Mainly because the layout of the capital in this story is different from the show, the battle is going to be a little different, but not much.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see through the dimming light. The sun was almost completely blocked, but flashes of yellow flame shone over the mountains, coming from the capital and raging toward the Noble Quarter.

I had to run through the stacks to get to the city. Smoke and dust was pouring between the buildings, but I knew the paths so well that it really didn't matter. I hit body after body of the terrified people running from the war, but I kept going. I had to see it, help if I could. I should have been running the other way, folding into the crowd of civilians, but I wasn't afraid. If the Earth Kingdom was fighting the Fire Nation, I had to see it. I'd just gotten to the edge of the stacks when I discovered that it wasn't just the threat of war that had the people running. There were soldiers evacuating the city, driving civilians out toward the coast and forcing, not only refugees, but citizens and nobles through the stacks. I tried to push past them, but the crowd was so thick that I could barely tell where I was. The noise was deafening, screams and desperate shouting for family members cascaded between the sounds of rock crumbling and things exploding. Along with the smoke, it was so disorienting that had the soldiers not been driving the crowd against me, I wouldn't have been able to tell which way the city lay. I could hear cries of pain and fear and I saw flashes of robes through legs and under shoes and I knew some people were being trampled, but I buried my concern.

I pushed as hard as I could, but the closer I got to the city, the thicker and more frenzied the crowd became. After a particularly violent shove from a fat man in a robe, I gave a frustrated scream and allowed myself to fold into the crowd. I melted with them back into the dust-filled stacks, always craning my neck backward to try to catch a glimpse of the fighting. The sounds of war were still showering over the capital. I slapped my hand against the side of a shack as I passed, trying to release some feeling of uselessness. The Earth Kingdom was fighting back, and I was going to miss it. Because of the damn Fire Nation citizens and their damn evacuation. Then it hit me. I gasped and choked on the dust in the air before my feet turned sharply left, taking me in the direction of the barely visible cliffs. I may not be able to fight, but I could still see it. I just had to get higher, up above the dust.

The path was clear of civilians as they were trying to get down to the coast, not up into the mountains. My feet traced the familiar path, but my mind didn't even twitch toward Zuko. All I was thinking about was the height and the almost panoramic view from one of the ledges above the clearing. As I burst into the clearing, I didn't even take the time to look around before I was climbing the cliff face that separated the clearing from the stacks and the city beyond. Finally, my hands caught the ledge's lip and I hauled myself up, noting how easy it was after training with Zuko to pull my body weight on top of the narrow ledge. I crouched on the edge of the natural wall and let a slow smile stretch my face. I couldn't see much from there, and at first all I saw was red dots with fire coming out of them, but eventually the soldiers took shape and I didn't just see fire. I saw water, I saw boulders. It wasn't just Earthbenders, it was the Water Tribe and they were working together. The Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe were outnumbered, but my smile didn't waver. I glanced up at the sun and then back to the battle. In a few minutes, the firebenders would be defenseless, and a few minutes were all our soldiers would need.

The citizens still poured out of the capitol, bottlenecking as they entered the stacks and I was struck with how many people actually made this spit of Fire Nation land their home. Then, a grey streak over the docks caught my eye. I stood and my mouth fell open as I stared, uncomprehending. A huge flying creature, water streaming from it's back, was flying over the port, the waterbender riding it was attacking the battlements set up along the banks. I'd heard rumors, but I thought they were just stories from bored travelers. But what I was looking at was beyond rumors, it was real and there was only one thing it could be. A flying bison, a species that went extinct a hundred years ago, if they existed at all. Which they apparently did. They belonged to the airbenders, and I squinted hard at it, trying to catch a glimpse of the avatar.

After a while, the bison was lost to my sight as the battle progressed toward the Noble Quarter. Finally, amid the blasts and booms, a red darkness took over the island. I huffed a sigh and craned my neck, trying desperately to see through the dark and the dust, but it was useless. I glanced up at the sun and found it completely covered, hidden behind the moon. As I turned my eyes back to the city, I shivered. When did it get so cold? I thought it must have been the lack of sunlight, but then I realized. Zuko told me that firebenders are connected to the sun, we get our power from it. I opened my palm and tried to coax my fire out, but nothing happened. I shivered again, but not from cold. I felt… empty. Like I'd lost a limb. I peered through the dark and didn't see any blasts of fire though I could still hear the clangs of steel against steel and rock. How I wished right then that I was standing next to Kenshin, knife in hand. It would have been so easy. Defenseless, they were all defenseless! The Earth Kingdom chose their day of attack well. I just hoped the Fire Nation was as unprepared as they seemed. The hope swelled in me. This could be the end of it all.

It was a few minutes before the sun started to peek out from behind the moon. I knew right when the fire returned to my body, it was like taking a deep breath after being under water. It felt like life. I crouched again and trained my eyes toward the Noble Quarter, and what I saw knocked the breath out of me again. The groups of soldiers clad in green and blue were surrounded by red. They'd lost, they were captured. I turned my back and sat on the ledge, my legs dangling over the side. I let my head fall into my hands and felt all the loss of the Earth Kingdom again. I'd been stupid to hope again. Ten minutes of darkness wasn't enough to defeat the Fire Nation and I should have known it.

"Rei!"

I jumped so hard that I almost fell from my perch on the ledge. Zuko was standing in the middle of the clearing and his red and gold hood fell back as he stared up at me. I blinked a couple times to clear my jumbled thoughts. Another stupid move, coming to our place again. Still, he never came here during the day, I thought I'd be safe. I took a deep breath and climbed down the cliff. As soon as I was on the ground, his arms circled around my waist and he buried his face in my neck. I kept my hands at my sides.

"Zuko? What's going on?"

He pulled back and I finally got a good look at his face. His eyes were wide and though he wasn't smiling, he looked exhilarated. "I finally get it, Rei, I understand what I'm supposed to do."

My brows drew together for a moment before I waved my hand to dismiss what he'd said. "No, I mean the war! The soldiers, the Earth Kingdom, what happened?"

"The avatar was here. He tried to kill my father, but they were ready for him."

My stomach dropped. "Is he—"

"He's fine, he got away. He never even saw the Fire Lord, but I did." He stepped back and took my hands in his. "Rei, I'm going to—"

"Wait. You said you all knew the Earth Kingdom was attacking today?"

"Yes, it's an eclipse. No one knew anything for sure, but the Fire Lord knew it was a possibility. They knew our bending would be gone."

I took my hands out of his. "Zuko, a lot of people got hurt. Your people. The stacks were insane and I didn't even see the city."

Suddenly, his eyes went wide with anger and he grabbed my shoulders. "You were in the stacks?"

I shook him off. "Yeah, I live there!"

"But you always practice at this time! I thought you'd be here."

"I was at the—" I almost said docks, but I still couldn't. "I was tired. It doesn't matter, you should have told me. You should have told everyone!"

"I couldn't, nobody was to know. They were trying to crush the last resistance, so it had to look like the city was unaware that anything was going on. I'm sorry, I know it wasn't right, but I thought you were safe and I didn't know what else to do. But none of it really matters because I told him, Rei. I told my father everything." That exhilarated look returned to his face.

"What? What do you mean?"

He grabbed my hand again and pulled me toward the cliff that faced the ocean. "Look," he said when we reached the edge. I followed his eyes down to the beach below and saw only a huge expanse of bright red. "It's a balloon. We're leaving."

My eyes widened and I looked back at him to find him watching me with that rare smile on his face, the one that usually made my knees weak. Today, it made me sick. "Leaving?"

He nodded. "I told you, I understand everything now. Rei, you were right all along, my family, my army, they're monsters. I'm ashamed to have ever been a part of either of them, but I can fix things. It's like Uncle said, I can redeem my family, my nation. I told my father that I was leaving. That I was going to join the avatar."

I think I was in shock because I mumbled, "He must have loved that."

Zuko gave a hard laugh. "Well, he tried to kill me… but that wasn't the first time. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Rei, didn't you hear me? I'm joining the avatar, I'm going to teach him firebending, and you're going to help me. I'm going to set everything right. We are."

My eyes filled with tears. "I'm happy, Zuko. You're doing the right thing."

He smiled and caught my lips in a hard kiss. "We should leave right away, I don't want to miss the avatar, he's probably already in the air."

He tried to pull me toward the ledge, but I resisted. He looked back in confusion. "Zuko… I can't go with you."

"What?"

"I can't… I have to find Kenshin. You know that."

He shook his head. "What are you… This is so much more important than one captain! I'm asking you to come with me, to help the avatar defeat the Fire Lord!"

"I know what you're asking, but you should know that I have to say no."

"Rei, come on. It doesn't matter! Kenshin doesn't matter compared to the entire army!"

I took a step back. "No."

He sighed and stared at the ground for a moment before he raised his eyes. "Rei," he said, his voice soft, "I know what it's like to be consumed by something you think you need to do. Trust me, it isn't worth it. This… this," he waved his hands, searching for the word, "hatred, it isn't doing anything but hurting you."

"So long as it hurts Kenshin, I don't care. Zuko, I can't go with you." I glanced over my shoulder over the ocean and saw the glowing Gates of Azulon. The captain would be leaving soon, any chance of a ride to the Earth Kingdom going with him. "I didn't want to tell you until… but I'm leaving. I have a ride lined up and I have to leave." His mouth was hanging open as he stared at me. "Zuko, I really do hope you can train the avatar, that you help him win this war. I just can't be there with you."

Finally, he recovered. "Rei… You can't do this. Killing someone… it changes you. I can't let you do it, I love you too much."

I recoiled as if he'd hit me. No one since my mother had ever said that to me and coming from Zuko in that moment…it struck me like a sword. That's when I knew that he wouldn't let me go. I really was glad for his revelations, and I was proud of him. But he didn't understand anymore. I hated Kenshin more than I loved Zuko. I hardened my face and glared up at him. "What do you think this is? What the hell do you think I'm doing on this rock? I was here to learn firebending, and thank you for teaching me, but it's done. I wish you luck, and I hope you can do the same for me, but I can't love you."

His jaw clenched and he glared right back. "You don't mean that."

I rolled my eyes. "None of this was about you. It was always about Kenshin." I turned my back, my jaw shut tight.

He caught my arm and spun me toward him. "No. I don't believe you, Rei, because I didn't make up all those times I felt you loving me."

I snorted. "Please, don't. You really love me, Zuko? Then why was it always me who waited, me who had to think about you sleeping in your fiancé's arms. Where is she now, huh? Hiding in the hull of that balloon? What, are we going to have to share a powder room?"

"I can't be with Mai. She's too loyal to leave and besides, I don't have any right to ask her to. You're right, I was selfish and cruel to both of you, but I've made my choice. You're it, Rei. If my father died tomorrow and I was crowned Fire Lord, I'd choose you."

I felt a fine tremor working its way up my spine. He wasn't going to make this easy. "Listen to me, Zuko. I don't want you. If Kenshin didn't exist, I wouldn't want you after everything you've done. You were convenient, useful, and that's it. Aren't you wondering where your mother's bracelet is?" I felt sick. "I hawked it for passage to the Earth Kingdom." His eyes flicked down to my wrists and his face twisted, the scar pulling at his cheek. "Let me go."

I turned my back and walked away, and he didn't stop me. I expected tears, but none came to my eyes. I walked calmly toward the docks, I didn't look back. The end was finally in sight.

There's really no excuse for how long I was gone. I'm so sorry and I hope you guys are sticking with me even though I don't deserve it!

I'm going to try really hard to make sure that you never have to wait that long for another chapter from me.