Cleanup

Zuko woke up in the middle of the night. His body ached a little. He groaned and tried to sit up, only to realize he wasn’t in the throne room. Zuko was in the bedroom he’d used before at the palace. Candles were lit all around the room and he was shirtless. His eyes focused and he also realized that everyone was around him; Katara, Iroh, Toph, Aang, and Sokka. Iroh helped Zuko sit up and propped him up on the pillows. Katara threw herself onto the bed to hug him. He was shocked for a minute, then he hugged her back. When Katara let go, she moved to sit at the edge of the bed.
“What’s going on?” Zuko asked. “Where’s Azula?”
Iroh looked at him. “Azula’s dead, Zuko.”
“What happened?”
“Azula shot lightning at your friend Katara here,” Iroh said. “You jumped in front of her and redirected the lightning back at Azula. She wasn’t prepared for that and it hit her, stopping her heart. The lightning shocked your body so much, it caused you to pass out and collapse. At first, I thought it was because it had hit your heart as you redirected it.”
“I killed her?” Zuko asked.
“To tell you the truth, it was her fault in a manner of speaking. If you hadn’t done it, I would have redirected it myself,” Iroh told him.
Katara grabbed Zuko’s hand and squeezed it. “You saved my life, Zuko. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough.”
Sokka walked over to him. “I have to say thanks too, Zuko. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you. We owe you a lot. I guess I know I can’t not trust you anymore either.”
“You did good, Zuko,” Toph said, giving him a hard but friendly punch in the shoulder.
“Thanks, Zuko,” Aang said.
Zuko was a little shocked at all the attention, so he just nodded his head at all of them. “What about the Dai Li?” He asked, remembering.
“They’re taken care of,” Toph said with a grin. “The royal guards came into the palace after the fight. We told them the Earth King was going to come back. They helped us imprison the Dai Li agents. They aren’t going anywhere.”
All of a sudden, the door to Zuko’s room opened and Mai and Ty Lee came in.
“Is he okay?” Ty Lee asked before she saw him.
“I’m fine, Ty Lee,” he said.
“We want to thank you girls for your help,” Iroh said. “You did what was best and it will benefit the world.”
They both nodded and wore small grins.
“Now, I know we’re having a fun party, but I think we should all get some rest,” Iroh advised.
“We can wrap all this up in the morning,” Katara said.
They all turned to leave. Katara hung back and waited till the others all left. She went back to Zuko’s side.
“You know I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you did for me,” Katara said.
“You don’t need to. I’d hope you’d have done the same for me,” Zuko told her.
“Of course. But I still think I should try to thank you,” Katara said, leaning in to kiss him.
After she’d given him her thank you kiss, she sat at the edge of his bed with her hand in his.
“In the morning, you, Aang and I can go get the others outside of the city,” she said.
“Alright,” Zuko replied.
“We both should get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning,” Katara told him, giving him another kiss before she left for the room she was using for the night.
The sun shone brightly the next morning, marking the victory of the night before. The gang found each other in the dining hall. The palace was already returning to normal. The servants and guards, who’d been asleep during all the chaos, were up and going about their duties. Once they were informed that the king was coming back, the servants began readying everything. The chefs in the palace kitchen cooked up an enormous breakfast for the Avatar and his friends. Sokka stuffed his face happily.
“So, after breakfast, Aang, Zuko and I will head out of the city to get the king and Ursa,” Katara said.
“And Sokka and I will find the five generals the Dai Li captured during the coup the other week,” Toph said.
“What about me?” Iroh asked.
“We think you should stay here and relax with Mai and Ty Lee, now that all three of you are out of imprisonment,” Katara suggested.
The gang agreed on the plans for the day. After breakfast, Katara, Zuko and Aang took a carriage and a train to exit the city. Sokka and Toph went about looking for the Council of Five. Iroh spent his time drinking tea with Mai and Ty Lee. Once they were out of the city, Zuko, Aang and Katara high tailed it to Kuei and Ursa. They walked through the woods for awhile until they stumbled upon the tiny camp site, and the ten-ton flying bison.
“Mom?” Zuko called.
“Kuei?” Katara shouted.
Within a moment, the two heads popped out of the dome. They’d been waiting to be retrieved. Ursa ran to her son and hugged him.
On the way back to the palace, Ursa and Kuei were filled in on the past day’s events.
“What happened to Azula and her friends?” Ursa asked.
“Mai and Ty Lee decided to help us in our struggle. Azula didn’t make it,” Zuko said. “She bended lightning at Katara. I jumped in front of her to stop it and I redirected the lightning and it hit her and stopped her heart.”
“She had it coming,” Katara said.
“I was telling the truth when I said I wouldn’t judge you or your friends on the outcome of this battle. But I am sad I lost my daughter. Not at the cause of lightning, but her father. I blame Ozai for all of this. I lost my daughter years ago,” Ursa said sadly.
Zuko reached over and put an arm around his mother. By now the palace was in sight. Aang steered Appa and landed him on the ground. The Council of Five, along with Mai, Ty Lee and the rest of the gang, stood at the top of the stairs to await the Earth King’s arrival. Ursa, Katara, Zuko, Aang, Bosco, and Momo followed the king up the stairs. The generals all bowed and welcomed Kuei back to his rightful place. Everyone began to proceed into the palace. Zuko pulled his uncle aside. Ursa stood behind her son so Iroh couldn’t see her.
“Uncle, I found Mom,” he announced proudly. He stepped aside to show Ursa.
“Ursa, my dear,” Iroh said, walking forward to embrace his sister-in-law.
After they hugged, Zuko spoke up. “Uncle, where’s Azula’s body?”
“Mai, Ty Lee, and I decided we could at least give her a proper funeral. We recited the normal speech and burned the body,” Iroh told him.
Zuko nodded and they joined everyone else in the throne room. Servants were busily working to fix any damages that had happed during the absence of their leader.