Fresh flames raged along the courtyard, as others became nothing but dying embers. Scorch marks marred the once beautiful palace as soot and cinders flutter through the unnaturally warm air. Prince Zuko struggled to push himself up, groaning in agony as Katara attempted to reach him again with her hands covered in healing water. A blast of blue fire and a maniacal cackle pushed the waterbender back just before another flash of lightening raced to kill. Katara was forced to flee as Zuko managed to lift his head up. He saw as Katara ran for her life and his head fell down in exhaustion.

"I'd really rather have our family physician look after little Zu-zu, if you don't mind!" Azula shouted from the rooftop of a side building as she again shot off lightening at Katara. She brought a wave of water up to meet the attack and a cloud of steam was formed between the mixtures of hot and cold. As the fog rose Katara heard the tiniest of noises and snapped her head to the right, afraid of another attack. All she saw were lilac eyes as Rei struggled to crawl towards the fountain in order to pick herself up. Katara reached to help her as the fog began to thin.

"N-no Katara," Rei winced in pain as she struggled to speak, "Finish Azula. I have to get to Zuko..." The desperation in Rei's voice almost brought Katara to tears. Her beautiful friend, who had always been so confident and so strong, sounded defeated and lost. Katara nodded once quickly before sprinting towards the very back of the courtyard, just as two fire blasts hit exactly where she had been previously standing. Rei, who had finally reached the fountain, remained completely still as Azula cackled again.

"Zu-zu, you don't look so good!" She mocked as she began to form lightening yet again. Rei choked back a sob and forced herself to remain silent. Katara's head peeked around the wooden pillar that she was hiding behind to check on the scene and she was greeted with another shot of lightening. The waterbender sprinted across the back and ended up near the other long fountain of water. She quickly bended a torrent of liquid out of the pool and hurtled it to where Azula had been standing on the roof. Following her attack, Katara realized that Azula had disappeared, only to reappear laughing right behind her. The waterbender jumped onto the fountain and turned it to ice, quickly surfing away from the princess, who followed closely, attacking every chance she had. Katara moved as fast as she could, attempting to keep both Rei and Zuko out of harms way.

Meanwhile, Rei was struggling to get onto her feet. She grabbed onto the side of the fountain and used all of her strength to pull herself up and over the ledge. Once that was accomplished she had to take a moment to calm her ragged breathing. Looking down at the slightly trembling waters beneath her, Rei was shocked at the reflection. A pale woman looked up at her with wide, lilac eyes. Everything looked exactly the same about her except for two very important things; One, the woman staring back had no birthmark on her forehead, just smooth, flawless skin. Two, this woman had pitch-black hair, which Rei felt falling over her own shoulders in a thick wave.

Another strangled groan from Zuko snapped Rei out of her own shock and she somehow found the strength to rush to his side, all questions about her sudden change forgotten. Rei reached him in a matter of seconds and fell to her knees with tears streaking down her face. She carefully repositioned him on his back and placed his head in her lap, her long fingers trembling. His golden eyes fluttered open painfully slow and drank Rei in for a moment.

"You look beautiful." His voice was weak and fragile.

"Oh Zuko," Rei's own voice shook from effort and sorrow as she brushed Zuko's thick hair away from his clammy forehead. "It wasn't supposed to be this way." A fresh wave of tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her soot-smeared cheeks. Zuko cracked a tiny smile and closed his eyes.

"Yeah well, destiny is a funny thing right?"

"No! It was supposed to be ME!" Her sobs became uncontrollable as she clutched Zuko tighter to her body. "That strike was mine to take! You were... Y-you were supposed to let... let it..."

"Let it what, Rei?" Zuko interrupted, his voice calm and weary. "Hit you?" Then the prince began to quietly laugh, his body shaking in silent chuckles. A grunt of pain bubbled out of his mouth and Rei set him back on the ground, placing her hands on either side of his head. "I will never let anything hurt you Rei." Her tears fell onto him like cooling rain, rolling down his face and drying on the warm stone beneath them.

"I'm so sorry Zuko. I'm so..."

"Shhhh." He silenced her, cupping her cheek with his right hand, a massive effort. "I made a choice Rei and I will never regret it. Someone wise once told me that it is choice and not chance that decides our destiny."

"What a smart person." Rei smiled slightly as Zuko's thumb brushed off her tears.

"Yeah she is. Beautiful too." He used the last of his energy pulling Rei's head downwards, pulling her lips to his own.

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

Phoenix King Ozai was growing tired of the Avatar's hiding. He threw blast after blast of fire at the ball of rocks, hoping to finish up quickly and return to destroying the world. He could feel the resistance in the rocks weakening as the assault continued.

"Come on out Avatar!" He yelled as he sent another wave of flames at the stone, "You can't hide in there forever!" He alternated between hands and soon the earth sheath was lifted into the air. Using this advantage, Ozai sent a huge forward blast and hurtled the ball backwards until it hit a stone pillar and could go no further. The Fire Lord then put everything he could into his next attacks, fire raging everywhere. Ozai jumped back slightly and let his final attack build up before slamming it into the stones, sneering as the shell finally began to break apart and the Avatar was seen once again. Aang struggled to protect himself from the flames as he was pushed backwards into the stone pillar. A jutting rock stabbed him as he slammed into the stone, hitting him right in his healed scar. A flash of immense pain filled him before he slumped onto the ground, falling rocks covering his entire body.

Visions of every Avatar since the beginning erupted in Aang's head as his body filled with power. Millions of glowing eyes materialized as the Avatar state began to take control of him.

"Go Aang." Rei called from inside his head as the absolute power of all Avatars past broke over him. Aang smiled as his eyes and tattoo's began to glow.

"Come on out little boy," Ozai taunted as he approached the rubble. "You're about to be-" A glowing hand shot out of the rocks and latched onto Ozai's beard, effectively silencing him. Avatar Aang shot out of the dirt, his glowing eyes locked on the Phoenix King.

A gust of wind slammed Ozai backwards and he landed in a heap 50 feet away. He watched in shock as Aang rose into the sky, surrounded by a whirlwind of air. With a feral roar a ring of fire formed around him after breaking pillars of rock and releasing stones into the air. These stones then condensed into orbs of steel like brick before also looping around Aang. Finally, a wave of water raced towards the Avatar, breaking into orbit around him without weakening any of the other elements.

Aang floated above Phoenix King Ozai, an Avatar of perfect balance.

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

As soon as Aang reached the full Avatar state, Rei began to weaken substantially. Katara finished chaining Azula up and the battle was finally over. The defeated princess screamed in torture as the last of her sane mind disappeared and she fully succumbed to a mental breakdown. Rei's vision began to swim as Katara rushed over to them. Bending some water out of the fountain Katara placed the cool liquid over her hands and set them gently on Zuko's bleeding chest, his face grimacing in pain as the water began to glow with healing entities. Rei watched as Zuko slowly opened his eyes, no longer feeling any pain.

"Thank you Katara." He whispered to his friend, causing her bright blue eyes to swim with tears.

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you." She exclaimed before smiling at Rei, who forced herself to smile back. Together, the two women helped Zuko get to his feet and they all watched Azula. She was hyperventilating and crying, screaming as blue flames erupted from her mouth. Katara looked away but Zuko stood strong, watching as he wrapped his arm around Rei.

"Zuko, we need to bandage that wound or it will get infected." Katara spoke softly, still not looking at the girl in front of them. Rei looked up at Zuko, waiting to hear his response, but his eyes did not leave Azula as he let go of her, stepping forward.

"Wait here." He told them, before approaching his sister, who looked nothing more than a tired little girl. "Azula!" He yelled over her crying, silencing her. She turned her head to glare at him as fat tears rolled down her cheeks. The silence stretched on as the two just stared at each other.

"What do you want?" She screamed at him, her voice broken. "It's over Zuko, you won, alright! Just leave me alone!" He took a step forward and Azula attempted to spit fire at him, but nothing came out. She burst into another round of hysterics. He waited until she calmed down enough before speaking.

"You're right Azula, it is over. But we're not," A tone in his voice frightened the girl chained in front of him and she attempted to shrink back. "Everything that you ever did to me, every ounce of pain that you put me through, everyone of my friends that you have hurt, I'll remember forever Azula." Behind him, Rei and Katara watched in shock, unsure what Zuko was going to do. "But, you are my sister, and I want to help you."

"I don't need your help!" She screamed at him, outraged.

"But you do Azula, more than you could imagine. Think about every person you've ever hurt; Uncle, the Avatar, the entire city of Ba Sing Se... They are all going to want revenge Azula, justice." This silenced her rather quickly and she sat with wide eyes. Azula hadn't realized just how much loosing was going to cost her. "But Azula, it isn't all your fault. Father helped make you into a monster, just like he helped make us hate each other. But Azula, I don't hate you."

"What?" Her voice was different this time, weaker, shallow, much more like the 16 year old that she was.

"No Azula I don't." Zuko clutched at his wounded chest, the pain beginning to come back. "I feel sorry for you. You've never had anything normal in your life, Azula. No friends, no struggles, and no love..." He dropped his head slightly as he remembered his mother. "You're sick Azula, and I'm going to help you." He looked up at her, a warning in his eyes. "But if you ever threaten someone I love again, I will not hesitate to end you." Azula stared up at her brother in shock but remained silent. The prince then turned to his friends and staggered back to them, allowing them to sit him on the fountain ledge. Katara began to heal him again as Rei leaned him against her chest. He looked up at her in adoration.

"Hi." He said, his eyes slipping closed.

"Hi." Rei chuckled, tears filling her eyes again. She couldn't believe that it was finally over...

Unbeknownst to her, it wasn't even close...

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

Avatar Aang had Ozai captured and open for attack. With both of his arms and legs incased in rock, the Phoenix king was a sitting duck.

"Fire Lord Ozai," Aang announced, the voice of every past avatar falling from his mouth. "You and your forefathers have devastated the balance of this world. And now, you shall pay the ultimate price." Aang reached his hand back with a roar erupting from his mouth. A beam of the four elements shot up from the Avatar and raced towards his target. But just as the attack was about to finally end Ozai's life, Aang stopped glowing, and the beam fell harmlessly over Ozai. As Aang landed, the rock encasings disappeared and Ozai staggered to his feet, staring at Aang's back.

"No," The boy announced to himself, "I'm not gonna end it like this."

"Even with all the power in the world," Ozai glared at Aang, "You are still weak." He rushed to attack the boy and Aang calmly waited. Once close enough Aang bended rock slates around Ozai's arms and lowered him to his knees. He then air blasted his way to reach the Fire Lord's third eye and chakra well, blowing out the fire he shot from his mouth.

In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements, but the energy within ourselves.

Rei's voice filled Aang's mind, along with the voice of the giant lion turtle, which he now understood to be the spirit of the earth.

Aang fully released his energy, light pouring from his eyes and open mouth, before forcing Ozai to do the same. A pure white light filled Aang from the inside out while a wicked red light enveloped Ozai. The blood-red sky now looked half red/half white as the two energies began to battle.

To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable.

Ozai's evil red energy latched onto Aang's body and spread through like a disease. As it threatened to completely cover the light pouring from his eyes, Aang saw something begin to form in his head.

Or you will be corrupted and destroyed...

It was a beautiful woman with long, white hair.

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

Katara pulled Zuko off of Rei by his arm and the two turned to her with a smile and extended hands. She smiled weakly before placing her hands in theirs and allowing them to pull her up. Together, the three began to walk towards the palace as a few servants raced out to greet them. Everyone in the royal city had heard of Azula's defeat and everyone praised the spirits for it.

"So Rei, what's with the dark hair?" Zuko asked. Rei took a strand of her newly acquired dark hair and stared at it, her flawless and now unblemished forehead wrinkling in thought.

"It must be because I left all of my spirit energy with Aang."

"You were with Aang?" Katara gasped, "How is he? Is he hurt?"

"Aang is-" Rei began but stopped as her eyes unexpectedly began to glow, sending out bright white beams into the sky above them. She could no longer hear Zuko's yells of concern as she was forced from her body and hurtled through the air at the speed of light.

Suddenly, she slammed into Aang and was absorbed completely.

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

Go Aang...

An explosion of light shot straight into the atmosphere, just as it had almost a year earlier. The light slowly disappeared and the two figures below returned to normal, both slumping away from each other.

"What- what did you do to me?" Ozai asked, his voice dead.

"I took away your fire bending." Aang announced wisely, "You can't use it to hurt or threaten anyone else ever again." With that, the Avatar turned to the fire raging below and in one swift motion, brought calming waters up to extinguish the flames before releasing them back into the ocean. As Sozin's comet began to disappear beyond the horizon, Aang watched as a war balloon landed next to where he and Ozai were. Toph and Suki helped Sokka off of the deck as they made their way to Aang.

"You did it!" Sokka screamed in delight. "You should have seen yourself!" He then proceeded to reenact the battle using loud and obnoxious noises. Meanwhile, Suki bravely approached where Ozai was lying.

"So did you, you know, finish the job?" Ozai turned his head and scowled.

"I'm still alive." He barked weakly, barely able to lift his head.

"I learned there was another way to defeat him and restore balance." He looked at the ex-Fire Lord. "I took his bending away." The others were shocked.

"Wow, who taught you to do that?" Toph asked.

"A giant Lion Turtle... And Rei."

"You have the craziest adventures when you disappear."

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

As the gang flew to the Fire Palace, Aang watched as the comet finally vanished and the sky turned midnight blue. A wave of relief washed over him and he released a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. They approached the courtyard of the grand palace full of apprehension as they surveyed the damage that had been done during the battle. Once back on solid ground, the first thing Aang did was hurl himself onto Appa, laughing like a child. A cluster of servants rushed towards the group with bright smiles.

"Hail the conquering heroes!" The oldest man exclaimed, causing the courtyard to erupt in applause. "Prince Zuko has requested that we take you to his old room as soon as you arrive."

"Can't we sleep or eat first? It's kind of been a long day..." Suki asked the man who shook his head slightly.

"I am sorry most honored heroes and respected Avatar, but this is a slight emergency." The group atmosphere changed drastically.

"What happened?" Aang demanded, jumping down from Appa's head. Before the man could answer Katara appeared on the marble stairs, her eyes wide with worry.

"Aang!" A relieved voice silenced all others and the group looked up at her. "Come quick! Something is wrong with Rei!" Aang was at Katara's side almost instantly, leaving the others to scurry after them. Once they were together Katara fled down the hall, taking the rout she had memorized earlier.

"What's going on Katara?" Sokka asked his sister as he limped as fast as he could, holding the group back drastically. "What's wrong with Rei?" Katara slowed down as they reached a large, open doorway, the heavy wood door was propped open with an ornate vase and past the doorframe they could see the soft glow of candle light through a set of red decorative curtains. A few soft voices could be heard as the group walked into the room and surveyed it.

Zuko's old room seemed to be from another lifetime. Red walls were draped in fire nation emblems and the black marble floor was littered with pages of notes and fire nation propaganda. Hundreds of lit candles were placed on every stable surface in the room, casting a warm glow and allowing sight in the darkness of the night. A large square window was open, allowing a slight breeze into the room, flickering the candles faintly. There were several shelves filled with knick-knacks and past memorabilia, but the most important thing in the room was the large square bed, which sat next to the middle of the wall at the side opposite to the door. Several servants were standing near the wall with the window, while a tall man in all black towered over the bed on the same side. Zuko was sitting in a chair that had been pulled up right next to the bed, his shirt off and his chest covered in bandages. The others gasped in shock as they finally caught sight of Rei.

"My goodness..." Suki breathed out, causing all attention to shift to the newcomers. Only the tall man and Zuko did not turn to stare.

"Right now the only thing we can do is wait, your highness. I have never seen something like this before, but I'm sure that with time and patience she will come around eventually." Zuko said nothing as the tall man gathered up his things and left, bowing in deep respect to both Zuko and Aang before disappearing through the curtains. A short portly woman stepped forward from the wall. It was clear that she was the leader of the other women.

"My lord, what would you like us to do?" Her tone was clipped and professional.

"Leave." He deadpanned, still staring at Rei.

"Of course sire, but you're friends just arrived and look exhausted and famished. Might I suggest that we show them to their rooms and attend to their needs before we sit and wait for the girl to awaken?" Zuko's head snapped up and looked at the woman in fury. Her tone of voice made it very clear that she did not care for his friends or the idea of sitting and doing nothing but waiting. The tiny flames around the room began to flicker more intensely.

"Please bring us blankets and pillows. We will wait here for as long as it takes." Aang ordered, stepping forward. "Also food and tea would be greatly appreciated." He smiled at the woman kindly but professionally. Aang made it clear that he did have the power to order her around.

"Of course Avatar. Right away." With a snap of her fingers, all the servants followed the woman out of the room.

"Bring LOTS of meat!" Sokka called out after them, eliciting laughter from his friends. Even Zuko cracked a smile. They circled the bed and observed the girl lying in the bed. Katara helped get everybody chairs before beginning to heal their injuries.

"This is Rei, right?" Sokka asked, staring at the woman before him in shock. Silence was his only response.

In all honesty, Rei didn't look sick or wounded in the slightest. Her head was propped up on several red pillows, waves of thick black hair falling over them. Her skin was smooth and stress free and her large lilac eyes remained hidden behind soft eyelids and think lashes. Arms covered in an expensive looking sleep robe fell to either side of her hidden body and her chest continued to rise and fall in a steady, automatic fashion.

But Rei looked far from sleeping peacefully. Her body seemed to exude an aura of utter weakness, as if she might die at any moment. It appeared as though she was nothing more than a doll, her body was working but her spirit had vanished. This woman sleeping before them was not their friend whom they all loved; she was an empty shell, only going through the motions of living.

"What's wrong with her?" Toph whispered, aghast at what she could feel.

"We don't know," Katara answered as she looked at Sokka's leg. "My healing didn't do anything."

"How long has she been like this?" Suki asked.

"A couple hours before the comet disappeared." Aang's head shot up like a rocket.

"That must have been when I saw her." He announced to his friends. "Right before the end I could hear Rei calling to me."

"What do you mean Aang?" Zuko asked harshly, his voice weak. Aang opened his mouth to deliver the entire story when the servants entered the room again, carrying a plethora of bedding and a large assortment of food.

"Will you be needing anything else?" The woman asked, her name Zuko now remembered to be Sera.

"No thank you, that will be all. Please assist Azula for the rest of the night until her departure. I will be there to oversee the exchange later." With a bow, the servants disappeared again, leaving very surprised and starving kids behind them.

"Azula is alive?" Sokka questioned seriously, forgetting about the steaming plate of pork that had been set on a small table with the rest of the food. The smell was making all of their tummy's growl. Zuko stood up from his spot and walked to the others, the bed no longer separating them.

"Please friends, eat and rest. Everything can be explained now, but only after we're all feeling better." He turned to Aang with a small smile. "I mean we won right?" He added with a laugh.

"Yes Zuko, we definitely won." The Avatar responded with a smile.

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

After they had all eaten their fill and emptied several pots of tea, the group spread out all of the blankets and pillows on the floor before sitting down and discussing what had happened to each of them. It was hard to believe that in a course of a few hours so much had happened.

"And there was another flash of light, and it was over." Aang finished from his spot on the windowsill. He was now wearing one of Zuko's old robes and pants, his other outfit all but destroyed in the great battle. "Ozai is now in a rock cell in the war balloon. We didn't tell anyone about him yet, I was waiting to see what you would want to do with him Zuko." The prince nodded in recognition to his friend before leaning forward, his arms on his knees as he sat at the end of the bed. Toph was sitting on the floor to his right, leaning against the bed for support. Sokka sat in a chair with his leg propped up by several pillows and Suki right next to him, also in a chair.

"Thank you Aang, I appreciate that." He turned and looked at Rei, still resting motionlessly, if resting was the word you could use. "There is so much that we still need to do."

"Yes, there is." Aang agreed with him, his voice becoming very solemn. "But for right now, for tonight, I think it would be wise of us to rest and talk. We shouldn't be making major decisions until we are all well." Silence fell as the others absorbed Aang's words. It was clear to them that he had grown an considerable amount in the past 72 hours.

"Aang, you said that you could... 'feel' Rei inside you somehow. Can you describe that in any more detail? It might help me figure out a way to... wake her up." Katara suggested helpfully, standing up and leaning against the back wall. Aang nodded in agreement before gathering his thoughts.

"Well, I guess it started while I was stuck on the giant lion turtle. She appeared when I was really frustrated and told me to keep looking. Then a couple hours after the comet appeared and was almost in the middle of the sky, Ozai was winning. I didn't know what to do so I panicked and hid. That's when she showed up as smoke and talked to me."

"That must have been when she fainted in Appa's saddle." Zuko said, glancing at Katara, who nodded back.

"Did she do anything out of the ordinary?" Suki asked Aang, "Well, I guess more out of the ordinary than usual..." The others chuckled slightly and Aang cracked a smile, thinking about his eccentric master.

"Not really... She said I was ready and then hugged me twice..." His head snapped to look at Rei instantly, his brow furrowing. "But something felt different..."

"What do you mean Aang?" Katara said, moving away from the wall.

"The second time she hugged me, something changed." He described. "It felt as if I suddenly became... stronger and more confident. And when she pulled away," He stood up slowly from the windowsill, looking at his now-black haired friend. "When she pulled away she looked weak. Then she disappeared and I could hear her talking to Ozai, like I told you."

"When the comet was almost directly overhead us, Rei woke up with a scream." Zuko announced, looking at Katara who confirmed with a nod.

"She stumbled out of the saddle and onto the courtyard, where Azula tried to hit her with lightening. Zuko tensed up instantly, his knuckles turning white at the thought of someone hurting the woman lying next to him.

"She looked like this then..." Zuko motioned to her black hair. "But she could still move and talk. Aang, did she go back to help you?"

"Yes," The airbender looked at his friend. "Right before I took Ozai's bending away... I thought I was loosing and then I heard her... she said 'Go Aang' and then I knew I was going to win..."

"She told us that she had left her spirit with Aang... She said she looked so different because she 'left all of her spirit energy' with you." Zuko's head shot up.

"That was just before her eyes started to glow and she fainted. She's been like this ever since." He told Aang, who looked at Rei with a horrified expression.

"Wait a minute you guys..." Toph announced, climbing to her feet and putting both of her small hands on Rei's exposed left arm. "I knew something was different about her."

"What do you mean Toph?" Katara rushed to the side of the bed, as did Aang and Suki, leaving Sokka struggling to get to his feet.

"Her weight... It's off."

Silence.

"Are you calling Rei fat?" Questioned Zuko absurdly. Toph punched him in the shoulder.

"No idiot. She's missing something... She feels like she's hallow somehow..."

"And when she said she left 'all of her spirit energy'..." Suki suddenly remembered, speaking slowly and thinking everything through.

"She meant that she left all of her spirit energy." Zuko finished, looking appalled.

"Spirit add a certain weight to each individual... It's minuscule, but it still makes a difference when it's gone." Toph explained.

"Rei gave me all of her spirit energy to help end the war at her own expense... She gave me half of herself, her being." They sat in silence, fully realizing just how much their friend had sacrificed for them, for the world. Sokka finally made his way over to the bed and he leaned against the post, looking down at Rei's blank face.

"Aang... what does that mean? For Rei?" Sokka asked quietly. Everyone held his or her breath as Aang sat in silence. He looked at Rei's face and closed his eyes in anguish as he spoke.

"Rei was only half spirit, what we see right now is all of her human features. However, when she gave up all of her spirit energy, she gave up half of herself."

"What does that mean Aang?" Zuko's voice has rash and demanding, his golden eyes not leaving Aang's grey ones.

"It's possible to live without a spirit, if it could be called living... But," He paused and looked at Rei's beautiful face, "It's impossible to survive missing half of yourself... no creature can exist with that much imbalance." Identical masks of horror touched everyone as they all gazed upon the unmoving girl. Her quiet breathing was the only sound in the room.

"Aang..." A deadly quiet and painfully desperate sound fell from Zuko's barely moving lips. His dull gold eyes never left Rei's form as he took a shaking breath. "Can you give it back?"

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

I didn't want to end it there... but I just HAD tooooo!

Ahhhhhhh! What do you think?

Question... Could anyone draw a picture from this story, or know anyone that could? I would love to see that...

Anyways, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Let me know what you think and then I'll let you know what's gonna happen...