Zuko silently disembarked the vehicle, and immediately sensed something was wrong.
The town was completely silent; the blinds and shades of all houses were drawn, and no pedestrians walked the streets. What had to have been a once-busy dock section was completely deserted, and Zuko crouched down, drawing his sword, glancing back at the others.
"Something's off," he whispered, and Aang nodded in agreement.
"I'll get in the air and see if I can see anything," he said, deploying his glider.
"Watch yourself, honey," Katara whispered, to which Sokka held his face.
"Still gives me the oogies, sis," he grumbled, hefting his sword.
She glared at her brother angrily, and then turned her attention to the front, popping the cap off of her side-slung water bag. She knew, as did the others, that it was too quiet to be normal.
The group, followed by Zuko's troops and Suki, snuck their way up to a small courtyard, taking positions around the one entryway. There, they waited for several minutes, until Aang landed with a soft wumph on the ground, shaking his head.
"Nothing. As far as I can see, the city's abandoned."
Then, as Katara stood up cautiously, a chunk of glowing, green rock careened towards her, hitting her square in the chest, slamming her into the ground. The group shifted into action, regarding the scores of black-robed figures sliding across the rooftops towards them. Aang's eyes widened as he recognized the trademark black-and green uniform of the Dai Lee.
Katara jumped and tried to bend, only to look at her hands in dismay after nothing happened.
"My bending! I- it's gone!"
Zuko narrowly dodged a rock spike, and crouched behind cover, shooting a few blasts of fire before turning back towards Katara.
"It must be some sort of chi-blocking mineral or something. Don't get hit."
One of his firebenders was stabbed in the arm with a series of small rock slivers, and he cried out in pain, holding his bleeding arm in pain. Zuko glanced at Kano, who had run to check on the man.
"We need to get him out of here, sir."
"I'll be fine; get back to the boat and hold them off for as long as you can; we'll cover you," he said, gesturing Aang forward.
Zuko nodded toward the Captain, who slung the other Firebender over his shoulder and sprinted out as Zuko and Aang bended a wall of fire, obscuring the two benders from view. Behind them, several Dai Lee landed softly in the courtyard, and Zuko leapt into action, drawing his dual dao swords. The first man shot his rock-gloves towards Zuko, which he narrowly dodged, counterattacking with a nasty backhanded blow with the flat of his blade that knocked the man out instantly. The second one was swiftly blasted off his feet by a wave of air from Aang.
"How do we get out?" Suki asked, fending off rock shards from Dai Lee agents above.
Then, Sokka, having knocked out another agent, ran up to the group.
"We need to get out of here; Aang, Katara, and Zuko, can you waterbend a smokescreen so that we can slip out of here and hide?"
"You think that'll work?" Zuko asked incredulously.
"Does it matter?" Aang said, bending a screen of water from the nearby river. Grunting, he and Katara held a massive water bubble over the group, which Zuko then converted into a plume of steam by directing a stream of fire onto.
The steam was scalding, but it seemed to work, as chunks of rock were flying through the blinding steam wildly, missing them from both sides. They quickly snuck into an unlocked house, hiding inside in complete silence as the steam diffused. Then, Zuko let out a soft groan as he glanced through the window.
"Oh, no," Sokka whispered, peeking outside.
The two Firebenders had been brought into the street as the Dai Lee gathered around them. The two men had rock-fists wrapped around their wrists, preventing them from moving. One of the Dai Lee agents stepped to the side, projecting his voice over the city.
"If you don't come out, Avatar, these Ash-Makers are going to get what they have coming."
Zuko made to rush outside, consumed by rage, but Sokka restrained him grimly, straining with the effort.
"You can't, Zuko. There are too many."
"I can't just let them die!"
They were hushed as a shadow flitted across the blinds, and the distant Dai Lee agent continued speaking. There were many minutes of tense silence as the Dai Lee spread out through the city, and as the group hid, remaining motionless. Then, the man spoke again.
"I see you've made your choice."
The man bended a rock dagger into his hand from the dirt road, and held it to the first man's neck, smiling cruelly. Then, with a blur of movement, he was smashed backwards into a wall by a heavy boulder.
"I'd like to see you try," shouted a familiar voice.
Grinning, Aang pulled open the door quickly, and the group rushed out of the house, readying their bending.
Toph Beifong smirked as her friends spilled out of the house that she had detected them in, and proceeded to summon several columns of rock that threw some of the agents backwards, into the river. As the faint vibrations of her friends bending took care of a few others, she finished the deal by bending a parked car into the last few agents, hurling them into the river with a grimace.
She was then wrapped in a group hug as her friends descended on her gratefully, except for Zuko, whom she could sense was freeing his troops.
"Toph, it's so great to see here. You got here just in time," Suki said, speaking for all them.
Toph crossed her arms, grinning.
"I told Aang he couldn't get rid of me for that long, so here I am. I needed to find you, too, Zuko."
Zuko, who was helping Captain Kano and the other man up, looked up sharply.
"What is it?"
"I spoke to Earth King Kuei, and he agreed to free your citizens from the Hekeng prison. I gave the order to that Earth Kingdom commander guy, and he agreed to help. Your General Sato guy is loading them on the ships and dispensing medical care."
Zuko's face slackened in surprise, and he let out a long sigh, sinking to the ground to a knee. Both Kano and the other soldier were grinning like fools, and even Zuko had put on a smile.
"Thank the spirits. It's over."
Aang's smile turned into a determined face.
"Not quite. We have to get the Dai Lee once and for all. All we need to do is find an entrance of some sort."
Toph chuckled, scratching her hair.
"There's a secret passage just over there," she said, pointing to a deserted house with a metal door.
The door wrenched open with a groan, and the group entered the tunnel warily. Zuko, his soldiers, and Aang all summoned small fires that illuminated the hallway, revealing it's true length.
"These stairs must go down for miles; it would take us ages to climb down."
Aang glanced back at Toph, who stared into the distance blankly.
"You thinking what I'm thinking, Toph?"
"Yeah, whatever, Twinkletoes," she grumbled.
Together, the two bended a platform, that they all stood down, and rapidly slid it down the stairs. After several minutes, they reached the end, finding two doors leading to an elevator. The group carefully got in, and the large elevator creaked its way down after Zuko pulled a switch.
"This'll be the Dai Lee hotspot. Watch yourselves. They'll probably have more of those crystals down here," Sokka cautioned.
The group waited in silence with determination on their faces. No matter what it took, things would end tonight. Then, the doors opened.
They were met by a firestorm of activity. As soon as the doors opened, they were faced with a room full of Dai Lee agents, who all turned to look at them. There was an eternity of silence as the two groups regarded each other, in shock.
Then, all hell broke loose.
Team Avatar leapt into action as the Dai Lee reacted. Toph and Aang bended a wall of rock in front of the group as hundreds of boulders clattered off. Zuko began bending fireblasts rapidly towards the approaching horde as Katara and the other two firebenders assisted him. Aang and Katara were busy repelling the Earthbenders, and Sokka and Suki jumped into the melee ferociously, swiping and stabbing with their weapons.
Roaring in anger, Zuko opened his mouth broadly, emitting a wave of flames that tossed the front lines of Dai Lee away like ragdolls. Katara, glaring at the agents, slid around the room on a wave of water, wrapping Dai Lee in tendrils of water and flinging, freezing, and throwing men around like they were nothing. Toph laughed as she was faced with a squad of Earthbenders, and she quickly dispatched the lot of them with chunks of rock that she smashed into the men time and time again. Aang could barely keep up with it at all, flinging himself into the air and bending all four elements with impunity.
And so the battle went for several minutes as each member of Team Avatar fought for their lives, disabling scores of Dai Lee agents. Before long, however, the sheer number of agents had forced them into a corner as they all were slowly pushed back.
"Do something!" shouted Sokka.
Glaring in anger, Zuko stepped forward, taking a deep breath. Then, holding the index and middle finger of both his hands to the center of his chest, he allowed the chi to flow through him as he cleared his mind of everything. Then, when his mind was blank, he exhaled quickly and pointed both hands towards the enemy, releasing a wave of crackling, electric energy that flung a good portion of the Dai Lee against the ground.
There was a silence as both the Dai Lee and Team Avatar stared at the Fire Lord in shock. Then, however, a hailstorm of glowing, green crystals scythed through the group, downing them swiftly as the chunks of crystal weakened their limbs and blocked their bending. There were groans of pain and dismay as Team Avatar struggled to pick themselves off the ground, only to find that their bending was gone.
A solitary, dark figure detached itself from the crowd, and several members of Team Avatar gasped as a stunningly familiar face glared towards them.
The man was a spitting image of Long Feng; the bald head, the furrowed wrinkles, and the cold, passionless eyes that showed a man willing to do anything glared at them balefully.
The man smiled slightly, walking up to the group, which was hurriedly pinned against the wall, rock manacles springing out of the wall and securing them there. The crowd of Dai Lee agents closed around the group, circling the imprisoned benders. Several hurried forward, confiscating the hand-to hand weapons that Zuko, Sokka, and Suki had brought, ignoring their pathetic struggling.
"Surprising, isn't it? How much I look like my father. It scares you, does it not? To know that I've been here all along, pulling each string, causing a chain of events that could never be undone."
Zuko glared at the man in rage.
"It was you?! You caused the standoff? You caused hundreds to die! You killed my men, you-"
The man looked distastefully at Zuko, sneering in contempt.
"Yes it was, Fire Lord. Even your scum-sucking sister could not hope to accomplish what I have done. What your family did to mine, Zuko, has not been forgotten. If anything, it has made mine stronger than yours could ever be."
He smirked, spitting on the ground in front of Zuko in disgust.
"Long Feng was a monster that had to be stopped," Katara said angrily, struggling against her bonds.
The man swooped in front of her, looking at her disdainfully. He held her chin gently, peering into her face. The man chuckled softly as she wrenched her face from his hand, looking disgusted.
"So naïve—you people couldn't see true power if it hit you square in the face. True power is not the ability to conjure the elements, or to control all four at the same time," he said, glaring at Aang, who glared back silently.
"True power is in the ability to manipulate others to your will. As you saw these last few days, I, Yang Feng, son of Long Feng, almost started a war. Sure, you may have defeated me for now, but once you are out of the way, I will put into motion the events that will lead to the fall of the traitor Kuei and my place on the throne. Then, we'll restore the Earth Kingdom's rightful place in the world; as the dominant power in the world."
"Then you're no better than the Fire Nation was, stupid," Toph snarled, attempting to bend desperately.
"You'll find that even you cannot bend, Chief Beifong. These crystals were found in this very cavern by my father. They have the unique effect of preventing any sort of bending. The crystals that now sit by your feet will render you helpless, and nothing that you can do will stop that."
The prisoners glanced at the ground, where the softly growing crystals sat on the ground lifelessly, slowly leeching away their energy. Then, there was a burst of movement as Zuko wrenched himself free of his now-broken bonds.
"Then I'll kill you with my bare hands," Zuko shouted, running towards the man. There was a flurry of movement as the three nonbenders broke from their bonds, charging at Yang Feng angrily.
Zuko flashed a diamond dagger out of his sleeve as he jumped towards the man, glaring in hatred. Sokka and Suki disarmed several Dai Lee agents that swung spears at them, and fought their way through the crowd, attempting to reach their weapons, which were laid on a table. Zuko swiped quickly at Long Feng's son, who barely dodged the knife, pulling out a knife of his own, and holding up a hand to halt his followers, who were torn between helping their leader and fighting off Sokka and Suki.
"The Fire Lord is mine, my brothers," he said, settling into a fighting position.
Then, with a flurry of movements, the two men lunged at each other, dueling ferociously. Team Avatar looked on helplessly as their friend dueled Feng, hoping beyond all hope that Zuko would succeed. In the background, Sokka and Suki desperately fought off the waves of Dai Lee agents, barely surviving. Zuko and Feng dueled ferociously, parrying, lunging, counterattacking, and stabbing. Then, in a single moment, as Zuko went to stab Feng in the heart, the man sidestepped, grabbed Zuko's arm, and plunged his knife into the Fire Lord's stomach, grinning triumphantly.
"NO!" screamed Suki, who tried pushing her way through the agents, only to be disarmed by the men and restrained alongside her now-dispatched husband.
Zuko's eyes widened in shock as a dull pain resonated in his stomach, and he felt his legs give out under him. He could dimly hear cries of dismay, but everything sounded so… fuzzy. He held up his hand, looking at it as his vision dimmed.
Not like this.
Zuko flopped into the dirt on his back as Feng kicked him contemptuously into the ground. The group stared in shock at Zuko, who was still, the hilt of the knife sticking out of his chest. Feng spat on his body, kicking the lifeless body in contempt.
Katara shouted in rage, trying to break free, but to no avail. The two firebenders stared at their lord in shocked silence, and Aang closed his eyes as a solitary tear ran down his cheek.
Yang Feng smiled triumphantly, cracking his knuckles condescendingly.
"One Fire Lord down, who's next?"
He parted the sea of his followers, walking up to Sokka, who glared at the man defiantly. Feng smiled cruelly as he held the knife against the man's throat, callously ignoring Katara's pleas of mercy and Suki's oaths of vengeance.
"The Water Tribe peasant who thought he was better."
"I didn't think I was better," Sokka whispered, struggling against the cold steel of the knife. "I know I'm better."
Feng glared contemptuously, preparing to slice his throat.
No.
Feng glanced sharply at Aang in surprise, his jaw falling slightly open as he saw the man's bonds slowly crumble away, his eyes and tattoos glowing brightly. The Dai Lee stood in shock as Aang rose into the air slightly, and they raised their fists and bending.
"No. That's… that's not possible," Feng whispered, his pupils narrowing in shock.
Avatar Aang stepped forward menacingly, summoning a flame in his right hand and a ball of air in the other. The ground began vibrating softly, and the water from a nearby basin flowed towards the Avatar.
Yang Feng. You have put this world out of balance, and I must now end you.
Feng staggered backwards, gesturing the last remaining agents towards Aang.
"Kill him, you fools!" he bellowed, the tinges of uncertainty tainting his voice.
A wave of rocks launched themselves at Aang as the last remaining agents desperately tried to kill the avatar. Aang waved them off as if they were nothing but insects, and he swept the men away to join the other unconscious and wounded men covering the floor. Feng staggered to the ground as Aang landed on the ground in front of him. The man tried to bend rocks at him desperately, but Aang was not to be deterred. He clutched the man's forehead, glaring down in rage at the man who had killed Zuko.
The rain poured down in torrents as the hunched form struggled though the desolate streets, a smaller form following closely. When they reached a cave, the larger figure ordered the smaller one to start a fire, which he did. The two sat, and the larger one removed his hood, revealing a scarred, wizened face that was permeated with hatred.
"Listen closely, Yang Feng. You must never forget what we once had. The Feng family was once the most powerful in this damned Kingdom, until that Avatar and his cronies came to take it away."
"Dad, I'm tired, can I just go to bed?"
"NO." the man bellowed, striking the child on the side of the head hard, making the child cry.
"Good. The tears will heal you. Always remember, Yang that the powerful have always had to struggle to get to their position. Someday, you will avenge me and retake the Kingdom and kill Avatar Aang and his pesky little cronies once and for all. Do you understand me, Yang?"
The boy nodded, sobbing.
There was a moment of hesitation, and that was all Feng needed. Roaring in defiance, the man encased his fist in rock and smashed it into Aang's head, knocking the Avatar backwards. Sneering, Feng turned quickly, summoning a pillar that shot him rapidly towards the ceiling, where he bended a tunnel and closed it beneath him. Aang flew in pursuit, but was distracted by the shouts below.
"Aang, leave him!" shouted Sokka, who had been freed by Toph.
Aang, remembering Zuko, landed quickly, sprinting over to his friend. The others had done so, too, and most but Katara were giving him space, looking on in silent shock. Suki stared in silence at her motionless friend, and even Sokka was serious. Zuko's wound was bleeding profusely, and his breathing, even though it had restarted, was getting slower and slower. Tears flowed from Aang's eyes as he knew, deep down, there was nothing he could do to heal him.
Katara, crying herself, was quickly trying to heal the wound with her healing abilities, but the wound, while fixed, was still bleeding internally, killing him from the inside.
"Why won't he heal?"
Suki stared sadly as she and Aang said the word simultaneously.
"Poison."
Zuko felt strangely happy; his friends were here with him, at the end. Everything would be okay. As a warm heat radiated through his body, images flashed through his brain; his mother, smiling at him as they fed turtle-ducks. His Uncle, laughing uproariously as he complained about Sokka's unsightly picture. Aang, pulling him upwards as the canyon that Aang had opened around Yu Dao threatened to kill him. Katara, as she hugged him in gratefulness for his assistance, and Sokka as they sat in the war balloon, talking. He even saw Azula, a tear falling from her eye as she disappeared into Forgetful Valley forever.
Most of all, he saw Mai. He saw her laughing for once, a rare display of emotion. He saw her smiling in triumph as he was plunged into a cold fountain after narrowly missing a thrown icicle. He saw her closing her eyes in contentment as they basked in the sunlight of the Fire Nation, sitting by a small pond, enjoying each other's company. He saw her smiling in joy as he kissed her in front of the Palace steps, his friends smiling broadly in the background as Aang pronounced the two man and wife…
Then, he saw her.
The scene was fuzzy, almost out of focus, but it cleared as he saw an older version of himself looking towards a door that slowly opened. Mai walked in, smiling broadly, chatting with a little girl of ten or eleven who was laughing joyously. The little girl looked strikingly like Azula, but had kinder, softer eyes that brightened as they laid eyes on her father. The girl ran, jumping into Zuko's arms, and Zuko kissed on the cheek, laughing.
"I love you, dad," the little girl said.
"I love you, too."
The smoking ruins of Hekeng were silent for once. The soldiers of both sides were gathered in formation as the two generals met in the center, the flags of all five nations fluttering in the wind. Aang stood to the side, observing, and Sokka stood next to him, crossing his arms. A representative had arrived from the United Republic, and a few photographers stood far behind the group, readying their cameras.
General Sato offered his hand, which Commander Wei gratefully took.
"The Fire Nation will withdraw from the Earth Kingdom, and vows to never set foot in the Earth Kingdom again, by the order of the Fire Lord," Sato said, saluting.
Wei saluted back, nodding in satisfaction. There was a round of applause; the prisoners had been released into the Fire Nation's care, where they had been cared for extensively by the recently arrived Fourth Division, with all its medical resources and supplies. Those members of the city of Hekeng that had committed crimes against humanity or were affiliated with the Dai Lee had been put on trial. Thirty men had been sentenced to life imprisonment, and dozens more had received shorter terms for their lesser war crimes.
Earth King Kuei and the Fire Nation government had reached a peace accord; the Fire Nation would withdraw in return for the prisoners, and would never again set foot in the Earth Kingdom for any sort of military operation.
The Earth Kingdom troops had then saluted en masse to the Avatar, and had begun the long march back to Ba Sing Se. The Fire Navy, too, had loaded its troops and begun the voyage back to the Fire Nation.
The scene cleared over the former battleground, and Aang looked down at the ground, thinking. Real war, he thought, was terrible. Not the war where you made a fool of the other soldiers and disarmed them, and then called it a day. The war where men fought, died, and killed each other over some cause that ultimately didn't matter.
Feng had disappeared, and posters had been distributed all over the world, calling for Feng's capture. The governments of the world had decreed the Dai Lee a terrorist organization, and efforts were being made to put together a task force to track the fugitive down. But Feng had caused enough damage. Looking towards the ocean, Aang hopped on his glider; there was one thing left to do.
Zuko awoke to see Mai crying to herself next to his bedside. His eyes opened slowly, and he was for a moment, unsure of where he was and what had happened. Then, slowly, he lifted his blanket and grimaced to see a swathe of bandages directly above his lightning scar. He had hoped that what had happened underneath Shira had been a nightmare, but apparently it was not. How long had it been? How long had he been out?
Mai noticed him waking, and kissed him passionately on the lips for a long time, which he returned in earnest. They kissed for what had seemed like an eternity, until Zuko reluctantly broke away.
"Hey, Mai," he whispered, wiping away tears.
"Hey, Zuko," she whispered back, crying softly.
Like a sigh of relief, they embraced, holding each other tightly, refusing to let go. As Mai sobbed into his shoulder, Zuko smiled in relief. He was alive, so was she, and everything would be perfectly fine.
"I love you so much, Zuko."
He stroked her hair softly, running his hands down the soft, flowing hair of his wife.
"I love you, Mai. I won't scare you like that again. I promise."
"I know."
"How'd they get rid of the poison?"
"Your mother healed you. She said it was a rare poisonous leaf that grew only in the Mountains of the Earth Kingdom, but she made a cure. We were all worried about you," she said, kissing him again.
They stayed like that, hugging each other tightly, until a soft knock came from the door, and his friends softly entered the room.
Mai stood, smiling at the others, who gathered around Zuko's bed, smiling at him encouragingly.
"It's good to see you're better, Zuko," Aang said cheerfully.
Zuko smiled. His friends were here; Sokka was grinning as if he had told a bad joke, Suki was smiling joyfully, Katara was holding Aang's hand, beaming, and Toph was standing cross-armed, smirking slightly, and everything was right in the world. He had done what he had to do, and had succeeded. He had fought for his people, he had fought the menace that engineered it, and he had helped restore balance, for once. As he basked in the presence of his closest friends, he closed his eyes briefly, thanking fate for its kindness.
Zuko looked up, wiping his face dry. He traced the age lines in his face, and stroked the white and gray beard that covered his chin. Spirits, he was old. The face that looked back at him looked startlingly like Iroh, and there was a pang in his heart as he thought of the old man.
It had been two days since he had departed the Southern Water Tribe, leaving Katara and Korra. Yet he had no idea why thoughts of Hekeng had surfaced now of all times. He had done his best to forget that terrible time, one of many times he almost died. Of course, it wasn't close to some of the other adventures they had had later on, but Hekeng would always remain in his mind as the one time he came closest to death. One didn't forget that easily.
He thought back to all his friends had done for him, and he quietly wiped away a tear as he poured himself a cup of tea. They were all gone, he reflected. Suki, Sokka, Toph, Aang, and... Mai. They were all gone now, and the only family he had left was Katara and Iria.
He sipped the warm tea, pushing the morbid thoughts from his mind. His time would come, he thought, but he would do his best to be a good person for as long as he could. He would hold the memories of those that had perished in Hekeng forever, and he thought of the memorial that sat in the middle of the now-colossal city, that marked the horrific battle that had turned ally against ally.
As the sunlight reached into his room, bathing him in radiant warmth, he smiled, looking forward to seeing Iria again. It had been too long.
The End
Hey guys.
I just want to thank you guys for sticking with me on this one. I sincerely hope that this finale was satisfying for you guys, if it wasn't, I'm sorry. As I've said before, I'm going to be taking a brief hiatus from Old Friends to work on my other stuff, but I WILL be coming back for some one-shots and some potential sequel cycles.
Thanks for reading, and until next time,
-IGdude117