something?" Ty Lee asked, frowning at Sokka.
He glanced at her. "No. Why?"
"I thought I heard someone yell," Ty Lee shrugged.
"Where?" Sokka demanded quickly.
"I don't know," said Ty Lee, waving her hand in the direction behind her. "Somewhere over there." Sokka took off running.
--------------------------------------------------------
Katara smacked her chin on the ground. Hard. The weight of Zuko's body crushed her and it felt as if someone had wrapped a hand around her lungs and was giving them a squeeze. "Gerroff," Katara cried, her voice muffled.
Zuko rolled off, kicking some flames up at the guards that stood before him. There were five of them and none looked in the least friendly. Katara jumped to her feet, aching all over. There was only a little water left in her pouch, and she didn't want to waste it. Zuko had already slammed two of the guards against the wall and they were unconscious on the floor. She tripped one of them and kicked him in the head. Zuko set another's clothes on fire as Katara shot knives of ice at him. The last one, Zuko pinned against the wall.
"Where is the Fire Lord?" Zuko demanded.
The man remained silent.
"I just asked you a question!" Zuko breathed.
"He'll kill me," said the man in fright.
"I'll kill you," Zuko warned.
The man hesitated. Zuko raised his hand, fire licking his fingers. The guard focused his attention on the bright flames. The fire spluttered out.
"What the-?" Zuko started. He tried again. A small flame flickered up before dying again. "Oh no," Zuko whispered, his eyes widening.
A small little smirk played at the man's face.
--------------------------------------------------------
Mai ran after Azula. They were several feet from the palace when it happened. A shadow covered the building before them. At first, Mai just took it to be a storm cloud drifting in the sky. But when Azula stopped and lifted her eyes to the sun, Mai knew differently.
The moon was a dark circle in the sky, slowly creeping over the fiery sun. "It has begun," Azula whispered, as the world was thrown into darkness. "I must find my father."
Mai said nothing. They both knew that Mai hadn't come to look for the Fire Lord and though Azula pretended as if nothing had happened between them, her face said differently.
The doors were locked, all around the front of the palace. That was when Azula spotted an open window through the gloom. She quickly scrambled through, though Mai was having trouble peeling her eyes from the darkened sky.
--------------------------------------------------------
"Katara!" Sokka cried as he spotted her and Zuko fleeing from the throne room. "Katara what happened?"
"We have to find the Fire Lord!" Zuko shouted. "It's happening! The Solar Eclipse! It isn't going to last forever." He kept trying to make the small flames on his hands higher, but they kept spluttering out.
"Where could he be?"
--------------------------------------------------------
Aang and the three other members of his party wandered aimlessly about the palace. Iroh kept throwing in suggestions of where they should go. They looked through the royal bedchambers, they searched storage closets, and they even visited the bathhouses, with no such luck.
"This is impossible," said Aang. "It's like a maze in this place."
Toph would occasionally stop and feel the metal with soles of her feet, trying to sense any vibrations at all. Metal wasn't as easy as rock and she was having trouble feeling for footsteps.
"Oh," said Iroh suddenly, looking down at his hands. He felt quite peculiar and he doubled over with shaky breaths.
"Iroh?" Long Feng asked, frowning.
"I can no longer firebend," said Iroh, quite calmly as he straightened up.
"Wait," said Toph suddenly, listening intently. "What was that?"
--------------------------------------------------------
Mai pounded down the hall. She had split up from Azula a few minutes ago. She had to find Zuko...He would be powerless against the Fire Lord if they managed to find them, even if neither could fight. "Zuko!" she called, her voice sounding strangely out of place.
She turned the corner and almost plowed right into the blind earthbender. Aang frowned. "Mai? What are you doing here? Where's Azula?"
Mai ignored his questions as she looked around. "Where's Zuko?" she demanded.
"He's with the others. We split up," said Aang impatiently. "But what are you doing here? And Azula?"
"I'm here to help Zuko," Mai snapped. "Azula and I split up too. I have no idea where she is. We must find the Fire Lord. I was just outside...The Solar Eclipse..."
"Oh," said Aang, "so now you want to help." He wasn't buying it.
"Believe me or not. Either way, we don't have a lot of time. There is a large chamber not far from the cells. There is a locked door barring it. If you want me to help, I can lead you to it. It is big enough to fit almost all of the guards in this palace..." She gave Aang a hard look. "Do you want me to help or not?"
"Lead the way."
--------------------------------------------------------
"Where could he be?" Katara repeated in frustration.
"He's probably not even here," said Zuko miserably.
"You don't know that," said Sokka, rubbing his forehead. "We have to keep looking. Think Zuko; is there a really secure place in this palace? A place where the Fire Lord could be protected from everyone else?"
Zuko suddenly looked up, his mouth falling open. "I'm such an idiot," he said. "Of course there is."
--------------------------------------------------------
Azula knew exactly where she was going. She kept her golden eyes focused at the end of the hallway, to where she would descend down a flight of stairs. She proceeded into darkness, knowing the path like the back of her hand. She didn't need to see to know that there was a hallway about seven steps forward to her right. She had walked down to the cells several times to torture various prisoners. She could picture every one of those faces...screwed up in agony and terror. Azula used to smile every time she saw her victims in her mind's eye; but now she was only left with remorse, knowing that she could have been one of those prisoners. The Avatar could have killed her back when she was in their possession. Why hadn't he? Why had she been spared? She certainly hadn't deserved it...
She made an unexpected turn, veering away from the cells. There was a long dark corridor, but she knew what was at the end. That was when she saw the guards.
They sprang to attack but stopped when they realized it was their princess that stood before them. They fell to their knees. "Princess Azula," they murmured, backing away.
"Let me in," she said impatiently.
The guards looked at each other nervously. "S-sorry, P-Princess A-Azula," a man stuttered. "T-the e-eclipse..."
Of course. How could she have forgotten? The door could only be opened with the flames of powerful firebenders...How could that happen if the moon was blocking the power from the sun? "Damn it!" Azula cursed. Louder, she yelled, "DAMN IT!"
"P-please," another guard begged, "th-they might h-hear us!"
"Who?" Azula demanded.
"The A-Avatar. They're h-here, s-somewhere in the p-palace."
"Well? Why haven't you killed them yet?" Azula asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"We s-sent some g-guards to meet them in th-the throne room, b-but the Fire Lord made it clear he w-wanted us here." The guard gulped at the scathing look on Azula's face.
"Go find them. I will stay here," said Azula, pointing down the hallway.
"I'm a-afraid we can't do that..." The words were barely out of his mouth before Azula swept out and knocked the guard to the ground. She casually pressed her foot down on his skull.
"Any one else have any objections?"
They shook their heads and scurried away. Azula let the guard on the floor up. She smiled angelically at him, gently touching his face. She felt a tremor run down his body. Her smile widened. "Run along now," she belittled him. "You wouldn't want to ruin that pretty little face." A blush crept across his cheeks as he stumbled backwards into the wall, his eyes locked on hers, before he ran off after the other guards.
It wasn't long before sounds of fighting could be heard somewhere down the hall. Suddenly Zuko was flying around the corner. He froze when he saw her.
"Ah, Zuzu," said Azula pleasantly, crossing her arms, a smile plastered on her face. "Good to see you again."
"How's the head?" he asked, smiling wickedly.
"Still throbbing," Azula admitted truthfully as Mai came into view.
"Zuko," she gasped. "You're...still...alive."
He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, that's true."
"I...I'm sorry," she said. "I should have come with you guys."
Zuko glanced between Mai and Azula. "Did you guys have a fight?"
Azula said nothing. She just stared at Mai, her eyes lifeless, as if she could see straight through her.
"We've...gone our separate ways," said Mai carefully, glancing at Azula. The princess looked away.
"Does that mean...?" Zuko asked slowly, cocking his head to the side.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Aang sped towards them, guards chasing him down. They held spears high over their heads, shouting curses after him.
Katara and Toph tripped two of them. Sokka then came after them, waving his boomerang as he cried a strange little war call.
"Open the bloody door!" Katara shrieked, narrowly avoiding a spearhead in her back.
"I can't!" Zuko cried. "No firebending!"
"Aang! You have to do it!" Katara cried. "Open the door!"
He hesitated, but only briefly. He told Toph to cover him as he sat down on the metal floor and closed his eyes. His heart pounded in his chest as he listened to the fighting all around him. Toph kept roaring and flinging metal at oncoming enemies.
Concentrate, he told himself. Don't listen to them.
Katara stopped to watch him as his tattoos started to glow. In fact, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare as the Avatar floated into the air.
"STOP HIM!" Azula cried suddenly. The guards blinked out of their stupor to look away to face their princess. They began to throw their weapons at the Avatar.
"NO!" Katara cried, tackling a nearby soldier. Oddly, all of the spears seemed to avoid Aang as he rose higher and higher.
Then it happened.
The wind picked up and no one could see anything. There was a loud cracking sound and the door exploded. There were Fire Nation soldiers everywhere. The swarmed in and out of the room. Katara felt around blindly, bodies running into her from every direction. She looked up at Aang. He stilled glowed brightly, and his face was screwed up in fury. He landed on the ground and began to walk. The crowd parted for him, their hair whipping in the wind. Aang ignored all of them and went into the large chamber. Katara stumbled after him, pulling Ty Lee after her.
There he stood. The Fire Lord. For once, a look of amazement was plastered on Ozai's face. Katara almost smirked. Almost.
"Fire Lord Ozai," said Aang in a deep and terrible voice. Everyone froze. "Your reign has come to an end."
Azula ran up to her father and bravely stood in front of him. "I don't think so."
"Azula, you stupid girl, get out of my way," Ozai snapped, shoving his daughter to the side. She fell to her knees. Zuko never saw her looking more pathetic.
"Father," Azula cried. "I will not let him kill you." Ozai looked at his daughter. For a split second, he was looking at Ursa. He stayed completely still, watching how his daughter's silky jet-black hair fell into her face, just like his deceased wife's. He drew his eyes away to look at the Avatar. To look at those menacing glowing eyes. His son then caught his attention. His hand was clasped in Mai's. They watched on mournfully, quite frozen as he was.
"Tell Mother I said hi," Zuko told his father, his voice barely audible over the shrieking wind. Ozai suddenly looked stricken. The Fire Lord wanted to say it. He wanted to tell him that he hadn't killed his wife. He wanted to say several things. He wanted to say he was sorry. Sorry for everything. For not being the perfect father. For not being there for them.
But he remained silent.
He was much too proud to utter a single word.
Not a word.
He did not scream. He did not yell. He didn't even close his eyes. He just stared forward as the Avatar stepped forward. Within a whirl of elements, Fire Lord Ozai fell forward on the ground. He was dead.
The wind died as well and the room was unearthly quiet. Aang fell on his knees, he was exhausted. Katara ran to him and threw her arms around him, sobbing with relief into his shoulder. "You did it," she whispered. "You did it. I can't believe it. You actually did it." He blinked his eyes open and looked at her as if he was surprised to see her.
Zuko and Azula, however, did not look pleased. Their father was dead on the ground. Just a few feet away. Iroh walked up and clamped a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "All hail Fire Lord Zuko," said the old man, really only for Zuko's benefit. But all of the Fire Nation soldiers took this seriously and kneeled before the teenager.
"Fire Lord Zuko!" came their cry.
Azula rose to her feet, her hands shaking. "No!" she shouted at them. "NO!" She glared at her brother. "I AM FIRE LORD!"
No one replied to this.
"I'M FIRE LORD! NOT HIM! I AM HEIR TO THE THRONE!" she shrieked, borderline insane.
"Not anymore," said Mai meekly.
Azula spun to face her. "What?"
"You lost that right the moment Ozai lost faith in you," Mai said quietly.
The princess's lip trembled. She shook her head, refusing to believe it. "No, he wouldn't do that." He wouldn't, right?
"I think it is the time for you to leave," said Aang to Azula, barely taking his eyes from Katara's face. The waterbender smiled at him, making his entire face heat up. Doesn't she know that I can't breathe?
"Go, Azula," said Zuko calmly.
"No," said Azula, her face dark with anger. "I've worked hard for this. That's something you'll never understand. I deserve to be Fire Lord."
"You deserve to be locked away and never see the light of day. You deserve to be beaten and paid back for all of the horrible things you've done. You deserve a lot of things. Being Fire Lord, however, is not one of them." Zuko kept his gaze locked on his sister. "I am giving you the choice to run away and never come back. Choose wisely."
Azula laughed harshly. "You were the one that embarrassed and challenged Father. You were the one that dishonored him. You did all of these things, yet I am the one pushed out in the cold. Care to explain that?"
"All I can say is bad karma," said Zuko, his lips curving into a small smile. He bowed his head slightly and wrapped an arm around Mai's shoulder, steering her away from his sister. He clamped his other hand on Sokka's shoulder and the group walked away, ignoring Azula's shrieks of protest.
--------------------------------------------------------
The moon was slowly slipping away from the sun, piercing light shining down on the turtle-duck pond. As they walked out into the courtyard, Aang and Katara made a beeline towards Appa. They looked behind them. Iroh, Mai, Zuko, and Ty Lee stood there, looking around awkwardly. "Aren't you all coming?" Katara asked, cocking her head to the side.
Zuko gave her a small smile. "I think we'll be staying here, Katara. After all, I no longer have anything to run from."
"You mean...?"
"I am to be Fire Lord," said Zuko, frowning as if he had just realized it himself. "I have to stay here, with my people."
Katara bit her lip. It was funny how they were just fighting the Fire Nation only moments ago, then suddenly their enemies were Zuko's "people".
"Hey, I'll be fine," said Zuko reassuringly. Sokka stuffed his hands into his pockets and kicked at the dirt. "Honestly, don't worry about me."
"And Azula?"
Zuko shrugged. "I think she's gone insane." And as if to prove it, the princess herself came streaking out of the palace, screaming profanities at the top of her lungs and flailing her arms like a lunatic. Zuko watched in amusement as the guards chased her around the courtyard. She casually shot bolts of lightning over her shoulder before tripping over a turtle-duck and landing face-first into the dirt. She raised her head, her lip bleeding, as the guards surrounded her and thrust pointed objects into her face. She rolled onto her back and kicked them away, shouting something nonsensical at them. Zuko sighed and marched over towards her. "Ah, dear Sister, is there nothing I can say to convince you to calm down?"
She replied by clawing up at his face. Three bloody scratches extended from his left temple down his cheek. Blood dribbled down his chin. He angrily kicked her, setting her robes on fire. She cursed at him as she stamped them out.
"Obviously, you can't be civil for even a minute," Zuko snarled, wiping the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.
"Obviously," she replied, attempting to electrocute him. He narrowly dodged out of the way, his hair singed slightly. She slid her hands on the ground and rolled her body, kicking out with her foot to smack him square in the jaw. Zuko stumbled back. That was when Mai had the sense to come and help him.
"Now, now, now," she said, for once not sounding the least bit bored, "let's play nice." She casually flicked a dagger out from her wrist and twirled it around through her long, slender fingers.
"Stay out of this," Azula snapped at her.
Mai gave her a puzzled smile. "What? You don't want to take your revenge on me? I must say, Azula, I'm a little insulted."
"I don't want to have to kill you just because my brother has misled you," Azula snarled, kicking her brother in the chest. To him, she said, "You're still only second best." This got a rise out of him and he responded by tackling her to the ground and squeezing her neck with his right hand.
He breathed into her ear, "Say that again."
"With...pleasure," she managed as she kicked him off of her. Mai slung a dagger at the princess. Azula gasped slightly, staring at the handle sticking out of her left shoulder. She pulled it out as blood blossomed across her robes. She clamped one sweaty hand over the wound, struggling up to her feet. Mai had only used this as a warning, but Azula had taken another step towards Zuko. She swung out with a fiery hand, catching him in the nose. Blood spurted from his face and as he tried to stifle it, he reached out with his other hand to get a fistful of her dark hair. Mai struck Azula again, this time in the other shoulder. Azula cried out in pain, doubling over and cursing into the dirt and blood.
"You can stop at anytime," Mai informed her, taking a look at Zuko's massacred face.
"I don't think so," said Azula, standing up once more. Clenching her teeth, she slid out in defense. Her eyes were focused on Zuko's face and Mai knew what was about to happen. The princess was going to kill him with a single bolt of lightning. Mai let her hand fly one last time.
Azula was struck in the stomach. She glanced down at the blade protruding from her body as if she couldn't believe it was really there. A bubble of blood burst from the corner of her mouth as she looked up at them with frozen eyes. Then she collapsed.
Zuko stared down at his sister's body. She was dead. She was actually dead. He pressed a bloodied hand to his lips to stop them from shaking. His sister was gone. Deceased. Lifeless. Departed. No longer living. What was left of her was merely a corpse heating in the midday sun. He glanced at Mai. She seemed to be thinking the same thing. They had just killed Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.
"Zuko, are you okay?" a voice chirped from behind him. Katara. He looked at her, and she at him.
And suddenly he was flooded with a sense of relief. It spread down to his toes and he let out a long sigh. "Yeah, I think I am," he said, looking at each of them in turn. It was over. The war with the Fire Nation was over.
--------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Yay! Finally Azula and Ozai have been pwned. Reviews are grateful. And NO, I'm not done yet. Mwahaha...