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Chapter Text

An era of peace. That’s what Uncle had said. And for once, Zuko felt it. The other nations, as well as the Fire Nation, had brought up concerns about the rest of the royal family, but they had accepted, albeit begrudgingly, his proposal of house arrest on Ember Island for Azula, Ozai being locked away in the Boiling Rock prison, and Uncle retiring to Ba Sing Se to run his tea shop. All things considered, that had been the best outcome for the royal family. He had reconnected with Mai, and they were trying their relationship again. Katara had decided to give Aang a chance, and they seemed happy together. If he was honest with himself, he had thought he had felt something for Katara once, but that was most likely just due to the intense emotions and stress of everything they had been through together. Mai was the one he belonged with. And, of course, Sokka and Suki were as disgustingly in love as ever. Toph had also returned to her true love: Pro Wrestling. Everyone was happy, and peace had been restored to the world. Zuko couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Of course, he knew there was still an incredible amount of work to do, but he knew the world had been changed for the better.

------------------------------------------------------Five Years Later------------------------------------------------------

Zuko was startled awake by the sound of his door slamming open. Necessity had made him a light sleeper, and bolting upright, he saw a prison guard kneeling in the open doorway.

“A-apologies, Fire Lord. Two groups are fighting Boiling Rock with the intention of getting to Firelor-your father. Several of the guards have turned against us, and the ones who haven’t are almost overrun. I don’t think the prison can hold out much longer. I would never have dared to awaken you like this were it not an emergency,” the guard stammered, clearly terrified of Zuko’s reaction.

Zuko jumped out of bed and started pulling on his armor.

“What groups?” he snapped at the guard.

The guard cowered even more. Great. His father’s influence was still ever-present in the Fire Nation. The guards either feared or hated him, there had already been nine assassination attempts in less than five years, and the other nations still didn’t trust him. Of course, he couldn’t really blame them. Peace was still new compared to the hundred years of oppression and genocide. He knew it would take time. Still, it felt like a hopeless situation. Maybe Uncle would have some wisdom.

“Smellerbee’s Freedom Fighters and a group of the former Fire Lord’s supporters. Many of the guards have joined in the attempt to free Ozai,” said the guard, not once looking Zuko in the face.

Zuko sighed. The road to recovery was always longer than he thought. Seeing a man almost twice his age cower in fear for his life over a legitimate emergency just served to remind him how bad things had been. On top of that, this was the seventh attempted break-in since Ozai had been imprisoned there.

“What’s your name?” Zuko asked, pulling on his armor.

“Lee, Fire Lord.”

“I appreciate you coming to get me, Lee. Now, let’s get down there, and when we get through there, I think you’ve earned a promotion,” Zuko said, as he grabbed his swords.

Zuko ran out the door, Lee following close behind. As they ran through the palace towards the entrance, Lee finally asked.

“Fire Lord, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, and please no take no offense at my question, but why are you promoting me?”

“It takes bravery to come to the palace and disrupt the Fire Lord, and I know how my father would have reacted. And it also shows that you don’t side with his supporters, which implies I can trust you. I’ve been needing a new personal guard captain, and depending on what happens at the prison, I think you could be the right choice.”

“Thank you, Fire Lord. It would be an honor.”

Zuko could already sense that Lee was more comfortable with him, and Zuko was grateful Lee had come to him. It showed incredible bravery that Lee, despite being worried about Zuko losing his temper, felt it was important enough to come into his room unannounced. Zuko really needed a new personal guard captain that he could trust. While none of the assassination attempts were remotely successful, with the exception of one, he was getting tired of them. The one that had almost succeeded crept into his thoughts. If Katara hadn’t been there...No. He wasn’t going to let himself go there. He couldn’t think about her right now. He had business to attend to. Luckily, Lee jarred him from his thoughts.

“My lord, I just want you to be prepared. It’s probably worse than what you’re thinking. I’ve already called in reinforcements, but I don’t know how long it will take for them to get there.”

They ran to the palace stables and saddled a couple of Komodo-Rhinos before riding to the harbor. As they boarded the ship that would take them to Boiling Rock, Zuko knew this was going to be a long night. He also knew it was time to deal with Ozai. Permanently.

Chapter Text

By the time Zuko arrived at the prison, the former Fire Lord’s supporters were already inside. Smellerbee and her Freedom Fighters were trying to get the upper hand against them, but it wasn’t looking good. Had Lee not come for him, they would have succeeded. Zuko summoned all his strength and let out an incredible blast of fire.

“ENOUGH!” He bellowed.

Everyone went silent. He cleared his throat before continuing.

“Anyone who leaves now without a fight will not be arrested. But if you’d rather take your chances with me, be my guest.”

Silence fell over everyone. Zuko knew they could overpower him, Lee, and the remaining of Smellerbee’s fighters if they really wanted to, but Zuko hoped his status as Fire Lord and master bender would be enough to scare at least a few away. After a few moments of silence that seemed like an eternity to Zuko, some of his father’s supporters started fleeing. He heard someone, presumably their leader, “Cowards!” as several of the troops fled. Now, he just had to stall long enough for the reinforcements to get there and arrest the rest. Zuko scanned the crowd, looking for their leader.

“Who’s in charge here?” he asked, hoping to draw out the leader.

A large, menacing man came forward, the crowd of people parting for him.

“That would be me, fire brat,” he said, with a sneer.

“Why don’t we settle this, just you and me?”

The leader scoffed and replied, “And give you time for your reinforcements to arrive? No. I think my remaining men and I can take you.”

“Too afraid to face me yourself? I understand. But we’ll see how many of you it takes.”

The leader yelled in anger as he let out a blast of fire Zuko easily dodged. Lee and the remaining members of Smellerbee’s freedom fighters rushed to help him. Although Zuko was busy fighting the leader and a couple of his men, he couldn’t help but notice that Lee was an incredible fighter. He clearly wasn’t a bender, but Zuko recognized some of the same blocking techniques Ty Lee used. Upon a thorough inspection of his connections and background, Zuko thought he might have found his new guard captain.

As the fighting continued, Zuko knew he needed to take out the leader of the opposing group. Even though several of the Ozai supporters had fled, they still had quite a few men and if reinforcements didn’t arrive soon, it would be a close call. Zuko could not let Ozai escape. If Zuko could take out the leader, maybe the others would give up and surrender. Zuko could tell that he had extensive training and was a talented fighter, but much like his bending had been in the beginning, the other man’s bending was coming from a place of anger. His bending was strong but lacked focus and form. Zuko redirected one of his opponent’s fire blasts and saw his opening. After he redirected the blast, Zuko drew his sword and held it up to the other man’s neck.

“One move, and you’re dead,” Zuko threatened, loudly enough for several others to hear. That drew enough attention to get several more of Ozai’s supporters to flee.

“Do it, then. Because I won’t stop until the rightful Fire Lord is back on the throne,” the leader snarled. Zuko could see the man’s hand twitch and that he was about to try something. However, before Zuko could even think about a counter, Lee was behind his opponent, blocking his bending. As his opponent crumpled to the ground, Zuko gave Lee a thankful nod.

Realizing that Zuko had taken out their leader, more of his father’s supporters tried to flee, only to be met at the door by the reinforcements.

Zuko looked to the reinforcements and told them to arrest all of his father’s supporters. As they rounded up the former Fire Lord’s supporters, Zuko went to look for Smellerbee. He found her tending to one of her wounded men. He cleared his throat, and she turned to face him.

“Smellerbee, we need to talk.”

Smellerbee nodded solemnly.

“Yeah, we really do.”

“Meet me in the garden of the palace tomorrow. I have a lot I’d like to discuss.”

Chapter Text

Zuko sat in the garden, watching the turtle-ducks and sipping his tea, as he waited for Smellerbee to arrive. Last night wasn’t the first attempt to free Ozai, but it had been the closest one to succeeding. As Zuko drank his tea, he couldn’t help but miss his uncle. No one’s tea compared to Iroh’s, and he always seemed to have the perfect advice. As Zuko considered writing him a letter, a palace guard came into the garden.

“Excuse me, Fire Lord. Miss Smellerbee is here, as you requested.”

Zuko sat his tea beside him on the bench.

“Please escort her into the garden.”

“Of course, sir.”

Zuko was only left waiting for a couple minutes before Smellerbee walked into the garden. Zuko motioned for her to come sit next to her.

As Smellerbee sat down, Zuko looked more closely at her. She looked so tired and worn out. Just because the war had ended didn’t mean the fight was over. Unsure of where to start, Zuko took the advice uncle would always give him: always offer your guests tea before official business.

“Would you like some tea, Smellerbee? It’s not as good as my uncle’s, but it’s still pretty good.”

Smellerbee shook her head and said, “No, thank you, Zuko. I appreciate it, though.”

Zuko cleared his throat and continued, “Well, first, I want to say thank you for your help at the prison last night. I know there were many casualties and injuries, but you prevented Ozai from escaping. The Fire Nation is truly in your debt, but I am curious as to how you knew my father’s supporters would be attacking last night.”

Smellerbee looked down at the ground, with what Zuko assumed to be an expression of guilt, maybe? Or like she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to? She took a breath and looked back at Zuko.

“We intercepted a message, maybe a month or two ago, with part of the plan to break into the prison. It had the date of the attack, but it didn’t specify what was going to happen. I was able to have a couple people infiltrate their ranks and find out the rest of the plan as we gathered our own forces, but some of the intel was bad. There were a lot more of them than we thought there would be,” Smellerbee explained.

Zuko nodded. All of that made sense, but there was still something bothering him.

“Why not come to me with that information?”

Smellerbee looked down at the ground again, clearly not wanting to answer.

“I promise, I’m not going to have anyone arrested or punished. I just want to know the truth.”

Smellerbee sighed, and without looking up, she said, “We thought that if we ambushed them and overpowered them, we could get to Ozai and end this once and for all.”

Zuko wanted to be angry, but she had a point. Aang had thought letting Ozai live without his bending would be a peaceful solution to a very violent problem, but it had just prolonged the conflict. Honestly, even Zuko had let himself hope it would be enough. He silently scolded himself, not for the first time, for how naive he had been. Ozai still had supporters who wanted him back on the throne, a lot of people still wanted him dead, and Zuko didn’t know how he could balance all of that without starting another violent conflict.

“Did King Kuei know about this?” Zuko asked, praying that the answer was no. That would just add another layer of international conflict.

Smellerbee shook her head, and Zuko sighed in relief as Smellerbee continued on.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s been a decent king since Long Feng and the Dai Li were forced out of power, but people still don’t entirely trust him. I know it’s not his fault that he ascended the throne so young and was taken advantage of, but he hasn’t really proven himself as a leader yet. It also gave him deniability if any Fire Nation citizens were upset and started demanding retaliation. We intercepted the information and acted without his authority,” Smellerbee explained.

“That’s understandable. And while I do wish you had come to me, you’re right. Ozai does need to be dealt with more permanently, but if I make the choice to have him executed, it could mean civil war. A lot of people still believe that my father is the rightful Fire Lord or that it should have been Azula. If I make the choice to have him executed, many people will spin it as a power play, but you’re right. He-”

Zuko choked on his words and looked down at his hands in his lap. Ozai was evil, there was no doubt about that, but the idea of having his own father executed still made him feel a bit nauseous. Still, he knew that as long as Ozai lived, the fight would never truly be over. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

“I know he needs to die, for the sake of peace, but I honestly don’t know how I can make that decision without causing more conflict.”

Smellerbee was silent for a moment before suddenly looking up at him.

“What if it wasn’t your decision?”

Zuko looked up to meet her gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, in all honesty, the Fire Nation wasn't the victim of Ozai in the way the other nations were. If anything, it would be more fair for them to decide Ozai’s fate.”

“You mean like holding a vote?”

“Essentially, yes. Have the people vote on Ozai’s fate and then send ambassadors to the Fire Nation with their decisions. Hold a public forum where they read their votes out loud, and then once the vote has been held, make sure they are all witnesses to whatever fate they voted on.”

Zuko nodded. That plan made perfect sense, and he was a little annoyed with himself for not thinking of it sooner.

“Thank you, Smellerbee. I think that’s a fantastic idea. Even though I’m fairly sure what the outcome will be, I think it’s the best chance to start truly putting the past behind us,” Zuko said, as he rose to leave. He was only a few steps out when he heard Smellerbee call out to him.

“Zuko, wait!”

Zuko turned to look at her and saw her fidgeting with her hands.

“There’s something else you should know. You know how Aang took Ozai’s bending?”

“Yes,” Zuko said uncertainly, wondering where she was going with this.

“Well, when one of my people was undercover, apparently there were a number of people who thought Ozai lost his right to be Fire Lord when his bending was taken. And it got me thinking about how that would logistically work if Ozai was put back in power and why he still had so many supporters despite now being a non-bender. I had some of my people look for more information, and apparently there’s a general consensus that if Aang took away his bending, then he can also give it back.”

Zuko was shocked, but he supposed that logic made sense. What didn’t make sense is why his father’s supporters thought Aang would be willing to do that in the first place.

“And how exactly do they plan to get Aang to do that?”

Smellerbee shrugged.

“I’m not sure. All I know is that there is a plan, but it’s top secret and only a few people know the details. We assumed it would happen around the same time of the prison break to put Ozai back in power as soon as possible. But if it hasn’t already happened, they might not even bother going through with it since the break-in wasn't successful.”

Zuko nodded and said, “Thank you, Smellerbee. I’ll be in touch.”

“No, thank you, Zuko. You’ve done a lot the past few years, and I know a lot of people are still unhappy, but they’re just the vocal minority. Most people appreciate what you’ve been doing.”

A small smile crept onto Zuko’s face. It meant a lot to hear that, especially with how much he’d been doubting himself.

“Take care of yourself, Smellerbee. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

“You too, Zuko.”

Smellerbee rose from the bench to leave, and Zuko signaled to one of the guards to show her the way out as he walked back into the palace. He headed to his study to write letters to the different nations about the plan for Ozai, and when he was about halfway through, one of his advisors burst into his study. Zuko stood up abruptly, knowing it had to be an emergency if the advisor had not even knocked or alerted him before entering.

“Sir, a message from Master Katara. It’s about the plan to free your father,” he panted, holding out a scroll to Zuko.

Zuko snatched the scroll from him and read it as quickly as possible. It appeared he would be seeing Aang and Katara sooner than he had anticipated.

Chapter Text

Katara knew coming to King Kuei’s party would be a mistake. If one more person asked her about being the avatar’s girlfriend, she was going to scream. She had escaped to a balcony where she was finally alone, but it still wasn’t enough. When she and Aang had been invited to King Kuei’s birthday party, Aang had desperately wanted to go, and Katara couldn’t think of a good excuse not to. Honestly, Katara didn’t mind coming to the Earth Kingdom for the party, but she hated how she was relegated to the role of “the avatar’s girlfriend” almost anywhere she went. Never mind that she was a master bender in her own right and had accomplished so much on her own outside of Aang. People seemed to forget how much she had done during the war, but most importantly, it seemed like even Aang was starting to forget that. Katara had been feeling like Aang just wanted her to be his girlfriend and go along with whatever he was doing, and it seemed like it was only getting worse as time went on. Maybe she was being dramatic, but she genuinely felt like she was losing herself and who she was in favor of who everyone else wanted her to be. At least she would be going back to the South Pole in the morning, where she could just be herself. 

She looked up at the moon, full and bright. She had always loved the moon, but especially when it was full. It reminded her of when she was young and would sneak out to practice her bending bathed by moonlight. She bent the drink in her cup as a small reminder of who she knew she was: a waterbending master and crucial part of team avatar. That’s who she was, even if these stupid nobles couldn’t see it. But for now, she would suck it up and be just Aang’s girlfriend for one more night. 

Taking a sip of her drink and gritting her teeth, she walked back into the party, where she saw Aang laughing with several members of the Earth Kingdom nobility. Katara wasn’t sure if Aang had noticed her walk out, but when he saw her walk back in, he gestured for her to come over.

“Katara! Come join us!”

As Katara walked over, Aang excitedly said, “I was just telling them about the final fight with Fire Lord Ozai!”

Katara politely smiled and said, “How exciting.”

People were always asking Aang about his adventures, and she’d heard every story multiple times. She knew she shouldn’t be so upset about it. After all, how often did someone get to talk to the avatar and hear the stories first hand? If she was honest with herself, she was just bitter that no one ever asked her about her adventures. After all, she had been the one to ultimately take down Azula. She had stood up to a master water bender and changed the gender dynamics of the Northern Water Tribe. She’d saved Zuko, the literal Fire Lord’s, life, on more than one occasion. But forget all of that. If they even acknowledged her, it was always some variation of “You’re so lucky to be the avatar’s girlfriend!” and Katara hated it. Sometimes, Katara really missed Zuko. She loved Aang, Sokka, and Toph, but sometimes, she felt Zuko understood her in a way they didn’t. She never felt like she had to tiptoe around Zuko’s feelings or that she had to suppress certain parts of herself. But Katara couldn’t let those thoughts spiral out of control. She loved Aang, and she felt so guilty for even having those thoughts in the first place, even if they might be true. Katara refocused her attention on Aang and forced herself to listen.

As Aang finished his story, Katara wondered how much longer the party would go on for. Katara absent-mindedly started to bend her drink until one of the noblewomen actually addressed her.

“So, Katara, what’s it like being the avatar’s girlfriend?”

Katara clenched her teeth and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was starting to remember why she had escaped to the balcony in the first place. Instead, she opted for the appropriate and polite response.

“It’s nice. I love being able to travel and experience different cultures and peoples. And Aang and I truly love each other. He’s still one of my best friends.”

“Well, I would certainly hope so. After all, aside from being the avatar, he’s also the last airbender. Everyone’s hoping for another one at some point,” the noble lady said, with a wink.

Katara was speechless. Was this lady really implying what she thought she was implying?

“Uh, excuse me?” she asked, almost forgetting her sense of propriety.

“Well, isn’t it obvious? Aang will have to continue his line to ensure the survival of airbending, and as you’re the one in a relationship with him, that also becomes your responsibility, does it not?”

Katara was livid. Now, not only was she being relegated to the avatar’s girlfriend, but also to a mother of children that didn’t even exist yet? That she hadn’t even decided on? True, Katara wanted children, but she would not sit there and listen to someone tell her that it was her duty and imply that she didn’t really have a choice.

“Well, I haven’t thought that much about it yet. There’s still so much rebuilding to do, and I want to be older before I even think about taking that step.”

The noble woman scoffed and said, “Normally that would be fine, but you’re what, twenty now? I would say the time to start thinking about it is now. After all, the more kids you have, the higher the chances of them being airbenders. It’s probably best to start early.”

Katara gripped her cup so hard she thought she might break it. How dare this lady tell her what she should be doing?

“Well, I can assure you I am more than capable of making those decisions myself. I will decide when I am ready for that step. No one else will decide for me,” Katara said, trying not to glare at the woman. The woman simply smirked and turned towards Aang.

“Well, what do you think, Avatar Aang?”

Aang shifted uncomfortably, clearly not enjoying being put on the spot.

“I mean, Katara, I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but she does have a point. I’m responsible for continuing the legacy of the airbenders, and I’ve actually been wanting to talk to you about that along with some other things.”

Katara was speechless and absolutely could not believe what she was hearing. Aang was seriously dismissing her feelings and siding with some random noble woman he’d never met? She’d already been feeling like he was trying to turn her into something she wasn’t, with all the comments about her eating meat, wearing fur, participating in her nation’s traditions, but this? This was too much. She’d given him a lot of grace over the past five years, but she didn’t know if she could move past this.

“What other things?” Katara asked, voice dripping with rage.

“Katara, do we have to talk about this now in front of everyone?” Aang asked, trying to avoid the issue.

“Why not? Apparently, it’s okay for other people to be involved in our personal business, and I want to know what ‘other things’ we need to talk about,” Katara replied, ice in her voice, and acutely aware of the rapt attention the nobles had on them. At least the one who had been probing had the decency to look nervous now. Katara figured that the noble woman thought that she would cave to what Aang wanted and was stunned when she didn’t. After all, who could say no to the avatar?

“Well, um, I know you love your culture and the South Pole, but I’ve been thinking about moving back to the Southern Air Temple and restoring it. I want to live a more traditional Air Nomad lifestyle, as much as I can anyway, and I want you to come with me,” Aang sputtered out.

“What exactly are you saying, Aang? Are you asking me to give up my culture in favor of yours? Why can’t we find a way for us both to embrace our cultures?”

“Okay, it sounds bad when you say it like that, but I don’t want you to give up all of it! Honestly, you wouldn’t even need the fur clothes and meat anymore. We can be vegetarian together! You gotta admit, it could be exciting to try new foods and clothes.”

“No,” Katara replied, in a low and cold voice.

“Come on, Katara, can’t you give it a chance?”

“You mean the same way you gave those things a chance when you were in the South Pole?”

“Katara, that’s not fair. It’s different.”

“You’re right, Aang. It is different. You’re the avatar. You’re supposed to embrace all cultures and put balance above your own personal wants. I know your culture is almost gone, and I’m so sorry about that, but I’ve already given up enough of my culture to make you more comfortable. I love my culture and heritage, and honestly, I can’t believe after everything, you would even consider asking me that. Did you forget I’m the only bender from the Southern Water Tribe? And don’t say anything about the Northern Water Tribe because the cultures are very different. If you want someone to fully embrace the traditional air nomad lifestyle, then go and find a girl who will. But that’s not going to be me. Honestly, I think I need some space from you right now,” Katara said, putting her drink on a nearby table and storming out.

She heard Aang yell, “Katara, wait!” but she ignored him. She walked deep into the King’s garden and sat alone amongst the plants. She thought she finally would have some peace and quiet, but of course, tonight just wasn’t her night. She heard the rustling behind her and swiftly turned around.

“Aang, I thought I told you-” Katara cut herself off when she realized that it wasn’t Aang. In front of her was a man she didn’t recognize in Fire Nation armor. She was fairly certain she hadn’t seen him at the party, and she wondered what he was doing sneaking around the garden.

“Oh, um, hi. Sorry about that. I thought you were someone else. Enjoying the party?” she asked, mentally preparing for a fight. Maybe it was nothing, but she had a bad feeling about this man. Her feeling turned out to be right when his only response was a fire blast aimed towards her. Katara bent as much water from the plants as she could and blocked it. She had no idea who this man was, but he clearly had bad intentions. Suddenly, she heard rustling all around her. Panic setting in, she realized he wasn’t alone. Within seconds, she was completely surrounded.

“Come on, little girl. You know you can’t take all of us. Honestly, if we didn’t need you alive, you’d already be dead. The avatar’s girlfriend is a valuable commodity,” he taunted menacingly.

Katara saw red. All day, she had been reduced to Aang’s girlfriend, and this really was the final straw. Katara started attacking with the water she had pulled from the plants, but she knew she was outnumbered and the clock was ticking. She glanced at the full moon. She had promised herself she would never bloodbend again, but even she could recognize she might not have a choice. Powered by anger in addition to the full moon, Katara summoned her strength, and bloodbent two of them away from her. She saw the confused looks from some of the other soldiers, but they still kept advancing toward her. Hopefully, she could keep going until someone found her, but the garden was massive and she was in so deep that she doubted anyone would. She bloodbent the ones blocking the exit away from the way she had come and started to run while defending herself as much as she could, but they weren’t letting up. She was starting to get tired, and it seemed like no one was coming. As much as she hated it, Katara stopped running and turned to focus on the two men closest to her. Summoning all of her strength and feeding off the power of the full moon, she felt for the blood pumping through their veins. She could only focus on two at a time, but maybe it would be enough to get them to hesitate or flee. Mustering all the strength she could, she ripped as much blood as she could from their bodies, killing the two of them. Their mangled bodies hit the ground with a thud, followed by the blood raining down after them. Horrified, the others paused. They might have needed her alive, but she didn’t need them the same way.

The soldiers looked like they were about to run or possibly throw up, when the leader yelled, “Come on men, she can’t take all of us at once! Capture her for the glory of Ozai!”

Katara was barely able to process the mention of Ozai before they were rushing at her. She really didn’t want to kill anyone else, but she also wasn’t about to let them kidnap her. She started to bloodbend and kill as many as she could, hoping someone would find her before she had to keep killing any more. Everything was a blur to her, but eventually there was only one left cowering away from her. It wasn’t the leader, and Katara realized she must have…taken care of him already.

“Wait! Please don’t kill me! I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t kill me,” he begged, covered in blood she assumed wasn’t his, cowering away from her.

Katara was in shock, but she knew she needed to get answers, or this would likely happen again. She could feel her blood racing, but after what had just happened, blood was the last thing she wanted to focus on. 

“I won’t, but you need to answer a few questions for me,” Katara said, devoid of any emotion. She knew she would have to process what just happened, but there were more pressing issues at the moment.

“Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you. Just please don’t do that body-bending thing again,” the man sobbed. 

“Who sent you and why were you trying to kidnap me?”

“There’s a group of soldiers breaking Ozai out of Boiling Rock. We were supposed to kidnap you and use you to force the avatar to give Ozai his bending back.”

That snapped Katara back to reality. 

“When is the break-in?” she asked, urgently.

“Tomorrow night. We were supposed to meet the others in the Fire Nation the day after.”

“Meet. Them. Where?” Katara growled at him.

“The house of another supporter. We were going to stay there with you for insurance and have the avatar meet Ozai outside of the palace to give him his bending back.”

Katara yelled in frustration and threw her hands in the air. She knew Aang should have killed Ozai when he had the chance. Things like this just kept happening, and it was setting back the peace efforts tremendously. Katara looked at the soldier and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Get up,” she ordered, pulling him to his feet and pushing him ahead of her.

“We’re going back to the palace.”

The soldier immediately started walking quickly towards the palace. Katara followed closely behind. She felt bad that she was about to ruin the King’s party, but this was urgent. She had to get a message to Zuko immediately.

Chapter Text

Katara burst into the ballroom with the soldier she had captured, and she saw Aang looking around frantically. He must have been waiting for her to come back in. When he finally saw her, the worry on his face turned to relief. He immediately ran over to her.

“Katara! I’m so glad you’re back, but who’s that with you?” Aang’s eyes widened in horror as he clearly noticed the blood all over the both of them.

“And why are you covered in blood?”

“An Ozai supporter. Find King Kuei. We need to get a message to Zuko now,” Katara said, ignoring the second question.

Aang’s eyes flitted between her and the soldier, clearly full of questions, before he ran off to find the King. Logically, Katara knew that Aang was only gone for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. When he returned with King Kuei, even the King seemed worried.

“Katara, Aang was telling me you had an Ozai supporter in custody? Is it true?”

Katara nodded and said, “Yes. They ambushed me when I was alone in the garden, but I was able to make it back here with this one. They were here to kidnap me in an attempt to force Aang to give Ozai’s bending back. He told me others are going to break into Boiling Rock tomorrow to free Ozai. We need to get a message to Fire Lord Zuko immediately.”

King Kuei fidgeted with his glasses nervously, while Aang had a questioning look.

“Oh, my. We most definitely do need to get a message to the Fire Lord, but even my fastest messenger hawk won’t make it in time.”

“We still have to try. At the very least, we can fill him in on the second part of the plan,” Katara reasoned.

“Of course, Katara. The fact that they managed to make it past all of the palace security and ambush you without being detected is very concerning,” King Kuei said, snapping his fingers to summon a guard. King Kuei had the guard arrest the man Katara had brought back, and while the two of them were talking, Aang nervously looked at Katara.

“So, you only came back with one soldier.”

Katara closed her eyes and tried not to picture the pale, mangled corpses of the men she had killed.

“Yes, I did.”

“You said they ambushed you, meaning more than one.”

“That’s correct,” Katara said, a hint of warning in her voice, since she knew where Aang was going with this.

“Well, you didn’t mention any of them escaping, and he’s covered in…blood, so, did you, uh…” Aang trailed off, clearly afraid to ask.

Katara took a deep breath, trying not to think too hard about what she had done. The mental image was burned into her memory, and she desperately tried not to imagine the sounds and screams from the garden. Now that the danger was over and she wasn’t in fight-or-flight mode, she felt like she was going to be sick, and she really didn’t need Aang’s judgment. She felt bad enough already, and she didn’t need Aang to make her feel worse.

“Look, you can ask the question or not, but it seems like you’ve already figured out the answer. I did what I had to do to get away, and I won’t apologize for that,” Katara said as evenly as she could. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to yell at him or go cry in a corner somewhere, but either way, her feelings on this would have to wait until after Ozai was dealt with.

Aang looked shocked and horrified at what she had just alluded to doing.

He lowered his voice to a whisper and scolded her, “Katara, you killed them?? That’s murder.”

Katara felt her blood boiling. He hadn’t had her back a single time all night, and now he was calling her a murderer for not wanting to be kidnapped? Instead of being comforted after being forced to do something horrific, she was being judged. Katara had been done with everything before this even happened, and she was almost ready to explode.

“How dare you say that to me!? I did what I had to do to escape! Would you have preferred for them to kidnap me? Would that have been the better answer?” Katara snapped at him.

“No, but there had to be another way! There’s always another way!”

“Well, there wasn’t. Sometimes, there’s only one way out, and if you can’t see that, maybe you’re not really ready to be a fully realized avatar.”

“Katara, don’t say that. I am ready, I’ve been ready. I stopped Ozai and ended the war,” Aang pleaded.

“Did you? Because there’s a plan in motion right now to break him out, and I was almost kidnapped as a way to force you into giving Ozai his bending back! The war might be over, Aang, but if Ozai escapes, it might start all over again. If you had actually killed Ozai five years ago, maybe this wouldn’t be happening!”

Aang reacted to Katara’s words as if she had slapped him. A part of Katara felt awful, but another part felt like this was what Aang needed to hear. And maybe there was also a small part of her that wanted to hurt him after everything that had happened tonight.

“Katara, please don’t say that. I did the right thing,” Aang replied, desperately.

“You did the right thing for you, Aang. It worked at the time, but it was never going to be a long-term solution,” Katara replied, icily. This had been a recurring theme over the past five years. Aang’s way was the “right” way, and he tended to reject anything that didn’t align with his worldview. Katara had been trying to give him as much grace as possible since she couldn’t even begin to imagine being the last of her people, but at some point he had to start realizing that being the avatar meant he couldn’t always handle things the way an air nomad would. As much as she loved him, her patience was wearing very thin.

Aang was about to protest, but he was interrupted by King Kuei turning back to them.

“So, the guard I was speaking to is going to send the messenger hawk, but it won’t reach the Fire Nation in time. I know the hawk is still faster, but it might be best if the two of you travel to the Fire Nation yourselves as well. If the break-in is successful, Fire Lord Zuko will need help finding and re-arresting Ozai.”

Aang nodded and said, “That’s a wise plan, King Kuei. Katara and I will leave immediately.”

“Actually, do you mind if I write the message to Zuko myself? We can leave immediately afterwards,” Katara asked the king.

“Of course, Katara,” King Kuei said, beckoning over a servant.

“Please get Master Katara some parchment and something to write with. And as fast as you can,” he told the servant. The servant ran out of the room, and Katara turned to Aang.

“Do you want to go get Appa ready while I write the message? It shouldn’t take too long,” Katara asked.

“Sure,” Aang said, clearly unhappy. He had obviously hoped that the night would go differently, but they couldn’t dwell on that now. Once again, they were on the way to stop Ozai. As Aang was leaving the ballroom, the servant returned with the parchment and quill. Katara laid the parchment on the table and began to write:

Zuko,

This message probably won’t reach you in time, but we just discovered a plan to break into the Boiling Rock prison to free your father. This plan also involved kidnapping me as a way to gain leverage over Aang to force him to give Ozai's bending back. Aang and I are about to fly from Ba Sing Se to help you track down Ozai, should the break-in be successful. If not, we should probably discuss how you want to deal with Ozai moving forward. It seems like this isn’t going to stop any time soon.

Sincerely,

Katara

Katara reread her message quickly and then handed it off to the guard. As she ran to the stables where Appa and Momo were housed, she felt a little guilty, but she had to admit to herself that she felt a tiny twinge of excitement. As horrible as this whole situation was and as horrible as she felt right now, it would be nice to be able to see Zuko in person again.

Chapter Text

Zuko paced back and forth in his study. He’d received Katara’s message two days ago, and he was getting impatient. He knew it could take a few days to get to the Fire Nation from Ba Sing Se, even on Appa, but that didn’t mean he had to like waiting. The only positive of waiting was that he didn’t have to face Aang quite yet. He knew Aang would hate his plan for dealing with Ozai. Aang had gone to extreme lengths to avoid this, and if Zuko felt that there was another way, he would have gladly taken it, but at this point, he had to do what was necessary. 

After pacing for what felt like an eternity, he finally forced himself to sit at his desk and go through a mental checklist of everyone he had sent letters to in order to make sure he hadn’t missed anyone. He had sent letters to King Kuei to represent Ba Sing Se, King Bumi for Omashu, Suki to represent the Kyoshi Warriors, Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, and Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe. He also had one for Aang as the last airbender. Zuko looked at the letter for Aang on the desk. He had held onto it since Aang was coming soon anyway, and he honestly wasn’t ready. He knew that Aang would hate this idea and try to talk him out of it. But his mind was made up. 

On the bright side, at least he’d be able to see Katara again. They’d both been so busy with their respective duties that they hadn’t seen each other at all since the most recent attempt on his life last year. Sure, they’d been writing letters occasionally, but it just wasn’t the same. Still, he was nervous. After the assassination attempt last year, Zuko had realized his feelings for Katara were more than platonic. He had started to wonder if Mai had picked up on that even before he did and was part of the reason she ended things. She had never outright told him that was the reason, but Zuko knew it was. Either way, it didn’t matter. Katara was with Aang, and Zuko would never try to steal his friend’s girlfriend. Even if Katara didn’t always seem very happy…No. Zuko wasn’t going there. He was probably just imagining things. Besides, if Katara wasn’t happy, she probably would have broken up with Aang already. And even if she did break up with him, it would still be wrong to pursue his friend’s ex, assuming she even felt the same way. Zuko would just have to pine from afar, but he could live with that. His feelings would have to fade sooner or later. Hopefully.

As if on cue, he heard someone in the doorway. Nearly tripping over himself to stand up, he quickly realized it wasn’t Katara and Aang.

“Careful, Zuko. You’re going to give yourself away if you’re that eager when Katara gets here,” Mai said with the faintest hint of amusement as she leaned in the doorway, playing with a small knife.

Zuko sighed and sat back down.

“Not that I’m unhappy to see you Mai, but why are you here?” Zuko asked, pointedly ignoring what she had said.

“My parents were at the Earth King’s party a few days ago. They  mentioned it came to an abrupt end when Katara came back in from the garden with a man dressed in Fire Nation armor. Apparently, he and Katara were both covered in blood, and he looked absolutely terrified. They didn’t hear or see much else, given that the soldier was taken away, but they said both the avatar and Katara left quickly after. I was wondering if you had anything you wanted to share,” Mai explained, still twirling her knife in her hands.

Zuko gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk, and Mai went over to sit.

“So, are you saying Katara injured or even possibly killed someone?”

Mai nodded and answered, “It looks that way. Apparently, Aang seemed really upset when she came back.”

“I’m not surprised. That man was part of an attempted kidnapping. Remember how Aang took my father’s bending?”

Mai nodded and simply said, “I do.”

“Well, apparently some of his more loyal supporters have come to the conclusion that if Aang took his bending away, then he can also give it back. The man your parents saw was part of a plot to kidnap Katara to gain leverage over Aang in order to force him to give my father his bending back.”

Mai remained expressionless with the exception of one raised eyebrow.

“But Ozai is still in prison.”

“True but three days ago, a group of his supporters tried to break him out. They were almost successful, and I’m afraid that they’re going to try again.”

“So, what are you going to do? I can tell by the state of your desk that you’ve been busy.”

“As much as Aang wanted a peaceful solution to end the war, it’s clear that it’s just not possible. So, I’ve sent letters to the other nations’ leaders, inviting them to hold votes to decide my father’s fate. Once their people have voted, they are invited to send an ambassador to speak on behalf of their people. Once the vote has been conducted, I will ask them to be witnesses to whatever fate they have chosen for him. And then, hopefully, we can put this behind us.”

“They’re going to vote to execute him,” Mai said bluntly.

“I know,” Zuko said in a low, almost sad, tone.

“Avatar Aang isn’t going to be happy about this,” Mai said in the same blunt tone.

With a defeated sigh, Zuko said, “Trust me, I know. Hopefully, Katara can at least calm him down.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Zuko.”

Now, it was Zuko’s turn to question.

“What do you mean?”

Mai sighed and said, “Look, before I tell you, I want it to be very clear that I am telling you this because you’re the Fire Lord and it can affect how this vote and international peace goes, not because I know you have feelings for Katara, okay?”

“Okay?” Zuko replied, even more confused.

“You know how much my parents like gossip? Well, in my parents’ letter, they went into detail about how Aang and Katara got into a fight in front of several people. It ended with Katara storming out. When she came back, she had the man, and they were both covered in blood. Given that and that the Southern Water Tribe will most likely vote for execution, I don’t think Katara will be able to help calm him down or if she’ll even want to. I think things are only going to get worse.”

Zuko sank deeper into his chair in defeat and said nothing.

After a beat of uncomfortable silence, Mai reached out and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Look, I don’t do well with intense emotions. You know that better than anyone, but I do care about you Zuko, and I think you should find someone to talk to about all of this. Between your dad, being Fire Lord, and your feelings for Katara, this can’t be easy for you.”

“Thanks, Mai. I’ll try. Now, ask me what you really wanted to know. I know you didn’t just stop by to discuss what happened at the Earth King’s party.”

“I was thinking about going to Ember Island.”

“To see Azula?”

Mai rolled her eyes and dryly replied, “No, Zuko for the incredible theatrical productions. I hear they have a new play.”

Zuko ignored the sarcasm and simply asked her, “Why now?”

Mai had never been to see Azula since she had been sent to Ember Island. Per the agreement with the other nations, Azula was allowed to have guests, but so far he and Ty Lee were the only ones who had gone. Mai had stayed away.

“It’s just time.”

Zuko tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. The timing of this was very coincidental, and he knew that Mai saw through it.

Mai sighed and admitted, “I want to see if she had anything to do with any of this. I know you and Ty Lee have said she’s basically a shell of herself, but I’m wondering if the chance to get back into your father’s good graces has caused her to start causing trouble again.”

“Mai, you’re more than welcome to go, but I really don’t think she’s in on any of this.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But I want to rule it out for sure. Maybe I’ll bring Ty Lee to look at her aura or whatever.”

“Whatever you want to do, Mai.”

Mai nodded and got up to leave but paused in the doorway.

“Seriously Zuko, take care of yourself.”

“I promise I’ll try.”

With a slight nod and a look of worry that was so subtle no one else but Zuko would have noticed, Mai left the room. Once again, he was alone in his study.

After he had been sitting for what felt like an eternity, a messenger finally appeared in the doorway.

With a bow, he announced, “My Lord, Master Katara and Avatar Aang have arrived.”

Zuko’s head snapped up, and he ordered the guard, “Bring them here immediately.”

With another bow, the messenger left, and Zuko waited for Katara and Aang. He just hoped that this wouldn’t go as badly as he anticipated.

Chapter Text

“Zuko, you can’t be serious! You’re talking about murder!” Aang shouted, reading the official letter.

Katara hadn’t said anything about his plan yet. She had been silently reading the extra copy he had made for her.

“Technically, nothing has been decided yet. All of the nations will get a vote, and what they decide is what will be done,” Zuko explained, pinching the bridge of his nose in stress. Of course Aang had jumped straight to murder. Zuko had prepared himself for this reaction, but it still didn’t make it easier.

“Zuko, please, you can’t do this! It’s not right! Ozai is in prison! Isn’t that enough?”

At that, Zuko was acutely aware of Katara scoffing and rolling her eyes.

“Aang, if that were enough, Ozai wouldn’t have almost been successfully broken out, and I wouldn’t have been almost kidnapped,” Katara said with a bitter edge to her voice.

“But he didn’t escape, and you weren’t kidnapped,” Aang pleaded.

 “Only because I murdered people, remember? Or did you forget that?” Katara almost yelled.

Zuko could tell this was going to lead to a full-blown fight, and he decided to interject.

“Aang, I’m sorry, but the rest of the letters have already been sent out. You get a vote, so you can vote against my father’s execution, but this is the most fair way to handle this,” Zuko tried to explain, almost pleading.

“But I found a peaceful solution,” Aang said, barely above a whisper. Zuko went over to Aang and put his hand on the avatar’s shoulder.

“Aang, it was peaceful at the time, but it’s not anymore. Several people died in the Boiling Rock Raid on both sides, and Katara was almost kidnapped. I’m sorry, but the peaceful solution isn’t peaceful anymore, and if something isn’t done, more people are going to get hurt,” Zuko said, as gently as he could. As frustrating as this was, he had sympathy for Aang. He had worked so hard to find another way, and it hadn’t worked. 

“I’m sorry, Zuko, but I just can’t accept that,” Aang said, quickly darting out of the room.

Zuko looked over to Katara as he walked back behind his desk, but it seemed that she wasn’t concerned about Aang at all.

“So, should we go after him?” Zuko asked, unsure of what Aang was planning to do.

Katara sighed, glancing back down at her copy of the letter.

“Honestly, it won’t do any good. Besides, as much as Aang hates this, he knows he can’t unilaterally decide what to do regarding Ozai’s fate. When everyone is gathered in a month, he’ll most likely try to talk them into voting for keeping Ozai alive.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Zuko said, studying Katara’s face. She looked so tired, and there was an emptiness in her eyes that he had never seen before. He had planned to ask her about her opinion on his plan, but he decided that should wait.

“Katara,” he said, slightly hesitating, “Are you okay?”

Katara let out a deep breath.

“Honestly? Not really, but I’m not ready to deal with it now. Let’s get through all of this first,” Katara said, holding up the letter. Zuko nodded, knowing now wasn’t the time to push.

“I know Aang isn’t a fan of this plan, but I’m interested in hearing your opinion.”

“I think it’s the only solution. The other nations should be happy with this solution, and it’s probably safe to say that we already know how most people are going to vote, so there won’t be any more break in attempts,” Katara reasoned before continuing on.

“And although I do think the Fire Nation deserves a vote, I can see why you didn’t give them one. Feelings toward Ozai within the nation are extremely divisive, and giving the Fire Nation a vote might upset the other nations. Overall, I think this is a well thought out and reasonable idea.” 

Katara looked up at Zuko from the letter. She wasn’t sure what expression she’d expected, but she hadn’t expected him to look so tired and…sad? Oh. Katara felt like a jerk. Fire Lord Ozai deserved to die. No one, other than maybe Aang, would argue that. But, at the end of the day, he was still Zuko’s father. There had to be some complicated feelings there, and she hadn’t been sensitive at all. She set down the letter on the desk and put her hand on Zuko’s arm.

“Zuko, are you okay? This can’t be easy for you. I’m here to listen if you want.”

Zuko thought back to what Mai had said about finding someone to talk to. He knew Katara would understand and listen without judging. So, he decided to be honest.

“Honestly, no, but not for the reasons most people think. My father was always abusive, and I’m not going to miss him when he’s gone. I’m not even sad about it, really. I just…I just wish he had been the father my sister and I deserved. I guess I miss the idea of having a good father and him being executed makes it real that it will never happen. Logically, I knew it never would, but this makes it real in a way I can’t describe. I know I still have Uncle, but it’s still different. My father will never see how wrong he’s been. He’ll never apologize for anything or try to be better. He really believes he has done nothing wrong, and it’s infuriating,” Zuko vented.

Katara nodded. She couldn’t say that she related to what Zuko was going through. Honestly, no one other than Azula probably could, but she understood what he was saying. Having Ozai for a father was awful. And although Zuko had never explicitly told her about how he had gotten his scar, she had heard about the infamous Agni Kai that had happened all those years ago. Katara got up from her spot across from Zuko, ignoring his look of confusion, and walked behind his desk to wrap him in a hug. Zuko hugged her back, ignoring the blush rising in his cheeks. After a few seconds, Katara pulled back but kept her hands on his shoulders.

“I know it’s been hard, but it’s almost over,” Katara said, as much to herself as to Zuko.

“Hopefully, after this, we can finally start building real peace,” Zuko responded.

“I hope so,” Katara replied, pulling her hands away. She walked over to the window in Zuko’s study and stared out for a few seconds. Zuko stared after her, wondering what she was doing. After several moments of silence, Katara finally broke it.

“Zuko, can I ask for a favor?”

“Name it.”

“I’m going to go look for Aang, but if I can’t find him, I was wondering if there were any boats you could spare to take me home.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged. Just let me know, and I’ll have them prepare a ship for you.”

“Thank you, Zuko. I really appreciate it,” Katara said, before starting towards the door.

“I’m going to go look for him now, but even if I find him, I’ll stop by here again to say goodbye before I leave.”

“I hope you find him,” Zuko said.

“Me too,” Katara said, unsure if she really meant it. She felt like she should be there for Aang, but she didn’t know if she could deal with him right now. The idea of him going back with her also made her nervous. She knew he would try to influence the vote and would be extremely upset if it didn’t work. But she felt too guilty to just leave him without even trying. With a final goodbye to Zuko, she headed out the door.

Zuko had been able to tell she wasn’t sure if she meant it, but he didn’t push it. Katara clearly wasn’t ready to talk about what was going on, but he had a pretty good idea. He’d be there if she ever wanted to talk, but he would let her open up in her own time. But for now, he just had to wait for the confirmation letters from the other nations confirming they’d be there in a month.