Story [Avatar: Last Airbender] Heart of Fire (Post-series, Azula, complete 4/19)

Chapter 15- Memories of Flame

Ling, Joti, and Yujin hurried away from Janxing as fast as their legs would take them, all three feeling the need to put as much distance between themselves and the Governor's palace as possible. They didn't speak, but their thoughts all ran along the same lines- the old man had let them go for his own reasons, but there was no guarantee that he wouldn't change his mind.

Finally, when the moon was dipping down towards the horizon and they could run no more, they came to a thickly wooded place in the shadow of the mountains that ringed Janxing on its landward side. They slipped in among the trees and collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Joti fell asleep almost immediately, and so did Yujin- at least to judge from the fact that she was curled up motionless on the ground. Had Ling bothered to check, however, he would have found that her eyes remained wide open.

Ling himself found that sleep evaded him. At first his thoughts turned to his father, wondering if Zhung and the village had survived the wrath of the renegade soldiers who had come seeking Yujin what felt like an eternity, but was in fact less than a week, ago. Then his mind wandered into the future, wondering where they would go now that Janxing was not an option, and if in fact they had discharged their promise to the strange girl.

Finally his thoughts turned to Yujin herself, perhaps the most fascinating and disturbing line of reasoning. Why, Ling wondered, would the Governor of Janxing, by all accounts one of the most powerful people in the Fire Nation, go out of his way to kidnap her unless he knew something about her that could provide him a drastic advantage? And then there was the almost feral look in her eyes when she confronted her three opponents just before Ling and his sister found her- and the equally intense look of hatred from the young man with the injured side. What had she done to merit that?

Ling had suspected from the beginning, and was now even surer, that the person he was now traveling with was not entirely sane.

Sighing, he rose to his feet and stalked out of the grove. Clearly he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Ling stepped out onto the grassy slope and looked up at the stars, which were mirrored in the lights of now-distant Janxing. He tossed his head back and breathed deeply, then dropped into a firebending stance.

Time seemed to blur as Ling moved through his routines. He jumped, twisted, punched, and kicked, summoning the fire that was an extension of his own life's energy and sending it out in jets and waves. For a brief time, his concerns and worries vanished. There was only himself, and the flame.

Finally, though, Ling's practice came to an end. Breathing deeply, he centered himself, took another deep breath, and opened his eyes- and there, sitting against the nearest tree, was Yujin.

Her customary expression of cool arrogance was gone, and instead Ling saw a whirl of confused emotions. He had a sense of hate, ruthless and absolute, within that gaze, though he somehow knew it wasn't directed against him, not exactly. Behind the hatred was pain, old and well-hidden, but there nonetheless. The hate was that of a cruel and ambitious adult; the pain was that of a confused and abandoned child. It was a disturbing contradiction, but not one that Ling had time to focus on because of the other emotion that overrode all others- longing, more powerful than anything he had ever seen or imagined.

He had known Yujin for almost a week, now, and for the first time he thought he was seeing her true self.

Though the turmoil of emotions she projected was off-putting, Ling was compassionate at heart and felt a twinge of pity for this lost, confused person. He quietly walked over to the girl and sat down next to her, her head rotating slowly so that she was looking him straight in the eye.

"You miss it, don't you?" Ling asked quietly. He didn't say to what he was referring, but Yujin understood.

"I do," she whispered. "I don't remember much about who I am or where I came f

 

Chapter 16- Phoenix

Joti unrolled a map of the Fire Nation on the table in front of her, using a cup and a plate of food to hold the edges down. "Now, then," she said matter-of-factly, "It's been five days since Janxing, and we're far enough out of the Governor's territory that we don't need to worry about him chasing us anymore. Now we need to figure out where we're going next."

Ling and Yujin pulled their chairs forward and bent down over the map. They'd been travelling nonstop for the last several days, and Yujin had barely spoken to either of the siblings since she'd watched Ling's firebending practice. The girl seemed to be drawing into herself, pursuing some internal quest that Ling could only guess had something to do with whatever had happened to her in the Governor's palace. They'd finally arrived at this backwater inn- the ramshackle collection of buildings out back could not justly be called a village- and stopped for some rest and real food.

"Well, Janxing is out, obviously," Ling said thoughtfully. "And I'm guessing you still don't want to go near the capital?" He looked over at Yujin questioningly.

"Definitely not," she said vehemently.

"Now then, we have a problem," Joti said, running her finger along the Fire Nation coast. "There aren't any other major ports near here, unless you count fishing villages or old Navy bases. Neither one would work, unless you want to try and hitch a ride on a warship or sail across the ocean in a fishing boat. I don't know about you, but I think that both of those are very bad ideas."

Yujin moved over to stand behind Joti so she could get a better look at the map. She studied the coastline intently for several minutes, then jabbed her finger down on a dot several weeks to the north. "There," she said. "That city- Gandao- looks like the closest major port."

"That would work." Joti looked over at Ling. "But that's a long way from here. Can we do it?"

"We can. We made a promise, Joti, and we're going to keep it."

Joti absorbed this, the smiled brightly at the prospect of a new adventure. "Excellent!" She rolled up her map and stuffed it into her bag. "Gandao, here we come!"

Ling stood up and stretched, letting loose a great yawn. "Well then, if that's settled, I think we should head up to our rooms and get some rest." The three were turning to do just that when the door of the inn swung open with a loud crash. They spun and saw the hulking figure of Yujin's pursuer filling the frame almost completely, his soldiers clustered behind him.

Ling tried to shield Yujin with his body, but he was too late. The big man focused his gaze on them and let loose a loud, darkly amused laugh. "The Spirits favor me with luck, it seems," he rumbled. "We had just stopped here to rest tonight- and now my quarry is here as well. A lucky night."

The innkeeper hurried out from the kitchen. "Now, see here, whoever you are," the man stammered, "I will not allow you to harm my paying customers, you hear-" His voice was cut off as the soldier seized his collar and dragged him close.

"Are you interfering with my business, innkeeper?" he growled.

"And be sure to clean up when you go!" the frightened man squeaked. "A good evening to you!"

"That's better." The soldier shoved the innkeeper aside and advanced on Ling, Joti, and Yujin. "Now then, children, be reasonable. Give me the girl, and I won't hurt you."

"How did you find us?" Ling asked, stalling for time.

The big man shrugged. "It wasn't hard. You ran from Janxing in a straight line, boy, and the Governor's men pointed me in precisely the right direction. Yes, I was several days behind you, but with rhinos it wasn't hard to catch up."

"How wonderful for your rhinos," Ling muttered. "Joti, Yujin, go!" Both girls hurried up the stairs towards the rooms (or rather, Joti hurried, half-dragging a snarling Yujin behind her) while Ling dropped into a firebending stance and sent a fireball hurtling at the big soldier.

"You fools!" the innkeeper shrieked in a corner. "This place is made of wood!" No

 

Chapter 17- This is Guilt

General Akai lay curled up unmoving on the cellar floor. Zuko's general had been badly burned by Azula's attack, and now Joti knelt over him, trying to get him to drink some of the water the guards had left with them. It was a lost cause, at least for the moment- Akai was well and truly unconscious.

Ling sat in one corner of the makeshift prison. He did not watch his sister attempt to help the fallen general; his head was in his hands. His mind was still reeling from the truth of Yujin's identity and the suddenness of her betrayal- and the revealed depth of her firebending power. Ling had never seen anything like the display the princess had given when she deflected Akai's attack- it was far beyond any bending either he or his father could accomplish. He had heard of Princess Azula's reputation as a firebending prodigy, of course, but hadn't given any real credence to the stories- just an arrogant tyrant boosting the ego of his favored child.

Ling knew better now.

Joti gave up on her attempts to make the general drink and came over to sit by her brother. The two sat in silence for several minutes, then Joti looked over at Akai with hollow eyes. "Do you think he'll be all right?" she asked her brother, sounding less like the knowledgeable adventurer and more like a frightened girl looking to her older sibling for comfort.

"I don't know," Ling said. "She hurt him pretty bad, killed his men. I'd never seen anything like it."

"I know," Joti muttered. "And not just the firebending- it was that look in her eyes while she was doing it. It wasn't human- and that was the scariest thing of all. She hurt all those people, but she wasn't even feeling anything, I don't think- not even hate."

"She is broken inside," a dry voice rasped, and Ling and Joti both turned in amazement to see General Akai sitting up and grabbing the water pitcher from beside himself. He was hurting, that much was obvious from the stiff way he moved, but he was very clearly alive. After downing almost the entire pitcher, he turned back to the siblings. "I knew a man like that once, during the war. All the death and killing got to all of us, after awhile- all except him. He didn't enjoy it, exactly, the way some lunatics do, but he didn't feel anything for the people who died, either. They were just statistics to him- not even real. Looking into his eyes was like looking into a pit."

"What happened to him?" Ling asked in horror.

Akai shrugged, then winced. "He finally miscalculated- took on an earthbender bigger and meaner than he was, and got hit by a very large rock for his troubles. We all felt it was rather just- he'd killed more Earth Kingdom citizens than the rest of our squad put together, most of them peasants. But the Princess, she's like that too- that kind that doesn't feel a thing for other people, except when they serve her ends. And she's much smarter and more powerful than my old comrade ever was. That's why we need to get out of here, and get back to the capital." Akai pulled himself to his feet and stumbled towards the cellar door, but Ling jumped up and caught him by the shoulder.

"Don't bother," he said. "There are guards by the door, and you're too weak to firebend past them- and I'm no match for a real soldier."

Akai sighed and settled back down. "Then we wait," he said. "No prison is perfect- no jailer, either. Sooner or later they'll slip up, and then we'll make our move."

############

Azula sat on the bed in the room the terrified innkeeper had insisted on giving her for free, and stared into the depths of the fire that burned in the grate. She should have been happy- more than happy, rejoicing. She was herself again after so long, her power and her reason fully at her disposal. Now she was traveling not with two peasants but with a company of armed and trained soldiers taking her to their lord, who would crown her as the rightful ruler of the Fire Nation.

She should have been rejoicing. But she wasn't.

A strange emotion had seized hold of her heart, and her mi

 

Yay! Azula's back and finally doing some good! Maybe. Hopefully.

 

Chapter 18- The Gathering Storm

Zuko hung from the chains, his body broken and bloody. Mai didn't know what Azun's men had done to him- she didn't particularly want to. But it was over now. The Avatar had defeated the renegade general's army and the rebellion was crushed. It was time to get Zuko home, where he could heal.

Zuko looked up as Mai reached out a hand to undo his bindings. He smiled slightly at her, and she favored him with one of her own rare smiles as a sign that everything was going to be okay.

Then the entire prison assemblage exploded in blue fire. Mai fell back, and looked up in horror to see Zuko consumed by the flames. His golden eyes found hers, and she saw the love in them one last time before the fire swallowed him completely. Then he was gone.

Azula strode through the flames, General Azun following a step behind. The princess's eyes reflected the firelight, and she looked at Mai with a pleased grin. Mai's eyes narrowed and she reached into the sleeves of her robes for daggers to throw at her one time friend- but they were empty. She was helpless before one of the most dangerous benders in the Fire Nation.

"Did you really think you could betray me and walk away, Mai?" Azula asked. "I thought you knew me better than that. And there's no Ty Lee here to save you this time." The princess's smirk broadened, becoming an expression that no longer seemed to belong on a human face. "Burn."

Mai tried to dodge, but her body seemed to have frozen as Azula brought her hand up and released a stream of blue fire. It enveloped Mai and she felt her entire body consumed with agony, and she knew that it would last a long time before she died?

#############

Mai woke with a start, heart hammering. She knew it wasn't real, but still she was certain that the images of Zuko's tortured form, followed by both of their brutal deaths, would haunt her for Agni only knew how long. And that look on Azula's face as she delivered the killing blow was the worst of all?

Mai glanced out her window and saw that the sun was beginning to rise. Knowing that she would never be able to get back to sleep after a dream like the one she'd just experienced, she rose from her bed and pulled on one of her robes, checking out of habit to make certain she was carrying a full complement of blades.

She slipped quietly through the palace, past sleepy guards and hurrying servants, and came at last to the roof. The Avatar travelled fast on his flying pet and she had been waiting for him for several days now. He should have received her letter days ago, and when he did Mai had no doubt that he would hurry to the Fire Nation as fast as Appa could carry him. After all, Zuko was his friend.

Mai gave a very slight smile as she imagined how the Zuko of just a little more than a year ago would have reacted to that thought.

The sun rose completely over the horizon and Mai paused for a moment, basking in its glow. She was no firebender (Zuko and Azula both said she lacked the necessary passion) and so could not experience Agni's power in a true and direct fashion, but she was still Fire Nation, and the sun was the patron spirit of her people. People expected someone like her to prefer cloudy days, and in some ways Mai supposed she did, but no true child of the Fire Nation could ever hate the sun.

She stood on the palace roof for some time, staring out over the eastern sea, searching for any moving object. She didn't really expect to find anything today, just as she hadn't for the last several days, but it made her feel better than just doing nothing in the palace below. Mai couldn't go to the Obsidian Citadel without the Avatar, but she didn't like feeling helpless.

She finally turned to go down into the main palace when one of the guards came hurrying towards her, a spyglass in his hands. "My lady," he panted, sketching a quick bow. "Take this and look out over the sea."

Mai took the glass and turned back towards the east, looking intently- and there she saw a small black speck in the sky growing rapidly

 

Chapter 19- The Temptation of Azula

The Obsidian Citadel reared up from the ground like a great black talon clawing at the heavens. Looking up at it from the back of her rhino, Azula noted the resemblance it bore to the central spire of the Fire Nation palace, but rather than being reassuring, she found the look of the fortress unnerving on some fundamental level. The Citadel seemed almost a dark parody of palace, the royal home remade in black glass that glinted in the sun.

Ki Mong rode up beside her. "It is impressive, isn't it, Princess," he said, mistaking her fascination. "I did not believe it existed, but the Lord General showed us the way- just as he showed us that you were the true heir of Sozin's dream."

"It is impressive," Azula said. "Is Azun inside? I want to pay my respects to him as soon as possible. It's been too long since I've spoken to my dear cousin." The truth was that Azula had barely spoken to Azun at all during the war- Father found the intensity of his ideals disturbing, and didn't want his daughter anywhere near the man. Still, Ki Mong seemed to practically worship the ground the general walked on, so emphasizing her connection to him seemed the best way to win Ki Mong's loyalty.

The great gates in the citadel's outer wall swung slowly open as Azula and her escort rode up the winding path towards it. Within the courtyard stood the gathered ranks of the Army of the Rising Flame, the tall, lanky form of General Azun at their head. The princess brought her rhino to a halt and slid down from its back, and as she did so the gathered troops bowed to her.

"Welcome, Princess," Azun intoned. "Your kingdom awaits you."

This was what Azula had been missing ever since coming out of her strange trance, even before she had known fully who and what she was. It wasn't adoration, exactly- she'd never really cared about what her inferiors thought about her personally- but it was respect, reverence for her authority and her station. She was royalty- this was what she was born to.

Mentally, Azula shook herself. She remembered her vision- or dream, or hallucination, or whatever it had been- of her mother, and the message it had tried to import to her. Her old life had been a path to self-destruction and she hadn't come here to take what Azun offered. Still, it was hard- after so long, she was jockeying for power instinctively.

"Princess?" a voice asked, breaking her revery. "Cousin? Are you all right?" Looking up, she saw Azun standing at her side, a concerned look on his face.

"I am perfectly fine, General," Azula snapped, pulling away from him. "I am merely exhausted from my journey. You will spare some of your men to escort me to my room." Giving commands was easy- she fell into it as if it had been only yesterday, rather than last year, when she lost her throne.

"I will escort you myself," Azun said. "You are our future, Princess- how could I do less? Ki Mong, have the men prepare. Tomorrow at dawn we will hold the ceremony, and Fire Lord Azula will lead us into our glorious future."

Ki Mong saluted. "At your command, Lord General."

Azun took Azula aside and led her into the twisting corridors of the Citadel. For a long time they walked in silence through the dark halls, but at last the General turned to regard his companion with a penetrating gaze.

"This will be a great day for you, Cousin," he said. "I trust that I may call you that when the men are not in earshot? You should have taken the throne on the day of the Comet- Agni knows that your father and I had our disagreements, but he was the rightful Fire Lord, and he made it clear that it was his will you should rule. I am sorry that your brother took it away from you."

No, Azula said inside her mind, it was Father's will that I rot in a pointless position while he went out and conquered the world- and after all I did for him! He used people up and then abandoned them- and I'm the same way. I never cared about the Fire Nation except for how its glory reflected on me.

Out loud, she said, "Yes, I should have

 

Interested to see what Azula's got up her sleeve.

Great job!

 

Chapter 20- Heart of Fire

The entire throne chamber seemed to hang suspended in time as Azula sat on the throne with her finger pointed at Azun, her call for the Lord General's arrest still echoing through the air. The Army of the Risen Flame stood still, the officers looking from the princess to the general and back again, their expressions hidden by their masks. Zuko's mouth was opening and closing in a manner Azula found distinctly like that of a fish. Azun himself, though, seemed almost completely composed, though from where she sat Azula could see the question in his eyes.

"What is the meaning of this, cousin?" he finally asked, his voice carefully neutral.

"Do I need to explain myself to my underlings, General? I don't believe I do."

"Then don't think of it as explaining yourself to an underling," Azun said. "Think of it as explaining your rejection of something you have wanted your whole life to the man who devoted himself to getting it for you!"

Azula sighed. "Very well. Short answer- because it won't work."

Azun pulled back. "What are you saying?"

"You seem to be asking that question a lot, cousin. I'd think the answer would be obvious- the Avatar has taken my brother's side. Didn't you ever stop to think about that? He defeated my father, the most powerful firebender alive, while he was at the height of his strength."

"You defeated him yourself!" Azun snapped. "I heard the true reports of what happened under Ba Sing Se. You nearly killed him!"

Azula rolled her eyes. "Yes- and if he defeated my father, he obviously became much more powerful- and he's had another year to get stronger. A fully realized Avatar isn't an opponent I'm interested in facing, thank you. I have no desire to be on the losing side."

Azun stepped back from the throne, a storm of emotions crossing his face. "This is not right," he muttered. "This isn't what you promised! You must have known what would happen. Why did you lead her to me?"

Then the Lord General smiled, his eyes burning with feverish zeal. "Ah, yes. I see it now. I was so convinced that it must be Sozin's direct descendant who would realize his dream, but that was never to be. You did this to show me that I alone have the will to lead this nation to its destiny. I am the true heir of Sozin!"

"You're insane," Azula said. "Believe me- I know. Now then, soldiers- arrest him. Now."

"No," Azun said in the ringing voice he must have used to issue orders on the battlefield. "She is the traitor- to her nation, to her blood, to her own identity. I am your general still. Arrest her!"

Zuko lowered his head and his body shook slightly. Azula guessed that he found both of his enemies shouting orders while the army did nothing to be rather amusing- she knew she would have in his place. Still, she had more important factors to consider, and kept her gaze fixed on Azun. "They're not going to listen to either of us, you know," she said conversationally. "They've been following you for a long time now, and they seem to think you're some kind of prophet. But you've been prophesying about me, telling them all about how the two of us will lead them to glory- and they believed you. But now were at odds with each other, and they have no idea who to listen to. Looks to me like you did your work too well."

"Then it seems," Azun murmured, "that we must finish this ourselves." Quicker than the eye could follow, the Lord General dropped into a crouch and released a fireblast that shot towards the throne. Azula threw herself to the ground and the blast passed over her, though it knocked the obsidian throne from its pedestal and sent it flying back into the wall, smoldering. The princess was on her feet in a heartbeat, staring at the general with burning golden eyes.

"So it's to be an Agni Ki?" she asked.

"Not a formal one, perhaps," Azun admitted, "but an honor duel nonetheless."

"Honor," Azula scoffed, and then she sprang into motion, sending a lightning bolt arcing towards her cousin. Azun dodged with ease- though no longer young, it was plain t

 

That was intense! Great job!

Now what to do with Azula...

 

Chapter 21- Peace

General Azun crumpled to the ground, a satisfied grin on his face that was so at odds with his sudden death that it made the whole image all the more horrible. Zuko knew that ritual suicide had once been common in the Fire Nation, though it had been largely stamped out by his grandfather and father, who needed to keep enough soldiers alive to fight a world war- one of the few good things he felt his predecessors had done for the nation. Seeing it happen before him, though, was another matter entirely.

Ki Mong arose slowly from where he had been lying and spun towards his enemies with fire in his hands- and stopped dead, staring at the fallen form of his commander. The big colonel gave a strangled cry and collapsed to his knees, tossing his helmet aside so that all could see his tear-streaked face. "Forgive me, my lord," he murmured. "I could not save you."

Zuko tore his eyes from Azun and marched over to Ki Mong, Mai, Aang, and Katara following behind. "Listen," he said, "you're commander's dead, and his deal with my sister fell through. I need to know- are you and your men ready to surrender, or is my friend here going to have to take all of you out before you realize you've lost?" The Fire Lord motioned to Aang, and the Rising Flame soldiers shifted nervously.

Ki Mong glared up at Zuko hatefully. "That won't be necessary," he spat. "We surrender."

A mocking chuckle sounded behind him. Zuko turned and saw Azula, who had removed the Fire Lord's crown and was holding it lightly in one hand, seeming rather amused. "What do you think is so funny?" he demanded.

"Oh, I was just wondering how exactly the four of you are going to escort a thousand or so prisoners back to the Capital all by yourselves," she replied.

In an instant Katara stepped forward and called a long rope of water out of her pouch. It shot towards Azula and wrapped around her wrist, then pulled her back against the wall, hardening into ice as it did so. The deposed princess looked at her binding with a critical eye and shook her head.

"I can melt through this in seconds, you know," she said. "You want to fight me, waterbender? Some friendly advice- wait until the full moon."

"Really?" Katara asked. "The way I remember it, the last time we fought, you were all juiced up on comet- and you still lost."

At the mention of that disastrous Agni Ki, Zuko felt the lightning-inflicted scars on his torso throb- and a look of utter agony crossed Azula's face, brief but unmistakable. With her free hand she tossed the crown at her brother's feet. "Take it," she spat. "Much good it'll do you."

Aang stepped forward and looked at Azula with a quizzical expression on his face. "You were fighting Azun when we got here," he said. "Why? Were you trying to help us?"

Azula gave a single bitter chuckle. "I was helping myself. I knew the fool wouldn't be able to win where my father couldn't, and I wasn't interested in taking sides with someone I knew was going to lose. He disagreed."

"Either way, you can't have thought we'd just let you walk away after everything you've done," Mai put in.

"Right now, I expect all of you to leave me alone!" Azula snarled suddenly, her eyes flashing with a hint of madness. Her bound hand flashed with blue flame, reducing the ice manacle to steam. With a last look at her old enemies, the princess turned and hurried from the hall.

"I'll go after her," Zuko said, but before he could move he felt a hand on his arm.

"I think you need to be here right now," Aang said. "I'll catch her." The Avatar hurried from the chamber, moving with an airbender's uncanny speed.

When he was gone Zuko sighed and looked around himself at the soldiers who had once formed Azun's army. "You know who I am," he said, "and you know who that was who just left. Azun told you that we were your enemies and that we would lead the world to ruin. He also said that the spirits were leading him to victory. He's dead now, which means he was wrong about that- and he was probably wrong about a lot of other things too

 

Yay for Aang! Probably a lot smarter that he talked to Azula than Zuko. Or even Katara for that matter.

Great job!

 

Epilogue- Spirits

"I'll admit she did better than I expected."

The other spirit, who wore the form of a tall, handsome man who glowed golden with some inner fire, turned to face the speaker. "She did what she did for herself," Agnir, the spiritual embodiment of the sun, replied. "But she had realized now that the path her life had taken was no longer capable of sustaining her. It was enough to save her from him- this time."

The old man shook his head. "This time," the spirit who had once been an Avatar named Roku whispered. "So you're certain of it, then? He's not giving up, even though my great-granddaughter is lost to him?"

"He can't give up," Agni said. "His existence is on the line. And he may yet find a way to turn Azula to his cause before this is done. They are very alike in some ways. Of course, that is to be expected, considering exactly what he is."

"I warned Sozin," Roku said. "I told my old friend that he was shifting the world out of balance, but all I accomplished was that he made certain I was dead before embarking on his war. He tried to break the Avatar Cycle by destroying the Air Nomads- and that atrocity still echoes in both worlds."

"Yes," Agni replied, looking out over the verdant jungles of the Spirit World. "The worlds are connected- Sozin was a fool to think his actions wouldn't have consequences. I'm certain you're familiar, Roku, with the ways in which 'small' upsets of the balance, such as the destruction of small parts of the environment, can cause even friendly nature spirits to become monsters. What the Fire Nation started with the Air Nomads and continued for a century was far worse. You warned Sozin- I warned my Fire Sages. But they wouldn't listen, and then it was too late."

Agni turned to look at Roku with his gaze that burned like stars. "If even the smallest disruptions of the balance can create horrors, what of a century of war? He was born from the fires of the Air Temples and nurtured by a hundred years of conflict. For all that time he was quiet, basking in light of human evil, but no more. Peace has been restored, and the power that fuels him is slipping away. Now he is putting forth all his power to ensure that the mortal world falls back into chaos- and you know that when it does, it will take this world with it."

"Leaving him alone ruling over nothingness," Roku finished.

"We have our own duties here," Agni said. "We cannot abandon them, no matter the cause." The sun-spirit waved a hand and multicolored flames sprung up before him, forming into the images of mortal humans. Roku saw his successor there, and all of his friends, and the princess, as well as other, less defined figures. "It is in their hands now," Agni said. "May their strength be enough."

"It will be," Roku said. "It must be."

NOT

THE END

AN: This fic is the first in a trilogy. I should start posting the second, "Path of Fire", very soon now. Thanks to everyone who's read and-or reviewed this- I really appreciate it!

 

Great way to end it!

And oooh, there's going to be more? I can't wait!

 

No, you've finished the story right when I have time to start catching up!

But I'm 14 chapters in and loving it Zuko and Mai rock, of course, and I'm excited that Mai's calling Aang in! And I actually am enjoying Azula. Not being able to remember her life or firebend has done wonders for her personality I can't wait to see the rest of her redemption

 

Just finished it, and I still love it Azula was awesome, it turns out - I'm pleased that Ursa's words - or whoever she was - changed Azula. And I love the little details of her personality, down to referring to Zuko as 'Zuzu'

And I'm definitely excited for the sequel!!