The teenagers flew through the sky silently, each one deep in their own thoughts. Zuko was going over every fight between his sister Azula and himself, attempting to memorize her moves in order to prepare himself. Katara was also attempting to focus herself to the up coming battle but images of a baldhead and blue tattoos kept her distracted. She was looking out at the land and water that they were racing over and wringing her hands in apprehension. Rei, however, sat silently and motionlessly; Her lilac eyes were expressionless as she stared straight down at Appa's brown saddle. Her mind was racing: images, sounds, and colors molding together until it became impossible to distinguish one memory from another. Rei merely focused on steady breathing, in and out, in and out. She struggled to lift her lilac eyes straight ahead and stare at the man with his back to her, his ever-growing hair whipping violently in the wind. He slightly turned his head to the side and Rei caught sight of his beautifully tragic scar.

Suddenly a fresh wave of electricity ran through Rei's body and the images in her mind exploded. Everything that she had ever seen, every sound that she had ever heard jumped through her mind. As a painless fire rose in her veins and reached every part of her body Rei began to experience a jumble of memories: The spa with Katara, racing through the forest with Aang, doing chores with Suki, and finally everything that had ever happened between her and Zuko. As this showing went on Rei felt like her heart was on burning and soon the flames would be too much: her heart was going to explode from the heat. She could feel her breathing accelerate at an alarming rate as Appa raced through the sky. An alarmed voice sounded outside of Rei's head but she didn't have the strength to attempt to decipher it. Her vision began to blur as the heat within her body reached the breaking point and she knew she could not take much more of this fire. It was painless yes, but the mere existence of these flames exhausted Rei so completely that even breathing was becoming difficult. She wished it would stop, she wished she could just stop. As rough hands began to shake Rei's shoulders her read fell limply backwards and her wide lilac eyes stared up into a fire red sky.

As soon as Sozin's comet entered the atmosphere Rei was given a moment of divine clarity. This was all so familiar...

Her veins were lightening and her blood fire. A great power consumed her body and flooded her mind. Rei felt like the sun itself had been lodged into her heart. Looking down at her body she found flames coating her skin, her hair flickering wildly, her eyes burning.

The sky had transformed from bright blue to a bloody red in a manner or minutes and the clouds that had floated above earlier disappeared as the comet shot across the sky.

Wind whipped at her raging body and it was then that Rei realized that she was flying. She was soaring through the air, looking down at the racing landscape, the endless ocean. She shot white hot across the blood-red sky, leaving a trail of fire in her wake.

The comet had no reason, no path, and no objective. It just kept going, destroying everything in its path. As Rei sat in the saddle, silent and limp she felt something begin to form in her mind, filling the darkness that had taken over. It was something known to her, something very important.

As the earth flew beneath her Rei understood the cost for this magnificent power. She could feel the pure energy radiating from her very core. She knew what would most certainly come to pass and it was at this moment of understanding that golden eyes flickered to her burning mind.

The bubbling thought in her mind slowly became an image and Rei somehow found enough energy to focus the scene that had formed. A small boy was standing on a pillar of rock, a blue tattoo covering his body, with a look of determination in his grey eyes. Eyes that exuded wisdom beyond his years. Eyes that show fear beyond imagination.

Rei built up as much energy as she could muster and in one swift movement broke away from the streaming comet. She needed to get to that person but her body would not listen. Rei was falling through the sky like a drop of rain: no life, no control, just falling. She heard someone screaming her name and wondered why the person sounded so afraid. She didn't want this person to hurt anymore.

A sharp gasp came from pale lips as Rei's hands clutched onto Zuko's sleeves. Her head snapped up and her eyes popped open, staring directly into golden ones.

"Rei? What's wrong with you?" Zuko's face was devoid of color and his voice was liken to a child's. He held Rei like she would break and crumble at the slightest touch.

"Zuko..." Her eyes were loosing focus and Zuko's heart was racing.

"NO! Rei, keep fighting!" He shook her body, his eyes swimming in moisture. "Remember what you promised!" A small smile fell upon Rei's lips as her body began to go limp once again.

"Don't worry Zuko. Everything will be alright." Her lilac eyes went blank for several silent seconds before a brilliant light flashed through the sky, blinding the two teens and pushing Zuko backwards to the opposite end of the saddle. When they could finally see again they both stared in horror at Rei. She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the saddle and it became apparent at once that she was only there physically. Her white hair had worked free of the braid and now raged like flames around her angelic face. Both her tattoo and eyes were glowing pure white light and even her skin was giving off a slight illumination. Zuko and Katara stared at her for an eternity until a growl from Appa snapped them to attention. Looking at the world beneath them they could see the volcanic rock that surrounded the Fire Lord's Palace just off the horizon.

"What should we do Zuko?" Katara asked in a small voice, obviously shaken from Rei's episode. The fire prince looked first at his past home and then at the woman he loved before smiling slightly.

"We get her comfortable, and then we keep fighting." He said before kneeling beside Rei and gently picking her up into his arms. He then slowly and carefully laid her limp body across the saddle, her hands down at her sides and her head open to the sky. Zuko then hopped onto Appa's head once again and took the reigns. Rei's hair still flickered wild like flames and her eyes and forehead were still glowing, but she was much more relaxed in that position and much safer. Katara looked at her glowing friend before hopping next to Zuko. After 20 minutes of him constantly looking back at Rei, Katara took the reigns from him so he could swivel to a position where he could see both women.

"Zuko, Don't worry. We can take Azula." Katara attempted to comfort him, trying to take at least one worry off his mind. He shook his head slightly.

"I'm not worried about her, I'm worried about Aang. Rei must be trying to help him now but what if he doesn't have to guts to take out my father? What if he loses?" He glanced back at the Rei. "What happens to her?"

"Aang wont loose." Katara stated with determination. "He's gonna come back... He has too." But the waterbender stole another look at her white haired friend in worry. It was hard going into something so uncertain, and with both Aang and Rei gone everything was going to be a lot more difficult.

A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A

The Fire Nation Palace was stunning. Everything had been designed and decorated to the utmost perfection. Roofs of dark red topped white houses and the streets seemed to be made of marble. The fiery red sky only enhanced the royal beauty that covered this magnificent palace and surrounding areas. As they neared the main building Katara climbed into the back to check on Rei one final time, making sure that she was still peacefully in a trance and hidden from view. Zuko had one last fleeting look at Rei before his face went stoic and he surveyed the empty courtyard. Azula was kneeling in front of the royal fire sages before a crowd of no one. The sages had heard Appa's growls and stood watching in dread. Azula, however, did not see them approaching.

"What are you waiting for? Do it!" Appa's grumble of defiance finally caught her attention and she whipped her head around just in time to see the bison land, Zuko standing confidently on Appa's head.

"Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today." He hopped off the bison with grace and power. "I am."

"You're hilarious." Azula cackled in insane delight. The sages began to resume the coronation when Katara came into view right next to Zuko.

"And you're going down!" The girl threatened dangerously, causing Azula to stall for the slightest nano-second.

"Wait." She stopped the sage seconds before the crown was placed on her head. She then rose to her feet with royal refinement. "You want to be Fire Lord? Fine." She sneered at Zuko. "Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The show down that was always meant to be: Agni Kai!"

"You're on." Zuko responded instantly and hatefully, shocking Katara but greatly satisfying Azula.

"What are you doing?" Katara harshly questioned. "She's PLAYING you. She knows she can't take us both so she's trying to separate us..." Zuko did not stop glaring at his sister when he responded slowly and calmly.

"I know, but I can take her this time."

"But even you admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula."

"There's something off about her." He explained coldly. "I can't explain it, but she's slipping. And this way," He turned to his friend but his eyes flashed to the bison. "No one else has to get hurt." Katara followed his gaze before nodding slightly and glaring again at Azula.

"Good luck Zuko." She walked away from him and stood next to Appa as Azula dismissed the sages and then proceeded to walk down the marble stairs like a predator about to hunt.

"Well Zu-zu, I'm actually glad that you decided to crash my coronation. It was turning into such a boring day. Too bad your little white haired friend is already dead. Not much of a good start for the hero of the fire nation..." Zuko's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists in anger. He spun around on his heel and knelt on one knee, honoring tradition before speaking.

"She's not dead. But you will be." Azula scoffed before lazily repeating Zuko's action and kneeling the opposite direction. Zuko took a minute to calm his mind and could almost feel a soft brush upon his shoulder: familiar and warm. He silently stood and faced his sister in a strong fighting stance, watching as she also turned and removed her cloak.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way brother." She sneered, looking horribly evil and mentally unbalanced.

"No you're not." Zuko's calm but harsh reply. Another sickening smile formed on Azula's lips and the air exploded into a wave of stunning blue fire. Zuko took a deep breath followed by creating his own blast and the two mingled together in the middle of the courtyard, twirling into a blue and orange tower and exploding in a shower of light. Azula then blasted herself forward and kicked bright blue flames repeatedly at Zuko, who calmly used his flames to block her. Azula rushed forward with all of her strength, ignoring the importance of balance and good breathing. She only attacked and pushed closer to her brother, who remained stoic the entire time, breaking her flames with his own and attacking at every ample opportunity. Flashes of orange and blue filled the sky as the fire blasts flew across the courtyard. The flames remained after being created, burning everything in sight. Katara pushed Appa as far from the battle as possible and was sweating from the immense heat in the area. She used water from the surrounding fountains to but out any fire in her area but forced herself to keep an eye on both Zuko and his fight with Azula, and Rei who was beginning to twitch ever so slightly.

The siblings were both throwing enormous beams of fire forward which met in the middle in a giant splash of heat. Pushing forward, both pillars veered off of the center explosion and shot just past their initial targets. Zuko's footing was slipping slightly and he slid closer to Azula's blue flames before correcting his stance and pushing more energy into his shot. When the torrent of fire finally ended Zuko saw Azula looking completely shocked at how close his blast had been. She turned to him with a look of utter loathing on her once beautiful face.

"It's seems you've been practicing brother. Too bad it won't be enough. As we speak our beloved father is off destroying the earth in the name of the Fire Nation!"

A-A-A-A-A-A-A

Aang was loosing.

The fire lord was relentless in his attacks and deadly in his intentions. Aang was neither of these things and he was forced to constantly deflect and run as Ozai advanced on him. Aang had lost one of his few chances for victory by refusing to redirect lightening at the Fire Lord. He was quickly loosing places to run.

The Fire Lord was closing in on Aang when a flash of white light surrounded the airbender like smoke. Ozai scowled at this, thinking it to be an airbending trick and attempted to strike down at the fallen Avatar. Another flash of light and the earth rose up around the child, protecting him from the attack.

"Aang." Rei's voice sounded from the smoke, echoing slightly. "Aang you must keep fighting."

"You're WEAK!" The Fire Lord laughed cruelly as he landed beside the ball of stone. "Just like the rest of your people." The man approached the child with a sickening grin on his face.

"Aang please. I can only separate from my body for so long. The comet is growing to strong for me to control." Rei's beautiful face materialized out of the smoke along with her arms, now dressed in a very beautiful and very ancient gown.

"They did not DESERVE to live in this world, in MY world!"

"Rei, I don't think I can do this! I'm not ready!" Aang's eyes filled with tears as he looked at the translucent figure crouched before him.

"Prepare to join them!"

"Aang." Rei wrapped her smoky arms around him in a comforting hug. "You can Aang, I know it." She squeezed him closer for a single moment and something in her touch shocked Aang: it felt as if she was releasing something and her skin was left feeling weak and powerless. She pulled back slightly and looked at her friend with nothing but love. "You can do this."

"Prepare to DIE!" Ozai pulled his arms above his head and bent his back, preparing himself for a mighty attack and Rei leaned over to kiss Aang on the forehead before disappearing completely. A powerful beam of white light shot out from the earth orb and threw the Fire Lord backwards, just as he was about to strike. He snapped his head up and glared at the rock, from which he had been thrown, shocked to see a woman standing in his way. Everything about her was pure white, from the tips of her wind blown hair to the bottom of her flowing gown. The only thing that had color was her glaring eyes, Lilac mirrors against the stoic background. With a grunt and two fire blasts from his hands, Ozai got to his feet and carefully surveyed the girl. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"My name is Reiko, spirit guide of Avatar Aang and Master of Taijitu."

"Balance!" He roared with malicious laughter. "The great Avatar asks for help and all the spirit world sends him is a foolish girl and a useless idea." He stalked threateningly forward but Rei remained rooted in her place. "Step aside spirit, or suffer the consequences." In reply, Rei shot out another beam of light, knocking the Phoenix king over into the dirt. He roared in indignation and jumped to his feet, fire erupting from the earth where he landed. He sent a large blast of fire towards Rei, who bended a black spiral around it and snuffed the flames out of existence. Ozai looked taken back for a second before he jumped into the fight with renowned vigor. A series of fireballs pushed Rei from her spot as she attempted to destroy them. Rei blasted her herself through the air and onto a pillar of rock, the Fire Lord in hot pursuit. She needed to lead Ozai as far away from Aang, but she felt her strength weakening. She had put almost every bit of spirit energy into her final hug and her spirit was quickly deteriorating. Her resting body, hundreds of miles away, was also exhausting her. It was difficult trying to keep both beings alive and she feared she would not be able to continue on much longer.

"Turn and fight girl! Even the spirit master run from the mighty Phoenix King!" He sent a crashing wave of flames above Rei. With a gasp she melted into the stone beneath her, the heat of the attack sinking into her skin. Ozai landed on the burning rock and looked around for the missing girl as she rose out of the pillar behind him.

"The Spirit world is furious Ozai. Stop this attack and perhaps they will have mercy on your soul." The man just laughed again as he readied another blast, this one building up slowly.

"I have no time for something so weak as a soul. After I rebuild my world, I will see what can be done with yours." His words caught Rei off guard, as did his attack and she had no time to deflect the blast. She caught the entire force of the blow and fell from the pillar, hurtling towards the ground at an alarming rate. As she fell towards the earth her lilac eyes opened slightly and she caught sight of the beautiful comet as it made its way across the sky. Rei's white body instantly burst into flames...

Hundreds of miles away, lilac eyes snapped open with a shriek of terror.

A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A

Azula hurtled herself into the air and slapped down a sheet of blue fire. Zuko calmly parted the flames with his own and watched as his sister kneeled gasping for air. He then took a deep breath and slammed his fist downward, two streams of fire erupting from his hand and twirling together in an elaborate dance as they raced for Azula. The princess was barely able to jump out of the way as the fire exploded onto the walls and stairs. As she dodged to her right side a horrific scream pierced the air and her attention was drawn to a figure that was stumbling off of the bison. Katara gasped in shock and leapt to grab Rei and set her on the ground. Zuko snapped around instantly and unthinkingly and Azula smirked at her sudden advantage. She shot forward like a rocket, blue flames propelling her forward, and she shot fist after fist of fireballs at her distracted brother.

"ZUKO! LOOK OUT!" Katara yelled as she held onto Rei, blocking her from view. This caused the prince to refocus and allowed him just enough time to shoot straight into the air and kick down the blue flames, extinguishing them instantly. He brought his arms backwards before snapping them forward, slamming both himself and a torrent of fire on the ground. The blast knocked Azula back but he did not look away from his sister again.

"Katara! What's wrong with Rei?" Azula stopped to catch her breath and Zuko knew that she was calculating another attack. He feared that Rei and Katara were both in danger now.

"I'm not sure Zuko! She's awake, but not really!" The prince threw a combination of kicks and punches at Azula and it was her turn to block every attack. "And she's... different."

"What do you mean?" He asked, suddenly very fearful for Rei. "Has she gotten worse?" Azula launched two fire streams that approached in opposite directions and Zuko had to twist on his heel several times in order to block them.

"Oh little Zu-zu! Finally got a girlfriend?" Azula taunted him mercilessly. "She doesn't sound like she's doing so good does she? Too bad, what a lovely addition she could have made to our family." With that, Azula raced forward again, circling Zuko and blasting him with blue fire. He created a ball of flames around himself for protection and the fires quickly died. Azula continued to circle him...

A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A

Fire lord Ozai landed in front a pile of rubble and surveyed the scene. Hundreds of rocks of all sizes had fallen upon the spirit woman after she had hurtled to the ground from the force of his last attack. He smirked in confidence before turning on his heel and walking towards where the Avatar was still hiding. An unexpected rumbling of the earth startled him and he whipped back around to find the source. What he witnessed then shocked him more than anything he had ever seen in his entire life.

The countless rocks that had covered the woman had melted away from her body like ice in the desert as she gracefully got to get feet. Rei stood tall and fearless as Ozai gazed at her in disbelief.

Quite simply put, Rei seemed as if she was on fire. Her clothing had become shapeless white flames along with her lower body. The only semi-defined feature that remained was her arms and her head, still covered with licks of fire. Her white hair spread around her body like smoke, flowing and moving, never being still. All this was startling but it was her eyes that really unnerved the King.

Instead of two lilac orbs glaring at him in fury, two bright orange flames stared at the Fire Lord hungrily, the ends reaching diagonally outward from her face. A flaming mouth opened slowly and her eyes seemed to burn brighter.

"Fire Lord Ozai." Her voice was a mixture between the most beautiful soprano and the most terrifying bass. "You dare use my own power against me?"

"What are you talking about?" Rei felt herself slipping away, the power she held was too much for her human body. It couldn't take much more of this.

"Foolish mortal! I created Sozin's comet, which you are using to destroy the world. I am the daughter of the one who gave you life and you have turned against him and dishonored him." Ozai quickly punched a blast of fire at the girl, who easily extinguished it with the wave of her arm. "You will pay for what you have done, Ozai. The world must return to balance." Ozai then attempted to blast himself away by shooting flames from his feet but as soon as he was 20 feet into the air the fire died. He landed on his back in a huff and glared once again at the woman, her hands were reaching towards him, building a spiral of white and black energy.

The Fire Lord knew that the only way to defeat this creature was to distract it, so he began to form lightening, perfectly and quickly. As he finished his motions he quickly turned on his heel and shot the lightening directly at the ball of earth behind him. A wave of heat rushed past him and knocked him back to the ground. The Fire Lord looked up again and saw as the girl materialized in front of the rocks, looking more mortal than spirit in the effort it had taken her to beat the lightening. She stood protectively over the Avatar and took the entire force of the attack, absorbing the lightening completely.

Ozai smiled as the girl's body began to flicker, the flames beginning to die.

But as the earth flew by her Rei understood the cost for this magnificent power. She knew what would most certainly come to pass and it was at this moment of understanding that golden eyes flickered to her burning mind.

It was then that Rei felt the pain.

The power was too much.

A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A

Another block from Zuko forced Azula backwards and she was infuriated, not to mention exhausted whereas Zuko remained calm and calculated. He had never again turned from the fight, even when Katara had begun yelling at Rei, attempting to bring her out of the trance. Azula decided that she didn't end the fight soon there was no way she could possibly win. A cruel plot formed in her head as she raced at Zuko again.

"Now I remember your little lover Zuko. What an interesting bending technique she has. After I finish with you and the waterbender, I'm going to have to study this girl thoroughly. Lots and lots of painful experiments. Then when I'm done, seeing that you love her so much, maybe I'll put her in uncles old cell to rot!" A cackle escaped her mouth as she struck at Zuko again, only to be blocked.

"Or maybe she'll end up just like mother? You do have a talent for ruining lives, don't you Zu-zu!" With a bust of rage Zuko threw a pillar of flames at his sister before falling to his back and spinning in a magnificent circle, flames kicking outward.

Azula rushed forward but was taken off guard by his second move and could not block it. She fell on her face and skidded backwards with grunts of pain. When she forced herself to her feet, panting in exhaustion, Zuko stood ready to attack. She glared at him with pure loathing seeping out of every pore in her body.

"No lightening today?" Zuko taunted, ready to finally end this battle so he could finally see what was wrong with Rei. "What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?" Katara propped her friend up against a marble pillar and hurried to get her some water, leaving Rei facing the battle with slowly focusing eyes. Although her spirit and energy remained with Aang, her heart had not left the courtyard at all.

"Oh, I'll show you lightening!" Azula screeched as she struggled to straighten her back. With deadly intentions Azula began the form for creating lightening. Zuko took a deep breath and readied himself, blocking out all thoughts and emotions. As Azula held the bolts in between her two hands her focus shifted from her brother to the black haired girl looking out at the battle. Harsh golden eyes met pitying lilac ones and Azula instantly made her choice. With a wicked smile the princess altered her line of attack and sent the bolts flying.

Time seemed to slow as Zuko's mind struggled to understand why the bolts weren't charging straight at him. As his head turned to follow the path the attack was going to make his heart stopped beating. Rei sat leaning weakly against a pillar, completely defenseless, as Azula's strike raced towards her. Lilac eyes widened in familiar shock and Zuko knew instantly that this is what Rei had seen in her vision; this was the final strike that was going to kill her. Her eyes slipped closed peacefully, ready to fully accept the turns of fate.

"NO!" Zuko screamed as he propelled himself forward, straight into the line of attack. He could not fully redirect the bolts while moving and so, when the energy collided with him, he took the blunt of the attack before throwing the remainder into the air. Rei watched in horror as the prince fell to the ground, clutching at his chest and groaning in agony. Waves of electricity crackled through his body and he twitched uncontrollably.

"ZUKO!" Rei cried with anguish as her heart began to squeeze painfully and her cheat began to ache. Katara ran to heal Zuko but a bolt of lightening at her feet stopped her instantly. Azula stood laughing like a maniac as she raced towards the waterbender, a look of sheer insanity in her golden eyes.

Eyes of flames died quickly.

A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A

Ozai looked on as the girl who had just absorbed his lightening fell backwards and leaned upon the rocks in which the Avatar laid hiding. Her breathing has heavy and he could see that she was slowly fading from sight. One fire blast would be all it took for her to disappear completely.

"I'm done with your meddling."

Terrified lilac eyes were the last Fire Lord Ozai saw of the spirit girl as a blast of fire slammed into her body, consuming her white flames and vanishing into thin air.

Now nothing stood between the Phoenix King and the weakened Avatar. A sneer formed on evil lips as he stalked forward, fists ablaze.

A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A

It's almost over! YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!

REVIWE PLEASEEEE!

I might have a spin off story from this... I have sooooo many ideas...

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS, DRAW A PICTURE, WRITE A POEM!

!REVIEW!