BOOOOOM!

Zuko woke up in an instant. Mere moments passed before his tired stupor gave way to intense awareness; his life in exile had prepared him for moments like this. His eyes did a once over on the group, who were all laying in their makeshift beds. Only Aang was standing, and a cloud of smoke flew in the air where the Avatar had saved his friends from dying in an explosion.

BOOOOOM!

Zuko heard another blast and saw one of the bridges of the Western Air Temple collapse. More bombs were headed towards them, but Aang quickly used his airbending to close the massive metallic blinds that served as a defense grid for the Nomads who had once called it home. They were protected from the bombs, but the explosions sent tremors through the stone structures of the temple. Cracks formed in the ceiling as the stones threatened to give way.

Several of those rocks were about to fall on Katara. Zuko rushed towards her, screaming "Watch out!" But he wasn't going to wait for her to move; he tackled the Southern Waterbender and they tumbled safely away from the fallen rubble.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked incredulously, hardly an appropriate response considering he had just saved her life.

"Keeping rocks from crushing you," he answered.

"Okay, not crushed. You can get off me now!" she retorted and ran off to help The Duke put Teo in his wheelchair so they could escape. Annoyed and insulted, Zuko mockingly said "I'll take that as a thank you," to himself.

"Come on, we can get out through here!" cried Toph, the blind earthbending master. She and Haru, another earthbender traveling with the group, had created a tunnel in the back wall as an escape route. The group was already heading towards the tunnels, with Chit Sang leading the pack. I'm so glad we rescued him from the Boiling Rock, Zuko sarcastically mused to himself. Instead of following, Zuko stood his ground. He had a bad feeling about this attack and who was leading it.

"What are you doing?" Aang called out to him, frustrated that he was preventing their retreat.

"Go ahead, I'll hold them off!" he said in answer, and then turned to look at the crumbling wall. "I think this is a family visit," he said, more to himself than Aang and bolted to face the airships. He barely heard Aang call out "Zuko! NO!" as he ran, leaped over the remains of the metal shields and across the air temple. Another bomb exploded in front of him, but he leaped through the smoke and launched a fireball at the nearest airship.

The gut feeling he had was confirmed as a young girl in ebony and crimson body armor came into view, the bangs of her black hair blowing in the wind and a wicked, disturbing smile on her face, riding in the crow's nest of another ship. It was his sister, Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation. Staring into her wild eyes as the ship continued to fly upward, Zuko called out to her, "What are you doing here?"

She threw her hands up into the air, shrugging mockingly. "You mean it's not obvious yet?" she taunted, and then screeched, "I'm about to to celebrate becoming an ONLY CHILD!" And with that response, she flipped forward on the gate and kicked out, sending a devastating stream of blue fire towards him. The blast destroyed the columns holding up the temple and sent Zuko flying. As he landed, Zuko thought to himself, Ask a stupid question, get a psychotic answer.

With the ceiling about to crush him and the airships still threatening to kill him outright, Zuko rushed towards the ships. Dodging the fire blasts and the crumbling ruins, he used a falling column as a ramp to get greater height on his jump. Leaping off into the air, Zuko aimed a pair of fireballs at his sister. He couldn't tell if his attacks succeeded; he was desperately trying to get a grip on the side of the ship. The slick metal surface proved impossible to grab, and Zuko slid down and off, free falling through the mist that masked a deep canyon.

Zuko looked down, and a mass of steel was rising through the fog. Forcing himself to flip forward, he shot flames from his hands and feet to slow his descent. By sheer luck, another airship was under him; it must have been patrolling the canyon before hearing the battle overhead. With the fire slowing him down, Zuko was able to land safely on the airship. The firebender in the crow's nest leaped down to Zuko's level and attacked, but Zuko was able to block his shots and then kicked into the air, knocking him off balance. Zuko charged himself for another attack and blasted the firebender off the side of the ship; were it not for the safety wire, he would have fallen to his death.

With a few moments peace, Zuko breathed slowly as the ship rose. He needed to be calm when facing Azula; he was far better prepared to battle her now than he had been in Ba Sing Se. But she was still one of the most dangerous firebenders in the world, and a master at manipulating people into making stupid mistakes. Especially him; the banished Fire Prince had a history of being rash and naïve. Neither of those traits were conducive to lasting more than a few minutes with his sister.

Zuko waited for the ship to rise high enough to jump to the other one. Once again their eyes met, and he wasted no time on words; the venomous disdain in her eyes was all the invitation he needed. After a running start he leaped towards his sister, kicking away a column of fire before sending an attack of his own. Azula dodged, but Zuko at least had his feet on the relatively flat surface of the airship. It was equal, if unsure, footing for what was about to take place.

The duel began in earnest, as the two siblings attacked and parried each other's flaming attacks, battling evenly. Orange flames clashed with blue in a brilliant display of firebending prowess. Zuko's blasts were slower, but more precise and controlled, and Azula's were wild attacks, dangerous but less refined. He was surprised at this; she had always been the perfectionist, and until recently he had been the one flailing around like a mad hogmonkey. Zuko wondered what had triggered her lack of precision, what caused this contest to be so opposite in nature to their previous fights.

"You're losing your touch, Azula!" he called out, dodging another haphazard blast of flames. "Did you finally realize that even you can't be perfect?"

She stopped attacking for a few seconds and glared at him, breathing heavily. She seemed to be pondering his words, but only for a minute; the sinister grin was back on her face, and she laughed at him. It was a quiet, subdued laugh, with an eerie menace that made Zuko's stomach turn.

"I'm the kind of perfect you only dream you could be," she corrected. "I'm going to enjoy killing you, brother."

"Sorry, not going to happen on my watch!" called out a third voice, and a wall of flame separated the two siblings. The Avatar landed gracefully a few meters from Zuko, standing his ground and assuming a perfect fighting pose as his fiery barrier dissipated. Zuko was always amazed at how such a carefree, perpetually happy monk was able to transform into a fierce, focused warrior when the need arose. It was a stark contrast to the goofy child that he had battled when they had been on opposing sides. Then, he'd only been playing. Now, he was completely dedicated to the task at hand.

Zuko was glad to be fighting alongside Aang.

"This is just my lucky day, isn't it?" Azula cackled. "My traitorous brother and the Avatar, right in front of me. It's a shame really; I was looking forward to taking my time with you two," she continued in a condescending tone that was all too familiar with Zuko.

Azula spun and kicked, sending a blazing arch that attacked them both at the same time. Zuko easily bent his way through the cerulean flames, and Aang spun his glider staff rapidly to shield himself from the blast. He had used this same technique against the prince in their first confrontation, but now he followed it up by slashing his staff and sending a blade of air at Azula; she dodged and Zuko sent two powerful fire blasts her way. She waved them off and sent flame from her fists and feet, jetting towards Aang but Zuko thrusts his palms forward and created a block of fire that forced her to change direction.

The two-on-one attack proved to be effective; any time Azula attempted to attack one of them, the other would save their partner and the princess would be forced to deal with a fresh onslaught of fire and air as she attempted to plan her next move. They weren't able to pin her down; she was too fast. But she was expending far more energy than either of them, and it wouldn't be long before she would be forced to surrender from sheer exhaustion.

Naturally, both Avatar and prince underestimated Azula; as she corkscrewed over a small cyclone that Aang had sent her way, Zuko watched as a door in the airship opened, and this time it was two Dai Li agents that came. These elite earthbenders had proven too much for Zuko in Ba Sing Se, and Azula had brought them with her to the Fire Nation as her personal security force. Of course they are here, he thought, mentally kicking himself. How could I be so stupid? It's never this easy!

As Zuko turned to face the new threat, the first agent sent his rock glove towards Aang, who was avoiding fireballs from Azula. "LOOK OUT!" Zuko shouted, and luckily Aang turned around and sprawled just before the stony fist made contact.

Zuko sent a few blasts at the earthbenders, and they returned his attacks with the stone missiles. One of the feet hit the prince in the ribs, causing him to double over with pain. Now Aang rushed into battle with them, using the firebending tactics he had mastered while using the Dancing Dragon form. Zuko barely had time to admire his growth in skill, as Azula was now engaging him at close range combat. Before, this would have been a cakewalk for Azula, but now Zuko was able to avoid most of her strikes and finally just kicked her legs out from under her, not even firebending.

Zuko was looking at Aang, and this time noticed that his hands were bound in the metal cuffs that the Dai Li used against fellow Earthbenders, as Toph was the only known bender who had learned how to manipulate metal to her will. Aang was under serious threat of capture, and Zuko rushed forward and grabbed the chain. He superheated the links until the metal touching the Dai Li's wrist scorched him and forced him to cool his hands. Meanwhile, Aang had breathed cold air onto the key slot, covering it in ice and making it easy for Zuko to break the chain with a powerful axe kick.

Before he had rescued Aang from that threat, another was coming; Azula was sending a stream of flame towards him and Zuko violently shoved Aang out of the way and countered the sneak attack with his own. The orange parted the blue and he saw his sister growl in frustration.

"Sorry Aang!" he apologized offhandedly, and resumed his attack.

Aang didn't question his intentions, partially because he was too busy blocking the Dai Li's attacks; he was able to use his own earthbending powers to stop them and formed them into a shield of sorts. There wasn't much else he could do with his hands bound in the cuffs, he turned around to see the prince and princess battling, and realized that the situation was becoming dire. He hadn't been entirely confidant that he and Zuko would have been able to defeat Azula; with the Dai Li here as well and the rest of the crew bound to arrive any minute, not to mention the fact that they were all fighting on an airship miles above a rocky canyon, it was a lost cause.

Aang watched as Azula blocked every fire blast that Zuko sent her way, and sent her own blasts that were blocked by the banished prince. It was a stalemate, but it had to end. Aang directed his rock shield towards her as a missile that she couldn't simply brush off with firebending, and with Zuko's attacks occupying her full attention, she was unable to move. The stone smashed into her chest and she rolled down the airship before the Dai Li followed her and grabbed her hands to keep her from falling to her doom.

"Come on, we need to get out of here!" Aang grabbed his glider, activated the wings and threw it into the sky before airbending himself onto it. "Grab on!" he called to Zuko, and felt the prince grab his ankles. It was difficult to fly with his cuffed hands so close together, but fortunately Appa had been flying close; Aang had told Katara to guide the bison and his cargo (Toph, Sokka and Suki) out of range of Azula but near enough for a quick escape. He was able to drop Zuko in the saddle and land seconds later.

"Toph, Aang has metal handcuffs on, help him out!" Sokka yelled; the rush of the air and the crackling sounds of fireballs forced them all to raise their voices.

Aang offered his hands to her, but was shoved face-first into the saddle by Zuko.

"STAY DOWN! ALL OF YOU!" he shouted, and Aang obeyed without hesitation.

Zuko had barely landed on the bison when he had looked back to the airship, and to his horror, Azula was back on her feet. Worse yet, her arms were moving in the familiar circular motion that the greatest firebenders used to generate lightning. There was no time to waste; her precision would leave him no room for failure. Mere moments after he yelled his warning, the electricity surged into his fingertips. It took all of his strength to direct the energy through his stomach and out his other arm, crashing through air, safely away from the passengers and safely out of his body.

For the second time in his life, Zuko had redirected lightning. The first time had been a terrifying experience, but he had been prepared for it, and when he was running through the bunker, safe from the Fire Lord's wrath, he had felt an adrenalin rush knowing he had pulled it off. But this time, he hadn't even had time to be afraid; he knew that not all of the lightning had been redirected. He could still feel his muscles tense up from the shock.

If he had a few more seconds to prepare for the attack, he would have redirected the lightning directly back at his sister without hesitation. It would have killed her, but Zuko would have done it; she had to be brought down. There wasn't any room for compassion or mercy. With such short moments to react, he had sent the lightning harmlessly into the air. He could have ended it then and there, if only he hadn't been caught by surprise.

If only.

Zuko watched Toph rip Aang's shackles apart and collapsed; his body involuntarily shook as the painful, but not lethal, electricity worked its way through his muscles before escaping.

"Zuko, are you okay?" Aang asked.

"I'm f-fine," he stammered. "Just a little shook up."

"Katara, see if you can help him," he called, and the waterbender faithfully left the reigns and went to Zuko's side, with the healing water covering her hands. Zuko caught a look at her eyes, and understood that she was doing this because Aang asked, and not because she cared about him. She was still disgusted with him.

"Aang, we have to get out of here!" Sokka reminded them.

"I know!" and Zuko watched him pick up his glider staff. "You guys fly out of here; I'll go hold Azula off."

"WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY?" Katara and Zuko yelled in unison.

"You can't!" Katara scolded.

"She'll kill you!" Zuko added matter-of-factly.

"It's me she's after, and we can't get past all of these airships!" Aang yelled. "I'll hold her attention while you guys fly to safety, and I'll catch up with you as soon as I can. Now go!"

"Aang, don't..." Katara began, but Aang cut her off, shouting "GO!" and then taking off before they could stop him. Zuko crawled over the edge of the saddle and watched Aang fly right back to the airship and start battling the Dai Li, knocking the half dozen of them down with one fluid moment before shooting fireballs at will.

"AANG!" Katara yelled.

It was too late to change the situation, and Zuko had to trust that Aang knew what he was doing and would get out safely. He forced himself to climb out of the saddle and onto Appa's head. He grabbed the reigns and started to steer them away from the battle.

"What are you DOING?" Katara frantically yelled at him.

"What Aang asked me to do," he snapped, and directed the bison south. There were several remote islands between here and the Fire Nation, all uninhabited. They would go there and wait for Aang to come back, and...

Zuko's suddenly felt a cool, watery tendril around his neck. Before he realized what was happening, it constricted around his neck and began to strangle him. As air was choked out of him, Zuko desperately tried to pull it away, but his hands only touched water. He could hear shouting, but couldn't distinguish what was being said. He struggled and gasped for any air to enter his lungs, and felt himself blacking out.

Just as suddenly as the water had wrapped around him, it lost its form and collapsed, drenching Zuko. He coughed and took in as much life-giving oxygen as he could with every breath. He vowed to appreciate every breath from now on; how could he have ever taken such a precious thing as air for granted?

"LET ME GO!" Katara shrieked. "I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!"

"KATARA, SETTLE DOWN!" Sokka yelled, trying to sound imposing but obviously horrified.

"Don't tell me to settle down!" she roared. "He's leaving Aang to be killed by that monster! He's betrayed all of us!"

Zuko turned around, and saw Sokka and Suki trying to wrestle her down, keeping her from pouring her wrath on him. He watched in shock, still clutching his throat, as Toph placed the Dai Li handcuffs around her legs to restrain her.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" Katara flailed in a vain attempt to escape. "You're just letting him leave Aang! He's betrayed us! He led his sister right to us, and now she's going to kill Aang! LET ME GO!"

"Katara, don't be ridiculous!" Sokka shouted. "Zuko isn't our enemy. He's had plenty of chances to kill Aang himself, and he hasn't. Dad, Suki and I would still be in prison if it wasn't for him! He's proved himself!"

"DON'T BE STUPID!" she yelled. "HE'S EVIL, JUST LIKE THE REST OF HIS FAMILY! I'LL KILL HIM!"

Zuko made a mental note to thank Sokka for his loyalty. Katara lunged at him, but Suki leaped on top of her to protect Zuko. She pulled her back into the saddle and Zuko saw her tie a knot around her arms.

"HOW COULD YOU?" Katara continued to scream. "HOW COULD YOU?"

"Zuko, GET US OUT OF HERE!" Sokka yelled, bringing Zuko back to reality. Grabbing Appa's reigns, he continued to guide the sky bison away from the Western Air Temple. Away from the airships and Azula.

Away from Aang.

"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE HIM?" Katara shouted at the group through sobs. She was an emotional wreck, crying and growling and trying to escape.

"AANG! AANG!" she shouted, but Zuko dutifully directed Appa to safety, even as his own instincts were telling him to go back and rescue him.

Katara continued to call out the Avatar's name as they flew, but gradually, her shrieks turned to coughs as she strained her vocal cords, and soon she was weeping uncontrollably.

Aang, you better be okay, Zuko thought to himself, or it'll be my neck.

This is Princess Azula.

By birth, she was the youngest child of Fire Lord Ozai and his wife, Ursa, and a prodigy, the most naturally gifted firebender since her great-grandfather Sozin, and possibly longer than that. What her brother Zuko took years to learn, she perfected in minutes. It came easy to her. But it wasn't the only thing that came easy to her; she was able to bend the minds of humans to her will as easy as she could fire. It was she who had infiltrated Ba Sing Se and turned the city's Dai Li Agents against the Earth King and his generals, bringing down the Earth Kingdom capital, succeeding where three Fire Lords and hundreds of generals had failed. She was not a token princess who sat there looking pretty; she was a national hero, beloved by all the citizens of her nation.

And feared by them. Her cold, seemingly unfeeling personality was every bit as legendary as her bending prowess. Azula had little use for emotions; they served as distractions. She was born and bred for perfection, and perfection was her goal. Anything less was unacceptable. Love, joy, sadness, and fear were weakness; only strength and intelligence mattered, for they were the keys to power. She felt these things from time to time, but usually suppressed them, lest they interfere with her plans. Because of this, she was callous, dismissive, and pompous. Everything else in the world was beneath her; all that mattered were her desires and how she could achieve them.

In only one situation did she allow herself to feel happiness; combat. One would never be able to tell that her fighting was fueled by emotion; she remained focused, precise and deadly. But that is why she enjoyed it. In battle, she could firebend and enjoy the extent of the awesome power she wielded. She loved to see the fear in her opponent's eyes when they realized how hopeless they were against her, and relished the pain she caused whenever her cobalt flames seared the flesh of her victims. Some would call it sadism, but in truth, it was simply the purest expression of everything she valued. Power. Control. Skill. In battle, she had no equals, and that was exactly what she desired. Only through fighting could she express herself fully, without the restraints the facade of civility demanded.

Most would have grown complacent in her position, but she never experienced contentment. She was always ambitious, always looking for a new challenge to overcome, a new honor to win, a new person to manipulate, a new battle to win. Azula was obsessed with her self-image; none could be prettier, smarter, braver, or more dangerous than her. She would not have it, would not tolerate being inferior, would not accept defeat.

This is what drove her to pursue the Avatar, for his continued existence was her greatest failure. She had done what no other person had ever done in history; she had slain the Avatar in the Avatar State, not only killing the present Avatar, but destroying the Avatar Spirit. She had studied and planned and waited and chose her moment to strike, and took him out when he was at his most powerful, and most vulnerable. This should have been her greatest accomplishment, something that could never be outdone or repeated. She would not simply be a legend, but THE legend. Her name would be immortalized in the history of the world: Azula, Slayer of the Avatar.

But she had miscalculated. An unforeseen, miraculous variable had entered the equation; Water from the Spirit Oasis from the Northern Water Tribe. She had been suspicious when Zuko hesitated to admit the fall of the Avatar, and once Zuko ran away to join him, she went through his belongings and learned of his conversation with the Water Tribe peasant, the girl who had offered to heal his scar. The knowledge of that water had driven him mad; he knew the Avatar was alive.

Now she knew. This time, there would be no unexpected, last-second intervention. There would be no errors, no miscalculations, no overconfidence. She would kill him, and the Avatar Spirit, again. Rectify her mistake, finish the job. She would not leave him for dead, but lock his body away where none could find it. He would be her greatest trophy, her most prized possession, her most legendary accomplishment.

She would be the greatest human who ever lived, and her name would live on forever.

This is Azula, Princess of Fire.

The Avatar was able to fight off the Dai Li Agents with relative ease now that he knew they were there. His first move had been to swing his glider a full three hundred and sixty degrees, creating distance for him to start firebending at them. The combination of his natural affinity for the art combined with Zuko's structured, ridged training allowed him to fend off all six of the agents. But he was only stalling; he could fight them off, but he couldn't beat them. Not now at any rate.

If only he hadn't blocked his seventh chakra by saving Katara, he could go into the Avatar State and would probably be able to defeat the crews of all three airships that had invaded the temple. But even now, when his life was in danger, he did not regret that decision. There were more important things than power and safety.

Finally, one of the agents pinned his foot to the ground with his stone fist, and before Aang could remove it, he was forced to narrowly evade two more of the rocky projectiles, one aimed at his heart and another for his head. After an awkward dodge, he removed the rock on his foot and threw it at one of the agents, who caught it and turned it back into the signature stone glove before sending the one on his other hand in Aang's direction.

"Back off!" a shrill voice shouted, and the Dai Li immediately obeyed, giving Aang a wide berth. He turned around and saw Azula, arms crossed at chest level, and smirking at him. "The Avatar is mine, and mine alone!"

"Aren't you a little over confidant?" Aang retorted. "Thanks to your brother, I've now mastered all the elements. What chance do you have against me?" He picked up his glider staff and assumed a casual, neutral combat stance.

To his surprise, she simply laughed. "Mastered? I've seen your little firebending recital. It's a cute display, but it's nothing compared to what a true master is capable of!" Her smirk had changed to a devilish smile, like the cat who caught the sparrowkeet.

"I've heard that before," Aang taunted back, recalling how he had tricked Zhao into defeating himself in a mockery of a duel several months ago. "But I don't need to be a Master Firebender to defeat you."

"Of course you don't," she sneered. "All you have to do is go into the Avatar State. All the power of the past Avatars...why, I wouldn't stand a chance! So why don't you get it over with? I know you want me gone, so do it!"

It was true; in the Avatar State, she would be no more threat to him than a spiderfly. In theory anyway. Last time he had been in the state, she had ended his life. But then, it had been a treacherous surprise attack, and Aang didn't think she could pull it off a second time. Clearly, she thought differently. She wasn't the first to underestimate the State's near limitless power. Others thought they could control it; she thought she could defeat it. Not that it mattered; he couldn't go into the State anyway.

"You seem a little over-eager," Aang voiced his perceptions. "You wouldn't have any ulterior motives, would you? Like trying to kill the Avatar Spirit, so that I won't be reborn into the Water Tribe?"

Once again, Aang was shocked to see Azula's reaction; a wide, murderous smile. "So you aren't as stupid as you seem," she mocked. "But then, you'll also know you don't stand a chance of getting out of here without going into the State, so you'll just have to risk it."

Now it was his turn to smile; through a bizarre twist of fate, they were both denied what they wanted. He could not escape without the State, and she could not kill him without the State. Perhaps his rash, reckless decision to save Katara instead of master the State was finally paying dividends.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Your Highness," he playfully apologized. "But I can't go into the Avatar State lately. Some girl cut off my spiritual connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe last time. I haven't been able to enter it since."

At this, Azula's eyes widened, as Aang knew they would. He was mostly lying to her, though he had his suspicions that the lethal attack had more to do with his inability to channel the Avatar Spirit than his blocked chakra. But here, it was just a way to torment her. Not only was she denied victory, but it was her fault.

"LIAR!" she roared. "Enough games, Avatar. It's time for you to die!"

"Actually, since my life is so valuable, I think I'll be just fine," he corrected. "Even if I wasn't lying, I wouldn't give in now; I don't fall victim to the schemes of mad women."

Once again, Azula cackled. "Mad, am I?" she said rhetorically. "Perhaps, though that is none of your concern. Either you will go into the State so I can kill you, or you will rot away in a dungeon until the end of your days. It makes no difference to me!" For once, her confidence seemed insincere to Aang, forced. She was bluffing. For some reason, Aang knew it made a world of difference to her.

Of course! he realized. She wants all the glory of killing me, ending the Avatar Spirit's existence, for herself!

"Well, if you want to imprison me, you'll have to catch me first!" Without a second's hesitation, Aang kicked off the ground, looped in the air on his glider, and flew, dodging the Dai Li's gloves and fire blasts from the airships, and started to head north. He had seen Appa fly south, and he would lead Azula as far away from his friends as possible. Soaring through the air, he watched as the Dai Li went into the airships, and watched Azula stare him down before going inside herself.

And so the chase began.