Yay! A new chappie, just for you! This one'll go by pretty fast and might seem a bit frantic in places, but it's longer than my others and I hope everyone enjoys it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Wish I did, but I don't. However! I have $5.12 and am working on getting more so that my dream of owning Avatar can finally be fulfilled! sigh.

Chapter Twenty-nine

"I'm so glad you're here with us," Katara whispered as she hugged Zuko.

A smiled crossed his face and he pulled back. "I know."

Sokka made a sound of disgust as he moved past the loving couple. "Enough with the mushy crap; we need to get going."

Katara blushed and looked at her brother. "All right, Sokka." She knew her brother was walking a fine line; he didn't like Zuko but he was trying not to start anything. Besides, he couldn't exactly use his regular Fire Nation bit, what with being so close to Ty Lee. It had been two weeks since they had rescued her from Azula. And he had done pretty well. Now, however, they were preparing to enter the Fire Nation. She didn't know how long the truce could last.

She turned to Aang. "Ready?"

The young airbender glanced at Katara, unable to wipe the solemn look from his face. He nodded. "Yeah..."

Iroh looked at the subdued group of teens and shook his head. He sighed. Everyone was nervous about this next trip. He sighed and drained his teacup. He, too, was a bit apprehensive, but he was confident that Aang and the others could handle themselves. Besides, he wasn't going to let them fight the Fire Nation by themselves. His brother was quite powerful. And, no matter what happened, Ozai would not give up so easily.

When Katara and Ty Lee had brought up the last of the food supplies, they were ready to go. They had left most of their things in the temple, in the hope that they would return. After all, speed was needed, and they couldn't leave anyone behind.

"Yip, yip!"

With those words, Appa rose into the air and sped off towards the south. It was three days until the eclipse, and Katara and Zuko had timed the journey to down to the exact moment when the Fire Nation would be at its most vulnerable.

"Uncle and I will be unable to use our bending, but I'll still be able to help with my broadswords," he explained, drawing out the plans for the palace. "We'll all have to enter at different places, so that the Fire Lord can't escape, but with the eclipse, it shouldn't be too hard to get in and guard the entrances."

"How many are there?" Katara asked.

"There are five," Zuko answered grimly, "and that's not counting some of the bigger entrances." He glanced towards Sokka. "You said your father was coming?" he asked.

Sokka nodded. "Yeah, but his fleet will be landing when the solar eclipse happens. He won't be much help at the palace."

"But he'll be blocking the ports?"

Again, Sokka nodded. "Yeah."

Zuko glanced towards the others who had all gathered around to see the plan. "Do you think you can handle the entrances by yourselves? I'll have to go with Aang and get him into the throne room."

Iroh cut in. "Ozai is not one to run, Zuko. More than likely, no one will see him at the entrances." The old general frowned. "You might want to bring someone else along, perhaps Miss Katara would be of help."

Zuko immediately shook his head at the suggestion. "We have to be as unnoticed as possible, Uncle," he explained. "Besides. Katara will do more damage outside of the palace than in. We'll need her to keep anyone from getting into the palace."

Katara smiled grimly at the confidence Zuko had in her, but she knew he wanted to keep her out of the palace so that she would get hurt. Still, it was sweet and she didn't mind.

After another hour or so, Zuko rolled up the plans and handed them to Sokka. "If you think of anything else, tell me."

"Right."

"This needs to be done as quickly as possible. The element of surprise needs to be on our side." Zuko shook his head. "We have no idea how long the eclipse will last."

In the dark of the temple, Savitri moved, brought to life by the sun. "They're gone, my dear. It will all end soon. And you'll be able to see him again."

A woman moved from the shadows, her pale face lit with relief. Even in the darkness, her robes looked rich and expensive, though her air spoke nothing of the haughtiness of nobility, just a quiet royalty. "Finally. It will end. And Ozai will be punished for what he's done to the world. And to our son."

They traveled long into the night and stopped for only a few hours' rest. They ate quickly, not even daring to light a fire, though they didn't think it would be so very noticeable. Katara and Zuko were kept busy, drying everyone off; they had traveled most of the day above or in the clouds, and everyone was cold and wet.

The friends woke before the sun rose and continued their travel. Every now and then, Katara or Aang would bend a small hole in the clouds to change direction, but for the most part, they were surrounded completely by the cold and wet. By the end of the second day, no one was very happy.

The hours blended until the day of the eclipse dawned before anyone noticed. Still, they were ready. Just before the sun rose, Aang hid Appa in a nearby mountain, making sure that the flying bison could see the sky through a steep shaft opening up right near the peak of the mountain. And the shaft was wide enough that, should they need it, Appa could reach them easily.

"The eclipse is supposed to start sometime around noon," Sokka whispered as they walked through the streets of the royal city.

"We're lucky we found these clothes," Katara whispered.

Zuko nodded grimly. They were all wearing the hooded robes of noble servants, though after his travels, Zuko didn't particularly mind. The only one who wasn't in disguise was Ty Lee, and she was chatting happily with every noble they passed.

"Ty Lee, I heard you were traveling with Princess Azula," one young man said as he approached the girl. Beneath his hood, Sokka growled.

Ty Lee smiled brilliantly. "Yes, but she sent me back." She winked at the young man and leaned forward. In a whisper, she said, "It seems she's captured the Avatar's friends and, the last time I heard, she had set up a sure-fire plan to trap the Avatar himself." Ty Lee moved back and touched a finger to her lips. "But don't tell anyone. It's a secret."

As the young man moved off, Iroh moved to stand just beside Ty Lee. "If you keep telling everyone, the news will arrive at the palace before we do."

Ty Lee's face immediately fell. "Oh. I never thought of that." She shrugged. "Maybe I should stop."

Katara almost laughed, despite her nervousness. That was Ty Lee, keeping up the act even though no one was watching her.

"How are you going to explain six servants following you around?" Toph asked.

Ty Lee smiled through the sheer curtain of her litter. "But there are only three servants with me," she answered sweetly. And, to the rest of the people within the city, it was true. No one would count the four who held up her litter. Katara, Zuko, Sokka, and Aang were all wearing the hooded robes of litter bearers and had gone completely unnoticed by everyone around.

The Fire Nation girl shrugged. "Besides, it's not so uncommon. And no one will question that a Fire Nation noble would have a blind servant, an old guardian, or a flying lemur." She giggled and hugged Momo closer to her. "Especially not one so cute!"

"Come on," Zuko growled from his position at the front of the litter. "Let's just hurry; this thing is getting heavy."

When they reached the palace, Iroh helped Ty Lee from the litter. The acrobat turned and waved her hand regally. "You can go now," she said. "Meet me back here in three hours."

The four hooded teens lowered the litter to the ground and bowed low before moving off. "You, too," she said to Iroh, who bowed also. He wore a wide-brimmed hat, similar to the earth-kingdom one he had often worn, which hid most of his face in shadow.

"Come," Ty Lee said to Toph, taking the younger girl's hand. "Azula said I could spend a few days here and I intend on taking her up on the offer."

After a few moments, when a discreet puff of smoke rose in the sky, Ty Lee smiled. Everyone was in position then. Good. She turned to Toph. "Just go right down this corridor," she whispered. "You'll get to the main entrance. No one will question that you're there. They saw you with me earlier."

Toph nodded and moved off as Ty Lee went to the western gate. Everything was in place. Now all that needed to happen was the sun to disappear.

Zuko moved swiftly through all of the secret ways of the palace, never bothering to check behind him to make sure Aang was keeping up. Every so often, he glanced out of the window. A dark shadow was beginning to move across the sky. He smiled grimly and picked up the pace.

He shook his head. The moment was coming. His mind turned to the moments before he and Katara separated.

"After everything is over, you'll have to leave," he whispered. "But promise me you'll be waiting for me back at the temple."

Katara nodded as she moved closer. "I promise."

Zuko smiled and kissed her quickly. "I love you, Katara."

Her sapphire eyes lit up and she smiled as well. "I love you too, Zuko."

Sokka grabbed hold of his sister's arm and pulled her away. "We have to go."

Zuko watched as she began to walk away. "Please be all right," he whispered. "Please."

He shook his head to clear his thoughts as he came to a small, unobtrusive door. This would lead him to the throne room. His heart hitched. It was the same door he had used to flee the throne room that night so long ago. The night his mother disappeared.

Quietly, he opened the door and stepped inside, finding himself behind the familiar curtains he and Azula had hidden behind. Though he felt weaker, from the eclipse, Zuko felt stronger than he had ever felt. He was finally going to face his father. And this time, Ozai would pay.

Just as Aang entered the throne room behind him, Zuko threw back the curtains and stepped forward. "Hello, Father."

(A/N: oooh…I was going to stop it here, but I'll not be mean. So, here we go…onwards!)

At the sound of his banished son's voice, Ozai stood, his body shaking with rage. "Zuko! How dare you…!"

Zuko stepped forward. "You're finished, father."

Ozai was silent a moment and then he laughed. "And what are you going to do? What can a failure of a banished prince like you ever hope to do to me?" he asked.

Zuko's eyes darted to the window and he smirked as the sun was completely hidden by the moon. A blood red light descended in the throne room as Aang stepped out from behind the curtain. "We're going to stop you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zuko and Aang leapt towards the Fire Lord, the flames before him suddenly winking out. With swift motions, Aang trapped the Ozai in a cage of rock, knocking him to the ground with a blast of air. Zuko drew his broadswords and held one to his father's throat. "You're not going to continue this war."

But, while Ozai should have been full of remorse, he wasn't. Instead, he laughed and looked out the window. Aang and Zuko mimicked him immediately, knowing exactly what was happening.

"You were always just like your mother," the Fire Lord said as the moon began to move away from the sun. "Too emotional and far too easily sacrificed." He raised his arms and the air around him heated to a blistering point. The rock blasted outward, pieces showering down on Aang and Zuko.

Ozai moved to leap away but Zuko was there, his broadswords held high.

"You're not running away from me."

Another evil laugh issued from Ozai. "And what are you going to do to stop me, Zuko?" he taunted. "You're too soft to do what's necessary." Ozai sent a blast of fire straight at Zuko but a furious jet of air sent the flames scattering. Aang landed right before Zuko, his young face set.

"You're disrupting the balance of the world," he said. "Can't you see that?"

"Balance?" Ozai laughed as he sent another flame. Aang easily dodged it as Zuko flipped to avoid the fire. "Balance is for the weak. Why let this world go to ruin when the Fire Nation is strong enough to conquer? That is true balance, Avatar. Your pathetic little Air Nomads didn't understand that, and neither do you."

Aang whirled his staff and stabbed at the Fire Lord. Beneath their feet, the earth moved and flames, fed by a ferocious wind, were sent towards Ozai, just as Zuko sent his own attack. The sun was almost completely revealed and the fire was only getting stronger.

Finding that Aang couldn't be easily swayed, Ozai turned back to his son. "What are you going to do if you manage to defeat me? How are you even going to get out of here?"

Zuko took a step forward. "I am a Prince of the Fire Nation," he answered in return. "Our people will accept me as their Fire Lord."

"Will they?" Ozai taunted. "You're a banished prince, Zuko. You won't be treated as kindly as you think." Another laugh. "Poor Zuko, the soft-hearted, still believing the world will love him if he believes enough."

"Stop it!" Zuko yelled out in frustration.

"Your mother was the same, only she was too consumed with trying to protect you to notice."

"Shut up!"

"Why do you think she left, Zuko? Why do you think she disappeared? Azula told me you knew. My father told me to kill you, but your mother wouldn't allow it. So she killed Azulon and crept away in the night. If anyone caused this war, it's her."

"Don't say that about her!"

Ozai laughed. To Aang, it sounded almost exactly like Azula. "Do you really think she loved you, Zuko? If she did, then why didn't she take you with her? Why do you think she disappeared without telling you the truth?"

"I did it because you told me to, Ozai."

The Fire Lord froze, his shock mirrored on his son's face. He turned to find a tired, careworn woman standing behind him, her beautiful face lined with grief and anger.

"I left because you told me it would save him. I promised not to see him again because you told me it would only hurt him." She tilted her head and gave a sad smile. "I could have taken him with me, yes, but if I had, he never would have seen the monster in you, Ozai."

Both Ozai and Zuko moved forward but Ursa was faster. With tears in her eyes, she stabbed Ozai, and caught him as he fell. "I loved you, Ozai, despite your hatred, despite the evil in your heart," she whispered between her sobs. "I thought you could change, but when you banished me from the palace, I knew that you would never become anything more than a monster. I left because you told me, because it was my duty. But I came back because I knew no one else could stop you."

"Mother…"

Ursa pulled her dagger from Ozai and let the Fire Lord drop to the floor. "I'm so sorry, Ozai. But it was the only way."

Zuko walked forward, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Mother?"

Ursa looked up and seemed to see Zuko for the first time. Gasping, she dropped the dagger and reached out, her eyes full of love and regret. "Zuko." But when her son didn't move forward, she dropped her arms. "Do you hate me, then?" she asked sadly.

Zuko stood still for a moment and then he rushed forward, ignoring his father's body. "No. I could never…" He reached out hugged his mother, hardly daring to believe she was real.

Aang watched the heartbreaking reunion for a moment and then hesitantly moved closer. "Uhh…Zuko?" The young firebender glanced at him. "Shouldn't we go help the others?"

Zuko's eyes widened and then he nodded. Stepping from his mother's arms, he bent down at his father's side. For a long moment, he simply stared at the lifeless body of the man who had made his life so hard, so miserable, and then he reached out and took the flame-shaped crown of the Fire Lord. Without his topknot, he couldn't wear it, but it was proof of his victory. Proof that he was Fire Lord now.

It rested in his hands like a great weight and Zuko glanced back at his mother. She smiled and then took hold of his arm. "Come," she said. "It's time we both returned to our people."

Aang watched the two leave the room and then he, too, left. He needed to find the others. They would go now to the other nations and inform the world that the Fire Nation's war was over. After a hundred years of suffering and death, it was finally over.

I know it might seem like this is the end, but there's still one more chapter. How do you people feel about alternate endings? I was thinking about doing a sequel to this fic, but it would involve a not-so-happy-ending for this one. So, i've written up two endings, which will be included in the final chapter. the first will be the normal, average, happy ending...and the second will be the one that leads into the next fic...so what do you think? are you up to it?

please review! tell me what you think!

bty, did you like this chapter? or was the ursa-killing-ozai thing a bit weak?