CHAPTER RATING: T (Language)

A/N:

Chapter 44: Sozin's Comet, Part III: "A Just Avatar"

Aang stumbled out of his room into the dimly lit white marble halls of the Western Air Temple. His mind was still filled with the dreams that took place just a few moments ago. They hovered like a thick fog, but were still as clear as an undisturbed pool of water in his thoughts.

"Aang!" Her voice sent a chill down his spine, and yet a rush of heat to his face. With a slow turn, he tried his best to offer her the most comforting smile he could manage.

"I'm fine, Katara. Don't worry about me."

"It's good to hear that. But…" She could always see through him. "If anything strange ever happens. If there's anyway I can help. I'm here."

A night of strange dreams is all that's haunting me. But I don't think you can do much about that.

"What's going on? I never expected the Temple to be this quiet with everything that's happening." He asked.

"Sokka's just finishing up explaining the battle plan again. We're almost ready." She nodded, and held out her hand.

A shaking reluctance stood with him, but when he felt the warmth of her hold, the confidence within him, began to grow again.

...

"Okay, troops! Listen up! Here's the battle plan, one more time!" Sokka stood on a raised stage, before him, several men and women from all other nations stood, attentive at his booming, if rather, squeaky voice. "I pass it on to you! You pass it on to the rest of the troops!"

Behind him, a magnificent slab had been erected, a gleaming white marble cliff face was engraved with a map. of the World. It was stained with a light coating of dirt, which filled in the cracks, creating a contrast that revealed even the smallest details to the naked eye.

"By my calculations, we'll reach the Fire Nation nearly a week before Sozin's Comet arrives, which means that Aang can defeat the Firelord before the entire World turns into a giant inferno." He looked to some men dressed in black. "Sorry guys, but you won't be living out your dream of feeling the limitless power of a giant fiery space rock hurtling through the sky, but the world's safety is more important than that."

"Before Sozin's Comet?!" A familiar, blunt voice came from the crowd. "Wouldn't that be anticlimactic? Some people may have been waiting for an epic confrontation for a long time!"

"No offense, Toph, but anyone can plainly see-"

"Shut up! Only I get to make the blindness puns!" A pillar of earth rose from the ground, and knocked Sokka over.

"Hey!" He managed to squeal before he crashed, and everyone in attendance turned to Toph with puzzled disdain in their eyes.

"What are you looking at?!"

"As I was saying!" Sokka stood and cleared his throat. "To attack Ozai on the day of Sozin's Comet is completely idiotic! No offense, Toph."

"No offense my ass…" She grumbled before stomping away.

"We provide a distraction. Warriors, Waterbenders, and Firebenders will keep any defenders busy. Earthbenders dig underground and flank them! And as all this goes down, Aang flies into the Palace with the airbenders to confront the Firelord! Easy."

"It sounds easy." Azula walked out from behind him. "But there's one thing we need to prepare for: This is no joke. This is no game. This is no fairy tale. And after this, some of us may not be coming back."

Everyone nodded in a solemn silence.

...

The time passed like an instant, even without and Trickster's magic. He rode atop Appa, in the clouds where the grey moisture surrounded him. A sensation that mimicked a stormy night.

The stormy night. The century-old feelings came flooding back like a river swollen by an ominous downpour. The feeling of failure, cowardice, and regret.

"Did you say your goodbyes, Avatar?" A voice broke through his thoughts. He looked over to Mei Shan, one of the Elders that met him at the Eastern Air Temple.

"I...I think I did." The strange 'dreams' he had still played in his mind as clear as the purest ocean. "I guess you can put it that way." He mumbled without any real certainty.

"I know you're afraid, Avatar." A comforting hand rested on his shoulder. "We are here for you."

Appa let out a magnificent roar that would pierce ice, and shatter mountains.

Aang looked to his left, he looked to his right. Scarlet Wingsuits sat atop moving clouds. And like a haunting echo, the roar was repeated all around him, a thousand times over.

…

In Azula's zepplin, she and her brother stood across from each other, between them, a huge map of the world, with the names of Nations scribbled across pristine paper, and on that map, in the middle of the ocean, just in front of the Great Gates of Azulon, were miniatures. Small glass statuettes that represented the forces that they had to plan an invasion.

Azula noticed Zuko twitching, in an awkwardness that hung in the room"s silence.

"Something on your mind?" Azula asked.

"Well..." Zuko mumbled. "How did it feel?"

"What do you mean? Don't tell me your asking about sleeping with the Ava-"

"NO! NO! GOD, NO!" Zuko shook at the thought and jumped to his feet. "Why the hell would I ask about that?!"

"I was joking. " Azula grinned. "But I get the feeling that you've got an image burned into your mind that will never disappear."

"Yeah, you've got that right." Zuko said before gathering himself, and returning into his serious tone. "I meant when he took-"

"Took my virginity? Honestly I took-"

"STOP IT! PLEASE, STOP IT! I DON'T NEED TO SEE THIS RIGHT NOW!"

"Fine." Azula laughed at how flustered her brother was. "No more jokes. What is it?"

Zuko composed himself before speaking.

"When he took your bending. What was it like?"

"Why are you asking?" Azula leaned over the table, visibly shaken when the memories came back to her.

"We all know that Aang plans to take away Fath-" he paused, and took a breath. "Ozai's bending."

"And you want to know what it felt like?" Zuko nodded to answer. Azula looked up, the fire in her eyes seemed absent, like weak flickering embers on the verge of dying. "I felt lost. It was like the fire in your heart is snuffed out. You don't care about anything or anyone. You just want to lie down, and die..." She clenched her fists, "because you no longer have any ambitions."

"So how did you get it back? Did he give it back to you?" Zuko pressed on.

"When you lose all passion, and all desire, the Fire is gone. He didn't give it back to me, he gave me a reason to have it return to me. He is the reason it returned to me." She opened her pain, and revealed a small flame hovering above her fingers.

"You mean…"

"Yes…" she turned away from Zuko. "I love him."

He nodded in silence, turned around, and exited the room, leaving his sister in peace, with only her own thoughts to keep her company.

…

Below the zepplins, a massive armada of steel warships swam across the sea, Toph and Katara were in the same situation. Sitting inside a room that swayed with the ship's movements.

"... Just so you know, I never did anything with Twinkletoes." Toph broke the silence. "Nothing. Ever. And even note when I think about it…I don't think I really have any feelings for him at all."

"I know you haven't, Toph. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to 'share' him with Azula. Treating Aang like that is just wrong."

"Maybe she convinced you with her smooth talking." Toph folded her arms. "She basically manipulates everyone. Maybe she got to you, too. Just like she got to Twinkletoes."

"Maybe…" A definite regret was auditable in Katara's response.

"But let me ask you a question." Toph spoke wither higher, happier tone than usual.

"What's that?"

"If I had come to you and asked the same thing, would you have let it happen?" A sly, joking grin spread across her lips.

Katara stared at her, blank. But then returned the smile.

"You're the last person I'd want to make angry, Toph."

An even wider smile appeared on Toph. She closed her palm, and stuck Katara in the arm.

"Ow!" Katara exclaimed. "What was that for? I said that-"

"That's just how I show affection." Toph interrupted.

Katara smiled, brought her hand up, and returned the gesture.

Together, they sat and waiting, laughing as the shores of the Fire Nation came into view.

…

In the clouds, And sat atop Appa, at the forefront of thousands of other Air Bison, his heart raced as the black mountains of the Fire Nation were coming into view. The white mists of the sky began to part, his mind raced with what he expected to see: tanks, war zepplins, and ten thousand soldiers, awaiting their arrival. A deep breath went through him, but was immediately taken away.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Nothing but a quiet harbor city, nestled in the beautiful white sands of the ocean shore. There were no tanks firing flame cannons, there were no soldiers readying their weapons.

All he saw was a gathering of people-not soldiers, but normal people gathered around the harbor.

"What do we do now, Avatar?" Mei Shan asked.

"We stick to Sokka's plan." Aang nodded. "Yip! Yip!" His voice carried through the air, and with his command, Appa, and the rest of the Air Bison ascended higher, letting the thick white clouds cover their flight even further, while approaching the Royal Palace, which lay just under the shadows of the Fire Nation's volcanic mountains.

…

The warships, and zepplins approached at their slow, cautious pace. The ships pulled into the harbor, and the zepplins dropped long wires from their docks.

"Be careful, we don't know what Ozai's planning." Azula said to Zuko.

"Yeah, let's go." He replied.

Azula's reached down to her waist, hanging from her belt was a thick steel ring that she closed around the long wire. On her right hand, she wore a thick glove, where she kept a tight hold around the wire.

"Don't worry. The descent won't hurt a bit." She looked down, the back up at there." And leapt down, sliding with the wire all the way to the ground.

Before her, stood the residents of the prosperous trading city, apparently accepting their invasion with open arms. Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko followed behind her.

"We welcome you home, Firelord Zuko."

…

"Everyone stay hidden. I'm going in alone." Aang whispered a command that reached to every air Nomad in the clouds. They gave nods all around.

"Are you sure about this, Avatar?" A voice came from behind him.

Aang turned around, and mustered the most confident smile he could manage.

"Don't worry." He said. "Ozai can't touch me." And he leapt from Appa towards the main courtyard.

The wind brushed against him like a soft breeze, even at his quick descent. But he was the Avatar, and he put all of his trust into the elements. Aang opened his arms, and let the fabric of his wingsuit carry him, where he soared towards the palace doors, and made his way into the massive structure.

The door opened without any resistance. There were no guards. It was almost if he was invited in. The palace was breathtaking in its beauty. Red tiles covered the floor, white marble covered the walls, golden pillars held up the massive roof that towered above him, but the most prominent figures he saw were the two giant golden statues that lined the entrance to the throne room itself, a statue of Firelord Sozin on one side, a statue of Ozai on the other.

"You have accepted my invitation." Ozai's voice echoed against the walls. Staring into a bonfire behind his golden throne, he stood alone, with his guard down. "I welcome you, Avatar Aang."

"Invitation?" Aang readied himself for anything. His eyes darted around looking for any ambush.

"Relax." Ozai continued. "We knew you were coming. We have eyes and ears within your little rebellion. We've know this day was coming for weeks." he shrugged. "And I cannot win. How can I have any hope to defeat the mighty Avatar? But," Ozai turned. "Are you a Just Avatar?"

"What do you mean?" Aang relaxed his stance.

"I surrender." Ozai shrugged. "You managed to confront me, and without the power of Sozin's Comet, what hope do I have to defeat you?"

"What are you saying?"

"You've beaten me. Be just, don't hurt a defenseless man, the only course of action for a just Avatar is mercy. Have mercy."

"Mercy? Like how you showed mercy to my people? Like how your Sozin showed mercy?"

"I make no excuses for the actions of my grandfather. I can only speak for myself. I've abdicates the throne, Zuko is the Firelord now. The fate of this nation is in his hands now. Do not continue this cycle of hate that my family has followed. Be merciful." He pleaded. "Be better us."

Aang had a mixture of confusion and anger stirring within him. But he nodded.

"You're right. I'm not like you."

"Thank-" Aang cut Ozai off, stomping his foot into the ground, and launching a pillar of blackened earth into Ozai's stomach. The Firelord was launched towards the wall, the impact thrust his head back, And with a crash, knocked him into unconsciousness.

With another smooth movement, a gust of air saved the Firelord from falling into the flames below. The wind carried Ozai before he broke against the palace floor again. But Aang still felt life within him.

"Alright. I'll be merciful." Aang grabbed Ozai's collar and held his limp body. "This will be my act of mercy." He placed a thumb onto Ozai's forehead, and felt the elements, the energy of life surge through himself.

In a clash of red and blue, burning beams of energy shined through their eyes so bright that it radiated through the windows, doors, and even the cracks of the palace's ancient foundations.

The radiance disappeared in what seemed like seconds, Aang heard the sound of the Palace doors opening with a crash. Mei Shan and several other Air Nomads stood before him, in awe, worry, and confusion.

Aang took a deep breath, and as he walked pass them stated with the booming voice of a thousand Avatars:

"Sozin's Comet will pass over this world once again. And no consequences will come from it."

PUBLISHED ON: 06/14/2016

A/N: Two more chapters.

Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!