THE SKY STARTS TO GROW ORANGE AS KATARA, ZUKO, AND KIDA GET CLOSER TO THE FIRE NATION PALACE. The heat of the comet radiates through the sky - Kida can feel its energy pulsing through her, though it might just be nerves.

"Kida, it's going to be fine," Katara assures, glancing towards Kida as she steers Appa. "We can take Azula."

"I'm not worried about her," Kida lies. "I'm worried about Aang. What if....what if he loses and the Fire Lord...you know?"

"Aang won't lose," Zuko adds, which surprises Kida, considering how doubtful he was before. But, Kida decides not to question it. He had been fairly quiet and solemn up until now, and Kida imagines that he was contemplating Uncle's guidance that Zuko should take up the position as Fire Lord. It was a lot to have on one's shoulders at the age of sixteen, especially after having to help save the world. "He'll come back."

"He has to," Katara adds. With that, she looks forward and continues to navigate Appa towards the Fire Nation palace.

They arrive at the palace just in time, as Azula is about to be crowned Fire Lord. The courtyard is completely empty, with only Azula and some Fire sages behind her for the ceremony. Kida would have expected a more populated coronation ceremony, but she figures that with the battle about to go down, it's best that the area is clear of civilians.

As the trio lands, Kida gets a closer look at her cousin. There's no question that Azula looks different from the last encounter Kida had with her. Then, on the day of the invasion, she seemed more composed and sinister, which was what Kida was preparing herself for. But, now Azula just seems tired, almost distraught. The dark shadows under Azula's eyes paired with her choppy haircut reminds Kida of how she herself might have looked when her insomnia was at its worst.

"Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today." Zuko jumps down from Appa. "I am."

Azula laughs her signature sarcastic, twisted laugh. She waves away the Fire sages and gets to her feet. "You're hilarious."

"And you're going down," Kida adds. She jumps down to stand next to Zuko and Katara does as well.

"Isn't this nice? A family reunion. I would have preferred without the Water Tribe peasant, but whatever." Azula narrows her eyes, zeroing in on Zuko. "You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

Kida is about to protest - because that's just what Azula would want, to kill them off one by one to draw out the process - but Zuko jumps in before she even has a chance.

"You're on," Zuko replies. He stands up straighter, and starts to walk towards the edge of the courtyard.

"Are you fucking kidding?" Kida demands, pulling Zuko's arm so he's facing them. It feels like her heart might have stopped, and her entire body is warm with rage. "Katara and I came here for a reason - we're not letting you fight alone."

"She's playing you," Katara agrees, her eyes still wide in shock and confusion. "She knows she can't take us all, so she's trying to separate us."

"I know. But I can take her this time."

Kida groans, peeking behind Zuko to see Azula smirking back at them. "Look, Azula has fought and won against each of us separately. She's never fought the three of us at the same time," Kida argues. "I bet a part of her knows that she'd lose if we fought her together."

"There's something off about her," Zuko points out, which was something Kida had noted before. "I can't explain it but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt."

Just hearing that - how Zuko is willing to sacrifice himself to protect her and Katara - sends another wave of anger through Kida. "Zuko, absolutely not," Kida continues, but Katara cuts her off.

"Maybe Zuko has a point." Katara nods at Zuko. "It's not like we're going to leave, anyways. We'll be right here."

With no other choice, and although she has a lot more fight left in her, Kida nods curtly and watches Zuko walk away. She wants to call after him, to make him promise that he won't die because she can't lose another brother, but Kida remains standing still next to Katara.

And the Agni Kai begins.

From the start of the duel, Kida confirms that she and Zuko were right - there is something off about Azula. Her stance is a bit awkward and her attacks are much less precise than Kida was expecting them to be. One thing that's the same, though, is the sinister look in her eyes, like she's enjoying the fight. There's no question that Sozin's comet has an effect on the firebending, either. Both Azula's and Zuko's fire is much more powerful too, more volatile, and emerges in bright, bold flashes of blue and orange. From the sidelines, Kida stays battle ready, watching their movements carefully in case she needs to jump in. She obviously came prepared, but Kida can't help but feel, well, helpless, with her quiver and sword strapped to her back, her knife on her belt, and her bow in hand, being grasped so tightly that the wood might break.

Orange and blue flames are blasted toward each other, and soon enough a building is on fire. Zuko punches a powerful blast of fire toward Azula. He continues shooting fire, trying to advance towards Azula, while being pushed back by the array of blue flames colliding with his own. Kida notices how he almost stumbles as his feet lose traction. He needs a stronger stance.

As if hearing Kida's thoughts, Zuko turns his foot around in order to steady himself. He sends another powerful fire blast from his fist, setting fire to more buildings. Suddenly, Zuko relaxes his stance, stopping his attacks. Azula, bleary eyed and frantic, turns to find that Zuko's attack set the plaza behind her in flames. She leaps forward, towards Zuko, and swings a blast of fire at him. It's a strong attack, but Zuko immediately creates a wall of fire to avoid the blue flame. Kida has never seen anything like it - an ocean of fire engulfing the courtyard, both beautiful, but utterly frightening.

When the flames die down, Azula looks more determined, angrier, her brows furrowed and lips quirking up into a small smirk. Zuko doesn't stop his attacks though, and Azula clumsily dodges them with blasts of blue fire. As the two get closer together, Kida starts to lose track of the battle, as the fire around them continues to grow uncontrollably. She steps forward to get a better look, but Katara holds her back.

"He'll be alright, Kida," Katara assures, though her voice is somewhat shaky. Kida glances back at her and sees that her hand is hovering over the pouch of water on her hip.

Kida clenches her fists, tightening the grip around her bow even more. Her legs start to heavy, to the point that she's worried they're glued in place. She hates not being able to see what's happening, but the blasts of blue and orange fire create a pit in Kida's stomach, wondering whether they're too evenly matched. Kida remembers how Azula looked early, and she assures herself that it's not true: Zuko can and will triumph.

When Azula finally falls from one of Zuko's blasts, and rolls onto the ground, Zuko steps towards her and shouts: "No lightning today? What's the matter?" He shifts his stance to the one that he had taught Kida and then Aang, ready to redirect Azula's attack if need be. "Afraid I'll redirect it?"

"I'll show you lightning," Azula snaps, somewhat out of breath. She starts to generate lightning, her eyes locked on Zuko. She shifts her gaze ever so slightly, and what follows is a bit of a blur.

Zuko turns around, his eyes wide, and jumps in front of the lightning before it can reach Kida.

»»---------------------►

ZUKO HAD JUMPED IN FRONT OF A LIGHTNING BOLT TO PROTECT KIDA. And she had never been more angry at him.

"What the fuck Zuko?" Kida shouts. She attempts to run towards him, to help him in some way, but a blast of blue fire blocks her path. She looks up at Azula, that sick smirk on her face making Kida's blood boil. "Katara - can you heal him?"

"Yeah, but -"

"Do it," Kida asserts. "I'll keep her occupied." Before Katara can respond, Kida runs off, Azula turning to target her once more.

Kida uses one of the columns to climb to the top of a building, while barely dodging fire blast after fire blast. Azula is relentless, but so is Kida. Once she reaches a good vantage point, Kida starts to shoot arrows at Azula, but she blocks each one, sending them up in flames. All the while, she can hear Azula's taunts and laughter ring throughout the courtyard.

"Oh! I wanted to ask - did you end up finding your dear brother? I hope he's not a pain like mine."

Kida ignores Azula's sinister voice and twisted words. She jumps down from the roof and pulls out her sword, using it to deflect Azula's blasts.

"What's the matter, cousin?" Azula cackles. "No fire today?" To accentuate her point - being dramatic is definitely a family trait - Azula sends a particularly powerful bout of fire towards Kida, which grazes Kida's shoulder, causing her to hiss out in pain. She takes shelter behind a column, trying to catch her breath as Azula continues her attacks.

From the corner of her eye, Kida sees Katara dragging a seemingly unconscious Zuko behind a column so he's sheltered from the battle, before herself jumping in. Azula notices her, too: she starts sending fire blasts towards Katara, who uses water bending to slide towards where Kida is. Kida is back to shooting arrows despite the searing pain of her shoulder and, with Azula distracted, actually manages to pierce through Azula's leg. She groans in pain and snaps the arrow in two, half of it still embedded in her body. As Azula is distracted, Katara finally reaches Kida.

"Two against one seems a bit unfair," Azula lets out a forced laugh, and the tone of her voice suggests that she's really angry now.

"She can't take us at the same time," Kida whispers, as another blast of fire shakes the column.

Katara nods. "So we need to split up."

With not much time to strategize, Kida and Katara take off in opposite directions. Azula, who's planted herself in the center of the courtyard, varies between shooting Katara and shooting Kida, as each of them continue to send their attacks her way while moving quickly on their feet, alternating so that Azula continues to be disoriented. Kida sends another arrow through her thigh, and Azula snaps back towards her. With a scream, she shoots a powerful blast of fire towards Kida. Instead of running, Kida plants her feet. She drops her bow and summons fire, feeling its heat through her body before it makes contact with Azula's blast. It's clumsy and not as strong as Kida would have hoped, considering the power that she's supposed to have from the Comet, but it's the best she can do. Once again, flames of blue and orange dance across the courtyard.

"There's that fire." Azula smirks. She takes her time to assume a battle stance and decides who to zero in on. "I knew you had it in you."

Kida locks eyes with Katara, who nods and deepens her own battle stance.

Azula blasts some more fire; Kida rolls to the side, dodging the blast, and shoots some fire as well, but not directly at Azula. Another blast meets her flame, except this time, it's water, the contact between the two elements creating a thick mist.

Kida and Katara take advantage of their newly created cover. They get closer to Azula, who's simply shooting fire anywhere in a desperate attempt to hit anyone. She quickly stumbles and falls to the ground - Katara, just as quick, uses water to freeze Azula's hands and feet to the ground.

By now, the fog has started to clear and Kida can see the blue flames starting to melt the thick layer of ice that traps Azula's hands. Kida swiftly kneels down next to Azula and shoves her knife into Azula's abdomen. Azula screams, and the glow of the blue flames dies down.

"Stay down," Kida orders. At this point, the fog has completely lifted and Katara is standing behind Kida, most likely glaring down at Azula as well. Kida almost sees a hint of tears brim Azula's eyes, and she almost feels sympathy towards her.

"You can't kill me!" Azula cries. "Don't you want to find out more about your brother?"

"I'm not falling for your tricks again."

Despite the immense amount of pain she must be feeling (Kida would know), Azula manages a smirk. "Aw, my little cousin's all grown up --"

Kida just slams her elbow into Azula's face, effectively knocking her out.

"I'm older than you," Kida says briskly. She gets up, her cold stare never leaving Azula's unconscious form. "And you can't hurt any of us anymore."

»»---------------------►

IT'S STRANGE HOW QUICKLY A BATTLE SEEMS COMPARED TO THE TIME LEADING UP TO IT. Unfortunately, Kida comes to learn that the time afterwards moves quickly as well.

After Azula is defeated, Kida watches Katara tend to Zuko's wounds, his eyes fluttering open. Kida almost cries as she hugs Katara in gratitude, both for healing Zuko and having her back, but she sees Zuko and chastises him briefly for risking his life and hugs him tightly to let him know how much she cares.

Kida almost cries again when she's reunited with Sokka and the others, but most of all she's beyond happy that everyone made it out alive, and that she herself can live another day to see Suki's smile, to playfully argue with Toph, to train with Koa, and to just be with Sokka, even if he has a sprained ankle.

Kida absolutely does cry when she's reunited with Aang, though if anyone asks it's because Aang cried first. She hugs him so tightly and he hugs her back, and she gushes about how proud she is of him that he kicked the Fire Lord's ass. When she watches him address everyone, standing next to newly appointed Fire Lord Zuko, Kida's heart is filled with pride, relief, and joy.

They had done it. The Fire Nation was defeated. The war ended. The world was safe.

A few weeks or so later, the team is still in the Fire Nation, in the midst of celebration. The war lasted a 100 years - the celebration can last a while longer. They have a house all together, except for Zuko, who has to stay in the palace, but actually ends up sleeping over quite a bit. One evening, everyone and a few guests - Iroh, Mai, and Ty Lee - hang out in the den, playing pai sho, drinking tea, relaxing and laughing.

Kida smiles to herself. She takes one last look at the group, sending a wink towards Sokka when he catches her eye, and walks out onto the deck, only to find Aang and Katara already out there. She's about to join them, but is stopped short when they step closer to each other and kiss.

"Ew, gross!" Sokka exclaims, sneaking up beside Kida. "That's my sister."

Kida smiles, laughing at the disgust painting Sokka's features. "And that's spiritually my great-grand-father, but I'm not about to break up a perfectly good moment. Speaking of which...."

She reaches down and grabs Sokka's hand, leading him up the outside stairs, quietly so as to not break up a perfectly good moment, and guides him to the roof. They sit down, looking out at the town below them, completely at peace with each other and the world.

Kida wishes they could live in this bliss a bit longer. They'd been through so much, after all. And, yeah, with the war just having ended there are still some loose ends to tie up and Kida has a feeling everyone will go their separate ways, certain that the eight of them won't be together for long. Kida herself doesn't know where she'll be: she'd gotten offers from Zuko to stay in the Fire Nation, Suki to return to Kyoshi and be co-leaders of the warriors with her, and Sokka just wants to travel around. Whatever she chooses and wherever each of them end up, Kida likes to think that they'd all get together, go to Ember Island, and spend a few days there. Maybe Zuko marries Koa, and then Katara marries Aang, and maybe somewhere in between Kida and Sokka get married too, but Kida can wait a bit for the future to start.

The world is beyond chaotic because it had been broken for so long, and maybe it's their responsibility now to fix it, but they'll get through it. Because, no matter what, no matter the threat or the chaos they face, one thing will stay the same: they'll always be a team.

END OF BOOK THREE 

»»---------------------►

author's note!

okay MAYBE im a bit emotional right now but i just want to thank all you lovely people for being here and reading my work and interacting with the story and with each other about the story, it seriously means so much to me because i put a lot of thought and heart and time and energy, but it was absolutely worth it.

 i started the almost a year ago and this will (sadly) be the last chapter, at least for now! i might do a bit of an epilogue at some point, and maybe a legend of korra spin off. im also going to be writing some other stories like a marvel and grishaverse fic in the meantime.

THANK YOU FOR READING 

<3,

blue.