Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the song "This is the Moment" from Jekyll & Hyde, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse.

Author's Note: I'd been listening to the Broadway cast recording, and this song seemed absolutely perfect for Aang's thoughts as he faces his confrontation with Fire Lord Ozai. The story was originally inspired by the end of the Season 3 trailer, where Aang stands on the wall overlooking the Fire Nation palace, then takes off on his glider. I now realize that was only halfway through the season, but the idea remained nonetheless, and I envision this happening some time in the finale.

This is the Moment

This is the moment!
This is the day
When I send all my doubts and demons
On their way!
Every endeavor I have made – ever -
Is coming into play,
Is here and now – today!

Avatar Aang crouched on the edge of the enormous caldera in which the palace city of the Fire Nation was built. It seemed very dangerous to him to build a nation's capital at the top of a volcano, but he reasoned that this particular one must have been dormant for many years. After all, the palace looked exactly the same as the memories Roku had shown him.

Unlike the last time Aang had been here, the city was now full of life. Even from this height, he could see the movement of people, tiny as ants, going about their business. No one expected him, and that was just the way he wanted it. He would have the element of surprise that had been missing before.

Aang slid down to rest his back against the dark, rocky slope, clutching his new glider-staff tightly. This was it. The comet would be arriving in about two weeks, so this was truly his last chance to redeem his mistakes and restore balance to the world. First, though, he had to restore balance to himself. He needed to let go of all his past failures and doubts. It wouldn't be easy, but he thought he could do it.

Everything he had done for almost a year had been leading up to this, and he found himself reviewing his many lessons in bending. He was ready for this; he had to be. There simply was no other choice.

This is the moment.
This is the time,
When the momentum and the moment
Are in rhyme!
Give me this moment -
This precious chance -
I'll gather up my past
And make some sense at last!

Aang glanced over at the sun, making its ponderous way toward the sea. He was going to wait until after sunset to go down into the city. For one thing, the darkness would hide his approach, and for another, the firebenders would be somewhat weakened. It wasn't as good as an eclipse, but it would have to do. Besides, that would provide some time for the others to get into position. With Toph's help, they were going to tunnel directly through the side of the mountain. Zuko would guide them to the dungeons and other places of incarceration to free the prisoners. In addition, their group had managed to rally some support from dissenters within the Fire Nation itself. As Aang and his friends had learned on their travels, the Fire Lord didn't care much more about his own people than he did about those of other nations. These native volunteers would distract the guards in the heart of the city, hoping to draw them away from the palace and prisons.

The waiting was hard, but Aang used the time to go over his past, trying to see the patterns that hadn't been evident at the time. He now understood that he had traveled even more than his contemporaries because the elder monks had realized that his position as the Avatar would require his familiarity with a wide variety of people and places. He thought about everything Gyatso had taught him and missed him again. Aang silently asked the spirits to help him use this opportunity to make things right. He couldn't bring back the dead air nomads, but he could do his best to honor their memory.

This is the moment
When all I've done,
All of the dreaming,
Scheming and screaming
Become one!

Continuing on this pathway of thought, Aang recalled the adventures had and new people encountered as he and his friends had made their meandering way toward the North Pole to find a waterbending master. He couldn't remember that, of course, without thinking about their strict rules and how Katara had had to fight for the right to train by his side.

He skimmed over the siege and his trip to the spirit world, not thinking he needed to revisit that with too much detail at the moment. Following their stay in the north had come their next quest of finding an earthbending teacher. Aang had thought it would be easy, since he knew where Bumi was, and he was an excellent earthbender. When that option proved to be unfeasible, a more or less random search had begun, ending with their discovery of Toph and her unique style.

Of course, getting her to join them had presented its own challenges, including the objections of her parents and the frictions involved with trying to add someone new to a trio that had already spent months getting to know each other and learning to function as a team.

Still, they had worked everything out, for the most part, and led the failed invasion on The Day of Black Sun. Zuko had surprised them all by joining their side soon afterward, enabling Aang to learn firebending.

Finally, Aang turned his thoughts to the farewell he had just made to his friends – his new family. As usual, it was Katara that had made the greatest impression.

This is the day -
See it sparkle and shine -
When all I've lived for
Becomes mine!

Flashback:

[Katara was the last to say goodbye. She approached Aang with an object in her hand.

"I want you to take this with you," she said, holding it up by one end so that Aang could see the familiar necklace he'd given to her months ago.

"But – I made that for you!" he stammered, not comprehending. He hadn't realized she still had it, and her possession meant she must have been carrying it with her when they'd been in the spirit library. He'd had no idea she was keeping it so close.

"Yes, you did," Katara agreed. She placed the creation of fishing line into his hand, wrapping his fingers firmly around it. "And I expect you to bring it back to me." With that, she hugged him more tightly than she'd ever done. Into his ear she whispered, "By the way, I love you, too."

Aang froze for a second. Then, a warm, tingly feeling spread through his body as he registered what she was saying. As they pulled apart slightly, her arms still twined around his neck, he wondered how long she had known that the improvised jewelry was a labor of love.

"Katara, I--" Aang was cut off by Katara's mouth on his. He closed his eyes automatically, opening them only when Katara broke contact, far too soon.

"I know," she replied, stepping away from him sadly. "Now go." With one final look at each of his companions, Aang obeyed.

For all these years,
I've faced the world alone,
And now the time has come
To prove to them I've made it on my own!

Aang actually smiled as he recalled this goodbye. He patted the spot inside his clothing where he'd affixed the necklace for safekeeping. It had been with perhaps intentional irony that Sokka had offered one of his fishhooks for this purpose.

Concluding his ruminations, Aang took a deep breath and stood up. He turned to face the palace and surrounding city once more. He alone was the Avatar, which was the reason he was facing this ultimate duel by himself. Still, he knew that he had never truly been alone, and it was this awareness that calmed and reassured him. If they made it in time, the others would be there to back him up, but he was hoping it wouldn't come to that. He'd put them in danger enough, and it was time to end all this.

The faces of all those who had helped him along the way flashed through his mind, not least of which were those who were now imprisoned somewhere below him. He simply would not allow himself to let everyone down again. Failure was not an option.

Naturally enough, Katara's was the last face that floated before him. Her earnest blue eyes showed encouragement and approval, and he knew he had to succeed for her. Saving the world was a noble object, but at the end of the day, you had to do things for the people you loved. Personal connections provided the necessary inspiration for great deeds better than any abstract ideal could.

This is the moment -
My final test -
Destiny beckoned,

I never reckoned second best!
I won't look down,
I must not fall!
This is the moment,
The sweetest moment of them all!

Furthermore, he had to go back and tell her that he loved her. Although Katara already knew, Aang suspected she had not allowed him to say it as a sort of insurance against his coming back. She would know better than anyone else how much he hated to leave things unfinished.

The sun had now sunk below the horizon, and as stars began to appear above and wink at him, Aang opened his glider. After all of the fighting, evading, and training, it was finally time to bring it all together. This time, he would succeed or die trying. The fate of the world hinged on this moment because, once the comet arrived, there would be no climbing out of the abyss.

He had no intention of dying, though. He had too much to live for. Instead of looking down at the city, Aang looked up to the sky. He closed his eyes and spent a few seconds just feeling the breeze across his face and inhaling the acrid scent of ancient volcanic ash. He felt as if he were receiving the blessing of the wind and the stars.

Whatever happened, Aang knew that this day would live in legend for generations to come, but he wasn't too concerned about that. He was just doing what needed to be done. If he managed to defeat the Fire Lord and end the war, he would be happy to merely be left to live his life in peace. An unrealistic hope, to be sure, but he still held it.

Aang gripped his glider firmly and launched into an easy descent that took him spiraling down to the palace.

This was his moment, and thanks to his friends, past and present, he was ready to face it.

This is the moment!
Damn all the odds!
This day, or never,
I'll sit forever with the gods!
When I look back,
I will always recall,
Moment for moment,
This was the moment,
The greatest moment of them all!

--

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, Snows of Yester-Year, La Vixen de Amor, chocolatecoveredbananacheese, Aangy, and honorary member SnakeEyes16

Author's Note: This is quite a long song, so it was hard work to write it all, but I thought it was important enough to keep plugging away at it until it was done. Sorry about the delay between updates here, but other projects have been occupying me, as you all probably know. I think the ending is a little weak, but I couldn't think of anything better.

Review responses:

avatarkataang: So nice to see you again! I try to picture the scenes myself, especially doing fanfiction from a TV show. I imagine the characters talking and acting the way I'm writing and figure that, if I can see and hear it, it must be in character.

Wishing Only Wounds the Heart: The Prologue is pretty different from the rest of the book. I encourage you to read a little more. I've also read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by the same author, which was really interesting.

Aangs fangirl1214: Well, thank you. It seemed like Katara to think of things that way. I suppose this one seems to almost be a companion to the prior chapter, although I started this much earlier.

libowiekitty: I'm glad you thought so. The song was suggested a long time ago, as I said, but it took me a while to come up with a good idea to go along with it.