As I was writing this chapter, I briefly considered throwing it away and deleting the story altogether because I don't like what it's come to. But then I told myself that this was my first story and I'm sure as hell not gonna delete it when it's the final chapter. I'm just so ready to be done with this story because it's taken up so much of my time and I'll be looking forward to having that time back. So I hope you guys enjoy the chapter more than I enjoyed it.

Power of a Thousand Suns

The entire time Abi travelled on her mongoose lizard, she was mentally preparing herself for what was about to happen. She would be facing off against her old master, the same person who had taught her everything she knew and undoubtedly still had tricks up his sleeves. This would without a doubt be the biggest battle of Abi's life, even more monumental than her face off with Azula. Everything was writing on this, and it wasn't just her pride that was at stake. The fate of the world was also resting on her shoulders, which was a pretty big weight.

When Sozin's Comet arrived, Abi instantly felt it in her veins. It was unmistakeable to miss the giant ball of red in the sky. She could feel the power surging through her as a result of the comet. She'd been waiting for this moment for months now, so that she could display the true power and ferocity of her bending. Although Abi wasn't exactly sure what the outcome of the day would be, she knew that the day of Sozin's Comet would be a day that would go down in history, regardless of what the outcome was.

It was almost strange travelling by herself after being with other people for so long. After months of being by herself, Abi had reluctantly grown used to being around other people. But that was something she'd have to get used to again since Abi didn't plan on being around people again after this was over. Whatever the outcome was, Abi planned on breaking away from the Fire Nation and going her own way. After spending so much time cooped up as a prisoner, Abi just wanted to be free and on her own, away from other people and their limitations. She didn't know where she'd be going, all she knew was that she'd be somewhere anyone wouldn't be able to find her.

A mile away from the destination marked on the map, Abi disembarked from her mongoose lizard and decided to continue the rest of her journey on foot. This way she could stick to the shadows and wouldn't be easily spotted from the distance. Only that wasn't the case as Abi got the distinct feeling that she was being watched. Even after all this time, she still considered her instincts to be up to speed and she was certain that there was someone somewhere behind her.

"Alright, are we going to do this the easy way, or am I going to have to burn whoever you are to a crisp?" Abi demanded. She didn't have any time to waste, so she wasn't going to play to anyone's nonsense.

"Don't burn us! You know us!" a voice called.

Abi crossed her arms, "Oh, yeah. Then show yourselves."

Seconds later, two figures emerged from the tree up above before they brought themselves down. When they landed, Abi was stunned when she realised that yes, she did in fact know these people. At first, Abi hadn't recognised them and it had taken her a few moments before she could register their names. It was Ishan and Nori from the Underground Society, yet they seemed to be missing their third counterpart.

"Fancy seeing you here," Nori murmured.

"Why are you two here? I have a perfectly reasonable excuse for being here but I can't understand why you two would be here," Abi said.

"We're here to rescue Aika," Ishan replied.

"Aika?" Abi stated, remembering their irritating leader who had gotten under her skin.

"A few days ago, we were ambushed by the Yuyan Archers. Aika made us go so that she could deal with them, and we haven't seen her since. This happened on the coast of the Fire Nation, but we got help to find out that she was here. We need to rescue her, she's our friend," Nori explained.

"Why are you here?" Ishan asked.

"I'm here to face my destiny," Abi replied.

"And what is that?" Nori questioned.

Abi rolled her eyes, "I'm not telling you guys why I'm here specifically, but I do think that we can help each other."

"How?" Ishan narrowed his eyes.

"Even with the power of the comet, you guys are gonna need some help. I'll get you guys to where you need to be and then once we're ready, we'll go our separate ways to do what we came here to do," Abi answered.

"Why can't you tell us what you're doing here?" Nori wondered.

"Because you would get in my way and I don't need people getting in my way, not on today of all days," Abi snapped. "Now, are you going to accept my help or are you guys just going to make me do all of the work for you?"

"We'll go with you," Ishan said.

"Good," Abi muttered.

There wasn't really anything good about this situation, since if the Yuyan archers were here as well as Daisuke, then that could only mean that they were acting under his orders. The Yuyan archers were more of followers, meaning that they didn't act on their own. It was clear that they had wanted something with these group of rebels, and Abi couldn't help but think that it was because of their little society that explained why this had happened.

Saori's voice suddenly entered Abi's mind as she remembered her words: the society is the key. Had she meant the Underground Society? Or was she referring to the Order of the White Lotus? Whatever her spirit guide had meant, Abi needed to figure it out soon since she was running out of time before she had to face Daisuke and her destiny.

~*•°•*~

Being next to two people who were beside themselves with nerves wasn't doing to help Abi. Ishan and Nori were both notably nervous about what they were going to face while Abi was trying her best to remain confident. She would be lying if she said that she was completely confident in her abilities and knew that she could defeat Daisuke. Abi wasn't stupid, she knew that her old teacher was far more powerful than she was, but Abi was still confident that she could measure up to him on her own in some way.

The building that they found was enormous, and they had to be careful of where they positioned themselves as it was being heavily guarded. It was unlike anything that Abi had seen before, even when compared to the Tatakai Stronghold and Pohuai Stronghold. She knew that it was going to take a lot of force and power to get in there, which was just what she had.

"How are we getting inside?" Ishan asked.

"Well, we could go about this two ways. We could either be stealthy so nobody spots us, or we could cause chaos resulting in disorder and giving us the perfect access inside," Abi replied.

"Which one would you prefer?" Nori questioned.

"Considering the amount of people that would have to be working here, I'd say that we'd be better off causing chaos. If we got caught being stealthy, our options would be severely limited," Abi answered.

"Then chaos it is," Ishan said.

"But we still have to get inside," Nori pointed out. "How are we going to do that?"

"Leave it to me," Abi answered as she stepped forward.

Without a care in the world, Abi waltzed straight towards the large gate that protected this fortress. She laughed in amusement as what sounded like an alarm went off and a light was pointed down at her. Dozens of guards appeared out of nowhere, and just as they were about to approach her, she turned herself around before moving her fingers in a circular motion as lightning started to crackle around her. This was the first time since her duel with Azula that Abi was using this technique, and it was time that she showed people just how powerful she could be.

Once the energy was conjured, Abi released it right at the gate made of steel, creating a loud explosion as it collapsed from the impact. The walls around it started falling down as well, taking out the guards as they approached her. Satisfied at the chaos that she had caused, Abi glanced back at where Ishan and Nori were standing, both of them with their mouths wide open before she gestured for them to follow her. They did that after standing there speechless for a few moments.

"That was… since when could you do that?" Ishan squawked as he and Nori ran beside her.

Abi smirked, "You don't need to know those specifics. I like the element of surprise."

They continued running together while thwarting the attempted assaults on them. If there was ever a time to ambush a place like this, it would be today with Sozin's Comet making them more empowered than ever. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the strength of the comet made them a force to be reckoned with. Their plan was to basically cause as much destruction as possible to make it harder for people to find them, which seemed to be working as they managed to slip into the base of the structure as it crumbled around them.

"This is where we need to split up. You guys go find Aika, I'll do what needs to be done for me," Abi said.

Nori nodded, "Okay. Good luck."

"You too," Abi called back as they went their separate ways.

For a brief moment, Abi had wondered if she'd done the right thing by leaving them to their own devices. But she had to tell herself that this was something that she needed to do for herself, and for the world. Without Ishan and Nori holding her back, Abi was able to make quick work of getting around. Whenever she encountered trouble, Abi swiftly defeated her opponents before they even had time to react. Since now was not the time to be merciful, Abi burned them out of her way, but she did hope that she didn't actually kill anyone.

Even now, murder wasn't something that Abi thought that she was capable of. To kill someone in cold blood just didn't sit right with her. If it came to self-defence or an accident, Abi was willing to accept that but she had no plans of intentionally killing anyone, even Daisuke. She wanted him to pay his debts to society by wasting away in prison. It's what he deserved, just like Fire Lord Ozai did.

"Abi, I know that you're here. If it is me that you are looking for, you shall find me in the courtyard. Cease your destruction immediately and see me there if you are prepared to face me. Nobody is to touch her unless I say otherwise. I want her in one piece," Daisuke's voice boomed through the intercoms.

This was it. There was no point in turning back now. If she did, Abi would look like an even bigger coward than people already thought she was. It was strange, walking around this place while people just stared at her. They were obviously following Daisuke's orders, since he had made it clear that he wanted her just the way she was. Abi almost wanted to see if they'd do anything if she made a move against them, but she didn't want to push her luck.

When Abi did find the courtyard, she couldn't help but smirk to herself at the destruction that she had helped cause. Daisuke looked to feel anything but that based on the glare that he was shooting her way. This was one of his typical disappointment glares that Abi had seen before, only now it didn't affect her as much as it used to.

"Abi, how lovely to see you," Daisuke acknowledged her.

"Your face seems to say otherwise," Abi remarked.

"I see your time in prison did very little to temper your wit," Daisuke said.

Abi shrugged, "Some things never change."

"But allegiances do," Daisuke growled. "You have no idea how much trouble your little change of heart has brought to me."

"Good, then! That's what you deserve," Abi spat.

"Now, now. I'm going to give you one last change to change your mind and join the rightful side. You can be my protégé once again and we'll just forget that this ever happened," Daisuke offered.

Abi snorted, "Do you really think that I'm that foolish that I would do that? I've known you long enough to know that you can certainly hold onto a grudge. And I'm willing to bet that if I did change my mind, you would immediately throw me in prison once this was all over. Of course, that would be if the Fire Nation was to win the war which unfortunately for you, won't be the case."

"You don't know me well enough, Abi. I may have taught you everything you know, but I still have a few secrets for myself," Daisuke snarled.

"Just like I've taught myself my own tricks. I didn't learn everything from you, Daisuke. You really do flatter yourself too much when you say you made me into who I was. You weren't the only influence in my life," Abi said.

"Well now your life is about to be cut short," Daisuke growled.

"Is that a challenge?" Abi asked, hoping that it was.

"It's time for the student to face the master," Daisuke declared.

"Standard Agni Kai rules apply," Abi smirked.

"It truly is a shame that it had to come to this, Abi," Daisuke seethed.

"For you," Abi muttered.

Everything that was happening was almost bizarre to Abi. It was almost like nothing else mattered apart from her and Daisuke. They didn't even spare anything else a second thought. They got into their opening positions for their Agni Kai, and Abi was feeling more nervous about this than she had ever felt about anything in her life. This was going to be her biggest challenge to date, but at least Abi had Sozin's Comet on her side.

"It's time for the student to become the master," Abi proclaimed.

In an explosive display of firebending, Abi shot an enormous blast of fire towards Daisuke who shot his own blast at hers, creating an enormous explosion in the centre of the courtyard. Using her fire jets, Abi propelled herself across the ground as she sent arcs of fire towards Daisuke, but her old master stood his ground and easily dispersed them before conjuring a fire whip and chasing after her with it.

Only once every hundred years could firebenders display the type of power that was coming from the two expert firebenders. Abi watched in pure amazement as Daisuke created what looked like a dragon head before sending it right after her. To protect herself, Abi created a firebending shield and subtly used her firebending jets to allow the dragon to push her back. When the timing was perfect, Abi leapt sideways before kicking a blast at the fiery dragon, destroying it.

To gain the upper hand, Abi leapt up on a jet of fire and kicked her legs forward, sending waves of fire from her feet as she performed several spinning kicks. As Daisuke was busy deflecting them, Abi reassumed a standing position before punching two large fireballs towards him and they morphed together to create one massive blast. Daisuke had barely seen that coming and narrowly managed to evade her powerful fire blast that destroyed the wall behind him.

That seemed to enrage Daisuke as he was quick to assume a lightning generating stance and instead of moving to dodge it, Abi just stood there and waited as Daisuke generated his lightning before striking it at her. Remembering the technique that Zuko had shown her, Abi reciprocated those movements and felt the shock of her life as she managed to grasp hold of Daisuke's lightning before redirecting it back at the building. Her technique had clearly caught Daisuke by surprise and Abi couldn't help but cackle at the bemused look on his face.

"But you've never done that before!" Abi taunted.

"I'll show you a thing or too!" Daisuke seethed.

Fire continued to clash as the two firebending masters faced off. Abi couldn't help but notice how Daisuke's attacks were made with power, but lacked control whereas Abi was perfectly controlling her attacks with the power of the comet. If she could exploit this weakness, then perhaps she could end this sooner rather than later. Circling each other like they were doing was getting rather boring to Abi, so she wanted to spice things up a little bit.

Abi then propelled herself into the air and kicked a blast of fire down at Daisuke. She then unleashed a powerful breath of fire after him as she was in mid-air. Just as Abi started to head towards the ground, she shot her own blast of lightning towards Daisuke and flung herself over what was left of the fence around the fortress.

"You gotta catch me if you can!" Abi cackled, feeling the need to mess with Daisuke at this point in time.

Daisuke seemed determined to chase her down so he followed after her as Abi propelled herself through the air and towards the forest around them. When Daisuke launched a fire blast towards her, Abi used it to propel herself even further away, taunting him as she did so. As much as Abi wanted this to be over, she knew that the longer their battle went, the more frustrated Daisuke would become which would make his defeat far more satisfying.

Lightning soon headed towards her direction so Abi used her firebending to conjure a tornado that she used to take herself up the tree she was on. When the lightning hit the tree, Abi moved to the next one, hoping to create a domino affect as Daisuke relentlessly tried to knock her out of the sky and leave her reeling. Part of Abi felt bad for creating such a mess of the area that they were now using as their showground, but she knew that it was all for the greater good, just like her having to suffer moths of imprisonment was too.

Doing a backflip over the tree that she was on, Abi kicked an enormous fireball towards Daisuke that he destroyed using his firebending. He then moved to destroy the tree that she was perched on, but Abi moved out of the way before using her firebending to glide across the ground. She then stopped at once, sending her firebending hurling towards Daisuke who roared as he was surrounded by flames, but he used his breath of fire in his roar to disperse them.

"You think that you're so clever, huh? Well, you're not!" Daisuke seethed.

"What's the matter? Can't handle being matched by a sixteen-year-old girl?" Abi taunted.

Daisuke cackled, "You, match me? Impossible! I am and will always be the master. You will always be my student. It's a real shame that things had to turn out this way, Abi. We could have dominated the world together. But you wouldn't have been useful to me anyways. You weren't what I was looking for. I thought I had found what I wanted in you, but I had just wasted my time."

Abi narrowed her eyes, "What were you looking for in me that I didn't have?"

"Something more that just an ordinary powerful firebender. Of course, it's nice to have a protégé with a little power, but only it that power can be useful to you. I thought you had that, but I was wrong. I had been looking in the wrong place for what I wanted the entire time," Daisuke proclaimed.

"So… you found it?" Abi stated, wondering what on earth he was talking about.

"In the most unlikely circumstances too! I had just wanted to put a dent in my enemies armour by taking what he valued the most, only to realise that the girl was far more useful than I realised," Daisuke said.

"Aika," Abi gasped in realisation.

"Yes, I'm aware that you two have a connection. I had to force it out of her before she revealed that you had met her quite some time ago. If only you know just what she was capable of then," Daisuke revealed.

"What are you talking about?" Abi demanded.

"Yes, what are you talking about?" a new voice entered the area.

Up ahead, Abi could see Aika standing there with Ishan and Nori by her side. It seemed as though they had managed to break her out after all, and seemingly in one piece too since she didn't appear to have any new scratches on her.

"Ah, the Rebels. How nice of you to join us," Daisuke drawled. "I was just telling Abi about how ironic it is when you find things in places that you didn't expect."

"That's one way of putting it," Abi remarked.

"Aika, I understand that we haven't exactly had the best introduction, but I would be honoured if you were to stand by my side as we continue our great march of civilisation," Daisuke declared.

"The best introduction? You tortured me for Agni's sake!" Aika exclaimed. "Why would it even be an honour to have me by your side? Like you said, I'm a half-breed mutt."

"Although my actions towards you are most regrettable, that was before I realised your importance. You seem to be unaware of your true lineage and what it means for your destiny," Daisuke said.

The society is the key.

Once again, Saori's words echoed in Abi's mind. Her eyes widened as she realised what Saori had meant. She had been referring to the Underground Society. More importantly, she had been referring to Aika. It had also slipped past Abi that Saori had also been referring to Daisuke as the 'enigma', and that now made sense since he had been the one to order the attack on the society.

But the most important realisation of all was that the identity of the Gem was standing right across from her. And based on the way he was saying things, Daisuke clearly knew of this prophecy too.

"The Gem," Abi blurted.

Daisuke snapped his head towards her, "Ah, so you too are aware of the prophecy."

"Yes, I am. I read it myself where it began. At first, I didn't know what or who it was referring to, but now I know who. I guess I should've connected the dots sooner since I knew you were a half-breed," Abi said.

"M-me?" Aika stammered.

"Yes, child. You," Daisuke cooed. "You are more powerful and important than you realise. You are not some random half-breed mutt. You are the Gem of Fire, destined to hold the elements of the world on the inside while only possessing one on the outside. That is who you are."

"You must be mistaken. I have no idea what you're talking about," Aika argued, her lips trembling as her body started to shake.

"You can deny it all you want, child. But it is who you are. That is your destiny," Daisuke insisted.

Suddenly, the atmosphere around them felt as if it was vibrating and the air started to feel increasingly hotter by the minute. The wind started to pick up around them and Abi watched in amazement as the wind turned into fire before it surrounded Aika as she fell to the ground. The fire sounded as if it was roaring around them. This was unlike anything Abi had ever seen before, and she had no idea what it meant.

"What's happening?" Nori asked fearfully.

"Yes! This is it! It is time for the power of the Gem to awaken inside of her! She will be my weapon to use so I can restore my good name!" Daisuke declared.

Abi glared at him, "Your name was never good to begin with!"

"I'm afraid I can no longer have you around as an issue anymore, Abi. It's time I permanently removed you from the equation," Daisuke said.

Seconds later Daisuke was working on generating his lightning, prompting Abi to do the same. She refused to let him get the better of her, and she wasn't going to let this end like it did with Azula. This time, Abi was going to be sure that she was the one to fire her dazzling bolt of electricity first.

Only they both fired their lightning at the same time and the two bolts of energies collided together, creating an explosion unlike anything Abi had ever seen before. But the explosion was the last thing Abi did see before she was knocked off her feet and consumed by darkness.

~*•°•*~

The explosion caused by Abi and Daisuke's combined lightning blast had created such an affect that the strike was heard miles away. The area where they had been in had been completely destroyed, but the group of teenagers were lucky enough to not be apart of the wreckage. They had been, but they were quickly saved in the immediate aftermath once things had quite literally cooled down.

It was fortunate that Gopan, once known as the Swindler and now known as the leader of the Underground Society, had managed to find the letter left by Ishan and Nori explaining what had happened to them. Gopan knew where Aika would be, so he had tried making it to where she was as quick as he could. He had heard the blast created by the lightning, and he had been shocked at what he found under the crumpled mess. He then whisked the teenagers away, including the one who he recognised as the Dragoness.

Ishan and Nori had been lucky enough to still be somewhat conscious when Gopan found them, but it had been a different story for Abi and Aika. The two girls had somehow been knocked unconscious, with Gopan having no idea how it could've happened. When it came to Aika, he had a theory of his own since he had known her identity the moment he met her. As for Abi, he had no idea what was going on with the prodigious firebender. But Ishan and Nori still had their questions, and Gopan had no choice but to answer them.

"Did you always know about Aika?" Nori asked.

"I did," Gopan confirmed. "I instantly knew who she was when I met her. That was partly why I took her in, but it was mostly because I knew that she needed help."

"Well, she definitely needs help now," Ishan grumbled.

"There is nothing we can do for her, Ishan. I told you that Aika is in a spiritual coma and there is no telling when she will wake up," Gopan stated.

"But what about Abi?" Nori inquired.

"I'm not sure, but she is not in the best of shape. Right now it is best that we keep them with us and make sure that nobody finds out what happened that day. It could put them both in grave danger when they do eventually awaken," Gopan replied.

"But they're searching for Abi. Fire Lord Zuko has said that she's not to be treated as a criminal, but there will always be people looking for her," Ishan stated.

"Which is why we have to give them reason to stop their futile search," Gopan proclaimed.

Nori narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

What Gopan had meant was creating an elaborate scheme that would ensure nobody would have a reason to look for the infamous Dragoness. Despite her being referred to as a war hero, they couldn't risk her being found. After some of their meddling, the world had been shocked to hear that the Dragoness had been declared dead. In actuality, the Dragoness was far away from any land in a state of unconsciousness with no telling of when she would wake up.

She might just turn out to be dead after all.

Okay, that was probably the worst ending that I could've given this story but I just wanted to get it out of the way and be done with it. A few chapters ago, I mentioned how I had to change the ending of the story and the reason for that was that I had originally planned to do a sequel, but since my spark for this story has fizzled out, I've decided to just leave it here and potentially revisit it in the future for my one shot collection. Some things might not make sense to you guys now, and I'd understand why. Just know that Aika was always going to be the Gem, but that would've been revealed in the sequel had I followed through with my original plan. If I do change my mind and write a proper sequel, it would be after I finish editing the story. I've currently edited 21 chapters, so I've got another 40 or so to go.

Even though I'm not satisfied with how the story has ended, I am still proud of it because it was my first story and 75 chapters long at that, so I have to be proud of getting it done even if it felt like a chore to do so. Part of the reason why I decided against doing a sequel was that this story had never received the same kind of response that my others did. So if more people do actually like this story and say that they want more, that might also be another reason for me to follow through with the sequel. But for now, this story is being put to rest and I would still like to thank the people that did favourite/follow it and leave their consistent reviews. That's it for now.