When Kateri returned to the Temple, her face was so deathly pale and she was shaking so badly that I thought she had been attacked. I stood up quickly, catching her into my arms, and Kateri finally stopped moving.

"What is it?" I asked, my heart plummeting. This could only mean bad news.

"I got into the Palace," She said, her voice shaking. "And I overheard two soldier's talking. They're going to publicly execute him in two days time."

I felt as though she had struck me in the head, and released her, dazed. "Oh God," I moaned. Naheel came up behind me, taking me by the shoulders comfortingly. "Naheel," I turned to him and he took me consolingly into his arms. I was tempted to lose myself in them, to allow myself his comfort, but I pulled away. I couldn't do that, not now.

"I have to go rescue him," I said fixedly. "I have to go save him."

Naheel and Kateri exchanged a look. I grabbed my brother's shirt forcibly. "They're going to kill him," I said passionately. "Naheel, he saved my life. I have to save his."

"Did you actually see him?" Naheel turned to Kateri, who had taken a seat. I went beside her, forcing myself to calm down, and took off her headscarf and handed it to her. Quickly, she took it and wound it around her head again, covering her hair with shaking fingers.

"No," She said, and I wasn't sure whether or not to be more anxious or relieved. "But I overheard soldiers speaking about him. They said they've been..." Kateri stopped, and I worried that she was censoring what she was about to say.

"What have they done to him?" I demanded, afraid of what I would hear.

"They've been torturing him," She said quietly. "They've been trying to use him to find out where you are, but he hasn't said anything. He hasn't betrayed you, Anahi."

I closed my eyes, envisioning the hell that he was undergoing to protect me. Etka was all alone, probably frightened and cold, and knowing that he would probably die soon.

It was at that moment that I truly forgave him. If Etka didn't love me, he wouldn't suffer like this so that I could live. I hadn't told him I loved him back when we had kissed in the woods, and now I wondered if I would get the chance to ever say those words again. He had done what he had to to save me from my father, and was going to pay the ultimate price.

"If the situation was reversed, Etka would come to rescue me," I told Naheel. "I have to save him."

My brother looked conflicted, and it showed. "Anahi," He said, choosing his words carefully. "Have you wondered why Etka's execution is going to be public?"

"What do you mean?" I cast a glance at Kateri, who met my brother's eyes.

"The Firelord wants you dead," Naheel explained slowly. "And he has Etka prisoner. He might be using Etka as bait to get you to show up, and then he'll take you out."

I paused, swallowing a retort. Naheel's idea made perfect sense, and if he was right, then Ozai knew exactly how to get me to come. "I'll go in disguise then..." I tried, but Naheel cut me off, angry.

"And get him out how!?" He snapped. "Anahi, don't you realize that this is exactly what Ozai wants you to do?"

"It's incredibly dangerous," Kateri added reluctantly. "A rescue mission in broad daylight with hundreds of people watching... And if Naheel is right, then that's the perfect way for the Firelord to take you out."

"Etka needs me!" I cried, frustrated that they weren't understanding. "Don't you understand? I know he would do the same for me if I were in his place - "

"Anahi, to go in there would be suicide!" Naheel shouted, and I saw tears welling up in his eyes. "Ozai will kill you, and then both you and Etka and I will all be dead - "

"Who said that you had to die?" I asked, suddenly quiet, feeling ready to cry as well. I understood where my brother was coming from then. He was terrified of losing me again.

Naheel gave an bitter smile. "Did you think that I would let you go in there alone?" He asked, and I turned away from him, unwilling for neither him nor Kateri to see me cry.

"I don't want you to come," I said softly, trying to hold back my tears. "I want you to stay in the Temple where you can be safe."

"I am not letting you go there alone," Naheel said forcibly. "I don't even want you to go in the first place, but - "

"I'm going wether you want me too or not!" I spun around and glared at him pointedly. "Etka would do the same for me, and he's going to sacrifice his life to protect me. I need to save him. You will stay here, and wait until I come back for you with him."

Naheel opened his mouth to argue, and I cut him off again. "I don't want to hear it!" I snapped at him, glaring angrily. "I'm going to stop the execution. You can't stop me."

Naheel made a move as if to charge after Anahi, but Kateri stood up and blocked his path, laying out a hand to stop him. "Let her blow off some steam," Kateri said placatingly. "She's not going to leave the Temple now."

"How could she have said that?" Naheel cried exasperatedly, throwing his arms up in the air. "She can't just storm off to rescue him and expect me to sit idly by!"

"You were telling her what she could and could not do," Kateri said carefully, lowering her hands. "Anahi retaliated accordingly."

Naheel sighed, his shoulders slumping. "You're right, I just - "

"You want to protect her, and she wants to protect you," Kateri explained. "Anahi is going to go to the execution, no matter what you tell her, Naheel."

"Do you think that it's a good idea for her to go?" Naheel asked her, willing for Kateri to agree with him. "If she goes to save Etka, she'll practically be sticking her neck out for Ozai to kill her."

"If you truly love someone," Kateri said pensively. "Then I think nothing would be too much to ask if it meant protecting their lives. I think that Anahi understands the risk of saving Etka, Naheel. You can either be behind her or not."

Naheel sighed, running a hand down his face. Today had been too much to handle. "I just don't want to lose her," He said weakly, inhaling sharply. "I don't want her to die."

Kateri laid a hand on his arm, and Naheel looked up at her in surprise. "Tell her that you're here for her," She said gently, and her voice alone made Naheel believe that she would take care of everything, that if she only spoke the words, then no harm would come to them. "Tell her that you love her, and you support her. We will go together to rescue Etka."

"We?" Naheel repeated. "Kateri, surely you don't mean - "

"You'll need as many people on your side as you can get," She said resolutely. "I am now with you and for you."

I barely slept the night before Etka's execution. I had spent most of my time by the Avatar Kosumi's statue, meditating and practicing my bending. I had to save Etka, but there was a part of me that called me to the execution for another reason.

Things were unsettled between my father and I. If the Firelord was there, I knew that I had to face him. I had to confront my past, and if I didn't, I didn't know how I could move on.

I had stopped preparing for the day and was spending my evening in the courtyard, meditating. I looked up at the statue of Avatar Kosumi, and was met by her solemn, piercing gaze looking down at me. It was an eerie, but at the same time comforting feeling that settled over me. "Help me to save Etka," I breathed. "And if I can, let me kill Ozai."

I had to save Etka. If I lost him tomorrow, I couldn't live with myself, not after what he had done for me.

Naheel had come to me and apologized for what had happened earlier in the courtyard. He told me that he only cared that I was going to be alright, and I told him that I wanted the same thing. We hugged for a long time, and Naheel told me that he and Kateri were coming with me to help save Etka. This time, I didn't protest.

Kateri and Naheel brought me food, urging me to eat and rest, but whenever I tried to sleep, I envisioned Etka's death. I saw him die a thousand times, each time more brutal than the last. I let my anger, and my passion drive me forward, and when the morning of the execution actually came, I was running on my fear and strong cups of tea.

None of us spoke as we prepared to go into town. Kateri found me a set of robes that the Kosumi Sisters wore, and I disguised myself as one of them. Naheel donned a dark cloak and put the hood up, and the three of us slipped easily into the crowds that had begun to congregate the streets.

My heart was pounding the entire time, and I was ready to be sick. Kateri led the way to the square, where she told us that all public punishments and executions took place in the Capitol city. I was afraid of what I would find already, but before we could even reach it, a crowd hundreds strong had congregated around the site, and there was no possible way that the three of us could get in.

"What do we do?" Naheel turned to Kateri, who looked around in worry.

"The rooftops," She said determinedly. "We'll have an advantage point if we attack from the rooftops." Naheel and I followed her, scaling the low-rising buildings without much difficulty and following her towards the center of the square. We kept our heads low, keeping along the side of the rooftop opposite the square so we weren't seen. As we climbed up to higher levels, a horrifying sight began to unfold before me.

A fleet of officers surrounded a platform, watching a man kneeling with his hands bound above his head. He was naked from the waist up and his head was bent, his long hair shorn off. His bare back was arched under the weight of his body, as if he could barely hold up his own weight anymore. His skin was red with blood, for angry strikes from the whip had split open his skin and let his blood run onto the ground.

"Etka..." I breathed, a knot forming in my throat. They were shaming him, humiliating him, in front of the entire city. I turned to Naheel and Kateri, who looked as equally shaken as I was.

"I-I didn't realize..." Kateri stammered. "I thought they would have respected his rank."

"They're whipping him like a slave," Naheel said darkly. "They've already stripped him of his Captainship, and now they're stripping him of his dignity too."

A soldier stood behind him, holding a bull whip in his hands. He stepped back, then forward again, raising the whip and slicing it downwards in a savage motion. The brunt of the lash struck Etka's back, and he shuddered against the blow, groaning under his teeth. The square was eerily quiet, except for the sounds of Etka's suffering and I remembered what Etka had told me about showing pain before my Agni Kai with Lucan. I couldn't imagine the pain that he was suffering now.

Because of me. This was all because of me.

"Do you want us to stop?" Another soldier was up with them, and grabbed Etka's face roughly by the chin. I was too far away to see Etka's expression. "Is this too much for you?"

Etka said nothing, and I doubted that he was even strong enough to speak. I moved closer to Naheel and Kateri.

"Tell us where Anahi is," He laid down the bait, ready to trap him. Chills ran over my skin, but I felt something else, something other than fear. "Tell us where she is hiding and this will all be over. Your suffering will end."

"Take Etka to the Temple," I told Naheel. "Don't stop for me, not even he begs you too. Kateri, will you cover him?" I asked her, and she nodded fiercely. I could feel the blood beginning to pound through my veins.

"What about you?" He asked, his face falling. We both knew that we might never see each other again.

"I'll fight them off," I said. "When I go down, wait until I start my attack before getting Etka. They'll be more focused on me."

We all exchanged sober, solemn looks, and it was Kateri who reached out, pulling us all into a tight embrace. I struggled to hold back tears.

"No matter what happens," I told them. "Don't come back for me. Get Etka out of here, and make sure he's safe. I'll find you at the Temple."

"Alright," Kateri nodded, reaching out and touching my shoulder. "You are so brave."

"Thank you for all that you've done for us," I said earnestly. "I will never forget it."

I was interrupted by the sound of the whip breaking over Etka's back, and I knew that we didn't have much time. My eyes went to Naheel, and I looked at my brother for what could possibly be the last time. "I love you," I said.

"I love you too," He returned sadly, and I turned back to Etka, slowing beginning to scale the top of the roof.

"Tell us!" The flogger roared, striking him again, and Etka arched his back, his head flying upwards.

"Never!" He exclaimed, and I got to my feet.

"Enough!" I roared, standing up on the peak of the roof. The officers all turned to look at me in various stages of alarm and surprise, and the soldier whipping Etka flinched in surprise, turning to see who I was.

I slid down the roof, using my bending to land safely on the ground, like a cat. I slowly rose, my headscarf loose and fluttering in the breeze. "It's not him you want," I said loudly, for all to hear. "It's me. Let him go."

Etka wearily raised his head again at the sound of my voice. When the soldier whipping him raised his lash threateningly again, I stepped forward and sent a lash of my own snapping across to him and knocking him back. "It's me you want!" I cried again, feeling my rage build as I surveyed the square. My blood froze when I saw who I had came here to fight.

Ozai was sitting upon a sedan, watching the flogging from the comfort of shade. His eyes widened when he saw me, and I couldn't tell from delight or alarm. "Take me," I challenged, looking him right in the eye.

"Surrender immediately and he will not be harmed," One of the officers stepped up, as I moved closer to Etka. He was covered in blood, barely conscious.

"Anahi," He grunted. "Don't do...this."

With a thin slice of fire, I severed the ropes that bound him and caught him against my chest, keeping one arm out and ready to strike. My eyes passed over to Naheel and Kateri on the roof, waiting until I gave the signal.

"I'm going to get you out of here," I murmured, holding him underneath one arm as he knelt on the ground. His blood had already stained my white robes, and was covering my arms and hands just trying to hold him up.

"Release Song Etka, and we will spare you," A soldier shouted, and I shook my head, holding him close.

"I did not come here to bargain for my life," I challenged, seeing the same man whom I had struck beginning to stand again.

"Anahi..." Etka breathed, and I looked down at him for a moment.

"I love you," I told him, making sure that he knew, that he understood. "And I'm doing this for you."

I saw the soldier begin to come at me with a lash of fire, and I released Etka, stepping in front of him and hurling a burst of flame at my assailant. "You can't touch him!" I screamed, spinning around and taking out the following two who had come to his aid. It was at that point that a switch had been turned inside me. I was livid, I was furious. How could they have done this to Etka, my Etka?

I was going to kill all of them.

I began to fight, constantly turning around to protect Etka from a new assault. Naheel and Kateri came running towards me from the roof, my brother sweeping up clusters of soldiers with tidal waves of water and then freezing them, trapping them in place. Lighting crackled and lashed out from Kateri's hands, as she followed him, taking out those that he may have missed. They reached Etka and I, and Naheel stopped, pausing and kneeling before Etka before lifting him over his shoulders. He was completely defenseless, but I knew that Kateri would protect him.

"Go!" I cried, blasting off a soldier who got a bit too close. "Stay together! I'll hold them off!"

I drew back and then lunged forward, throwing a massive ball of fire at a pair of soldiers, then rolling forth and leaping into the air, arching a blast of fire from my feet. There had to be at least fifty soldiers surrounding me, with more around the Firelord. I felt hands grab my arm, and I spun around, seizing the soldier and twisting him off of me, throwing him against the next man coming with an attack. I shot up a massive flame into the air, seized it with my fist, and sent it spinning around the legions of soldiers surrounding me.

I lunged towards two at once, lowering myself and extending my hands into fists. I struck them both in the groin, and when they collapsed, I turned quickly around, launching myself into the air from the tops of their backs. The Firelord was out of my sight, and with a sinking feeling, I worried that he might have made his escape.

I realized too quickly that they were pushing me into a corner, and I couldn't have that, not if I wanted to get to Ozai. Looking frantically around, I searched for an escape, but my choices were limited. I could either run through the ranks, or blast a hole through the wall of a building and burn my way out.

I had had enough. I paused, deeply inhaling and closing my eyes. I remembered when I had sparred Etka, alone in the forest. Now, it felt as if that had years ago.

My eyes snapped open, just as the soldiers around me were closing in, nearly taking me down, when I slammed my foot down on the stone ground. A wall of fire shot out in all directions around me, forming a barrier of swirling, scorching flame that drove back the swarms of soldiers surrounding me. I took a deep breath, sent the wall of fire flying outwards and began to run, breathing in the smell of smoke and burning flesh.

"Ozai!" I roared, struggling to find the sedan where he had been sitting in the mêlée. The crowd that had been watching the scene had erupted into a panic, and people were trying to flee all at once. I shoved past civilians, trying to find my father, and I raced up a flight of stone steps, to only find the burnt-out shell of where the he had been sitting. My heart lurched, but I saw no body amongst the still-flaming ruins.

He was still out there.

"Anahi!" I heard a shout behind me, and I spun around, seeing the Firelord standing before me, his robes fluttering in the wind and his face livid.

"Tell them who I am!" I cried, taking in ragged breaths. "Tell them!"

"You are nothing!" He roared, running towards me. I broke into a sprint, charging forth at him, and when I saw a whirlwind of fire that he had begun to spin around his body, I launched myself into the air, over the head of the Firelord and spun around, striking him hard from behind.

I landed, breathing hard, and struck again, sending a huge burst of flame at Ozai. He turned, a coy, arrogant look on his face. "You are a better bender than I took you for," He sneered.

"I am the child of the Firelord," I returned caustically. "It should come as no surprise."

"Bastard child," He corrected, conjuring flame in his hands again. "You will be put down, Anahi," He threatened, his eyes cold. "And this will end. Today."

"Yes," I said quietly, taking a deep breath. "This will end today." I drew my hands up and sent a torrent of fire towards Ozai, rushing towards him as I bent.

I collided with my father, practically throwing myself onto him, and we struggled against each other, fingers clawing, fires burning, screaming in each other's faces. I wanted to claw his eyes out, and for a minute, I had let go of my bending, and adopted pure rage. "You hurt Etka!" I screamed, as we fell to the ground. He hit me across the face, and I didn't even feel it. "You hurt him! You hurt him!"

The Firelord kicked me off of him, and slammed a wave of fire against the ground, racing towards me so quickly that I barely had time to defend myself before I was thrown back, hitting the stone ground with a jarring crack. All of the air had been sucked out of me at once, and I gasped, wheezing on the ground for air as Ozai stepped closer to me, tantalizing me before he executed the kill strike.

"You belong on the ground," He sneered, breathing heavily. "With the worms."

I couldn't breathe, and my body was electric with pain. All I could manage was to give him a look of pure loathing as I gasped and struggled for breath. My father drew back a fist, and it was clear he was enjoying this.

Suddenly, a flash of blue shot in front of my eyes, and I waited for the agonizing pain that didn't come. Ozai had fallen back, and I felt firm and steady hands, pulling me to my feet and helping me get my breath back.

"Ka - Kateri?" I breathed, and she gave me a grim nod before leaping to her feet again and facing the Firelord, her hands surrounded by crackling electricity.

"Oh, what is this?" Ozai jeered, but I noticed that a part of his bravado was gone. He sounded shakier, and I realized that this meant he was afraid of losing. "A Kosumi Sister come to save my bastard child?"

"Leave her alone," Kateri said, her voice shaking slightly. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

"Foolish girl," Ozai snarled, conjuring flame of his own. "You shall die, just as Etka and Anahi will die, and her filthy Water Tribe brother."

"No, you won't!" Kateri cried, shooting clear blue volts out of her fingertips at the Firelord. Ozai met her head on with a gust of fire, and they stayed in flux, blasting fire and electricity as hard as they could.

Suddenly, Ozai let go of one hand, and with the other, single-handedly held back Kateri's attack while bringing around a swipe of fire. It was too late for Kateri to block herself, and he sent her flying off of her feet and onto the ground.

"No!" I cried, running towards her, and I realized that I couldn't wind this. Not if I wanted to save Kateri, and not if I wanted to save myself. I picked her up, throwing one of her arms over my shoulder, and holding the other one out towards Ozai.

"Stay back," I warned, struggling to hold Kateri up.

"Or what?" Ozai pushed a loose lock of hair back from his face, and I saw that his forehead was bleeding.

"Just...just stay back," I said, moving slowly away from him with Kateri. My foot stopped on something, and looking down, I realized that it was a body. My stomach rolled, and I told myself that I just had to get Kateri back to the Temple, just to hold on for a little bit longer.

The Firelord drew up twin flames in his hands, and I pulled Kateri close to my chest. "Hold onto me," I told her, and when she wrapped her arms around my neck, I raised mine, inhaling sharply through my nose.

I spread my arms out like wings, my palms flat, and then began to circle fire around us, protecting us in a massive, swirling orb that was scorchingly hot. The fire grew and grew, and I knew that there was no way that my father could harm us, not here, and not like this. I was screaming, yelling as loudly as I could as I spent the last of my energy protecting the pair of us. I looked down at Kateri, and saw that she was crying.

When I could no longer bear it, and no longer had the strength, I let the sphere collapse, the fire dissipated into smoky tendrils around us.

Ozai was gone. I looked around frantically for him, but saw no body. "He ran away!" Kateri cried, moving me forward. "Come on, Anahi, we have to leave him."

We staggered through the streets, through the clusters of people who had stayed around to watch the fight. Each of us was supporting the other as we barely made it back to the Kosumi Temple, collapsing on the steps before the Sisters took us in to safety.