A/N; Alright woohoo back to the middle of the night upload times HELL YEAH! (fr tho my sleep schedule is so far beyond broken i need to get help lol)

Katara P.o.V.

The two water tribe siblings sat at the back of Appa's saddle, watching the insane display of power before them. Katara's eyes were wide in awe at the sight of lightning curling around Azami's figure. The firebender obviously knew how to control this power, so Katara wasn't too concerned about being injured by it.

It naturally came as a surprise to her then when Azami went to release the lightning and it blew up in her face, causing her to shriek in pain as she was blasted backwards off of Appa.

"AANG!" Katara screamed. "Azami fell, we have to go after her!"

The airbender had looked back in shock when he heard the princess' scream, so he was already urging Appa downwards to try and catch her. Fireballs continued to rain through the sky around them, and the ocean was approaching at an alarming rate. They soon spotted Azami falling nearby, appearing unconscious.

With maybe thirty feet between them and the sea below, Sokka finally managed to grab onto one of Azami's arms and pull her onto Appa's saddle. "We got her, now let's get out of here!" he yelled, and Aang quickly maneuvered Appa to fly straight at the blockade. The fireballs had stopped launching, and instead they appeared to be waiting for the gaang to get closer.

Without warning, a single fireball was launched straight at them, and Aang leaped off of Appa's head to meet it. He kicked out a blast of air, disintegrating the fireball before it could reach them, and before he had a chance to fall Appa swooped in to catch him. Katara held onto him as they sailed past the blockade, successfully making it into the Fire Nation.

"We made it!" Aang cheered, while Katara just had a terrified look on her face. Trespassing in the Fire Nation had never been high on her to-do list.

"Guys, I need your help," Sokka called over to them. The two shared a glance at the concern in Sokka's voice, and they both got up and headed to the back of Appa's saddle. Katara's eyes widened upon seeing the scene before her. The princess' body was limp, her head resting on Sokka's lap, and Katara couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Azami's right arm was an absolute mess of burns and scars. The sleeve of her shirt was shredded beyond repair, and trailing all the way from her hand up to her shoulder was a massive array of scars in the form of numerous branches. It almost gave the appearance of one continuous tree tattoo, and she was bleeding profusely. 

"What happened?" Aang asked in horror, glancing at Katara.

She was just as stunned, having never seen anything like this before. "I-I don't know," she responded shakily. "It was such a blur. One moment she had control of the lightning, the next there was this explosion, and she was blown off, and now this-" she shook her head, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Azami let out a small groan, startling the other three, her eyelids fluttering before she opened them with a wince. "W-What happened to me?" she croaked out, her voice sounding hoarse.

Sokka quickly moved to hold her down by the shoulders, restricting her movement. "Hey, easy, you're hurt pretty bad. How do you feel?"

Azami's voice was a bit shaky as she replied. "Unghh... my arm's r-really sore and my ears are ringing a lot. That's not normal, is it?"

Katara glanced down at Azami's arm again. "We don't know what happened. How were you able to control the lightning like that?" she asked, a sense of wonderment in her voice. "I've never seen anything like it!"

Azami groaned in pain as Sokka started to bandage her arm. "A few-ungh- a few firebenders have the ability, and my - OW Sokka, that hurts!" she gasped, as he wrapped her arm up tightly.

Sokka gave her an apologetic look, but he continued his work. "Look, I'm sorry, but we need to get your arm bandaged up if it's going to have any chance of healing."

Azami just sighed, before she started to frown a little. "Anyways, as I was saying, my brother taught me when I was younger. It wasn't supposed to redirect, though, I've never seen that happen."

"Is that what happened to you?" Aang asked, concerned.

Azami shrugged, and Sokka let out an annoyed huff at her moving her arm. "I guess so?" She looked down sadly at her arm as Sokka finished bandaging it. "That's the only reason I can think of for my arm being like this. I've never once lost control of lightning after summoning it though."

Sokka sighed, leaning back against the side of the saddly. "Well, your arm's bandaged up now, we just have to hope it doesn't get infected. "

Katara was a little confused. "What would make you lose control this time?"

Azami hesitated before answering, something that did not go unnoticed by Katara. "I don't know," she muttered.

Katara knew she was hiding something, but decided to drop it for now. She was definitely going to question the firebender about it after this, though.

Azami P.o.V.

The gaang slowly continued the journey, all of them lying down to rest from the excitement earlier, before finally arriving at the crescent island. Azami had fallen asleep along the way, still troubled by what had happened earlier.

Aang's voice suddenly woke her, and she heard him yelling excitedly. "There it is! That's the island where Roku's dragon took me!"

They soon landed and Appa laid down in exhaustion.

Aang smiled as he hugged the bison's head. "You did it buddy. Nice flying."

Appa rolled over, yawning, as Aang and Katara both came up to rub his belly. Azami watched them for a moment before she glanced at Sokka to see him doing some weird stretching exercises.

"You must be tired," Katara cooed softly to the bison.

Sokka just exclaimed gleefully in response. "No! I'm good! Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders!"

Katara scowled at him. "I was talking to Appa."

Sokka glared back at her before trying pitifully to cover up his mistake. "Well, I was talking to... Azami."

Azami raised her eyebrow slightly at his comment. "Yeah... no, you weren't," she deadpanned, and Sokka glared at her. "Anyways, we need to get you inside Aang, the sun's going to set soon." 

She started to walk up to the temple, then paused and looked back to see the gaang all staring at her in disbelief. "What?" 

Aang was the first to speak up. "Azami, you're injured pretty badly, and we... we kinda discussed this while you were sleeping. 

Sokka continued for him. "We all agreed that you should probably wait out here for us."

Azami rolled her eyes. She knew they were probably right, but her pride would never let her admit to needing help, and she absolutely hated the idea of being babied. "You guys are going to be trying to enter a fire temple, probably run by firebenders, and you want to leave the one person that can actually counter firebending outside? Yeah, great idea, but I'm going with you guys, thanks."

Katara sighed. "Azami, we're just concerned about you, after how you were acting last night and your injury this morning-"

"I'm fine," Azami snapped. "It's already feeling better, and for the record I don't recall a time where I asked you guys to make decisions for me. Now are we going to go or are we going to continue wasting time?"

She stomped ahead of them, leaving the three to look at her concerned before giving each other looks of defeat and following her up to the temple. She felt a little guilty - they were after all just looking out for her - but the idea that they got to decide what she does for her was repulsive. 

They entered surprisingly easily, no guards in sight. Eventually they found themselves creeping around the place before entering a fairly spacious room with a dark ceiling high above them, surrounded by doorways.

Sokka paused, before whispering quietly to them. "Wait. I think I heard something."

They all turned around, Katara, Sokka and Aang gasping at the sight of the five fire sages while Azami's shoulders relaxed in relief.

Azami let out a sigh as she saw a familiar group of firebenders. "The fire sages are still here? Oh thank the spirits. I thought they would've abandoned the place when Aang disappeared."

"You know these guys?" Sokka asked in an incredulous voice.

Azami glanced at them once more, before realizing she didn't know any of them. "These guys specifically? No. Sokka, the fire sages are the guardians of the temple and serve the Avatar, not the Firelord."

The new Great Sage sent a threatening look at her. "We used to." Azami felt a pit of unease growing in her stomach. Surely not, she thought to herself. "But things have changed, your highness."

The five sages suddenly blasted fire at them and Azami and Aang scrambled to deflect the fire.

"Aang, I'll hold them off!" Azami yelled at him. "Get out of here!"

Aang flashed her a grin, making her groan in annoyance. "Not a chance," he replied. "You guys run, I've got this!"

Azami groaned but allowed herself to be dragged away by Sokka (thankfully grabbing her good arm), and Aang blasted a massive gust of wind at the sages, knocking them all over.

A voice echoed from the main chamber as they sprinted into the maze of corridors. "Split up and find them!"

The three continued running and taking random turns before Aang suddenly ran in front of them, causing them to freeze in surprise.

"Follow me!" Aang yelled at them.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka panted as he started following the airbender.

Aang quickly ran around a corner, his voice echoing back at them. "Nope!"

Suddenly Aang doubled back and ran past them. "Wrong way!" he exclaimed, and a fire sage appeared around the corner, the three quickly sprinting after Aang.

"Come back!" the sage cried.

The four found themselves in a dead end, the sage following them and blocking the entrance. They all got ready to fight.

The sage put his hand up in a calming gesture. "I don't want to fight you. I am a friend."

"Firebenders aren't our friends!" Sokka exclaimed.

Azami kept her gaze on the sage, but her voice was dripping with sarcasm as she replied to his comment. "Gee, thanks Sokka. Feels nice to be wanted."

Sokka blushed realizing his mistake. The group all maintained a fighting stance as the sage walked forward, before he bowed to Aang, surprising everyone.

"I know why you're here, Avatar," the sage said softly.

Aang lowered his staff in surprise. "You do?"

"Yes," the sage responded as he got back up. "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

Aang looked at him suspiciously. "How?"

The sage reached over to the wall beside him and tilted a lantern, revealing a small hole that he blasted fire into. The outline of a doorway suddenly appears, before that section of the wall moved away to unveil a secret passage. 

"This way," the sage explained.

A distant voice echoed from the nearby corridors. "Find him." The other sages were getting closer.

"Time is running out!" the sage before them whispered in a panicked tone. "Quickly!"

Aang looked back to Azami for confirmation, and she nodded in response. The gaang entered the passage and the Sage closed the door behind them. He led them through a tunnel system beneath the temple, introducing himself as Shyu.

"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home," Shyu explained to them. "He formed these secret passages out of the magma."

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked hopefully.

The sage shook his head. "No, but my grandfather knew him. The same man in fact who trained you and your brother, Princess Azami."

Azami's eyes widened in surprise, and she felt the gaang's stares on her. "Your grandfather was Master Kaja?"

"Yes, he was," Shyu smiled softly at her. "Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place."

"Is that how you knew I was coming?" Aang asked.

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred," Shyu explained. "The statue of Avatar Roku, it's eyes began to glow."

Katara gasped in realization. "That's when we were at the Air Temple. Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there, too!"

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world," the sage continued before he glanced at Azami again. "Although we did not know that you had survived as well, your highness."

Azami looked down, feeling troubled. She didn't really want the title of princess anymore, but if this conversation was proving anything it was that it would follow her the rest of her life.

Thankfully, Sokka's curiosity kept her from brooding too long on the thoughts swirling in her head. "So this Master Kaja guy? Who was he?"

Azami's face brightened as she looked at Sokka, a grin splitting her face for the first time in days. "He was a friend of Avatar Roku's, and he even helped Roku master the Avatar State. He trained me in firebending when I was little. It's nice to know that he remained loyal to the Avatar.

"Speaking of which," Aang spoke up, "if this really is the Avatar's temple, why did the sages attack me?"

Shyu responded in a grave tone. "Things have changed. In the past, the sages were loyal to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return, but he never came."

Aang looked down sadly. "They were waiting for me."

Sokka placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Hey don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late."

"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return," Shyu continued, facing Azami. "When your father, Firelord Sozin began the war, my grandfather and the other sages were forced to follow him. My father and I never wished to serve the Firelord. When Firelord Azulon learned that my father was loyal to the Avatar and not him, he had him executed for treason."

Azami's eyes flashed with pain and anger. She was getting sick and tired of hearing how evil her family had become. Katara went to put a hand on her shoulder, but Azami shrugged her off. "If your father was executed for disloyalty, how are you still alive?" She narrowed her eyes at the man in suspicion. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"After my father's death, I was asked to take his place and swear fealty to the Firelord," Shyu responded. "I did so, knowing that I could do no good being openly against him. So I have waited in hopes that the Avatar would return, and when I knew he had, I knew I would have to betray the other sages."

Aang smiled up at the man. "Thank you for helping me."

The sage smiled back at him, before leading them up to a staircase out of the tunnels.

"We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary," Shyu explained the plan to them. "Once you are inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."

They reached the top of the stairs, Shyu pushing a panel above him to the side, revealing their position at the top of the temple. They all climbed out, only for the sage to gasp, "No!"

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asked, concerned.

Shyu looked ahead of them in defeat. "The sanctuary doors. They're closed."

"Can't you just open them with firebending, like you opened that other door?" Katara asked, confused.

"No," he replied. "Only a fully-realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the sages must open the door together with five simultaneous fire blasts."

Azami frowned. Creating five fire blasts with two firebenders should be easy. "Couldn't we do that ourselves? I mean just shoot two blasts from each hand, one of us uses their mouth for a third blast and there, you have your five blasts."

Shyu looked at her sadly. "I wish it were that easy, your highness, but I'm afraid not. Even the Firelord himself would struggle to open two of these five locks."

Azami looked down, contemplating possible solutions, but it appeared that Sokka had an idea. "Five fire blasts, huh?" he smirked. "I think I can help you out."

After some time preparing, they had placed explosives in each of the five locks with a match tied to each one.

"...and ta-da! Fake firebending!" Sokka finished explaining his plan to them.

"You've really outdone yourself this time Sokka," Katara admitted, sounding impressed.

"This might actually work," Shyu said, smiling. "Now, the sages will hear the explosion, so as soon as they go off, you rush in."

The four hid behind nearby pillars just to be safe. "It's almost sunset," Katara pointed out. "Are you ready, Aang?"

He smiled over at her. "Definitely."

(quick A/N; why is typing definitely as defiantly like the most common typo on wattpad? I'll never understand it lol)

Shyu lit the matches before running to hide with the kids, and the bombs each exploded in a large blast, but the door remained stubbornly closed. Aang ran over and tugged at the handles to no avail. "They're still locked!" he cried.

Shyu sighed. "It didn't work."

"I see what you meant," Azami admitted. "That door is tough, and those blasts definitely looked like some pretty strong firebending."

Aang was blasting the door with airbending in frustration. "Why won't it open?!"

"Aang, stop!" Katara cried, tugging on his shoulder. "There's nothing else we can do."

Aang looked down at his feet sadly. "I'm sorry I put you guys through all this for nothing."

"I don't get it," Sokka muttered, rubbing soot from the door. "Azami's right, that blast looked as just as strong as any firebending I've ever seen."

Katara's eyes widened. "You two are geniuses!" she exclaimed.

Azami tilted her head. "I get that I am, but how is Sokka a genius?"

"Hey!" Sokka cried.

Katara explained her plan to them, and they soon got ready. Shyu ran to fetch the other sages while Aang used his airbending to help shove Momo into the sanctuary through the firebending lock. As soon as the lemur was in and they could see his shadow on the ground, they all hid back behind the pillars again.

Within minutes, Shyu ran in with the other four sages. "Come quickly! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary!"

"How did he get in?" the Great Sage questioned, suspicious.

"I don't know," Shyu exclaimed as he gestured with his hands. "But look at the scorch marks and down there!"

Momo's shadow passed through the doorway, convincing the sages.

"He's inside! Open the doors immediately, before he contacts Avatar Roku!" the Great Sage ordered.

The sages each launched a powerful blast at the door, forcing it open. When it opened, it revealed a soot covered Momo standing there innocently. The poor thing sneezed, flinging off most of the black powder coating it.

"It's the Avatar's lemur," the Great Sage growled. "He must have crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked!"

Momo leaped at the great sage, tackling him by the head as the others all emerged to help Shyu and Momo restrain the sages. Katara and Sokka each pulled up the robes of the sage near them, blinding the two, while Shyu tackled a third. Azami sent a blast of fire at the Great Sage's legs, tripping him as he yelled in pain, his face meeting the floor. 

"Now, Aang!" Shyu cried.

Silence filled the room as the airbender was nowhere to be seen.

"Aang, now's your chance!" Katara yelled.

Two figures appeared from behind a pillar, revealing Zuko restraining Aang. "The Avatar's coming with me!" Zuko shouted.

Shyu, Sokka and Katara soon found themselves restrained, and the Great Sage took a fighting stance against Azami. 

"Stand down, your highness," he ordered. "The Firelord's command is for you to be returned unharmed, but if you resist, we will attack."

"Oh, will you just shut up and do it then," Azami spat before kicking a blast at the Sage. 

Zuko yelled at the other sages as he dragged Aang away. "Close the doors! Quickly!"

Aang managed to airbend himself from Zuko's grasp, throwing the prince down a nearby set of stairs and he raced back to the doorway. The Great Sage made the mistake of looking back at him, which allowed Azami to blast him against a nearby pillar, where he groaned clutching his head. The other two sages turned to face them, the third still restraining Shyu.

"Aang, get in the sanctuary!" Azami yelled at him. "I'll hold them off, now go!"

Just as the door was about to close, Aang managed to slip in, the door locking itself as it glowed a bright white. "He made it!" Katara cried in relief.

One of the four sages continued to hold Shyu, while the other three and Zuko all took a stance surrounding Azami. "Last chance, your highness," the Great Sage warned. "Stand down. You are already injured and cannot hope to defeat us."

Azami snarled. "Does it look like I care?"

Without warning, she immediately flipped over, spinning her legs out in an arc around her to create a massive ring of blue fire that blasted her four opponents away from her. She quickly got back up, prepared to deal with the four for as long as possible. Three of the four had recovered from her initial blast, soon getting up and launching attacks at her.

For a while, Azami tried to hold them off. She dodged and deflected dozens of attacks, launching many of her own and managing to take down a second sage, but she was eventually forced to put all her weight on her bad arm to dodge an attack. She had been favoring it the entire fight, to avoid stressing it, so she wasn't surprised when her arm gave out in protest at the action, and she crumpled to the ground in a heap. 

The two sages that fell earlier ran to restrain her before she had the chance to get back up, each holding one of her arms as they forced her into a kneeling position. She yelped in pain as one of the sages firmly gripped her still injured arm, and she was finally forced to concede the fight. 

Zuko turned to face the Great Sage. "Let's hurry it up and get this door open!"

The Great Sage glowered at the door before him. "We can't. That light means Avatar Roku has locked the door. We must now wait for the Avatar to leave."

Zuko snarled before turning to face Shyu, who was still restrained by the last sage. "Why did you help the Avatar?" he spat.

Shyu looked back defiantly at him. "Because it was once the Sage's duty. It is still our duty." 

Clapping filled the room, and Azami's eyes widened as she saw a Fire Nation Commander was approaching them with an entourage of guards behind him. 

"What a moving and heartfelt performance," his voice drawled. "I'm certain the Firelord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him."

The Great Sage bowed to him. "Commander Zhao." 

Zhao smirked. "And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work. Two traitors, in one day. The Firelord will be pleased."

Two of Zhao's guards restrained Zuko from behind. "You're too late, Zhao!" he protested. "The Avatar's inside, and the doors are sealed."

"No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out," Zhao said with a smile. He turned his head to look over at the other two sages, who were still restraining Azami as she whimpered slightly in pain, the grip on her arm tightening. 

Zhao grinned as he walked over to them. "And this must be the famous Princess Azami, daughter of Firelord Sozin. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

She glared at him with a look that clearly wished him an early death. He just chuckled, and crouched down before her. She felt her skin crawl as he traced her jawline with his finger, and in retaliation she snapped her head forward as she tried to bite his finger off. He stood back up, a smirk on his face as Azami felt her insides curl in disgust.

"No need for that attitude, your highness," he spoke down to her. "The Firelord has graciously offered you a welcome return to the palace, where you will be taken to shortly. You're going home."

Azami's eyes widened in fear as she felt two new pairs of hands grab her from behind, and she had to bite her tongue from screaming in pain as she was dragged upwards by her arms. She soon felt a pair of cuffs placed around her wrists, tightened way beyond necessary as they already started digging into her skin.

She watched in defeat as Zhao stood outside the door with an array of soldiers beside him, waiting for Aang to come out. "When those doors open, unleash all your firepower!" he ordered.

Katara's concerned voice echoed throughout the chamber. "How's Aang gonna make it out of this?"

"How are we gonna make it out of this?" Sokka questioned.

The door began to glow a brilliant white, and Azami averted her eyes until the light faded. It slowly screeched open, and Zhao ordered his troops to fire. Katara cried out to him, but then everyone gasped as the fire curled around the figure of Avatar Roku.

Roku sent out a massive blast of fire, knocking back all of the soldiers, the sages, and Zhao. Somehow this resulted in the two soldiers restraining Azami to be blown backwards, while she was left standing in place. The chains binding Katara, Sokka and Shyu melted into nothing, along with the cuffs around Azami's wrists. She quickly ran to join the water tribe siblings, noticing in the corner of her eye as Prince Zuko raced away.

The image of Avatar Roku continued to destroy the temple around them, summoning lava from beneath the temple and splitting the floor. "Avatar Roku is going to destroy the temple!" Shyu cried. "We have to get out of here!"

"No! We aren't leaving!" Azami yelled at him.

Katara nodded. "Not without Aang!"

The temple shook around them, lava spewing everywhere, and Sokka hugged Katara and Azami close to him as they all hid behind a pillar. Eventually the destruction stopped, and they all got up in surprise to see Roku's form fade, revealing a tired Aang in his place. They all quickly ran forward to catch him as he fell.

"We've got your back," Sokka said with a smile.

Aang groaned slightly, a hand on his head. "Thanks. Where's Shyu?"

Katara helped him walk for a bit, seeming troubled. "I don't know, he just disappeared."

They ran to the nearest staircase only to find it flooded with lava. Panicking, they ran to a hole in the nearby wall, watching in terror as the temple began to tilt. Fortunately, they had a giant bison on their side, who came to rescue them with Momo at his side, wearing the Great Sage's hat. The gaang quickly jumped onto Appa's back, flying away as the temple collapsed behind them.

Night fell as they flew away in silence. Katara was hugging Aang to comfort him as Sokka took a turn flying Appa to let the poor boy rest. Guilt gnawing at her, Azami came up behind him, sitting down at the front of Appa's saddle.

"Hey, Sokka..." she said softly. "I-I wanted to say that I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, I know you guys were only looking out for my well-being."

Sokka glanced at her, a soft smile on his features. "It's okay, we shouldn't have tried to force you to stay behind. I actually was gonna ask you something, though."

She nodded. "Fire away."

His glance turned a little darker, as though he was recalling some painful memory. "I saw what happened when that Zhao guy showed up," he began, and Azami felt herself stiffen slightly. "Are you doing ok?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she replied a little shakily, before faking a yawn. "Well, uh, I'm a little tired, so I'm gonna go to sleep. Good night, Sokka."

She didn't even wait for his response before she laid down in the saddle, clenching her eyes shut as she hoped to lose herself in dreams and forget everything that happened the past two days.

A/N; Okay ngl this turned out both longer than I expected and not quite as good as I had hoped, but I do hope it's still a satisfying conclusion to the winter solstice episodes for you guys.

For those of you that are curious, this is what Azami's scar looks like, only imagine it going all the way from her hand to her shoulder. (sorry if the image doesn't load it's the best example I could find);

Idk if it's just me, but I'm almost tempted to try and get hit by lightning just because of how freaking awesome that scar looks (just kidding please for the love of god do not deliberately try to get hit by lightning it does kill people). And yes, lightning scars CAN look like that in extreme cases. Just picture it on the right arm instead, and ta-da, you know how Azami's arm looks now :D

(I would do art but see here's the thing. I can't draw to save my life lol.)

Anyways this chapter is like 4500 words or smth so im kinda burnt out from writing all three solstice chapters within like 10 days lol