When Worlds Collide: Book Three, Fire

By the time Appa landed just outside of town, the guards had given up and fled for the palace. I wasn't sure what they would find, but at the sight of my friends, I didn't care.

I stuck around long enough to ask that the people spread the message of the Fire Nations defeat, and to ask that the people spread joy instead of fear. The old man promised, and another man, a traveler said he would leave in the morning to speak to the other nearby villages. I thanked them before turning to Appa.

I grinned as I ran up to the flying bison, but the look on Katara's face made me stop cold.

The waterbender jumped down from her perch, and held up her arms. "He's fine," she said. "He's sleeping right now, but he's okay."

"What happened?" I asked.

"It was an Agni Kai," she explained. "Azula targeted me instead, and Zuko... He saved me."

Lightning. Zuko can redirect lightning.

"Are you okay?" I asked grabbing her shoulders, and searching for any injuries. Other than being cold and wet, I didn't find anything.

"I'm fine," Katara insisted. "But Zuko... He was hit. He's fine now, I healed him in time, but he's weak."

I nodded weakly, and slowly made my way to the bison. I could hear Katara behind me, but when I climbed up to the saddle, I was kind of happy that she stayed on the ground.

Zuko was asleep, like she said, but his breathing was ragged. There was a gaping hole in his shirt, showing the damage Azula had done. Clenching my jaw, I resisted the urge to go in search of the girl. Almost subconsciously, I ran my fingers through Zuko's hair, and I released my breath.

"We should go," I called, peaking over the edge to see Katara. "The others will be waiting."

She nodded, and climbed up Appa to take the reigns. As we took off, I kept my fingers tangled in Zuko's hair, finding comfort in the small act.

Appa took off, and while we were in the sky, Katara shared the story of how Azula challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai (which he accepted, the idiot). She explained how off Azula was, and how halfway through the fight, she had shot a bolt of lightning at Katara, causing Zuko to jump in front of the bolt, and in return, he ended up in the state he was in now.

By the time she was done, we were halfway to the Earth Kingdom, so I told her my story.

I explained how while some of the villagers supported us in our quest to defeat the Fire Lord, some, like the guards, were loyalists. I shared the brave words of the old man, and how if it weren't for him, I would have never succeded in my task.

Zuko woke up towards the end, hurting and groggy, and I smiled as I pet his hair.

"How are you doing?" I asked. "Do you need anything?"

He shook his head, and his hand found mine, squeezing it tightly. Slowly, he sat up, and we leaned against the side of the saddle.

"I'm guessing things turned out better on your end?" he asked.

"I was almost set on fire a couple if times, but otherwise, yeah. Yeah, I'm good." My eyes lingered on his chest for a moment before liking back up at him. "Better than you, it seems."

Katara looked back with a smirk on her face, and fear in her eyes. "He's with us for a few weeks, and suddenly, he thinks he's the hero."

Zuko laughed, but stopped to winced and clutch his chest. "Someone had to do it."

I sighed and looked over the side of the saddle at the scorched land below us. The air fleet hovered around us, unmoving and not attacking. We were getting close.

Something shined on the ground, and the glare caught my eye. "Katara, can you go down a bit?" I asked. "I think I saw something."

She nodded, and we descended low enough to see Sokka's sword stuck in the mud. Katara saw it and her eyes widened.

"You don't think...?"

I didn't know, but I saw no evidence of foul play. I jumped from Appa and grabbed the hilt yanking the blade from the earth.

It gleaned in the dying light, and the darkness metal looked demonic.

Sam.

I turned around, unintentionally bringing the point up defensively.

"Sam?"

I whirled around again to see Katara and Zuko giving me worried looks.

"Are you okay?" It was Katara. She looked like she was about to jump down and join me, so I shook my head to clear it and lowered the sword.

"Sorry," I said, "I just... thought I heard something."

Their eyes didn't leave me as I climbed back on, and we took to the skies again.

It wasn't long until we found a fallen air ship, and a small batch of people on the ground next to it.

We landed, gaining the attention of the others immediately. Sokka ran (with a limo) to his sister, and I was sure to help Zuko to the ground and lean him against Appa before turning to face Sokka.

"Is everything you own secretly a boomerang?" I asked, holding out his sword.

"Space Sword!" he exclaimed, taking it out of my hands and hugging it tightly.

"And what about me?" I asked, holding out my arms for a hug.

We hugged each other tightly for a moment, as if afraid the other would disappear.

"Thank you, for taking care of my sister."

"That wasn't me," I told him, pulling away. "Zuko's the one who took a bolt of lightning for her."

And then he was gone, talking with Zuko and thanking him repeatedly.

Next was Toph, and I wrapped her in hug before swinging her around.

"I can't see!" she complained, and I slowly set her back on the ground.

"Sorry," I apologized, but kept her wrapped in my arms. "I was so worried about you - all of you."

"Yeah, yeah, mushy feelings, blah." Her tone sounded annoyed, but I thought I felt a small tear fall on my shoulder.

When I finally let her go, I saw Sukki was still talking with Katara, so I set my sights on Aang. The monk was standing next to the limp form of Ozai, both of them looking as if they had seen better days. Ozai was alive, though. I could see the light fluttering of his eyelashes, and the steady movement of his chest as he breathed.

I stepped towards them, cautiously. The former Fire Lord/Phoenix King didn't bother looking up, but Aang did, and he smiled wearily.

"Hey," he greeted, "how'd it go?"

"The soldiers and guards put up a fuss, along with a few villagers," I shrugged. "But I was able to talk to them. A traveler is going to help spread the word during his travels."

Aang nodded, and I saw him glance at Katara.

"Go," I said, smiling. "I'll watch him."

He gave me a bone crushing hug before he raced off, and I was left with Ozai. When I was sure the others weren't paying attention, I knelt down to look him in the eye.

"So," I said. "I guess you were right. The Legend does choose the winning side. And the Fire Lord did win. Zuko is going to be a wonderful Fire Lord, and you'll get to watch, from behind bars."

"That dishonorable brat will never amount to anything," Ozai spat.

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because from where I'm standing, he looks like a wonderful Fire Lord in the making."

Looking back at my boyfriend, I saw he was laughing with Sokka and giving a side hug to Toph.

Yeah. He was going to be great.

/////\\\\\

It took a week of speeches, of smaller battles with unrelenting Fire Nation loyalists, and of dealing with Ozai and Azula. The courtyard, where Zuko and his sister had held their Agni Kai was still a mess, with scorch marks claiming the ground, and the tops of towers burnt to a crisp.

But for the most part, with the Fire Lords defeat, it was peaceful. Today was Zuko's crowning, and we would begin working on joining the four nations together again. With the Avatar's help, the world would reach a new age.

That was the plan, anyway.

"Zuko, maybe we should push it back another week," I pressed, stepping forward to help him pull his robe over his injury.

"I'm fine, Sam, really." A thin layer of sweat glistened on his brow, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I leaned forward on my tip toes and kissed him softly.

"You're nervous," I noted. "Don't be. Like I told Ozai, you'll be a wonderful Fire Lord."

"You don't even know what a Fire Lord is supposed to do," he smirked. "How do you know if I'll be any good at it?"

"Because I know these things," I said. "And you took after Iroh. Therefore, it is literally in your blood to be wonderful and wise."

"Maybe I should come back later?"

We turned to see Mai standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and looking bored.

"Mai," Zuko smiled, "you're okay. And they let you out of prison?"

"My uncle pulled some strings," she shrugged. "And it doesn't hurt that the Fire Lord and his girlfriend are your friends."

"Friends, huh?" Zuko chuckled. "So you do have feelings?"

She gave him a mock glare, but smiled. "I guess I do."

/////\\\\\

I stood with Sokka, Katara, and Toph while Aang and Zuko stood before the crowd.

"Today, this war is finally over," Zuko announced, and we cheered. "I promised my uncle I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation. And I will; the road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred, and divided, but with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace."

We cheered louder at the end of his speech, and when Zuko knelt to be crowned, Iroh was suddenly standing next to me with tears in his eyes. It was the first I had seen of him since the Lotus camp, and I smiled widely at him.

"He'll be glad to see you made it," I commented. "Maybe it will help take some of the nerves away from him."

Iroh nodded, his eyes never leaving his nephew. "Yes," he said. "Prince- Fire Lord Zuko will be just fine."

/////\\\\\

The sungi horn is a beautiful instrument, I thought, smiling at Zuko as he placed a cup of tea in front of me. It's a shame we didn't get more music nights, back on the ship.

Things had finally started to calm down around a week ago. After a month of peace meetings, travelling back and forth from the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation, every relative had been visited and every friend had been contacted. Ba Sing Se was a long way from being the wonderful city it once was, but it was getting there.

For now, The Jasmine Dragon was our little safe haven, we rendezvoused here quite often. We were all dressed in greens, as we had just finished a meeting with the Earth King.

"Zuko! Stop moving. I'm trying to capture the moment," Sokka scolded. "I wanted to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Sokka," Katara smiled, walking over to see. "Wait. Why did you give me Momo's ears?"

"Those are your hair loopies," her brother pouted.

"At least you don't look like a porcupine," Zuko huffed. "My hair is not that spiky."

Giving in to curiosity, I walk over to look. Finding myself in between Zuko and what I presumed to be Suki, I raised my eyebrows. "What's that glow-y thing supposed to be?"

"Well, you're the big shot legend, I had to work that in somehow."

"Why did you paint me firebending?" Suki asked.

"I thought it looked more exciting that way," Sokka shrugged. Momo chirped, and Sokka glared. "Oh, you think you could do a better job, Momo?"

"Hey, my bellies not that big anymore," Iroh added, but the mischievous twinkle in his eye gave him away. "I really slimmed down."

"Well, I think you all look perfect."

We looked up to see Toph standing in the middle of the shop with her arms thrown out, and a huge grin on her face.

We burst out laughing, and through my tears, I could see Aang step outside to the balcony, and was soon followed by Katara.

I didn't have to think twice about what was going to happen. Something told me I was supposed to have been playing matchmaker, but I pushed that thought away.

Sam.

I looked, but no one was there. "Did you hear that?" I asked softly, so only Zuko would hear.

He was the only one I told about the voice. It was rare that I heard it, but it was always the same. Always my name, but sometimes, different variations. Sam, Samantha, occasionally Sammy.

The earth tilted, and I stumbled. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back up, and I had to resist the urge to hurl at all the movement.

"Sam?"

Sam.

"Answer me!"

Sammy.

"What's happening?"

Sam, please.

"Sam, talk to me."

A bright light... no, two lights, getting closer. A chill settled in my bones, and I latched onto the only stable thing I could. Someones hands, but whose?

The light was blinding.

And then it was gone.