The Firelord's Honor

Chapter 66

A/N I feel the need to apologize for the major slow down in updates. This has been an exceedingly difficult year for me and with all the catastrophic events my anxiety and depression have been worse. That drain on my desire to write plus how busy the last few weeks have been has seen me struggling to get the words out. Perhaps the most important recent development is that during a reread to check for loose ends as I wrap this fic up, I discovered I cannot abide my cringeworthy love scenes and a few plot holes I've discovered. For a while, every time I sat down to write those flaws were all I could think about. So, I am going to be doing an edit. Nothing story altering and not every chapter so it shouldn't take long. Please don't despair, this fic is my creative baby and I will never abandon it. For everyone who has stuck with me this whole time, I am immensely grateful. My amazing beta, Excited-Insomniac has pulled me through and so I finally managed to finish this chapter. Only a few more to go! As always, I adore hearing from you, please enjoy!

Chapter 66

Azula had been anxiously pacing the deck of their small ship for the last hour. They had dropped anchor as close as they could to the massive stone dragon on the north end of the Gates of Azulon and were waiting for the signal from Zuko before they took the hidden passage to the palace. Practically beside herself with anger and fear for her half brother since they'd first seen the smoke over the city that morning, Azula was starting to worry him. Watching as she passed him for the hundredth time, Sokka sighed and reached out to grab her arm.

"Azula, stop pacing. Come here." She begrudgingly allowed him to pull her to where he stood next to Toph. "Zuko and Katara will be through the villages and on their way up to the caldera soon. I'm sure we'll see their signal any minute. You're just wasting energy and wearing a path on the deck."

She rolled her eyes and yanked her hand away. "Excuse me for being worried. In case you didn't notice, my father seems to have set the whole of the Capitol on fire. My brother is out there in it and so is my uncle, and your sister who I was actually starting to like." Sokka sighed as she turned back to face the smoking city. "I just wish I knew where he was keeping baby Sozin. We might find them in the tunnels beneath the palace. Or maybe he's in the palace somewhere... I hope the burning city doesn't mean he's completely lost it, what if he decided he didn't need an heir at all anymore?"

Toph leaned against the rail beside Azula. "I don't think you need to worry about that. The people in the city, they don't matter to him, but he needs the kid. Ensuring his legacy and all that. I bet he kept some of those mercenary guys back to guard him too. He's got to be expecting a fight with Zuko. Relax, fire britches, we've got this. Your over loved up brother and his wife will take out your crazy dad and we'll save the kid."

Cringing at the mention of Zuko and Katara's less than private tent activities, Azula kept her eyes trained on the city. "I don't know how you can be so optimistic. The last time you faced him my father killed the Avatar. How can you be so sure he won't kill Zuko and Katara too?"

Joining them against the rail, shoulder to shoulder with Azula, Sokka thought about Aang. They'd been friends for a little less than two years but the young Airbender had been like a brother to him by the end. As he caught ash in his hand, he remembered watching Aang fall. Ozai had been an incredible force with the comet in the sky, but he still should have fallen to the Avatar. When he answered Azula, his voice was certain.

"That won't happen. Aang was never going to kill Ozai. He went into that fight knowing he wanted to try to save him from himself." He sighed and looked at the anxious princess beside him. "Zuko knows that isn't possible. He and Katara are going to kill your father, Azula. I'm not worried because I know what the pair of them are capable of together. There's no comet today, he has only his own skill to defend himself now."