Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I really appreciate it!
Guest who commented on last chapter: "This is such a stupid chapter. The whole Eternal Balance is just nonsense, and worse than nonsense, it is unsatisfactory. You tried to make Koh seem in the right but everything that came out of his mouth was bullshit. It wasn't intelligent, it was just the same braindead explanation edgy Star Wars fans use when they argue how the Sith must exist. I genuinely hope you surprise me in the end by having Aang reach the correct conclusion that Darkness must be completely eradicated, that the only Balance worth fighting for is one where there is only Light. Otherwise, if by the end of the story, there are two Avatars, why make the loser the protagonist? I honestly feel like in trying to make the story more philosophical and intelligent you made it dumber. Aside from that, there is something inherently disrespectful about writing a fanfiction that goes against everything the original story tried to teach."
My response: You can't mistake this for Star Wars and the arguments existing about anything related to Star Wars. This isn't Star Wars. The only similarity is the vague allusions to Light and Darkness, but even then, Star Wars doesn't actively focus on Light and Darkness, only aspects with the Light Side of The Force and the Dark Side of The Force. Frankly, the main thing in Star Wars is The Force—that's it. Whereas in this story, as Ozai recognizes in the previous chapter, Light and Darkness are the main thing. In Star Wars, Light and Darkness answer to The Force, whereas in this, the Light and Darkness answer to no one—rather, everything else, including The Light Avatar (Wan who is now Aang) and The Dark Avatar (Ozai), answer to the Light and Darkness. As for why the Darkness exists, Legend of Korra introduced Vaatu and the idea of Darkness and Chaos—a Major Spirit of Darkness and Chaos. Raava, in contrast, was defined as the Major Spirit of Light and Order. Your interpretation that, in the world of Avatar, only Light is Balance is in direct violation to the concepts of Yin-Yang used in Avatar multiple times. Raava and Vaatu were clearly meant to be representations of Yin and Yang, harkening back to Tui and La, but unfortunately, the execution of the representation was severely lacking. To be allegories of Yin and Yang, Raava and Vaatu would work together instead of being in conflict with one another. Yin and Yang are two complementary forces opposite in nature that need to collaborate and contribute to the world in a coequal way. They must coexist in harmony because they actually depend on one another for each other's distinguishable existence—their identities are defined by the other. Within one lies another, and within another lies one—they are not independent of each other but reliant on one another, two sides of the same coin, and both sides need to exist, lest there be no coin, which means no Realms at all. Only when they are harmonized does the world have innate stability and balance. The writers of the show wanted to make Raava and Vaatu be an allegory for Yin and Yang, but the fact they were depicted as fighting against each other instead of working together was a cardinal sin in its depiction—it didn't make sense. If the writers were not conveying the idea of Yin and Yang, it doesn't make sense. They already referenced it perfectly with Tui and La, and if they were going to use a different philosophy for Raava and Vaatu, it would require them to actually explore a different philosophy in a real way, especially by changing the initial design—when Raava and Vaatu are first shown, it is a clear representation of Yin and Yang, a circular visual with interlocking colors. But they never referenced any other philosophy, making the audience assume it's the same philosophy as Tui and La. And to reference back to something already done with Tui and La for Raava and Vaatu makes perfect sense with the idea of cycles in Avatar, after all. No other interpretation for Raava and Vaatu's representation seems to fit. Personally, I always loved the idea of Raava and Vaatu, but I thought the execution of the idea was a disaster. The writers were shooting for Yin and Yang but failed miserably.
Thus, Raava and Raatu represent a basic Yin-Yang philosophy, which the world of Avatar already uses in the Ocean and Moon Spirits—one can't literally exist without the other based on the philosophy already defined in the show by the creators, who made Raava and Vaatu akin to Yin-Yang, even down to their shapes of their physical manifestations, where they are tied together, just like Yin and Yang, and how they are reborn inside the other if killed because small parts exist in the other. Thus, Order cannot exist without Chaos, and Chaos cannot exist without Order—they achieve meaning in the other. Light cannot exist without Darkness, and Darkness cannot exist without Light—that's what the world of Avatar revealed, specifically when Raava could never be destroyed. There will always be Light and Darkness. Thus, having Balance by having only Light is an impossibility and in direct violation to Balance—it only produces Imbalance. For me personally, it'd be so fucking awesome if only Light existed, but this story is operating according to the foundation already laid out for Avatar by the creators of it—this story is an extension of that foundation, which demands Light and Darkness, attested to by Eastern Philosophy, such as Yin-Yang, principles of the universe that are contradictory/conflicting in nature but necessary for both to exist. Avatar, and the idea of Raava and Vaatu, and even going back to Tui and La (Moon and Ocean Spirits) is founded in the Yin-Yang principles, which argues that Darkness can never be eradicated. Thus, I explored that concept and attempted to refine it in the world of Avatar in a feasible way by taking into account everything that's required for The Avatar's literal existence—and the consequences of his existence because there are always consequences.
What Koh told Aang is that the Light and Darkness both must have presence—one can't be smothered at the behest of the other, which is what Wan did when he imprisoned Vaatu. The result of the smothering is the Greater War, which is a horrifying thing—it resulted in Air's fall and subsequent slaughter, the Great War, and so many other atrocities and horrors. The goal is to make all the horror impossible—it's about finding a solution that makes it all never viable to happen again. It all happened in the first place because Vaatu was imprisoned and the Darkness was smothered, which made the Darkness stronger because it fought back against the smothering, which produced chaos and can never lead to peace. It's about Eternal Balance between Light and Darkness—like what Ozai saw in the Void of Eternity when he Ascended. It's about finding that peace. Aang is trying to figure it out and will figure it out, finding a solution he can live with as The Avatar—and that the Realms can live with because the Realms have been the epicenter of all the chaos and imbalance, epitomized by the Greater War and all its conflicts, degeneracies, and terrors. In this case, it harkens back to the idea of the Harmonic Convergence, where Raava and Vaatu duke it out—because the situation isn't working, at its core, which makes a conflict like the Harmonic Convergence necessary. The goal is for Raava (Light) and Vaatu (Darkness) to be in peace with each other, harmonized and coequal—it's about Eternal Balance that can't be compromised or withered. More will be explained in this chapter. Hope that explanation helped.
As for this story being disrespectful to the original story, I don't think it's being disrespectful. It's designed to expand on the groundwork/foundation already made, specifically regarding the whole Raava/Vaatu and Light/Darkness thing introduced in Legend of Korra, which revealed The Avatar's origin. I wanted to expand on that in a more mature way that wasn't limited by the threshold of being framed as a child/adolescent TV show. If you disagree with my interpretation, decisions, and conclusions, that's fine. In fact, I welcome the disagreement, and I appreciate your thoughts on it. I hope your disagreement isn't a deal-breaker in terms wanting to keep reading or not, but either way, I appreciate you reading up to this point.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender
XxXxXxXxXxX
Nothing happened on the Solstice; there was no change that anyone reported from everything she heard or had been told.
Aang was still gone—and so was Samir.
Azula glanced at Zuko with a half-hearted huff of laughter. "When I said to stay, I did not mean constantly."
Zuko looked unapologetic as he shrugged. "The others can handle the preparation."
"You are the Fire Lord."
"My sister needs me."
Azula smiled tightly, emotions constricting her breathing. "You are a better brother than I am a sister."
"I know."
"Vaatu will unleash eons of secrets against us," she whispered after several moments, thinking of the possibilities since Aang had stopped Father's Ascension.
Zuko nodded, distant. "Father must be dead by now."
Azula had been trying not to think about it. "He is," she agreed, unable to deny it. "He chose his fate, and Aang brought it to him."
"I wish he chose a different one," Zuko admitted, face bowed but pinched, revealing his innate frustration and bitterness—and resignation. "It is not a pleasant acceptance I feel."
"It is not a pleasant thought knowing your husband killed your father," Azula pointed out, watching him glance at her in something that resembled surprise and intrigue. "The father of my children killed their grandfather—and will never have one because of it due to Gyatso and Tenzin being gone."
Zuko's single eyebrow rose. "Tenzin?"
Azula waved a dismissive hand. "Aang's father— literal father. Gyatso was friends with him and his wife, Aang's mother, Jinora."
There was a soothing silence for several moments before Zuko's heavy sigh echoed. "I do not want Father to be grandfather to my children, but I remember Chief Hakoda with Sokka's sons, and I feel envious. I know I have Uncle—I know it—but that is different."
She stretched her lips in a brief but consoling smile. "However, our children will have a doting and dutiful grandmother."
Zuko snorted, a smile flashing in agreement. "They will. I imagine Mom will live with you but visit me often."
Azula's brows rose, surprised. "Why would she live with me?"
"You need her more than me, and you will have many children to care for," Zuko said like it was simple, and Azula supposed it was—she had not thought so far ahead. "You will need help, especially with Aang possibly having to travel for Avatar-related reasons. Your children will know their grandmother deeply. You get Mother while I get Uncle—balance and all, right?"
She smirked, and it felt like the first real expression her face delivered since Aang left a week ago. "Do you not realize that Aang would drag his family along with him? Or if he does not, I will? We must remind the world of Air's presence and power, never again to die."
"Is that what it means to be Mother of Air?"
"One of the things," she confirmed. "All that remains is children beyond Samir."
Tension clouded the air while Zuko stared at Samir's body, but Azula only stared at Zuko; she had stared at Samir's body too much and could not look anymore. "I'm sorry."
"My feeling is that she is gone," Azula confessed. "It is a week now. I cannot see Indra being delayed in her duties for so long, even with the possibility of Father's Ascension."
Zuko sighed, haggard. "We will know when Aang- "
The door opened, and Azula blinked in surprise as Aang walked inside without a word; behind him trailed all the Gaang, led by Mother, Katara, and Toph, all of whom stared at him with bated breath—like Azula herself felt. By the expression on his face, she knew instinctively that something was wrong, and she steeled her heart and mind for confirmation that Samir was gone, but Aang said nothing and stepped past her and sat beside Samir's body, dipping the mattress. When he began unwrapping the bindings around Samir's head, she grasped his arm, stalling him.
"Is she?" she whispered, voice strong; she did not know how long it would last.
Aang glanced at her, gray eyes piercing—and grim. "Yes."
Azula squeezed her eyes shut at the confirmation that Samir was dead, and she turned away, trying to collect her resolve and intelligence, seeing the visible grief she felt inside depicted on Zuko, Mother, Toph, Katara, Sokka, Uncle Iroh, King Bor, and Chief Hakoda's faces.
"Did you destroy him?" Azula asked, dimly recognizing her voice, how it sharpened in wrath, as akin to the girl tortured by the Great War.
Aang finished removing Samir's bindings, revealing the abominable sight of her faceless face. "Yes," he answered softly. "He is gone forever."
Before she could demand graphic details, and it looked like Toph wanted the same explanation, Aang placed his palm over Samir's faceless face, covering it, and closed his eyes in focus. Suddenly, a flash shifted beneath his palm, and her eyes widened as she saw the beginnings of Samir's flesh move, shifting and bulging in places, making room for the bones and muscles that were taken by the Face Stealer.
Azula stared incomprehensibly, hearing the many gasps and choked sobs echo behind her, when Aang removed his hand to reveal Samir's face preserved perfectly, like it had never been gone—never been raped and stolen by the Face Stealer. He removed the whalebone with soft fingers, slipping it from out of the folds of flesh in her throat, and sealed the wound with a brief glow of his waterbending, pulling water from the air. Suddenly, Samir began breathing in and out her nose, like she normally did.
"Samir," Aang called out gently, rubbing a hand through Samir's hair and leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Wake up. Everyone wants to see you."
Instantly, Samir's eyes snapped open, blinking rapidly, like she was awakening from any normal slumber, and Azula felt herself stagger to the bed, getting a closer look and peering around Aang's large frame. Her eyes did not deceive her—it was Samir, staring around, blinking in confusion, registering where she was and the people around her. Azula dimly realized that everyone was gawking at Samir, silent in amazement, too deprived of their voices to begin celebrating the obvious that Samir was alive and whole.
Azula was amongst those too stunned, staring at her daughter, whom she never thought she would see again.
"Hi, Samir," Aang whispered, face splitting with a relieved smile.
Samir rubbed her eyes and stared at Aang with growing awareness. "Hi, Daddy. Where's Guru Pathik?"
Azula had no idea why Samir referenced Pathik, but Aang's tense posture notified her it was not a good reason. "He had to go, remember? But he's very proud of you. You're a real Air Nomad."
"Uh-huh." Gray eyes peeled away from Aang and landed on her, and Azula stiffened in preparation when vitality erupted as Samir grinned and dashed at her with swift movements, colliding against her with enough force to make her release a grunt. "Mommy! See? Daddy's back! It really was Airbender-fast!"
She bowed her head into Samir's hair, feeling her tears spill, but she was too overwhelmed to stop them or even understand what Samir referenced; the only thing readily, vividly apparent to her was that Samir was returned and did not remember what happened to her by the Face Stealer.
"Why are you crying, Mommy?" Samir asked, pulling back, gray eyes wide in concern, gentle hands reaching toward her cheeks, collecting some of the tears on her small fingers. "What's the matter? Daddy's back. It was Airbender-fast. Are you hurt?"
"No," she breathed, shaking her head. "I am happy."
"But I thought you didn't cry," Samir said, face twisting in confusion. "You said princesses don't cry."
Azula laughed, embracing her tighter. "But mothers do, and you are worth all my tears, my living daughter."
Celebrations erupted behind her, but Azula was content to hold onto Samir.
"You son of a bitch, Twinkletoes!" Toph hollered, followed by the harsh sound of a brutal slug to an arm. "You said she was dead!"
Azula opened her eyes to see Aang frowning—not only from Toph's slug. Something was evidently wrong—something that had nothing to do with Samir. She realized distantly that the reason for Aang's grim expression previously never had anything to do with Samir like she assumed but something else entirely. "No, I didn't. I said she was alive. What are you talking about?"
Azula waved a hand, knowing her ambiguous question was viable for misinterpretations. "It matters not," she called out. "She is here."
Samir scrambled out of her arms and dashed at Zuko, who picked her up eagerly. "Uncle Zuzu! You're back, too! You're fast, too! But not as fast as me!"
Zuko scooped Samir up and nodded. "Yes. This time, we were waiting for you to get back."
"What do you mean?" Samir asked, head on a swivel, glancing around, confused.
Aang stood up and smiled kindly. "Nothing, Samir—you just fell asleep for an extra while. You were tired."
"Nuh-uh," Samir denied instinctively, shaking her head with a knowing authority. "I don't get tired, Daddy."
Mother was rubbing a hand through Samir's hair while Katara was asking soft questions about how she was feeling, but Azula pulled Samir out of Zuko's arms, feeling an absurd urge to hold her close, lest she be taken away—hopefully that urge would resolve itself swiftly.
But she was more than willing to indulge it now.
"Now we really have to celebrate!" Sokka exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. "Zuko hasn't drank all the firewhiskey yet, so we can go at it! Now there's two reasons!"
Aang flinched hard but no one seemed to notice but Azula, who felt the beginnings of foreboding as Samir curled her face into her neck, gripping her garbs with her hands. What was the reason for Aang's evident dread? Had he encountered Vaatu, who promised wrath unthinkable and unavoidable, revealing the possibility of several secrets Aang could never hope to match?
Zuko rolled his eyes. "I haven't drank any firewhiskey since the wedding."
Sokka snorted. "Is that an achievement or something?"
Katara smacked Sokka. "Be nice."
"I'm just being a good brother," Sokka defended. "Zuko and I are brothers now, you know."
"I know—I'm his wife."
Sokka sighed. "And you never shut up about it."
Toph frowned. "What's up with you, Twinkletoes? You feel like we didn't just get amazing news."
All eyes shifted to Aang as silence fell.
"You stopped Father's Ascension, right, Aang?" Zuko asked after several moments, staring at Aang with hope.
Aang's jaw clenched, and the look in his gray eyes revealed a hidden complexity and depth to the situation that he clearly was refusing to discuss as he shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. There are Two now."
Zuko cursed while Sokka punched the wall, all joviality and joy forgotten, and others flinched, bowed their heads, or covered their mouths in horror, stricken—however, Mother looked simultaneously relieved and grim, relieved that Father was still alive, but grim from knowing what he became. "Fucking Face Stealer! I'll never forgive him!"
"He's destroyed," Aang intoned. "I destroyed him."
Katara's blue eyes were devastated, on the verge of tears. "Aang, what happened?"
"Koh happened," he muttered in answer, bowing his head. "Tui and La are allied with Vaatu now; their immortalities are restored."
Chaos erupted in the room, clamoring voices overpowering one another, demanding answers, terrified by what Aang's failure meant.
Azula offered no words, only holding onto Samir, but she studied Aang's face, knowing he was holding back an excessive amount of necessary information—and she had no idea why.
"Why do we keep fucking failing?" Sokka exclaimed, holding his head between his hands, looking wild and frayed.
Aang flinched but said nothing.
Azula cleared her throat, holding a hand to the back of Samir's head. "We must prepare as we always intended. This changes nothing."
"It changes fucking everything! This is the literal, exact thing we didn't want to happen!"
"I know where Ozai is," Aang said quietly, but his words were like a roar, silencing everyone, who stared at him, surprised. "He's visible to me; I sense him—and he senses me. We can't hide from each other anymore; we're both the same now. Whenever we want to take the fight to him, we can—we can move tomorrow if we want to and go to him."
"We need to make adjustments," Uncle Iroh advised after several moments.
"Major ones," Chief Hakoda pointed out.
"Fundamental ones," Zuko clarified, pinching the rim of his nose.
"Fucking all the ones," Sokka grumbled with a hoarse, bitter laugh.
"How do we defeat another Avatar?" King Bor asked in disbelief. "How would we defeat Avatar Aang?"
"You wouldn't," Toph answered, scuffing her toes against the floor, disgruntled. "Only another Avatar can defeat another Avatar."
"We need to regroup," Aang decided, rubbing a hand over his face, looking his true age—not simply 123 years old but over 9,000 years old. "We'll need a few days to get situated and think of a worthwhile strategy. But we can't be idle. We have to continue the fight."
Sokka threw his hands in the air, outraged and bitter. "What's the fucking point? It's all pointless now! The world's fucked forever now because you didn't do what you promised you would!"
Aang absorbed the accusation without reply, which conveyed to Azula that something strange was amiss. It almost seemed like Aang had let the Ascension happen by his body language and expression, the visible guilt and devastation she saw in his gray eyes, but that must be incorrect. Or had that been the Face Stealer's price for Samir? Did Aang actually let his love for Samir change the world's future and fate, letting Father's Ascension happen? Was that it?
She had no idea how to feel about it if that was the case, but her instinct told her that the matter was more complicated.
"I don't want Ozai having too much time to acclimate to being his own Avatar," Aang said. "That's why we still have to move and act, ending the Greater War as soon as possible. Think—this is familiar to me because I've never known anything else in this lifetime, and also in my past thirty-seven lifetimes, but this is all new to him. He has to adjust, but we can't let him adjust long if we want to defeat him quickly."
Azula swallowed, realizing, for the first time since it was revealed, that Father possessed all the power of an Avatar, augmenting himself to equal standing with Aang. It was everything that she had never wanted to happen, had diligently worked to prevent from happening, but it had happened all the same—possibly because Aang let it happen.
The world—the Realms—would never be the same.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Katara."
She blinked in surprise to see Iroh's worried expression—no one had felt any peace since Aang had let everyone know about Ozai becoming his own Avatar. She had even caught Zuko trying to shoot lightning to prove how calm he was, but he was unable to. Everyone was shaken deeply, including Katara herself. "Yes, Iroh?"
"This is a blend of tea designed specifically to induce breastmilk in a woman's breasts," Iroh said gently, holding a box of herbs that she only just noticed. "You need to start drinking it as soon as possible."
Katara accepted the box with numb hands, shocked by his insinuation. "I'm not pregnant- "
Iroh shook his head. "But Hama is, and we must prepare for every possibility."
"You think she's going to die?" she asked softly.
"I think Ozai will kill her," Iroh remarked with a painful bluntness. "We both know we have to take her with us whenever we go, we both know she will escape during the chaos, we both know she will go to Ozai, and I know Ozai will kill her. She will be unable to nurse the baby, which means you will have to."
Katara stared at him, heart beating faster. "You really think he'd kill her?"
Iroh looked away for a moment. "I do not know much about my brother—it is clear I never have. However, the one thing I know about my brother is that he reacts violently to something unexpected occurring. Hama's pregnancy is something he would have never foreseen."
She looked down at the box of herbs. "How do you have this?" she asked, voice quiet.
Iroh's face flickered with memories. "Natsumi had great trouble after Lu Ten's birth producing his needed milk. No one knew why, but I discovered this blend, and it made things much easier. I have kept this box for a long time, waiting for a possible time it was needed again. Ursa never needed it, and I never thought about it until Princess Suki showed up at the Caldera so evidently pregnant. I imagine breastfeeding twins is hard, and I brought it with me in case Princess Suki needed it after giving birth. However, she has encountered no problems breastfeeding her twins, but I am glad I decided to bring it with me instead of leaving it in the South. The more I think about it, and the more delay we have until the final battle, I think it would be beneficial for you to start drinking just in case. It has more than enough to provide you for several months. When we return to the Fire Nation after this is over, I can supply you with more until the baby would no longer need it."
Katara realized that if she wanted to ensure her Family was healthy and whole, not at risk, she needed to drink the herbs, and she trusted Iroh's testimony of their viability. She immediately pulled water out of the air and placed it into the teacup Iroh offered her; she sprinkled the correct dosage of herbs, as guided by Iroh, and Iroh heated the teacup until steam flowed off the water. She wasted no time and began drinking, ignoring the bitter taste, knowing it was the only thing that would keep her baby alive if Hama died prematurely, which was a bigger possibility than she wanted to admit.
"It should work quickly," Iroh advised after she finished the tea, making sure the herbal blend went down completely. "For some reason, it works faster on benders than non-benders from what I discovered. Your breasts will be sore, but they will be full soon."
She nodded. "Thank you, Iroh."
"You are most welcome, Katara."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Ozai succeeded— she felt it in not only her heart but her mind!
It was the only satisfactory explanation for the terror and rage she felt and saw on her guards' faces. Nothing else could explain it, particularly since she had a vague estimate of how much time had passed since she was last with Ozai before Ursa kidnapped her.
The ship had been stopped for several days, signifying that they had reached the continent—Chameleon Bay, if she overheard correctly. It meant that she was closer to Ozai, closer to her own freedom and restoration, and closer to getting a little peace—because peace was only possible with Ozai, who she underestimated, to her great shame and regret. But Ozai had clearly achieved his objective, which made her love him all the more, wanting nothing more than to see him again and apologize for her errors and betrayal; it made her want to escape her locked room, jump off the stopped ship, and run across the continent until she found him; it made her want to give birth immediately and present her baby—no, their baby—to him, letting him look upon his new son or daughter.
"I hope you are ready," Hama cooed, brushing her fingers over the evident curve with gentle, rhythmic strokes. "I can't wait to see you. I'm going to protect you; I'm going to save you from never knowing yourself because I want you to know yourself—I want you to know us, me and your daddy. We are the best for you and no one else. Your daddy and I make a world where you can live without the curse of fear and chains, and he's going to destroy The Avatar and replace him. No one will ever harm you; no one will take you from us. I swear on my life and your daddy's life. You are going to live a life I'll feel envious of—I promise you. And when you live that life, I'll feel nothing but gladness and joy because I rejoice that it's possible—because we stand against The Avatar. Your life will be a legend because it will be the first of its kind—free from The Avatar's touch and influence. You will be remembered forever, and I'll be with you for every step along the way, and your daddy will keep your memory alive in every generation after your death because he'll live forever. I have so much to show you, and I'll experience everything through your eyes and see wonders again instead of horrors. I will be reborn when you are born; you renew my life. I love you like I've never loved anyone. You are my Family."
Her baby was hers— not Katara's!
The only way to ensure it was to escape since she doubted Ozai would know where she is, incapable of locating her to rescue her. However, it was clear to her that there would be no escaping the ship, in which she remained, trapped in a single room, all made of steel. If she was to escape, she needed to get out of the room, outside of the ship, which mean biding her time—because they had to move her eventually.
"Your daddy did it," Hama breathed, ecstatic. "And now we have to do it, too; he achieved his goal, and we must achieve ours, which is escaping. All we need is a moment."
There would be a moment— there had to be!
When the door to her room opened, she wondered if that moment had presented itself, but when she saw Ursa, the only one who visited her anymore, she grit her teeth but knew to remain patient; it was how she mastered bloodbending the first time, and she had all the patience necessary to achieve her aim.
"He did it, didn't he?" she greeted, smiling, glimpsing the hidden relief in Ursa's golden eyes, knowing her instinct about Ozai was correct. "He succeeded—like I always knew he would."
Ursa did not bother denying it as she sat across from her. "I knew he would, as well—his will is extraordinary."
Hama's smile sharpened. "It gnaws at you, doesn't it? You're too late—you betrayed him for the last time. He will never take you back."
"That does not mean he will take you back, either," Ursa replied, unfazed. "We were both right about Ozai's success—not knowing how he would succeed but knowing he would somehow. However, that is the only thing you have been right about."
"I'm right now, which is what matters," she dismissed. "I'm right that you are all villains and hold me prisoner without cause or justification."
Ursa's eyes narrowed. "Without cause? You ensured me and my granddaughter's capture."
Hama grit her teeth. "How is your granddaughter again?"
However, instead of reacting in a cold fury as she expected, Ursa only straightened, pleasure visible on her face. "Alive and returned. Avatar Aang destroyed the Face Stealer."
She knew of The Avatar's power, had experienced it before, but it was a whole other matter to hear about it being directed at the Face Stealer with such intensity that it destroyed him. "Oh," she whispered, feeling chilled, and held herself tighter, preserving what little warmth she was capable of. Would The Avatar do to her baby what he did to the Face Stealer? "That must make him very happy."
"That his daughter is returned or that he destroyed the Face Stealer?"
"Both."
Ursa nodded. "Indeed. The Face Stealer was an ancient enemy, one no longer able to threaten his family."
"His talent at destroying is second to no one," Hama pointed out, voice quiet. "But Ozai will stop him; Ozai will destroy him."
There was a long silence as Ursa stared at her, watching her, eyes periodically resting on her swollen stomach, gleaming with something indecipherable. "Why do you think that? Why do you believe that? You must know that, despite Ozai's success, Avatar Aang is supreme."
"Avatar Ozai is equally supreme now," she claimed, "if for no other reason than wanting it more. He will make The Avatar forgotten and redeem us of our tragedies."
"Us?"
"Don't pretend to be stupid," Hama chided. "We both know your intelligence is one of the reasons Ozai loves you."
Ursa looked sickeningly pleased by the obvious truth. "One of the many reasons."
Hama wanted to crush her heart. "He has to make up for everything he's done to the world—to us living and dying in the world. He needs to be in the world like us, not outside of it, separate from it. It's his turn to lose."
"How can The Avatar lose if he has never lost before?"
"Because he has never been challenged before," Hama answered instantly. "And he has a challenger now; he has an equal now. Ozai has spent his entire life diminished in comparison, always fighting to be better, but The Avatar has never needed to fight to be better because he has always been better; since he was born, he was the best, always and forever—until now. The Avatar has never faced perseverance before, not like Ozai has."
Ursa shook her head. "The Avatar faces perseverance in a different way, but it is perseverance all the same."
"But this is a new kind, regardless. He's not ready. Now that The Avatar is a victim of his own victory, victim to a challenger, he's flailing; he doesn't know how to respond because he's never had to face this hardship before. It's as foreign to him as a polardog is to a volcano."
"I have known Ozai over half my life," Ursa said after several moments, voice fond but grieved. "I am older than him. Did you know that?"
Hama hadn't known that but nodded anyway with a cruel smile. "You look it."
Ursa looked amused for several moments. "I am about half a year older, but you are also older than him—you are at least forty years older than him, if not more. But you only knew him for a year—if only a little longer. You have not known him over half of your life."
Bitterness raged inside her. "Subtract however many years you were separated from him because you abandoned him and your children, Family-destroyer."
"He was a boy when we met, and I watched him grow into a man," Ursa continued, as if Hama didn't speak. "I watched him embrace fatherhood and be the best father he could; I watched him love his family and plan for the future, always keeping us in mind; I felt his love shower over me; I heard his worries for our children and how whispers in the shadows were warning him. I knew him inside and out, and he knew me in the same, but looking back, I realize that he knew me better than I knew him; I suppose, because of that, he loved me more than I loved him. I failed to see the result of his fear, which is my fault—it always will be. It took me a long time but I have realized that he loved his family so much he was willing to risk everything to ensure our family's future, security, and safety. He ruined our son's face out of love, doing it to protect him, for it was the only way to ensure his survival against a vicious, cruel nobility, who had attempted to assassinate me many times before I married Ozai—and even attempted several times after I married him. After each attempt, he vowed to protect our family—we vowed to protect each other. We each failed to uphold our vow, but we shared all we were with each other, fashioning a trust not even Fire could melt. He will not welcome you, least of all as my replacement. You betrayed him and ensured I escaped him, something unforgivable to him. He avoids thoughts of you because he regrets your time together and is ashamed of you. He hates you—his memory of you embarrasses him, a blight on his otherwise exceptional journey to succeeding in his pursuit."
Hama was barely breathing but forced a laugh to escape her; it became easier the longer she recalled all the good times and memories she shared with Ozai. "I think you knew him but no longer know him. A man changes, and a woman must change with him, not against him—and vice versa. You changed against him. I don't think you know what motivates him anymore, but I know—I watched and heard as he grew, becoming a hero to stand against The Avatar. You think he looks only to himself, don't you? But you're wrong—he looks to the world because he wants to save the world. At this point, I do know him, and I certainly know him better than you. How long was your separation from him? How long? Fifteen years? Sixteen? Seventeen?"
"Close to eighteen," Ursa admitted, face tightening, looking vulnerable for the briefest moment, arms wrapping around herself, settled over her stomach
She pounced in triumph, shaking her head. "Exactly. How can you possibly still know him if you spent so much time apart? Did you really even remember him while you were gone? Whether you like it or not, he moved on, Ursa, but you refused to move with him. You stand against him now when it's his crowning glory, the achievement he always believed he would achieve—and he did."
Ursa swallowed, golden eyes misty. "He will kill our children- "
"Your children deserve it," she interrupted, disgusted. "They are too blind and stupid; it's a mercy to kill them, and only their father can give them mercy. I thought Fire worshipped Honor."
One of Ursa's hands rested in her lap while the other rested over her middle, and Hama couldn't figure out why the image discomforted her, but she knew that it did. "You say my children deserve death, but would you murder your child, Hama?"
Hama flinched at the thought but steeled herself. "If it was for the greater good, yes; if it spared my baby from evil, yes. Is that the only reason you stand against him—just for your children? Aren't you more than that?"
" Nothing is more important than my children," Ursa hissed, fire sparking in her golden eyes as her hands pressed against herself—against her clothed, covered middle—tighter. "I suspect I would stand with him if either our children did or we never had children, but the consideration is futile. I stand with my children, and I stand with them because they are right."
"Ozai's right."
"I have no doubt that he is, but his method of execution produces great harm, specifically for our children, which is unacceptable."
There was something about the way Ursa spoke, the way the words snapped and flashed, how they seemed to be summoned from her core, that made Hama pause, staring at Ursa, trying to figure out what was different—what was so suspicious. "You don't know him anymore, and you will never have him again."
Ursa's golden eyes flickered, becoming distant. "I will always have him."
"No, your children will always have him, but you never will," Hama sneered. "My baby will always have him, unable to have anything else. But unlike you, I want to have him—I support him. And when he wins—yes, when—maybe he'll let me kill you, unable to do it himself. You denied me once from meeting my death, but I won't deny it to you because you deserve it. Do you know what I see when I look at you?"
"I have suspicions."
"I see a traitor," she hissed. "I see a Family-destroyer; I see a wife so terrible that she ripped her Family apart, making it fall, and refused to put it together again; I see a wife that will never be a wife again because of the evil choices she made, born of her evil core; I see a wife who ruins her husband's standing in her children's eyes; I see a wife who turned her children against their father; I see a mother unworthy of having and raising her children; and I see a mother who doesn't know anything about Family and trust because she sacrifices both through destruction."
Ursa cracked a smile, immune to her observations. "Do you know what I see when I look at you?"
Hama's jaw clenched as a scoff tore out of her. "Spare me. I'm not the one who plans to steal a baby from his mother. You intend for the first face for my baby to see to be an enemy rather than a mother. But I won't let that happen. I swear that I will escape, whether or not with Ozai's help, and I will live a life free from you— with my baby."
"You do what is best for your baby," Ursa whispered, lips stretching slightly; her face softened with approval and understanding, but Hama wasn't sure if she trusted it. "You condemn me for doing the same thing you do. I love Ozai, Hama, but I love my children more. If you knew, deep down in your broken heart, that Ozai would kill your baby, you would do the same as I do— choose the same path I walk. Zuko and Azula can fight for themselves now, but I will still always fight for them—that is a fight for which I will never tire."
She looked away, hating how she felt the kinship to Ursa—it made things harder. "Why are you letting Katara and your son steal my baby?"
Silence.
"I always obey my Fire Lord and his Fire Lady."
"That's not good enough!" she snarled. "What is it about me that's so monstrous to you? Can you really look at me and not see a mother? Can you not see that I want my baby to live the best life possible and have everything that I never had?"
"You chose your enemies poorly," Ursa said softly. "That is all I know."
"Did I choose my enemies, or did my enemies choose me?" she challenged. "I know which one it is. When will you admit it? I never wanted to be your enemy, but you made me your enemy. You did it when you kidnapped me and brought me back with you! The Avatar made me his enemy when he raped me! Katara made me her enemy when she betrayed me that night so long ago. And now she prolongs our animosity by planning to steal my baby! What do you say to that? What can you say, Ursa? Can you look a mother in her eyes and rip her baby away from her, without even letting her look upon her baby?"
Ursa looked dead inside, like Hama felt, but there was a grim resolve visible. "I can't imagine the loss you will face- "
"I won't let it happen," she interrupted, holding her steely eyes to Ursa's. "I won't."
"I understand," Ursa breathed, nodding her head.
Suddenly, Hama recognized the look in Ursa's eyes—the look that had been pestering her with a vague suspicion that she couldn't grasp. It was the look she felt in her own heart when she thought about her baby—an instinct to do whatever was necessary to protect her baby. Such a look shouldn't be possible in Ursa's eyes since both of her children were grown, but that was clearly the look in Ursa's eyes, now impossible not to recognize. How did she have the look? Unless there was another baby who Ursa had to look after, just like she looked after her other children.
Glimpsing Ursa's hand that never moved from her middle, held there unconsciously, it was confirmed.
"You're pregnant," she said dumbly in realization, blinking rapidly in shock.
Ozai had fathered another child— a third child with Ursa!
Ursa stilled, hand tightening against her middle, but did nothing to deny it, only remaining quiet for a long time. "Will you tell anyone?"
Hama scoffed, trying to make her heart slow down, but a flush of rage and panic shot through her. It was so bitterly, painfully obvious that Ozai would choose Ursa and Ursa's baby over her and her baby if it came down to it. Why could her life never have joy, besides those months with Ozai? Would she curse her baby to such a life? "Who could I tell? Who would believe me? How does that blind Earthbender not know yet?"
"I am not far along," Ursa said, spacing her words. "But I know—I feel it. I also avoid her company now to ensure it remains a secret."
"You don't want Ozai to know," she realized.
It was a horrifying irony—Ursa didn't want Ozai to know about her baby, whereas Hama wanted Ozai to know about her own baby, but despite her loyalty and love, so much greater than Ursa's, Ozai would choose Ursa and her baby over her.
"We do what we must to protect our babies," Ursa responded, voice quiet, barely audible. "You do what you must to return to Ozai while I do what I must to avoid him. We each have our reasons, and we know that no one else will understand those reasons."
Hama found a deeper resolve inside her burn and settle in her heart—she would get to Ozai first, obtain her freedom, and restore her waterbending. She would live in the new world free from The Avatar's evil, not Ursa—because Ursa revealed that she wasn't worthy of it because she actively chose to stand against its possibility. "I hope you miscarry."
Ursa's golden eyes burst with hostility. "And you wonder why I stand by and let Zuko and Katara plan to take your baby? You are the Family-destroyer, not me."
"Your son and Katara won't get the chance," she reminded with an icy promise. "I won't let it happen—I refuse. Over my dead body. But it will be your dead body that Ozai will see, not mine—he will take me back. I will live in a free world."
"I told you about my granddaughter's death," Ursa said with a tight look on her face. "I also told you that Avatar Aang would return her. I was right both times. I tell you that Avatar Aang is prepared and will be victor, and I am right. When I tell you that Ozai will never accept your return, I am also right."
Hama smiled. "Play your games, Ursa—weave your lies to trap me in the tangles. Say what you want—say what you will. Unlike you, who knows only those lies, I know the truth."
Ursa shook her head. "The truth is that you have had many chances to do the right thing, but you refuse consistently. I have not discerned the reason behind your revealing of Vaatu's plan for Ozai's Ascension, but I know it was not because you wanted to do the right thing. And it is not as if that knowledge made a difference because Ozai succeeded; he is his own Avatar now."
"Nothing makes me happier than knowing he succeeded except for knowing that I will escape and raise my baby, not Katara. I am my baby's mother; no one else is." She smiled with sharp intent, heart racing in her chest; it felt invigorating after so long with inaction. "Who knows? Maybe I'll do to you what you've done to me. You made me your prisoner. This will make you mine. After this is all over, I'll leave you alive long enough so you can give birth, and once you do, the moment you do, I will take your baby as mine and kill you without even giving you the chance to look upon your baby—because your baby is mine the moment his first breath is breathed in a wailing cry."
An icy glare seared against her flesh, but Hama was resistant. "The only wailing cry will be yours, Hama."
"I really wish we weren't on different sides," Hama said honestly. "I think in another life we could be extraordinary friends. It's too bad that we're enemies."
"You have had every chance to be a friend- "
"No, I haven't," she interrupted with a fierce jerk of her head. "Some things are destined. We were destined to be enemies according to the designs too subtle and scheming for anyone except The Avatar to glimpse, least of all understand. Do you really not think Ozai's success was destined? Everything he is was destined—it began so long ago and culminated now because he reached his destiny. His destiny was something granted to him, given to him and no one else. It's not any man who can become his own Avatar; it's only Ozai. Destiny made this for him, and it made us to be enemies when we could have otherwise been friends. Maybe in another time we would have been Ozai's sister-wives."
Ursa's jaw clenched, tight with disagreement. "It gladdens me this is what was destined, then."
"Your death is what's destined."
"So is yours."
Hama's smile sharpened. "Then we'll see who reaches her destiny first."
XxXxXxXxXxX
The fire slammed against her shield of water, causing Katara to grit her teeth as a haze of steam clouded the air, compromising her vision. But the approaching glow and heat gave her all the visual she needed to avoid the sweltering fireball sailing toward her.
Zuko was angrier than she had seen him in a long time.
When she had suggested they spar to work some of his obvious aggression out—it had looked like he might attack Aang at one point, though Zuko wasn't the only one, but he was the one she was most worried about actually inflicting possible damage—she hadn't been prepared for his uncompromising focus and unreserved approach. Every attack was powerful and difficult to meet, and he was barely holding back—it was obvious. She found it very difficult to keep up with him as he kept going, burning within his anger, unleashing punishing assault after punishing assault. Even with his wife as his opponent, Zuko didn't seem to care—much. His mounting frustration, along with the dark, seething look on his face, confirmed it—along with the smoke filling Chameleon Bay.
It was a good thing she was a worthy Fire Lady and was one of the very few people in the world who could defend herself against his overwhelming force and let him get it out of his system—because he clearly needed to get it out.
Unfortunately, they weren't alone as there was a large audience for their spar; all the recovered Firebenders yearned to see their Fire Lord and new Fire Lady in a spar, reminding her that Fire was a race that worshipped Power, and any chance to see their Fire Lord's power on display was taken with the utmost sincerity and expectation. She preferred being alone and not feeling so many eyes on her, watching, judging, and critiquing, particularly during a spar with Zuko, but she was Fire Lady now, which meant she would rarely ever be alone again.
At least it would help her endurance—because performing for others was equally, if not more, grueling than any spar, and it was a whole other event when she had to simultaneously spar and perform.
Katara pivoted when Zuko smashed his fists into the ground, sending a billowing wave of massive flames in all directions, emanating from him, and leaped through the wave, parting a narrow gap with her water; she pulled more water from the bay and whipped it around her body in a dance before sending searing lash after lash at Zuko, who showed no grace or playfulness or amusement, as he had in previous spars, by smashing through her whips with a brutal ferocity that worried her.
He wanted a fight—particularly with Aang, based on his earlier expression, set in a dark, seething glare.
She was tiring as their spar had been ongoing for a long time, possibly close to an hour, and Zuko showed no signs of stopping; he looked like he could keep going for the rest of his life. "I yield to you, Fire Lord," she called out, seeing no other option, not when she felt her limbs begin to quiver from exertion.
Zuko was clearly displeased, but it was nothing new considering his permanent facial expression since Aang revealed that he failed to stop Ozai's Ascension; however, he inclined his head and bowed, clasping his fist to his palm. "You are an honorable opponent, Fire Lady Katara."
Applause echoed from their audience of curious, judgmental onlookers, but Katara realized she no longer permitted an audience; an audience would only force Zuko to remain the Fire Lord, and he needed more than that right now—she knew it. She waved to the audience of her now-subjects and smiled for several moments before walking over to Zuko, who looked distant and imposing, but so very obviously silent with a cold fury burning him from the inside. Knowing there were too many eyes on them, she grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the audience, not caring if rumors spread about her trying for an heir—Toph would probably spread the rumors herself, knowing her.
By the time they reached a secluded area where they could be alone, Katara felt the heat emanating from Zuko; it was beginning to burn her flesh. "I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?"
"Never better," Zuko muttered, looking away from her.
Katara sighed and was quiet for several moments. "I've been better. I want to be better again, and I can only do that if you help me."
Zuko's face twisted beneath his beard. "You should ask Aang to help you—he's a great help."
"He tried his best- "
Zuko grunted, aggravated. "He let this happen—I can't believe he let this happen."
Katara shook her head in automatic defense. "No, this wasn't Aang- "
"It was him and no one else," Zuko snapped, voice rising, eyes reviling. "I don't know what happened that made Aang miss stopping Father, but the fact that Aang refuses to explain what happen tells me what happened—he let it happen. He's avoiding us because of it; he's guilty. I have seen him guilty before; I know the darkness in his eyes and the look on his face—it's all there now, deeper and darker than I have ever seen. Father did it, but Aang let it happen; he stood by and let Father rape the world. And now Father's going to rape all of us. It's been two days since it happened, and that's two days that shouldn't have even happened! This should all be done! I know Vaatu would still be here, but that's much more manageable than knowing there's another Avatar—than knowing that Father is that Avatar, never to die, not really, forever to curse the world and try to destroy it."
"I know," she whispered, shaken herself, but she tried not to let it show.
"My father is an Avatar," Zuko repeated, voice softer, akin to a disparaging grumble. "It's a terrifying thing—nothing has ever made me feel so terrified. I am scared. This is a new fear—a different kind. This is not me being simply terrified for myself like I have been so many other times; this is me being terrified for the world, so much greater than me. The world will never be the same; the world as we know it and understand it is over. Now it is the Age of Two, and every generation, the world is going to crumble under the battle for supremacy between the Two. The moment we finish rebuilding from the chaos and horror, it will happen again in the next generation. Aang trapped us in a perpetual war. The end result of the Greater War isn't peace like we all thought but more war!"
Katara closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. "You don't know that; you don't know that Aang let this happen- "
"Sokka can't even look at him," Zuko spat, fire blazing out of his clenched fists in tight plumes. "No one can look at him, not even me. Don't defend him, not now! If you are so sure he did every possible thing he could to stop it, go up and ask him about it— challenge him, Katara. I would myself, but I'm afraid I'd kill him—or I'd get myself killed trying to kill him. I wish Father took my vision so I wouldn't have to look at Aang right now."
She flinched and swallowed, unable to deny that she couldn't challenge Aang to his face—because, like Zuko, she was unsure. "You don't mean that," she replied, keeping her voice calm.
"I do," Zuko defended. "I do right now—because I'm pissed and terrified like I've never been pissed and terrified. Even Toph said Aang let this happen. We all know he did. None of us have said it to him, accused him, and attacked him, which he more than deserves, but we all know. He fucking failed, and he's going to make us live with his failure for the next 10,000 years. It's dragonshit."
Unfortunately, Zuko was right. According to Fire's laws, her father was an Avatar; Ozai was an Avatar, undying and destined to live forever across Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. "I once thought The Avatar just made a mistake when he disappeared when the Great War started," Katara whispered, ashamed and exhausted; she would have thought she was near tears if she didn't spend all of them in quiet moments upon realizing what would become of the world—what would become of the Family—after Aang failed. "And everything that I learned from knowing Aang and being with him seemed to confirm it—it was just a mistake. When the world needed him most, he vanished—because it was a mistake. I believed that so much. But this just happened—this evil thing that is worse than the Great War and the Greater War; it's the worst thing to ever happen. And Aang was fully-realized when this happened, but he didn't stop it when he could have—when he should have. When the world needed him most, he was nowhere to be found to stop Ozai from his Ascension. What does it mean? I don't think I'm wrong about The Avatar, but everything is called into question—I hate it, and I hate Aang for making me feel this way. He destroyed the Family; he's at fault for it."
"My best friend—my brother, my sister's husband—did this," Zuko breathed, fists clenching. "I never thought this would happen—I never considered it a possibility. I never spent time thinking about it, but now that it happened, I can't think about anything else. It tears me apart. I would burn the other side of my face to make things right—to make it so that this never happens."
Katara shuddered as she realized, in that moment, she would be willing to let the other side of Zuko's face be ruined if it ensured that there would never be Two, and the thought horrified her so severely that she thought she might vomit. "I know. I didn't think it was possible, either. I still can't believe it happened. I want this to be a nightmare to wake up from, but it's not; it's real."
Zuko was quiet for several moments. "I don't know what to do," he admitted, voice resigned. "Everything feels pointless now. What is the point of stopping Father now when he will simply be reborn and rise up again a generation from now? It's futile. There is no victory—there will never be victory again, only brief stoppage. The only one I feel like fighting now is Aang, not Father. Other than that, all is meaningless. The world is over, and I don't think rebirth is possible. There is no coming back from something like this; it is irreversible—because Aang failed. For the first time in my life, I understand—really understand—the reasoning behind hating The Avatar if this is the level of influence he has over the world. He is the god of our lives, but if this is his impact, there's little benevolence in him. Maybe in Aang, yes—but never The Avatar. Maybe that is what we never understood. This is the horror of Divinity, wielded by the most un-divine man I've ever known."
"We thought we would end the Greater War, but now the Greater War will be forever," she realized, heartbroken.
"We fought to end the Great War," Zuko said. "That's why we fight for anything—to end the reason for the fighting, through domination, recognition, or negotiation. And we thought we ended the Great War, never realizing it was only a conflict within the Greater War. We have been fighting to end the Greater War, but now we can't end the Greater War, which means that, literally, there is no reason to fight anymore—because our very reason for fighting has been taken from us. These past three years, everything that's happened, are wasted. It means that all years henceforth are wasted, too. If I was bold enough, I'd shoot lightning at Aang—but I'm not even calm enough to do so."
Katara shivered, feeling the burden of her anguish morph slowly into the bitterness of anger, making her feel heavy, senses buzzing. "Right now, in this moment, I'm not sure I'd heal him if you shot him with lightning. I'm a horrible friend."
"He's the horrible friend for letting this happen. It makes me second guess everything. Has he actually wanted this to be the result this entire time since this all started? Has he been working for it, twisting and manipulating events as only he can as The Avatar? Was everything a lie? Did he lead us on with lie after lie? I can't accept that he simply failed. He's The Avatar— The Avatar! The Elements are not only his to command but the Realms themselves! He could subjugate everyone in existence but that fucking Tree to him if he wanted it! He answers only to those he allows power over him! I just can't understand why he let Father have this power over him where he decided to let him undergo the Ascension! This isn't a simple failure, Katara—this was intentional. For something this big, something this monumental, something this world-destroying, something this catastrophic, it doesn't happen by an accident—Aang is too intelligent and competent to just simply fail. No, he let this happen—I know he did. I just can't figure out why, and the worst thing is that he's not bothering to explain himself!"
"Maybe he's trying to figure it out himself," she offered, wishing she could feel more conviction, but she only felt shattered—and angry.
Zuko scowled. "If he has to figure it out now, he should have never let it happen in the first place! All I know is that the Face Stealer had something to do with it, but I don't know why Aang let the Face Stealer have such power over him when he's clearly so much stronger than the Face Stealer."
Katara looked away, finding the fury on his face hard to look at—because it inspired the deep anger in herself, bringing it to the surface, and she didn't want to feel that way, not now, not when things were so tense and somebody needed to remain calm. "He had Samir."
"Samir is worth the Realms?" Zuko challenged softly. "I'm her uncle, and I adore her more than I do anyone but you, my wife, but I'm not blind to what she is—a little girl who will never accomplish anything of renowned significance and isn't worth a value anywhere close to the Realms. At the end of the day, Aang's decision had little to do with saving Samir—not for something like this that has an enduring significance for eternity instead of one girl in one lifetime. The Avatar has lost his children before—Roku comes to mind. Aang could live with losing Samir and survive—he already lost Air, which was a much greater and impactful loss than Samir ever could be. If it was only about saving Samir, Aang wouldn't have let this happen—I know it. But for some reason impossible to see, he was comfortable living with this decision that rapes the Realms forever. I'm telling you, Katara—Samir, at the end of the day, had nothing to do with this. To sound like a cruel uncle instead of the loving uncle I am, she was worthless when it came to this."
"Don't let Azula hear you say that," she warned, half-hearted, but understood what he was expressing. Aang's decision, even if made emotionally, didn't truly make sense—unless it was a revelation that he loved Samir more than the Realms, which was an absurdity, a disordered affection because he needed to love the Realms more as the Realms are what made Samir possible in the first place.
Zuko was right—nothing made sense. Unfortunately, Aang didn't seem keen on giving anyone answers—even Azula, based on the frustrated expression Katara had seen on her face ever since Aang returned Samir.
"Aang did let this happen," she whispered, heart breaking in her chest, breaths coming in sputters; it felt hard to breathe. "It's the only explanation."
Zuko didn't look vindicated by her agreement; he only continued his fury, looking more and more mad, like he might rip out the Fire Crown and crush it in his fingers—before swallowing the crumbled pieces to kill himself, as it was a better fate than the one that Aang gave everyone. "The Face Stealer did something to him— said something to him. That's the only thing I can guess—that's the only connection I can make. There were four days between when you last saw him in the South to when he returned with Samir after the Solstice happened—after Father's Ascension happened. And in those four days, Aang's mind, which had been set in stone for years, changed. The only reason that I can see his mind changing is by the Face Stealer, who said or did something that pulled a string Aang didn't know he had. This was always the Face Stealer's plan—don't you see? That is the entire reason why the Face Stealer stole Samir's face in the first place—because Samir's face was the only face except Azula's that would make Aang drop everything at such a critical moment and rush off. But unlike Samir, an innocent and impressionable child, Azula could keep her face from being stolen because she knows how to smother her emotions. Samir was the Face Stealer's only feasible option. This was calculated; it was never simply about vengeance for the Face Stealer—he had an agenda to see realized. He stole Samir's face to get Aang's attention and bring him to him, stalling him from wrath because he had Samir's face, which would force Aang to listen to whatever the Face Stealer wanted to talk about, which must have been Two. Samir was simply a means to an end. I don't think Aang let Father's Ascension happen because the Face Stealer had Samir's face but because he ended up agreeing with whatever philosophy or rationale that the Face Stealer said. Aang let this happen, and I hate him for it. I don't think I can ever forgive him."
Katara's angry, disbelief, and anguish burned her, and to resolve it, she embraced Zuko, pressing her forehead against his chest; she felt little solace as his arms wrapped around her, holding her, while she wrapped her arms around him. "Why did this have to happen? Why did the Face Stealer have to do this? Why did Aang have to agree with him? You're right—you're really right. The world is over as we know it."
"I told him once to be an immortal," Zuko muttered, voice closer to a croak than not. "But this is never what I had in mind. This is immortality, the dubious honor once his alone forever that now belongs to another forever, as well, because he let it happen—my father is an immortal now. I may never sleep again."
"What does this mean for our children?" she asked, voice muffled but heard. "They will live in a world not meant to be. We fought so our children wouldn't have to fight, but now they must fight; everyone must fight forever now. I never wanted this for our children; I never wanted it for us, where we know what they will face but be powerless to change it. The Family is broken forever because of this—because of Aang. The Family is scarred forever, never to be healthy and know peace."
Zuko's arms tightened around her, head bowing to her head, face sliding down her hair. "Aang better have a fucking solution that solves this dragonshit."
Katara agreed.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Everyone but Samir was clearly, if not furious at him, bitterly or heartbreakingly disappointed with him—or in Azula's case, staring at him like she didn't know him.
Aang understood why—he really did. In many ways, he was enraged at and disappointed with himself for letting Two happen, for giving his great enemy the very means and secrets of Power; he barely recognized himself, never thought he was capable of letting Two happen not because he lost a battle but because he made the active, intentional decision to let it happen. He tormented himself more than they ever could about his decision, questioning if he made the wrong decision, too disoriented when he was put on the spot by Koh, but while he felt all the disgust and horror at his decision, the chilling emanation of rightness remained.
Somehow, it was the right decision—he just didn't understand how or why.
He sensed Ozai on the continent, knowing exactly what direction he was in, knowing he could begin walking and meet him—or make Ozai flee upon sensing his approach. But it was not to be—not yet. He wasn't ready to face his challenger, not until he grasped the reason behind accepting a challenger in the first place. His only reprieve was that he sensed that Ozai was equally hesitant to attack him outright for now, possibly trying to adjust to being his own Avatar.
But a battle—the battle to end the Greater War—needed to happen swiftly, as soon as possible, as soon as he could gain the understanding and approach he needed.
Would the others still follow him into battle after his unthinkable failure?
Aang didn't want to—couldn't—think about it; he had to focus first on the actual problem, which was the reason he let Two happen—because he couldn't understand why he actually let it happen. Koh's explanation should never have deterred him from the adamant goal he had ever since he learned about Vaatu and what Vaatu's own goal was. But Koh's explanation had— had!—changed his mind, deterring him, and stirred something deep inside him that he couldn't rationalize.
It didn't make sense.
How could something change his mind during the most crucial moment of the Greater War and sway him from his indomitable pursuit? Despite Samir's face being stolen, he should have simply continued on as he had been before, carried by his momentum—he should have continued simply from a need to validate all of his previous sacrifices and decisions, to ensure that nothing was ever done in vain.
It was a pincer attack—striking him emotionally with Samir while striking him logically with Koh's explanation. It left him disoriented, stricken by the feeling that he must let Ozai's Ascension happen—and he did let it happen.
But since time passed, since returning to the Mortal Realm, he should have reverted to his previous mindset and wanted to die for his failure, but he was left with the strange, withering sense of rightness that permeated through him from letting Ozai's Ascension happen—for letting there be Two.
But why did Two need to happen?
Aang didn't dare bring his justifications and questions to the others, not even Azula, because he knew he would have his hands full in trying to explain his solution—and he couldn't be confused himself. He needed to have all the answers, not simply as The Avatar but as Aang, which meant there was only way to get those answers in a real way that had nothing to do with journeying to the Tree to demand It's truths.
Staring at Wan—the First—across from him, hidden in the trees outside Chameleon Bay, he hoped Wan had the answers as for why he felt like he made the correct decision, when everything else said he made the wrong one.
"Avatar Aang," Wan greeted, holding the same appearance Aang remembered, but the eyes were different, filled with the knowledge of everything Aang experienced.
Aang wasn't feeling generous. "You know why I summoned you," he said flatly. "Tell me why this happened, and if I don't like what you have to say, I'll destroy you myself—because, apparently, you're at fault for all of this happening in the first place."
Wan only stared back at him, not denying it.
He scoffed. "You're not going to defend yourself?"
"I did it, and this is the result. Nothing more, nothing less."
"This 'nothing' happens to impact the Realms."
"Which is why you must redeem my failing," Wan countered, face lined; he looked much less youthful suddenly. "The Darkness can never be destroyed, and I understood it could never be destroyed. Light and Darkness cannot exist without each other; they survive off each other, two halves of an impossible, incomprehensible whole. We wish for only Light, but Darkness still exists—and it will forever. However, I thought I could circumvent natural law and smother the Darkness, not destroying it but denying it; I thought I could make things better."
Aang shook his head. "I don't care about that—at least not now. Why do there have to be Two? Why did I let it happen, following an instinct that I never felt before, until I was presented that truth by Koh? I don't know if I chose correctly," he whispered, a terrible doubt scorching his mind. "I don't know if I made the right decision. Was all this wrong? Did I do all of this for the wrong reason? Did I do all of this to justify a wrong decision? Why does the Tree want Two?"
Wan was quiet for several moments before sighing. "The Tree wants Two," he confirmed. "However, I am unsure Two Avatars is what equals Eternal Balance—I think it is the opposite, actually. However, to understand the problem's source, you must understand the problem's impact. The end result of us—The Avatar—is the Great War within the Greater War and Vaatu's rising, which culminated in another Avatar. Yet its opposite is equally true if I had absorbed Vaatu and used him to become The Avatar."
Aang nodded, having reached a similar conclusion. "Yes, I know—this was always inevitable. 10,000 years of Light is just as horrible as 10,000 years of Darkness. The last 2,500 years of our reign would always lead to atrocity, which is what we're in right now. It started with Keska, but it really began with you, didn't it?"
"Yes," Wan agreed, ancient. "If I allied with Vaatu instead of Raava, the result would be the same; this would happen still. I would have the 10,000-year reign, but by the end, my reign would be unsustainable—because it was always innately unstable—and lead to catastrophe, culminating in Raava rising, which would produce a rival Avatar. When Light and Darkness are not in Eternal Balance, unlike in the Void where they are in Eternal Balance, Light will always fight against the Darkness, but the Darkness will always fight against the Light, especially if it erupts every 10,000 years during the Harmonic Convergence. This 10,000-year window is much worse because it has been brewing, fermenting, and festering for so long without adequate release. Destruction and rebirth are always necessary. A cleansing always needs to take place, like when you must set a field ablaze to make room for new growth and possibility. We are supposed to be a vessel of rebirth, which was my intention, but the result was actually a vessel of destruction. This fight every 10,000 years, which we put in motion- "
"You put in motion," Aang correct, not willing yet to cast himself into Wan's sin.
"- reshapes the Realms, wiping out everything that previously existed—it changes everything forever. After such an event, life as humans understand and perceive it is different because there is so much loss and horror, too traumatic for anyone to comprehend nor fix. However, when there are Two, it makes such a catastrophic clash impossible; the Realms can never be threatened again because of it."
Aang sighed, wondering if he started to understand the philosophy behind Two. "I think I understand. Rather than having a cataclysmic fight every 10,000 years that fundamentally, radically transforms everything, threatening existence, you have a fight every fifty years or so, which is much, much less severe in its effects and impacts on the world, for The Avatar, whether me or Ozai, ultimately, is beholden to something more and greater—the Tree. There is something cosmic and transcendent to which we are beholden whether we like it or not. Ultimately, for such tragedy of a cataclysmic fight every 10,000 years to be impossible, hopefully, there must be Two. Many smaller fights would be better than one single big fight because while the net destruction would be the same equaled out across 10,000 years, it is easier to recover from and manage if the fighting is spread out over those 10,000 years instead of happening in massive eruption at the end when the 10,000-year window closes. This would actually make all my successors work harder and more efficiently, never slacking off—all would be as diligent as myself, fighting to win at all moments. They would all be as great as me—circumstance would force them to be, or they would be destroyed."
"The Darkness has fought back so severely because it was restrained and confined— smothered, as I intended—for so long without adequate release, and not even we for all our power could prevent it because it was too much. Darkness is unsustainable just as Light is unsustainable; there must be both—there must be Two. Order and stability lead to chaos and rebellion, and chaos and rebellion lead to order and stability; it's a constant cycle."
Aang closed his eyes. "But the goal is to make the fight impossible. That's what I want."
Wan nodded in agreement. "I'm coming to that. But do you understand the levels to this? Do you understand the complexity?"
Aang wished he didn't because he didn't want to understand such things, but he grasped everything. "I understand. There have to be Two Avatars to- "
"No," Wan interrupted, almost harshly. "That was the exact mistake I made—assuming I understood. There have to be Two—Light and Darkness—instead of Two Avatars."
He frowned. "The difference being?"
"Light and Darkness have been imbalanced, and those vessels have been imbalanced, which is what produced the imbalance. While I am not directly responsible for the initial imbalance, I made things so much worse—as worse as they could be. Koh was right—I did this, and you inherited my crime. I'm sorry I gave this burden to you."
Aang cracked a worn smile. "I'm sorry you didn't understand this the first time."
"I wanted to save the Realms," Wan confessed, face shadowed. "Koh didn't tell you everything—because he never understood my reasons. I had my reasons for doing it. Raava sacrificed herself to save me because I was dying from the force of Vaatu's attacks—that is the only reason she agreed with it. Otherwise, she would have never gone through with it, and I realize now why she never would have. She should have let me die and worked with Vaatu herself. But what you don't remember is that Vaatu refused to listen to Raava; he was sick of her. Light and Darkness kept trying to come together, but they resisted each other, refusing to compromise; they were stuck in extremes—that is the actual source of the imbalance. The vessels for Light and Darkness have been inadequate because they do not think as a whole, only a half, competing with each other."
"But Light and Darkness are extremes at their essences," Aang pointed out. "It makes sense."
"But they were once able to compromise," Wan retorted. "It happened before. There really was Eternal Balance once—and there can be again if you are willing to sacrifice."
Aang's eyes narrowed. "Koh once told me that there has never been Eternal Balance."
Wan almost looked amused. "Because Koh was never alive when there was Eternal Balance. When Raava and Vaatu were bonded together, there was Eternal Balance—because that was how the Tree shaped them. It was their original embodiment— together. There were Two. It was only when they created the Mortal Realm that they separated from the onslaught, and the onslaught is what actually created the Great Spirits, born of the Greatest Spirits, which culminated in everything that happened later. When they separated, that is what produced the first imbalance, but when I came and encountered the problem, I worsened it with my solution instead of making it better—instead of healing it, fixing it."
He was quiet for long moments, processing everything discussed, and arriving at one damning conclusion. "You really did do this. Even if Raava and Vaatu are the ones actually responsible, you made everything exceedingly worse—worse than they could have ever achieved—by doing the Ascension. Why? Why did you do it?"
Wan's face twisted, not quite shameful and not quite regretful—but close to both. "I wanted to save the Realms; I wanted to make them better, and I thought I could accomplish it better than anyone. I realized that Raava and Vaatu's literal separation when they made the Mortal Realm is what actually made everything possible because when they were together, Raava and Vaatu were stuck in passivity, which accomplished nothing."
Aang nodded, realizing the spark of motivation. "And being born of Fire, that was intolerable and disgusting for you to conceive."
Wan looked grim. "Yes. I thought it was evil—a nightmare that would return if Raava and Vaatu bonded together again. I wanted the Greatest Spirits to have a more proactive role in the Realms, which was never supposed to happen. I wanted action; I wanted Raava and Vaatu, the Greatest Spirits, to be active rather than passive."
"Like the Tree," he realized, beginning to make the necessary connections. "This is all a result of the Greatest Spirits having too much of a role, imbalanced, the opposite of the Tree, who created them—because every action the Greatest Spirits, including us, ever took had its source in the motivation to fill the void felt because of the imbalance, trying to regain Eternal Balance without ever knowing the Imbalance's origin because you, at the start, didn't understand it."
"There is no destroying the Tree," Wan said needlessly. "Part of the reason I underwent the Ascension, beyond imprisoning the Darkness, was to try to destroy that which created the Darkness in the first place to try to circumvent natural law. But I realized in the Void that the Tree never created Light and Darkness—It created Raava and Vaatu, who are extensions of the eternal Light and Darkness in the Void. All the power we possess and ever will possess is a drop in the ocean of the Light and Darkness in the Void. But I wanted to destroy the Tree, and I tried but could never touch It. I even tried drinking all It's sap, thinking I would deprive It of It's essence and nutrients, but nothing happened, despite my drinking the sap for years—it was all I did. I drank, but the Tree never ran out. It has an eternal, unending supply. I never reached my goal; I made things worse without ever realizing it, and I have forced the burden of fixing onto you. I'm sorry, Aang."
He looked down at his tattooed hands. "I know you are—I feel it. It was a mistake that anyone would make, and I've made many mistakes myself. It all makes sense now. The Imbalance in the Mortal Realm, which seeps into the Immortal Realm because the Realms are connected, has to do with the fact that Raava and Vaatu were separated when they created the Mortal Realm, which is the source of the imbalance. Originally, they were one entity, the actual Eternal Balance between Light and Darkness that the Tree shaped. But they separated, which led to them fighting and struggling with each other—starting when they created the Mortal Realm, which has suffered ever since its genesis because of it. That is what it means to restore Eternal Balance—restoring the Eternal Balance between Light and Darkness in one entity."
Wan looked grim, almost miserable. "Yes. It is the only way to fix it. You must fill the void that has been gaping ever since Raava and Vaatu separated. Raava and Vaatu were too stubborn and weak to do so. Will you learn from their mistakes and do it?"
Aang clasped his face between his hands, breathing deeply. "Do you realize what you're asking me to do? Do you understand?"
"Better than anyone."
He blinked rapidly, feeling dazed as he grasped the options available to him. "If I don't do this, I condemn the world to Two Avatars, which is a better solution than One Avatar, but Two Avatars would still result in wars and battles and clashes, an alternating tug of war that could never produce Eternal Balance. The goal is for there to be Eternal Balance, to solve the problem at the primary level so that all secondary and tertiary levels aren't fractured and crumbling. And the only way for there to be Eternal Balance is if I become that entity of Light and Darkness combined."
"Yes."
Aang's face scrunched as he realized the glaring problem in Wan's presented solution. "But Koh was that entity! I don't understand! He should have filled that void! Why didn't he?"
Wan's smile was sad. "Koh could never fill that void because he was only half of the Light and half of the Darkness; he was imbalanced himself. You would have all the Light and all the Darkness released by the Void when the Tree shaped Raava and Vaatu—and whatever else we absorbed when we were in the Void."
Silence.
He stared at Wan desperately. "I can't. Do you know what it means?"
"Yes, and I also know what it means to make a mistake that has repercussions for all-time," Wan whispered, haunted, and looking at him, Aang encountered someone for the first time who seemed to be more haunted than Aang felt—and Aang felt haunted by so much. "Redeem my mistake, Aang. All this happened because of me. Make it right."
Aang laughed, but there was nothing amusing in it. "So, the instinct to condemn myself to guilt is a spiritual inheritance and not just me."
"There will be Two as there must be, embodied in One."
It was obvious in a painful way—like the truth often was.
"That's the solution," he recognized softly, feeling a piercing pain permeate through him. "I have to do it, even if the consequences to myself are immense."
"Yes. I set all this in motion with my mistake when I failed to understand."
"Raava wasn't very helpful," he muttered, hoping to ease Wan's guilt; he felt far more sympathy for Wan than Raava.
Wan sighed. "The solution was right in front of me, but I didn't understand; I didn't listen. It took me almost ten thousand years to listen; it took you, my thirty-eighth lifetime, to achieve understanding and insight. This is wisdom and look how long it took to find. Thankfully, I am only you; you aren't me. You can start something new."
"But what does it mean going forward?" Aang asked, voice breaking.
Wan looked somber. "You'll have to prepare and be prepared; you must stay eternally vigilant. You will be the new First."
Aang's eyes closed for several moments before they opened, features hardening, strengthening, smoothing. "I will. I must recreate Raava and Vaatu's initial bond when there was Eternal Balance between Light and Darkness. I have to kill Ozai in his Avatar State, don't I?"
He already knew the answer, but Wan nodded. "Yes. By doing so, the Darkness— all the Darkness—will be reborn inside you because Light and Darkness are connected and yearn for connection—like in the Void. You must replicate it like Raava and Vaatu did initially before they failed and weakened to stubbornness. And if he kills you in your Avatar State, all the Light will be reborn inside him. Either way, there will be Eternal Balance, but one of you must die in your Avatar State. What you are really fighting for now is who gets the legacy—the control to remain."
Unfortunately, he knew from experience how difficult it was to The Avatar in The Avatar State, but unlike any other time, he would face an opponent equal to him—a rival.
Eternal Balance really was possible.
"Light and Darkness will be Aang and Ozai—forever," he observed, bitter at the thought of being connected to Ozai forever, beyond simply being married to Ozai's daughter and being best friends with Ozai's son, at least. Maybe it really was always destined because he and Ozai had always been connected secondarily through his children, but now he was going to be connected primarily to him. "Azula's never going to forgive me—and that's if Zuko doesn't kill me first."
Wan inclined his head, seemingly in agreement. "This is your burden. I recommend keeping it a secret. No one grants you permission but you, but in this case, it would be wiser to ask for forgiveness after the process is complete than ask for permission before it happens."
Aang sagged back, strict posture bending under the weight of the inevitable. "I can't tell anyone. This is what it means to be The Avatar."
"You are never alone, Aang."
He scoffed, almost feeling hysterical for a moment. "I know I'm about to be joined forever to Ozai. I think I'd prefer to be alone."
Wan bowed to him, almost prostrating himself. "Thank you for redeeming my mistake. I was never worthy of being the First, but you are. You will begin a new age—the Age of Aang."
A tight smile stretched his face. "It hasn't happened yet."
"It will."
Aang wasn't sure yet if he actually wanted it to happen or not—even though he understood that it needed to.
XxXxXxXxXxX
He was an undying god now—but he had lost the best friend he ever had to make it possible. There was a powerful sense of accomplishment and joy, but there was a lasting reminder of loss. He embraced his newfound power and existence, unlike anything he conceived, obvious to feel and sense as things transformed fundamentally for him in every way, but he grieved the fact that Vaatu was gone. Not even sparring against all the great men in his army, including Grandfather, could take his mind off the fact that he lost a friend, who would never be known again.
Ozai constructed a pyre and sliced his palm, letting the blood splatter to its surface, after which he lit it on fire, mourning Vaatu; the burial was not for Vaatu but him, to honor his friend, who sacrificed everything to make his Ascension successful.
"You are the only one to ever see me—to actually see what I am and see the worth I have to offer," he whispered in reflection. "The only one close to you is Ursa, but she loves our children more than me. She is a loving mother more than a loving wife. I was never primary for her, only secondary. Yet I was primary for you. Thank you, my friend—the only friend I have ever had. You sacrificed yourself so I could realize our dream, and everything I do henceforth is not simply for me or the world—it is for you, as well. I wish you were here with me still; I wish there was a way for the Ascension to be achieved without your sacrifice. Goodbye, Vaatu; goodbye, my friend."
The pyre burned, and he felt, to his surprise, his eyes water not only from the smoke.
"You accomplished it, and I considered it nigh impossible," Grandfather said from behind him.
Ozai swept the pyre away with gentle winds and turned, matching Grandfather's calculating but warm expression with his own, wiping the tears from his eyes. "The Avatar's days are numbered."
"Replaced by yours."
"I always succeed. This is my destiny."
"Your destiny includes destroying your children," Grandfather reminded, golden eyes piercing and fearless.
Ozai sighed, wondering exactly how many times he needed to have the same conversation. He and Grandfather got along exceptionally well, but Grandfather could never understand—could never grasp—the unfortunate necessity of destroying Zuko and Azula. "It is something I must do—you know this."
"You are an Avatar now," Grandfather said. "Because of it, they can never destroy you. You hold the advantage now. Defeat them, yes, but embrace them after with benevolence and spare them."
"The time to mend the wounds between us is gone," he pointed out, regretful—and resigned. "I must do it. It is the only way."
Grandfather shook his head, ancient torment flaring in his vivid eyes. "You say that because you have never lost your children—had to burn their pyres and watch the winds take their ashes, turning all they were to smoke that fills your lungs, which is the only physical connection you have left to them."
Ozai glanced at the pyre he made for Vaatu and realized he would have more pyres to build soon—for Zuko and Azula. It was a grim reminder that the price for his destiny was a steep one, but if he was to save the world from The Avatar's tyranny, as he must, it was a price he would find the resolve to pay. If he spared them, they would find clever ways to undermine him and work to destroy him, never stopping, never surrendering—they were exactly like him, and he felt fierce pride in them because of it. "Do you think this gladdens me?" he challenged, bitter. "Do you think it pleases me that this is the outcome? I want Zuko and Azula on my side, by my side, at my side, as I always have, but it is not meant to be. Destiny has chosen otherwise."
"Destiny has chosen for you to have the power to ensure you do not have to destroy them, as your power is so much greater than theirs, and they can never destroy you. Your only threat is The Avatar now, not your children."
He grimaced. "You sound like Iroh."
"I raised him more than your father did," Grandfather reminded, and it was only then that Ozai noticed the cup of tea in Grandfather's hands, from which he took periodic sips—another connection to Iroh.
Envy moldered his restraint as he glared. "I know you think I am a terrible father- "
Grandfather shook his head. "I think you have convinced yourself you are and denied yourself all chances to be a good one."
"I hope you know that Iroh was a terrible father, as well," he snapped. "Always at war, always fighting, always on the continent. I spent more time with Lu Ten than he did!"
"Lu Ten?" Grandfather asked, eyes narrowing.
Although he was an Avatar now, there was something powerfully intimidating in Grandfather's gaze, forcing him to answer honestly. "Iroh's son—his only heir."
Grandfather assessed him, displeased. "You never told me Iroh had a son."
"I thought you would know," he deflected, waving a hand, trying to control his heartbeat. "I thought you would have met him in the Gardens."
"He died?"
Knowing he could never reveal to Grandfather that he arranged Lu Ten's assassination, regardless of his reasons for wanting to save Fire from weakness, he smiled tightly. "Many years ago. He died in the Great War."
Grandfather's face flashed with ancient grief. "Another of my line wiped away by a war I was too stupid to forestall."
Ozai looked away, finding Grandfather's visible grief too difficult to look at; it reminded him of the inevitable destruction awaiting Zuko and Azula because of their choices—and the choice he needed to make. "It was never your fault. It was the Earth Kings who- "
"It was always my fault," Grandfather disagreed. "I was too incompetent."
It was one of the most blasphemous, odious lies he had ever heard in his life, but he simply nodded, knowing he would have future conversations to correct Grandfather's guilt. "You can make new lines, if you want," he offered. "Your blood is no longer your own, but I will leave Azula alive for you as a possible bride if you desire."
Grandfather stared at him, brows pinched. "My wives are dead, Ozai; never again shall I be a husband because of it. Never offer to me your daughter again."
Ozai sighed, hoping that Grandfather would have taken the offer—because it ensured Azula would, at least, live. But it was not to be. He had already killed Azula once, and he would have to kill her again—it was not a comforting thought. "I will have other children—other daughters. Let me know if you ever change your mind."
Grandfather held a flame under his teacup, warming it, face worn. "I thought your wife betrayed you."
"She did, but she will see reason when she understands what we will accomplish upon destroying The Avatar. My nature is a new but familiar one now, nothing more, and she will love me once more, as she always has, when she sees the grandeur and power I have become. She will grasp the unfortunate necessity in destroying our children. We will have a fresh start." His fists clenched. "I will make the world forget The Avatar's tyranny—that alone is worth any price."
"I once thought destroying Air to save our race was worth any price," Grandfather pointed out, sipping from his teacup; a shudder was barely perceivable. "I was wrong."
"The Avatar cursed you," he reminded. "You could have never known- "
"That does not refute the fact I was wrong. I do not want you to be wrong, Grandson."
Grandfather's obvious concern warmed him, and he felt the constriction he was unaware of in his chest loosen. "I am not wrong, Grandfather. I will destroy The Avatar with your help and all the other great men's help. The goal is to destroy The Avatar forever so he becomes housed in me forever, but I am aware that is most unlikely. Yet his destruction is destined. Why would the Tree of Time permit my Ascension if not for the fact that It wants me to succeed—that I am destined to succeed?"
"It does appear destined," Grandfather agreed. "But if you believe it is destined, why wait to strike? Why not go on the offensive and destroy him and defeat your children now without giving The Avatar time to adjust to having a rival and changing his stratagems?"
Ozai reached out with his senses and felt The Avatar on the continent, but he was hesitant to march to an immediate battle, wary of outright attacking The Avatar—even though he had no need to dread. Unfortunately, his old habits and residual fears were difficult to break. "We will move shortly, in the coming days," he decided, knowing he needed to act. He could not give The Avatar time to adjust for long; the momentum was on his side, and he needed to keep the momentum's momentum, refusing to let it stall. "I know where the final battle will be, and we will save the world there."
"Where?"
He basked in the feeling of redemption beginning to fill him—he knew Destiny was on his side. "Wulong Forest."
XxXxXxXxXxX
"You have to talk to him," Toph said, wasting no time to even punch her arm as she marched up to her. "His head is so far up his ass that he's probably eating his own heart to stay alive."
Azula did not need clarification about 'him,' 'he,' and 'his' and wondered at the graphic image but noted the grim expression of dread on Toph's face and sighed, glancing at Samir, who was thankfully too distracted by her attempts at airbending training. "The last time I seriously confronted him, he vanished for over three months."
And went to the past to speak to Gyatso and learn the truth, but no one else knew that—or would even comprehend it.
Toph snorted. "Don't play dumb, Lightning Psycho. You know you want to— I know you want to. I'll stay with Hitchhiker—you know I'll let no one even look at her wrong."
"You are blind."
"Exactly," Toph agreed. "I'm more likely to kill some serious ass because of it—because I'll think someone's always looking at her wrong."
Azula forced a smirk to her face. "You will make a unique mother."
"As unique as you?"
"Unlikely. I am a princess while you are but a mere noble blind girl."
Toph huffed, blowing bangs away from her eyes. "I really don't know how we're friends."
Azula watched Samir practice her airbending forms—there was no obvious sign of improvement. "I never told you but thank you—for your friendship. Besides Aang, you are the best friend I have."
She tried not to think of Mai and Ty Lee and the residual reminders of the friendships she once she shared with them, most notably from Samir's obvious lineal connection to Ty Lee.
"Damn it," Toph grumbled, kicking her toes into the ground. "I'll never be able to beat Twinkletoes at anything. But thanks, Lightning Psycho. If it's all the same, you're my best friend besides Sugar Queen and Bor. You were worth the second chance you got, and I've never been gladder to be wrong about you. You weren't just a simple snatch whisperer. You're a lot more than that."
"Indeed," she agreed, unsure of what else to say; the emotion discussion, particularly with Toph, was not one often held.
Toph swallowed, face clearing, reverting to the dread she saw earlier. "Do you think you could actually just be a snatch whisperer?" she asked quietly, almost regretfully. "Aang is fucking insane. Do you know that everyone by now thinks that he let this badgermole shit happen?"
Azula closed her eyes at the reminder. "I have reached the same conclusion."
A panicked laugh escaped Toph. "But we both know he didn't actually let this happen, right? Right?"
"I cannot say," she confessed, worn—but close to anger.
"Then get your snatch to make him say," Toph urged, anxious. "Seduce the truth out of him. You have to do it! He's not giving us answers, and I've even heard some talk of breaking up the army because no one knows what the point is anymore. We need answers, Azula. You're the only one he'll talk to. Zuko would do it, but he said he's too afraid he'll attack Aang or say such terrible things that Aang would kill him in a violent outburst. And Sokka? Well, Sokka doesn't trust himself to carry his sword around anymore because he says he just wants to run Aang through with it. And Katara? She's too emotional about it; she's breaking down and scared for the future. She'd get too weepy on Aang. Even Chief Hakoda is doubtful now. And I tell you right now that if Bumi were still here, I think he'd be pretty fucking doubtful, too."
Azula winced, knowing Toph's judgment regarding King Bumi was likely accurate, which would be devastating for Aang to experience. For the first time, she was relieved King Bumi was dead. "I know. Why have you not tried to speak with him?"
Toph's face twisted. "I'm not smart enough to understand what goes on in his scary head. You're his wife—you have to talk to him. Everyone is panicked. We're all fucking demoralized and don't understand what the point is anymore. Aang has to stop eating his heart, vomit it back up, and get his head out of his ass. Your dad is his own fucking Avatar now. Aang better have a plan because if he doesn't, we're all fucked—and that's not just because the army will break up. Can you please—yes, I'm saying please—talk to him now and stop waiting? I know you're worried he'll run off like he did after you married, but we need this solved now. If he does run off, you have my permission—and feet—to kill him."
She stared at Samir's weak gusts, born of improper airbending forms, and nodded. "You will stay with Samir?"
"I'd rather be nowhere else. Now go talk to your husband."
"Where is your husband?"
Toph cringed. "Trying to talk Anju down from doing something stupid. She's itching to line up behind Sokka to run Aang through. Honestly, I think the only thing stopping her is the fact that she doesn't know where Aang wandered off to."
Azula nodded, unsurprised. "I know where Aang is."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
It was difficult to let Samir out of her sight, despite knowing that the Face Stealer was destroyed forever—yet it was even more difficult to wait for Aang to tell her what happened and why Father's Ascension happened. Her instinct was to demand answers, particularly about something so unthinkable and horrifying, but she had held off, hoping that her patience would be rewarded.
Unfortunately, it was a losing battle—for Toph was correct. She could give Aang no more time to avoid the truth. She was not the only one who wanted to skewer him—at least verbally, on her part. She knew practically everyone else wanted to see him skewered physically, as Toph attested.
It left a bitter taste in her mouth. Failure had never been an option for her, never been allowed, but apparently for Aang, it always had been. She was beyond grateful that he returned Samir and fiercely in love with him because of it, but she felt left adrift over his avoidance of discussing why he let Father's Ascension happen—because it was painfully clear that he had, in fact, let it happen. The Face Stealer may have pressured him, but Aang made the decision—because, for some reason, he agreed with it. She knew that his decision was not born simply because of Samir's capture; she knew he would have sacrificed Samir to stop Father's Ascension—because he had already made the decision previously to sacrifice Air, and Air was exceedingly more important to him than anything, including Samir and Azula herself.
She knew it and accepted it—but could not grasp why Aang let Father's Ascension happen.
When she found him in the woods outside Chameleon Bay, as expected, she knew he was aware of her presence, but for once, she did not want to be the one to start the conversation; she wanted him to start it and take initiative.
Thankfully, he turned to face her after a brief silence; his face was haggard, but his gray eyes were terrifyingly blank and empty, like the life had been sucked out of them by something horrifying to conceive. Before she could break her vow to wait for him to speak first, he spoke first: "I'm sorry."
Azula approached him and knew by his posture he had been speaking to his past lives, possibly having just finished before she arrived; he always looked slightly different after speaking with his predecessors, like he was trying to return to mortality somehow. But what did his past lives say to suck the life out of him? Had they condemned his decision in letting Father's Ascension happen?
She imagined Kyoshi had many choice and vulgar descriptions about it.
"What is the plan?" she asked quietly, stopping a foot away from him, watching, prepared for the possibility that he might flee.
However, nothing about him seemed flighty; he appeared more weighed down and burdened than she could remember, despite her experience with him regarding Air's murder and rebirth. "Plan?" he echoed, as if in a daze.
"Plan," Azula confirmed.
Suddenly, Aang's eyes burst with life as he squeezed them shut. "Koh was right," he hissed, tugging harshly at his beard with one hand, almost like he was trying to punish himself. "He said it's all my fault, and he really is right. There is no plan without accepting that."
Azula's eyes narrowed to slits; her outraged displeasure simmered inside. "Do you mean to tell me that you let Father become his own Avatar because you think everything is your fault?"
Aang sighed. "This is why I can't tell any of the others because they won't get it—they won't understand. But you will. Wan recommended I don't even tell you, but I want to tell you—I'm going to tell you."
"Wan?" she repeated. " Avatar Wan?"
"The First," Aang confirmed before a bellowing laugh ruptured out of him that was hysterical and resigned. "But now I'm going to be the First—the real First. I'll tell you everything. You have the intelligence to grasp it, even if minimally. Use your intelligence now, Azula. Do you think I would ever let this happen without a good reason, and I mean a really good reason? You know I don't make big decisions without reason."
"I fear this was a stupid reason," she snapped.
"Did I let Air die because of a stupid reason?" he snapped back, glaring at her with storms in his eyes. "I dare you to claim so! And that decision was less monumental than the one I made in the Immortal Realm! I didn't let it happen simply to ensure Samir's survival; I did it because I realized it was necessary. I hate that it's necessary more than I ever hated Sozin or myself, but I realized it was necessary. Think, Azula— think. Use your intelligence that I love."
Azula grit her teeth, wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it was difficult as he was only supplying her vagaries. "I need evidence to process and analyze, Aang."
He sighed and looked past her, suddenly terrifyingly quiet, like he was dying inside; she glanced behind her, afraid that Father appeared, but there was no one there. However, when she looked back at Aang, he still stared.
"What are you looking at?" she asked gently.
"I'm thinking."
"What about?"
"My thoughts."
Azula rolled her eyes, frustrated. "Most descriptive. Perhaps if you reveal those thoughts, you might not look so constipated."
Aang glanced at her, and the weight in his eyes was unlike anything she had ever seen, including his numerous conversations about Air, and not even during his account of his trip through the Tree of Time. It made her uneasy. "I'm trying to figure out how to tell you. I've had answers all this time, but I've never had a solution, not really. Imprisoning him in the Tree again would only culminate in all this happening again. Even if it was possible, I wouldn't imprison him again in the Tree."
Azula tensed. "You want Two Avatars?"
Aang's shoulders slumped. "No. I want One Avatar. There can only be One."
"Then we shall discern a solution- "
"That is the solution, Azula," he interrupted, voice ancient and hollow. "You see, I'm not The Avatar; I'm the Light Avatar, and Ozai is the Dark Avatar. There must be one—The Avatar. Raava and Vaatu are no more, but Light and Darkness still exist—and are at odds, imbalanced and disconnected. Light and Darkness must be united forever again, as they were originally when the Tree shaped Raava and Vaatu. It's the way. I will be the First now; I will fill the void left by Raava and Vaatu's separation when they created the Mortal Realm."
Azula's breathing returned after several tense moments as she grasped what he explained, almost staggering. "There is another way; there must be," she insisted, but she knew it rang false.
His solution made horrifying sense.
"We both know there's not. Light and Darkness will each have its source, provided by the Void, in me." He smiled sadly. "It matches human nature more, I guess; it matches who I am more, too."
"Will you be you?" she gasped, heart rising in pace.
Aang shrugged, face sad. "I don't know. That's what I was thinking about before you found me."
Azula felt her mind rebel at the solution, but it made sense; however, her acceptance only followed with the beginning of tears welling in her eyes as she realized the very terrifying, unacceptable possibility before her. "You could die and become someone else. You may no longer be Aang—you could be him."
He could be Father; her husband could be replaced with her father.
She would rather die.
"Aang has never been more important than The Avatar," he replied, voice flat and dull. "We both know it."
"No," she denied, though knew that he was correct. "If we gather the others and conceive a solution- "
"Conceiving another solution is a mistake, not a solution. This is the solution, Azula. Ozai—the Darkness—will be reborn inside me. I've accepted it. This is the Tree's design."
Azula's golden eyes ignited, though her heart was frantic with terror as she dashed to him and seized his robes, desperate. "Take me to the Tree now."
Fully expecting Aang to deny her, she felt dumbfounded when he only nodded and asked for her hand. "Are you ready?" Still trying to comprehend the fact that he was not fighting her demand to see the Tree, she realized how serious he was, how accepting of his solution he was. It was horrifying! "Don't tell the others," he commanded when he clearly realized she did not want to actually speak with the Tree, sounding distant and severe; it reminded her sickeningly of Father—and he was not even connected to Father yet. "They wouldn't understand."
"And you expect me to?" she whispered, panicked, trying desperately to understand how everything would work—and work out in their favor where Aang was still Aang instead of someone else.
Instead of Father.
"You're my wife," Aang said simply. "You understand—and even if you don't, you accept. They would not."
"I do not want to let you do this," she whispered.
He turned to her, face closed off. "You don't let me do anything, Azula."
Azula thought of the future children she planned to carry and bear—and feared the possibility was gone. Could she be Mother of Air to an Aang who was no longer Aang? "What of Samir? What about Air? What of the children we will have? This solution possibly compromises that."
Finally, a reaction; his brows furrowed. "In what way?"
She closed her eyes briefly. "Because I am unsure you will still be Aang after, and only with Aang do I want to share that future and have those children. I do not want Samir to stare up at her father and not recognize him; I do not want to stare at my husband and not recognize him."
She did not want to recognize Father, instead.
"Have you ever recognized him?" he whispered, far away.
She bowed her forehead against his arm and wrapped herself around him in an embrace. "I was the first to recognize you. Must I be the last?"
"Isn't that what it means to love?" Aang challenged, peering down at her with soft but resolved gray eyes. "I love Air like nothing else, and I recognized them; I recognized the truth. And I'm the last to ever recognize it because I was the last to ever see them as they were."
Azula felt a strange laugh bubble in her chest. "Is this what it means to be Mother of Air?"
"Maybe it's part of it."
"If you are not you, I will divorce you."
"That's not a threat you can make twice."
"This time I mean it."
"No, you don't."
The tears fell out of her eyes, and she did not bother to stop them. "Do not challenge me right now. This is absurdity—it is rotten. You are The Avatar and must- "
Aang pulled her closer, and she sank into his warmth, feeling his heartbeat, wondering dimly if it would still beat the same if he actually let Father be reborn inside him. "I have always had the instinct inside me that The Avatar was evil," he whispered, "and I could never explain it. I just thought it was because of what happened to my race, and I accepted that as the source, but I realize now that conclusion was wrong. That never explained the instinct—the innate knowing I possessed from the moment I learned of my identity. Koh revealed the truth, and he was right—it was like hearing Gyatso talk about Air, like ripping out my beard hairs and replacing each individual hair with a knife that sunk into my raw flesh, but that pain never compromised the fact that it was true. It was right. What Koh revealed to me was the truth. This literally is my fault. My instinct was never wrong—The Avatar is evil and at fault. But what I was wrong about with hating The Avatar was that I never realized why The Avatar was evil, only registering and recognizing that he was evil—I never discerned the actual source of his evil. But now I know because Koh spelled it out for me. The Avatar is evil because he is the source of all the imbalance in the world; he is evil because he is imbalanced. Wan's decision—my decision—eons ago was wrong; it was never the right one if Eternal Balance was the goal. Wan himself told me his goal was to smother the Darkness, which never gave it release; the pressure built and built for thousands of years, like a volcano, until it erupted and unleashed devastation and destruction—because it never had the chance to have periodic, regular release in much smaller, manageable quantities. Instead of doing a controlled burn to maintain a forest's health and keep it from growing rank with excessive materials, where a true wildfire could happen, Wan chose to not do a controlled burn and let a true wildfire happen. That's what the entire Greater War is—a wildfire because there's no Eternal Balance. Wan's decision was wrong because Wan's goal was wrong—he wanted to smother the Darkness, but there is no smothering the Darkness just like there is no smothering the Light. Neither has any possibility of long-lasting success because the Darkness and Light fight back to have presence—to be coequal with its counterpart. The entire Greater War has been the Darkness—Vaatu—fighting back from being smothered by Wan, which resulted in my race's damnation and fall, the Great War and all its atrocities, and so many other atrocities that we don't even know about. Can't you see, Azula? Wan's solution was a horrific one—actually, it wasn't even a solution. It was adding another layer of problems to the problem that already existed because Raava and Vaatu were at odds, against their own natures. It made everything so much worse. Wan's goal was never Eternal Balance—he didn't understand what Eternal Balance is. He made things so much worse, but I'm here to redeem his crime. My goal is Eternal Balance, where Light and Darkness are harmonized; my goal is for there never to be a Greater War again; my goal is for there to be peace across generations where Light and Darkness each have presence, like the Day and Night—coequals. I heard all my life, and was taught, that The Avatar is the Balance-Keeper, but that's terribly wrong—The Avatar is the Balance-Denier. This Greater War has been all about Vaatu trying to restore Balance while I have been preventing it from happening. I'm going to fix it."
Azula shook her head, wondering whether to smack him—or shoot lightning at him. "I do not believe a word of it."
"Think," he stressed, staring down at her with adamance. "We always knew that the Greater War was a clash to restore Eternal Balance, but we never realized we were on the wrong side."
"We are on the right side, Aang," she defended, refusing to think that everything they had accomplished was futile—and done on the wrong side. She had been on the wrong side once before, and she knew that she had not made the mistake again. She was on the right side—with Aang and the others. "Everything we have done has been oriented to that goal."
"But our orientation, in and of itself, was skewered—it was wrong. The cosmos seeks Eternal Balance, but I stand in the way, not Vaatu, because of Wan's decision, which could only culminate in Imbalance—it was never Vaatu. It was always me because I began the Imbalance by becoming The Avatar in the first place, displacing Vaatu from his rightful place by elevating myself at the cost of him. There was no more Raava once Wan Ascended; there was only The Avatar, but The Avatar never had a counterpoint, only a misshapen one in Vaatu because Vaatu was displaced, which made Imbalance. Light and Darkness no longer had equal say, and this whole Greater War has been the Darkness fighting back to have presence—because it can't actually be smothered like Wan thought. If smothering the Darkness culminated in the Greater War and all the horrors and atrocities, which it did, it means that smothering the Darkness isn't the answer—it's never the answer. There's always going to be destruction, but it's about managing the destruction and making it as impossible as it can be—by harmonizing the Two again inside One. It has to be inside me, reborn, coequal, and connected just like the Light and Darkness are inside the Void. And it has to be me who does this because I'm the one who destroyed the Balance that already existed and replaced it with this Imbalance—it can't be anyone else."
Azula shuddered, stubbornness crumbling as she began to understand Aang's point. To fix the source meant to return Two, which meant Father would live forever inside Aang.
"I am furious on your behalf," she hissed, almost shaking. "Why you? Why must you do this? Why must you sacrifice like no one to ever sacrifice?"
Aang's laugh was not reassuring. "I know."
"This infuriates me like nothing ever has. This should not happen to you."
"It must happen to me and no one else," he retorted patiently, clearly understanding her rage and fear—because he likely felt the same. "I started all of this, and I must end it; I must pay the price because it was my mistake—my crime, my sin, my arrogance—that produced this. No one else can do it but me. If anyone else does it, all this will happen again, and what we're doing is meant to happen only once. We don't want anyone else to ever face it or experience it. We don't want Air extinct with Water, Earth, and Fire endangered again. We want to make all of this—the whole Greater War—a one-time event, an impossibility that will never happen again because we eliminated the symptoms that caused it. We want to make a real difference and solve the problem, and this is the solution. I have to fix the mistake that I made."
Azula swallowed and wet her lips. "Father knows only violence and degradation- "
"He knows a lot more than that now."
"- and he will be reborn inside you. Right?"
"Right," Aang confirmed.
She closed her eyes and soothed herself by listening to his reliable, steady heartbeat; his heartbeat didn't show any sign of fear. "What does it mean? Will he replace you?"
Aang sighed, beard brushing against her hair. "No. Maybe he will join all the other lives within me, but he will be more connected to me than any of the other ones; he will be tied to me directly in congruence. Or, as I suspect, all my past lives will die, beginning a new Cycle; it will be me and Ozai together—our natures harmonized."
"I want him to die," she hissed. "I want him to die forever."
He hummed. "It will just be his nature that is reborn inside me. If he killed me in The Avatar State, making me reborn inside him, it would not be me, Roku, Kyoshi, or anyone else that is reborn inside him—it would just be my nature."
"Meaning Wan," she concluded, dissatisfied; her nails dug into his robes. "He is the First. That means Father, as he is the First of his Avatar, will be reborn inside you instead of all the future lives he would live otherwise."
"His nature would, and we don't know what his nature is now," Aang pointed out, sounding infuriatingly calm. "Maybe he is better; maybe he understands better; maybe he wants to save the Realms. I really have no idea."
She did not understand how he was so calm. Perhaps it was because he was finally vindicated in his hatred for The Avatar. Perhaps it was because he finally had answers to things that had haunted him for so long across many lifetimes. Perhaps it was because the solution was remarkably simply, no matter how horrifying, after so much complexity had obstructed his way.
"I will be married to my father," Azula whispered. " Father will be Samir's father."
Aang gripped her arms and pushed her back, holding her in place; his gray eyes were steely as they stared down into hers. " No, he's not going to be anywhere—I promise. You have to trust me. I'm sorry you don't understand it, but it makes sense to me. It's only his nature, and as your mother claims, there are many things lovable about his nature. It will not be him as you understand and remember him that is reborn inside me; it's the nature. I will still be me; I will be Whole for the first time across my existence. The Realms will know Eternal Balance. And Ozai will be part of it, which makes what he does good—I understand it all now. Everything is connected, and Ozai has as big a part to play in it as I do—this is redemption for us both because I've been more chaotic and destructive than he ever has been. We are both orienting ourselves to the Good because Light and Darkness are both oriented to it; both are necessary for it. Remember, Darkness is not simply Evil—never mistake it as such. This will make things so much better; the Greater War will finally be over—forever."
Azula wanted desperately to believe him, but she could not understand the process like he could, lacked the intelligence, genius, experience, and understanding to grasp it. "You ask of me more than anyone else."
He smiled. "You're my wife. I trust you more than anyone else. I know you can handle it. I don't ask of you perfection, but I do ask for trust—that's all. Trust me; trust that I know what I'm doing and talking about. I don't understand the specifics of what it means for Ozai to be reborn inside me, but I understand the impact it will have. I'll still be me. You will still have your husband, not your father."
She had no other choice but to trust him. There was nothing else she could do.
"What do we tell the others?" she asked, hollow. "Everyone is furious and terrified. There is talk of breaking up the army. Queen Anju sounds particularly displeased."
"Tell them as much the truth as we can," Aang replied after several moments. "Say we know how to ensure that Ozai is destroyed himself forever, which will leave only One Avatar— me. That won't satisfy them until we tell them that we must kill Ozai in his Avatar State."
Azula's eyes widened as she realized the cost of revealing such a truth. "Then everyone will know the secret to your immortality, as well—will know how to destroy you forever. They will figure it out; it is an obvious conclusion to make."
She wondered if the Husband-Murderer would attempt something.
Aang smiled tightly. "I'm aware, but once I become One, I don't think that matters any longer; that vulnerability, I suspect, will Ascend to invulnerability because I'll be Whole."
"I suppose this is a better solution than Two Avatars," she admitted. "And if this was always the result of Wan's Avatar, it reveals that Wan's Avatar was never enough. However, if there are no complications, your Avatar—you will be the new First—should be enough, filling the various voids left by Wan's Avatar."
He looked proud that she understood well enough—the general idea, at least. "Yes. The only complication now is the actual battle and ensuring Ozai is killed in his Avatar State."
"He has all the Elementals now, as well," Azula reminded. "It is not over yet."
"But it's starting," Aang said. "The End is beginning. We know what we have to do, and this time, we understand the impact. This is for Eternity to match the Eternity in and of the Void."
XxXxXxXxXxX
"That whole hating The Avatar thing you've got going on, I think I get it now."
Jin looked up at Prince Sokka in surprise, catching the dark, disgusted, and bitter look on his face; it was an expression she was familiar with, having seen it on many faces across the previous days. "Really?"
"Letting this happen?" Haru clarified needlessly, slouching next to her. "Yeah, I think everyone gets it now. I don't even know what's going to happen."
Prince Sokka scoffed as he sat across from them in the temporary building created by Earthbenders to function as a command center. "I know what's going to happen. I was thinking about it even before Aang decided to be a cunt."
"What do you foresee?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer, but she needed the truth.
"An eternal war that takes breaks every once in a while, and the fighters have to always be at their best, but we know that history has more than definitively proven that The Avatar is often not at his best."
Jin winced as she remembered Ba Sing Se, heard the howling winds and screams as the world died around her—she had only survived because of Thryn and some friends' quick thinking in tunneling immediately down to the Ba Sing Se catacombs once the shaking began, but the ordeal had nearly crushed them all. It was only the fact that they were a group of over fifteen Earthbenders that they even survived, but the stress, chaos, and pressure from it made her miscarry—as always.
Haru frowned. "You don't think Aang will beat Ozai?"
Prince Sokka shook his head. "He's hasn't even beaten him so far, has he? Ozai's proven he's more of a winner than Aang's ever been and possibly can be. Aang's only lost all his life, really, whereas Ozai has always won, except for the one time when he lost to Aang the first time. I mean, when it does come down to it, yes, I think Aang will defeat Ozai, but I think that only about this lifetime—I think that only about Aang. Any of his successors? Abso-fucking-lutely not. I don't trust any of them. Aang's the greatest Avatar to ever Avatar. Look at his competition for that title—there is none. Roku was a failure in every way. I once heard Bumi say that Roku couldn't tell his thumb from his penis, and it seems accurate. Kyoshi was a bitch who made things worse, and from what Toph and Bor learned, actually took part in Chin the Conqueror's conquering and destroying for a long time before she had the standard 'change of heart,' and even then, everything she did after contributed to the downfall that happened with the Great War. Kuruk is a horror legend for how much of a shit he didn't give about anything but his pleasure, most notably fucking women, and he spent centuries trying to destroy the Face Stealer, caring more about that than the Mortal Realm. Yangchen? Well, I think Yangchen is actually a contender for Aang's title of greatest Avatar, but that's usually the pattern. For every four Avatars, only one of them is a great one and does what must be done, cleaning up the messes left by his predecessors. Aang will defeat Ozai this time, but he won't do it every time; his successor is going to probably be as bad as Kuruk or something, and Ozai will have extra generations to fuck this world."
Jin wished she felt surprised, but she was not; she knew The Avatar could never be trusted, but it was sobering to hear Prince Sokka's chilling prophecy. "History reveals The Avatar will fail because he has always failed, which will give Avatar Ozai the- "
Prince Sokka flinched hard. "Please don't call him that."
It was only due to the fact that Haru looked equally sick and anxious that she relented. "Which will give Ozai the world."
"Thank you, and yes. And if you think about it, when has The Avatar ever faced an enemy that's actually on his level?" Prince Sokka continued. "Before all this during the Great War, Ozai wasn't on Aang's level. Not Azulon, not Sozin, not any Fire Lord; not Chin the Conqueror or any Earth King; not my grandfather and great-grandfather or any Water Chief; and not any Air Nomad ever. No one to ever walk the world in its long history has ever been anywhere near The Avatar's level, but The Avatar's track record in dealing with people who are, frankly, so much lesser than him fucking sucks; it's actually pathetic. And now he has to deal with a rival that's on his level? No, he's going to be losing a lot more than winning. Aang will win—I think that's a fucking certainty that's rivaled only by the certainty that Suki and I are staying together forever. But for every Avatar after Aang who has to fight Ozai's Avatar? I'd be surprised, at this point, if he ever wins more than twenty percent—maybe twenty-five percent—of those battles."
Haru paled. "Which aligns with the one great Avatar out of every four. That's what history has revealed."
"Aang's next life will be a fucking slacker who coasts off all the work Aang has done," Prince Sokka declared, and Jin wondered briefly if he had been drinking. In the Fire Nation, Fire Lady Katara had told an amusing story about something called 'cactus juice' and Prince Sokka's notable intoxication. But the only intoxication Prince Sokka seemed to suffer from was rage and bitterness. "Did you know that's exactly what happened with Kuruk after Yangchen? She did such a great job that Kuruk felt like he didn't have to do anything. I bet that's what happened to the previous great Avatar, possibly the Air Avatar before Yangchen, with his successor! It's all a fucking cycle! The last Air Avatar was an amazing Avatar like Aang is, working to fix everything that had gone wrong in the past generations and succeeds, and the Water Avatar fucks everything up, beginning the cycle all over again. It happens again and again and never changes! And now it's going to be so much worse! Aang is the greatest ever and will be followed by the worst ever."
"How can he be the greatest ever if he let this happen?" Jin challenged.
Prince Sokka nodded, surprisingly. "And don't think that's what everyone's wondering! Aang didn't defeat Vaatu! It was Ozai who actually defeated Vaatu by absorbing him, which was kind of like destroying him forever, at least based on what Azula said about how she understood the Ascension!"
Haru swallowed. "Aang will beat Ozai, but it will have to be the greatest redemption ever to accomplish it at this point."
"He'll get it done," Prince Sokka assured, seemingly in contradiction to himself. "This is just like Aang—this is how he operates and always has. It's the most awful thing you'll ever experience, but no matter how low and wrong it seems, he shows up at the last possible moment and saves the day in the most awesome, arousing, shit-yourself way."
"Arousing?" Haru echoed, brows rising.
"Seeing The Avatar's power, I mean. It gets my blood pumping—makes me feel buzzed and alive. I guess it's not real arousal, nothing like what I get with Suki, but I do come alive. When Aang showed up during Sozin's Comet and I saw all that power and destruction, I don't mind admitting that my pants got tight."
Jin's fists clenched in her lap, and she tried to smile kindly, but she knew it was cold and frayed. "Believe me, seeing The Avatar's power is not arousing; it is terrifying."
Prince Sokka shrugged. "I think Azula agrees with me, at least. And hers is the real arousal, you know."
That sounded like Princess Azula.
"Obviously," Haru muttered. "Ty Lee mentioned some things about her."
Jin smiled at him in comfort, knowing how deeply he missed Ty Lee—it was exactly how she missed Thryn. "I have learned that it is wise to agree with Princess Azula," she dismissed, preferring to move to a new subject; she disliked discussing The Avatar. "Now that Queen Anju is here, we may secure another ally for myself with Chyung."
Unfortunately, Prince Sokka did not share her sentiment as he scoffed. "That bitch? She does nothing but whine about Aang."
Haru smiled slightly. "And you've been doing what exactly?"
Prince Sokka held up a stiff finger. "I've been grumbling about Aang—I don't whine. I'm just pissed at Aang, but I'm still going to follow him wholeheartedly. My loyalties are never in question. But I have doubts about Anju's loyalties. I personally think the only reason she's actually here is out of her own loyalty to Bor and in memory of Bumi—because she knows her grandfather would be here if he weren't dead."
Jin was reminded of her own loyalties, which were predominantly to King Bor, Queen Toph, and Suki—technically, Princess Suki—only; her loyalties would never be to The Avatar. She would rather die than be loyal to The Avatar. "I think that is the best you can ask of her," she said, spacing her words. "It is a difficult time, and people have complicated reasons for their loyalties, especially during such a tense and chaotic time."
"Don't worry, I know all about your Avatar-hating passion," Prince Sokka assured with a wave of his hand. "But Suki trusts you, which means I trust you. Suki is an excellent judge of character. After all, she married me, and I'm the best thing to ever happen to her."
A smile escaped her, feeling a surprising fondness for Prince Sokka that had nothing to do with the sole fact that he was Suki's husband. "Thryn would like you."
"Your husband?"
Jin recalled his face, which became less focused and vivid in her mind with each passing day. "He was more serious, but he could be silly, as well."
She had enjoyed it when he was silly during those rare times.
Prince Sokka's eyes bulged. "Silly? I'm not silly."
"It is an admirable trait," she defended. "I know that your silliness is one of the many reasons Suki loves you."
Haru smiled next to her, amused, while Prince Sokka's eyes narrowed in assessment. "Really? You think so?"
"I know so."
Satisfied, Prince Sokka rubbed his hands together. "Excellent. Now I can really say what I've always wanted to say."
"I'm sure that's never been a problem," Haru observed dryly, and Jin held a hand over her mouth to try to smother the laugh, but it was too late. It felt nice to laugh, even during such tense, anxious times.
It was one of the reasons she liked Haru as he could make her laugh and bring smiles to her face.
Prince Sokka rolled his eyes. "Have you been around Samir? There's a kid that says what's always on her mind."
"Quite like her mother," Jin observed.
"I hope my boys are as free as she is," Prince Sokka added, voice softening, eyes becoming distant. "I hope they have her strength, too. Not only has she survived Ba Sing Se and being kidnapped by Ozai and held prisoner for a long time, but she also survived having her face stolen by the Face Stealer. That kid is tough."
Jin's eyes widened. "She survived Ba Sing Se?"
Prince Sokka nodded, glancing at her in apology. "She did. From what I understand, she was running around during the chaos, and the Air Spirit saved her life and brought her to Aang, Azula, and Toph. Apparently, she was gutsy enough to stow away on Appa with none of them the wiser until they were close to the Eastern Air Temple."
"That girl must have the strength of the world inside her," she breathed, astonished, trying to visualize Samir, years younger than she was currently, running around while The Avatar murdered Ba Sing Se, miraculously escaping injury or death.
It seemed unthinkable, even with the Air Spirit's help.
"No, that's Aang."
Jin frowned. "You know my meaning. Her strength is extraordinary, and it is an honor to be in her presence."
It was much more honorable than ever being in the girl's father's presence—The Avatar's presence!
Prince Sokka rolled his eyes. "You say that now, but you haven't seen her when she's going nuts with energy and running around like a show-off. Fucking Airbenders—if I've learned anything, it's that they're crazy."
Haru snorted. "I remember at the Western Air Temple after the Invasion when Aang was showing us around. The Air Temples are beautiful places, but they are scary. You have to be crazy to want to live there."
"No wonder Azula married Aang—because she's just as crazy as he is!" Prince Sokka looked proud of himself. "Get it?"
Jin sighed in minor amusement. "Yes. Princess Azula is in possession of a proclivity for madness."
Haru nodded. "Ty Lee told me how her mind broke at the end of the Great War."
"Will it break at the end of this war?" she asked softly.
"It's already the end, and she seems fine," Prince Sokka dismissed. "She seems a lot more stable than pretty much anyone, including Aang."
"Including you?" Haru challenged.
Prince Sokka winced. "I think so. I was giving some actual thought to running Aang through with my sword for a while there. Azula wasn't thinking anything like that, and unlike me, Azula could probably get away with something like that and survive because she's his wife."
"I quite agree," a familiar voice drawled, and it was only Jin's noble upbringing that prevented her from flinching when she saw Princess Azula stop next to them.
"Azula," Prince Sokka greeted with a lazy smile as he waved his hand dismissively. "I meant that as a compliment, you know."
Princess Azula smirked, not deigning to look at her, for which Jin was grateful. "Of course. I married wisely for that reason alone."
Jin truly did not understand The Avatar and Princess Azula's relationship; such a thing was entirely in conflict against how her relationship flourished with Thryn.
Prince Sokka scoffed. "You're such a suck-up, you know that?"
"It is a wonder there is any air left considering you suck it all up," Jin dared add.
Princess Azula's golden eyes sharpened. "I can mitigate that problem by decapitating you and releasing all the air trapped in your head back into the world—not to mention whatever is in your mouth and lungs."
Prince Sokka coughed and forced a laugh, clapping his hands, while Jin looked away, bitter about Princess Azula's obvious power over her—and the ability to manifest her 'imagination' with no consequences. It paid well to have the affections of a world-destroying god. "Okay, okay—all heads are staying on their shoulders. This isn't the time to bitch at each other."
Princess Azula hummed and looked at the crowd of people gathering inside. "Indeed."
"What's going on?" Haru asked, obviously wanting to change the subject, but Jin simply felt worn and heavy.
"Toph has gone on a violent notification journey, screaming at everyone to meet here before she crushes skulls," Princess Azula notified, sounding fond. "Aang has news—and strategy—to share."
Prince Sokka gasped in delight, all previous ire at Avatar Aang gone. "Strategy?"
"A strategy to destroy."
"That's the only kind worth doing!" Sokka exclaimed, jubilant.
Jin watched as the 'command center' brimmed with thousands of people—close to the entire army from what she could tell—with countless voices speaking simultaneously, pockets of conversation extending and diminishing, glimpsing many unfamiliar faces, but recognizing some every once in a while. Their numbers were stronger than she anticipated upon reaching the South, having absorbed all of the South's warriors, Omashu's warriors, and the purified Firebenders. However, as she had heard frequently in whispers since Avatar Aang manifested his rival, did their numbers matter anymore?
Was there a point to continuing an impossible fight?
When Avatar Aang floated in above the massive crowd, drawing everyone's attention, Jin felt struck by the sudden blank look on Princess Azula's face, as if she knew Avatar Aang's planned strategy. It was not surprising that Princess Azula knew due to being Avatar Aang's wife and a rumored tactician herself, particularly based on what she had heard from Queen Toph and Prince Sokka, and even a few grumbles from Fire Lord Zuko, but what was surprising was the fact that Princess Azula appeared to disagree—disagree!—with her husband's strategy.
What did it mean? Was there discord between Avatar Aang and Princess Azula? If it continued, would Princess Azula's evident wrath and vengeance against her for attempting to assassinate Avatar Aang fade? Would Princess Azula care henceforth if she ever gathered the courage to try to assassinate him again, forcing all thoughts of her babies from her mind?
Did it even matter? Did she want to do it?
All she wanted was The Avatar dead, but she did not want to be the one to manifest it. She would look to Avatar Ozai for inspiration and hope, but she knew, against all odds, Avatar Ozai was worse— worse!—than Avatar Aang.
It was literally choosing the lesser of two evils—because The Avatar was evil at his core.
"I'm sorry this happened," Avatar Aang claimed, raising his voice to be heard by everyone, possibly using airbending, but Jin did not believe his claim. It looked like she was not alone in her feeling according to the notable suspicion and doubt clouding the air. "I wish things were different. But I have good news."
"This should be good," Prince Sokka muttered, but he looked gleeful, possibly 'aroused' by the thought of the final war strategy.
Fire Lady Katara looked hopeful. "What is it, Aang?" she called out.
"I know how to make sure there's only One Avatar—me," Avatar Aang responded. "There will never be Two Avatars."
Suddenly, Fire Lady Katara was not the only one who looked hopeful; it was remarkable to watch as so many faces lit up simultaneously, joy and relief sparkling in their eyes, gazing up at Avatar Aang like he was the ultimate hero.
Jin had no idea how to feel.
"Everyone, shut up!" Queen Toph hollered over the rising clamor for answers. "Aang, what does it take to kill Ozai forever?"
Princess Azula watched Avatar Aang with tight eyes but did not interrupt as he nodded. "We must kill him in his own Avatar State, which will destroy the immortal connection he possesses."
Silence—before it was pierced by rapid chatter in various whispers and hisses amongst everyone.
Prince Sokka's lips parted, brows pinching in consternation. "Why the fuck didn't I think of that?" he muttered, seemingly appalled by his failure to discern the 'obvious' solution, while Jin only wondered in awe at the possibility of destroying The Avatar forever.
"What is an Avatar State?" Queen Anju demanded, smacking her palm against her chest armor to make a clanging sound, gathering everyone's attention. "What does that mean?"
Fire Lord Zuko held up a swift hand. "Aang, are you sure he has an Avatar State?"
Avatar Aang's brows rose in surprise. "Yes, I'm sure. It's the only way he's his own Avatar. To answer your question, Queen Anju, something I know everyone else is wondering, The Avatar State is the source of my 'Avatar' connection. When in The Avatar State, I'm pure 'Avatar,' if that makes any sense. It will be the same for Ozai. He'll be at his strongest because of it. It is the way to destroy him."
Jin's eyes widened as she realized that The Avatar State must have been the reason why Ba Sing Se was destroyed—along with her baby! Even the obvious fact that Avatar Aang was elusive with the entire truth about The Avatar State, conveyed by Prince Sokka and Fire Lady Katara's expressions, could not diminish her sudden elation.
The Avatar could die forever.
She prayed that Avatar Aang and Avatar Ozai would destroy each other forever in the imminent final battle.
Yet watching Samir—whose face was restored and possessed all the kindness and innocent of her spirit she once did—hanging off Dowager Fire Lady Ursa, peering up at her father with awe, love, and trust, she found that her prayer lacked conviction; it felt like something she had to do rather than wanted to do in that moment.
"What's the plan, Aang?" Fire Lady Katara demanded, followed by several declarations of follow-up by various warriors.
Avatar Aang's face was promising, set in determination—and, curiously, resignation, which matched the look in Princess Azula's eyes, though Princess Azula's resignation appeared to have a shrill terror while Avatar Aang's resignation was tired but accepting. "We depart shortly!"
Queen Toph grinned, looking relieved as she punched King Bor's arm with affection. "I told you. Where we are going, Twinkletoes? Where are we taking the Loser Lord's Avatar State from him?"
"Wulong Forest. Ozai is there."
While various whispers echoed as Omashu's warriors cited their familiarity with the location, Prince Sokka's jaw gaped before it shut with a snap. "Motherfucker," he grumbled. "Of course, that cunt would go there."
While Jin did not understand the location's importance, Haru frowned. "Isn't that where- "
"It's the same location Aang and Ozai battled the first time—the actual first time when Aang was still just a fucking kid."
Jin's lips twitched, making the connection instantly, understanding the significance; she almost respected Avatar Ozai for it—but he was worthy of no respect since no Avatar was worthy of respect. "He chose the location to redeem his failure, shame, and humiliation all those years ago. He will smother the memory of his defeat with the memory of triumph."
"Abso-fucking-lutely not," Prince Sokka rejected adamantly. "We're going to give him another memory of defeat that's going to fuck him up his ass so hard he's going to vomit from it. He's triumphed enough to reach this point, but he's done triumphing."
"This is almost over!" Avatar Aang cried out, voice overwhelming everyone else's. "I know this isn't how we wanted it to end, but the result is the same—peace and balance. We won't have to worry about Two Avatars; we won't have to worry about war and conflict; and we won't have to worry about losing anyone else. The only thing we'll have to worry about is living in times of peace, which doesn't sound like much of a worry to me! Does that sound like a worry to you?"
Many agreements erupted, but Jin was silent, not offering her agreement. She still worried about conflict and loss after Avatar Ozai's defeat and Avatar Aang's victory.
Was peace really possible?
The world she was familiar with suggested otherwise. However, if there was anyone who could make the impossible possible, it was The Avatar, who was impossible to his essence.
For the first time since before Ba Sing Se and her baby's loss, she wanted The Avatar to succeed.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"What aren't you telling us?"
Aang glanced at Zuko in surprise as everyone filed out of the command center, preparing for the imminent journey to battle Ozai. "What are you talking about?"
Zuko looked unimpressed. "You're a good liar—you really are perfect for Azula. But I know there's more to it—to your solution of killing Father in his Avatar State. Is that even the solution?"
"It's the solution," he confirmed.
"What are the complexities that you're hiding?"
He grunted in surprise when Samir dashed to him, interrupting the conversation, giving him a thankful opening to consider how to answer Zuko. "Are you excited for peace, Samir?" he asked, staring down at her, drinking her in—her healthy, living face attached to a healthy, living body.
Samir nodded eagerly. "Uh-huh. 'Peace is necessary.'"
Aang smiled at her recitation of Air's ancient wisdom, proud that while she did not grasp it, she took it to her heart and kept it there. Her understanding would come with age—just like his own did. "It really is. The world's going to be at peace now. You're going to love it so much."
But would she love him still when Ozai was reborn inside him? Would she sense a change, sense something wrong, sense her 'grandpa' who terrorized her during her kidnapping with Ursa?
He knew he needed Ozai to be reborn inside him, but he accepted it with bitter resignation that the world's peace was likely to come at the cost of his own—forever.
"Then we'll go home?" Samir asked, gray eyes enthusiastic.
Aang blinked. "Home?"
Samir laughed, apparently thinking he was playing a game. "The Air Temples! You're so silly, Daddy!"
It was a relief to know that Samir thought of the Air Temples, likely the Eastern, as home. "We'll make our way home," he promised. "I know you've been to the Southern Temple, but I'll show you everything there."
"Even the secret room?" Samir gasped, gray eyes widening.
Aang's brows furrowed as he tried to decipher what 'secret room' Samir referred to since all rooms were open to anyone; he had the brief memory of the tribute room Gyatso showed him, but he realized swiftly that Samir referred to the inner sanctum housing all past Avatar statues, which he had kept open when living there but shut upon leaving. "I'll show you," Aang said, smiling slightly. "I don't think it's going to be as exciting as you think."
"Why? What's inside? Treasure?"
He would have laughed at the awed assumption if not for the fact there once had been a treasure room at the Southern Temple, which caused such extensive problems—the most evident symptom of the many reasons behind Air's murder. "It is a treasure but not that kind of treasure."
Samir rolled her eyes. "Treasure's treasure, Daddy. If it's not treasure, it's not treasure."
"Good luck, Samir," Zuko said with the barest of smiles, though it didn't reach his eyes, which rested on him with thinly-veiled demand—and accusation. "Your dad thinks a lot of things you're never going to change his mind on."
Aang sighed at Zuko's hidden slight about letting Ozai's Ascension happen. "Where's Mommy?"
Samir swiveled her head for a moment, clearly not realizing that Aang already knew or could 'look' himself if he needed to. "She's talking with Grandma, Aunt Katara, Toph, and Sokka."
"Go talk with them," Zuko encouraged, waving his hand in a kind flourish. "Maybe you can gang up on Sokka and make him scream like a girl. Then it will be all girls."
As expected, Samir took the bait and dashed off, and Aang glanced at Zuko. "Interesting strategy- "
"What are you hiding?" Zuko interrupted in harsh demand, face clearing of his performed kindness for Samir; he was cold with fury.
"Nothing."
"Stop airbending."
"I'm not airbending- "
Zuko glowered. "You're evading—close enough, right?"
Aang almost told him the truth to be through with the conversation, but he knew that would never end the conversation; it would only start it. How could he tell his best friend that his father would be reborn inside him? He told his wife, but his best friend was different; his best friend might never forgive him for it. "I'm destroying your father. Isn't that enough?"
"It's not enough when you let this happen in the first place," Zuko snapped. "You may think that this new 'strategy' you have will make everyone forget about what you did, but I know—I remember, and I'll never forget. When it came down to it, you let Father's Ascension happen; when it came down to actually wanting One Avatar, you let Two Avatars happen instead."
"It was to save Samir- "
"Recite that dragonshit to Azula, not me," Zuko hissed. "Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think my intelligence lacks cohesion? I know this was never about Samir at the end of the day. You lost Air and survived; you could lose Samir and, to be callous, be fine. I know there was a lot more to it. What did the Face Stealer tell you? What did he say to change your mind after it was set in stone for so long? What lightning did he hurl at that stone?"
Aang shook his head, maintaining the lie—it was the only thing to do. He trusted Azula with the truth because she would accept, if bitterly, the whole truth, whereas Zuko would not accept the truth, particularly about Ozai being reborn inside him—how Two were actually necessary. He himself barely accepted it. How could he expect Zuko to accept it, especially during such a critical time? "It was my fault, Zuko—I swear. I spent too long searching for Samir, and I got caught; it was too late. The only thing I could do was come back with Samir's spirit and fasten her back to her body."
Zuko was silent, studying him for long moments, and Aang simply stared back, before Zuko scoffed. "I don't believe you, and frankly, I'm not sure I believe you when you say you will destroy him this time."
"There are always many things I'm not telling you at any given time," he admitted. "It comes with the territory—I'm The Avatar. I can't tell anyone, not even Azula, what I know. No one understands it but me. I'll admit that I told Azula more things and details about what happened, but she doesn't understand it. But she accepts it, which is what I need. I'm the only one who can ever understand it—that's my burden. All I can hope for from anyone else is acceptance. But I know you—none of you but Azula can accept it right now. I can't tell you anything more because of it. You can threaten me, you can betray me for your father, and you can abandon me and leave, going back to the Fire Nation to start rebuilding. I'm not telling you—I can't."
"At least you're finally being honest with me," Zuko grumbled, but looked more relaxed. "What you can't tell me, it must be bad."
Aang thought about Ozai being reborn inside himself, wondering if he would truly be himself; he had assured Azula that the nature would stay the same, and it wouldn't really be Ozai himself being reborn inside himself but the Darkness he absorbed and Ascended, but he still held fears about it. "There's not going to be Two Avatars, which means it can never be bad. There's going to be Eternal Balance finally after eons of imbalance."
Zuko's single eyebrow rose. "You sound like you're trying to convince yourself. What, did the Face Stealer fail to convince you all the way?"
"I once made a monumental decision like this before," he said slowly, remembering Wan and what happened—what he did to the Realms by following what he thought was the correct path. What if he was wrong again? What if Koh didn't understand? What if Wan didn't realize his error? What if he rationalized the wrong choice—again? "I can't make the wrong decision again. The Realms will never recover if I do."
A heavy sigh escaped Zuko. "Well, if it makes you feel better, you won't be the only one who makes it. We're with you until the end. If this decision damns you, it damns us, as well—and we accept that."
While it was not as reassuring as Zuko undoubtedly intended, Aang found himself able to smile. "I think you'd make a good Avatar."
Zuko snorted. "No, I'd kill everyone. I have nowhere near as much patience, intelligence, and restraint as you do."
"But you see the big picture," Aang pointed out, hoping that Zuko would be able to eventually see enough of the big picture to accept Ozai being reborn inside himself—and forgiving him for going behind his back about it. "I'm glad you're on my side."
"Not like I have much choice," Zuko drawled, but his lips curled in amusement. "You or Father is an easy choice, and this war has revealed that there are only two sides."
He mourned the simplistic enforcement of perception but knew it was true. "Like every war does."
"There's no third side to this."
Aang realized that there actually was a third side to the Greater War, which was the very decision he made to let Ozai's Ascension happen—to make Eternal Balance possible by reuniting Two embodied in One, as Raava and Vaatu were initially when the Tree shaped them.
"There is," he whispered, relief and hope merging inside him to enflame his motivation all the more. "This is the third side, and there are sides because it's no longer a circle; we're breaking the cycle. The cycle must end, and it's ending. It already ended. We just have to finish it."
"It can only be finished," Zuko said. "It can't continue, right?"
"The only thing that continues henceforth is the End—this End should have been the Beginning. If it was, this would have never happened, and we would all be redeemed."
Zuko clapped his shoulder, staring into the distance. "I am still pissed, but I trust you. Father will be gone—that's what matters."
Aang regretted keeping the truth of Ozai's imminent rebirth inside him from Zuko, but it was a painful necessity. "You are a good friend, Zuko."
"And that is the one thing that will always continue and never end," Zuko agreed.
He smiled. "Some friendships are strong enough to linger after rebirth—ours is one of them."
When he underwent his rebirth, with Ozai being reborn inside him, he knew his friendship with Zuko, while tested, would remain strong and true.
The End was beginning, but the Beginning's beginning was beginning, as well.
It would have to be enough.
XxXxXxXxXxX
I hope that you all enjoyed it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. I'd really appreciate it!
*Samir is returned to her body by Aang, causing great celebration amongst everyone—before Aang reveals the truth that there are Two Avatars now. Understandably, no one is happy, and the tension/stress has reached the highest possible point.
*Iroh gives Katara a box of herbal tea blend to induce breastmilk in a woman's breasts as a precaution in case Hama dies.
*Hama reflects on her relationship with Ozai and bonds with her unborn baby and promises her baby many things, specifically that she will be the mother, not Katara—and making promises about Ozai that she believes utterly at this point because Ozai and her baby are all she has, particularly with her waterbending gone. She talks with Ursa, whom she realizes is pregnant, and feels an even deeper urgency to escape because of it—get to Ozai first before Ursa can.
*Zuko and Katara spar and deal with the fallout from Aang letting Two Avatars happen, specifically confronting the undeniable reality that Aang literally let it happen because he wanted it to happen, not that he was unable to stop it. Both are bitter and heartbroken because of it.
*Aang struggles with the decision he made to let Two Avatars happen, trying to discern why the decision was the correct one. He goes back to the beginning and speaks with Wan—the First Avatar—to decipher and learn the truth. He realizes that The Avatar—becoming The Avatar—was the wrong decision, made by Wan, if the goal was Eternal Balance. However, Aang realizes a solution through Wan's help—to become Two in One like Raava and Vaatu once were eons ago. While it will not be the exact same because Aang would be more powerful than Raava and Vaatu ever were together, not a direct return to Originality, the theme remains constant, which is what matters. There would be Light and Darkness in equal standing, harmonized—exactly like in the Void of Eternity.
*Ozai mourns Vaatu's loss and adjusts to being his own Avatar, feeling what it means—how things are different. He and Sozin discuss his insistence on Zuko and Azula's destruction, which, according to Sozin, should no longer be necessary because Zuko and Azula can never harm Ozai—he is too far above them, being his own Avatar now. Sozin disagrees with Ozai's continued decision to destroy Zuko and Azula, but he cannot sway him. If not even Ursa could sway him, Sozin certainly will never be able to.
*Azula confronts Aang about letting Two Avatars happen and learns the truth—the reasons and conclusion. She is the only one who Aang trusts to tell everything to about what Two embodied in One really means and why he must become Two embodied in One. She hates it, obviously, but she recognizes that she cannot change it—she can never stop it from happening. She fears she is losing Aang—losing her husband—to Ozai—her father—and dreads that she will see Ozai in him; she fears she will be married to her father and will be under his thumb once again, like when she was a child/teenager.
*Jin, Haru, and Sokka discuss Aang's failure about letting Two Avatars happen before Aang reveals his plan to everyone—the whole army—to destroy Ozai forever.
*Zuko challenges Aang about destroying Ozai, knowing Aang well enough to know that Aang was concealing the full significance and strategy, but Aang soothes his fears.
Well, I think that is everything. I hope that you all enjoyed it, and I would really appreciate it if you left a review to tell me what you thought about it.
Stay Safe
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