A/N And so it ends. With drama, with humor, without Mary-Sues. Anyway, the beginning is the story, revised by SueBasher2000. This is the last chapter of her story, but quite a bit was actually skipped. Just use your imaginations to fill in the blanks. Anyway, I've gotten a few requests for a sequel. What do you think? It wouldn't be written immediately. First, I want to write a sequel to my other Avatar fic, Sing Along. But I'd do it eventually. What do you all think? Hope you like this chapter. Say happy birthday to my dad!

- Random

Chapter 10: Hard to Say Goodbye From a Bison's Back

"You realize," Zuko said, "That just because I helped you defeat Belle's spell, doesn't mean I've changed my mind about this war?"

"Yeah, well, we wouldn't want you on our side anyway," Sokka retorted, slightly miffed by the Prince's haughty tone.

"We understand," Aang clarified. "We're glad you helped us, though."

Sokka and Katara both nodded. The young Water Bender glanced around the island they were stranded on, a frown furrowing her brow.

"Zuko," Katara asked. "How are you going to get off this island without your ship?"

The Fire Bender shrugged. "I'll think of something," he told her.

Now Sokka, too, was catching on to the idea. "We'll give you a ride to your ship if you give us a three-day head start."

Zuko glared at him. "One day."

"Two," Aang offered.

"One and a half."

"Fine," Katara agreed before the boys could get too caught up in haggling.

All of them climbed onto Appa, and with a cheerful 'yip-yip' from Aang, they were off.

"You'll have to make sure that the Fire Benders don't fry us, though," Katara pointed out as they flew.

"How am I going to do that?" snapped Zuko.

"Maybe if we hang you over the edge, they'll see you. And if they don't, well, no real loss," Sokka suggested.

Zuko glared at him as Katara and Aang giggled quietly. After a moment, though, the boy relaxed and allowed himself to crack a smile.

He had changed, Aang reflected, in the fight to defeat Belle. They all had, really, but Zuko especially. He had no idea how long it would last, but for now, he was glad to see his… friend having a good time, for once in his life.

"Or, maybe, we can hang you over the side, and hope that my crew doesn't realize that you're not me," Zuko teased. Sokka laughed.

"Yeah, or we could not."

"Or, we could."

By now, everyone was laughing too hard to continue the mock argument.

"Seriously, though," Zuko commented when they had calmed down. "I really doubt that my crew's going to actually try to capture you if I'm not breathing down their necks."

"Which probably isn't increasing your popularity any," Aang pointed out from the front.

"Probably not," admitted Zuko. "Oh, here we are," he added as the bison flew over a Fire Nation ship.

True to the young Fire Bender's prediction, nobody fired on them, even when they landed on the deck. Although, by then, the crew probably had noticed Zuko and decided not to kill their leader.

"Thank you," Zuko said graciously, sliding down. To his surprise, the other three followed him.

Aang smiled in response to Zuko's questioning look. "It's hard to say goodbye from a bison's back," he explained.

"Good luck," Katara told him.

"With capturing you?" teased her friend.

"Well, with everything else."

Sokka smiled and clasped Zuko on the shoulder. "It's been nice to know you, Zuko," he said.

"Hey, like it or not, you're still gonna know me after this," retorted the prince.

"True… But I doubt it'll be nice anymore."

Now it was Aang's turn. Forcing himself to smile, he hugged his former enemy sadly. "Goodbye," he said quietly. "I'll miss you."

Zuko put his arm around the Avatar's shoulder in a brotherly manner. "We'll see each other again," he promised. "That's a given. And maybe one day, we'll see each other again without trying to kill each other. That's a promise."

"Aww, how sweet!" Katara exclaimed. "Zuko, I didn't know you had it in you!"

"Shut up," he snapped, glaring at her, but he seemed slightly less angry than before. Even if he wouldn't admit it, Zuko thought the story was sweet, too.

"What, didn't you like it?" teased Aang.

"Well, it was definitely better than the Mary-Sue!"

Smiling at the young people's good-natured chatter, Iroh still found himself forced to interrupt.

"You all seem to have forgotten one thing," he pointed out. Everyone looked at him. "The winner of our little competition!"

The foursome exchanged amused looks, realizing that they had forgotten all about it.

"Well?" asked Sokka. "Who is it?"

Iroh hesitated. "Well, technically, Zuko won…"

"Yes! In your face, Sokka!"

"…But I was thinking, since it was him who really saved us, Momo should get the actual prize. What do you think?"

Katara and Aang nodded in perfect synchronism, which might have accounted for Sokka's frightened look as he consented. They all looked at Zuko.

"Yeah, sure, why not," he said finally. "The little lemur earned it."

Momo bowed proudly as Iroh handed him a few berries as a prize.

Everyone cheered.

"So," commented Aang when they had finished, "I guess that we did end up with a happy ending, after all."

"Well, not technically," Zuko pointed out. "I still have to try to capture you."

"Two day head start," Katara said.

"One."

"One and a half," suggested Sokka.

"Done."

Laughing at their parody of the story, Aang asked if Zuko really planned on giving them a head start at all.

Zuko shrugged. "Well, they way I see it," he commented, "This whole thing is trying to get my honor back, right?"

"Right…" Aang agreed, slightly unsure as to what the young Fire Bender meant.

"So, if I get my honor back by cheating, that sort of defeats the purpose!"

They all laughed, and Zuko and Iroh turned to leave.

"Oh, and by the way," the older man added as they left. He turned around and tossed them a whistle. It looked almost exactly like Aang's bison whistle, but it was shaped like a miniature flame.

"Use this if you ever find a Mary-Sue again," Iroh explained. "I got it out of a plot hole, and it'll contact us in an emergency."

"Thanks," Katara told him. Sokka passed them the whistle Aang had handed to him, shaped like an arrow.

"And if you ever find a Mary-Sue," the Avatar said, "Call us, and we'll help you."

Strange, Momo reflected, watching the friends go their separate ways, the only thing that could have brought them, a Fire Bender, a banished prince, a Water Bender, her brother, and the Avatar together, was a Mary-Sue.