1. Day Before the Sun Went Black

_**Disclaimer:** I Don't own characters, themes, really any of the stuff that matters so... /shrug **  
**_

She watched him from the secluded shade of a tree, one of many in the royal gardens, as he absentmindedly tossed bits of bread into the infamous duck pond. She didn't need to know of his recent struggles, decisions... hell, she didn't even need to know him half as well as she did to clearly see how obviously distracted and disgruntled he was. She sighed to herself as she moved from leaning against the tree and started in his direction. _Must we constantly be such a drama queen_ _Zuzu?.._.

He never heard anyone approach, but he was immediately on guard when the ominous shadow fell over him and the young turtleducklings he had been feeding. The animals fled with a haste born of fear, immediately recognizing their past tormentor and finding safety with their mother. Zuko felt every muscle in his body involuntarily seize up and the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention, all from the presence of someone he knew he could not ignore, though he wanted to so desperately it hurt.

"What do you want?" He asked irritably, clearly unamused by her sudden appearance.

"Really Zuzu, is that any way to greet your honorable sister who so graciously helped you return with your honor?" Azula retorted without allowing her brother's less than accommodating words to faze her in the slightest. She stood just barely a few feet away from him, her hands defiantly set upon her hips and a smug look of satisfaction plastered across her face, as if she had already won the battle to come and knew it.

Zuko knew his sister well enough to know she was baiting him... but that didn't stop him from falling for it. "What are you talking about?" He insisted petulantly.

"Oh, seriously Zuko, surely even _you_ aren't that dense." She gave him a pointed glare, as if to emphasize the point. After receiving nothing but a blank, dumbfounded, all too Zuko look in return, she clarified, "You do realize that I had Ba Sing Se completely under my thumb by the time I offered you the choice to join me? That I didn't _have_to let you 'assist' me in completing the takeover."

Zuko simply glared at his sister for a few seconds, either unable or unwilling to respond right away. It was true, he had always secretly contemplated exactly why it was she had allowed him to join her in completing what was essentially her grand scheme, her master plan. He had tried not to dwell on it however. Unable to quell the torrent of angry emotions swirling inside of him, he finally snapped at her, "What do you want Azula!?"

If he had surprised her with his outburst, she didn't let it show outwardly. In fact, she was as calm as ever on the outside. After a few tense moments she let out a sigh, tiredly declaring, "You're far too stressed Zuzu, you know that?" He opened his mouth with a biting retort perched on his tongue, only to be cut off all too quickly, "Come on, spar with me. You can blow off some steam." It may not have sounded like much of a demand, but Zuko heard it for what it was, and expressed his discontent with a reflexive scowl, to which Azula merely rolled her eyes, as if sensing his very thoughts.

"Please, I'm not going to try and kill you Zuzu, don't be so paranoid. You are once again the heir apparent," She announced in a voice that sounded more or less unenthusiastic about the idea, "killing you, as _gratifying_as it may be, would be tantamount to killing the Fire Lord himself, at least in a legal sense, and I don't have prison planned for my immediate future."

Zuko's eyes squinted angrily, or at least the one that wasn't always permanently set like that, but otherwise his scowl did not soften or otherwise change. After waiting a moment, Azula gave an audible sigh of exasperation, clearly fed up with her brother's insolence. "Fine, stay here and continue to be an angry little child, see if I care." She snapped, "I was just trying to help..." This last part she said with what could have almost been confused with... remorse? Regret?.. Sadness? Something like that Zuko thought, but immediately dismissed the entire thought process. His sister didn't feel any such emotions, and for as confused as he may have been about life, that much he knew for certain.

"Fine," At long last he answered, standing up with a look of utterly irritated determination on his face, "You're on." His sister's eyes slanted ever so slightly in appreciation. _This will be fun..._

The arena stood just as ominous and unforgiving as he remembered, the only noteable differences for him was the lack of a cheering, animalistically enthusiastic crowd, and his father's overbearing silhouette. It had been over 3 years since that fateful Agni Kai, which he had refused to fight and for doing so, earned a disfiguring scar across the left side of his face that he would never be rid of. It was a glaring reminder to him every time he gazed in a mirror, or met a new person, that failure and cowardice would never be acceptable. It was a lesson he had learned well, and because of it, he had taken to pushing himself harder than ever before. If he had been determined and perseverant before, then he was nothing short of fanatical now in his drive to succeed.

Then there was his sister, two years his younger and a born Firebending prodigy. As much as he despised it, and would certainly never admit it, she was better, damn near always had been, but that didn't mean for a second that he wouldn't try like all hell to beat her. _Why am I so hellbent on beating her... it's just a sparring match._So it wasn't a full-fledged Agni Kai, and therefore the consequences of defeat weren't nearly as great, but that was no reason not to give it his all. If he could beat her, even just in this practice match, then that would be a tremendous leap for his abilities.

"Ready, dear Zuzu?" Azula cat called out to him from the opposite length of the raised platform, as if hearing his angry thoughts even across the moderate distance between them. Zuko's eyes narrowed as he glared across to his little sister. Instead of words though, he responded with fire.

With nothing but his angry grumble for a warning, Zuko leapt into the air, swinging his right foot down in a flying axe-kick that sent a vertical column of fire sailing across the arena. Azula smirked, _That's it Zuko, no warning, only attack!_Though she would never admit it herself, she secretly hoped her brother's skills had improved and would continue to do so. He was certainly no threat to her, nor would he ever be she believed, but it would be nice for him to be closer to her level. As she saw in the catacombs underneath Ba Sing Se, they made a formidable team.

She didn't hesitate in her counter-attack, twirling her body 360 degrees and utilizing a spinning back-heel to cut through the offending red flames with her own dazzling azure ones. She followed it immediately by leaping into the air, lifting her left leg as she twisted in mid-air, letting loose a second horizontal arc of blue fire she kicked out while still hovering, and then twisting her entire body rapidly to throw a third blast with her right foot before landing gracefully in a crouch on one leg.

Distance was Zuko's only savior from the hellacious onslaught his sister's first combination of attacks sent his way, granting him the time necessary to react. He punched forward with a powerful right fist, swinging upwards with his left and spinning, crossed his arms over his chest as he inhaled deeply, and as he came back to facing forwards, he threw his arms out and chest forward, unleashing a devastating fireball from his center, almost half of Azula's size in height and as wide if not wider than she was. It easily tore through her much less powerful attacks, losing practically none of it's strength.

Her eyes widened for just an instant as she appreciated the ferocity of her brother's attack. Instead of continuing the 'attack/counter-attack' trend, Azula chose to employ the advantage of her small, nimble body, rolling to the side and avoiding the attack altogether. The moment the bottoms of her feet touched the ground she performed a leg sweep, sending blue fire to coast along the very bottom of the platform, racing for Zuko's exposed feet. She rose up on her left leg, still allowing the momentum from her sweep to carry her around in another circle, her right leg executing an identical sweeping kick only this one aimed at his waist. She finished by leaping into the air and sending a third horizontal attack at his head, every bit the same as the first two.

Zuko had even less time to react to this new barrage of attacks, his sister's evasive roll bringing her that much closer to him. He couldn't side step, and his only options to avoid the attack were next to none. Their timing was perfectly imperfect, making it almost impossible to roll under. He took the dive anyways, going right over the lowest and first attack, so close that he could feel the heat singing his skin and clothes. He rolled as well as he could, summoning a trail of fire with his foot as it came down, cutting a swath _just_large enough for him to avoid having his face burned off by the second line of fire. The third sailed harmlessly enough overhead, allowing him a much needed respite, at least for the moment.

Utilizing his own rolling momentum, Zuko rolled forward once more and using his hands swirled himself around while splitting his legs in opposite directions, spinning out a flaming disc that expanded in every direction, searing a path straight for his sister's knee caps. Azula smirked deviously, a trademark reaction of whenever she heard inside her own head the word "_checkmate."_

She easily jumped over the red and orange flames her brother conjured, spinning several times as a tail of blue fire trailed her feet, before kicking out viciously and sending an immolating blast of azure straight for Zuko, still in an awkward position on the ground. He could only just roll out of the way, pushing his entire body away with his hands and scrambling to his feet, readying his fist to strike back-

"You lose." She informed him in a way that made him just _feel_ how smug and satisfied with herself she was. Zuko found himself staring down two extended fingers with nails like daggers attached to their ends. He was beaten, not that it was any surprise. In fact, he would have felt strange if he _hadn't_ been defeated, but losing to Azula, well, it was just to be expected at this point. She didn't even appear to be out of breath, or have broken a sweat for that matter. It never occurred to him _why_exactly he was inspecting his sister's alabaster skin, only just slightly coated in a slick sheen of perspiration.

Instead of being infuriated by his defeat and launching into a jealous fit, Zuko did something that gave his sister pause, smirking himself and looking her in the eye. "Your hair's out of place." The look she gave in return was enough to make the humiliating lose worth it in the end. To anybody else in the entire world, it would have been a worthless, petty jest, but to Azula he knew it meant everything, and was more than enough to annoy her for the rest of the day.

"I still beat you!" She insisted finally, standing up straight and trying her best not to let the indignation she certainly felt show. She swiped the insignificantly small number of stray strands back behind an ear, under her bangs that hung down purposefully to frame her face on either side and ending in spiked points.

"Well, you were right about one thing Azula." Zuko began, an undeserved smugness in his voice, and she could only glare at him, already knowing she wouldn't like what he said next but otherwise allowing him to continue. "You _are_useful for blowing off steam."

Azula gave an audible huff of annoyance, turning and walking off while shouting back, "I'm going to wash up, I need to get rid of the stench of sweat and your _sub-par Firebending!_"

"Your hair's still messed up!" He called after her, laughing as she nearly screamed back at him.

"_It is __**not!**_"

Zuko never would have thought it possible, but he found himself in a more than pleasant mood, all thanks to his... sister.

* * *

The evening was growing late, dinner having finished over an hour ago, and Zuko found himself wandering, more or less aimlessly, his thoughts every bit as wayward and disoriented as he himself. So many jumbled, confusing, and disconcerted thoughts were warring inside his head, he barely heeded those few servants and stationary guards that he passed as he made his way in whatever direction his feet decided to go. _Why didn't Uncle join them? Was his father truly glad to have him back? Was he _really_ a war hero?_ Still, the one question that haunted him worse than all the others, was the one which he dreaded answering. _Do I even know the difference between right and wrong anymore?_

He sighed as he passed by the tapestries of great Fire Lords past, all of them menacing and imposing upon those smaller, lesser living people who looked up at them. Yet despite their demanding, unblinking gazes, the subject who passed under them now paid no attention to their blazing splendor, so preoccupied with his thoughts was he.

It was after more wandering and random turns that Zuko suddenly found himself staring down a dead end. Well, not entirely dead... there was a large set of double doors at the end of the hallways, leading into a room he knew well enough. It was his sister's room, and gauging from the light bleeding out from under the doorway, she was still awake. He couldn't possibly explain what had possessed him not to turn back, right then and there, retreat to the safety and familiarity of his own room. Perhaps he wanted someone to talk to, or perhaps he just wanted someone to berate him and let him know how terrible of a failure he really was, at least then he would stop wondering, and things would at least seem normal. Even still, maybe it was because of the twisted, subtle familiarity, of _her _room.

As he approached the door, he couldn't help but notice the enticing aroma that spilt out from beneath the doors. He decided it must be her bath salts, or something of that nature. There was no conceivable reason to be applying perfume at this hour. He went for the handle, only to find the door was already, just barely, opened. He had only to push...

The grand mahogany door swung open, slow and silent, to reveal a multitude of candles lit around the room, illuminating everything brilliantly. After just a cursory glance around, Zuko found his sister sitting at her vanity, brushing her hair methodically and, in all likelihood, unnecessarily. Her hair had always been impossibly straight and free from any sort of tangle as far as he knew, but then he didn't exactly make a habit of brushing her hair so, what did he really know about it. Still, he could safely assume that her hair was, well... perfect.

She noticed him almost immediately after he noticed her, meeting his eyes in her mirror and freezing almost mid-stroke with her brush to regard him. "Zuko.. what are you doing here?" Azula almost stuttered, only barely catching herself. Surprisingly, she didn't sound as angry as Zuko imagined she would. In fact, she didn't really sound angry at all...

"Sorry, were you heading to bed soon? I.. kinda wanted someone to talk to, I guess." Zuko admitted, somewhat bashfully as he realized how much he must have sounded like a child. Azula studied his expression through the mirror intently before deciding there was nothing hostile or otherwise nefarious about his intentions. She turned in her seat, setting the brush down to be forgotten.

"Talk about what, exactly? And you're certain it can't wait until morning?"

"Huh? Oh, no, sorry, I guess I was just wandering and wound up here, I dunno, I was just hoping to talk, I guess, to someone. I've been feeling mixed up, confused recently." Zuko swung his arm over his head and proceeded to scratch at his shoulderblade, more out of nervousness then any real need to itch.

Azula merely rolled her eyes, "_Clearly_," she jeered, pointing out his obvious confusion, "If you think coming here at this hour and talking to _me_, of all people, will make you feel any better." Her predictably sardonic reply was all too Azula, but when Zuko failed to reflexively scowl she realized he must have been really lost in his own thoughts. Cleverly masking her concern, she urged him, "But do go on, you know how much I enjoy seeing you miserable." In other words that she would never speak aloud, _what can I do to help?_She twirled a bang around her finger quickly before tossing it aside.

"It's just that- I just..." He sighed angrily, once again unable to find the words he wanted to, before taking a breath to continue. "I don't know if what I do is right or wrong anymore, if I'm turning into a bad person. I mean I betrayed uncle for crying out loud! I- we killed the Avatar!"

Azula stood, sighing loudly herself in exasperation as she did so, and took a few measured steps towards him as she spoke tiredly, as if addressing a child. "On about all this again, Zuzu? Here's something that's helped me put things into perspective; good, and evil, they're just words, labels used to justify one person's actions against another. In the end, it's only the one's who win who get to decide who was 'right' and who was 'wrong.'" She looked at him as if expecting this all to sink in immediately, only to receive a dumbfounded stare in return. She immediately assumed that he was just too simple to understand what she had said, and so simplified with, "Look, at the end of the day..."

What she hadn't realized, was that the look he gave her had nothing to do with the things she was saying. Perhaps he was only just seeing her for what she was, or perhaps he was simply allowing himself to realize it for the first time, but his sister had certainly grown in the time he had been gone. Most noticeable were her new feminine curves, only really pronounced now that she had shed her armor and under bindings, donning instead a simple, breathably soft nightrobe of scarlet laced with gold. Why he was not only noticing, but pondering, the curvature of his sister's body never seemed to cross his mind or cause him to think twice.

Her incredible ebony hair was out of it's usual bindings, free to fall around her head and shoulders gently, and straight as a thousand arrows, a healthy sheen reflecting off of it from all the candles that surrounded the room. Her full, envious head of hair accentuated her heart-shaped face and subtle curves brilliantly, the flawlessly raven black color causing the unblemished creme shade of her skin to simply pop out, all centered around the blazing golden irises of her captivating eyes.

Still, despite all of that, the thing which commanded Zuko's attention in the fullest, enough to the point that he simply didn't hear the words she so clearly spoke, were her full, pale rosy lips. Though usually the rich hue of blood, her lips at this hour were utterly bereft of any makeup, showing off their natural, misleadingly innocent pink shade. He watched them move, but failed to hear the words that passed over them in favor of simply studying the way they pursed and opened, lifted and shifted, calling, no, _enticing_ his darker side out, bringing the forgotten and neglected dark corners of his mind to the forefront of his psyche, allowing him to entertain notions that otherwise, would have seemed simply and utterly insane. Spirits, he wondered how they tasted, how they _felt_, to the point that he was unconsciously moving closer to them with every indeterminable moment that passed.

"... all that matters is who comes out on top," Azula was explaining, in a more or less nonchalant yet still convincing tone, while her brother simply stared as if captivated by some invisible force surrounding her. She continued without pause, simply assuming him to be listening intently, "And we clearly make a good team. You were right to say _we_ killed the Avatar, because _we_ did. Together, working as a flawless team. If together we can defeat the _Avatar_, then together we can defeat the **world**. The point I'm trying to make here, is that so long as we win together, then we can write whatever history we wish to ensure that _we_ are the "good guys." She couldn't help but notice that we staring straight at her lips, and she felt just a tad impressed. _When he wants to focus on what somebody is saying, he can _really_ focus on exactly what they're saying._Still, something seemed... off, and she had to ask.

"Zuko? Zuko!" She snapped her fingers to help get his attention, but it hardly seemed to affect his oblivious state. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying? Zuko!? What _are_you staring at!?" She demanded, finally fed up with his incorrigible behavior.

Unable to help himself whatsoever, he replied with the only thing he could, "..You."

The truth, breathed out with a lustful gust the could neither be ignored nor denied.

Apparently, during her entire speech, she hadn't noticed that he had been inching forward towards her, and he now stood barely a foot away, close enough to close the distance with a simple lean forward. Despite her best attempts, she could not at first respond to his answer, it being, in all honesty, the very _last_thing she had ever expected him to say. Stuttering and unsure of the situation in it's entirety, Azula tried once again to get his attention as he stepped yet closer to her still, "Zuko what are you-"

Only to be cut off as he lunged forward, pushing his lips against hers. Azula's eyes grew wide, wider than she had ever seen even Ty Lee's go, and yet she couldn't help herself. The entire situation was so unexpected, so impossible to plan against, so-so... _incredible_. Despite her incredulous surprise, she found that she could not break the contact, nor deny the urge to lean, no, to _melt_into it, as her impossibly wide eyes began to seal themselves in a slow, deliberate effort of surrender, despite herself.

All too suddenly, Zuko realized exactly what it was he had done, was still in the process of _doing_, and broke it off without warning, forcing Azula to suck in a sudden rush of air as opposed to the pressure of his lips, which she had unknowingly to even herself been attempting fervently to taste.

The empty space before her and the sudden cold air in her face snapped Azula back to reality in half a heartbeat and her eyes shot open. She straightened her back, as apparently she had been leaning forward, and regarded the look of absolute shock and uncertainty on her brother's face as something that probably wasn't too far off from what she had on her's.

"I'm sorry-" Obviously the first thing he would stutter out- "I don't- I just- I mean..." Maybe without even realizing it, Azula had chuckled, at least a tiny bit, instinctively at seeing him so flustered with himself and incapable of thinking on the spot, and it was enough to unconsciously calm Zuko just enough to take a breath and think for a second. "I couldn't stop myself. I guess I just.. had to." He admitted, sounding every bit the guilty party, something he seemed to play quite well.

"Had to what?" She shot back incredulously, a reflexive response most likely, "attack me!?" It was pretty lame, but at the moment the only thing she could think of to describe what had just happened. Zuko's eyes hardened in response, remembering all-too readily who he was dealing with.

"Had to see if you were even real I guess, I don't know!" He shouted, sounding absolutely frustrated, but more at himself than anything in all actuality. Azula blinked, the only visible sign she ever showed when she was taken off guard by something, which was a rare occurrance to be sure.

"To see if I was _real?_" She repeated with nothing shy of absolute and utter disbelief. Amazingly, for as terrible of an argument as it first appeared, he carried it.

"Yes! Spirits Azula, look at what you _do_ sometimes, the way you act. It's like you're not even a person, like you aren't even _real!_" He shouted, perhaps slightly louder than was called for at this hour but he could clearly care less. He seemed so typically frustrated, just like at their little fire on the beach the previous week, the only difference being that this time, it was pretty clear who he was more frustrated with.

Azula found herself stricken suddenly dumbstruck. She had nothing, there was no pre-assembled response for the situation she currently found herself in. _How in the world did this all suddenly turn on... me?_She thought, and just as she did she felt her stance in the argument shift ever so slightly, and she answered back with the only thing she couldn't help but manage to ask.

"Why are you saying this now, Zuko? Why did you- and, and say something like-?"

"Because of how you act when we're alone." He answered the question he knew she wanted answered, even if she didn't know how to word it. Zuko caught his sister's eyes, ever a perfect mirror of his own, shift so slightly Mai would have had trouble catching it, but he saw it, and took it for his cue. "Whether you want to admit it or not, Azula, you show me a different side. A human side, even if you are still opinionated and stubborn, I can still tell you let yourself slip, even just a little. I guess what I wanted to know was, why? Why am I different?"

She caught and held his level eyed stare, read the look of determined desperation, and surrendered in a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "I don't know Zuko, okay?" He made a face that said he was ready to push, but she silenced him by proceeding, "What do you want me to say? That I feel safer around you? That I feel like, I don't have to have my guard up 100%, that I find some, some weak, emotional security in your presence, like I know that if something, anything happened, you would jump in front of me before you even thought twice about it? Is that what you want me to say, that I feel like maybe you're the only person in the world even worth _considering_to trust?" Azula's voice was challenging yet defensive, and suddenly it was Zuko's turn to be caught off guard. It was their little duel from earlier all over again, the rules had simply changed from Firebending to a verbal debate. With Azula, both were just as dangerous.

"You.. trust me?" He asked in utter disbelief, the very words alien when he considered who he was asking. He couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Her eyes dropped, as if she were ashamed of the very fact she trusted anybody, even to some degree, before she looked back up at him, a sudden look of desperate uncertainty appearing in her eyes, a desperation to confirm what she had always, deep down, known to be the truth. "You would never hurt me."

Dumfounded yet again, Zuko could only come back with the obvious, "Of course not, Azula why-"

"I'm so scared," She said, without warning her entire facade of calm control shattering around her as the tears swelled in her eyes and her breathing hitched, "every day, Zuko, I'm scared. Scared of everything, everyone, of things I shouldn't be but I'm scared all the same." Then she looked at him, tragically beautiful tears gliding down her porcelain cheek and she whispered softly, "But I'm not scared of you."

At a loss for words, the prince could only respond with what seemed appropriate at the time, wrapping his arms around his sister in a warm, comforting embrace the she melted into without resistance, tentatively placing her own arms around him in kind and resting the side of her head against his chest. It was such an alien feeling of security and safety that she felt wash over her, to just be held like you were important to someone, to be cherished and protected. _To be loved._

The realization itself simply made her cry harder into her brother's shoulder, which he merely encouraged with a soothing hand pressed against the back of her head. "It's alright," He told her reassuringly, trying beyond reason to just hush all her pain, all her fears and troubles away, with but the sound of his voice and the security of his embrace.

"When you left," Azula started, a sniffle interrupting her as she struggled for perhaps the first time in her life with her emotions, or at least the first time Zuko had ever _seen_, "When you left I was so scared Zuko. I had to pretend like I didn't care, so nobody could know the truth but when I was alone- when I was alone at night, in my room I cried so hard. I cried so hard Zuko I didn't think I'd ever be able to stop, I was so scared Zuko."

He listened helplessly to her tear jerking confession, unable to do anything as he felt his own eyes sting with hot moisture, the pain and guilt he felt rising up inside of him when she asked, "Why did you leave me Zuko?"

"I..." He tried but failed to come up with an answer.

"Why did you go?"

Still nothing. The silence stretched on interminably, deafening in it's intensity, until at last he said with some difficulty, "I'm so sorry Azula.." His voice was wavering and thick with remorse, and he repeated himself, "I'm so sorry," hoping it would make her feel even slightly better, anything to ease the terrible burden of misery that was crushing her.

"It's alright Zuko. Just promise me you'll never abandon me again." His lack of an immediate response gave her cause for concern, and she drew back to look him in the eye, insisting forcefully, "Promise me!"

"I- Azula," He stuttered, knowing in his heart it would be a lie if he said yes, knowing what his plans for the next day already were. He hadn't expected this at all, hadn't planned on telling Azula of all people what he intended to do, but now he was here, he knew the truth, what was he supposed to do? "Come with me." He blurted out without even realizing what he said.

She gave him a look of utter confusion, as if he had said the sky were green. "What?"

"I don't want to leave you again Azula, not if it means hurting you again. Please, come with me." Zuko begged, an urgency in his voice that couldn't be ignored.

"But what are you talking about Zuko? Where-"

"Trust me. Please, just trust me Azula." It was all the explanation he could afford to offer her right then.

She studied his features, trying to discern something out of them, and without knowing why she answered, "I trust you," hugging him close again. "But, I'm still confused Zuko, where are you- where are _we_going? And what about the invasion tomorrow, and-"

"Shhh, don't worry about that, alright? Just pack whatever you need and be ready to leave tomorrow after the eclipse ends. Everything else just do as you've already planned, make sure the Avatar doesn't reach father,"

"So he _is_alive?"

"Yes, trust me, and he'll be leading the invasion just as you suspected. Keep him away from father, just as you planned on doing, and then get back here as fast as you can. Be ready to leave as soon as I get here." There was a seriousness to her brother Azula could rarely recall ever seeing before, but she trusted him, and was willing to go along with whatever he had planned.

"Alright Zuko," She sighed heavily, hoping she was making the right decision, "I hope you know what you're doing."

He stared off into nothingness for a moment, holding his sister close and hoping he wasn't making a huge mistake. "Me too," he admitted bleakly. "Me too."

After another indeterminable stretch of time, Zuko made to leave, stating with some degree of regret, "I have to go Azula." Only to find that she refused to let go of him.

"No, no you don't." She insisted, finding the security of his embrace too comforting to end and fearing the cold emptiness of being alone again. "Stay with me, please?"

"Azula.. I can't, that's- that would be.. well, _weird_, don't you think?" Zuko was befuddled by the implications.

"You mean weirder than _kissing_ _me?_Weirder than taking off somewhere after the invasion?" She asked pointedly, as always knowing exactly what buttons to push and how to put him off his guard and leave him unable to respond. "I just don't want to be alone anymore Zuko. I'm so sick of being alone.."

Sighing inwardly as well as outwardly in defeat, he answered the only thing he could. "Alright, I'll stay. On one condition though.." He intoned, giving her a devious look. Before she could even ask though, he leaned in and gently captured her lips in a loving, affectionate kiss that stole the very breath from her lungs and caused an unconscious moan of appreciation deep in her throat.

When they broke apart she gazed deep into his eyes with a sly grin and answered coolly, "I think those terms are acceptable."

After sliding in under the crimson silk sheets, Azula snaked her arms around his chest and snuggled next to him, determined to find some long lost sense of blissful safety. Judging by the content look on her face as she slept peacefully, Zuko decided she must have found it, at least to some extent. His own peace of mind, however, did not come so easily, as his thoughts raced with ideas for the day to come. Everything was going to change, even more so than he had originally expected, and it was all thanks to just one kiss...

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Alright, alright I know, you were totally expecting it but it never happened xD There's a reason for that though! I wanted to actually explore the intricacies of the relationship a bit, give it a proper build-up and treat it more legitimately. Sorry for those of you lemon hunters out there, I know it's damn near blasphemy for me to make anything Zucest related without giving it the zest but rest assured, good things do come to those who wait! All in good time, all in good time.. As always, thanks for taking the time!_


	2. Storm Clouds and Golden Linings

She ran down the earthen corridor at a pace far exceeding necessity, her heartbeat racing to the rhythm of her footsteps on the hard packed dirt below. Her plan for delaying and distracting the Avatar and his friends had gone flawlessly, they were all so _easy _it almost made her feel sorry for them, especially that savage from the water tribe- Sokka, as she had been vaguely able to recall- the moment she had dangled his girlfriend's name like a worm on a hook in front of him he had jumped for it, killing the last few precious minutes of the solar eclipse that would have been necessary to defeat the Fire Lord.

It wasn't the running however, nor even the adrenaline of victory, that was causing her heart to beat so. It was the simple thrill of anticipation, the pure excitement brought about by the unknown that had her in such a state. Where was Zuko planning to go? Where was he planning to take her? Was he going to run away with her, run away and leave it all behind like she had dreamt of so many times? It didn't seem likely, but she hoped nonetheless, hoped beyond hope that they could just forget about everything else except each other and be rid of the terrifying reality that was their lives. So preoccupied in her thoughts was she, that Azula barely registered the deep, resonate rumbling that rolled up from the depths of the tunnels. _Was the Avatar actually foolish enough to go challenge her father now?_

No, it wasn't likely, and it didn't matter anyways, Zuko had told her to be ready and in her room as soon as she was finished with the Avatar, so that's what she would do. Emerging from the tunnels and into the palace halls, Azula wasted no time in making her way towards her own room, finding those old familiar doors with a practiced ease and entering the room without hesitation. Everything she needed was already packed and ready to go at a moment's notice of course, she had only to attend a few personal matters while she awaited her brother's arrival.

He found the door slightly ajar and thought to himself, _Good, that means she's alright and hopefully ready_. He didn't want to waste any more time than absolutely necessary, and already felt like the entire palace guard was hot on his heels.

"Azula?" He called out tentatively as he pushed past the door, checking the hallway before quietly pulling them closed behind him. He could see her bag packed, probably as neat and orderly as humanly possible, perhaps even a little more so. The door to her private bathroom was closed, and he could only guess as to what she was doing. Sighing to himself, he decided in his head, _Well, at least she remembered to go before we left. _Still, he felt the ever pressing constraints of time closing tighter and tighter around him.

He walked over and sat down on the bed, next to the pack that was waiting patiently to be taken on it's journey to parts unknown. Zuko wasn't exactly one to snoop, but even he couldn't avoid glancing at it, and seeing something that immediately caught his eye sitting just beneath the semi-opened flap. It was a picture, a portrait actually, one of an only too familiar face. He lifted it out of the pack and studied it like it was something alien and fascinating beyond words.

"You said to bring what I needed to survive.." Azula's voice caught him completely off guard, so transfixed by the painting was he that he hadn't even heard the door opening behind him.

"Azula..." He began, but found himself unable to say anything that made sense.

"The truth is," She explained as she made her way to the bed and sat down beside him, "I never would have made it without that picture. It was the only thing I had left of you when you were banished." Her gaze fell down to the picture of her brother, years younger and before the scar which changed more than just his physical appearance. He was so regal, looking every bit the young, proud prince, determination to succeed plainly evident in his eyes. "It's good to have the real thing back, but that picture still means a lot to me. Wherever we're going, I hope it's alright if I bring it."

"That'll be fine sis'." He gave her a reassuring little smirk, unable to find any other words for how touched he was. Slipping the portrait back into the satchel, Zuko noticed the silent thank you in her eyes, then noticed the armor she was still wearing and told her, "You should leave the armor though, it'll be for the best." She did exactly as he said without any argument, reaching for the bindings and snapping them off with practiced ease. He helped lift the bulky thing up and over her head, and she sighed with relief as her skin cried out in gratitude.

"Is that everything then?" Azula asked, golden eyes looking up at her brother with unmasked anticipation.

"Yeah, let's go." He replied, a comforting warmth fluttering in his chest. He hadn't expected even two days ago that he would be bringing his little sister with him on this fool's errand, but now that she was coming, and eager to do so, he couldn't help but be thankful. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for the two of them yet.

They exited her room via a private balcony, descending to the ground below as quickly and quietly as they could. Luckily, Zuko didn't have to explain the necessity for secrecy, so avoiding the guards went without saying. As they were passing through the still mostly deserted streets of the capitol, they had to duck behind crates, barrels, and what have you to avoid the few passing groups of soldiers that they did happen upon. Luckily, a dozen or more men in steel armor made a rather large amount of noise when they ran, so detecting them long before the two unarmored and trained in stealth siblings were themselves detected proved no difficult matter.

It was as they approached the edge of the city, however, that something of particular interest caught Zuko's attention. A breathless guard came running up to the group of soldiers stationed at the foot of the incline up and out of the city, sputtering as he caught his breath, "There's- breakout- Fire Lord's brother- Unstoppable!"

Zuko's eyes went wide, _Uncle?_ He smacked himself mentally, _who else could it have been?_ He supposed it was a turn of luck in his favor, especially given his time restraints, that now he at least didn't have to worry about a prison break. Still, he regretted not being able to help his uncle escape, even if the legendary old general didn't need it, as it was his golden opportunity to prove his loyalty once and for all. He turned his attention behind him, to where his sister crouched at the opposite end of the small alley, watching their flank.

He tapped her on the shoulder as he approached, "Change of plans, we're going this way." With no need to head towards the prison, they may as well make straight for the airships he decided. Speaking of which, as they bolted across another empty street, he noticed that the little red bastards, along with their much larger and _much _more menacing steel counterparts, had taken to the sky, right on cue to head off the enemy's retreat.

The small red ships were little more than hot air filled sacks with baskets attached to the bottom that were barely big enough to fit three comfortably, the most basic concept of the design, and the few that had launched were quickly and easily dispatched by the Avatar and his friends, doing what they could to buy time for their compatriots below. It was the metal monstrosities that were the real feat of engineering on the Fire Nation's part. Dwarfing the original's by tenfold in size, it was nothing short of a miracle that the steel behemoth's could fly in the first place, and they were all but impervious to every manner of attack, forcing the Avatar to retreat along with the rest of his group.

Not that either of the royal siblings needed to stick around and watch to know what the outcome was going to be, instead they made use of the distraction to gain entrance to the secret docking bay where dozens of other airships were in various stages of construction. There was also a handful of the smaller ships sitting around, kept for their usefulness as quick, light reconnaissance vessels as opposed to actual warships. Which suited Zuko's needs perfectly.

"Come on, now's our best chance to take one while everybody is distracted with the fighting." He made to run for the nearest docked ship, but a sudden hand on his shoulder held him back. Azula had been following blindly for too long, she wasn't about to take another step without some amount of answers.

"Where are we _going_ Zuko? An airship, this sudden leaving.. Are you planning to leave the Fire Nation?" She asked, only barely able to hide the hopefulness in her voice. _Please say yes, please, please say-_

"I don't think so, no, Azula we have to go _now!_ We don't have time, _please_, I'll explain once we're in the air!" He begged, seeing his sliver of opportunity growing thinner by the moment. _At least, I'll try to explain.. _He couldn't help the nagging thought from entering his mind. He still had no idea how she was going to react to his "grand plan." A lot of yelling and angry, harsh words, that much he counted on. Maybe she'd even throw him over the side and end his misery once and for all. Ahh, but he could hope, couldn't he?

_He... didn't even _know_ where he was going?_ Azula found herself suddenly very suspicious of her brother's plans, but decided quickly that going anywhere was better than staying where they were, so without further objection she nodded for him to lead the way.

In hindsight, the security was pathetic for a military establishment. Hopefully it had to do with the fact there was an ongoing invasion, and so every able body was reallocated towards the front line. Either way, it made their job that much more simple. They made for the nearest airship without any resistance whatsoever, not that either had expected it. As far as Azula was aware, they were still both royalty in good standing, and would be right up until the point they left the city without clearance from their father. She was only half right. The rumbling noise she had ignored earlier had been her brother more or less signing his death warrant in the form of a redirected lightning attack from their father, the Fire Lord Ozai. It was a minor detail at best.

The pair made short work of the ropes securing the ship to the ground, then proceeded to hop aboard and pull in all the sandbags. Zuko set about at once pumping fire into the furnace from his fist, heating the air in the balloon rapidly and within minutes, they began to gently lift off of the ground. By the time anybody might have noticed them taking off, they were already hundreds of feet above ground level and rising, and to the common soldiers they would just as easily have been dismissed as having orders to be up there for all they knew.

It was right about the time that they had reached the brim of the volcanic crater in which the city was nestled that they saw the Avatar's bison take off into the sky with a haste born of necessity, almost dead ahead of them and flying east. Whatever adjustment Zuko made to the ship's steering was causing them to follow what appeared to be directly behind them.

"We're chasing the Avatar..?" Azula asked, fighting to keep the hurt from sounding in her voice. _Of course he is, why would I think for a second things would be any different!  
_

"Well, you see.. Azula, it's.. not exactly like that." _Zuko fumbling for the words, what a refreshing change of pace_.

"Of course it is Zuko! The Avatar is still alive, your precious _honor_ is at risk, so you're going to hunt him down, _again_." She launched into a furious tirade, hurling the malicious accusations like fire itself, "I can't believe it, I can't believe **you!** You were going to abandon me _again_ so you could hunt the Avatar down, **again**, only this time, you must have realized I would be useful to you so you convinced me to come with you, because that's all I ever am is just a _fucking tool_, a means to an end!"

"Azula no-"

"You're just like _**father!**_" That last one cut deep, and hurt Zuko in a way he never realized he could be hurt in, cleaving straight through his chest and stabbing into his heart.

"That's not true Azula, I never wanted to use you." He replied solemnly, and before she had the chance to argue he blurted out, "I'm not chasing the Avatar to capture him!" Her argument died on her lips as her expression shifted from anger to morbid curiosity, and he decided he had no choice but to come out with it now, "I'm going to help him." It sounded about as lame as he imagined it would.

If she were anyone else, she probably would have sputtered as she processed the information, but trained as she was at controlling her actions and words, Azula managed to gracefully cry out, "WHAT!?"

Alright, maybe not _that _gracefully.

Gathering that fool's courage that seemed to be stored somewhere inside of him, Zuko stated a little more forcefully, "I'm going to teach him Firebending, I'm going to help him beat dad, and stop the world from being reduced to ashes." His eyes fell as he could no longer hold his sister's incredulous stare, and he told her, "That's why I _didn't_ want to tell you, Azula I never _planned _on bringing you with me. I think that much should be obvious."

"But.." She started, trying not to consider the implications of his words as a thousand harsh remarks died on her lips, and she was left to simply state, "you did. Why?"

He gave her a pleading, hopeful look as he replied, "Because you were scared, because I was scared, scared of leaving you alone again. Because I think, maybe, I was supposed to.."

"What do you mean, 'supposed to'?" She asked, eyes narrowing. "You were _supposed_ to make me look like a traitor too, _supposed _to use me as some sort of scapegoat!?" Her temper was rising visibly, and Zuko knew that although the ground was hundreds of yards below, he was a lot closer to his death than that.

"It's like you said yourself, remember? The only way we win, is together." He replied with a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

Azula just shrugged his words off however, "Zuko, that was just propaganda, I was only trying to ensure you would join me."

"But it was the truth, even if you didn't mean for it to be. Azula, I chased the Avatar across the entire _world_, for practically a year, and you chased him for months yourself, and yet no matter how close we came to capturing him, he always got away, something always happened, we _always lost_. Until we worked together.." He took her small, deceptively soft, delicate hands in his own, and she saw that glint, that light, that _meaning _in his eyes that spoke to her when his words couldn't.

She looked away, faintly blushing as she attempted to rationalize, "Zuko, that was just.."

"Dumb luck? Random chance? Well whatever it was, it's brought us here now, together, just like it brought me to your room last night. Call it what you want Azula, but I have to follow what I feel in my gut to be right. What I feel in my _heart _to be right."

Despite his heartfelt speech, she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye, and an uncertainty mingled into her otherwise stoic features. "What about you?" Zuko prompted, forcing her to respond one way or another. "What do you feel?"

"I feel..." She began, closing her eyes and looking deep inside herself to see what her gut instinct was, "I feel like you're an idiot." She said flatly, and it was no big surprise to Zuko to hear something along those lines. Hell, it'd have been strange if she hadn't insulted him. "But you're my idiot, and I trust you." She gave him an awkward smile, trying her best to not let it show as a smug, self-serving grin but as an honest, heartfelt show of affection. She had a long ways to go.

Zuko could care less however, and with a cry for joy he threw his arms around his sister and squeezed her like she would blow away in the wind if he dared let go. At first Azula was taken by such surprise that she froze up, still entirely new to the whole "hugging" thing, and her body's first instinct was to counter it with force. As the surprise wore off though, so too did the tense stiffness, until at last she allowed herself to return the embrace with markedly less enthusiasm, but it was the thought that counted. Zuko had already known that this conversation was going to end either in a hug, or a lightning bolt. That being said, he was pretty happy with the outcome.

"One rather large problem, however; how exactly do you intend to win over the Avatar's trust?" Azula asked with unmasked, slightly amused skepticism. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we nearly _kill_ the Avatar, along with what must be dozens of attempts to capture him. Please don't tell me you're going to rely on '_dumb luck_' to turn our enemies into trusting friends."

Zuko had already considered this, many times over in fact, but the answer he needed still eluded him like the Avatar himself had so many, many times before. With an uncertain sigh, he stated, "I'm sure we'll think of something."

Azula's palm came up to smack herself in the forehead, and she slid down the wall of the basket to sit as she began reciting all the curse words she knew, along with a few that Zuko was fairly certain she had made up, and he couldn't help but to chuckle to himself as he launched another ball of fire into the balloon's furnace.

* * *

"What the _hell?_" Azula asked with an irritated confusion as she viewed the spectacle below.

"Looks like the bison's tired." Zuko commented with an apparently odd lack of interest. "It doesn't matter, I know where they're headed. The Western Air Temple."

_Of course_, Azula slapped herself mentally for not realizing it herself sooner. "Well at this rate, we should be arriving there long before them."

Zuko nodded, already having considered this apparently. "Yeah, and I know just what we'll do with the time." At the perplexed, almost affronted look he received in return he merely smirked mischievously, at which Azula felt her heart skip more than a couple beats.

* * *

She stared at the badger-frog with what was likely the exact same impassive expression, or at least as close as a human and an animal could get to having the same expression. This was not _at all _what she thought he had meant, sitting here in front of a frog practicing his "introduction" speech.

"Hi, uh, Zuko here-"

"Azula too!" She chirped, more poking fun than actually contributing.

"Yeah, well, I guess you already know that though. I mean, how could you not, after all we both chased you around the world-"

"I only chased them across the Earth Kingdom, thank you."

"I don't think they're going to care about the difference Azula."

"I'm just saying is all."

He groaned, dropping it at that and knowing it was best to just let her have the last word. He thought for a moment before picking up where he left off, "Sorry about that, by the way. I was wrong, err, we were wrong. But we're good now! And I know you thought I was good before, but now I'm serious, and I want to teach the Avatar Firebending. I'm considered pretty good at it, and she's even better, but I guess you guys already know that. Well, what do you say?"

His practice audience, aka "the frog," gave a single, indifferent croak before leaping on top of Zuko's head and then promptly taking off into the forest, to where things made sense. Azula watched it go in amusement before clapping her hands once, "Well bravo, Zu-Zu, you've outdone yourself this time, really you have. All it took was one try and you had that thing all over you!"

He glared in response, a signature Zuko glare, "Haha, very funny."

"No, I'm serious! Another couple practice speeches and you should have them, _jumping for joy _at the prospect of welcoming you to their team!"

"That's enough." He grumbled, failing to see any of the humor in their situation.

"Oh, come on Zuko, can't you take a joke?" She responded, with feigned empathy for his concerns. "There's no need to get a _head _of yourself here."

"I don't think that one counts." He said flatly.

"It does too-_oof!_" In hindsight, she should have realized that logs aren't the most stable of sitting platforms, and it barely took any effort on Zuko's part to push her off of it. She was dazed for a moment as she herself on her back, staring up at the leaves and the scattered fragments of sky above, the wind momentarily knocked out of her. Something landed with a wet _thud _right next to her head, and she shifted her eyes to see the fat, furry green face of their friend the frog sitting there staring at her with it's impassive, bored expression.

With a _ribbit _in jest, it hopped away once more, leaving Azula to seriously wonder whether she had just been laughed at by an animal.

"That was incredibly childish and completely uncalled for." She announced as she righted herself, brushing leaves and twigs off of her outfit and checking her hairpiece, only to find that it was crooked. Huffing in annoyance, she glared at her brother, "I hope you're happy."

"What?" asked Zuko, pretending not to notice anything out of the ordinary.

"You know what! It's crooked now, you messed it up!" Azula cried out in anger, still fussing with the crown despite the futility. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to get this stupid thing right?! I'll have to do it from scratch, I hope you know how to style hair!"

"You should take it out." Zuko replied matter-of-factly, arms crossed over his chest as he stood stoically in the small clearing they had chosen for a temporary camp.

"What? Why-no, Zuko, I've worn my hair like this since I was 4!"

"I don't think our new 'friends' would associate that crown with anything good.." He pleaded, trying to speak some sense but Azula wouldn't have any of it, her anger rising further as she nearly shouted back at him.

"Maybe _you're _suddenly ashamed of your heritage, but I'm not about to just throw it away like it doesn't mean anything-"

"You look better with your hair down anyways." He admitted weakly, and her eyes went wide as the argument died on her lips.

"What?" Was all she could manage to ask, wanting to be certain she had heard correctly.

He fidgeted for just a second before responding honestly, "Your hair, I just.. I don't know, I always thought it looked better down. I guess that's just my opinion though."

Azula studied him for a few curious moments before reaching up and almost reluctantly pulling the pin out, followed by the crown itself, allowing her raven black hair to fall straight and free down her back and around her shoulders. She shook her head, almost reminiscent of an animal after a bath, letting the strands break apart and her scalp to breath as she sighed in unmistakeable relief.

"I was getting tired of it anyways." She stated, trying to justify her action, though more to herself probably than to Zuko, who seemed happy enough as it was with her decision. After a minute or so, Azula realized her brother was staring at her, as if transfixed, and so she prompted him, "What?"

Zuko couldn't help but blurt out the first thing that popped into his head, "You're beautiful."

Not at all what she had expected, and the slight heat on her cheeks gave as much away. "Zuko..." She started uncertainly, not entirely sure what she was even trying to say, when they heard a low, familiar rumbling growl in the distance. "They're here."

_Of course they are_, Zuko thought bitterly. Just as they were about to possibly have a moment. He sighed, at least they had a half moment. That was something to be half grateful for. Now if he could just get half of the Avatar's attention, things might not be so bad after all. Considering the entire world hung in the balance, half wasn't such a bad place to start really. As his gaze drifted over to Azula, he realized something else, too. At least he had his better half.

* * *

"Come on guys, let's go check this place out!" Teo exclaimed, taking off with The Duke and Haru to explore the deeper parts of the Western Air Temple. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph stayed back to discuss what their next move should be.

"Alright, we need to come up with a new plan." Sokka started, but before anyone else could say anything Toph sensed something- or rather _two _somethings- that gave her cause for concern.

"Uh, guys, it looks like that's going to have to wait.." She pointed at Appa, but it was the two people standing behind the bison that she was indicating.

As the beast moved, he revealed two very wary looking siblings standing practically shoulder to shoulder, and at the sudden attention Zuko seemed to freeze up, forgetting all too easily those words he had practiced over and over again.

A sudden jab to his kidney brought him back to his senses, at least enough to nervously state, "Uh, hi, Zuko here." His own momentary stupidity must have been contagious though, because the next thing he heard sounded just as foolish.

"Azula too!" In their uneasiness, apparently the two siblings had reverted back to their original dialogue options, which, as their frog had informed them, were less than impressive. In the silence that ensued, Azula was certain she heard the word _Fail_ in her head. She closed her eyes, in a futile attempt at turning time back just a _few _minutes so they could try that one over again. It didn't work.

Suddenly, everyone remembered where they were and what was going on, and it took all of five seconds for the Avatar and his friends to assume defensive stances, ready to strike. Zuko and Azula, however, remained exactly as they were, casually standing as if nothing at all was odd about this encounter.

"What are you two doing here!?" Katara demanded, water already streaming from the skin at her waist to her hand.

"Isn't it obvious? They're here to finish Aang off once and for all!" Sokka cried, sword at the ready.

"Oh yes, we're here to get you, that's why we took the time to announce our presence." Azula replied with all her usual smug sarcasm and an impatient roll of her eyes.

"Maybe you should let me do the talking.." Zuko told her, already seeing where this would end if _she _were in charge of negotiations.

"Then by all means, talk." She prompted, gesturing towards the group.

"I was just about to!"

"Oh yes, 'Hi, Zuko here,' what a brilliant opening." She mocked him, using a deeper tone than normal.

"Azula too!" He mimicked back with a terrible impression of her voice. "Because that was _so _much better." Her only response to this was to stick her tongue out at him, and then quickly turn her head the other way, effectively giving her the last word.

"Uh, if you guys are almost done..?" Sokka's voice reminding the two of what was going on around them. He might have found the display comical if it weren't his two arch-enemies standing in front of him.

Zuko groaned in frustration, "Look, I know we've hurt you guys in the past, and for that I'm sorry, _we're _sorry, but-"

"Speak for yourself, Zu-Zu."

"What? Azula you have to be sorry, how can you-?"

"I'm not sorry for what I did. They were enemies, I dealt with them as I would enemies. I'm not going to apologize for something I feel no remorse over."

"You nearly killed him/Aang!" That time a multitude of voices accosted her, but she merely shrugged them off.

"I was doing what I felt was necessary to help my brother and my country."

"Azula how are they ever going to trust us and let us help them if you won't even say you're sorry!" Zuko was at his wit's end, which wasn't very far admittedly, but still.

"Wait wait wait, you want to do what?" This time the Avatar himself spoke up, leveling a very serious look at Zuko.

"We want to help you. We can teach you Firebending!" He offered, like a cheap bargaining chip which was realistically the only one he had.

"He's lying, they'll just kill us the first chance they get." Sokka said, a fierce finality in his words that said he was ready to strike but just waiting for the word.

"No, he's not." Toph informed them, reading the telltale signals of Zuko's erratic heartbeat. "She might be able to fool me, but _he's _as easy as they come."

"That's still not good enough." Sokka replied, convinced that his enemies were plotting against them. "He chased us around the entire world! Tried to capture Aang countless times! Nearly burned Kyoshi Island to the ground!"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"You _stole _my grandmother's necklace and kidnapped me!" Now Katara joined the verbal fight with her own grievances, "Sent pirates after us, kidnapped Aang up at the North Pole!"

By this point, Azula had started counting off on her fingers after every new offense, a smirk plainly evident on her face. It didn't take long, however, for the group's attention to shift in her direction.

"And _you!_" Katara cried out, and right on cue Azula switched to her other hand. "As if your stupid brother wasn't bad enough, you chased us to the point of exhaustion, imprisoned Suki and use their outfits to sneak into Ba Sing Se so you could take down the last safe place from the clutches of the Fire Nation, and you nearly _killed _**Aang**! You even tried to kill your own brother and uncle, and we're supposed to _trust you?_" When you put it that way, it really did sound kind of bad, even Azula could see that.

"Well you certainly gave them enough reasons to hate you, Zu-Zu." Azula quipped, still feeling rather amused by the whole situation.

"Like you did any better? You shot the Avatar with lightning, remember?"

"I was only trying to help _you! _I guess I didn't realize I would be trying to join his group of friends a few months later."

Zuko was about to continue the argument, but it was at this point, Appa decided to step up, sniffing Zuko intently before licking him with his massive tongue. Azula just barely managed to get her hand to her mouth before laughing outright, while the others only witnessed the scene with mild confusion.

"Appa seems to like him.." Aang pointed out, understanding his bison's actions better than anyone else.

Sokka was still suspicious, claiming, "He might have covered himself in honey, I still don't trust him."

Zuko cast a long, thoughtful glance at Aang, "You told me once you thought we could be friends.." The conflicting thoughts warred across the young Avatar's face as he considered the options.

"We'll go along with whatever you decide Aang." Katara said from beside him, and his other friends all nodded their consent, though their frowns clearly showed what they thought about the situation. Steeling his nerves, Aang faced the royal siblings, his mind made up.

"No, I'm sorry but there's just too much to forgive. We can't trust you guys, you need to leave now."

"But.. please! Can't you see I'm trying to do the right thing here. There's good inside of me-" Zuko's words were cut off by a splash of water that sent him sprawling on his back.

"No! Good _inside_ of you isn't good enough, come back when it's _outside _as well!" Katara fumed, her patience all but gone. Azula couldn't help but laugh at Zuko on the ground like that.

"Haha-_Oomph!_" Her laughter cut short as a pillar of stone shot up out of the ground, striking her square in the chest and sending her to the floor as well, breathless and with what she suspected may very well have been a cracked rib or two.

"OW!" She wheezed, curling into herself from the pain and trying to recapture her breath. "That was incredibly rude!"

"Leave before I decide to be ruder!" Toph taunted, foot already sliding in readiness to attack again.

Dripping wet but otherwise unharmed, Zuko was there to help his sister to her feet, checking if she was alright to which she nodded. He looked over his shoulder with a glare and announced, "Fine, we're going."

After the two unexpected visitors had climbed their way out of the temple the gaang exchanged looks with one another.

"They can't be staying too far away." Sokka mused, suspicion still at the forefront of his mind. The others nodded in agreement, sensing his train of thought.

After a moment of unspoken deliberation, Toph finally said, "Fine! I'll go 'keep an eye' on them."

Aang seemed unsure about the situation though, saying "Hold on, maybe you should wait for nightfall.. It'll be easier to go undetected that way."

The blind Earthbender threw her hands up in surrender, "Have it your way Twinkletoes.."

* * *

"Well that went splendidly." Azula remarked sourly as they returned to their camp. She had put a great deal of effort into avoiding holding her side or wincing as they had made their way through the forest, but Zuko could still tell she was in pain from the hit she took, and much more so than what she _did _let on with the subtle facial twitches even she couldn't prevent.

She sighed in obvious relief as the sat on her old familiar log, and taking one quick look around Zuko declared, "I'll go get some firewood," and with that he was off before Azula could even attempt to protest. When she was satisfied that he was far enough away she raised an arm to her side to assess the damage, only to find that it hurt immediately upon touching. She sucked in a hissing breath and let her arm return to her side. At any rate, it was beyond any healing remedies she knew.

As if on cue, her old friend the badger-frog jumped up on the log, giving her a mocking look that said nothing as it said it all.

_Ribbit_.

"Yeah, I know." She rested the bottom of her jaw on one palm, gauging the dismal turn her life had so recently taken. Talking to animals, as opposed to killing them, was a good indicator of just how strange things really were.

Zuko returned a short while later, arms laden with felled logs. One of the lesser known perks to being a Firebender; it really cut down on the hassle of starting a fire. No dealing with kindling or spark rocks, just flame on demand that could be sustained long enough to get a real fire burning in no time. Idly, he found himself hoping, if only out of spite, that the Avatar and his friends were having a difficult time getting their fire started. Thinking about the Avatar and his friends reminded Zuko of his sister's injury.

"How bad is it?" He asked without preamble, refusing to pretend that she didn't check while he was away.

She took a deep breath, or at least started to, only to find halfway through that the pain was too unbearable to continue, and she doubled over clutching her side as a tiny noise of pain escaped her despite her best efforts to prevent it. "It's fine, I'll be-" she winced, "fine."

"Azula, even you can't lie about this." He admonished, the flat look he gave her showing how unconvinced he was.

"I just have to avoid sleeping on my side, tomorrow we can- We can go home and get a proper healer."

"No, we can't."

Azula huffed in annoyance, "Zuko, give it up! The Avatar will never let us join him, it was a stupid idea in the first place. We have to go home before anyone gets suspicious-"

"Azula, we _can't _go home." Zuko insisted, and the dead finality in his voice gave her pause and caused her to study him very intently. "I, well, I sort of... told dad."

"WHAT-**OW** _Shit!_" Azula cursed furiously, forgetting in her anger the injury to her ribcage and causing an agonizing amount of pain to herself. Probably for the best, Zuko realized, as she was too preoccupied with her own pain to attack him.

"I told him I was going to join the Avatar, to teach him Firebending and help him end this war. I also.. kind of.. shot lightning at him." Zuko admitted abashedly, feeling just a twinge of guilt for roping her into his troubles unwittingly.

"You... You shot lightning at him?" She asked, a curious mixture of awe and surprise in her voice.

"Well, I redirected his really."

"Oh..." She said, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Zuko shifted nervously, suddenly aware of the whole mess that he had started and then unintentionally dragged her into without even realizing it. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you involved in my problems. I should have.." He trailed off, uncertain exactly how to word the next part without it sounding like..

"Abandoned me again?" Without it sounding like that. His shoulders fell at the hurt look she gave him, a look that had pain and betrayal written all over it. "You didn't force me to come with you, I chose to, remember?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"So maybe you should stop worrying so much about what _you're_ going to do, and start helping me come up with ideas for what _we're_ going to do." Zuko blinked, more than a little amazed she was still with him after all this. Seeing the confused look on his face, she added, "_You_ kissed _me_, remember." It wasn't a question though.

Smirking, he took a seat next to her and made to put an arm around her shoulder, but she scooted away from him. "I'm still mad at you though." He groaned in frustration as his head fell forward. Azula closed her eyes and pretended to look away, but sneaked a glance to see him wallowing in his misery. She did so enjoy seeing him suffer.

* * *

Some time later, as the sun was setting beyond the horizon, Toph found herself quietly moving through a rapidly darkening forest, not that that made much a difference to her. She was just able to detect heartbeats and minimal movement ahead of her, so she found a decent size boulder jutting out of the ground and sat down behind it, being sure she was in earshot. She hardly expected what she had started to hear though..

"... And Ty Lee said, 'But I thought they were _all _girl's washrooms'!"

The two broke out into laughter, Azula recounting her days from the academy with fond memories of Ty Lee's obliviousness to the world around her. When the laughter subsided, Zuko found himself transfixed by the way her eyes seemed to sparkle in the firelight when she laughed.

She let out a deep, long sigh of reminiscence. "Do you remember those dance classes they made us take when we were kids?"

Zuko thought for a moment, then recalled, "Yeah, I think they said it was to 'help with our conscious awareness of our bodies moving in synchronicity with another's, as well as balance and fluid movement or something like that. Just another way to train us to fight I guess." The idea seemed to sour his mood. "They were stupid anyways."

Azula fidgeted, "Yeah, they were stupid.." She replied dejectedly, looking away and twirling a bang around her finger before casting it aside with a quick flick.

Zuko noticed the nuances in her behavior, and without saying a word he stood, walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her up from her seat before she could even say a word.

"Azula," Her eyes shimmered with anticipation in the firelight, "if you want to dance, you only have to ask."

With those few words he whisked her away, swaying and twirling into the night. They danced the steps to some forgotten dance, moving in tandem to the tune of the fire crackling and their hearts beating as one, as the moon and stars above shone down with their luminescent bliss that radiated off of Azula's hair and sparkled in her molten golden eyes, irises like the golden lining that would always follow even the fiercest of storms. As they spun around the fire, the flames alternated hues, from blazing ruby red to brilliant sapphire blue, the colors dancing and mingling inside the fire just as the benders who controlled them did outside of it.

With a final, pivoting twist, Azula twirled back into Zuko's chest, where she wrapped her arms around his back and the mood of their dance changed immediately to a slow, rocking motion. In the blissful motions, her pain had been all but forgotten, and now as she laid her head against him and inhaled the powerful, raw scent he exhumed she couldn't help but feel all the pain and worry melt out of her.

"Zuko.." She breathed, content to lose herself in his strong embrace.

"Hmmm," He answered back, desiring nothing more in that moment than to rock gently back and forth with his arms around her, safe from a world that hated her without ever trying to understand.

"I'm glad we had this dance." She whispered with a dreadful finality, and before he could even ask her another word she coughed blood onto his tunic, passing into unconsciousness in his arms.

"Azula? Azula!" Zuko called frantically, receiving nothing in response but the sound of his own voice though.

Toph, who had thus far been on the verge of tears herself at such a touching display, sensed something wrong immediately and rushed from her hiding place. "Let me see her!"

Zuko's head jerked at the sound of someone else's voice, but when he recognized the Earthbender he tensed.

"There's no time to fight with you Sparky, _let me see her!_" Toph reiterated forcefully, to the point that Zuko simply gave her space, though never letting his sister go from his arms. Toph reached out with a hand and placed it on the girl's chest, eyes widening almost immediately.

"Oh no, oh no oh no oh no... Lift her up and follow me, **fast!**" She commanded, and Zuko didn't think twice. He knew there was nothing he could do.

He followed the short girl down into a tunnel in the middle of the woods, lighting a small fire in his palm so he could see as he went. After what felt like a long time, too long for his liking, a wall crumbled ahead of him and he found himself back at the air temple. The Avatar and his friends were there almost immediately, asking Toph if she heard anything. Then Zuko stepped out from the tunnel, and they all shifted immediately, until they noticed his tear stricken face and the limp body of Azula in his arms.

"She _dying_, **please!**" He cried out to them, but nobody made a move.

"Hel-lo? Didn't you hear him?" Toph shouted, snapping them all from their trances. "She needs help _**now!**_"

After just a brief second of confirming it was all real, and their minds not just playing tricks on them, the gaang lowered their respective weapons and Katara rushed forward, water already encasing her hands and started to glow a luminous blue.

She gasped the moment her hands made contact, whispering "Oh wow.." and not easing Zuko's mind one bit.

"What's wrong- Can you save her? Will she be alright?" Zuko's mind raced, and he couldn't silence the thousand worries zinging around in his head.

"Zuko lay her down on her side, I have to-" Katara stuttered, not wanting to do what she was about to but seeing no other way, "I have to get the blood out of her lungs, before she drowns, quick!"

He did exactly as she ordered him to, setting Azula's unconscious body on the ground and rolling her onto her side. Katara wasted little time reaching out with her Waterbending, making the connection and then coercing the thick liquid out. There was far more than either would have liked there to be.

Quickly redrawing her water about her hands, the young healer set about trying to close the wound and prevent more blood from pouring in. After a minute of intense concentration, she determined that the tear in the lung had sealed, but not without letting more blood leak in first. She drew the blood out again, and then checked her mouth.

Katara's ocean blue eyes went wide, "Uh-oh.. she's not breathing. Zuko I'm sorry but-"

He didn't hear another word she said, as he was too busy trying to save his sister's life. With one hand he plugged her nose, and then gently pressing his lips against hers in an only recently familiar sensation, he pushed breath from his own lungs into hers, inflating her chest with air. He placed his hands one atop the other, and with his palm pushed down on her sternum, carefully, one, two, three times. He breathed into her again, and repeated once more the pushing motions.

Azula coughed out a heap of blood as life refilled her body, and she gasped for air like she had never needed to breath so badly in all her life, which was more or less the truth. When her eyes focused it was with her brother's tear soaked, blood soaked, yet obviously relieved face that she was first greeted. "Zu-Zu?" She asked weakly. He seemed to amazed for words at first.

"Are you alright.. I'm sorry I-" _Those would be the first words out of his mouth_, She couldn't help but think dryly to herself. _Always apologizing_... "I'm so glad you're okay." _Is he_ _crying?_

"Wha-" another coughing fit, less blood this time so that was a plus, "What happened?" Only now did she bother to look around, and wouldn't the first other face she noticed be that of the Waterbender's. Zuko lunged over the top of Azula, and she was certain he was going to attack the peasant, and evidently Katara was as well, judging by the look on her face. Instead he threw his arms around her and thanked her profusely.

"Uhhh, there there now, uh, Zuko." Katara was clearly not in her comfort zone, but as the immediate risk of attack seemed to vanish so too did her trepidation, if only by a little.

"Thank you Katara." He whispered, so heartfelt and genuine she could hardly believe it was the same Zuko she knew.

"What the hell is- _Ow!_" Azula tried to sit up but the tearing pain in her chest prevented much movement.

"Oh no you don't missy, you're laying right back down. You still have broken ribs and until they're healed you are not to move, do you understand?" Katara demanded, sounding every bit the group den mother. Azula blinked disbelievingly at her, but after a quick glance at her brother, who's face told her she had probably better listen, she did just that, though not without a few un-princesslike grumbles and curses under her breath.

"So, ahh, Toph.. what happened?" Sokka finally asked the question he had been dying to ever since the blind girl returned.

"Long story short, Sparky's sister there almost died, and it would have been my fault. I wasn't about to let that happen." Toph simply replied, as if it were just another day.

Aang and Sokka exchanged looks, and unsurprisingly the Avatar agreed with her actions, "You did the right thing Toph, but..." He was unsure how to finish that statement.

"Well? Out with it Twinkletoes."

"What are we supposed to do with them?" He indicated the royal siblings, who, despite being well within earshot, pretended not to hear. "We can't just let them walk around freely, they're a danger to us all, but so long as Azula needs medical care we have to keep them here.."

Sokka thought for a moment on this, then decided, "So we keep them as "house guests" then. We lock them in one of the rooms with Earthbending, that way only one of you guys can let them out." He indicated Aang and Toph, who shared quizzical looks with one another. "It's flawless, we can keep them safe and sound, without having to risk getting stabbed in our sleep."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of keeping anyone prisoner..."

"Oh come Oonn Aang," Whined Sokka, his voice cracking to a near girlish level. "We can't kill our enemies, we can't take them prisoner.. So what should we do, see to their wounds, give them a hot meal and send them on their way? Bye, thanks for stopping by and visiting, come back soon!" The scowl on his face was rather indicative of his sarcasm.

"Well, no, but-"

"It's alright." Zuko's voice silenced them and they all turned to eye him, some with suspicion, others confusion. "Take me prisoner, do whatever you have to do just please..." He looked down to Azula, still in an obvious amount of pain, and he wore his worry on his sleeve, "make sure she's alright."

Aang nodded, "We'll do whatever we can Zuko. Katara?"

Katara paused in her healing to regard her friend, "She's stable, but it's going to take some time to permanently repair the bones."

"Alright, Toph, why don't you take Zuko to his new room. We'll bring Azula in when Katara's had some more time to work on her." Everyone seemed to agree to these terms, and so it was that Zuko found himself following the little blind girl once again, until they came to a small, innocuous looking room with a window easily large enough to climb through. It took little effort for Toph to fix that problem, leaving just enough of an opening to get air into the room.

"Well, here you are Sparky, enjoy the digs. I'm sure you won't have any trouble _lighting up the place_, will you?" With that sarcastic remark, she turned to take her leave.

"Wait!" He called after her, and Toph stopped at the doorway, turning her head to give the impression of looking behind her. "I want to thank you." He began nervously, wishing he were just a little better at conversational skills.

"Don't sweat it. Couldn't exactly go around with someone's death on my conscience, now could I?" She asked rhetorically.

"Well, I guess not but.. why? Why did you save her?" Zuko couldn't help but ask.

She thought about it for a brief moment, gnawing at her lip before answering, "She's lucky, you know. You're lucky, too. You're both lucky to have someone that cares about you _that_ much, someone that really.. _loves you_."

"_Love..? _I mean- Well of course I love her, she's my sister, I have to-"

"Sparky," Toph interjected, a tiny smirk on her face, "you're a terrible liar." And with that, the door shut, engulfing the room in almost total darkness. Zuko lit a flame immediately in his hand, and went to what qualified as a bed for the Air Nomads apparently. It was just a slab of stone with little else, and he had left all his and Azula's things back at their camp in his rush. _Azula..._ _She'll be alright_, He told himself, _She has to be._

He lay down, but something told him he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night, not until she was safe and sound in his arms again.

A pillow wouldn't hurt either.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **So, as we can see, we'll be loosely following the main storyline after this point, only with the added bonus of Azula. So, in other words, it'll be better :P (I hope xD ) Cheers, and as always, thanks for taking the time!_


	3. Shaky Foundations

Zuko awoke with a start, some inexplicable feeling of dread pressing in on him like a pillow meant to smother one in their sleep. He noticed almost immediately, despite the near pitch blackness of the room, that someone was lying next to him. He didn't have to guess too hard, as he ran a hand feather soft through a sheet of pristine, obsidian black hair. His heart settled noticeably, and all the previous dread dissipated like fog in the rays of a morning sun.

Something was odd though, he realized. She was facing away from him. Never in all the countless nights they had a shared a bed to find comfort with on another had she _ever_faced away from him, she was always snuggled into him, to convince herself he was still there, even in unconscious sleep. She didn't stir at his touching her hair, so he gently shook her shoulder, at least wanting to confirm she was alright. Still nothing, and panic slowly crept it's way back into him.

"Azula?" He asked cautiously, and in an instant that foreboding sense of dread was back in full force, slamming into him like a physical blow. Despite his every instinct telling him not to, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. He instantly regretted it, recoiling in horror as her face came into view, or what was left of it at least.

Her eyes were gone, not simply gone but forceably _torn out_, the bloodstains around her eyes and down her cheeks like a sick perversion of tears. A chunk of flesh had been ripped from her jawline, exposing a revolting view of teeth that almost caused him to hurl on the spot. It was what he noticed last that truly made his heart skip a beat in terror. The remainder of that particular side of her face was black, charred flesh, as if a flaming hand had gripped her and refused to let go.

A voice came from somewhere in the depths beyond, a familiar one but he couldn't quite place it.

"You did this to her." The accusation was as simple as it was final.

"What!?" He shot back in furious disbelief, "I would _never!_"

"All she wanted was her brother. All she wanted was someone she could love, and you manipulated her feelings. _You_ convinced her to become a **traitor!**"

"I didn't... This isn't my fault!" He protested, but even he didn't feel the truth to his conviction. _This can't be my fault.._he thought desperately, weakly, even though the contrary was so obvious.

"Zuko..." His heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice, and his head snapped to the side to look at her. _She wasn't dead..._ He thought in horror. He had experienced mutilating pain before himself, but this..? He couldn't imagine, _didn't want to imagine_.. "Zuko," She continued, her voice weak and raspy, hand groping blindly in the dark for him, "Why? Why did you let him do this? We were supposed to win, we were supposed to come out on top." Her voice cracked with the telltale sound of sobs coming on, but all that poured from her eyeless sockets was more blood, thick and accusing. "_You were supposed to protect me Zuko!_"

"Azula I... I-"

"**You **_**failed**_** her!**" The voice roared, and with it an inferno that engulfed the room all at once, blinding Zuko with it's brilliance while it simultaneously scorched his skin.

"_NO_, I just... _I don't know what happened!_Please, I didn't know! I didn't.. I couldn't.." His voice failed him, he knew his excuses were worthless, because here was the price of his failure, plain for him to see, the beaten and tormented husk of his little sister he failed to protect and turned into a traitor like himself. She was clinging to him for dear life, blood tears pouring out of the holes in her head where such beautiful eyes had once been.

"_Zuko!_" She cried, terror in her voice as her entire body shook with fear. "Zuko!"

"Zuko!"

He shot up out of bed, screaming, and there was a light thud just next to him.

"Ow, dammit Zuko, that was a little uncalled for don't you think?" Azula's annoyed, but otherwise normal voice came from the darkness. A pale blue flame suddenly erupted in her palm as she stood, dusting herself from the unpleasant fall to the floor.

His good eye was wide, the terror still all too fresh in his mind, and a heavy layer of perspiration coated his skin. His breath came in heaving gulps, and it took him a few moments to consciously calm down and get his body under control. It didn't really work until he looked at Azula, standing there holding her hand up as a torch, and he could clearly see that she was fine. No missing skin, no charred flesh, and her eyes were unmistakeably still in their sockets and working fine, if the obvious annoyance that poured out of them was any indication.

Her glare softened somewhat when she took in his horrified expression, and the fact that he was still shaking physically. She was no stranger to nightmares herself, and though she had rarely, if ever, known her brother to suffer from them, she could only guess that they would be as bad as hers.

"That bad huh?" She sat next to him on their stone slab. A bed was far too generous a term for this thing.

At first he could only stare at her, still convincing himself she was real and they were both alright. Then he just threw his arms around her, and she was certain she could feel hot tears seeping through the fabric of her tunic.

"I thought- It was so-" He hiccuped as he tried to form the sentence, but eventually settled for, "I was so scared I had hurt you."

Her eyebrow quirked in puzzled amusement, "Zuko, of all the things I _believe_ to be true, of all the things I know based on my own experience, there is only one truth that I _know_ without question, in my heart, to be irrefutably, _undeniably_true. You would never hurt me."

Relief filled him as he breathed deeply that enticing aroma that seemed to be a natural part of her, reminiscent of cherry blossoms and hot spices. "You're right, it was just a dream."

"Now let's try to get some sleep. I think we have a long day ahead of us as the Avatar's new prisoners."

Zuko pulled back to give her a smirk, "We're 'special guests'." He reminded her, as if it made a difference. She returned the smirk with a playfully disagreeing expression and slow shake of her head.

"So naive, Zu-Zu." Azula sighed, then added, "Good night."

He moved one arm that was around her up to the back of her neck, and pushed her towards him so he could plant a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Good night."

She tried to put on a look that was offended, but secretly she had wished for more. "You can't just keep kissing me out of the blue, Zuko." He only kept his smirk in return.

"What? That was innocent, as your brother I'm allowed to kiss you like that anytime I want. This on the other hand.."

Once more without warning, he pulled her face closer to his but this time, he sought out the lusciousness of her lips instead, kissing her with a deep, aching passion that once again stole the very breath from her lungs and caused her eyes to sting from the unrestrained power of her own emotions. In a surprised reaction she brought her hands to his chest, meaning to push him away from her but as she found herself succumbing to desire the tension faded out of her arms, leaving her hands to appreciate the well toned muscle instead.

The emptiness that replaced his presence was just as unwelcoming and cold as it had been the first time, and again she had to prevent herself from voicing a want for more. "That," he continued from where he had left off, "we should probably be careful to do in secret."

Despite how hard Azula tried, she couldn't manage to muster up one coherent thought in response, one glib, witty, sarcastic slight that so usually should have been at the ready, so jumbled were her thoughts, clouded by emotional sensations she couldn't place. Instead, she simply stared, eyes shimmering with unspilt tears brimming at the edges.

Zuko, sensing her confusion, simply whispered softly, "Let's get some sleep."

Azula didn't say anything in response, but seemed content enough to lay down with him on their stone bed meant clearly for one person. Her arms wrapped securely around his midsection, Azula snuggled herself comfortably into her brother, resting her head on his chest. _Well,_ He thought ironically to himself, his own arm around her light frame, _At least she gets a pillow._

* * *

Zuko woke, hours later as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, to the feeling of being constricted forcefully, to the point that breathing was becoming difficult. Before his senses were even fully awake, his hearing picked up on a soft, quiet yet persistent moan.

It took all of a few brief seconds to become fully awake, and to realize that the source of the noise was Azula, squeezing him harder than he would have liked and clearly lost in some bad dream or another. It was rare that she had nightmares whenever she slept with him, but they still happened now and again, and it pained him more than physically to know she was being tormented in a place he couldn't help her.

He shook her, calling out her name, "Azula, Azula wake up, it's just a dream."

"No..." She whined, then mumbled too quietly for him to discern the rest of her words. He tried again, leaning his head closer.

"Azula! Please..."

Her eyes shot open, a wild look of rarely seen terror flashing through them, and her entire body curled into him, every muscle tensing from some tormenting scene that was still too fresh in her mind. She attempted without much success to blink away the tears that had formed in her eyes, but Zuko would pretend he didn't notice. He always did.

"It's alright." He whispered soothingly, a comfort only his voice could provide slowly settling her nerves. He knew better than to ask her about it, it was obvious enough the dream was a bad one, and having her recall the specifics only made things worse. Soothing away the pain was the best thing he could do, so Zuko waited, knowing she'd say something when she was ready.

Light streamed through the small window that Toph had been kind enough to leave them, and with the sunrise came that influx of power that always seemed to melt away whatever lingering fear Azula may have felt. When she could feel her fire burning bright inside of her, it was as if all fears were burned away in a cleansing inferno of her mind and soul.

"It's morning." She said at last, though not so much informing him of something he was already himself well aware of as reassuring herself that it was the truth. Still, he knew his part, and hummed in agreement.

"How's your chest feel?"

"Surprisingly good, actually. Almost like it never happened, though I'm sure she didn't heal me completely. Wouldn't want to put an old enemy back at 100%, now would they?" Azula mused, knowing she was lucky in the first place that she had been healed at all.

"Well if she could bring the Avatar back from the dead, I expect you shouldn't have been too much of a challenge." She laughed once mirthlessly as a rare feeling of guilt crept into her stomach. At least, it was a shared guilt.

Truth be told, Zuko could have stayed the way they were all day and not have cared one bit, it was a rare feeling of peace of contentment that he was enjoying with his sister. Azula, however, would have none of it. Wasting a day so carelessly was for people who couldn't bend blue fire, so with a final sigh of farewell to bed, she rose stating simply, "Well there's no point in wasting away, even if we are prisoners in a cell."

She set her feet to the cool stone floor, and immediately began stretching out the kinks, bones popping in anticipation of the day to come. She reached first up, every joint stretching to it's limit as if attempting to reach the ceiling, then down to her feet, body practically parallel to her legs. Zuko meant to avert his eyes, he _really_ did, but there just wasn't anything else in the room to look at, and certainly nothing that caught his interest as much. Still, the hardest thing to ignore were the thoughts that seemed insistent upon invading his mind, thoughts he knew he shouldn't be thinking but that didn't stop them regardless. Thoughts like how _good_ it would feel to just reach a hand out and _squeeze_...

Azula dropped to floor on her fists and started firing off push-ups, and probably just in time for Zuko to avoid doing anything he shouldn't. Still, he had to do something to preoccupy himself and take his mind off of that round, young, supple behind that just begged to be smacked. So he joined her in doing push-ups, the only physical activity he could engage in that wouldn't get him into trouble, not to mention a less awkward use of the blood already pounding throughout his system.

He matched her pace perfectly, and it didn't take long for her to notice the unspoken challenge and up the ante. With every rise, she pushed herself off the ground, clapping her hands before landing knuckle first back on the stone. He answered back easily enough, accepting the challenge with confidence. This was something he actually had a shot at beating her in, there was no way she had better upper body strength than him.

Or so he hoped. By ten she was still going strong, as was he, fifteen she showed no signs of slowing, and he was starting to feel the unmistakeable burn. At twenty she was starting to waver, but taking great pains to hide it. Zuko wasn't sure how many more he could manage. Twenty-five and the burning ache was unbearable, and Azula could see defeat in his eyes, if she could just hold out for a few more. She was herself feeling the burn as sweat coated her skin, and she made no more attempts to hide it as her breathing became ragged. As Zuko came down from his twenty-eighth his arms gave out beneath him, and he crashed breathless and defeated to the stone floor. Azula went on to complete thirty, if only to rub it in, before more or less collapsing herself on the floor next to him, sweating, breathless and wholly satisfied with herself and her victory, however minor.

They looked at each other, and Zuko tried to glare but it didn't hold, and pretty soon he broke out into laughter, not necessarily knowing why, and she was quick to follow suit. "Always a competition with us." Zuko commented.

Azula hummed in contemplation, "We are what he made us, Zu-Zu."

Zuko thought for a moment, seemingly undecided on what his next words should be when he finally asked, with a seriousness that was rarely heard from him, "Do you ever wish Lu-Ten hadn't died? That uncle had taken the throne and then.. then maybe we could have stayed a family, and things might have been different?"

Azula's face remained almost impassive, but for a twitch of her lips that indicated a desire to frown. "I've wished for a lot of things, Zuko." She continued to stare up at the ceiling above them, but her steel resolve cracked and a tear trickled through, and she whispered bitterly, "But that doesn't make them come true." Then, doing the only thing she could think of, she began a regiment of crunches at a furious pace, the physical pain of exerting herself an old, long time friend that always chased away the despair whenever it reared it's ugly head.

Zuko could only guess as to what some of those wishes might have been, but he knew he held his own share of guilt for the heartbreak his sister must have gone through. He was at a loss for words at the moment, so he did the only thing that seemed sensible to him and followed her lead. There was no competition this time though, it was a no contest with Zuko collapsing around fifty, his abdomen feeling as if someone had set fire to it, and Azula going on to finish an easy seventy-five, pretending it didn't phase her but feeling every bit the burn he did.

She didn't let up this time, transitioning straight into her squats seamlessly, and here Zuko already knew he didn't stand a chance. If nothing else, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had him beat in leg strength, as she was happy to demonstrate. While he struggled to finish seventy, she sailed past a hundred like she was born for these. After nearly doubling the amount he did, Azula decided it was good enough and finally sat back down on the stone floor, her legs screaming in appreciation of the rest.

"Wow," Zuko said with a touch of humor, breaking the silence finally, "I always knew you had killer legs but that was something else." She huffed in indignation, the very thought of being objectified by _Zuko_of all people making her livid.

"Would you like to see just how _killer_they can be, brother dearest?" She asked with a falsely sweet voice, a sure sign of a more dangerous Azula than normal. In an instant she was next to him, and before he could even react she had a foot on his throat, slowly crushing his windpipe.

So it was that Toph found the two, sweating, out of breath, and one's foot on the other's throat. Their places didn't surprise her at all, and the very scene itself was hardly unexpected. They had even just been joking over breakfast how if they kept the two locked in a room long enough, one of them was bound the kill the other. Unfortunately, they couldn't make things interesting, as no one was foolish enough to bet against Azula.

"Alright you two, play time's over." Her voice and sudden appearance were only a brief distraction to Azula, but it was all Zuko needed. He expertly twisted out from under the foot, gasping for breath and wondering if she really would have finished him like that. What worried him most was how long it took to decide on the answer. For the second time in 24 hours though, he was eternally grateful to the blind Earthbender.

"You," She indicated to Azula, "go see Katara, I'm sure those ribs could use some more work." Azula blinked in astonishment, entirely freezing up for a moment. Did that little girl just give her an _order?_ As if sensing her very thoughts Toph repeated, "Let's go! What are you, deaf? I didn't come here to ask what kind of jam you like on your toast, you're _my_ prisoner now _princess_, so get moving!"

Mouth agape and staring in absolute bewilderment, it took a few seconds for Azula to finally register what she heard, and though she was muttering all manner of obscenities whilst doing it, she did in fact comply with Toph's command, storming past the girl who still stood in the doorway and off down a corridor. After waiting for her to be out of earshot, and perhaps a little while longer just to be safe, Zuko finally found his voice and addressed the blind girl.

"Thanks." It was the first thing that came to his mind.

Toph shrugged, "I didn't do it out of any obligation to save _your_sorry butt, Sparky."

"I mean for last night, for helping me. She'd be dead without you."

"Yeah, well, you could say that without me she wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place." She supplied, trying to brush the whole thing off. Zuko scratched absently at his shoulder blade.

"I guess that's true. Still, you didn't have to help, especially considering all we've done to you guys." He couldn't quite meet her eyes as he said this, then realized it didn't matter and nearly smacked himself for it. "But you did, and I am eternally grateful for it."

Toph waved a hand dismissively, "I did it for my own peace of mind more than anything, so don't look too far into it."

"All that matters is that you did it, the reasons don't matter at this point."

Toph shrugged, and that was more or less her way of agreeing and ending the conversation politely. A hanging silence ensued and it took a few minutes for Zuko's curiosity to finally get the better of him.

"So... are we going anywhere or something?"

"Why would we go anywhere?"

"Well there must be a reason you're here."

"The _reason_ I'm here," She began explaining, as if it were obvious, "is to keep an eye on you. We decided the two of you probably shouldn't be allowed out at the same time, ya' know, because of how things went the _last_time you two worked together."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense." He admitted sullenly, past mistakes haunting him all over again.

"Yeeahh..." Toph deadpanned dryly.

Another period of silence occupied the space between them for an indeterminable amount of time, when Zuko suddenly had a thought.

"Hey, do you think I could go get some things? We kind of left all our stuff in the woods last night."

Toph contemplated for a moment, remembering the frantic scramble and supposing there might be some useful things they might need. She shrugged, "Alright, fine, but don't try anything funny. We still have your sister." That last part was a clear threat and sufficient warning.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Replied Zuko in way of thanks.

He followed the blind Earthbender down some dusty old stone corridors, until suddenly he caught the sound of Katara's voice echoing down towards them. "Look, my healing is most effective when administered directly to the skin. Those ribs aren't going to heal themselves, so a little cooperation would be really helpful here!" He could hear his sister's haughty "Hrmph" in his head, and could practically see her supercilious response, arms crossed and head upturned, the very picture of a stuck-up, indignant bitch.

"Alright, fine! Either you take it off, or _I do_, take your pick princess!" Katara's ultimatum rang clear down the halls, her angry voice carrying quite well, and the battle lines were drawn.

"You wouldn't _dare_." Azula's scathing reply and challenge one in the same. A high pitched battle cry, a loud _thud_as a body slammed into a wall, some things falling onto the floor with a clatter and clang, and the obvious, muffled noises of a scuffle were all Zuko heard next.

"Looks like we're taking a detour Sparky." Toph said, as calm as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening just three doors down the hall. She slammed one hand into a nearby wall, commanding the stones to crumble away and a tunnel to bore straight through into the cliff side. He followed, lighting a small fire in his palm to illuminate the way.

After a while the tunnel finally opened up to sunshine, the vivid forest alive with a myriad of sounds and colors this morning. Zuko looked around, trying to get his bearings and remember where the camp was.

"I think it's.." He started, turning his head this way and that and about to pick a direction at random.

"This way, come on." Toph interrupted, her feet remembering everything and not enjoying the prospect of wandering around the woods all day with Zuko of all people. After a short walk they found the campsite, left almost exactly the way it was. _Almost_. The most noticeable difference being the large bird that was tearing into a sack, searching for food. It withdrew it's head upon hearing the intruders though, and it's face was a menacing mockery of a normal bird. Zuko was familiar with Vulture-hawks, but this one in particular he was quite familiar with. The great avian predator screeched once, loudly, before taking off into the sky. Zuko's good eye went wide.

"We've gotta run, hurry!"

* * *

"See, this isn't so bad, now is it?" Katara commented, running her glowing water covered hands over Azula's now exposed chest. Azula's only response was to glare up at the Waterbender who sat atop her, although truthfully it was unneeded at this point. The threat of calling the Avatar in to use stone shackles on her had pretty much taken all the fight out of the princess, and just for good measure Katara had threatened to call her brother in "just to watch." She mentioned him having a thing for the ladies, and Azula's stomach had twisted in on itself at just the _thought_of that savage seeing her half-naked.

So, there she lay on the floor, shirtless and with another girl's hands on her chest. It was all she could do to keep herself calm to just keep breathing, mechanically, methodically, counting off in her head. Inhale, 2, 3, exhale, 2, 3, so on and so forth, eyes moving about wildly and landing on everything and anything she could find that wasn't the other girl. At some point, she had decided to just simply close them and stare at the insides of her own eyelids. Anything was better than being forced to bear witness to the obscenity.

If Azula herself were embarrassed by the situation, Katara was no better off herself. It was the bones that needed healed, but unfortunately, you couldn't touch bone without touching skin, and the skin she found her hands on at this moment was so baby soft and flawless, but above all it was _hot_. Not the normal kind of body heat a person might radiate, her flesh felt like there was a fire raging beneath the surface. She pressed down, trying her best to ignore the way the plush, supple mound of flesh felt under her fingers.

"Is this still part of the healing session, or have we moved on to recreational fun?" Azula's sarcastic, taunting voice snapped Katara's attention back from wherever it was and she reflexively scowled. _Just as easy as Zu-Zu, hm?_Azula thought, smirking to herself.

Azula had heard people say sometimes that someone "Just exploded" in fury, but she had always simply assumed that was a figment of speech. So imagine her surprise when the next thing she heard, and felt, was a violent explosion that shook the very foundation of the temple.

* * *

Zuko and Toph raced through the forest at breakneck speed, and the former couldn't help but be amazed by the latter's ability to navigate so seamlessly between clusters of trees and even simple undergrowth. His own depth vision being limited in the last few years, it was pretty impressive to say the least.

They came bursting through the trees in a flurry of leaves, Zuko skidding to hault in order to avoid running straight off a cliff, Toph simply stopping inches from the edge without even having to think about it. She shifted her foot, something unseen suddenly catching her attention. "Stop!" she tossed an arm out to the side, blocking his way, "He's under us." The way her brow knitted and voice never faltered, Zuko found himself taking her word for it.

He looked out across the chasm to his right, and could make out the small shapes of people he recognized very well from far away, sitting at a fountain and oblivious to their imminent demise. Thinking quickly and looking around, he found a few vines hanging over the side of the cliff. Finding one that he deemed strong enough to hold him he grasped it in both hands tightly, and when he heard the unmistakeable sound of someone taking a large, deep breath, his legs reacted for him and the next thing he knew, he was sailing through the air, out into a foggy abyss.

The vine stretched to it's limit and Zuko swung back like a pendulum, his target coming into sight, a look of pure furious concentration plain on the large assassin's face. He was preparing to deliver a devastating, concentrated explosion of Firebending via the third eye tattoo on his forehead to an unsuspecting Avatar and friends below. The man unleashed all his fire at once, and just as he did Zuko crashed into him, throwing the attack off by several dozen yards and sending the man himself spinning as he recovered from the surprise push.

"Stop!" Zuko commanded, trying to sound authoritative and powerful but failing against a man three times his size with a metal arm and leg. Still, no one could say he didn't try. "I order you to stop hunting the Avatar! I won't pay you!"

The assassin simply grunted and shrugged the scarred prince off, literally. Though his targets were alerted to by the explosion, they were still standing about, dazed and unsure. He saw his window, and tossing Zuko away with a simple shove of his thick arm, he breathed as deeply as possible, then squeezing his diaphragm, he expelled all of the energy in his body once more, sending one fruit sized ball of fire screaming through the air, emitting an audible shock-wave a second before exploding furiously enough to shake the Air Temple to it's very core. Aang only barely managed to construct an emergency wall of ice to intercept the blast using all the water in the fountain.

Frustrated, Zuko tried a different approach, hopefully one that would resonate with the man. "Fine, I'll pay you double to leave them alone!" Again, he simply ignored the attempt to persuade him into abandoning a target. He had never failed to take out a target, _never_, and this one had managed it twice now. This was no longer about the money, or even the fact the Avatar was an enemy of his country. This was personal, and either the Avatar would die, or he would.

Giving up on obviously futile diplomacy, Zuko charged his hired assassin, fire building in his fist. It was child's play to intercept the small fist in his steel right hand, extinguishing the paltry flame. With a violent toss, his opponent stumbled backwards, and while he was disoriented the assassin decided the pest had to go, launching a mental fire bomb at the scarred young man. Zuko only just brought his arms up to fend against the attack, but the force of the explosion itself forced him to slide back until he disappeared over the edge of the temple floor.

Satisfied that his target had fallen to his doom and was no longer a nuisance, the burly assassin returned his attention to the far platform, only just in time to notice one lone, unfamiliar figure going through an odd set of movements, dazzling, bright tendrils of electricity dancing in circles about her.

* * *

"What the _hell_is going on!?" Azula yelled as she and Katara ran through the temple passageways.

Katara didn't need to think about it longer than a few seconds, responding with a hard determination, "Combustion Man." Azula looked upon the other girl in bewilderment, but before she could say anything another blast erupted into existence, and the two girls doubled their speed.

Rounding the corner, they found Sokka and Aang ducking behind a corner, hiding from the onslaught of fiery devastation. If they were wary of Azula's presence, it didn't show outwardly, as all of their attention was focused on the man blowing things up with his mind.

"Was that _Zuko?_" Sokka asked incredulously, and Aang nodded. Their lives had just been saved by their oldest nemesis, and Azula's eyes went wide. _Zuko..?_if Zuko was fighting a Firebender of this caliber... She shuddered at the thought, then made the decision to peek around the corner.

She saw her brother attacking the man, but to little effect, and when he reared back to deliver an fatal blast, she watched in horror as he was nearly thrown from the platform to tumble, thousands and thousands of feet to his death. He had managed to grab a large root hanging from the bottom of the walkway, and seeing her opportunity, Azula rushed out from behind cover to deliver a decisive, finishing blow.

The other three onlookers watched with transfixed amazement as Azula went through her motions, reaching out to the positive and negative energies around her that responded instantly, blazing with a pale light that sizzled angrily upon being torn asunder. She met her enemy's eyes as his attention focused on her, and without pause he readied his own attack to answer with. In the next instant, a lightning bolt tore through a conflagration, and two equally immense explosions resounded throughout the canyon.

A metal arm sailed, end over end, down into the fog choked chasm below, while in the opposite direction a small body trailing black smoke in it's wake soared through the air, a helpless victim of gravity's undeniable power.

It took Aang a moment to register what had happened, but in the next instant he was running across the stone floor, making for the edge and extending the sails on his glider as he jumped fearlessly out into nothingness. He didn't see a dangerous enemy right then, he saw only a person who was falling to their death, and that very thought is what fed him an extra burst of speed as he rocketed through the air, chasing after the trail of black smoke.

* * *

_Weightlessness_... It was such an odd feeling, to be like a feather, listlessly drifting on the wind, carelessly oblivious to all else in the world. Only, she wasn't floating gently to the ground. She was falling. _Falling,_ it felt like, _through fire_.

Something in the back of her mind screamed for her attention and Azula suddenly awoke, eyes snapping open to a horrifying reality. Her skin burned from her proximity to the blast, and smoke trailed her like a signal flare. She tried her best to remain calm and think about the situation, but the ringing in her ears made her head feel like it was splitting open, and concentrating on anything in particular seemed impossible for the time being.

The disorientation quickly passed though, as survival instinct pumped adrenaline into her veins, providing a much welcome reprieve from the hurt. With her new clarity, Azula tried to calculate her options quickly. Time was not on her side.

_If I propelled myself towards that cliff wall with my bending, I could probably use my hairpin to... Shit!_ she smacked herself mentally as she remembered, _I don't_ have_ my stupid hairpin, that's what I get for listening to my _stupid_ brother and his _stupid_ ideas, stupid, stupid, STUPID!_

"..la!"

She caught something, someone's voice it sounded like, just barely audible over the roar of the wind in her ears. Azula looked around frantically, unable to tell if it was real or just in her head.

"A-zu-laaa!" He called out, louder this time, trying to catch the falling princess' attention as he raced to catch her before the ground did. Aang's last shout seemed to work, as Azula's head jerked in his direction and he just caught the flash of her eyes. She was still a ways away though, and falling at terminal velocity, something that was difficult to match on a glider, even for an Airbender.

Azula saw him, but wasn't sure where exactly to go from there. She supposed all she could do would be wait for him to catch up with her, but he seemed to be going so slow...

The fog finally parted, and much to Azula's horror there really wasn't much room left between her and the ground. If that weren't bad enough, the ground wasn't ground at all, but instead jagged, deadly stalagmites of all sizes that waited patiently to impale her. She didn't have a choice, she had to act fast. The Avatar clearly couldn't reach her in time, but maybe _she_could reach him.

_Worth a shot..._she said to herself, knowing that if this didn't work it was all over. With one mighty inhalation, she focused her fire through her right hand and foot, spinning her in mid-air so that her head was angled towards her pursuer, and then, giving it absolutely everything she had, she rocketed towards him, jets of azure flame shooting out from her hands and feet.

The sudden act caught Aang unawares, but he quickly chided himself for allowing anything she did to surprise him at this point. He saw his opportunity though, and with a renewed vigor sailed towards her, and when they were just close enough he shouted for her to grab on, which she just barely managed to do with one hand. Her talon-nails dug painfully into his calf, the sudden, piercing pain causing the young Avatar to cry out and lose focus. The glider wobbled dangerously, but years of training kicked in and Aang quickly stabilized them, blocking the pain out of his mind for the time being.

* * *

Zuko eventually managed to climb back up to the platform, just in time for a hole to be blown out of the side of the cliff. Toph emerged from the tunnel looking as casual as ever, and noticing Zuko's presence asked, "What the hell happened? It felt like an earthquake!"

"My sister happened.." He said smoothly, attempting to mask the awe in his voice but not well enough for Toph's fine tuned ears.

"You mean princess sunshine just _saved_Aang?" She asked with obvious disbelief.

Zuko simply nodded, so preoccupied was he with something in the distance that he forgot exactly who it was he was talking to. "Now I think he's about to return the favor," he commented, watching as the young Avatar took off after a smoking object. "Come on, let's go see if the rest of your friends are alright."

They raced together across a stone catwalk that connected the two sections of the Air Temple, making it to the empty fountain at just about the same time that Aang and Azula came gliding in. As soon as her feet touched solid ground Azula released her grip, stumbling a few steps before being caught by Zuko, who proceeded to hold her tightly to his chest. Words were irrelevant as they embraced one another with a tenderness that was almost as if...

"Wow, I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks Zuko, Azula," The Avatar's voice snapping the siblings back to reality, the two separated to face him, "You guys really saved us out there."

"Well, I suppose you saved me as well, Avatar-"

"Please, call me Aang. If you're going to be a part of our group, you should at least know our names." His meaning wasn't lost on anyone, and all involved sported shared looks of shock, with the notable exception of Toph, who merely grinned to herself.

Sokka and Katara exchanged similarly worried expressions before the former asked, "Aang, are you sure about this?"

"Yes." He replied confidently, without even thinking twice about it. "I saw something in you back there," he said, directing his attention again to Azula, "when you attacked Combustion Man. It wasn't anger, or contempt, he was just an enemy, threatening someone important to you. It wasn't personal for you, it was just.. necessary. I don't agree with what you did, but I understand why you did it, and I guess... I guess I understand also, why you attacked me."

Azula's eyebrows rose in surprise, but before she could respond Aang continued, "It wasn't personal, it was just what you felt you had to do. So I forgive you, and would be honored if you taught me Firebending, because I know it's what _I_have to do."

Azula thought carefully for a moment about what the young Avatar had said, then casually replied, "Alright, _we_will teach you. It was Zu-Zu's idea after all."

Aang smiled and bowed respectfully in traditional Fire Nation manner, which the two siblings returned with bows of their own.

"Aang, how can you trust them?" Katara finally voiced the worry that had been on the tip of her tongue this whole time. She didn't even seem to care that they could hear when she added, "They could kill us all in our sleep!"

The Avatar simply shook his head confidently though, "No, I don't think so. If they really wanted to kill us, they had the perfect opportunity back there when Combustion Man attacked us. Trust begins with it being given. And besides, we have Toph! Nobody can sneak up on us with her around."

Katara's unamused glare spoke volumes to her mistrust, but with a defeated sigh she conceded, "Fine, if you think this is what you should do, I'll support it." She said, though she sounded every bit in opposition to the idea.

"I'm sure. In fact, I think they were meant to be my Firebending teachers. If you think about it, we don't know any Firebenders better than we do these two!" He exclaimed with that naive, childish exuberance that showed just how truly carefree of a kid he really was at heart.

Zuko and Azula shared bemused looks to one another before the latter announced, "Well I'm glad you're so enthusiastic. You begin at sunrise tomorrow." She gave him a familiar, threatening glare as she added "Don't be late." in a frighteningly sweet voice. Zuko had to keep from laughing or else he would spoil all her fun, and if there was one thing he knew better than to do, it was spoil Azula's fun.

"Well, what if I'm a _little_bit late?" Aang asked hesitantly. Azula simply shook her head.

"Oh, don't be late."

Aang gulped. "Sunrise it is then?" The two siblings nodded.

When everyone turned to head in separate directions Zuko caught up with Toph. "Wait a minute." The blind girl turned to give him a puzzled look. "We still need to get our stuff.."

Toph thought about it a second and then shrugged, "Oh, alright, I suppose you probably still want that stuff eh?" Zuko nodded, much to the Earthbender's chagrin. "I _assume_you're nodding."

"Oh, yeah, uhm... sorry."

"Alright, come on Sparky." She headed for the nearest wall and, without hesitation, punched the wall and a tunnel tore into the cliff side. Azula and Zuko both followed her into the darkness, simultaneously lighting small torches in the palms of their hands and creating a frightfully beautiful clash of bright red and soft blue that danced and warred with one another across the walls as they went.

They found their old camp easily enough, but unfortunately much of their stuff lay strewn about carelessly, torn pieces of cloth dotted the scene and bits of food could be found here and there. Something suddenly moved, leaping up onto a nearby log, but they relaxed upon seeing it was a harmless badger-frog. The animal croaked once.

"Oh yes, thank you _sooo_much for watching our stuff for us." Azula drawled, and Toph couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"You know this frog?"

Azula nodded, "We're old buddies, him and I. We go way back." The simple way in which she said it gave Toph pause.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a bit screwy in the head princess?"

Azula smiled predatorily, but the effect was sadly lost on the blind girl. The menacing tone she used, however, was not. "Yes, as a matter of fact they have. They've just never said it twice."

Zuko handed his sister a torn up sack with shredded flaps dangling off the sides, and what appeared to be a dark red liquid dripping out of the bottom. "Sorry, looks like his bird found your bag of cherries."

Azula huffed forcefully, "Why that worthless little sky rat! Go find it! I want roast bird tonight! I'll boil it's eyes in it's own blood! I'll-" She carried one with her rant, listing a number of colorful ways in which she would make this creature wish it had never existed.

"Ruined! Everything is ruined, even my pic-" She stopped dead in her tracks. Without another word she tore furiously through the remnants of her satchel, until she found the item she was searching for. "My picture.." she sighed heavily as she drew out the picture of a younger Zuko. It was soaked with the dark red juices, a blood-stained perversion of it's former self.

Zuko looked at the picture with a grimace. It was like someone had ripped out his heart and held it over him while squeezing out every last drop of blood. He shuddered. "It's alright, we'll have a new one made one of these days." He placed a reassuring hand upon her shoulder and she looked up at him. "And I'll be sure they get my good side." That much, at least, elicited a small giggle from her.

With a reluctant sigh of defeat she let the picture fall back into the ruined sack, then without hesitation she washed the entire thing in a furious blaze of sapphire. It was only a moment later when she said, "Shit! I had a comb in there.." Zuko couldn't help but laugh.

"If you two are almost done then?" Toph asked in a way that said she would rather be putting needles in her eyes.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." Zuko answered, and the three set off once more into the thicket, while from somewhere in the underbrush a lone _ribbit_chased after them.

They made it back to the Air Temple around dusk, and Toph led the way to their old "cell." With a quick slide of her foot the stone door slid down into the floor, and she dusted off her hands in a pompous display. "Well, here you are you two, home sweet home. If you're nice, I may even open the window for you."

"Please, we would appreciate it very much. It gets... stuffy in here." Zuko scratched at the back of his head, shifting from foot to foot. Toph walked over to the far wall and with a simple pound of her fist the tiny opening at the top expanded into a window big enough to climb through.

"Anything else?"

Brother and sister shared looks of apprehension. "Well, we could use a-"

"Another bed." Azula finished for him. Toph turned her attention to the small slab of rock and then grinned to herself.

"_Ohh_, I see what the problem is. Let me just fix that for you.." The Earthbender stomped her foot and thrust out her arms, and immediately the stone responded by sprouting up, effectively doubling the size of the bed.

Azula's expression was a priceless mixture of embarrassment and surprise. "That's not what I-!" Toph simply waved a dismissive hand.

"Relax princess, your secret's safe with me," she stated as casually as if it were the weather as she made her way to the door. As if to emphasize her point before she left she added, "I didn't see nothin'."

It wasn't until after the blind girl had disappeared around the corner that Zuko chuckled, though not for long when his sister glared at him. "That was a good one..." he tried to explain, but gave up when all he received was a harder glare.

"Why would she do that? It's like she thinks we're sleeping together or something!"

Zuko had to think about that for a moment beforing replying, "But we sleep together all the time Az..."

She made to smack him but he quickly ducked his head, just barely avoiding the back of her hand. "Not like _that_, dum-dum! It's as if she thinks we're... ugh, nevermind. Like talking to a wall..." Azula walked off muttering under her breath plenty of unflattering things about Zuko's intelligence.

_What the hell did I ever do wrong,_ Zuko asked himself, before quickly realizing that there was plenty. One of his most recent mistakes popped glaring into his head, and he groaned as if he had just walked out of his room with his pants on backwards. "Why didn't I ask for a pillow!"

* * *

It was hours later, in the middle of the night, that Zuko was awoken by something brushing up against the side of his leg. Of course, it was Azula. Or rather, it was her own leg. She herself would never admit it, even to someone who blatantly witnessed the action with their own two eyes, but the rare occasions she had a happy dream, her leg would twitch in a very similar manner to that of a canine.

Zuko couldn't help but smile and hug her just a tad tighter, not wanting to wake her up. He would always ask the next morning what her dream had been about, and it was always the same one. She only ever had one pleasant dream...

_She was running. Running with wild abandon through an almost endless field of knee high grass that glistened a bright, emerald green in the radiant splendor of an afternoon sun. The faint scent of sea foam mingled with the aroma of wild flowers and grass all around, and the sun itself kissed her skin with it's comforting warmth. Sea birds cried as they gave flight, and somewhere in the distance the steady rhythm of waves washing against the sandy shore drifted up to her ears. She was a little girl, no more than 6 or 7, and just ahead of her ran a boy only a couple years older._

_The sound of her giddy laughter rang out as she chased after him, swearing up and down that she would catch him. Finally, at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the beach far below, he collapsed onto the ground, out of breath and loving every second of it. She caught up to him just seconds later, spinning to land on her back as she, too, fell into the loving embrace of the Earth around her._

_They laid there for a short while, side by side and staring up at the vast, endless sky above, their minds too young and pure to bother needing pointless conversation in order to simply enjoy each other's company. She scooted closer to him._

_"Hey Zu-Zu?" She asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice._

_"Yeah?"_

_"Let's always be like this... for always."_

_The young boy looked back at her with golden eyes that lit up his face, and simply replied, "Always." She wrapped her small arms around his middle and hugged him as tight as she could, which he returned happily. A small drop of moisture soaked through his shirt, and after a moment he realized she was crying._

_"Az, why are you crying?" He asked with all the concern of an older brother._

_"Because I'm happy."_

He kissed the top of her head, and she moaned in her sleep, a quiet, soft whine that resonated in her throat. Zuko whispered into her hair one simple little word.

"Always."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Luuuv you :3_

_Thanks for taking the time!  
_


	4. A Beginner's Guide to Jerkbending

Aang awoke that morning with a massive yawn, the proceeded to walk to the window and greet the morning sun, already climbing high into the sky. Then he stopped, eyes widening to the size of saucers as his breath caught in his throat. He raced down the hallways of the Air Temple at an inhuman speed, heart already racing in his chest, though not at all because of the physical exertion.

He reached the outdoors area in a blur of motion, grinding his heels into the stone and skidding to a halt. A lone Zuko sat in a meditative pose near the ledge, his back to Aang as he let the sun wash over his face. Aang approached with tentative steps, and he had to struggle to find his voice.

"Uhh... Zuko?"

Zuko didn't stir, and Aang took another step. That's when it happened.

"BEND A WALL OF FIRE!" Where she came from he couldn't say, but her sudden shouting made Aang nearly jump out of his skin as he cried out.

"Well? What are you waiting for!? DO IT!"

Aang blinked, his mouth forming a tiny 'o' before he responded, "But I can't-"

"Shoot me with a bolt of lightning!"

"What?!"

"_DO IT!_"

"I don't know how!"

"Then I expect," She said tersely, "that you will be waking up at_ sunrise _from now on." Aang nodded his head very quickly, his entire body rigid and straight as an arrow as he stared into her fierce golden eyes. Then she did something that actually made his heart skip a beat; she smirked. "Then let's begin."

"Zu-Zu dearest, why don't you get the Avatar started on the basics." At his name, the young man took one final breath and then stood to face the pair. Then groaned. The Avatar was almost literally shaking with fear, and fear in Firebending was simply not an option.

He approached Aang as Azula walked off to sit on a ledge and observe. "Firebending, in and of itself, is not something to fear." Zuko told him, and the Avatar relaxed visibly.

"Not something to fear, okay."

"But if you don't respect it, it will chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo-rhino!" He exclaimed, taking an angry step foward for emphasis, and Aang recoiled away like a small child who had fallen victim to someone else crying 'Boo!'

Zuko relaxed his stance, "Now show me what you can do. Any amount of Firebending at all."

Aang nodded, then remembering what Jeong Jeong had told him all those months ago, he took a deep breath, then, just like he had seen all those soldiers do countless times, he thrust an open palm straight out, and was rewarded with a fizzling curl of black smoke that blew harmlessly away in the almost non-existent breeze. He smiled sheepishly, and Zuko could only pinch the bridge of his nose at the pathetic display.

Azula's barely restrained laughter wasn't helping the situation any, and feeling suddenly self-conscious, Aang suggested to Zuko, "Well, maybe a demonstration would help..."

Zuko nodded, "Alright. You might want to take a few steps back." The Avatar did just that, retreating to the ledge Azula was sitting on, and he couldn't be sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him, or if the scar on his back really was starting to tingle from her proximity. She watched her brother with serious intent as he took a breath, then stepped forward and punched out with a solid fist, he produced the tiniest tendril of flame to ever qualify for Firebending. "What was that? That was pathetic!"

Azula's laughter was not at all restrained this time as it rang out high and loud throughout the canyon. She laughed so hard she had to literally hold her sides, but Zuko, being used to her tormenting him as he was, paid her no mind as he did what he always did when he failed and tried again. With very similar results, sadly. He groaned in frustration, "Why isn't it working!?" He stopped to take a calming breath, "Alright, just breathe, and..."

Another spectacular fizzle of paltry Firebending and black smoke and he cried out in anger. Azula finally stopped laughing and hopped down from her perch, approaching Zuko with a sigh of disappointment. "Must you be such a constant failure, Zuko?"

"This isn't funny Azula! Something's seriously wrong here..."

"Poor, poor Zu-Zu... it's so easy, you just breath," she inhaled, "let the energy flow," pulled back her arm, "and using anger as the catalyst..." she struck out, letting loose a powerful conflagration of intense flame in a wave that washed over the old stones. It was a grand display of Firebending that would have put a master 50 years her senior to shame. Every eye present was stretched open to the limit, a shared sense of shock between the three. Azula's mouth moved but no sound came out as she watched the last of the fire dissipated into air. It had been flawless, it had been powerful...

It had been red.

"Red? _RED!?_" Azula screeched so loudly that every bird in the canyon flew away, and dozens of yards away Momo flew off to hide in a small crevice. "My fire hasn't been _RED_ since I was a child!"

"Azula! Hey, let's just, calm down now, shall we? It'll be alright." The crazed look in her eye told him absolutely otherwise though, and if he was being honest, it scared him. She looked like an injured, wild animal, hurt and uncertain and ready to lash out at anything that came near.

"I thought it was great!" Aang's upbeat voice called out to them, and Zuko never wanted to hurt the kid more than he did right then.

"DON'T YOU PATRONIZE ME, _AVATAR_!" She snarled, and if Zuko hadn't been there to hold her by the shoulders she certainly would have leapt for the poor kid's throat. Thrashing against her brother's grip Azula screamed, "Let me go! I just want to kill him, just a little bit! Let me go dammit!"

Zuko held fast, though it was proving to be a real challenge. "Azula, no, you're not going to kill the Avatar again, that's a bad Azula."

"But he-"

"No."

"I'll-!"

"Bad Azula!"

"Hrmph." The struggle ceased at last, and Azula was forced to settle with a pout. A dangerous, lethal pout.

Aang, having been thus far reluctant to say anything else that might get him killed, finally decided to toss out a suggestion. "Maybe it's the altitude?"

"Maybe." Zuko repeated, but Azula simply scoffed at the notion.

"That's ridiculous. In case you've both forgotten, we're _below_ ground level right now, there is no reason altitude would be effecting our Firebending down here." The two boys shared embarrassed looks at the obvious being stated.

"Oh... right." Aang appeared thoughtful for a moment then spoke up again, "Maybe we can figure something out over a nice breakfast!"

Azula shrugged, whether or not it would logically help solve their dilemma didn't matter, it would just be nice to eat something at this point.

"Let's hope so." said Zuko, a heavy weight to his words.

* * *

The members of the gang were all seated comfortably in a circle when Aang and his new Firebending teachers came walking up. Sokka was striking two spark rocks together furiously in an attempt to start a fire, and Katara nudged him upon seeing Azula and Zuko approaching.

"Thank the spirits..." He muttered, then louder so the pair could hear him, "hey, how about some help over here. I'm getting tired of these stupid rocks and, as much I hate to admit it, I'm glad we finally have some fire on our side."

Azula and Zuko both looked at each other before he replied, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can help. You see... I've lost my stuff you guys."

"What!? Don't tell me that bird came back to finish the job Sparky." Toph nearly laughed, but it became quickly apparent this was no joke.

"No, I mean, I've lost my Firebending." All eyes shot up in surprise, and he clarified, "Well, I didn't exactly _lose_ it, it's just... weaker."

"Too weak to build a fire?" Sokka asked with an overly dramatic sadness, complete with pouting lip and pleading eyes.

"Too weak to be considered Firebending." He replied with a dead finality.

Katara had been studying Azula with a keen interest, and she noted the angry, distant look with suspicion. "What about you?"

When Azula realized it was her being addressed this time, she narrowed her eyes and said with a dangerously even tone, "I don't want to talk about it."

Katara looked mad at first, but then suddenly broke into a giggling fit. Neither of the fire siblings found the situation amusing. "This isn't funny." Zuko told her, but it did little to deter her laughter.

"I'm sorry, but do you know how _convenient_ it would have been for us if you two had lost your Firebending months ago? Maybe back when we were being chased around the world, or, I know, back at Ba Sing Se!? It would have been real nice if you could have '_magically_' lost your bending back then."

"You guys we need to focus on the problem at hand, arguing over the past won't help anyone right now." Aang interjected, ever the peace keeper. Zuko thought about it for a minute.

"Maybe it's because we switched sides..."

"That's ridiculous." Both Katara and Azula said at the same time, and then promptly proceeded to glare at one another.

"Maybe it isn't..." Began Aang, thinking back to his first lesson in Firebending, "Jeong Jeong told me that Firebenders use anger to fuel their bending. Maybe by joining us, Zuko somehow lost that anger."

"I dunno, still seems pretty angry to me." Toph pointed out with casual indifference.

Sokka stroked his chin, "Soo... all we have to do is make them angry and they can Firebend again. Shouldn't be too hard." He grabbed a stick and set about poking Zuko in the shoulder, the temple, the back of the head, other temple, etc. etc. It seemed to be working, too, if the slowly contorting features of his face were any indication.

"Stop it!" Zuko shouted with lethal intent. Sokka turned his attention to Azula, but was stopped dead in his tracks.

"Touch me with that stick, and I'm going to take it and turn you into a girl with it." She told him in a sweet, calm voice that was pure malice. Sokka's stick disappeared in a flash behind his back and he back pedaled away with a huge, sheepish smile plastered across his face.

Zuko took a deep breath to calm down, then said, "Look, even if that's _true_, I don't want to rely on anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"It sounds like you need to go back to the source." Toph told them as she picked at some wax inside of her ear. "Giant badger-moles were the original Earthbenders, and they're who I learned from."

"You learned Earthbending from giant monsters in the ground?" Azula asked with an unusual curiosity in her voice.

Toph flicked some wax away and nodded, "You bet, Sunshine. I was little, and had run away from home. I was feeling lost and scared when they found me. We were both blind, so we understood one another. For them, the original Earthbenders, Earthbending was more than a way of fighting, the used it as an extension of themselves. It was their way of interacting with the world around them."

"That's amazing Toph!" Aang exclaimed with wide-eyed wonder. "The sky bison were the original Airbenders. Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime, hey buddy!" He shouted to Appa, who growled a deep, resonant rumble in response.

"The Moon was the original Waterbender, we learned how to push and pull the tide the same way that she did." Katara explained in turn. Everyone looked to Zuko and Azula, who exchanged uneasy glances with one another.

"Yeah, well, that still doesn't help. The dragons were the original Firebenders, but there aren't any of those left." Zuko admitted with a hint of guilt.

Azula suddenly had a thought, "But maybe the original students learned something useful." Her and Zuko looked to one another and nodded, then spoke in unison.

"The Sun Warriors."

Aang appeared just as confused as the other three when he asked, "The what?"

"The Sun Warriors were the first people to be taught by the dragons, but they disappeared thousands of years ago." Zuko looked uncertain as he proposed, "Maybe they left something we could use, or learn from, or something."

Aang appeared skeptical at the proposal. "You mean we're just going to go to some ancient ruins, and by standing where they stood thousands of years ago, we might learn some cool Firebending moves?"

Zuko could only shrug, "That's the idea. Either we find a new source of Firebending, or you find a new teacher."

* * *

"I don't know why, but I thought this thing would go faster." Zuko commented with mild disappointment as him and his sister drifted through the sky on the Avatar's bison, Aang himself sitting on the beast's neck with the reins in hand.

"His _name_ is Appa, and he flies faster than you do." Azula snickered at his snipe. His attitude shifted like the wind itself as he told the two, "You know, we usually start out our missions with a more upbeat and positive attitude."

Zuko rolled his eyes while Azula said with a practiced false sincerity, "We'll try our best." The two first time flyers were both situated at the back of Appa's saddle, perfectly in the center. Azula secretly had a death grip on one of Zuko's arms, the terrifying memory of her recent tumble through the air still all too fresh in her mind.

Some hours later a small island came into view, covered almost entirely in ancient ruins with jungle overgrowth dotting them here and there. In the far distance, twin mountain peaks rose to cast ominous, dominating shadows across the old stone structures.

"Whoa..." Aang breathed, his eyes going wide at the shear size of the old city, "It's huge!"

Zuko moved to peer over the side of the saddle, but Azula was content to remain exactly where she was. "Yep, that's the place alright." He surveyed the ruins for a moment then pointed, "I think there's a spot where Appa can land down there." With a rumble, Appa descended towards the ancient stones.

They dismounted from Appa's saddle, Azula feeling a swell of gratitude the moment her feet touched solid ground, and surveyed their surroundings. The humidity that clung to their skin was the only indication they were even still in the Fire Nation, everything else was as alien to them as ice would be to a badger-mole.

"This place is so... different," Zuko commented with a mild sense of awe, "and yet, I can tell the Fire Sages modeled their temples after this." Azula walked on one side of Zuko, arms crossed and a brooding look that could have made Zuko jealous, while on the other side Aang was wide-eyed and looked around in amazement.

"Wow... See, we already learned something about architecture. The past can be a great teacher." Aang declared, and the next moment his foot caught a tripwire that sent him tumbling for the ground just as a section of stone slid down to reveal dozens of spikes. With a mighty inhale Aang just manages to blow enough air to stop his fall and propel him safely across the shallow pit, flipping in mid-air to land on his feet. He looked back with fresh, raw terror in his eyes as he shouted, "Guys, I think the past is trying to kill me!"

Zuko bent down to examine the tripped wire, remarking to himself, "This trap must be centuries old..." He let it drop as he rose back to full height, and with a burst of speed he ran up and across one of the walls, landing neatly next to the Avatar on the opposite side of the spike pit. "Now where's that positive attitude you were talking about?"

Azula still stood just the way she had been, arms crossed over her chest and ultimately unhappy with the entire situation, though the near death of the Avatar had certainly piqued her interest for a second there. With a roll of her eyes she followed the other two, stepping confidently between the small spikes as if it were a garden and she were merely going for a pleasant stroll. "You know, traps like that really aren't dangerous once activated. It's the surprise combined with the trip and fall that kill you. Once you can see where they are they're quite simple to avoid really."

Zuko glared at her as she made her way between the spikes with cat's grace, mocking him without having to say a word. He could tell by the minute smirk just how much she was loving every second of it.

"Come along now," She commanded without even pausing as she glided right past them, "you know people don't set traps like that unless they have something worth protecting." Without reply the two boys followed after her, both secretly hoping that whatever was worth protecting was also worth finding.

The trio ascended a large set of steps, and at the top found a crumbling wall with an old mosaic that crudely depicted a man engulfed in dragon's fire, though he did not appear to be suffering from it.

"Hmm... That's odd, I always thought that dragons were friendly with humans."

Aang moved so he was standing next to Zuko, "They were... Avatar Roku even had one for his animal guide."

Zuko snorted, "Well they sure had a funny way of showing it."

"It's symbolic, dum-dum." Azula seemed to appear right next to him, chiding in that tone that he knew well enough to know that she wasn't done. "The dragons gave fire to man, taught us how to create and control it like they do, through breath and disciplined focus. This is an early Sun Warrior account of the dawn of Firebending, this dragon isn't _killing_ the man," she explained, her voice dropping to an awed whisper, "It's giving him fire."

Aang stared dumbfounded for a second, blinking several times before finally saying, "Wow, that's amazing! How do you know so much about dragons Azula?"

She didn't look at him though, her eyes transfixed on the simple yet obvious depiction of a dragon, and she reached out to brush her fingertips along the picture, as if she could somehow reach back in time and touch a dragon itself. "I've always wanted one." She said absently, as if more to the wall than anybody else.

Aang's brow scrunched up in thought for a few moments, and then he said hesitantly, "Guys... something happened to the dragons in the last hundred years. There were plenty of dragons around, what happened?"

Neither Zuko nor Azula seemed immediately willing to answer that question. Azula continued to stare intently at the mosaic, as if her glare could set fire to the stone, so it was Zuko that finally confessed with a small, regretful voice, "Our great grandfather Sozin happened. He was the one that started hunting dragons for sport. They were the ultimate Firebenders, and it was said that if anyone could defeat one, they're Firebending skills would become legendary, and they would be given the honorary title of 'Dragon'."

"Uncle killed the last one years before either of us were born." Azula added with barely restrained contempt, her golden eyes narrowing at the picture of the dragon.

"But I thought your uncle was... I don't know, a good guy?" He asked in confusion. All Azula was willing to offer was a bitter 'Hmpf.' Zuko looked away.

"He had a complicated past..." He offered, then smirked as he looked up to see his sister still facing away from him, "family tradition I guess."

Aang nodded in understanding, and the two set off to explore another section of the ruins, Zuko nudging Azula with his elbow as he passed by to indicate that they were moving, but she remained stoic and impassive. "You two go on ahead, I'll catch up. This section of the city seems to be dedicated to the dragons, perhaps I can learn something about them that only the Sun Warriors knew, they were rather close afterall."

Zuko shrugged and nodded and went on his way, already knowing there was no point trying to convince her otherwise. It was an abandoned, ancient ruin, what could possibly happen to her if she wandered off on her own? He remembered the spike pit, and turned to open his mouth and say something, but she apparently beat him to the thought. "I'll be sure to watch out for spikes in the floor."

"Right." He replied as he turned the other way, feeling a fool. Of all the people in the world who might stumble into obvious, simple traps, she was probably the last one he needed to worry about.

He caught up to Aang in short order, and for a while the two boys walked in companionable silence, admiring in their own ways the way the vines snaked across the ancient stone as tufts of grass grew up out of the floor. It was Aang who finally decided to break the silence.

"So..." He began with an awkward scratch behind his head, "your sister is really something else, hey Zuko?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked with guarded suspicion, scarred eye narrowing so slightly.

Aang fumbled to avoid saying something he would quickly regret, "I mean, she's... different?"

Zuko practically rolled his eyes, "Yeah, she's different alright."

"I guess I just never expected she would be one to switch sides like that. I know you were up in the air but she just always seemed really sure of what she was doing. I don't know, it's hard to explain I guess."

"She's confident, but I'm not sure she ever really knew what she was doing." The taller boy replied with a distant regret. Noticing the puzzled look on Aang's face, he explained, "When I got banished, it was the best thing that ever could have happened to me, though I didn't know it at the time. It was three years that I spent with my uncle, away from my father." For a brief moment, Zuko's face seemed to shine with fond memories, but it was quickly clouded with a curtain of guilt that seemed to weigh down on his face. "It was three years she spent trapped alone with him."

The solemn way in which Aang nodded told the scarred man he understood, "She never had a positive influence."

"She never had someone who cared." Zuko shot back without any doubt in his voice.

"What about your mo-"

"Don't." Was all he said, in such a way that Aang knew he would never ask again. He looked to the ground in the opposite direction of Zuko, but brightened with a thought. "Well, I guess she's lucky she's got you then, right?"

Zuko couldn't help but smile, if however weakly, "Yeah."

They came soon upon a magnificent, golden circular door with a large, intricate design in the floor before it. Aang recognized it immediately, "It's a solar calendar, just like the one in Roku's temple!" Zuko scrutinized the calendar more closely.

"It looks like it opens on the solstice."

"Monkey-feathers! The solstice again... We don't have that long."

Unsheathing one of his swords, Zuko commented, "No, we don't. But maybe we can trick it." He knelt, positioning the blade so that it caught the sun. He aimed the light carefully until if reach the large red crystal at the crest of the arch. Nothing happened immediately, but he waited patiently, willing the thing to open with his glare, until finally a latch could be heard clicking. The old door groaned as it slowly slid down and out of the way.

* * *

Azula walked along with a sense of repressed awe, her finger absently trailing the wall as she went. Unsurprisingly, she had found what appeared to be a small library nearby to the mosaic. Most of the old tomes were caked in layers of dust and she didn't trust even opening them. Something caught her eye, and she noticed a large book that still had perfectly legible characters on the front cover. Blowing the dust off, she read the title to herself, 'Blood of the Fire Serpents." The term was vaguely familiar, she remembered reading it once or twice in history books about early civilization. Fire Serpent was an old, old name for the dragons, yet the book seemed in better condition than most of the others. She wasn't aware books had even been around back then, but considering her civilization's constant edge on technology, she decided it must have been plausible.

She chose a random page to open at, mindful of the ancient paper and treating it with respect. No sooner had she opened it though, did a voice startle her nearly out of her skin.

"A very interesting read, that one." The wizened old, somewhat strained voice commented, the years themselves seeming to weigh his words down. She turned around to see the old man bent over a cane, regarding her like a harmless animal perched on his window sill. "Are you quite interested in dragons, miss?"

The sheer surprise was nearly enough to set her off guard, but she recovered without flinching and replied easily enough, "Yes."

He smiled widely, in a way only one of many years can, "Yes, they were quite fascinating creatures, weren't they?" He gazed straight into her eyes as he spoke, and she had to physically restrain herself from blinking. He let out a heavy sigh, "It's such a shame they all died, don't you agree?"

Azula nodded, fighting the urge to look away as she solemnly agreed, "Yes, it is..."

"What brings you here, miss? You seem awfully young to be so lost."

"I was... looking for something." She admitted, only afterwards questioning herself and why she didn't lie immediately. She supposed it didn't matter, the truth was pretty harmless in this situation.

"Hmm... And did you expect to find it in that old book?" The hair on the back of Azula's neck rose up. Something about the old man had her on edge.

"Well, I _was_ looking for information on dragons."

"And is that _all_ you are looking for?"

Azula narrowed her eyes at the old man, who's attention had shifted to the dirty old pages of the book, still wide open on a small table. She couldn't help but ask, "What else should I be looking for?"

"Ahh, that is the question, now isn't it? But I'm afraid I'm not the one who can answer it."

* * *

Aang and Zuko entered the a large, dusty old chamber to find a number of statues aligned in a circle. Each statue depicted a man in a different stance of some particular Firebending form. Zuko advanced to the center of the circle to study it all while Aang stopped to inspect one particular statue. He scratched his chin in contemplation for a moment, reading the inscription, 'The Dancing Dragon,' then lifted his left leg and raised his arms, mirroring the statue's stance. A stone plate in the floor directly underfoot slid down, and an idea immediately formed in his mind.

"Zuko, dance with me!" The scarred young man gave his counterpart an incredulous stare. "Just trust me."

Zuko stood in front of a second, identical statue to the one Aang stood before, and mimicking his movements, found a floor trigger of his own, and just like that it all clicked into place. "See?" Aang pointed out, and he did indeed.

"I hope these teaches us some really good Firebending." Zuko deadpanned as he shifted his stance, moving from statue to statue in the same manner that the statues depicted. Everywhere they stepped, pressure plates in the floor were situated exactly where their feet ended up, until they reached the opposite end of the circle and completed the form, fists extended towards one another and bodies leaning sideways.

A grinding noise could be heard soon after, and as the two turned they saw a pedestal rising out of the center of the circle, upon which was a large, gem encrusted golden egg. Zuko made to touch it but was stopped by a noise of disagreement from Aang.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" He asked, nervously biting at his nails and checking over his shoulder.

"What? Don't be so paranoid, there's nobody around, what could possibly happen?"

"I'm just a little wary of shiny golden things on pedestals after that thing with the spikes out there. It could be trapped!"

Zuko shrugged off the Avatar's concerns as easily as an over cloak, and reached to pick the golden egg up. "It feels... alive." He commented, but no sooner had the words left his mouth did the colossal door slam shut, trapping them in chamber without warning. Before Zuko could try to replace the object, a thick green goo shot out of the floor in a jet powerful enough to send him to the very ceiling while Aang jumped out of the way at a moment's notice.

It became immediately apparent to Zuko that he couldn't move, and hung helplessly suspended from the ceiling. "I'm stuck!" He cried out, but Aang was busy with his own problem of trying to avoid the rapidly rising goo. He leapt up on top of one of the statues and sent a powerful air blast up to try and knock his companion down, but all it accomplished was flipping Zuko over so that he now hung from his stomach and not his back. At least there were bars that allowed him to breath.

Meanwhile, the goo continued to rise at an alarming rate, grabbing the Avatar's staff and refusing to let go however hard he was pulling. Aang had to make a split decision, and abandoned the staff as he leapt up to the bars where Zuko was hanging, only find his hands were glued to them the instant he grabbed on. He pulled in vain, then cried, "I'm stuck!" in a very similar manner to Zuko, who merely glared at him.

"I just said that!"

There was no time for an argument though, as the goo quickly rose to fill the chamber, and the two boys could do nothing but wait helplessly for it to reach them. When it finally did, the pressure squeezed their faces through the bars, and then just as suddenly as it had started it stopped. Aang and Zuko could do little more than stare up at the sky above them, unable to so much as twitch a finger in their gooey prison.

"At least it's stopped," Zuko stated the obvious, steadying his nerves. "Let's just keep calm, and maybe we can figure a way out of this."

"Where's your sister? She could help us!"

"I'm not sure if I want my sister to find me and the Avatar trapped helplessly in goo. You never know."

Aang thought about it for a moment, silently agreed and then groaned in frustration. "You just _had_ to touch the golden orb, didn't you."

* * *

"Who are you?" Azula asked in a slightly less demanding tone than she normally would have. The old man simply regarded her curiously for a moment before chuckling.

"I live here, my dear. This is my library you are intruding upon. I believe it is I who should be asking you whom _you_ are, hmm?"

He had a point, she couldn't argue there. "My name is Azula." It took longer than it should have for the information to click and her to say, "Wait... You're a Sun Warrior?"

The old man nodded sagely, "Of course I am."

"But how, I mean, I thought the entire civilization went extinct centuries ago."

"Oh?" He replied with plain amusement at being talked about as if he were supposed to be dead, "and have you made many trips to this city of ours? Have you spent many years searching us out?"

Azula scowled at his impudent remark, "Of course not but all the records say you've all been dead for years."

"Then it sounds like all the records are wrong, for I am very much alive here." His knack for pointing out the obvious was beginning to grind on Azula's nerves, but what he said next took her completely by surprise. "I would expect the Royal Palace to keep better records."

"You know who I am..?" She asked with just the barest hint of uncertainty.

"I know you're a member of the royal family. The dragon's eyes may have dulled throughout the millenia, but yours are unmistakeable." He leaned closer, peering into her eyes as light glinted off of his own. "Yes, the fire burns in you like it has not in any other for almost a thousand years. It appears clouded, though." He sighed as he backed away, disappointment evident in the aged lines of his face.

"It is such a shame, to see a fire so strong being smothered with doubt. Tell me, what troubles you child?"

Azula was careful not to let her discomfort show, though she certainly felt it. "There is nothing troubling me, like I said I was just looking for something, but it's clearly not here so I'll be on my way." She added almost as an afterthought, "Sorry for intruding," though she sounded anything but. She turned to leave the way she came, but was stopped dead in her tracks.

"Show me your fire."

She turned slowly back around, and felt a chill run down her spine at the grave look on the old man's face. It was as if he could see right through her. Azula thought about it for a few seconds before refusing with a flat out, "No."

"Why not? I have long wished to gaze upon the beautiful blue flame." Azula's eyes widened in shock, but he hardly seemed to notice as he continued, "It is only imbued in the spirit of a Firebender once every few centuries. As rare as a white dragon, it is. I haven't many years left, my dear. Perhaps you could show me, simply as a favor to an old man?"

She couldn't keep the man's gaze as she admitted almost too quietly for him to hear, "I can't. I've... lost my fire."

"Nonsense!" He roared, a hand swiping out at the air quicker than she would have thought possible for his age, and an arc of flame was unleashed in her direction. Without hesitation she summoned fire to her palms, breaking the attack in half to sail harmlessly past her and preparing to strike back, orange and red flames still blazing around her hands. He smirked a devious old man smirk, "You haven't lost your fire. You've simply lost your focus. Your mind is troubled, child." Azula cautiously relaxed her stance, letting the fire die and regarding the old man in a new light.

He beckoned for her to join him while returning his attention to the book, still open and until now forgotten by the person who had opened it. "Do you know what this book is?" She shook her head tentatively, and he explained, "It was given to man by the dragons themselves, a written account of their bloodlines and the mysteries associated with them. One cannot simply open the book... the book opens to them."

He gestured towards the open book, "Interesting page you've gotten here." Azula peered closer so she could read the words she never had the chance to before.

"The White Dragon..." She read aloud, and the old man nodded.

"A rare creature, a powerful creature, only one every thousand years was ever born, and never was there more than one alive at a time."

"But I don't-"

The old man continued as if he had never heard her, "The white dragon was a creature of remarkable beauty, unprecedented rarity, and unmatchable power. Among all dragons, it was regarded as lord and master." Azula continued reading even as the old man continued speaking, her eyes scanning the words on the page frantically, for what she did not know. "It was over a thousand years ago that the last white dragon created the covenant with man that created the-"

"Created the Royal Bloodline of Firebenders..." Azula finished for him, with undisguised awe as she read. "But... how, why?"

The old man read aloud from a passage on the next page, "And I give this, my blood, to establish a bond inseverable, that the dragonblood may run always through their veins. I give this, my fire, so that they may always carry the dragonfire in their hearts. This gift I make so that the lands born of fire may ever be protected."

The pieces fell into place in Azula's head, "You mean a dragon was responsible for my family's power?" The old man nodded.

"Ironic, isn't it? That the very people who were entrusted with the dragonblood would later cause the destruction of the dragons." He sighed with the weight of his age, a sadness in his eyes as he gazed absently at the pages.

Azula wasn't sure what guilt was supposed to feel like, but she knew that the feeling of her chest being constricted was far from pleasant. "It's a real shame." She admitted, eyes drooping and voice quiet.

"Isn't it." A new voice replied, this one thick and somewhat nasally, and far younger than the man she had been talking to. She turned to see a large man with a feathered headdress and a scepter. He looked less than happy to see her, if his withering glare was any indication. "Are you here with the thieves?"

Azula, ever cautious in her words, eyed the man carefully before saying, "Show me these thieves." He grunted, motioning for her to follow him. As she stepped out of the dusty old library she quickly found that there were dozens of people gathered, and none of them appeared very happy.

* * *

Aang and Zuko sat, or were propped up, back to back, still covered in a generous amount of green goop but slowly being licked clean by the long, thin tongues of some strange creatures that seemed more than eager to eat the stuff.

"Which one of you two _idiots_ is responsible for this?"

The two boys both looked up to see Azula standing, arms crossed over her chest and none too happy as she was flanked by a mob of Sun Warriors. Now more than ever did Aang wish he could leap into the sky and fly away. With no other alternative, he quickly blurted out, "Zuko did it!"

The young man in question attempted to glare over his shoulder, but without much success. His eyes slowly came around to meet his sister's, and he had to admit, she was doing a much better job of glaring. "I can explain."

"Can you now? That's incredible, I've waited a long time for an explanation of why you're such an idiot, this should be good."

He felt the anger rise in him, an only too familiar feeling, "I wasn't stealing anything!"

"You found a golden, shining egg on a pedestal in the middle of a room sealed by a massive solstice door, and you thought _picking it up_ would be a good idea?! Spirits Zuko how _stupid_ can you be?!"

"I didn't think-"

"Clearly! What if something else had happened? What if there was no getting out of there? You could have-!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" He offered, hearing the concern that lingered just below her vehement words.

"You're _sorry_ for stealing our most sacred Sun Stone?" The large man in the headdress, the chief as it turned out, mocked Zuko's apology.

"Yes, I am! When I first came here, I had no idea the civilization of the Sun Warriors was still secretly alive. Please, I didn't mean to steal anything, we were just looking for ancient Sun Warrior secrets about Firebending."

The chief glared hard at the young man, as if gauging his worth like he were a gem. "You wish to learn Firebending from the masters?"

Azula didn't like the way the man said "masters," but before she could voice an argument her brother cried out, "Yes, please, we would be honored!"

The large man grinned, a sinister glint in his eye, "Very well."

* * *

The trio found themselves before an enormous bonfire that roared and crackled inside of it's gilded, ornate fireplace. Sun Warriors flanked them all around, and before them stood the chief. "This is the first fire, given to man by the dragons centuries ago. We have kept it burning ever since. To prove your worth to the masters, each of you will have to carry a piece of this flame to the top of the mountain. Be warned, if you lack the will to control your flame, it may grow too large and consume you, but if you are too timid, it will wither and die. This ceremony demonstrates the very essence of Firebending, and is the first step to meeting the masters."

With a single swipe, the large man scooped a flame out of the bonfire, and with his other hand he split and divided it between the three assembled teenagers. Zuko took his flame with a grim determination, while Aang was visibly intimidated by his, and Azula simply held hers like it was just the nighttime candle she happened to grab.

"It's... like a little heartbeat." Aang noted quietly, eyes lighting up in wonder. The chief looked down at him in surprise.

"Of course! Fire is _life_, it burns inside of us all."

Aang shared a look of fascination with Zuko, who merely shrugged in response before indicating that they should get moving. They turned in time to see Azula was already way ahead of them, literally, and with no signs of slowing down. Zuko didn't seem to mind having something to watch as they made the otherwise mundane hike.

"Hey Azula, wait up!" Aang called after an hour or so showed no signs of them ever bridging the distance.

"Avatar," She called calmly over her shoulder, "I've seen you run up 300 feet of wall, if you think _I'm_ slowing down so _you_ can catch up, you're sorely mistaken."

"But I can't wind sprint right now, my fire will go out!" He cried.

"Yes but you could at least go faster than a snail-slug!" She shot back.

"You're fire's going to go out anyways because it's too small." Zuko informed Aang before he could continue the shouting match, which Zuko already knew was a losing fight on his end. "You're too timid, you have to give it more juice."

Aang glanced away, then hesitantly askd, "Well what if I can't control it?"

"You can do it," Zuko told him with a grin, "you're a talented kid." Aang perked up a little and his flame grew slightly upon hearing his once enemy speak so confidently about him. With a new confidence he picked his feet up and set off to catch Azula, while Zuko went back to keeping an eye on his sister.

"If you stare any harder I swear it's going to burst into flames!" She called out in a way that could have been either angry or teasing, but with her it was impossible to tell. Zuko's face darkened almost immediately until it very nearly matched his scar in color. Aang appeared as miffed as if someone had just told him the sky were green.

"What's going to burst into fire?"

Zuko contemplated very quickly whether or not killing the Avatar was still a viable option. Anything to avoid this line of questioning. "It's the, err, well, there was this... Earth, in the rock." Toph was right, he was awful at this. His face felt as though it were on fire and his heart was hammering in his chest. If he tried really hard, Zuko was certain he could hear Azula laughing to herself.

"What?"

"If you stare at rocks long enough they light on fire."

"... What are you talking about Zuko?"

"What _are_ we talking about?"

"I have no idea!"

"Good."

Aang gave up with his questions and Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. They walked onwards in relative silence until at last they reached the summit an hour or so before sunset. Azula was standing in the center of a large circle set in stone, surrounded on all sides by Sun Warriors at regular intervals and looking all about in well concealed fascination. She appeared to be in some small, dormant volcano, enclosed by high rising, jagged walls of Earth. There was a dauntingly tall set of steps that led up to a medium sized platform with walkways shooting out in opposite directions, bridging the gap between the two peaks that sat atop the volcano like a crown.

As Aang and Zuko approached Azula, the chief stepped forward to address the trio. "Now that you are all here, we may begin the ceremony of fire. Present your flames!" He bellowed, his voice echoing all around. The three all lifted their palms up to the burly man, and with a swoop of his hand he took a piece of each flame, then passed the fire to the man immediately beside him, who in turn created a circle of flame before passing it on to the men on either side of him. Each Sun Warrior repeated this process, until there were rings of fire encircling the area.

"When you present your fire to the masters, Ran and Shao, they will examine your hearts and your ancestry. If they deem you worthy, they will teach you, but if they do not, you will be destroyed on the spot!" He paused to study the three before him, the young, apprehensive Avatar, the stoic young man with the scar, and the ebony haired girl with the unamused pout. "The masters will not be pleased to see you two."

Zuko and Azula glanced at one another in surprise. "You know who we are?" asked the former, a hint of trepidation to his voice.

"Yes, and your family is directly responsible for the disappearance of the dragons. This test will be especially dangerous for you."

Finally it was Aang's turn to grin, "I'm the Avatar though, this should be no problem for me right?"

The chief only glared harder though. "Have you forgotten that you disappeared for the last hundred years, and allowed the Fire Lords to destroy the balance? You are just as much responsible for the dragons' decline as they." Aang's head shrunk into his shoulders like a turtle at the reminder, and suddenly all the apprehension was back and then some.

"Well boys, shall we?" Azula suggested as she turned towards the steps. Despite sounding as calm as ever, she was secretly anxious to meet these "masters." If her limited experience in the city of the Sun Warriors had taught her anything, it was to be prepared to be surprised.

As they neared the base of the steps, Aang suddenly voiced his misgivings, "You guys, are you sure about this? We can still turn back, we've already learned so much about Firebending!" He lifted his hand and gave a sheepish smile, but received instead glares that mirrored each other with startling similarity.

"No, we aren't turning back now, we've come too far." Zuko replied with more confidence than he actually felt. Azula gave him an appreciative look for his courage, and he added, "Besides, we're the prince and princess of the Fire Nation and the Avatar. Whoever these guys are, I think we can take 'em." He unsheathed his dao swords just enough to emphasize his point, and with that they all three began the arduous climb. As they did, the warriors below began pounding out a rhythm on their drums that was reminiscent of twin heartbeats.

When at last they reached the platform at the top of the stairs, they heard the chief call out from far below. "You may now present your fire to the masters!" From where they stood, they could now see openings in the twin peaks, and so they held their palms up to the caves in offering, and bowed their heads.

The waiting was weighing on Aang's nerves more heavily by the second, until he finally gave a nervous look over his shoulder to see if either anything was happening behind him. All he saw was Zuko and Azula holding steady flames beside one another, holding their respectful stances as if they were carved of stone. Taking a deep, calming breath, Aang turned his attention once more to his own palm, only to find that the flame had disappeared. Panic overtook him in an instant.

"Guys, my fire went out, let me borrow some of yours!" He cried out in desperation.

"What? No, make your own!" Zuko answered for the both of them, still holding his pose.

"I can't! You guys, please, just let me have some, I really need it!" He begged like a homeless man for food.

"Go get some from one of them." Azula bit out, her patience already running thin from having her concentration broken.

Aang stepped behind them both. "You guys both have some, I just need a little, come on!"

They both turned their heads to glare at the Avatar and said in unison, "NO!"

"You're being selfish!" He told them, now practically climbing over the two and trying to reach their flames, which they held with one hand while fighting the intruder off with their other.

"Back off Aang!"

"Get off of me Avatar!"

"You guys come on!" He made one last desperate swipe at their flames, so close that he could feel the heat on his fingertips, and just like that they both went out. At first they looked irately at the Avatar, but a low, deep rumbling sound caused their eyes to shift, first looking apprehensively to one another, and then finally gazing ahead of them at the dark cave mouth. Aang gulped, still somewhat on top of the siblings but apparently forgotten for the time being. He dropped down and turned to face the opposing cave, and another growl vibrated the stone beneath their feet.

Twin points of yellow light appeared in the darkness, and in the space of a heartbeat a pair of massive dragons emerged from the two caves, one a dark red and the other a soft, somewhat lighter blue. They were both enormous, with heads the size of small huts and long, serpentine bodies that must have been over a hundred feet long. They soared and dove through the air in an endless pattern, as if chasing their own tails and circling one another at the same time.

"Still think we can take them?" Aang whispered to Zuko, who simply denied ever making any such claim. Azula simply stood as one transfixed by some deity of indescribable beauty descending from the heavens, mouth slightly agape and eyes wide with wonder.

After a few minutes of studying them, a thought suddenly occurred to the young Avatar. "It's like they're waiting for us to do something... maybe we should dance with them?"

Zuko looked at his fellow with much skepticism, but then shrugged. "Worth a shot I guess."

They took their places and began the dance, just as the first statue had depicted, and the dragons responded immediately by shooting up into the air. As they stepped through the different stances, the dragons mirrored each movement in their own way, coiling in on themselves and striking out in tandem with a punch, diving low with a leg sweep. Azula hadn't the faintest idea what this dance was, so she studied with a diligent eye every majestic movement that the great beasts made.

Aang and Zuko completed the sequence with a double fist pump towards each other, and then they looked up to notice the dragons hovering in the air, staring intently at the three small beings that stood before them. All the drummers had ceased their actions, and an oppressive silence had settled on them all. It was then that Aang noticed that the largest of their teeth was about the same size as him, and he gulped. They both retreated a few steps until they were once again in the center of the platform, where Azula stood, entire body tense and ready to respond at a moment's notice. She was simply waiting for the dragons to make the first move.

So they did, dropping from the air to land with a shuddering crash on the edges of the platform. Without pause they reared back their massive heads and opened their jaws, spewing forth twin infernos that clashed together and spun like a tornado, rising high into the air. Aang, Zuko, and Azula all screamed as the flames came to wash them away from existence, and without even thinking about it Azula's hand found her brother's, who readily squeezed back in response.

The flames never hurt them though, instead revealing the very essence and source of true Firebending. There were colors beyond count and imagination, colors that symbolized love, anger, sorrow and joy, a color for every emotion, and amidst all the swirling, chaotic beauty, was found a simple, common truth; life.

Aang's eyes were practically too big for his head as he watched in fascination, feeling the magnificent vibrance of it all resonating with his very core. Zuko and Azula stood there, still hand in hand, transfixed by the maelstrom of colored flame that spoke to them in a language they didn't realize they could understand. Azula's lips were parted and her hair flew freely to the side. Her eyes shimmered with unspilt tears as her very soul bore witness to the miracle of all creation, and for the first time in countless years her mind was quiet, and at peace. Zuko looked on, and for the first time in his life found his scarred eye was seeing more than his other. All throughout the flames there were images which he could only make out with his left eye. There were the faces of people, scenes of love and celebration, secrets that could not be spoken by tongue, but only shown with fire.

"I understand." He said at last, his voice incredibly quiet. Azula reached out with her free hand to touch the flames, but just as suddenly as they had appeared, the fire dissipated into thin air, and the dragons rose once more. They flew up, circled each other one last time and then shot straight into their caves, disappearing without any visible trace, as if they were never there at all. Down below, the Sun Warriors finished their own movements, the rings of fire dying out as their hands met in a fist to palm salute that mimicked the appearance of a lone flame.

The trio descended the stairs, filled with a new insight into Firebending and outlook on life. The chief was there awaiting them, for the first time ever his hard scowl was gone and instead a welcoming light shown through his features. "You have faced the masters Ran and Shao, and they have deemed you worthy. I hope you have learned something from all this."

"We have, thank you." Zuko answered, bowing respectfully and offering his own salute. "But I don't understand... my uncle claimed to have faced and defeated the last remaining dragon."

"Your uncle lied Zuko. He didn't kill the last dragon, he was protecting them." Aang told him.

"Well, he wasn't _totally_ lying." The chief said, an unfamiliar smile still on his face. "Your uncle Iroh was the last outsider to face the masters, and he passed their test just as you have. He swore to protect the dragons from any who might wish them harm."

At this Azula's interest was piqued, "You mean Uncle, he... lied to protect the dragons?"

Zuko smirked, "See Azula, he's not so bad." He gave her a playful nudge with his elbow.

"So now do you understand how fire is life?" The chief asked them, and they all three nodded.

"Yes, and I also understand why my bending was so weak before." Zuko replied, and turning to Aang said, "For so long, my purpose in life was capturing you, it was my drive, and when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire. But now, I have a new drive. I will be your Firebending teacher, and together, we will defeat my father, and bring balance and peace back to the world."

Zuko stepped away, and, with a breath and a step, unleashed a fireball from his fist that was several times more powerful than any he had produced before. With a new confidence, Aang too stepped forward and unleashed from his palm a ball of flame that rivaled his friend. They both turned expectantly to Azula, and sensing this she turned, and with one deep breath she extended two fingers to the sky above and let a column of sapphire fire shoot out to the heavens and bathe everyone and everything present in a pale, effervescent glow.

From a stone building a couple miles away, an old man watched through the window by his bedside as the azure conflagration rose high into the sky. "Beautiful." Was all he said, as the candle by his bedside went out, and he closed his eyes for the last time.

The chief's expression turned dark as he approached the three triumphant looking teens. "And now that you know our secret, I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to leave."

The trio glanced warily to one another, silently preparing for a fight when the large man suddenly smiled. "Just kidding, but seriously don't tell anyone."

* * *

As Aang and Zuko came fist to fist once more, the audience gathered broke out into congratulations and cheers. "Nice dance you two." Katara quipped.

"It isn't a dance, it's an ancient and sacred Firebending form!" Zuko fired back defensively.

"Oh yeah? What's your 'Firebending form' called then?" The Waterbender asked teasingly.

Zuko flinched inwardly as he realized the answer, and replied lamely, "The... Dancing Dragon." The group burst into laughter promptly, and Katara crossed her arms in a smug look of triumph.

It only took a moment for him to realize who's distinctive laughter was absent. "Where's my sister?" He asked nobody in particular, and it was Toph who responded first.

"I think I felt her going that way." She pointed with her thumb and Zuko took off in the indicated direction, the sounds of people questioning the Avatar about his new Firebending powers dying behind him.

He found her without much difficulty, but then she wasn't exactly trying to hide, just find someplace quiet. She was sitting on one of the temple's many ledges with her legs hanging off. "Hey you."

Azula looked up from staring down at the foggy abyss and her lips twitched into a small smile. "Hi Zu-Zu. Come join me."

He smiled, "Nah, I thought I'd just give you a little push, you know, take out the competition."

"You know I'd grab your leg and take you with me."

"I hope so."

Zuko took a seat beside his sister, and she rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "Long day huh?"

"They were beautiful." She said as if she hadn't even heard him. Zuko had to think for a moment before it made sense.

"The dragons? Yeah, they were pretty awesome."

"Maybe... when you're Fire Lord, they can live free again."

Zuko blinked when the meaning of her words struck him like a club, "When _I'm_ Fire Lord? You mean... you don't want to be Fire Lord anymore?"

Azula chuckled, "No, Zuko, I don't. I just want to be with you."

Zuko felt his face flushing red, and answered with the only thing he could think of, "Always."

"And I will _not_ bow to you."

Zuko laughed, "You'll bow to noone Azula. Now if you want people to bow to you..."

"Oh, they will. I will be the 'Official Representative of His Royal and Honorable Majesty the Fire Lord'," she explained with a flourish of her hand. "All of the power, none of the boring responsibility and headache."

"Deal." Zuko said, and Azula tilted her head up to seal the deal with a kiss. Though Zuko reacted accordingly and instantly, it took a moment for the act itself to register in his head. "You kissed me."

"No I didn't." She replied instinctively, and just like that she was up and walking away, leaving a puzzled and blushing Zuko to sit and stare, once again, at her retreating figure. He thought about arguing with her, but decided not to risk losing the opportunity to watch her go.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ _Eh, sorry for the long update, but those who know me know, the best I can offer is that updates will come when they come. That's why I don't make any promises about when to expect the next update; I know better. I hope the size of this chapter helps make up for the long wait? :3_

_Not much fluff, no, this chapter was really just about progression of plot. But hey, at least there's a lot of attention paid to Azula's ass, and in the end, isn't that what really matters guys? :D  
_

_As always, thanks for taking the time!  
_


	5. Old Friends (That Don't Want You Dead)

She awoke to the feeling of someone nudging her as forcefully as they were persistent.

"Come on, you have to wake up!"

Mai's eyes shot open, then closed just as quickly when the light nearly blinded her.

"Finally, you're awake." It took her brain hardly a second to register Ty Lee's voice. Even with her head pounding like a drum and disorientation so bad she couldn't remember where she was, she recognized that perky tone with ease.

"Uggh," she moaned as she sat up, barely able to squint against the sun's bright, angry beams.

"Come on Mai, we've got to go. We have to keep looking for Azula and Zuko, let's go!"

Slowly Mai was able to adjust to the harsh light well enough to actually keep her eyes open. She looked around nebulously and took in the surroundings. Sparse trees, a small brook, foothills all around. Wilderness. Very definitively wilderness. There was a small circle of charred sticks and ash where last night's campfire had been. Or at least, where it must have been, she decided. Mai shook her head vigorously, trying in vain to settle the jumble of thoughts tumbling around inside her head.

"Where-"

"We have to get going Mai, come on we don't have any time to lose let's goooo!" Ty Lee whined, at this point practically pulling Mai up as if she was going to drag the girl across the Fire Nation.

"Alright, alright, I'm up, you can let go of me now Ty." Mai replied in a bored, scratchy voice as she waved her friend's hands away like she was dismissing a servant. Mai stood, dusting herself off and checking her sleeves to make sure all her knives were in place. It was a habit so ingrained inside her muscles that she didn't even have to think about doing it, just as she didn't have to think as her fingers brushed over the tips to know that every single one was in place and accounted for.

"My head's killing me," She deadpanned. Ty Lee regarded her friend curiously.

"Yours too? Huh... weird." The perky acrobat commented, scratching her head. "I guess ours heads must really miss pillows."

If it were anybody else, they probably would have looked at the girl like she were mental, but Mai was well enough acquainted with Ty Lee for this to register as a pretty standard remark, so she shrugged it off. It wasn't as if she had any explanation for their simultaneous headaches.

"Do we have any food?" asked Mai, and Ty Lee went to digging in their pack, humming thoughtfully as she rifled through until with a cry of eureka she withdrew a small, paper wrapped package. She peeled the paper back to reveal some hardened square bread. "How delightful." said Mai, sounding anything but enthusiastic about it.

"Well, at least it's something." Ty Lee pointed out, but even she had to cringe as she took a crackling bite. If she had hoped that it would get better the more she ate, she quickly found the opposite to be true. Focusing on the feeling of food in her stomach over the taste of said food helped, but not by much.

Mai considered the brick of bread in her hand and decided with a sigh, "I guess with food like this we can at least walk and eat. We should be able to reach the Western Air Temple before day's end if we get moving."

Ty Lee nodded, and without another word took off along with Mai towards the rising sun, loud crunching filling her ears and a feeling of excited anticipation swelling in her chest as she drew closer to reuniting with her friends, one step at a time.

* * *

"Bend your knees Avatar!"

"They are bent-"

"Bend them more!"

Aang groaned as if he had been doing the same thing over and over without success. In a way it was true. "Yes Master Jeong Jeong..." he grumbled, much to Azula's dismay.

"What did you just call me?"

"Nothing! I said 'I've been bending them all along'." He lied, his back stiffening reflexively at the piercing glare she was giving him.

Azula's eyes narrowed at the visibly frightened boy, "You called me Jeong Jeong. Why?"

"That was the name of my first Firebending teacher, all he ever did was tell me to bend my knees, breath and feel the sun."

Azula blinked, "Your first Firebending teacher was Jeong Jeong? Admiral Jeong Jeong, the deserter? He had white hair and a scar over his eye?"

Aang nodded, mumbling without much enthusiasm, "That's him alright." That's when he got slapped, hard.

"You ungrateful little insect! Do you have any idea how lucky you were to have a master of his caliber for a teacher!? Admiral Jeong Jeong was an absolute _genius_ when it came to Firebending, he did things with his fire people never dreamed possible! You should be so lucky! If only that _idiot_ hadn't gone and done something so stupid as deserting..."

Zuko, who had thus far been content to sit and spectate while his sister drilled Aang on the finer points of, well, the basics, perked up at this with a sudden thought. "Hey, Azula." She turned her head, questioning him with a quirk of her eyebrow. "We aren't exactly on the 'loyalist' side of things anymore ourselves. Teaching the Avatar Firebending is pretty high on the list of actions considered treasonous by the our dear old dad the Fire Lord."

Aang winced mentally. No matter how sincere they appeared in their intentions to help and not harm him, he still couldn't quite get used to the fact that his mortal enemy's children were helping him now. The fact that one of them had chased him around the world with the intent to capture, and the other had more or less killed him, still lingered in the back of his mind, and only served to further exacerbate that feeling of general awkwardness he felt every time he looked into golden eyes that weren't immediately set to attack him.

"That will only be an issue if the Avatar loses, Zu-Zu." Azula told her brother, then redirected her attention to Aang with glaring intent. "That's why you _will _bend_ your __**knees!**_"

Snapping to attention, Aang took his widest, lowest stance yet, an exaggerated look of concentration etching into his features. Zuko sighed where he sat.

"Maybe I should teach him the basics. They're about all I know, and you'll need all your... patience, for the advanced stuff." Appealing to Azula's ego was usually a smart path to take, but his hesitation with the word 'patience' would cost him later, that much Zuko knew for certain. Still, it appeared to work out as Azula simply shrugged.

"Fine by me, just don't ruin my Firebending student by making him soft like you, Zu-Zu." She taunted as she sauntered off, waving her hand dismissively behind her as she left. While making fun of him was always a sure bet to irritate her brother, not giving him a chance to fire back was something that really dug under his skin. The best part of all? Now the Avatar would be left to deal with an angry Zuko for a teacher. That would certainly prevent any slacking off.

_Now what to do?_ Azula asked herself, a sudden wealth of free time on her hands. She _supposed_ she could socialize with the Avatar's friends, but as it was there was only one of them that didn't make her want to jam her own fingernails into her ears and claw out her eardrums. Azula sighed dejectedly. Though she'd never admit it, she missed her friends. Intolerable as Ty Lee could be and insufferable as Mai was, she missed their company, or at the very least, missed having people she could sit and talk with who weren't war enemies four days ago.

"Hey Sunshine." If she had been anybody else, Azula might have jumped from the surprise, but being Azula she played it off as if she had known the blind little Earthbender was leaning against the wall around the corner the entire time.

"Must you call me that? I have a name you know." The Firebending princess stated with an odd mixture of annoyance and acceptance, as if she were dealing with a child that was teasing her on purpose, but was ultimately harmless.

"Yeah? So do I, what is it?" Toph fired back without missing a beat.

Azula blinked at the impertinence of this girl, then realized immediately that she was clueless as to the answer. It was one of those things you couldn't exactly lie about. "I'm sorry, have we met before? I can't seem to recall..."

Still, she could try.

Toph stared blankly, which didn't surprise Azula, then barked out a laugh, which did. "Good one Sunshine, or maybe I should call you _Mrs. Sparky_?"

The Firebender blanched at the snipe, then demanded, "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on Sunshine, you don't have to lie to me, even though you can. I saw you and _Zu-Zu_ dancing in the woods together, I know-"

"You _saw_ us?" Azula asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I did, every step. It's kind of the reason you're still alive, which your welcome for by the way." Toph let the information sink in before continuing, "Look, I know the truth about what's up between you and your brother, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go blabbing about it, so don't worry your pretty little head about it."

Azula couldn't muster a word, and her cheeks were practically as scarlet as her pants. In a matter of minutes, someone she had never paid any mind to before had called her out on one of her most private and well guarded secrets, all without batting an eyelash. She was about to chastise herself for losing control in such an awful manner, then remembered that the other girl was blind, so collecting herself, she played it off as if she had never even been embarrassed in the first place.

"Let's pretend what you're saying is true. Why are you so alright with it? Wouldn't it disturb you?"

"Pff, please, sleep five feet away from Sokka for a few months and you'll find disturbing. It doesn't affect me, and it's none of my business. Whatever makes you happy, and Sunshine, I got a feeling you could use some happy."

Toph's words struck a chord somewhere inside Azula, to the point where she actually found herself caring who this Earthbender was, if only to better understand her. Tentatively, she asked "What's your name?"

Toph couldn't help but smirk, it was probably the closest to an outright admission that the princess didn't know as she was going to get. "It's Toph, and don't you forget it Sunshine."

Azula chuckled, "Toph, hmm? How very fitting."

"Oh yeah, and why's that?"

It was Azula's turn to smirk that delightfully cunning smirk of hers as she replied, "Because it sounds tough."

Toph laughed outright at this remark, then walked up and punched Azula's arm, which earned her an incredulous glare. "What on Earth was that for!?" she demanded with a fire ablaze in her golden eyes.

"I like you Sunshine, and that's just how I show it." Azula's anger turned to understanding, and without another word she returned the gesture, and it was the closest she would ever come to admitting she liked someone (aside from her brother of course). The two girls broke into companionable laughter that bounded down the halls like two carefree kids chasing one another to the ends of the Earth.

When the laughter subsided, Azula had an epiphany that struck her as if she had just remembered the whereabouts of something that had been lost for days. "I don't believe I ever thanked you for saving my life. Thank you, Toph. I am truly indebted to you."

"Oh, come off it Sunshine, I didn't actually _do_ anything, I was just there when it happened. If you want to thank someone you should thank Katara."

"The peasant girl?"

Toph's face took on the unpleasantness of one who had just stepped in animal droppings as she shot back, "Her _name's_ Katara, and seeing as she saved your sorry butt the least you could do is remember it!"

Azula was momentarily flabbergasted from the sudden reprimand, the entire situation making her feel like a small child before her mother once again. "Sorry, I... couldn't remember her name. The... peasant thing is all I could think of." She couldn't explain it, but something about the blind Earthbender made her, on some level deep down, yearn for her acceptance, her approval. Despite who she was, or perhaps because of it, there had always been something that seemed more often than not to be just beyond Azula's reach, something she simply hadn't acquired the skill set to obtain at will. Friendship. It was rare that she had even met anyone that she desired to be friends with, but when she did, there was an overwhelming compulsion deep down to make that connection, to latch on and not let go.

It had been years since she had last felt it, back when she was a little girl and had just met Ty Lee and Mai. Now, here was this blind little girl from the Earth Kingdom of all places, and Azula once more felt the strange, compelling urge to build a friendship. She just had to not blow it by insulting all Toph's other friends.

"I'm not interested in excuses, princess. We all have names here, and none of them are 'peasant', so if you don't know them then get to asking. If you're going to join the family, you could at least remember our names." Toph told her, her own anger diffusing somewhat as she did. "Something tells me you're not very good at making friends, are you?"

Azula couldn't help but chuckle. "It's as if you can see right through me," she quipped, the irony not at all lost on her counterpart.

"What about the other two dangerous ladies?" Toph asked, and it took Azula a moment to realize she was referring to Mai and Ty Lee. When she did, she let a small smile born of equal parts nostalgia and flattery grace her lips.

"Mai and Ty Lee? We go way back, to a time when I was, shall we say, somewhat less of an evil bitch." The bluntness with which she made the declaration caused the blind girl's eyes to widen in shock, but Azula merely shrugged it off. She never had any delusions about who she was, and as a matter of fact she just so happened to be quite comfortable in her skin. "We were together all throughout our years in the academy, and we got into all manner of mischief. Of course, being royalty meant I could generally get away with just about anything, but still, it was fun all the same."

"Pff, _all manner of mischief_? Please Sunshine, you're talking to a pro here. I've been breakin' rules my whole life, whattya got?"

Tapping her chin, the Firebender thought about it for a minute then recalled one particularly nasty prank they had pulled. "Well, there was this group of about four girls who had decided that making fun of Ty Lee's braid was a good idea. They had the poor girl in tears by the time they were through. When Mai and I finally found them, she pinned them all to a wall and I burned every last hair on their pretty little heads off. Then we showed Ty Lee." Toph couldn't see, but Azula had a small, distant, almost sad smile as she looked back to happier times and remembered the absolute glee that her old friend had shone with. "She was so happy she actually _kissed_ me!"

"What!? No way, she kissed you for lighting some other brats' hair on fire?" asked Toph in complete disbelief. Azula nodded her head.

"Way. Ty Lee adores me, she pretty much always has. Why she even gave up her life in the circus, which was supposedly her calling, just to help me track down my brother and the Avatar." she stated proudly, but then her features darkened as the shadow of guilt came over her. "She gave up everything she loved, just to help me," she said in a hushed tone that was more to herself than her companion, a tone thick with disappointment and regret, "and I treated her so terribly, like she was some sort of pawn. I was awful..." Azula fell back against the wall behind her as if the weight of the realization were a physical blow.

Toph was never really good when it came to comforting people, especially people she hardly knew. It was likely because it meant being serious, and she despised being serious. "Hey now, you're not _that_ awful of a person. At least, not anymore you're not. When you killed Aang you were probably that awful, but now, no way." Azula didn't look up, or even indicate that she had heard a thing Toph had said. Instead she continued to gaze bleakly down at the stone floor, a lost, disappointed look in her eyes. "Look Azula," and she did, her attention shifting up if only because her name sounded so foreign on the other girl's tongue, "if you really feel that bad about how you treated her, that's proof you aren't that same person anymore. It sounds to me like you need to sit down and have a nice long chat with Ty Lee, and tell her you're sorry. If she really does worship you, she'll forgive you."

Azula didn't respond right away, instead allowing the young girl's words to sink in. They were wise far beyond her years, and managed to strike a chord somewhere deep down. "Thank you Toph." was all she said, as it was all she could think to say.

Ever full of bravado, Toph just waved it off. "Don't mention it. It sounds like you two really care about each other, I'd hate to see a friendship ruined because you're too much of a stuck up bitch to admit you were wrong and say you're sorry." The princess chuckled, for someone who lied as much as she did the truth was an easy enough thing to spot in this scenario.

A companionable silence fell upon the two for a few minutes, until Toph decided to break it with an entirely too casual, "So did you let her touch your cooch?"

If Azula had been drinking something, it would have been spit on the floor in that instant, so utterly left field was statement from what she had assumed was a little girl, only to realize now that she was actually just the shortest sailor alive. After picking her jaw up from the floor, she finally managed to cry out, "That's disgusting! What on Earth... I am **not** answering that."

"That means yes!" Toph teased, something that was clearly second nature to her.

"That means you're a gross freak!" Azula fired back, fed up with being harassed by this foul mouthed Earth peasant.

"Oh, get off it. It's not gross when you're doing it yourself, is it?"

Azula huffed, "I'll have you know that I _don't_ do that, it is not proper behavior for a lady." she ranted, and Toph could practically see her sticking her nose up in the air.

The Earthbender was about to make a quip about shooting people with lightning not being ladylike behavior either when something suddenly clicked in her head. "You _don't_? Well gee, that explains a lot." she deadpanned, then added before Azula had a chance to respond, "You know, if you and Zuko ever decide to rock the bed, you might be wishing you had practiced a little with yourself."

Azula's face was as red as the cherries she loved so much, and felt hotter than a bonfire. "I'm through having this conversation with you!" Turning on her heel, she walked briskly in the same direction she had just come from. She wasn't even certain where she was going, but just getting away from Toph and the horrible awkwardness that was this conversation was all that mattered to her at this point.

The Earthbender didn't make to follow, but she did call after her, "Just think of Zu-Zu! It'll come to you!" Her laughter echoed down the hall after Azula, much to the older girl's chagrin.

She walked for a few minutes before Zuko's clearly frustrated voice came floating from down the hall. The Avatar clearly wasn't a very disciplined student, surprise surprise. Azula rolled her eyes, _No point in subjecting myself to _that_ headache_. She took a turn and headed for somewhere else, somewhere that wasn't annoying or disgusting or infuriating. Was it too early to just crawl back into bed?

"Uggh," Azula groaned. This was unbearable. She hadn't bathed in days, had been eating mostly wild animals and whatever else they could manage to find, and to top it all off she was almost completely alone. Sure, she had her brother, but Zu-Zu's company was best administered in small doses. His tendencies for the dramatic and penchant for angst could wear on her nerves something fierce, and the only other person who seemed willing to speak with her in a civil manner was an apparently perverted little blind girl with an eerie tendency of seeing right through people. As much as she would never verbally admit so, Azula missed her friends. She missed...

"Ty Lee?" Azula rubbed her eyes, and still there was that tall, slender figure clad in pink, an unmistakeable brown braid trailing down to her hips. She turned around in a heartbeat and her face instantly lit up as she rushed to close the distance in a flash.

"Azula!" she cried as she threw her arms around her old friend, a little tighter than necessary but that much was to be expected at this point. "I knew we'd find you, what happened, we were so worried, where's Zuko?"

"Ty Lee! Breath." commanded Azula, knowing when to stop the exuberant girl before it got out of hand. Sokka and Katara, who had apparently been the first to 'greet' the newcomers, exchanged looks before the latter addressed Mai.

"Is she always like this?" asked the Waterbender with a humorous note of concern.

"No, she's usually not this tame." the raven-haired girl explained without so much as a hint of caring one way or another about her friend. "We've had a long day though."

Katara looked like she had just been slapped, and Sokka just smacked himself. "Great," he intoned, "the whole gang's here. Let's throw a party."

Ty Lee gazed wide eyed at the tribesman as if he might literally explode like a mine and leaned into towards Azula's ear. "Did you really let these weirdos capture you?" she whispered, just loud enough to subconsciously convey a threat, knowing that the weirdos in question could hear and seeing that she couldn't even pretend they were a threat. Azula knew there was more to Ty Lee than met the eye, she always had, that's why the acrobat was around. Contrary to popular but not so vocal belief, the princess did _not_ associate with idiots. It was a subtle cunning more than a logic and numbers based intelligence, but it was intelligent, and dangerous, nonetheless. Tricking people into underestimating her was far too easy, and she loved a good fight.

"Captured? What on Earth gave you that idea? Ty Lee how did you-"

"You didn't get captured!? Then, that means..." she stared with eyes turned to saucers of disbelief in an instant, "Zuko really did kidnap you..." the saucers filled with overly dramatic tears before Azula could admonish her with a look.

"Ty Lee." she said, as flat as if the girl had told the single most unamusing joke in history. The theatrics haulted immediately. "Zu-Zu didn't kidnap me."

The Water Tribe siblings exchanged equally befuddled expressions, and Sokka couldn't help but mutter clearly, "Is she serious?" looking as if the acrobat had claimed fire made plants grow. Katara could only shrug, an appropriately mirroring look that claimed insanity was plausible and it was probably best left at that.

Azula sighed with the resignation of one who, despite their talents at it, couldn't lie in this situation. "The Avatar... isn't an enemy anymore." She could tell this would require explanation, but at leat this much was expected in case this situation had ever occurred.

"Don't give me that look Ty Lee. When I conquered Ba Sing Se I completed more duties to the Fire Lord than I ever owed. I destroyed the Avatar, brought my brother home, and ended the war, which by the way wasn't even on the to do list. I am free to pursue my own interests at this point."

Azula said it with all the confidence and certainty of a practiced speech, and every eye except for Mai's, who even though she was still impressed knew how to hide it, went wide open in unabashed awe.

"Man she's good." Katara remarked as if she didn't realizing who she was complimenting. Sokka could only shrug.

"Hey I bought it." he remarked as if it were a very well sold product, shrugging and scratching at his chin with his eyes closed.

Ty Lee could only stare. Only Azula could make something like blatant treason sound not only justifiable, but as if it were the right thing to do despite everything else that had happened. She had never successfully won an argument with the princess yet, there was no point in even trying and this much if nothing else she had learned with absolute certainty. "Whatever you say Azula!" It was as if she had never even worried in the first place.

"Wow," a new voice startled everyone, and Toph appeared just a few feet behind Azula, "I can see why you like her Sunshine." Arms crossed, leaning against a wall and sounding every bit like the person who would strike such a pose, a self satisfied smirk to top it all off.

Before Ty Lee could be offended by the remark, Mai interjected by asking, "So where _is_ the Avatar, and Zuko for that matter."

Azula took a breath and Toph's voice rang out, blunt and slightly, perpetually, amused, "Sparky's teaching Aang the basics on, what was it Sokka, jerkbending?"

Sokka laughed, "Pff, yeah, ahh that was a good one." Mai rolled her eyes.

_Joy. Idiots, just what we didn't have enough of_.

"You two still haven't answered _my_ question," Azula accused, retaking control of the conversation the moment she saw the opportunity. Ty Lee and Mai directed their attention to her, perhaps without even thinking about it, and she continued, "how did you find us?"

Azula felt the shift in Ty Lee before she saw it, thanks to their proximity, and then she heard, in the most unsettling tone she had ever heard her friend's voice take, "Because traitors leave an obvious trail."

Before anyone could even react, Ty Lee had her knees to her chest and her feet on Azula's sternum, kicking off and launching the Firebending into the corner of hallway right next to where Toph leaned, back-flipping in the air as she was kicked back and landing with a perfectly balancing arm out and a determination planted on her face that couldn't be shaken by the most horrendous of explosions.

Mai launched a hail of knives on the Water Tribe siblings, but Katara's quick reflexes had a wall of ice up protecting her and her brother. The ice melted and formed a whip in one seamless motion, and Mai only just ducked in time to avoid the business end. She shot a leg out, the device strapped to her ankle launching an arrow for her adversary's shin. Sokka caught the bolt directly where the tip met the shaft with his black sword, constructed of the metal harvested off a meteorite. The metal arrowhead tumbled and struck harmlessly on the thick Water Tribe skin, but Mai was equally unharmed and had regrouped with Ty Lee.

"Ty Lee what the hell!?" Azula's shout, for as menacing as it was, didn't affect the acrobat in the slightest bit as she launched into a renewed charge on the still recovering Firebender, closing the distance at a rate that alarmed the princess.

A wall of Earth exploded into existence between Azula and the charging Ty Lee, but the acrobat lept it without thought, flipping in a ball over the peak of the eight foot construction and landing flawlessly between Toph and Azula on the other side, wasting the space of a blink to set to work striking for specific points on their bodies.

Toph, completely unprepared and far too close to react in time, caught a few quick knuckles and toppled helplessly to the floor, like a puppet with it's strings cut. Azula only just avoided the hasty attacks based on intricate knowledge of her opponent's style. While it saved her for the moment, that same knowledge frightened her as she realized her opponent's style would hit her, sooner or later, and when it did that was the end of it. It was only a matter of time, so she needed to think quickly, but her mind was still somewhat clouded with the confusion of what had happened.

As Mai renewed her projectile assault on the two Water Tribe siblings, it was Katara's turn to defend them as Sokka attempted a counterattack. Closing the distance was the most important thing, he knew this, which is why he dashed ahead with a speed he didn't know his legs had. He attempted an overhead swing, only to feel the vibration and hear the clang that signaled him meeting opposing steel.

Mai had a three point shuriken in her left hand, and with it she had deflected the tribesman's swing, pivoting and spinning on her heel as she did so and only Sokka's eyes were fast enough to watch as she brought her right hand around with her to strike directly for his throat. Katara's water wrapped around her wrist at the last second, pulling the girl off balance for just long enough to allow Sokka the regain his poise.

It was in that close proximity encounter with his would be killer that Sokka noticed her eyes, and just how utterly blank and empty they appeared. "Katara, they're brainwashed! Her eyes are just like Jet's were, I bet Ty Lee's are too!"

Despite her preoccupation with avoiding a series of dangerously accurate punches, Azula heard the observation at the corner of her consciousness. If there was one thing she could do, it was hear, usually orders, over the din of combat. Her training was nothing but it. She examined her friend's eyes, and found a shocking revelation in their dullness. It was as if Ty Lee wasn't even inside her own head, and it turned Azula's stomach.

"Her eyes! It's like..."

"It's like she's not even a person." Katara finished confidently, already knowing the words her ex-adversary was looking for based on personal experience. "She's been brainwashed by the Dai Li."

Azula nearly lost her focus, and consequently her control over her body, when the information clicked. "_My Dai Li_ did this?!" she demanded, sudden fury stoking her internal coals.

"Oh you didn't know?" Sokka carped with a palpable lack of amusement. "Your Dai Lee can brainwash people. Bet you're glad you brought them with you now."

Azula should have been angry with this peasant's presumptuous tone with her, but she was far too blindsided by the revelation that _she_ was ultimately to blame for this. Hell, she didn't even _know_ they could do that, let alone that they would be used against her so... so... _atrociously_. Her own best friends, turned against like she wasn't even a person, let alone a person they had been friends with almost all of their lives.

"What do we do?" she asked without hesitation, recognizing immediately the direness of the situation and valuing the opinions of people who had dealt with this already. Neither Sokka nor Katara seemed to appreciate it for what it was, their own minds agreeing on the importance of dealing with a brainwashed Mai and Ty Lee.

"We have to try and subdue them," Katara commented, striking out at incoming knives and arrows with water turned to ice turned to water as she followed with immediate counter-strikes, buying time if nothing else. "They're still the same people, they just don't have control over their bodies. We can _not _kill them."

Azula would have been offended, if it weren't for the pressing circumstances forcing her thoughts. She realized instantly that they were, at the very least, justified in their assumptions that she would resort to such violent and permanent methods to deal with this situation. She didn't have time to argue at any rate, as Ty Lee lept towards her, fists flashing out to strike positions that Azula could only defend because she knew how to from experience. Those laughably one sided bouts with Ty Lee when they were younger were definitely, surprisingly paying off. She caught Ty Lee's hands at the wrists, knowing to avoid the knuckles at all costs. Pushing the acrobat's arms away and kicking her in the stomach, she managed to buy some time at least to breath.

It was at that absolutely perfect time that Aang and Zuko emerged from the hallway, drawn by the sounds of commotion to call Firebending practice quits for the day. They saw Toph's body lying on the floor at the end of the hallway while still approaching the opening, and so exited the corridor fully prepared for a fight. They just weren't prepared for _who_ they were fighting.

When Zuko caught sight of Mai his initial, unconscious reaction was to step towards her and try to explain himself, but when she launched a shuriken in the direction of his chest without blinking an eye he remembered himself and tried to catch the projectile with a split-second reflex. He was partially successful, stopping the knife before it pierced his chest. He just didn't catch it with his hand.

Zuko cried out as the pain shot through his arm like lightning, blood splattering both his shirt and the ground as the knife tore into his forearm, a handle protruding out one end and the pointy tip poking out the other.

Aang took a step, twirled in mid-air and landed with a swing of his staff that sent a shock-wave of air to intercept Ty Lee in mid-strike against Azula, effectively launching the acrobatic hand to hand master on a tumbling path across the stone floor, only to land on her feet, recovering her balance and poise in a manner usually reserved for felines.

"What the heck's going on?" Aang cried out, taking up a prepared stance with his staff at the ready beside Zuko, who was clutching at his arm and gritting his teeth, small rivulets of blood trickling down to his elbow in a multitude of paths, only to converge at the bend and drip off onto the floor in a steady pattern. He had to regain his focus though, pain was nothing new to Zuko.

Sokka charged the duo while Katara yelled in response, "It's Mai and Ty Lee, they've been brainwashed just like Jet!"

While Zuko regarded it like a foreign language, Aang understood the words instantly, solidifying his resolve to defeat his new opponents in a non-injurious fashion. "Toph, are you okay?" he asked, looking down and behind him to the blind girl lying on the floor, as limp as a boned fish.

"Oh, you know, aside from the fact I can't _see_, I'm just dandy Twinkletoes, thanks for asking." It was the way she said it, as opposed to the words she said, that told Aang his Earthbending teacher would be just fine.

The ringing sound of Sokka clashing with Mai once more caught his attention, and without contemplation Aang stomped the ground, raising his arms as he did and bringing them in towards each other. A cone of Earth erupted from the ground, completely encircling the knife-thrower and clamping in on her before she could react to the new, unexpected type of attack.

It was only Ty Lee left, but if anyone were to underestimate her now they would quickly be wishing they hadn't. She stood prepared to take on an entire battalion of soldiers with only her fists, and no-one was foolish enough to make a hasty first move towards her.

Zuko couldn't help but glance to his sister, noticing her disheveled appearance and considering what had happened. She had probably been the most unexpecting person to be attacked by Ty Lee, and that had likely cost her a good deal of pain. This momentary distraction would be his undoing though, as Ty Lee rushed the Firebending prince with a speed he had never seen nor expected from the acrobat, leaping over his head in a flip and striking out at his shoulder blades with precision strikes. When she landed neatly on her feet, Zuko landed brusquely on his face, grunting in frustration as the air was knocked out of him by his sudden encounter with gravity.

Ty Lee didn't waste a second in striking towards Aang, who was only able to raise a guard in time because Zuko had been unlucky enough to be her first target. Knuckle struck wood again and again as the acrobat searched tirelessly for an opening, and it was all the Avatar could do to keep up with his staff. At this rate, he worried about the possibility of it being broken, and at just that moment his opponent seemed to be thinking the same thing. She reared back and prepared a blow that would shatter the annoying piece of wood, but just before she could strike a pair of arms wrapped around her, pinning her own arms to her sides.

"You need to stop her **now!**" Azula shouted, and an agreeable census arose with her decree. She knew her hold wouldn't last, she just didn't anticipate how it would be broken. Ty Lee brought her heel up with all the strength of her leg, catching the princess in a spot that, contrary to popular belief, still hurt like all _hell_, much to Azula's surprise. Tossing her head back, Ty Lee reverse headbutted her leader, breaking free from the hold as Azula clutched at her nose, blood pouring out over her hand and seeping through her fingers in an instant.

"_OW_, dammit Ty Lee!" she screamed, the idea of immolating her friend being briefly considered as it flitted through her mind. Even if she did want to, however, it wouldn't be that easy. Just hitting Ty Lee was an accomplishment not many could claim, and for good reason. The girl was quick, a fact she demonstrated again and again as she dodged, ducked, and tumbled away from water whips, sword swipes and air attacks as if she were a master toying with her students.

Those grey, empty eyes only ever came back to Azula though, and the Firebender felt suddenly very vulnerable with her lack of stance and hand covering half of her face. Ty Lee saw her opportunity and took it without hesitation, dashing for her prey with zero regard for anybody else.

Since her bending was out of the question, Azula decided she would have to fight dirty. She stepped back and twisted her body to avoid a knuckle aimed at her shoulder, then promptly flicked her own blood into Ty Lee's eyes. Brainwashed or not, she couldn't help but blink as the liquid made contact, and it was enough of a distraction for Azula to reach behind the girl and latch on to her braid with her left hand, at the same time slipping her leg in between and behind the other girl's. She yanked hard on the braid and pulled her leg back towards herself, sending Ty Lee to the ground with ease.

Azula fell on top of her friend without hesitation, straddling the girl right below her bust while pinning her arms at the elbows with her knees. Ty Lee thrashed with vehement malice, snarling like some feral animal and even snapping her jaws at one point in a futile, but no less frightening, attempt to bite her oppressor. Azula struggled to remain on top of the other girl, but the real challenge was keeping those arms pinned down, and to make things just perfect, blood was still just freely pouring down her face and dripping all over herself and her friend. At a loss for what to do, she did the only thing that made sense and socked Ty Lee square in the jaw with a blood-soaked fist, a wet _pop_ resounding as her knuckles met bare skin and left an angry crimson smear on the girl's cheek.

Ty Lee raged over the blow, murderous intent set in her listless grey eyes as she renewed her thrashing attempts for freedom. Using her legs for leverage, she lifted herself up just enough to wiggle one arm out, but instead of striking for a pressure point, she reached up and grabbed a handful of Azula's hair, yanking it hard enough to jerk the Firebender's head to one side and cause her to yell out in pain. Her golden eyes narrowed and locked onto empty grey ones that mirrored her own with a look that said one thing.

It was on.

Azula grabbed the hand and pried the fingers off of her hair, but Ty Lee had little trouble pulling her hand out thanks to the slick blood covering the other girl's palm. She grabbed for something, anything, but in the struggle of limbs all she managed was to tear Azula's shirt at the shoulder, causing it to sag just down to the first hint of creamy flesh that budded outwards. Small red droplets began to immediately adorn the exposed skin in stark contrast. Ty Lee bucked like a wild animal, desperate to be free but Azula refused to be moved. She did bounce though. A lot.

Sokka had gone from focused combatant to eager spectator with all the astounding self control of a hog-monkey. Aang's curiosity had been similarly piqued right around the shirt ripping, but he still felt he needed to do something. "We should help her." he said, stepping towards the two girls only to have a hand stop him.

"We can't interfere Aang, it's against the rules." Sokka told him, but the younger boy looked at him with blatant, outright confusion.

"What rules? What are you talking about Sokka?"

"You know, _the_ rules. This is an officially sanctioned catfight, we, as men, cannot break it up or otherwise interfere with it's outcome." he explained as if there were a handbook on the subject and he knew it by heart. The sound of fabric tearing once more commanded the attention of both boys, and Aang nodded sagely.

"You're right Sokka, I think it might be best to let them work this out on their own. They're friends after all, right?"

"You _bitch!_" Azula screamed in response to another attack on her attire, and then proceeded to smack Ty Lee across the face with enough force to turn the girl's head.

Sokka answered with a devilish grin, "Yep. Best friends."

Zuko's luck never seemed to run out. Unfortunately for him, all he had was bad luck. He had landed facing away from where the action currently was, instead staring across the dusty stone floor to Toph who was also relegated to lying motionless on the floor. "What's going on?" he more demanded than asked, an unsettling, anxious feeling growing in the pit of his stomach from being able to hear the skirmish but nothing more.

"How the hell should I know?" Toph fired back with an obvious lack of amusement. "I wish I could see, it sounds like it's getting good."

"Can't you like, I don't know, see anyways? I mean, you're obviously blind, but that's never seemed to stop you."

"Sorry Sparky, I use Earthbending to 'see', and so long as my chi's blocked I'm as blind as, well, me."

Zuko groaned, and then more fabric was heard ripping. He cursed his stupid luck. It was either Azula's or Ty Lee's clothes getting ripped, and either way, it would have been at least nice to watch.

Katara stomped past her brother despite his protesting, determined to end this quickly deteriorating scuffle. "This has gone on long enough, we need to subdue Ty Lee."

Her brother didn't appear to share the sentiment. "What's the rush? I think they deserve a little more time together, this could get interesting." Katara opened her mouth to disagree, but then stopped to actually take in the situation.

Azula, someone she had thoroughly despised not more than a week ago, was literally a bloody mess. Her usually perfect, pristine hair was hanging around her head in dirty clumps with stray strands poking out in random directions here and there. Her clothes were torn in several places, in some spots coming dangerously close to obscene, and everything from her skin to her outfit and even the girl underneath her was splattered and smeared with her own blood. It took Katara a moment to realize that the entire scene was actually somewhat gratifying, considering who it was.

More ripping, followed immediately by Aang calling out to a distracted Sokka, "It got more interesting!"

Azula made to backhand Ty Lee, but the acrobat saw it coming and turned her head to greet the vulnerable hand, catching the side in her teeth and biting down hard enough to break skin and draw more of the princess' blood.

Azula howled from both pain and rage, screaming with primal rage, "_OW!_ MY FUCKING _HAND!_" Enough was enough, and Azula was absolutely fed up with this shit. Taking her other hand she grabbed the side of Ty Lee's head, raised it a few inches and then promptly and mercilessly bashed it into the stone beneath, the resulting dull thud causing the three spectators to all wince visibly.

A livid, disheveled Azula covered in blood and a tattered shirt that looked about three threads away from not being a shirt anymore sitting on top of her was easily the last thing Ty Lee had ever expected to wake up to. Well, almost the last thing, at any rate. "Azula?" she asked tentatively as if she didn't quite believe what she was seeing.

Azula blinked, her arms freezing just before administering a second bashing. Her mouth hung open, and she blinked again before finally responding. "Ty Lee, is that really you?"

The girl giggled, "Who else would I be silly?" Ty Lee's eyes went wide as her senses came back enough for her to fully appreciate her friend's appearance. "Azula, you're covered in blood, what happened?! And your shirt, it's-" she paused to fully consider the damage, then leaned her head a few inches closer, eyes wide as she whispered conspiratorially, "Azula, your shirt is _really_ ripped, I can practically see your royal parts!"

"_YOU_ happened Ty Lee!" Azula told her, at last convinced that the girl was no longer a threat and reassigning her hands to wardrobe protection detail.

"I... what?" Ty Lee breathed in disbelieving confusion. Finally having a chance to take in her surroundings, the acrobat looked around and noticed the two bodies lying motionless on the floor. It was hard to argue with the evidence on display in front of her face, but that presented an entirely new problem. "But I don't remember doing any of that! I-"

And that's when her pain receptors decided to kick back on. "OW ow owwie owowowow _Oww!_" One side of her face stung, the other throbbed, and the back of her head felt like it had been split open with an axe that was still lodged in there. She grabbed for the back of her head, that most intense of all her pains commanding her attention first, and felt slick, warm goo coating her palms. Her face turned horror-stricken when she reviewed her hands, "Uhhhzula, I don't... feel, so..." and with that she promptly fainted. Or passed out, perhaps, would be a more accurate description.

Katara rushed forward to examine the damage, lifting Ty Lee's head gingerly and feeling the cut on the back of her scalp. Her eyes widened, "Jeez Azula, why didn't you just slam her head a little bit harder and crush her skull?!"

"She was trying to take a chunk out of my hand!" the still very much irate Firebender shot back defensively.

"She was brainwashed!" Katara admonished while calling the water from her skin and forming a small cap around the injured girl's head.

Azula fumed, but didn't continue the argument, looking down instead at her friend and feeling a sudden knot forming in her stomach. She hesitated before asking in a much calmer, almost scared voice, "Will she be okay?"

Katara shook her head, "I don't know. I've stopped the bleeding but her skull... I'll do my best."

Zuko and Toph still remained as they were, but with the fight clearly over the former was beginning to get antsy. "Hey, what's going on? Seriously guys, this is starting to get old."

Azula looked over towards the two and then called to the boys still standing, "Come on, the least we can do is sit them up against a wall."

Approaching her brother she looked down, something between annoyance and amusement hiding behind all the blood on her face. She looked as though she had been eating someone's heart while it was still beating, and Zuko knew he had never seen her look worse, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "You look pretty rough."

Azula practically snorted, "At least I can move." She nudged him in the side with her foot to emphasize the point, smirking with satisfaction all the while.

Sokka walked up looking down at Zuko, then trailed his eyes up Azula's body until he met with a lethal pair of golden eyes. Despite the death glare, her voice was sultry and low as she told him, "Look at me like I'm a piece of meat one more time, _Sokka_," the way she said his name made him shudder from both excitement and terror, "and I'll cook you like one. Then I'll eat you." Given her appearance, he couldn't help but believe her threat, and so nodded his head rapidly to convey his understanding. "Good, now help me lift Zu-Zu, he's a big boy."

In no short order, there was a line of bodies sitting against one of the walls, every one of them looking worse for wear but some more than others. Azula sat with arms crossed and looking like something out of a horror story, Zuko next to her with his head hanging limply against a shoulder and a knife sticking out of his arm. Next to him sat Sokka followed by Aang, both appearing more or less unscathed, the few specks of blood on their clothes not belonging to themselves, and at the end was Toph, also limp but otherwise unhurt, save for a harmless bruise on her cheek where her face had violently met the floor upon her collapse.

Katara finished with Ty Lee, a grim look on her face that said she had done all she could, and hoped it was enough. Standing, she looked to the other girl, forgotten in her Earthen cone prison and still entirely under the hypnotic control of the Dai Li's brainwashing methods, as attested to by her blank, more expressionless than usual eyes. "So what do we do about her?"

Nobody responded immediately, though it was apparent to Katara that her brother wanted to. Toph's voice rose up to break the silence after it was clear nobody else would, "We could have Azula knock some sense into her."

Everybody chuckled, including Azula, except for Sokka who was outraged. "What!? If I had said that, _which I wanted to_, I would have gotten hit!"

"Yes, you would have." Azula agreed, then reached across her brother to punch Sokka in the arm, and when he demanded what that was for she replied simply, "For thinking it."

Aang shook his head, getting back to the important subject of Mai. "I think we need to find a way to bring her back that doesn't involve brain damage or crushing skulls."

"So much for the fun way." Azula cajoled with a derisive gesture of her hand. "So how do we do it? I assume you have experience with this?"

Aang nodded, "Yes, back in Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li brainwashed one of our friends, Jet, and used him against us. I was able to get through to him by reminding him who he was, of what it meant to be a Freedom Fighter. What we need is something that resonates with her deeper emotions. Got any ideas?"

Azula and Zuko exchanged identically knowing looks before the former remarked, "Right... so, skull bashing it is."

Aang blanched, "What!? I just told you what you need to do-!"

"What you told me is that we need to get through to Mai emotionally, in which case, I'm afraid we're out of luck. In case you haven't noticed, Mai isn't exactly the touchy feely type, she's about as emotional as a rock." Azula explained, then huffed in annoyance at the disbelieving stares she was receiving. "Even if she was, I wouldn't have a clue how to go about triggering them, she's not exactly... my..." turning her head as she spoke, she met Zuko's eyes as she said at last, "girlfriend."

Zuko's features hardened with determination. "Right, I'll see what I can do." After a moment of nothing happening, he added with much less intent, "Uhh, after I can move, that is."

After an adequate amount of time had passed and Zuko could finally move again, he got up on shaky legs and made his way over to his brainwashed girlfriend. He peered into her eyes, and though they looked right back at him, he could just _feel_ that she wasn't looking at him, those dull, listless eyes seeming to look right through him, focusing on nothing in particular. It was like looking at someone you knew intimately and seeing someone else altogether. It was an eerie feeling to say the least.

Summoning up the courage, Zuko leaned in to kiss her, pressing his lips to hers as he had done so many times before, only for them to be as unresponsive as a corpse's, though at least warmer. Nothing.

"Mai, it's me Zuko! Don't you remember me Mai? Don't you remember us?"

Mai stirred, then blinked, and when her eyes opened again they were bright and focused once more. Zuko couldn't believe it, nothing was ever that easy for him. "Mai?"

"Zuko." she replied evenly, then frowned. "You stupid asshole. Somebody let me out of here so I can hit him."

Nope, never that easy.

Aang couldn't believe it, "I thought you woke her up, why is she still trying to attack?!"

"I don't know!" Zuko replied, much to Mai's displeasure.

"You don't know? You don't know!? How about because you broke up with me in a _letter_, Zuko! You couldn't even tell me to my face as you ripped my heart out." Mai's voice actually being raised was a sure sign that she was absolutely furious, and Zuko found himself glad she was still encased in stone.

"Sounds like she's herself again, just a little ticked off at Zuko, but I think we can all understand that feeling." Toph announced before taking the liberty to free their new guest.

"Thank you." Mai said, then redirected her attention to the boy with the scar, looking him up and down as if deciding on something. "I would hit you, but it looks like you already got what you deserve."

She grabbed the knife, telling Zuko, "Hold still." before yanking it out without so much as blinking, then examined the blood, sticking her tongue out in disgust as she did so. Grabbing for Zuko's shirt, she wiped the blood off before he even had a chance to react, and his affronted expression caused Mai to explain, "What? It's your blood Zuko, it's not like I'm going to wipe it off on _my_ shirt. If you didn't want to be covered in your own blood, you shouldn't have gotten hit."

Azula couldn't help but smirk from where she sat against the wall, it was comforting to see some of her influence had rubbed off on her friend. The way she made Zuko's injury seem like it was his own fault was as priceless and sweet on her tongue as an exotic chocolate.

"You threw it at me!" he cried in outrageous disbelief, only to earn a shrug in response.

"And you _deserve_ a second one, so consider yourself lucky." She glared at him, silently challenging the Firebender to say something else, but even Zuko knew better this time. "Seriously Zuko, you brought _Azula_ but you couldn't even bother to ask me if maybe I wanted to run off with you. If I didn't know any better I'd think _she_ was your girlfriend."

Azula, outside the scope of either's attention, ground her fingers into her eyes, already seeing this disaster coming a mile away. _He's gonna blow it he's gonna blow it he's gonna blow it..._

"I'm sorry Mai, really, I just... didn't want to get you in any trouble. We're committing treason here!" Tossing his arms out in emphasis, Zuko then felt it necessary to explain his sister's involvement, "And if you're surprised to see Azula here, then I guess you don't know her as well as you should. She probably knew what I was planning back at Ba Sing Se."

Azula looked up, apparently trying to decide whether or not what she had just heard was real. Zuko, against all the odds, actually pulled off a successful lie without it all blowing up in his face. To be fair, it was really only a lie of omission, but she was willing to let the point stand so long as he didn't cave. Mai's eyes shifted over to the princess, and she answered with a look that challenged her friend to question the situation, if she dared. After a moment of silent deliberation, Mai shrugged. That's when she noticed Ty Lee lying unconscious on the floor.

"What happened to her?" she asked with a hint of urgency, which for Mai translated to deep concern.

Azula hesitated before answering. "I happened." Mai was just about to shout at her when she hastily added, "She didn't leave me any choice! You were both brainwashed and she was absolutely feral. She bit me!" Azula held her hand up as evidence, angry red dots marking the side of her hand in an arcing pattern.

"What did you do to her?" Mai demanded with uncharacteristic anger, forcing Azula to respond in kind lest she lose face.

"I knocked her out."

"How?"

"I... knocked her head against the ground, somewhat." Despite her best attempts to say it casually, even Azula knew it sounded pretty lame, as did Mai, if her suddenly contorted features were any indication.

"Maybe someone should bash _your_ head into the ground, it might knock some of the bitch out of you!" shouted Mai as her hand went reflexively for a knife.

Azula ignored the multiple snickers at her expense and focused her concentration on her 'friend'. "You wouldn't dare." she challenged, carefully pronouncing every word to emphasize the warning.

Without hesitation Mai let a dagger fly, and it was all Zuko could do to throw an arm out and attempt to intercept the thing. To his credit, he actually caught it in his hand this time. To his discredit, he caught it _in_ his hand, not with it, causing him to cry out in pain as he was yet again pierced by one of his ex-girlfriend's knives.

Katara stood with her hands on her hips and a motherly scold on her face. "Going for the trifecta, or are we done getting stabbed by knives for the day?"

Zuko had to bite down on the inside of his lips to keep himself from screaming, and after a moment he was able to nod in response to Katara. Rolling her eyes, she called her water out once more and gestured for Mai to kindly remove her knife, which she was happy to oblige. She yanked the blade out quickly to reduce the pain, and Zuko readily offered his sleeve, already knowing the direction this was heading in. _At least it was already red to begin with,_ he told himself.

As Katara's glowing water brought sweet relief to the scarred Firebender, Aang took the opportunity to broker peace amongst the group. "Guys, now that the brainwashing, err, crisis, is over, can we stop fighting? I think I've seen more blood today than I have in all my life."

Mai couldn't stop herself from mumbling, "Just wait until Azula starts her-"

"Mai I will incinerate you where you stand!"

Katara couldn't stop a snort from escaping, whereas a confused Aang could only ask innocently, "Starts what?"

"Nevermind Twinkletoes, you don't want to know, it would just give you nightmares." As always, it was Toph to the rescue, her quick wit bringing about a healthy group laugh that even Azula found herself smirking along with, even if she did refrain from outright laughter.

After a busy afternoon of healing, Katara had a waterskin that was filled with more blood than water, so she set off to find a decent source of water to rinse and refill at. "If Ty Lee wakes up, she should probably remain lying down, and absolutely NO strenuous activity. I still don't know how stable that wound is and the last thing we want is for it to reopen internally without us knowing about it. It could flood the inside of her skull with blood, and I'm no doctor but I'm pretty sure that would end badly." After everyone nodded their understanding, she set off, along with Sokka, after he insisted that she shouldn't travel alone in "enemy territory". After a short-lived debate, the Waterbender finally just gave in, deciding that the importance of finding more water outranked that of proving her brother to be an overly paranoid idiot.

Aang let a few minutes of uncomfortable silence pass before piping up, "Sooo... if you guys are done trying to kill each other, I'm going to go look for some food for me and Appa. We missed lunch with all this excitement." After it was clear there weren't going to be any objections, he snapped his glider open and took to the skies, disappearing from sight less than a minute later.

Azula stared at Mai who stared straight back, flicking her eyes to Zuko who looked torn between running and breaking down. Noone spoke a word, and the tension mounted to a palpable level until Toph couldn't take it anymore.

"Will one of you just say something already. If you're worried about it getting weird in here, you can relax; we're way past that point."

"I'm just waiting for Zuko to start explaining." Mai said with a calm impatience.

"But I already-"

"Already lied to me? Gee, why am I not surprised at that." she deadpanned, rolling her eyes at the blank, frozen expression she was receiving and elucidating, "Azula figured out that you were planning to join the Avatar and just decided she would come with you? Come on Zuko, you can't possibly expect me to just believe that. Not even Ty Lee is that gullible."

"She's got a point Zu-Zu." Well he held onto that point just as long as he possibly could have.

"Aww, just go ahead and tell her Sparky, she kind of deserves an explanation." Zuko was really starting to get tired of Toph's annoying habit of insinuating herself into other people's business. He would have told her as much if it weren't for the fact he already had one angry, dangerous girl on his hands. Technically two, if he counted Azula, but he couldn't really count her as she was an inevitability. Her anger was a matter of when, not if, and for now he was in the clear. It was the big victories that kept him going.

Zuko scratched absently at the back of his neck, saying, "It's... complicated."

"I'll just bet." Mai replied with all the enthusiasm of a wall.

"It's... well, me and Azula... or rather, Azula and I... well, we're kind of, sort of... I actually don't know what to call it."

"Looks like I stole your boyfriend, Mai." Azula supplied helpefully, sounding not one bit guilty about it either.

Zuko expected Mai to be angry, to hit him, to scream. He expected a lot of things honestly, but her reaction was most definitely not one of them. "So it finally happened, huh?"

Zuko looked dumbfounded and Azula wanted to slap herself. Toph was laughing.

"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Zuko, which actually elicited a mirthless chuckle from Mai.

"Please Zuko, there's been a little bit more than 'sibling rivalry' between you two longer than I care to remember." She gave him a look that dared him to argue otherwise, which he wisely did not.

After a moment, Zuko found the courage to ask with guarded optimism, "Sooo... you're not mad at me?"

"Of course I'm mad at you Zuko. You dumped me for your sister and left a letter telling me you were turning traitor. Seeing as you've already taken two of my knives though, I don't see much use in staying mad at you."

Zuko blinked, "Really?" That's when he caught the smack across his bad cheek.

"Your sister Zuko!? As if suddenly deciding to join the Avatar isn't bad enough, but seriously? What the hell are you thinking!" Zuko suddenly found himself regretting telling her that he enjoyed seeing her angry.

He held his hands up in a gesture that was equal parts platitude and self defense before finally admitting, "I don't even know anymore, to be honest."

"Why doesn't that surprise me." Zuko heard from not one, not two, but three directions in fact. He couldn't decide who to glare at first, the girlfriend he dumped, the source of all his woes, or the nosey little girl that didn't even know him enough to make such a remark.

"Look," he said a little more forcefully than he meant to, "I didn't plan on everything happening like this. I finally thought about what Uncle was trying to tell me, the questions that really matter; who am I, and what do I want? So maybe I don't know what I want right now," Zuko looked from his girlfriend to his sister, then back again, "but I _do_ know what I _don't_ want. I don't want my dad's insane genocidal plans to go through, and I don't want to live in a world that hates and fears my home and my people."

"That's why I decided I was going to join the Avatar, to teach him Firebending and hopefully help him restore the balance, before it's too late. Azula..." his gaze flicked over to the girl in question and he was already kicking himself for what he was about to say, "was never part of the plan."

"Gee, doesn't that just make me feel so _special_." Azula said with smothering derision, and Mai quietly took a step away from Zuko. If he thought those knives were painful...

"You know what I mean Azula. That night in your room... I never planned on that night, I never planned on that kiss. But I'm glad it happened, and I'm glad you're here with me now." Zuko told her with a small but honest smile, the kind that lit up his face with all the lost innocence of his childhood and was as rare for him as her own smile was for her. Azula felt just as she had that night, her heart beating too fast and too hard while her chest burned and breathing had become harder than it should have been.

"Well," she began, pushing herself up along the wall and, despite it all, managing to sound perfectly level-headed, "I have only nearly died three times in the last week, so I suppose it's been fun to say the least." Azula let her own smile slip when she met his eyes, and Zuko knew enough to know an 'I'm glad I'm here too' when he heard one.

Azula stepped up next to Zuko, sliding an arm around his back as he placed one across her shoulders, and together they stood in triumphant defiance of all the world, looking every bit ready to fight it. Mai knew enough to know that, together, they had a pretty good chance of winning too.

"So this is what it is." Azula announced to her friend without a hint of reluctance. "Any questions?"

Mai looked Azula right in the eye, something she was one of the very few people who could do for any extended period without cracking, then said with complete neutrality, "Have you guys had lunch yet? I'm starving."

"Lunch sounds great!"

All eyes shot to the supposedly "unconscious" girl still lying on the ground, who appeared to believe that if she just remained perfectly still, everyone would forget that they had all just heard her speak. Needless to say, it didn't work.

Azula rolled her eyes, demanding without sounding like it, "Ty Lee, how long have you been awake?"

Obviously busted, Ty Lee gave up her charade as if she hadn't even tried in the first place, springing to her feet in a single, impossible movement while simultaneously answering with a sly, taunting, "Long enough to know you and Zuko kissed." Before Azula could even protest her sudden movements, the acrobat closed the distance between them to encase her friend in a hug, adding with far too much enthusiasm, "Azula I'm so happy for you!"

"Yes, well, do try to contain your excitement, I don't want you dying on me."

Ty Lee pulled back abruptly, looking at Azula as if the girl had just grown antlers as she sputtered, "What!?"

Before Azula could explain, Mai interrupted, "You have to take it easy Ty, or else your skull might flood with blood." Ty Lee's eyes grew three sizes and her lips trembled from the sudden fear that pulsed through her veins. "You can thank Azula for that."

Even Azula couldn't help but wince as she cursed the other girl who just knew how to rub salt in a wound. She would have set her on fire if it weren't for the much more pressing issue of Ty Lee to contend with. One look at that trembling lip and she knew she was in for it.

"You... you hurt me, Azula?"

"Ty Lee I'm sorry, but you didn't exactly leave me any choice!" It was a pretty lame excuse even by her standards, but Azula just didn't know what else to say. "Look what you did to me!"

Upon revealing the bite marks on the side of her hand, the acrobat's demeanor went from confused and hurt to shocked and appalled in the space of a heartbeat. "I did that... to you?"

"Well, not exactly. Ty Lee, you were brainwashed, it wasn't your fault, you weren't in control of your actions."

"But I still hurt you..."

"And I hurt you, so as far as I'm concerned, we're even." Azula knew it was a lie, knew what she had done was uncalled for and far worse, but she also knew this was the only way she was going to calm Ty Lee down and talk some sense into her. "Look, I'm really sorry for hurting you Ty Lee, but right now it's really important that you sit down and take it easy."

Glancing nervously from Azula to Mai, Ty Lee could see the seriousness of the situation in their eyes, and so taking her friend's advice, she sat down with her back against a large stone pillar. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Ty Lee reached behind her head to touch the bandage, cringing when she felt a fragment of her own skull move under her finger tips.

"Am I- am I going to die?"

"No!" Azula shot back almost defensively, almost as if by saying it forcefully enough she could force the belief to be true, even if the exact opposite was a very real possibility. Ignoring the concerned looks of apprehension she added in a much calmer tone, "Katara said you should be fine, you just have to take it easy and wait for her to get back. And stop messing with it!"

Ty Lee's hand practically teleported back to her lap and she gave a nervous, sheepish grin. Rolling her eyes, Azula asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Tongue sticking out, Ty Lee only had to think about it for a few seconds, then replied, "Just one; who's Katara?"

Leave it to Ty Lee to ask the one question Azula hadn't anticipated. "You've met."

* * *

Some time later, the two siblings from the Southern Water Tribe returned with much commotion, clearly arguing about some trivial matter or another, as they were prone to do Azula had noticed over these last few days. It almost reminded her of two other siblings she knew.

"All I'm saying is we had the time, we could have caught some fish!" The loud one.

"And I'm saying we should spend as little time out in the open as possible!" The louder one.

"Oh, so now I have to suffer through _another_ meal of nuts and fruits with no meat because you're afraid of messenger hawks." The screechy one.

"_You_ should be _thankful_ you have anything to eat at all while hiding out as a fugitive in a foreign country. And weren't _you_ the one who was going on about 'enemy birds'?" The preachy one.

The two emerged from the cave still going on, apparently, about fish, and the ramifications of remaining out in the open in the hopes of catching them. Azula couldn't believe it, and silently re-evaluated whether or not she could return home and still claim a plausible deniability in Zuko's scheme. If this was the intellectual maturity of the Avatar's group, then they had about the same chance of winning the war as a snowball did of surviving a volcano.

When it became clear that the bickering had no end in sight, Azula decided she would do the humane thing and mediate. By throwing a fireball at their feet. It had the desired effect, as it only took a heartbeat for the argument to die and the two siblings to prepare themselves for a fight, Sokka with his black sword in hand and Katara streaming water out of the skin at her hip. Everybody else was taken just as much by surprise, and the room slowly prepared for an all out brawl, all except for Azula who casually inspected her nails as the last of the embers faded out of existence at Katara and Sokka's feet.

Feeling their disbelieving eyes upon her, Azula perked up, asking with a smug countenance, "Oh, are you two quite finished?" as if she he hadn't done a thing wrong.

Katara tripped over her own words as seething outrage bubbled up inside her like water in a kettle. "What- Are you _kidding_ me!? You just attacked us you psycho!"

Azula put on a face that mimicked someone falsley accused of stealing food from an orphan, "I did no such thing. I was merely trying to get your attention, lo and behold, it appears to have worked."

Sokka's arm fell as limply as his face. "She's kidding, right?"

Katara ignored her brother, instead demanding, "Where is Aang!"

"Oh, going to tell the Avatar on me are we peasant? Well I'm afraid you're out of luck, he isn't here at the moment." Azula took delight in the way the girl's face twisted with anger at the insult, then smirked deviously. "There's no telling how long he'll be gone, or what might happen in that time."

Katara glared ice spikes at Azula, stance firm and ready to strike out at a moment's notice. Azula stared right back, standing deceptively casually, an insult to how far beneath her she believed the Waterbender to be in terms of fighting capability, though she was still mentally prepared for anything. It was Mai that finally broke the tense silence.

"Are you two going to fight already or what?"

The staredown ensued for a few more seconds before Katara finally declared, "No, I'm not stooping to her level."

This of course, caused Azula to let out a short, barking laugh. "Is that really the best grasp of physics you barbarians have? That stooping involves rising exponentially upwards?" If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was claw her way under someone's skin, picking at all the right spots to get the reaction she wanted.

Without warning, Katara spun around, a lash of water already hurling through the air towards the infuriating Firebender. Azula ducked easily, anticipating the attack with minimal effort. Spinning and lashing out with one leg, she sent a crescent of dazzling blue flame toward her opponent, aimed right for the knees. Twirling and stepping to the side, Katara dodged the attack with hardly a thought, bringing her tentacle of water around with her and re-lashing out at Azula as she closed the distance in a crouching sprint, this time heading straight for the Firebender like a spear.

Leaning to one side, Azula prepared to roll out of the way of the attack, but at the last second the water split in two, creating a scissors around her. Instead of rolling, she used the leg she had placed all her weight upon to leap high into the air, bringing her other leg along with a trail of fire down in a flying axe-kick that struck right at the center of her opponent's attack. In the ensuing clash, steam hissed like a thousand angry rat-vipers and the remnants of Katara's water splashed harmlessly to the floor.

In all the commotion, Sokka saw fit to raise his sword in an attempt to come to his sister's aide, only to have a knife strike the wall not an inch away from his head.

Mai's voice had a foreboding, dead finality to it when she told him, "Stay out of it." It worked wonders.

Katara had to throw her arms up to shield herself from the heat of the steam as her water met Azula's fire, and in that briefest of distractions the latter seized her opportunity, closing the distance and grabbing the girl by the collar of her robe, her other hand raised with two fingers pointing like daggers at the girl's throat. In the adrenaline filled thrill of victory, she almost didn't notice the sharp, cold point poking against her throat. Almost.

Peering down, Azula caught glimpse of the icicle pressing against her skin, in direct line with a rather large and important vein if she remembered correctly. Katara held the makeshift weapon in her hand with all the steadiness of a surgeon, a look in her deep blue eyes that said she was ready if Azula was.

Such was the scene when Aang decided to come gliding back in with a sack full of scavenged nuts and fruits. Upon landing, he immediately noticed the tense standoff and felt bombarded by a wave of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Before he could even say anything though, Toph took note of his arrival and decided to announce it.

"Hey Twinkletoes, welcome back!" If she was at all concerned about the situation, her voice certainly didn't show it. She sounded more as if she were watching a show with actors than a fight between her friends. "What took ya so long?"

As if it was her cue, Katara let the icicle she had been holding melt harmlessly and swatted Azula's hand away as if she were a child. She proceeded to stomp towards the Avatar with a righteous fury in her eyes, shouting as she went, "Where were you!? That psycho attacked Sokka and me, she's insane!"

"I did no such thing." Azula countered with an astounding calmness. Katara couldn't believe her ears.

"You did too! You shot fire at us you-!"

"If I had shot _at_ you, you would be burned, not the floor. I was merely getting your attention, and breaking up an argument that otherwise had no apparent end in sight." Azula interrupted, pointing out the technicalities like it was a pastime of hers. Then again, it probably was. "In fact, it was _you_ who so brazzenly attacked _me_, I was merely defending myself from your barbaric assault."

Katara's jaw nearly hit the floor, exasperated stutters being the only sound she could muster as she tried her hardest to melt the Firebender with her glare alone. Needless to say, it didn't work.

Aang rubbed at his temples, sighing as he did so. "Alright, it doesn't look like any permanent damage was done, so I think it's best if we all just-"

"No permanent damage!? That's not the point Aang, she attacked us, she's crazy we can't have her around. She's tried to kill us all before she'll do it again, it's in her blood!"

Before Aang had a chance to respond, an unnatural wind picked up and surreal clouds came blowing in from multiple directions, meeting at the point where the Avatar was standing and swirling around and around until the boy was completely obscurred from view. Just as suddenly as they had come in, the clouds shot outwards and were gone. So too was the Avatar gone, or at least, the young Avatar was. In his place stood a much taller, much older man with a great white beard, hair of the same shade that dropped past his shoulders, adorned on top with a top knot and a golden, double pronged crown. He wore long, flowing robes of a grand crimson shade. His eyes burned with a white light in the instant he had appeared, dulling to a more natural appearance a moment later but still containing a power that burned just beneath the surface.

"Avatar Roku..." both Katara and Sokka breathed simultaneously with a shared awe.

"Do you know what else is in her blood?" Roku asked in a gravelly voice that echoed with a supernatural quality. The siblings from the Water Tribe both stared in silent astonishment, while Zuko took the opportunity to bow respectfully.

"Great-grandfather."

Of all the people shocked to hear this, there was none more so than Azula. "You don't actually mean..."

"Yes, my child. I am your great-grandfather. Though it does not surprise me that Sozin would hide your ancestry, it does sadden me greatly. I have no one to blame for this mess but myself, regrettably." The wizened old Avatar looked down as he remembered the failures of his past and contemplated all the atrocities that followed, from those that affected the entire world to the one's that affected his own family.

"My failure to prevent this war has thrown the world out of balance, and caused great hardships to befall many families, including my own." He looked from Katara and Sokka to Azula and Zuko, letting his meaning sink in before continuing. "But now, there is a chance to right the wrongs of the past. Know this, the path you have chosen is not what was foreseen, and it may not lead to as happy a place as you anticipate..." at this, he seemed almost regretful before looking back up with a firm resolution set in his eyes, "It will not be an easy path to walk, but the right choice is often the hardest one. Together, I know the two of you can restore honor to our great nation, and help return balance to the world."

There was a sly glint in the past Avatar's eye as he concluded, "You're the descendants of an Avatar, afterall."

In his next breath, Roku addressed the entirety of the group, "You have all faced many hardships to reach this point, and there are still many more to come. I believe, however, that together you will overcome these, just as you have every previous obstacle. Though some of you were once enemies, the fate of the world hinges upon whether or not you can put aside your differences and work with one another. With Aang's guidance, I know you can do it."

Then, just as suddenly as it had happened the first time, the clouds came rolling back in, and when they disappeared this time, it was once more Aang whom stood there, appearing as dazed and confused as each of them had been only moments before.

Aang blinked. "Uhh, what just happened?"

"Roku came out to tell Katara to stuff it." Toph was helpful enough to offer. "Oh, and say hi to your grandkids."

Aang looked as if he had just been told the moon had disappeared. Again. "My what!?"

"Great-grandkids actually. Turns out they've got a little Roku in them too."

Sokka couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Great, we're finding common ground already. Who'd have guessed."

It was a skill he had developed only through years of constant use, but Zuko could practically feel his sister's attention suddenly shift intently to him. He cringed involuntarily at the sound of her voice, already knowing by her tone that he was in for it. "How long have you known about this?"

"Not that long honestly. A few weeks. It was Uncle who helped me to find out, he sent me a letter that lead me to our secret family history. At first I didn't understand, it all seemed like stuff I already knew, but then he explained to me how the Avatar was mother's grandfather, and that the combination of both Sozin's and Roku's blood was the cause of my inner struggle. He said that good and evil have always been at war inside of me, and that I must choose which path I want to follow."

Looking to his sister, he smiled. "I guess that goes for you as well."

"Gee, and here I thought it was just hormones."

"Let's be fair Sunshine; it's probably both."

So it was that, with a laugh and a cautious optimism, the most unlikely team of friends and enemies looked to the future, to a day when the world would either be brought to salvation by their combined efforts, or reduced to ashes by their failures. Meanwhile, millions of miles away, a massive rock tore through the cosmos, racing towards a bright blue speck in the distance, leaving a glorious trail of blazing fire in it's wake.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Well, there you have it. As usual, sorry for the long wait, it is what it is though . For people who worry that I might abandon this story simply because of how long it sometimes is between updates, allow me to ease your fears a bit. I will **never** stop this story until it is finished, of that you can be certain. That's not to say that it might be some time between updates, life has a tendency to be messy, as we are all well aware, and sometimes the creek just doesn't flow as swiftly as it should, but this story WILL be finished, as a personal favor to myself. Believe me when I say, nobody wants to see this story finished more than I.**  
**_

_As always, thanks for taking the time.  
_


	6. The Boiling Rock

"Alright Ty Lee, that should just about do it. Now before you go jumping off the walls, I think it would still be a good idea for you to take it easy for a week or so, just to make _sure_ the wound is healed properly." Katara was explaining as she brought the healing water back into her trusty skin. Ty Lee, for all that she seemed to be an airhead most of the time, was listening intently to her healer and hanging on every word like it would be the difference between life and death.

"Thanks Katara!" She said as she jumped up and bounded away towards her friends.

"And for the love of the Spirits, DON'T hit your head on anything!"

"All healed up are we Ty Lee?" Azula asked as her friend rejoined the Fire Nation section of Team Avatar. Despite the apparent lack of any real interest one way or another, Ty Lee knew Azula cared, at some level, or else she wouldn't have even asked at all.

Ty Lee beamed with all her usual exuberance, stating confidently, "Never been better!"

"No thanks to her 'friends'." Katara couldn't help but mutter loud enough to be heard.

"Would you let it drop already Waterbender, it's in the past." Zuko had to admit he was impressed with his sister's self control in the face of constant antagonizing at the hands of someone she didn't even particularly care for, but even he knew she had her limits and if this kept up, she was going to snap. Nobody was safe if that happened, himself included.

"Killing Aang is also in the past, but I guess we should just _forget_ that happened as well, huh?"

_Here we go again_.

"Yes, you should. Spirits I thought we were past all this, what exactly _is_ your problem?"

Katara's limitless anger for all things Fire Nation was showing clearly once more. "**You're** my problem, you're a problem for everybody here! Why don't you just get lost, _Firebender_."

Ty Lee, never one to listen to someone bad mouthing her princess and not do anything about it, stepped up in Azula's defense. "Excuse me!? Azula is a princess, you need to show her some respect. Nobody talks to her like that and gets away with it!"

"How can you defend that, that _monster!?_"

"She is **not** a monster!"

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you Waterbender!"

"Don't threaten my sister!"

"Don't insult _mine_!"

"ENOUGH!" Aang shouted, bringing a blast of air down between the two groups as a warning. Everyone had the presence of mind to keep their mouths shut, but that didn't prevent them from glaring daggers of hatred at one another.

Aang sighed with frustration, cursing his duty of being the world's peace keeper at times like these. "You guys, if we want to get anywhere, it looks like we're going to have to lay down some rules. Azula, you need to start treating people like people, nobody here is a servant that you can walk over. I know it's probably not an easy thing for you to do, but I think a little kindness could go a long way."

"And Katara, _you_ need to keep your personal feelings to yourself. You can't keep blowing up over things that were done to me, I've forgiven both Zuko and Azula, and they're my Firebending teachers now. If I want to have a chance at defeating Fire Lord Ozai, I'll need to learn everything they can teach me, and I can't do that if I have to keep breaking up fights like this."

Azula and Katara never broke eye contact the entire time Aang had been speaking, and the Avatar now glanced anxiously between the two girls, hoping his little speech might sink in while simultaneously dreading that it wouldn't make an ounce of difference.

"You're wasting your breath Twinkletoes, neither one of them could go a day without fighting over something stupid." Toph so helpfully supplied from where she sat against a wall, mindlessly twirling a piece of straw in her mouth while looking up at nothing in particular.

Azula rounded on Toph, "Excuse me? What makes you think this?"

"Oh please, Sunshine, don't make me laugh. I bet you couldn't stop yourself from arguing with Katara to save your life. You don't have the self-discipline."

"I most certainly do too! I happen to be a master of self control I'll have you know."

"Oh yeah? Prove it." Toph challenged with a sly smirk. She caught the sound of Katara huffing in protest, and, redirecting her attention, called out, "What's the matter Katara, afraid you don't have more self control than _Azula_?"

"I most certainly do too! If she can _act_ like a civil human being than I'll be happy to pretend she's one."

Aang considered the two girls with no shortage of caution before venturing, "So... no more fighting?"

Both Azula and Katara gave a short "Hrmphf," crossing their arms and turning their heads in mirroring poses of disdain. Otherwise, they seemed to be in agreement, at least for the time being. If a ceasefire was the best he could get, Aang would take it at this point.

"Great! Now that we have that out of the way, maybe we can get back to what's really important. Like lunch!"

* * *

An hour or so later, sitting around a small fire with stomach's full and the last scraps of a meal being picked at here and there, the much larger gang was doing it's best to maintain a paper thin veil of civility and cooperation, and that's when Sokka decided it was as good a time as any to proposition his newfound allies. "Hey, uh, Zuko, Azula, think I could talk to you guys for a minute?"

The two siblings exchanged wary glances before shrugging and, getting to their feet, followed Sokka to a comfortable distance away from the others. When they came to a stop, Zuko asked, "What's this all about?"

Sokka thought about how best to ask his question so as to avoid raising concern, "Does the Fire Nation have any... _special_ prisons?"

Azula raised an eyebrow, stuck somewhere between disbelief and amusement. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific. We have a lot of prisons you see, and believe me, they're all pretty _special_."

"Yeah, I had a feeling that might be the case." The young man quipped in response before resuming seriousness. "I mean, is there a specific place they might take high priority political or war prisoners?"

Zuko gave his sister a knowing look, which she returned with an identical amount of enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for a question they both knew the answer to. "Yes, we do, as a matter of fact." She answered in a way that didn't bode well for Sokka. "A _very_ special prison." Not well at all.

Still, he had to ask, "Really, where?"

"Knowing would only make you feel worse." Zuko told him, but he could recognize the look of someone who wasn't going to give up, despite the odds against him. It was a steel resolve that he had seen in the mirror plenty of times himself.

"Believe me, nothing could be worse than _not_ knowing at this point. I _have_ to know where it is."

"Who is it?" asked Zuko, seeing right through Sokka as if he were a pane of glass.

The Tribesman was crestfallen as he answered, "My father."

A moment of silence passed between them as the information sank in, until Azula broke it. "The Boiling Rock."

Sokka looked up at her, blue eyes meeting gold as he searched frantically for more information. "What?"

"The Boiling Rock." She repeated just as adamantly, this time explaining, "It's a compound situated on a small island of rock in the midst of a volcanic crater. The water that surrounds the prison is at a constantly heated state, hence the name, 'The Boiling Rock'. It is quite literally what it says, a rock boiling inside a volcano."

"Great... a prison in a volcano. I should have guessed."

Zuko tried to talk some sense into his ex-rival, "Look, I know you want to rescue him, but believe me, it's a suicide mission. You'd never get in, and even if you _did_, you would definitely never get out."

Sokka put on his best clueless face, "What, me? Break into a high security prison? No, no, you got me all wrong Zuko. Like I said, I just wanted to know to ease my conscience, and now that my conscience is eased, I'll be on my way. Thanks guys, I appreciate it." Patting Zuko's shoulder as he meandered by, Sokka was the picture of nonchalance. Azula arched an eyebrow at her brother, who returned an equally skeptical look right back.

Once the tribesman was out of earshot, Zuko whispered, "He's going to try it."

Nodding, Azula commented, "Yes, and he'll likely get himself captured and tortured for information on the Avatar's whereabouts while he's at it. Shall we break his legs?"

Zuko blanched at the casual manner with which she made the suggestion. "No, we can't do that!"

"Hmm? What, Uncle didn't teach you that one? It's really quite simple, you just kick for the knee cap-"

"Azula, we can't break his legs because we're supposed to be a team now. They aren't our enemies anymore, we can't just go around breaking their legs." He could hardly believe he was explaining this as if it weren't just common knowledge.

Azula still didn't give up. "But he's threatening to compromise our entire operation, certainly the Avatar would understand taking drastic actions to maintain a secure location in enemy territory, he would be a fool not to." She stated with all the confidence of a general. "I'm going to ask him. Avatar-!"

She turned as she called out for Aang, only to be turned abruptly back around when Zuko grabbed her arm. "The Avatar is _not_ going to be okay with you breaking his friend's leg!" Azula pulled her arm free, clearly content to ignore her brother on this as she called out again. When Aang perked up she beckoned for him.

"Come here, I have something to discuss with you that is of paramount pertinence."

Shrugging to his other friends, Aang got to his feet and walked over, asking with more than a touch of confusion, "So, what's all this about a parrot mountain?"

"What?"

"What?"

Forgetting about whatever nonsensical thing the Avatar had said and getting back to the matter at hand, Azula told him, "Your friend, Sokka I believe, has apparently come down with a mild case of insanity." Ignoring the incredulous stare she was receiving, Azula continued, "He has it in his head that he's going to break into our highest security prison in an ill-fated attempt to free his father, who is likely dead anyways, and he's going to get himself captured in the process. If that happens, he will be tortured for information, and he _will_ break, and when he does the entire domestic force will know our location by nightfall and be here in the morning."

Aang couldn't help but scratch at his bald head, the things he was hearing and the speed at which they were said causing it to _actually_ hurt. Azula carried on with only the briefest of pauses, "He isn't going to relinquish this fantasy of being some kind of hero, so that leaves us only one truly viable option; we must subdue him."

"Uhh, all... right. How?" Aang could really only play along at this point.

"Well, I suppose there are a number of ways. We could have Ty Lee paralyze him, Toph could probably lock him into the ground, or we could break his legs. I'm quite partial to that last one."

Aang's eyes doubled in size as he practically shouted, "What!?"

"It's the most logical. The paralysis is only temporary and there's no telling whether or not he could break himself out of rock with that sword of his. Breaking his legs is the most logical, long-term solution, and the pain may just bring some sense back to him." If she was kidding, which Aang certainly hoped she was, there wasn't a single external indicator of such. It was more than a little creepy how comfortable she was with the idea. Zuko, all but forgotten behind his sister, could only drop his face in his palm.

"Azula, you can't be serious..."

"Absolutely. This is a serious matter, if that buffoon gets captured and gives up our hiding spot, we're _all_ in danger."

"But we can't break Sokka's legs!"

Azula thought about it for half a second before coming up with, what qualified in her mind as, a compromise. "Fine. We can break just one leg."

"We can't break _any_ legs!" Aang cried as he threw his arms out to signal "discussion over." Azula, having not had the last word, clearly disagreed with the sentiment, but she was cut off by the Avatar's own version of a compromise. A much nicer, less violent, compromise. "Look, if Sokka is _really_ thinking about doing something as stupid as you say he is, we have to talk him out of it, I agree, but we aren't going to go around breaking legs on a whim."

The princess huffed in annoyance, but ultimately gave in. "Fine, we'll do it _your_ way, with talking and words." Aang rose a little bit with a new confidence, almost unable to believe he had just actually talked the Firebender into following his advice. "But," she snapped like an ice-pick making it's first hole, "If _your_ way doesn't work, and we _can't_ talk him out of it..." motioning with her hands as if she were snapping an invisible twig, she concluded in a wicked tone that promised delivery, "Breaky-breaky."

Ignoring the threat, Aang turned and walked away, coming up behind Sokka and hesitating for a moment before he asked, "Hey Sokka, can I talk to you about something? It's kind of important..." he trailed off, casting a glance over his shoulder to the menacing visage of Azula.

"Sure thing buddy, what's on your mind?"

"Sokka, you aren't thinking of... _going_ anywhere, or anything, are you?"

Sokka looked at his friend as if he'd turned purple, "Who, me? Nooo, never. Not this guy, nope, I'm just hangin' out and doing my thing, you know me." Despite his best attempts at nonchalance, Sokka's sleek veneer cracked under the withering and, ultimately, disbelieving stares he received from multiple parties, including the Avatar himself. It was only natural that Toph would choose that precise moment to shuffle by, her timing impeccable as always.

"Smoooth, Snoozles, real smooth. But you're still lying."

Spinning around furiously, Sokka nearly shouted, "Must you constantly do that!" The effect, however, was somewhat lessened by his voice cracking.

"Sokka, you can't do what you're thinking of doing, it's way too risky." Aang pleaded, but it had the effect of a raindrop on a boulder in terms of breaking his friend's resolve.

"I have to do this Aang, there's no other way."

"Have to do what?" Katara interrupted the argument before it could even begin in that stern but concerned mother's voice she had mastered along with bending. One look and Sokka knew he had already lost.

With a powerful yet resigned sigh, he confessed, "I have to rescue dad. Nobody understands, the invasion plan was _my_ idea, and when we had the chance to turn back and get everybody out, I was the one who said to keep pushing forward. I failed, and I lost dad because of it. I lost... my honor." Fists clenching he looked up with a face harder than any steel, "I have to get it back."

"Tell me about it." Zuko deadpanned from where he stood behind his sister, arms crossed and knowing all too well where chasing "honor" lead to. Sokka struggled to respond, but all he could manage initially was to glare at the scarred prince. It was left to Zuko to carry on, "Look Sokka, you can run around the entire world trying to regain your honor, believe me," after a look that dared him to argue otherwise yielded no response, he continued, "but it won't mean a thing if you wind up getting yourself killed in the process."

"Do you remember the North Pole? When I had captured the Avatar?" One didn't have to be a master of reading body language to see that both the Water Tribe siblings and the Avatar himself remembered with little difficulty the ordeal. "Capture the Avatar, and regain my honor, that was the deal. I captured the Avatar, I had my honor, and then I had nowhere to go. What good would my honor have done me if I had frozen to death up there? The only reason I'm still alive, is because I had enemies who were kind enough to not leave me passed out in a snow bank. If you get captured, at the Boiling Rock of all places, you won't have enemies nearly as kind."

"I know I'm not going to like the answer," it was Katara who spoke up first with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation, and asked, "but what's the 'Boiling Rock'?"

"It's a prison," Zuko responded with little enthusiasm for the place, "and it's not a very fun one. It's inside a volcano with a boiling lake surrounding the place."

"Why doesn't _that_ surprise me very much."

"I said the same thing Katara."

Fidgeting for a moment, Katara said with no small amount of reserve, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Zuko, Sokka. This sounds way too dangerous."

"Like _you're_ one to talk, Katara! Remember Haru? Remember getting yourself thrown into prison and inciting a riot!?" Sokka threw his arm out in emphasis, but did little more than incite his sister's anger.

"This is completely different! That place was in the _ocean_, not a **volcano**, and the prisoners were Earthbenders who were on our side. This place will be full of Firebenders, and criminals or not, they probably wouldn't be too happy to see you!" Even Azula had to admit, goody-two shoes or not, the girl had a pretty effective angry rant mode. "Do you even have any _idea_ what they might do to you if you got caught!?"

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought both Sokka and Katara's attention to Azula, who so confidently stated, "I believe _I_ could shed some light on that."

Sokka turned around to face the Firebender, rolling his eyes and sarcastically commenting, "Yeah, I just bet they taught Torture 101 at your school."

Azula narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "Advanced Techniques for Information Extraction was the name of the course, actually. It was an advanced class and I'll have you know, I did exceptionally."

"Yeah, Azula was head of the class, she was great!" Ty Lee shouted from where she was still seated by the small fire.

"I wasn't actually serious..."

"Well I am." Azula admonished, making Sokka feel like a kid caught in the act. "They have specially trained Firebenders who are taught how to control a small, concentrated flame as opposed to large and powerful attacks. They're actually rather useless in a fight, but for inflicting maximum pain while still keeping someone alive..." letting the words trail off, she gave the young man only the most predatory of glares before finishing, "there's no one better."

Still, Sokka was unfazed in his conviction to rescue his father, "I don't care, and I'm not afraid. This is something I have to do, if none of you are willing to help me then fine, I'll do it by myself, but I'm going, whether anyone of you likes it or not."

Nobody said anything in immediate protest, and Azula took a moment to breath as she deliberated. It didn't take long for her to reach a conclusion though, and without a hint of resignation she stated, "Fine. Suit yourself."

Sokka blinked, this being far from what he expected to hear. When he didn't make a single movement, Azula questioned, "Well? What are you waiting for, go on your fool's errand, get yourself killed, see what I care. You can even take my airship while you're at it." With that, she promptly stormed off to her temporary room.

Aang looked to his friend, brow pinched with worry and asked, "You really have to go through with this, don't you?"

Sokka didn't even hesitate in his answer, "Yes, I do Aang. I'm sorry."

"Then I'm going with you."

All heads immediately turned to Zuko, including his sister who froze in her tracks. "You'll need some help flying that ship, and getting to the prison itself."

"Excuse me, Zuko, might I have a word with you." Azula demanded more than asked, anger brimming just beneath the surface of her voice like magma in a volcano.

"Azula, listen-"

What she heard, however, was "Azula, slap me," so she did. Hard.

"Are you fucking stupid or something!? Just because I call you dum-dum all the time doesn't mean you have to go and prove it every chance you get!" Her shouting caused onlookers to flinch just as much as the slap did, but she didn't seem to pay any notice one way or the other to anybody else standing there. "Don't you have any _idea_ what dad would do to you? The Avatar wouldn't get it as bad!"

"Azula, I know it's dangerous, but that's exactly why I have to go. He doesn't have a chance on his own. I chose to help the Avatar, that means helping his friends as well." Zuko's voice didn't quite manage to hold all the conviction his words did, but his resolve was still firm enough.

Azula stared straight into his eyes, desperate anger threatening to manifest itself through the windows to her soul in the form of tears, and Zuko stared right back with resigned, grim determination. There was no need for words for her to understand that he had made up his mind and would go through with it, no matter what. Her mouth turned downwards as her face scrunched up in pain, and Zuko reached out to touch her shoulder and say "I'm sorry," but she swatted his arm away as she turned on her heel and took off, head bowed so that her bangs might hide her face and prevent anyone from seeing the angry, hurt tears that she could no longer contain.

Zuko's initial reaction was to chase after her, but he immediately had second thoughts. _Probably best to let her cool down a bit_. He turned to see Sokka, along with most everyone else, staring at him with an assortment of looks, ranging from confused and skeptical to concerned. Ty Lee was outright angry, a rare look indeed for the usually jovial acrobat, but one recognizable with little difficulty when it was there.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Sokka, not the least bit skeptical himself. He didn't have to be one of the Fire Lord's children to understand exactly what kind of danger he was putting himself in.

Zuko was as unwavering in his decision as the day he told his father he would be joining the Avatar, "Yes, I am. You don't stand a chance doing this by yourself, but maybe if I help you, we can figure something out."

After briefly considering the situation in his own head, Sokka nodded. "Alright, but we'll need to arrive after sundown if we want to avoid being seen. How long will it take us to get there, and when should we leave?"

Zuko thought about it for a moment before replying, "We'll want to leave within the hour, it should take us the rest of the day to get there."

"Alright, I'll start gathering some supplies." He made to move and then hesitated, looking over his shoulder back to Zuko, "You take care of whatever you need to take care of." His meaning wasn't lost on the Firebender, who looked with no small amount of uncertainty towards the passage his sister had disappeared down.

Toph was leaning idly against a pillar as Zuko walked by, and, not missing a moment to tease someone, "Boy, you _sure_ do have some luck when it comes to girls."

He wanted to snap back at her with anger, but the truth of his situation settled on him before he could, deflating his response to a begrudging, "Tell me about it."

Before he could walk away, she said one last thing to him, "You had better know what you're doing Zuko." His only thought was that he didn't have a clue, and that much was nothing new to him.

* * *

He reached the room he and his sister shared, and could tell from the furious huffs that she was inside. He tried to swallow the knot that had formed in his throat, only to find it as immovable as he himself. Despite commanding his hands to open the door and his legs to step inside, all he could do was remain as still as a statue. Eventually, finally, he mustered the courage to step inside.

She noticed his presence immediately, if the mirror that came sailing straight for his head was any indication. He only just managed to duck in time, and he heard the glass shatter against the stone wall overhead. "What's the matter with you!? How could you be so senseless!"

"Azula..." he stepped towards her, slowly, cautiously.

"Never mind that peasant, do you have any idea what dad will do to _you_?! You, the son who came to tell him you were turning traitor during an eclipse when he couldn't do anything but seethe over it!"

"Azula I-" another timid step. He could see without much difficulty the tracks left behind by the tears that streamed down her cheeks, tears that were still defiantly falling.

"Are you really so _stupid_ or do you just hate me that much you would rather be dead than-"

This time it was her voice that was cut-off mid-sentence, as Zuko wrapped his arms around her and gently pushed her face to his chest, embracing her so suddenly and in a way that left her drained of any desire to continue shouting. Instead she just let her emotions run away and all the tears that she had been fighting spill forth as if a levy had broke. Azula couldn't remember putting her arms around him, but soon enough they were there, clutching onto him much harder than was necessary, as if determined not to let him go and leave her again. He didn't speak, just held her tighter and let her cry.

"Why do you have to go?" she asked in a hopelessly small voice after a few minutes had passed and her tears had slowed to a trickle. It was a voice that clutched at Zuko's chest and made breathing difficult. It was a voice of guilt.

"Someone has to help him, he can't get there on his own."

"That doesn't mean it has to be you." she accused, but already knew that realistically, it did. Perhaps if she said it with enough conviction though, it might become true...

"He needs a Firebender Azula. The Avatar is hardly capable and aside from that, there's only one other person." It didn't take all of her impressive intellect to realize who _that_ was. Zuko squeezed tighter as he whispered, "I won't risk letting him get you."

Azula felt the slightest desire to argue, to disagree with him, to talk some sense into him, but ultimately, all she could do was let out a reluctant sigh and silently agree with him. "Please come back."

"I will."

"Promise?" she held him tighter, as if not to let him go at all, the thought of losing the only person in the world who cared about her eating away at her insecurities like moths at a blanket.

He returned the gesture happily as he breathed into her hair, "I promise."

He didn't want to let go, and she didn't want to let him go, but it was an inevitability sooner or later, and the thought ate away at the both of them that eventually they would have to let go, perhaps for good. As Zuko finally withdrew his arms and turned to go, Azula reacted without a second though, spinning him back around and grabbing his cheeks to pull his face to hers for a kiss he couldn't escape even if he had wanted to.

It was a bittersweet exchange, the salty tang of tears a reminder to Zuko of exactly what his decision was causing his sister to go through, while she herself had to battle the nagging thought that this could realistically be the last time she ever saw her brother. Bittersweet as it might have been, the two cherished it with all their hearts, and neither was eager to see it end.

When at last they pulled away from one another, Zuko looked into his sister's eyes and saw everything that was himself reflected in them, and he told her, just as certain as if he were saying the sun would rise tomorrow, "I will be back Azula." She had no choice but to trust him.

"I believe you."

With that, he turned and exited the room, leaving Azula to collect herself and get a hold of her treacherous emotions once more. Zuko didn't make it far though, before he ran into yet another girl with something to say to him.

"You had better come back Zuko." He almost didn't recognize the voice at first, the foreboding tone so different from her usual banter, but he didn't have any trouble identifying Ty Lee as she stepped from around a corner. He hadn't noticed her, but she must have heard the whole exchange. It didn't bother him though, he knew if there was only one person in the entire world who would keep a secret for Azula's sake, it was her.

"Ty Lee, what are you-?"

"You don't get it, do you Zuko?" she accused with a scathing tone rarely if ever heard before by anyone, let alone the banished prince. His confusion held him temporarily unable to speak, so she continued, "She's hanging on by a thread, has been ever since three years ago when you left her with... him." Zuko didn't like the way she stumbled over that last part, but he didn't say anything. Her anger abated and made way for another, even more unsettling emotion, one he couldn't quite name but it was a mix of fear and sadness, "I tried to be the one she needed, but she didn't pick me. She picked _you_ Zuko, and you don't even know what it means. If you don't come back..."

"Ty Lee, I promised her I would be okay, and I will be. You don't have to worry."

"Yes I do! You have no idea what it will do to her, do you? She gave up everything she had to run away with you, can't you see that? Now you're just going to run off and leave her here all alone? I can't believe you Zuko!"

"She won't be alone, she has you, and Mai-"

"She doesn't _want_ _me_! She wants _you_ you, you, _idiot!_" Ty Lee was beginning to sound hysterical, but she didn't show any signs of really caring about that at the moment. She leveled one very serious, very threatening finger at Zuko, and told him, "I don't want to lose her, so she had _better_ not lose you." Before he could get a word out in response, she had turned and disappeared around the corner once more, leaving Zuko with nothing but her words ringing in his skull and a whole new sense of anxiety and doubt. _Was this _really_ worth it..._ He had never really stopped to fully consider the consequences when he volunteered, and now it was all crashing down on him like the stone roof above his head.

He had already given his word though, and he couldn't back out now. Sokka was counting on him, and with or without his help, the fool was going. Zuko didn't often ask the spirits for help, in fact he couldn't remember the last time he had, but he found himself suddenly praying to anyone or anything that would listen.

As he rounded the corner to re-emerge on the open platform with the dried up fountain, he saw Sokka standing there with nothing but the clothes on his back. Zuko dug his fingers into his eyes, a habit he noticed he had picked up in place of immediately exploding into anger. "Why are you not ready? I thought you were going to get some supplies and pack your bag!?"

Sokka was as calm as ever as he replied, "Well, after thinking about it for a bit, I realized those things would be a waste. Our best shot is infiltrating the prison and pretending to be guards. We can't just walk in with our bags and stash them somewhere. We're just going to have to hope that the Fire Nation supplies it's prison guards with food." He said that last part as if there was a distinct possibility that they in fact did not. Zuko was less than amused. War mongering tyrants maybe, but they still treated their own like people.

"Alright," Zuko groaned, still not entirely convinced of the wisdom to this plan, "let's get this over with. The airship is up by our old camp, it's not far."

With a hug to Katara and a final farewell to Aang, Sokka plodded off in Zuko's wake, pace quick in an effort to catch up. As the two disappeared into Toph's tunnel, Aang and Katara exchanged worried looks with one another. "I hope they know what they're doing," said the latter, but Aang gave her a reassuring smile.

"If there's one thing we know about Sokka, it's that he always finds some way out. He's pretty clever, and when that doesn't work, he can usually get pretty lucky."

"You had better hope his luck can counteract Zuko's." They both turned at the sound of Mai's flat, dull voice, and she explained, "The guy's a walking catastrophe. I mean, how many times did you slip through his fingers when he was chasing you? How many times did he have you with no hope of escape, only to fail miserably in the end?"

When they stopped to actually think about it, they realized the answer, and it was a lot. Mai could tell by their faces what they were thinking, "I know you probably think a lot of that had to do with you being the Avatar, but you're not _that_ good honestly. You have his bad luck to thank more than your own skill, I swear he's probably cursed or something."

Ty Lee couldn't contain her chuckle at that remark, "Yeah, if it hadn't been for Azula he'd probably still be serving _tea_."

Katara blanched at the memory of seeing Zuko and his uncle back at Ba Sing Se. "You mean that wasn't just a cover? I saw him in that tea shop but I thought it was some trick to infiltrate the city..."

"It was a trick alright," Mai explained with lackluster enthusiasm, "he was pretending to be a refugee and hiding out in Ba Sing Se was the safest thing he could do. After that colossal blunder up north, the Fire Lord put a price on his head, along with his uncle, and sent Azula to bring them both in. I never could for the life of me figure out why Azula ever offered him a chance to share in the glory and clear his name, especially considering she already _had_ the whole city subdued. I mean, with the Dai Li in her back pocket and the Earth King hostage, she didn't _need_ his help for anything, she could have taken all the glory of the conquest for herself _and_ brought her brother and uncle back in chains."

"But she didn't..." Katara finished aloud with a strange sense of bewilderment. "I never understood that, it seemed like Zuko was just as much her prisoner as I was, yet in the end he still chose to join her."

Mai crossed her arms and looked expectantly at the Waterbender. "And why do you think that was?"

"I think I know why." Aang answered as Katara was struck with the realization she had never even thought about it before, strange as it had been. "I don't think it was a choice between Azula and the Avatar, or good and evil. I don't think it was even a choice at all. I think Zuko saw his sister outnumbered and in danger, and that was all he needed." Turning his head to look at Katara, he asked, "Do you remember when we were down there, and Zuko looked like he was about to take our side against Azula? I remember that look in her eyes, it was as if she were physically hurt. She must have felt so betrayed."

When he looked back to Mai, it almost seemed for the briefest of moments as if she had just the tiniest, most imperceptible amount of a smirk on her lips. "Well, I guess you aren't as dumb as I thought you were." It took Aang a moment to realize that yes, in fact, that _was_ a compliment.

* * *

Fire shot forth from Zuko's open palm and into the furnace of the airship with a powerful _woosh_, and they rose higher into the air. Sokka was seated casually in the back, being in charge of steering the ship but for the time being, he was more or less just relaxing and doing nothing. The silence between the two boys had become uncomfortable a long time ago, now it was simply becoming unbearable. At last, Sokka couldn't take it anymore and decided to attempt conversation with his short time ally, long time nemesis.

Looking about the balloon, he commented on the only thing he could think of, "You know, I actually helped the guy who invented these war balloons."

Zuko gave him a sideway glance from where he stood facing the furnace, "No kidding?"

"Yep," Sokka nodded, "a balloon. But for war."

The banished prince scowled, "If there's one thing my father's good at, it's war."

"It seems to run in the family."

"Hey, we're not all bad." Zuko said in defense of his kin. Sokka held his hands up in a placating gesture.

"I know, I know, you've changed, and your sister too, I guess."

Zuko frowned as he clarified, "I meant my uncle. He was the one who was more like a father to me, and I turned on him. I was such an idiot..."

Sokka was unfamiliar with comforting someone, and much less so someone from the Fire Nation, but he tried his best anyways. "Don't be so hard on yourself, we all do stupid things sometimes. You're helping us now, and I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving everything behind and running off to join the Avatar, that couldn't have been an easy thing to do."

Zuko made a noise of sarcastic amusement before replying, "It wasn't that hard."

"What, you didn't leave anyone behind that you care about?" Sokka asked, somewhat disbelievingly.

"Well, there was Mai, my girlfriend. I wanted to leave her out of my turning traitor, but it looks like she found me anyways." Zuko hesitated at this next part, thinking of how best to explain it without giving away anything _too_ incriminating. "Then there's Azula..."

"You know, I was meaning to ask you about that, it's been bugging me ever since the two of you showed up, but why _did_ your sister join you? I mean, no offense," Sokka told him as if he couldn't emphasize _that_ particularly point enough, "but she always seemed like she hated you more than any of us. It was like, the Avatar was just business, but you were something personal. What gives?"

Zuko had to think about it for a moment, as answering that particular question could potentially raise a lot more serious questions. "You have to understand that Azula's not all bad, she was just really confused, just like I was. It's not that she hated me, just that she was angry. Believe me, the last thing you want is to have Azula angry with you."

"You don't need to tell me twice. What did you do to make her so mad?"

Zuko felt the familiar weight of guilt pressing down on him and his shoulders sank underneath it. "I left."

Sokka looked at the older boy with confusion, and rightfully so. "You left...?"

"When I was banished over three years ago."

The tribesman was completely miffed by that response. "But it's not like you left by choice, how can she possibly hold that against you?"

Zuko's head fell and his eyes closed as he replied with solemn regret, "Because I still left. Everyone did." It was a hard truth to swallow, but a truth nonetheless. He could tell by the quizzical look he received that Sokka didn't quite catch his meaning, and so he explained, "Uncle left, I left... even our mom left."

"Your mom left?" Sokka was suddenly very interested, the subject of lost mothers being something that struck far too close to home.

Zuko nodded, "She was banished, just like me. I don't think she ever even said goodbye to Azula. She likes to pretend it doesn't bother her, that she hated our mother and that our mother hated her, but I know better."

"Man, that has to be hard to live with. I always thought your sister was just some crazy, evil little fire monster with no heart, but if she went through all of that as a kid, maybe it's not all her fault."

Zuko didn't like the way he was talking about his sister, but he could see how it might be justified, so instead he redirected his anger at a more deserving target. "No, I have my father to thank for how she turned out." Another blast of fire into the furnace, this one perhaps a little more powerful than was necessary. "Ever since she first started to Firebend, he's been corrupting her, twisting her to his own evil purposes. I couldn't let it go on any longer, so when I saw what might have been my only chance to free her, I had to take it. I know what you probably all think of her, and I'm sorry I did what I did, but I had to bring her with me."

"It's alright Zuko, I understand, believe me. I think you did the right thing, too."

Zuko gave Sokka an earnest, thankful smile, however small, and not knowing what else to say, turned his attention ahead of them. That's when he noticed the volcano up ahead, and with a newfound determination he exclaimed, "There it is! The Boiling Rock." Another blast of fire was shot into the furnace while Sokka appraised the situation. Much to his chagrin, the prison was exactly as it had been described to him.

Remembering positive attitude, he tried to look on the bright side. "Well, at least the steam should give us plenty of cover."

That it did, but being spotted soon became the least of their concerns, as the balloon began sinking at an alarming rate the moment it entered the steam cloud that surrounded the facility.

"What's wrong, why are we sinking!?" Zuko shouted, suddenly regretting every part of this plan. He shot fire into the furnace non-stop in a desperate attempt to keep them airborne, but to no avail.

Sokka had to consider the situation for a moment before it dawned on him and he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner, "The air outside the balloon is just as hot as the air inside, we've lost our lift and we're goin' down."

Abandoning his mad, frantic attempts to get the balloon rising once more, Zuko braced himself for a not so smooth landing, while his companion did exactly the same. As the balloon skimmed the surface of the boiling water, a small amount splashed up and made contact with Sokka's hand, and he was forced to cover his mouth to prevent screaming loud enough to alert everyone to their presence. The basket was quickly growing hotter underfoot and it would only be a matter of seconds before the boiling, acidic water ate completely through it.

They collided with the shore not a moment too soon, and Zuko leapt deftly with the inertia to land on the rocky shore with a roll. Sokka's exit from the now ruined war balloon was remarkably less graceful, but in the end it worked out.

Zuko wasted little time in chastising his lack of forethought, "Now how are we supposed to leave? My uncle always said I never thought things through, but this is just _crazy_!"

Sokka didn't seem nearly as concerned over their predicament, which was slightly more unsettling for the scarred prince. "Don't worry, I had a feeling this would be a one way trip, we'll figure something out. And I'll have you know, I always think my plans through, but in case you haven't noticed, my plans haven't exactly been working out lately so this time I decided to wing it."

Zuko couldn't help but groan his displeasure at being stranded, which Sokka quickly responded to. "Look, you didn't _have_ to come, I would have been just fine on my own. I knew this would be dangerous."

"Which is exactly why I _did_."

Without another word, Sokka set about piling the deflated canvass of the balloon into the basket and then nudging the wreckage out into the boiling lake, earning himself yet another exasperated remark from his irritable companion. "_What_ are you _doing_!?"

"It's wrecked anyways, and we don't want anyone to find it or it might give us away." The tribesman replied with a confidence that seemed to sink along with the remains of their transportation. Without so much as a final bubble, the last bit of red sank beneath the deceptively calm surface, never to be seen again. The two boys turned their attention to the walls that towered over them, and began considering how the _hell_ they were going to get up there, without being spotted no less. The most pressing issue that faced them, undoubtedly, would be escaping. _One step at a time_, Sokka told himself. One step at a time.

* * *

Azula watched as the balloon flew off towards the west until it was an invisible speck in sky, telling herself over and over that everything would be fine, that he had promised to return and so he would. Forcing herself to believe that it was true was an entirely different matter, she soon discovered, as despite her knack for lying, she just wasn't as effective at deceiving herself. She soon found that her only option to avoid going insane with worry was to focus on something else. She had to preoccupy herself, but how?

She decided after a moment that with her brother gone, she should probably take over as the Avatar's Firebending teacher. At the very least, it would give her something else to focus on besides the nagging in the back of her mind that something terrible was going to happen and she would never see her brother again. It would also give her a chance to fix whatever flaws Zuko encouraged in the Avatar. She would not have her only student become a failure at an art she was so gifted with.

Seeking him out, it didn't take long to find him lounging about with the rest of his friends, and hers too she noted, idly chatting and sharing their own experiences from shared encounters.

"You know, we would have had you if it weren't for fluffy over there." Mai's distinctly indistinct voice drifted to Azula's ears, followed by Ty Lee agreeing and Katara huffing in annoyance. She didn't necessarily refute the point, the princess noted with some interest, before turning her attention to the large flying bison with a curious expression. As if noticing both her eyes upon him and the ongoing debate, the beast gave out a low, rumbling growl.

Aang couldn't help but laugh, "It's true Katara, Appa did save you two."

"Avatar!"

Aang jumped to his feet and flailed his arms as he spun around, eventually settling into a sloppy fighting stance, all in a motor reflex at the sound of a voice he had come to dread and hadn't quite taught his body to not respond defensively to. "Uh, hi, Azula." The girl in question stood with her arms crossed and hip cocked, a self-satisfied smirk on her face for the world to see.

She gave him time to slowly relax himself before announcing, "It's time to resume training, let's go."

Aang's reluctance was obvious as he shuffled forward with his head drooped down and shoulders sagging, and before he was out of earshot Toph was kind enough to call after him, "Lucky you Twinkletoes!"

"Yeah," he mumbled to himself, "lucky me."

As he followed Azula to the remote section of the temple where he usually practiced with Zuko, Aang couldn't help but wonder, with no small amount of dread, what _Azula's_ teaching style could possibly be. Last time, she had drilled him in the same manner as Jeong Jeong, insisting he squat and breath and feel the sun. Was she going to make him hold a leaf this time? He could only pray not...

They reached the open platform and she signaled for him to stay put while she walked some dozen paces ahead of him, then turning she commanded, "Alright, show me what you know so far." Azula settled into a more relaxed stance than she would for a normal fight, expecting only the most weak and pathetic attempts at Firebending.

"You want me to attack you?" Aang asked in a manner that said he was obviously not keen on the idea.

"No, I want you to show me what you know. Is talking back to your teacher all you know?"

"No, it's just that-"

"Just what!? That's all you're showing me you know how to do, so it must be true!"

"Fine!" he shouted, anger overriding reason as he leaped forward and threw an open palm straight out, unleashing a wave of orange and red fire straight ahead. With a simple backhand Azula launched an arc of azure fire that all but disintegrated the Avatar's attack, fading to embers just inches shy of the stunned boy's face.

"That was pathetic. You're the Avatar, you're supposed to be the strongest bender in the world. I know children that can Firebend better than that!"

"You aren't exactly helping you know!" Aang fired back in defense. "You're supposed to be teaching me, not shouting at me and ordering me to do something then ridiculing me when I do it wrong."

Azula considered him for a moment before sighing, "Very well. What is your spark?"

Aang blinked. "My what?"

She rolled her eyes, "Your spark, your catalyst, the thing that lets you turn energy into fire." When all she received in return was a blank stare, Azula knew she would have to explain it, "Firebending makes use of the breath as energy, the fuel if you will, but a spark is required to ignite fuel. Do you follow?"

Aang nodded, and she continued, "Emotion is that spark, and most Firebenders these days are taught to use anger and rage as theirs, but in reality any emotion can be used. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the bending. What is your strongest emotion?"

"Well..." he had never really thought about it before, but he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"Sadness over the loss of your people? Maybe anger from when the Dai Li kidnapped your bison? Or how about-"

"Love." He said so simply, and with such finality, that Azula didn't even need to question if he was sure about that. She studied the determination in his eyes and nodded.

"Then you need to focus on that feeling, let it's essence be imbued within you, _feel_ _it_ permeate your entire being." Azula explained as she moved to stand next to the Avatar. She was speaking much quieter now as she closed her eyes and focused on her own spark, feeling the all too familiar emotion swell up inside of her. Aang mirrored her actions, closing his eyes and focusing on the love he had for a long time now acknowledged, though uncertainty of whether or not it was reciprocated prevented it from being fully and clearly realized.

He heard his teacher inhale, and so he did as well, then felt her move and wordlessly mimicked the action. When their hands were thrust forward simultaneously, twin gouts of flame were unleashed, one a dazzling blue and the other a fierce red. Aang opened his eyes at last to admire his handiwork and was amazed to see a conflagration he never imagined himself capable of. Azula had noticed as well, if the smirk on her lips was any indication.

"I believe there may be hope for you yet, Avatar."

He couldn't help but grin back. "Being the Avatar has to count for something."

She shrugged, "Yes, well, you may have the raw power of an Avatar and a strong spark, but always remember the most important part of Firebending is control." Azula walked calmly towards the edge of the platform and swung an arm in a backwards circle, unleashing a bolt of fire half her size from two extended fingers as her hand came to bear. The fireball soared across the wide open chasm, striking the far wall with all the force it had upon first being released. A loud boom echoed out as dozens of rocks were blasted away to fall into the fog below, disappearing from existence with only a distant, muffled grating sound to indicate they ever existed at all.

"Now you try." She said, looking over her shoulder to a flabbergasted Avatar with a sly grin.

Gathering himself up, the Avatar marched with mock confidence up to the ledge, then taking a deep breath, performed exactly the same movement he had watched her make, unleashing a fireball even larger than the one she had made. Almost immediately it began losing mass, and before it even cleared a quarter of the distance it had all but fizzled out of existence. He tried again, this time producing the largest ball of fire he possibly could, but it still failed spectacularly. Aang couldn't believe it.

Azula shook her head, but from her expression and her tone it was clear this was exactly the outcome she had been expecting, "No no no, all wrong. You're focusing too much on the power of your attacks, instead of on controlling them. Any Firebending child can hold a steady flame in their hand, but it takes true mastery of the element to maintain that same amount of control over an increasing distance."

Aang nodded as the understanding dawned on him. "Jeong Jeong told me that I had to master control and discipline before I could master fire, that without control, fire would just destroy everything in it's path."

"Control goes both ways Avatar. It is necessary to prevent your flames from turning into a wildfire, but also for preventing them from dying out completely. True mastery of Firebending is achieved only when you find the proper balance."

"Of course," Aang beamed, "it's always about finding the balance."

Azula smirked, and Aang wasn't entirely convinced he liked it. "I'm glad you see it that way. I want you to continue trying to hit that wall, and don't stop until you do. You _will_ learn how to control your Firebending, and if suffering has to be your teacher, then so be it."

* * *

"I hope the time you spent with your girlfriend was _worth it_." Zuko grumbled to the prison guard squatting next to him in a small alcove behind some stairs. It was the only spot they could talk extensively away from prying eyes. In the short time they had been there, they had managed to sneak in, steal prison guard uniforms, locate Sokka's old girlfriend Suki, and have Zuko's cover blown in an attempt to buy the tribesman some time. All in all, he'd seen better days.

"I'm sorry about that, but I think I may have figured a way out of here. The coolers work by keeping cold in, but to do that, I figure they must also keep heat _out_. If you can get inside one and unfasten it, I found a blind spot that the watchtowers can't see. We can launch it from there and then the current should take us to the other side."

"Hey, that's a great idea." said a completely unfamiliar voice from above them. They both looked up to see another prisoner leaning over a railing looking down at them, and upon their finally noticing him, he grabbed the bar and swung himself down. The man was practically a mountain, easily outweighing both Sokka and Zuko put together, but that much was fairly common for the male population of the prison. "So when do we break out?"

Sokka laughed nervously, "What, breaking out? No, not us, I don't know what you're talking about." Zuko was beginning to wonder who was worse at lying, Sokka or himself.

The prisoner was having none of it. "Look, I know you're planning a break out, and I want in. Otherwise, I'll just go to the warden with this little plan of yours..."

"Alright fine, you can come along, but you have to do exactly as I say." Sokka grumbled, unhappy with the intrusion but helpless to prevent it now.

"Deal." the man agreed.

"Alright, the first thing we need is to get inside one of those coolers."

The man didn't skip a beat, proclaiming with total confidence, "Oh, I can get you in."

Not long after they had hammered out all the details and finalized their plan, a large man was standing with his arms crossed over his chest observing nothing in particular when a much smaller, younger man with a scarred face bumped into him with a mop. The two immediately turned to confront one another with angry scowls and harsh words on their lips.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" shouted the bigger one.

"Why don't you watch where you're standing!" Zuko returned, trying hard not to think about how ridiculous the entire spectacle was.

They locked hands in a mock-power struggle, making the scene even more ridiculous that Zuko would even stand a chance in pound for pound strength with this man over twice his size and girth. In no short order Zuko found himself being pulled and thrown across the room, stumbling as he landed but swiftly regaining his composure. By this time every prisoner and guard alike were viewing the scuffle with ranging degrees of amusement and confusion.

Deciding that he had brought more than enough attention to himself, Zuko punched forward and shot a more or less harmless ball of fire at the man's feet, earning a swift response from the guards.

"Hey! No Firebending, into the cooler with you!" The nearest guard grabbed his hands and wrenched them behind his back before herding him off towards the nefarious cold torture tanks meant to serve both as isolation devices as well as Firebending suppressors. Right before he was pushed inside the metal container, the guard handed him a wrench.

"Make sure you loosen every bolt, I'll be by to check on you later." Sokka told him, and with that he shut the door and continued with his "guard duties", while Zuko took to unfastening the cooler.

* * *

After an hour, Aang was frustrated. After two, he was on the verge of a breakdown. But after three hours of trying to see a fireball all the way to the other side of the gorge and making it only halfway at best, the Avatar was just plain ready to give up. He couldn't believe it, but he found himself missing the leaf.

Noticing that he had ceased his futile, however entertaining, attempts to strike the far canyon wall, Azula abandoned her meditation and began approaching her new student, calling out to him, "Given up have we?"

Aang hung his shoulders in defeat as he turned to reply, "I just can't do it. No matter how hard I try I just can't keep the fire going long enough to hit the wall."

"Just as I suspected, you haven't mastered control well enough yet. Here," she said, handing him a candle and lighting the tip with her fingers, "this candle is meant to last one hour precisely. I want you to keep it going until sundown exactly. For every minute before that you let this flame die, _or_ for every minute after that it's still burning, I'm going to hurl the largest, most powerful blast of fire that I possibly can at you. One way or another, Avatar, you _will_ learn how to control fire."

Aang gulped visibly as he nervously accepted the candle, thinking to himself, _Well, at least it's not a leaf_. Sitting himself down with his legs crossed, he placed the candle directly in front of him and felt for the flame, channeling his chi to assume control over it and, settling into rhythmic, proper breathing, he focused his awareness on the flame and concentrated on mainting a slow, steady burn. Azula watched the Avatar with a smirk of satisfaction, deciding she wasn't half bad at this whole teaching thing. _Perhaps I'll teach Zuzu's kids..._

The thought of her brother's children suddenly brought an entirely new quandary to the forefront of her mind. Of course _she_ wouldn't be having his children, for obvious reasons, nor would she be marrying him. Mai would probably be the one, if only to keep up appearances, but she wasn't keen on the idea. He needed a strong Firebender to ensure his children were as powerful as possible. _It should be me,_ she told herself, and she supposed they _could_ secretly have some and pretend they were Mai's, but there were too many risks, not least of which being the possibility of crippling deformity.

There was also, of course, the distinct possibility of the secret getting out, which would put their children in serious danger. She had no doubt that, should the Avatar prove successful and her father defeated, there would remain for many years rebel sects that would oppose her brother's rule. Should a secret such as a child born of incest reach their ears, it would be gas on a fire, and though Azula was fairly confident nobody would be fool enough to challenge the throne so long as she had any say in the military command, she also knew she couldn't possibly be there forever.

Azula wasn't even entirely convinced that she _wanted_ to have children in the first place, come to think about it. From what she understood of the process, it was an increasingly uncomfortable nine months followed by an excruciating, unimaginable amount of pain, and when it was all said and done her body would be essentially ruined. While vanity was far from being her most prominent sin, she did value her beauty to an extent. Bending others to her will could prove to be much more difficult if she were a hideous, fat shrew.

Deciding now was hardly the time for such unpleasant thoughts, Azula rose from where she was seated across from the Avatar and set about running through her Firebending katas, a habit she had long ago taken to whenever she needed to clear her mind. Aang himself was so heavily entranced in his exercise that he didn't even notice her move.

She started off quick, precise and pure in her movements, as near perfection as anyone could hope to achieve. Her movements were swift and sure as she flowed from one stance to the next with the seamlessness of a Waterbender, only to stab at the air with her forefingers with all the sudden ferocity of a Firebender, the kicks that sent her sailing into the air every bit as powerful if not more so. Whenever she landed, it was with all the grace of a cat and when she rose once more it was with all the unyielding power of an Earthbender.

At a certain point, Aang had peeked his eyes open when he caught the barely audible sound of feet hitting the stone floor. Though she was quiet, she couldn't quite land like an Airbender. He suddenly found himself lost in her movements, so unlike anything he had ever learned from any of the other bending disciplines, and, with his recent discovery of the true meaning of Firebending from the dragons, he found himself somehow, strangely, understanding. It was like a dance, not with a partner, or even with herself, but a dance with all the world around her. It was the dance of fire, growing and changing, yet always being the same in it's essence. Whenever she would rise she would fall, and whenever she went down she would always come back up. Twisting and turning to the right would lead to a spin to the left, and in this manner she seemed to move without resistance, almost without thought even, she simply moved, just as fire cared not for what lay in it's path, only that it would find a way past it.

It was a true expression of Firebending, something so much more than keeping a leaf from burning or a candle from dwindling, or hitting a target over 50 yards away with a blast of fire. It was so much more, so much breathtakingly, beautifully more, and Aang found himself _aching_ to learn it for himself, to be capable of interacting with the world in such an unbridled, passionate fashion.

By the time she centered herself with a final exhalation, the candle was all but forgotten and the Avatar was fully captivated by her display. Azula opened her eyes to see his grey eyes opened wide, staring at her in a way that told her he had been fixated for some time. She sauntered towards him, eyes flicking to the candle in front of him before finally saying, "You've lost focus on your candle, and it's burned more than halfway now in less than an hour."

Suddenly realizing his mistake, Aang went immediately back to concentrating on the small flame, resuming his proper breathing and focus. "I would be quite surprised if it lasted another hour, let alone the three or so 'til sundown." With that deceptively unthreatening remark, Azula took a seat directly across from the Avatar and proceeded to study him with an unblinking stare. Aang tried his hardest to block out the unpleasant tingling in his stomach that grew slowly but steadily outwards.

Over the next couple hours, Azula neither moved nor spoke, or did anything at all to break the Avatar's concentration, instead she simply stared at him, her molten golden irises promising a world of pain if he failed to keep the candle burning long enough. Even with the sun sinking in the sky and the unmistakable first signs of the sunset were beginning to appear in the sky, Aang couldn't ignore that stare, not completely enough at least. The candle was barely there anymore, a smidgen of wax that realistically shouldn't have lasted more than another minute, but still he was trying. Trying his very hardest to keep that little thing going.

Even with the sun beginning to set and the goal just in reach, he couldn't shake the fear of failure, and the nervousness that had started in his stomach had spread by now throughout his entire body, causing perspiration to bead on the back of his neck and his focus to waver ever so slightly. He gulped, and it was apparently the sign Azula had been waiting for.

Without warning, she inhaled, and the tiny spec of flame roared to life with a dazzlingly bright blue intensity, immolating the remainder of the wax and Aang had to raise an arm to shield his face from the intense heat. Just as suddenly as it had started, the flames died down and vanished, leaving nothing left of the candle and a thoroughly frightened Avatar still shielding his face as an Angry Azula glared at him.

"Why were you afraid!" she demanded.

"I wasn't!"

"Don't lie to me, you're terrible at it. You were afraid."

Realizing the futility, Aang gave up the lie and admitted, "Yes, I was. I was afraid the candle was going to go out and you were going to attack me!"

"And did the candle go out?"

"No, it didn't, but you…"

"No, it didn't, and it wouldn't have either, you had complete control over it, but you were afraid, and you let that fear take root and grow until it consumed you, and then you lost control of the fire." Aang was about to continue arguing, but he stopped himself, realizing a lesson when he was about to learn one, and let her continue. "That was _your_ flame, yours to control, but you lost focus, so I was able to steal control of it from you. The worst mistake you can ever possibly make when fighting another Firebender, especially one as powerful as my father, is to let them take control of _your_ fire."

As understanding dawned over him, the Avatar nodded his head, and Azula concluded her lecture. "Do not ever show fear, Avatar, do not even allow yourself to feel it, no matter how scared you might be. That is _true_ control. When you can control your very most base emotions, then you will be able to hit that wall, and you will have the control of a master Firebender. Then, you will be able to learn the Dance of Fire."

Excitement suddenly swelled up in the young Avatar's chest, so much so that he could barely contain himself as he exclaimed, "You mean you can really teach me that!"

Azula nodded, "Of course I can, but first you must master control. Now let's get going, it's late and I'm sure your friends are driving themselves mad with all the possible ways I could have killed you by now."

Aang gave an unconvincing, nervous chuckle. Azula's sense of humor was still something that could use a little work, but he tried to agree with it when he could. Looking up to the barely taller than himself girl, Aang said, "You know Azula, you're alright when you want to be. I'm glad we're friends now."

Azula was for just a moment taken completely off guard by the implications, but she quickly found her voice to reply without any trace of uncertainty, "Yes, yes I suppose we are now, aren't we?"

"Of course, Sifu Hotma'am."

"Don't you ever call me that again."

"Okay!" Aang called out cheerfully as he raced away at inhuman speeds, eager to see his friends after what felt like training the entire day. Azula watched him go with a mild sense of annoyance. While his childish attitude was certainly annoying for the most part, it held also a somewhat endearing quality. Being forced to grow up as quickly as she had had left little room for any sort of an actual "childhood," and now, seeing someone with so much responsibility on their shoulders who could still find the time to be a carefree kid, she couldn't help but feel some twisted form of respect for him.

Still, if he ever used that dreadfully outdated term in addressing her again, she would probably burn his tongue so badly he wouldn't be able to speak for a month. The idea was tempting, and she half-heartedly considered doing it just for the fun of it. _Oh, but we have to be a good girl now, don't we? Play well with others and all that nonsense_. Azula harrumphed at the idea. She had never exactly been one to play well with others, which was part of the reason why she was hanging back, not particularly compelled to go seek out the company of anyone else at the very moment, even if her actual friends were there as well.

She turned to face the setting sun once more, though she couldn't actually see it with the high canyon wall obstructing her view, the light of the sky overhead told her that it had nearly sunk beyond the horizon completely, and a chilly night air swept through the exposed temple section she was in. Paying no heed, Azula walked calmly towards the edge, looking up to the sky with her arms crossed and hoping beyond hope to see that damned war balloon.

It was no use. She had avoided thinking about him all day, and so with a defeated, stifled moan she sank down against a nearby pillar, tucking her knees to her chest and hugging them with her arms as silent tears slipped down her cheek. It was okay, Azula told herself, nobody was around, she was allowed to cry, was allowed to let herself feel the roiling emotions inside of her without anybody to judge. She had been told that crying was a shameful showing of weakness, the very idea drilled into her head like so many Firebending lessons, but she couldn't bring herself to care right then.

Zuko was weak, wasn't he? He had so many flaws, so many "shameful weaknesses", but she loved him didn't she, despite all of those? He loved her, too, right? Certainly he would still love her even if she had one or two pathetic little weaknesses, that was the point of love wasn't it? To accept someone for everything they were, regardless of flaws? She couldn't always pretend to be perfect, she would drive herself mad doing so. She was still just a little girl, despite all she had accomplished, everything she could do, deep down she was just a scared little 14 year old girl with nobody in the entire world who cared about her except one weak, dishonored, cowardly idiot who was everything she could never be and if she ever lost him…

Azula clutched herself into a tighter ball, literally biting her tongue to prevent the screams of anguish that wanted so desperately to make themselves heard as the tears streamed almost without end down her pale, smooth cheek.

* * *

Zuko couldn't tell how much time had passed in his frozen torture chamber, but when the door finally did slide back open, he was huddled into himself with his head bowed into his knees and his arms wrapped around himself. The guard looked down at him and barked out, "Have you had enough time to learn your lesson prisoner?"

Looking up and inhaling, Zuko let out a snort of flame, showing how very clearly unaffected by the cold he was, and grinning with triumphant defiance as he revealed the dozens of nuts and bolts he was cradling in his shirt. "Yes, I have."

Sokka gave an appreciative grin and told him, "Good, now all we have to do is get this thing out of here and down to the lake. I already have the others waiting." Footsteps suddenly caught his attention, and slamming the door shut once more he spun around to pretend he was standing guard outside the cooler as a pair of actual prison guards came walking past, talking amongst themselves.

"You hear about the new shipment coming in tomorrow?"

"Yeah, nothing special though, just some common criminals, a few murderers, the usual."

"I heard there might be some war prisoners."

The guard's voices died down as they rounded a corner, and after waiting a few seconds to be safe, Sokka turned to open the cooler door once more, and Zuko looked up to him with a knowing expression after having heard the conversation.

"War prisoners." the Firebender intoned.

"My father." Sokka said, his voice full of contemplation. His best chance of escape was now, as he was certain the cooler trick would only work once, but if he did leave now, he might miss the opportunity to rescue his father. He had to decide, and quickly.

Zuko, only too aware of the dilemma his new friend faced, asked him, "Well, what are you going to do?"

Sokka shook his head, banishing the risky thought from his head. "No, we've come too far, and this might be our only shot at escape. I can't risk Suki like that, we have to do this."

"Are you sure? You said you needed to redeem yourself, if you run away now you'll beat yourself up over the possibilities."

"I came here to try and rescue my dad, and he isn't here. Suki is though, and if I have a chance to free her then I have to take it. There's no guarantee my dad would even be a part of the 'shipment'." Knowing the end of an argument when he heard one, Zuko only nodded, and together they set about prying the tank out of the wall and praying they could get it out without being spotted.

Some time later, the attention of three people standing at the edge of the boiling lake was alerted to grunts of exertion and, looking uphill, they spotted two figures struggling with a large metal cylinder. Rushing to provide support, the big guy- Chit Sang, as he had eventually come to introduce himself as- relieved a good deal of the weight and both Zuko and Sokka breathed easier for it. They were careful to lower the cooler slowly so that it would stop before just splashing into the water, and once they had they turned it so one end pointed in the direction they wanted it to go. Once they had half of the tank pushed into the water, Chit Sang's girlfriend, an added stipulation to their agreement, jumped inside, and Suki was about to follow when she noticed Sokka's hesitation.

"What's wrong?"

Sokka was silent for a moment before finally answering, "I can't. I just can't go through with this."

Suki looked at him completely bewildered. "What do you mean, we're right here, we've almost made it."

"I heard some guards talking about more prisoners coming in tomorrow. They said there would be some war prisoners. One of them might be my father, and I just can't leave until I know for sure."

"It's alright Sokka," she told him, expression softening with concern, "you don't have to explain it to me, I understand."

"You do?" Sokka questioned, visibly relieved as she nodded. "Good, when you leave here make for the Western Air Temple, don't worry about me I'll figure another way out of here-"

"Sokka, I'm not going anywhere without you."

Sighing from all the stress of his situation, the tribesman tried to explain, "Suki, please, we don't have time for this, you have to go. Don't worry about me I'll be fine, and knowing that you're safe-"

"Sokka, you can't get rid of me if you tried, I'm not going anywhere." The Kyoshi Warrior said with finality, and Sokka knew when to give up.

From the cooler tank came Chit Sang's voice, "Well we are, see ya." When nobody made any move to join them or otherwise protest, he pushed the remainder of the makeshift canoe into the lake and jumped in, leaving Sokka, Suki and Zuko right where they started, stranded at the prison.

* * *

"There you are." Ty Lee's voice was laced lightly with concern, as if she had been searching for some time. Azula might have been surprised that she had been spotted while somewhat hiding behind a pillar, but then, hiding your body and hiding your aura were two different things, and she supposed her friend had spotted the later with little difficulty, if what she always claimed about seeing them were true.

The acrobat stepped lightly towards the ledge where her friend had spent the last couple hours in achingly peaceful solitude. She fidgeted as if waiting for something, and sensing this, Azula said, "You may sit down if you like, Ty Lee." Despite the authority of her words, her voice was raspy and hollow, a telltale sign that she had been crying, though Ty Lee would make no comment of it. Without a second thought she sat down, but only after receiving the princess' blessing. Whatever else circumstance said, she would always be a princess to Ty Lee.

After it became apparent that Azula wasn't going to break the silence, Ty Lee decided she would be the one to do it. "So… how's teaching the Avatar Firebending going? Boy, that's gotta be weird huh?" she commented with a chuckle. Good ol' Ty Lee, nothing ever seemed to dampen her mood. Azula was feeling just the opposite at the moment, and she had to consciously make an effort not to take it out on her friend. It was hardly her fault, after all.

At first, it didn't seem as if she was going to say anything in response, which didn't entirely surprise Ty Lee, but then after a brief, tense silence, she admitted in a quiet, raspy voice, "He's remarkable."

The acrobat blinked in surprise. She couldn't recall her friend ever praising somebody else's abilities when it came to Firebending, as regardless of how good they were, she could _always_ outdo them. To anyone else, it may have been nothing, but to Ty Lee, her friend said more with those two little words than she had ever heard her say before in her life. "Well I'm sure it helps having such a great teacher."

Whatever reaction she had been hoping for, be it a chuckle or a self satisfied smirk, she didn't get it. Azula just continued staring detachedly into the abyss of the wide canyon, clutching herself as if afraid that letting go would cause her to break apart into little pieces that would scatter on the wind. It just wasn't fair. Why did it have to be Zuko, why couldn't it be her? She was there right now, she could comfort her, she could hold her, but no, it had to be stupid Zuko. Stupid Zuko who was always running off for who knew how long? Stupid Zuko who didn't love her the way she deserved. Stupid Zuko who would break her heart, and then what? Ty Lee didn't like the thought of watching Azula fall apart, something she had secretly dreaded for a long time now, longer than she cared to think about. She knew if it happened, there would be no piecing her back together.

"It'll be okay, Azula. He promised he would come back, right?" She couldn't avoid the only subject that actually mattered any longer.

"That will hardly make a difference if he gets caught." she replied, almost as dejectedly as if he already had been. Ty Lee cringed, but refused to give up her optimism.

"He'll come back, he just has to."

"And what if he doesn't!" Azula snapped, her head suddenly coming up and turning to direct an angry scowl in her friend's direction. Anger was a comfortable, familiar refuge, but her eyes told Ty Lee the much sadder truth. Her perfect princess wasn't angry, she wasn't even scared. She was terrified. It was a look that made the acrobat's chest tighten and her mouth go dry.

Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, Ty Lee answered, "You won't be alone Azula. You'll still have me, you'll always have me." She knew it wasn't the right answer, and she could already hear the bitter replies, but it was the only one she had.

Instead of berating her, Azula seemed instead to simply deflate. "It's not the same, Ty."

"Azula, I-"

"Don't say it."

Unable to stop herself, it was Ty Lee's turn to boil over with anger as she nearly shouted, "Why!? Why can't I say it, huh? Azula I love you, I always have and we've both known it for spirits know how long. Is that so bad? Is that so wrong that I can't even _say_ it, that I have to pretend what I feel for you isn't real?"

"Ty Lee-"

"NO! You always silence me, you always make _me_ listen, well now it's _your_ turn Azula! I'm going to talk, and you're going to listen whether you like it or **not**!" In the face of such a furious onslaught, there was little more for Azula to do than simply sit back and acquiesce, and so she did, as Ty Lee ranted on. "It's always been about you Azula, but there's other people you know. Other people who have their own feelings, and it's downright selfish of you to pretend they don't matter because they do!"

"I've always looked up to you Azula, you know that? I've always admired you, and the way you never let anything stop you or hold you back. When I ran away to join the circus, I almost didn't go because I wasn't sure what might happen, what I would do if things didn't work out. I thought about you, and how you would just make things work in your favor for no other reason than the fact it's you. Nothing's ever been able to stand in your way, not even the Avatar! And now you're in love with your brother? Do you have any _idea_ how messed up that is! But it doesn't matter, because when the world tells you no you turn right around and say 'too bad'. You don't know what I would give to be like that, to be so confident and sure of myself. You don't know how badly I want to be like you Azula."

"You don't want to be like me, Ty Lee." the other girl said in a hoarse whisper.

Ty Lee scoffed, an odd, ugly sound that didn't suit her at all. "Do you even listen to yourself? You think you're the only one with problems or something? Well you aren't! Look at the Avatar, he has to kill your dad in less than a month, but you don't see him moping around like it's the end of the world, even though it could be!"

Azula remained silent, there wasn't really much she could say to that after all, it being true. In the grand scheme of things, her problems truly weren't all that major, but they still felt a lot more important to her than anything else. Ty Lee glared at her friend, silently challenging her to argue back, but when it became apparent that there would be no argument, she eventually softened her features, and when she next spoke, there was no more anger, instead it was replaced with a reserved melancholy.

"You didn't pick me, I understand that, and I'm not going to tell you that choosing your brother is wrong, because they say a girl loving a girl is wrong as well." She sat down once more by her friend's side, reaching an arm across and placing it on a shoulder, that small sign of affection being all she was allowed, so she took it happily. "But just because you don't love me, doesn't mean I can't love you." It was such a simple admission, so small and yet so forcefully honest, that the guilt of it all was quickly becoming too much to bear.

"I'm sorry, Ty."

"Don't be, silly." Ty Lee gave her a one armed hug, savoring the warmth as long as she possibly could. "You haven't done anything wrong by me."

The two friends sat in silence for a little while longer before Ty Lee finally stood and stretched, yawning out, "I think it's time I get some sleep, I'm beat." She waited a moment for Azula to stand, but the princess didn't make a move.

"I'll head to bed soon, I just want to sit out here a little bit longer." she said at last, as if sensing the acrobat's thoughts.

Smiling, Ty Lee turned and walked away as she wished her friend a good night. As she reached the now dark hallway, she couldn't resist one last glimpse backwards, and with a forlorn resignation she thought to herself, _It's like she doesn't even know how amazing she really is._

* * *

"Dad." Sokka almost couldn't believe his eyes, but sure enough, standing there in red prison rags and looking almost sad though still defiant, was Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. His dad.

The newest prisoners were all lined up before the warden, who was taking a special interest in the leader of the Southern Water Tribe resistance fighters. Sokka watched nervously as his father finally bowed down to the bitter old man, only to stifle a laugh a moment later as the warden fell flat on his face after being tripped. As the guards led the prisoners to their new cells, Sokka carefully followed to keep on eye on which one his father was placed in. Once the legitimate guards had gone on about their business, he slipped inside the cell and carefully shut the door behind him.

"Thank goodness you're alright."

On his feet instantly, Hakoda raised his fists and warned what he perceived to be just another prison guard, "Take one more step and you'll see just how alright I am."

Sokka was quick to remove his helmet, his past experience with Suki teaching him the dangers of impersonating the enemy. "Dad, it's me."

Hakoda's expression couldn't have changed more drastically as he lunged forward to embrace his son. "Sokka!"

They embraced for a brief moment before Sokka cut to the chase. "Don't worry dad, I have a plan to break you out of here. I don't have time to go over the details, just be ready to meet up in the yard when they let you out."

Turning and making for the door, Sokka stopped and looked back when his father called out his name. All the man could think to say was, "Be careful." Giving him a nod of assurance, he replaced his helmet and quickly slid out of the cell, shutting the door behind him and carrying on with his plan.

Or at least, he would have, had he not been stopped ten seconds later by a duo of guards. "Hey you! The warden wants to see you."

Turning to head the other way, Sokka replied cheerfully, "Actually, I'm kinda busy right now, have him reschedule for tomorrow sometime." He didn't make it far though, as a second pair of guards intercepted him and began hauling him off.

"He wants to see you _now_."

Sokka found himself shoved into a lineup of prison guards, and with his helmet removed he felt suddenly very vulnerable. He attempted to hide behind the guard next to him, only to be elbowed back into place. The warden was standing impatiently while a prisoner was brought forward, one easily recognizable to the boy from the Southern Water Tribe. Apparently, Chit Sang had managed to screw up his flawless plan, and Sokka secretly wanted to smack the oaf.

"Now tell me, Chit Sang," the warden drawled out with malevolent anticipation, "which of these guards is the imposter."

The massive man was looking down at the ground with shame written all over his face at having been broken so easily, and he glanced over at Sokka who shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. _I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm_-

"It's him!"

Peeking with one eye, Sokka saw the man's finger extended straight at the face of a different guard, and he let go of a breath he didn't know he'd held. _Not dead?_ He nearly wanted to shout his relief and joy, but couldn't afford blowing his cover so he bottled his exuberance. The accused guard was as perplexed as he was outraged, and nearly tried to burn Chit Sang's face off before his fellow guards subdued his arms.

"What are you talking about you liar!" shouted the man, but Chit Sang merely held his hands up in a neutral placating gesture and had a look on his face that said he would say no more. After the guards led the wrongfully accused man away, he directed a grin towards Sokka, who was secretly thanking the man a thousand times over.

While the warden was "interrogating" his guard, Sokka took the opportunity to head up to the main control room where various levers operated the many doors of the prison. There was always a guard stationed in the room, but he had already thought up an easy enough ruse.

"Release all the prisoners into the yard, warden's orders." Sometimes, being an unquestionable authority figure had it's draws, as the simple use of your name could persuade any of your underlings in to doing something, even if it was irrational. The guard blanched at the order, protocol nagging him in the back of his mind.

"But, we're in the middle of a lockdown. I can't do that." the man said with much more conviction than he actually felt.

Sokka shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by the man's response. "Alright, I'll just tell the warden you went against his orders, I'm sure he'll understand." Lifting his visor he asked, "What was your name again?" He watched as the man broke out in a sweat and knew he had already won.

"Wait, you don't have to tell him, it's just… that's a really strange request considering we're in lockdown, I'm just confused is all."

"Hey, I'm confused too, but when the warden is in moods like this it's usually best to just do what he says, right?"

Gulping down the nervous lump in his throat, the guard answered hazily, "Yeah…" before proceeding to push all the levers and open the numerous prison cells. A mass of confused prisoners walked warily out of their cells and made their way to the prison yard as Sokka slipped out of the control room and headed for the rendezvous point.

The loud buzz from opening all of the doors at once alerted the warden, who promptly abandoned his interrogation and went to find out who was defying his orders and, more importantly, _why_. He swiftly exited the facility and walked along the railed walkway that overlooked the prison yard until he reached a group of his guards, each just as nervous as they were confused.

"Who let all these prisoners out of their cells, we're in the middle of a lock down!" So blinded by his rage was he that warden failed to notice one of his guards shrink away and scuttle along the walkway, hugging the wall until he was out of sight.

Down in the yard itself, the prisoners were all milling about in a confused mass, and nobody seemed to notice the guard conspiring with a few of the other prisoners. Zuko came up at that particular moment and looked to Sokka for direction. "We're all here, now what?"

"We need to start a riot, got any ideas?"

His father volunteered to give it a shot, and walking towards the nearest volatile looking prisoner, he took a few jogging steps before shoving the man roughly from behind.

"Hey, what'd ya do that for?!" the man demanded as he rounded on Hakoda. The chief of the Southern Water Tribe blinked once, having not anticipated the reaction of words before violence.

"You aren't mad?" he asked, clearly seeing the anger diffusing from the prisoner as quickly as it had appeared.

"Well yeah, but I've been learning in therapy that I need to take control of my anger."

Hakoda was dumbfounded, and after the man turned around to resume his conversation, he walked back towards his son and just gave him a shrug. It was at that precise moment that Chit Sang decided to so helpfully show up, pointing a finger at Sokka. "Hey, you owe me for not ratting you out earlier. I know you're planning another escape, and I want in."

"Actually, we're trying to escape right now, but we need to start a riot. I don't suppose you would know how to do that?" The burly man waved Sokka aside as he strode forward, blowing air between his lips and making a sound that said "child's play". Apparently, it was.

Chit Sang grabbed the first man he passed, and without any warning raised him above his head and shouting so everybody could hear him, "Hey, everybody. Riot!" It was like shooting fire at a powder keg. The prisoners didn't waste a second in hurling random fireballs into the air and shouting, fights breaking out for no other reason than to fight. The few unlucky guards to have been stationed in the yard were quickly overwhelmed as uncontrolled chaos reigned. Dusting his hands off, Chit Sang walked calmly back towards the others and asked, "Now what?"

"Now, we just need to get to the warden and take him hostage, and we can ride the gondola out of here." Everyone nodded in agreement with the plan, as it was fairly solid, but after a moment of looking expectantly at their ring leader, it was Hakoda who asked the question they were all wondering.

"How exactly are we supposed to do that?"

Sokka realized after a moment that he didn't have an answer for that question. "I'm, not sure."

Looking back towards the crowd, Chit Sang pointed, "Hey, I don't think we have to worry about that, it looks like your girlfriend's taking care of it." Following where the man indicated, sure enough, there was Suki, running atop the heads of oblivious prisoners with all the nimble agility that only studious, disciplined training can bring.

Using all her speed, she hit the wall at a sprint, and using her hands and feet she scrambled up the wall, defying gravity and kicking off with her feet, she flipped backwards so her feet could catch on a horizontal bar. The momentum caused her body to swing like a pendulum, and rocketing upwards, Suki flipped once in the air before landing with all the grace of a cat on the railing of the walkway.

The guards were already charging her, having seen her approach, though none of them actually believing she would make it. Grabbing the one on her right's wrist and using his own charge against him, she easily tossed him over her shoulder and right into his counterpart, sending them both to the ground long enough for her to scramble up to the second walkway. More guards charged, all going down just as quickly as they came until it was just her and the warden.

He punched a fireball at Suki as she charged him, but she easily ducked the attacked and moved under his still outstretched arm, grabbing him by the wrist and wrenching his arm out of the way as her other fist stopped just inches from his face, along with her own face. Glaring daggers at the triumphant smirk she gave him, the warden growled, "You wouldn't _dare_." Instead of punching him, Suki grabbed the sash around his waist and twirled around him, grabbing his other hand and tying them both behind his back. She then grabbed the bandana that he wore like some sort of crown and made a makeshift gag out of it.

"Sorry warden, you're _my_ prisoner now."

Jaws dropped and eyes wide, all the men on the ground had simply stood and watched as Suki single handedly defied physics and took out a dozen guards before taking the warden prisoner. Hakoda was the first to find his voice, telling his son, "That's some girl you found there, Sokka."

"Yeah, she sure is."

In no time the group had made it's way up to the platform leading to the gondolas, but found heavy resistance in their way. Fire was launched but easily deflected by Zuko, who hesitated from returning fire.

"Stop, we have the warden!" shouted Suki, and all weapons and fists were lowered hesitantly. They couldn't argue with the fact that it was the warden, and nobody knew exactly what to do, so playing it safe, the guards begrudgingly let the prisoners pass with no further hindrance, though they didn't hesitate to follow at a wary distance.

The group piled into the awaiting gondola, all save for Zuko, who stayed back to pull the lever. Kicking at the lever in an attempt to break it, he was met only with unyielding metal. The guards saw their opportunity and rushed forward, and Zuko noticed his predicament. With a final spinning kick, he gave it everything he had and the metal snapped with a violent ring. Taking off at a sprint, he made to leap for the gondola, only to feel something grab his shoulder at the last second.

The guards swarmed over him in a wave while Sokka and the others could only watch helplessly. "Zuko!" Sokka's shout was almost lost on the prince as he was pinned down by a multitude of hands, but he heard it.

In a last ditch effort, Zuko screamed out, "Tell her I love her Sokka! Tell A-"

His voice was cut off as hands covered his mouth, and he felt himself being dragged back into the dark recesses of the prison. All he could think was how utterly, hopelessly screwed he really was this time.

"We have to go back, we have to save Zuko!"

"Son, we've come too far, we can't risk it. You've blown your cover and you'll never have another chance at this. He knew the risks, he stayed behind to ensure we could all get away. If it wasn't for his selfless act, we never would have gotten away. If we want to honor his sacrifice, we need to escape and get to safety."

His father's words struck a chord in the rational, logical part of Sokka's brain, but that didn't make it any easier to accept the situation. Hakoda placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder, "We can always think of a way to break him out later."

Something about the distant, cold way he answered, "No, we can't." caused his dad to worry, but he didn't know what to say.

Suki, in an attempt to console her friend and rescuer, told him, "Sokka, we'll think of something, you just have to think positive."

"You guys, the Fire Lord probably doesn't think too highly of traitors." As if they had all forgotten exactly who Zuko was, realization suddenly dawned as grim understanding settled into their faces. Then Sokka added, "Besides, that's the least of _my_ problems, now."

Suki asked the question everyone was wondering, "What do you mean?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose in all too Zukoesque gesture, Sokka muttered, "Azula's gonna kill me."

* * *

"Azula, you're going to kill me!" the Avatar shouted after narrowly avoiding yet another blast of azure flame. The princess looked less than pleased, or in other words, very the much the same as always.

"If this is how cowardly the Avatar is then you _deserve_ it! Stop dancing around with your Airbending and fight me like a _real_ Firebender!" Not being one to let conversation get in the way of a sparring match, Azula let loose with another jet of fire that she brought down with a swoop of her arm.

Remembering the purpose of this "friendly" little match, Aang resolved himself not to dodge or avoid, instead remembering his breathing and focusing. With a light hop, he spun 360 degrees and shot both arms outwards, summoning fire as he did and concentrating on growing the flames until he was engulfed in a more or less complete sphere of red and yellow flames. He remembered seeing Jeong Jeong use a similar move, and thought it would be a useful way of defending if he could figure it all out. As it was, he almost had the move down, but his flames lacked in several areas, preventing it from being 100% effective.

Azula relaxed, seemingly satisfied (for once) with his counter. It was admittedly an impressive, creative use of Firebending, and entirely useful for a number of applications. "You're clearly spent, and since you _finally_ decided to defend yourself properly, I suppose I'll be generous. Go take a break, eat something if you like, I don't really care. Just be back here in ten minutes."

Aang would have complained, if it weren't for the fact he had already made that mistake not once, but twice now. Ten minutes _was_ a generous break, and he wasn't going to waste a second of it by digging himself a deeper hole. Bowing to his Firebending teacher, he took off with the speed of the wind to find Katara and some much needed water, then hope Momo hadn't discovered his secret stash of berries.

Azula walked to her usual perch to gaze out across the expanse of fog that seemed to be ever present in this spirits forsaken canyon. Sighing out of what could have just as easily been annoyance or boredom, she tried to think of something that might take her mind off Zuko. It was becoming an increasingly difficult task the longer he was away. Anything could have happened to him, not least of which was boiling to death in that lake. That, she supposed, would be a much more merciful option than being captured and turned over to her father.

It was as she was thinking of this and other equally unpleasant things that the wind suddenly picked up as a loud humming began to fill the air. Before she could even think of what might be happening, the ominous and obvious shape of a war zeppelin began to descend into the canyon, and Azula's heart seemed to freeze in her chest. _He's found us..._

Turning on her heel, Azula raced to find the rest of the group, or at least, her friends and the Avatar. The rest of them she didn't exactly care about, but the minor nagging details escaped her at that moment. As she raced down the corridors, she was taking a mental note of any and every possible escape route, in case fighting off an entire battalion became too much to handle. Rounding the last corner, she found the entirety of the gang had all gathered, with the Avatar and his friends closest to the ship. There was a mismatched group of people exiting the balloon, all clearly not Fire Nation soldiers, though most of them did wear prison uniforms she noted.

_They're back!_ Azula nearly shouted, but she had the self control to fight the urge. Still, she couldn't deny the anticipation that swelled in her chest, the long awaited relief of being able to put this whole stupid mess behind her. She scanned the crowd of faces, and suddenly her face as well as her spirit dropped. Her feet felt like lead as she stepped forward, dread creeping in to replace the anticipation she had felt only moments prior. _No_, she told herself, sure she was missing something, _he has to be there, he has to be there, he has to-_

The terror solidified itself as the group gradually broke apart from their reunion and their faces turned somber upon gazing in her direction. Some avoided looking at her altogether, forcing her to finally ask with uncharacteristically wide, fearful eyes, "Where is Zuko? Where is my brother!?"

Nobody answered.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**_Hope it was worth the wait, as always thanks for taking the time._


	7. The Beach, Revisited

"_WHERE IS ZUKO!?" _Azula screamed with furious desperation, and her own savage echo was the only response that followed for what felt like the longest time. Sokka had come back, with a slew of people in his company, but no Zuko. The only answer was an obvious one, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth. At least then she would have a legitimate reason to obliterate him, aside from simply wanting to.

Nobody spoke, nobody so much as moved, and it became painfully clear to Sokka that it was his place to answer, despite how much he loathed the idea. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he said with an appropriate amount of melancholy, "He didn't make it. They captured him."

Azula squeezed her eyes shut against his words, but she unfortunately couldn't seal her ears in the same manner. The words infected her with a swell of emotions she could neither identify nor contain, "No… no-no-no-no-no," she repeated the word over and over, clutching the sides of her head in a futile attempt to negate reality, but ultimately, she knew he was doomed, and that knowledge destroyed what remained of her control. Turning on her heel, she did the only thing she could think to in a feeble attempt to cope with the reality she was forced to face. She made fire.

With a feral shriek of rage, Azula unleashed a plume of dazzling azure flames larger than a sky bison that shot across the open chasm, colliding with the opposite wall in an Earth-shattering explosion that blasted rocky debris out like a meteor striking the surface of the Earth. Immediately she sank to her knees, using her palms to support the rest of her as she all but collapsed under the unbearable weight of her grief. Heart-wrenching sobs shook her entire body, and all present could do little more than watch helplessly as the princess of the Fire Nation shattered before their eyes.

Sokka looked to his friends with desperation, "We need to do something, she's losing it!" They attempted to surround her, only to be held at bay by the two girls immediately at her side.

"Stay away from her!" Mai shouted with more fury than anyone had ever heard from the girl before, Ty Lee included. Three knives were already between her fingers, and her arm was raised across her body, tense and waiting for release at a moment's notice. Ty Lee herself was crouched at Azula's side, hands on her shoulders and trying her utmost to whisper words of consolation.

"It'll be okay, Azula, you can make it through this, I know you're strong enough. You're the strongest, smartest, most beautiful girl in the whole world you have to be okay, you just have to."

Shaking her head, Azula only repeated the same words over and over, "I can't, I can't do it, Ty, I can't I-I can't," leaving Ty Lee to hug her tighter, unsure of what else she could do.

With everyone's attention so diverted, Chit Sang took the opportunity to wander off, Sokka only just catching his movement out of the corner of his eye. "Where are you going?"

Chit Sang turned to regard the younger man briefly. "Sorry, man. Thanks for busting me out and all, but I've heard the stories, I know enough about the princess to know when to run. Good luck." With a final wave, the man was gone, leaving Sokka and his friends to deal with a highly distraught, highly volatile Firebending prodigy.

"Aang, what do we do?" Katara whispered from where she stood next to the Airbender, uncertainty plain in her features along with a touch of fear.

The Avatar simply shook his head, "I don't know."

"Did you see that fire blast? She's a danger to everyone here."

Aang's response was a solemn, "I know." Grim determination settled in as he realized it was going to fall on him to either attempt to defuse the situation, or save as many as he could. That's when he noticed Sokka and Katara's father walking forward.

Grabbing his dad's arm, Sokka demanded through clenched teeth, "Dad, what are you doing?"

Hakoda wasn't worried, or at least didn't let it show, as he told his son, "Sokka, don't worry about me, I'm doing what I feel I have to. You saved me from that prison, now I have to return the favor. If things go south, you get your sister and the Avatar out of here." With that, the chief of the Southern Water Tribe turned and took confident, sedate strides, ever mindful to keep the uncertainty he felt from showing on his face. The girl with the knives tensed at his approach, but he gave her a pleading look to show he meant no harm. When he didn't get filled with steel, he assumed he had been given clearance, but even then he maintained a minimum safe distance.

"Princess?" He didn't receive any indication she had heard him, nor had he really expected to. "My name is Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara and Sokka's father. I just wanted to tell you that what your brother did for us was an act of bravery that I haven't seen from men twice his age, and if it weren't for his selfless sacrifice, none of us might have made it out of there with our lives. It's an honor to have met him."

Vaguely, Azula was aware that someone was talking to her, talking to her about Zuko, no less. She couldn't place the voice, but something about it just sounded so… sincere, and sad. The voice of a man who had known too many hardships for just one lifetime, and yet persevered in spite of them. The voice continued, "The last thing I heard him say was 'tell her I love her'. Last words like those are usually reserved for a man's wife, but I'm betting Prince Zuko wasn't married. If I had to guess, I'd say he intended those words for you."

Azula sniffled, knowing more of the truth to what the man was saying than he himself did, and silencing herself she ceased lamenting in order to listen to the rest of what the voice had to say. "I don't think he would want to see you fall apart like this, not after coming this far. It's only after we lose someone truly dear to us that we find out just how strong we really are. How strong is the princess of the Fire Nation?"

That's when Azula finally took a real, hard look at herself, collapsed on the floor in front of a group of strangers crying her eyes out. Was this her? Was Zuko truly the only crutch she had to lean on for some semblance of stability in her life? Was she doomed without him? Remove someone's crutch, and they either fall flat on their face, or learn how to stand again. With an air of clarity and a reignited resolve, Azula stood.

Her eyes were red and puffy, and though the tears ceased to fall the evidence of their passing still adorned her cheeks. Clearing her throat, and with all the defiance that was so undeniably Azula, she regained her composure as if she hadn't completely lost it only moments before, and said, "Chief Hakoda, you are a rather brave and clever man."

"I have my moments." he replied with an honest grin. "To be called clever by the girl who conquered Ba Sing Se is a rare honor indeed, Princess."

Extending her hand, Azula humbly responded, "You observe etiquette well for a tribesman, but I'm afraid being a traitor has voided my title."

"Very well," Hakoda returned her gesture by clasping a hand about her forearm and taking her by surprise, "but one day, I _will_ call you Fire Lord Azula, and it will be my honor." Grasping the man's forearm in turn, Azula gave him a triumphant, confident smirk that promised pain to all her enemies, and eventually they relinquished their holds.

"There will be a time to grieve over the ones we've lost later, but so long as a war is still being waged, we warriors have to keep fighting. If you can teach the Avatar to be half as good at Firebending as what I just saw, he'll be able to defeat the Fire Lord, and finally end this war once and for all. For now, you kids need to get on Appa and fly away from here as fast as possible. The airship we came in on would be impossible for anyone with eyes to miss, and one way or another, the Fire Nation will figure out where the Avatar's hiding soon enough. The sooner you all get out of here, the better."

"What, Dad, no!" This time it was Katara's voice that rang out in response as she rushed to her father's side. "We just got the family back to together again, how can you say that? The Fire Nation won't split us up again!"

"Katara, I don't want to leave you two either, but it won't be forever, and right now the Avatar needs your help." As understanding filled her features, Katara gave her father a tearful hug before reluctantly returning to Aang's side. That was when a small metal canister trailing smoke came flying over the edge of the temple floor, clattering to a stop just a few yards shy of Hakoda and the three girls.

"Azula, look out!" Ty Lee's scream was her only warning before Azula felt herself being tackled from behind, only seconds before an explosion tore apart the air behind her. All she could hear for the next few heartbeats was a loud ringing while everything else around her seemed muted, and it took a few seconds to realize she had been hauled to her feet and was being led by her hand far away from where the explosion had happened. Recognizing Ty Lee as the person dragging her along, Azula tried to shout something, only to find her own voice was muffled and distorted along with everything else.

With the sound of her own heart hammering against the inside of her head, Azula tried to force her hearing to return, and slowly the noises around her began growing in volume and clarity, until suddenly everything was brought screaming back to normal volume in all its vibrant, audible chaos. She almost missed the quiet as another series of bombs exploded behind her, splitting her eardrums like firewood and planting the seeds of a headache that would later make itself fully realized.

Aang and his friends were hurrying about, tossing only the bare essentials into Appa's saddle, Toph and Mai dealing with the various bombs that were trying desperately to destroy the pillars securing the temple to the cliff face while Hakoda herded the non-essential children of the group towards a hallway to escape. Aang silently thanked the man, knowing Appa would have a hard enough time carrying the ones that he couldn't afford not to take. There was only so much room, and his stomach knotted at the thought of abandoning those who had stood by him so adamantly through all of this.

They finished loading Appa without a second to spare, and with a mighty breath Aang shouted over the din of battle, "Alright guys, let's get out of here!" With a nod to one another, Toph and Mai abandoned their post and sprinted for the bison, while Aang gave people boosts with his Airbending. Hakoda and his group had since disappeared, and with Toph as the last person to board, Aang assumed his position on Appa's neck with the reins clutched in his fists. With a loud "Yip-yip," they were off, soaring into the sky, but not before having to pass directly over a few of the closer war balloons.

Firebenders were already waiting at the tops of the airships to shoot down the bison, but with a few quick knives, the immediate threats were nullified long enough for them to reach a safe distance. An audible group sigh could be heard from the various parties in Appa's saddle as they all finally allowed themselves to relax. It was clear the airships had no desire to chase them, for as futile an effort as it would have been. The moment's adrenaline banished the sourness of loss, if only for the time being.

"So, any ideas on where we should go?" Sokka finally asked, though everyone was thinking about it. It was somewhat unsurprising then, to find out who exactly would have the first answer as to the whereabouts of a safe place in the Fire Nation.

"Head southeast," Azula said with all her usual confidence and assertion, "We're going on vacation."

* * *

Ty Lee had been curious ever since Azula had given them directions, but the ride had for so many hours now passed by over ocean that almost never changed, and even when it did, it was with a small rock formation that almost certainly wasn't their destination. She sighed loudly, an exaggerated affair what with half her body hanging over the saddle and entire demeanor deflated. Suddenly, she perked up as she noticed something in the distance up ahead. Sitting up, she squinted, if only briefly, then mused out loud, "Is that… It is! Azula, we're going to Ember Island again!"

"Of course we are, Ty Lee, I have the perfect place in mind for a new base of operations." Of course Azula wouldn't just say "hideout". "My family has a beach house that we haven't used in practically a decade, and I doubt Dad's going to be taking any time off this close to the comet."

An eerie stillness settled over the original members of Team Avatar that, to someone who knew them better, would have spoken volumes to their unnatural apprehension, but Azula didn't pay any notice. They were nearing the island, and her mind had already switched gears. "Alright, we'll need that 'ingenious' cloud disguise you're all so fond of," she stopped to both display a well-deserved smirk and gauge the reactions of her past enemies, which were understandably perplexed, all except maybe Toph.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out, Sunshine."

"Well you see, here in the Fire Nation," she replied, waving her hand around and finishing with the slightest hint of humor, "our clouds don't talk." The only two who laughed were Toph and Aang, but Azula didn't concern herself with the others. It was endearing to see that the Avatar had so easily become familiar with her particular sense of humor. Damn it all, she had never been taught that she could become friends with the enemy, that they could become actual human beings to her instead of simply obstacles to be removed. Why was she so damn eager for the Avatar's acceptance anyways, what did she care? Still, to be looked at as if you aren't some sort of abnormality or tool was such a rare and unfamiliar feeling for Azula, she secretly craved it, even if her conscious mind had all but blocked it out.

Sokka, always the first to suspicions about any of her plans, pointed an accusing finger. "If she knows about that, how can we be sure the rest of them aren't on to us?"

Even if he was talking over his shoulder to his friends, it was Azula herself who answered him. "Don't worry your head over it, I kept it a secret. It's not like I wanted anybody other than myself to find you, after I found out you were alive. Dad's hardly the type to forgive failure, but lying outright to his face? I'd be lucky to end up the prettier between Zuko and I after that."

Even if he still didn't let himself trust her words, he did believe, at the very least, in her healthy fear of her father's wrath. He was clearly not above burning children's faces off, especially his own. Around them, Aang created a sphere of air large enough to encapsulate Appa, and beyond the rushing gale, clouds began twisting inwards, obeying Katara's silent commands until the entirety of the flying bison was concealed perfectly. Azula silently approved, and in fact, it _was_ an ingenious idea for stealthy air travel through unfriendly territory, though scrutinizing eyes could still pick them out.

"We have to circle around to the southeast side of the island, that's where all the highest nobility estates are. It's also the most sparsely populated area on the beach, and it's all restricted from the public. The chances of being noticed are slim to none."

"I just hope we didn't burn all the furniture last time we were here," Mai's completely neutral tone rose from the back of the saddle where she half-paid attention as she twirled a knife around her finger. The two Water Tribe siblings, the Earthbender, and the Avatar himself, all exchanged completely dubious expressions as to the sanity of their newest additions. They burned their furniture on vacation…?

Aang let himself smile at the memories that suddenly flashed in his head. _It's nice to know some things are still the same as a hundred years ago_. He could remember summer bonfires with Kuzon on the beach, and the carefree feeling of recklessly abandoning oneself to a patron element. Even as an outsider, he was a kindred spirit who could appreciate the desire to lose oneself in their element so completely that the world itself faded out of thought.

Appa drifted around the outskirts of the island until Azula gave the word, and soon the group found themselves out of the saddle and stretching as they casually inspected their new hideout. The house was a rather proud size for a beach home, and entirely secluded from any and all neighbors. It stood atop a modest hill and overlooked an impressive expanse of shoreline. The jungle still existed in bits and pieces around the estate, but scarcely at the majestic scale it once had so long, long ago. The remains of a fire could be spotted on the beach.

Inside, the house was surprisingly spacious, opening up into a decent-size courtyard. The interior was practically barren of any furniture, but with some snooping, they managed to find some that had survived the other night. Suki was the first one to really break the silence when she asked, "So, doesn't anybody else think it's a little weird to be hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?"

Azula shrugged it away easily enough, "He hasn't been here in years, since before our family… changed. We used to come here when I was a little girl."

Suki wasn't sure what to think about that mental image. Azula as a sweet little girl…? She snorted to herself, probably more like a depraved little monster. She still wasn't too keen on the group's choice in Firebending teacher, but if the Avatar said it was fine then she would force herself to behave. For the most part, anyways. She still had a bone to pick about stealing clothes, a crime in and of itself against Girl Code. Such matters demanded justice at some point.

"It's also a perfect spot to train for the Avatar, he has plenty of everything here."

Aang couldn't help but give a cheesy grin. "Gee Azula, I had no idea you had thought about me, I really appreciate it."

"No, that's simply an added bonus, we would have come here regardless." She said with a complete lack of care one way or the other for him. Aang deflated, and as Azula turned to inspect more of the house, Mai came up with what probably passed for a grin as far as she was concerned.

"She's pretty great at making friends, isn't she?"

Aang simply shook his head in defeat and sighed, every bit of him but his mouth saying, "This is gonna take a lot of work." Moving on to run her own search of the place, Mai left the Avatar where he was and pretty soon he opted to take a look around himself.

The first room he passed by had a door slightly ajar, and he peaked in to notice Azula with her back to him, head down and clearly examining something in her hand. He took an impossibly quiet step, but her shoulders tensed up and she went rigid anyways. Sometimes, it was unnerving how she seemed to sense people trying to creep up on her. It wasn't a sense normal people should have.

"What is it?" Aang asked, not even seeing the relic from a past forsaken but not forgotten.

She didn't respond right away, but he was a patient person, and after a moment she said, almost as if she were still halfway back there in her mind from the distance of her voice, "A shell that my brother gave me a long, long time ago." The way she was holding it, Aang noticed, was likely the most gentle she had ever done. It was clearly precious to her.

She continued after a brief pause, "I know it's silly considering all the gems and jewelry I had as a princess, but at the time it was worth so much more, because he had found it specifically to give to me."

_"Here, Azula, I finally found one!" A much younger, scarless Zuko came bounding up with a silly grin on his face and something clutched in his child-sized hands. Azula was just sitting on the edge of the porch with her feet on the ground a step below. When he approached, Azula rolled her eyes as she stood, hands on her hips and cursing herself for not being on the porch so that she didn't have to try secretly stretching herself up just a little bit to avoid feeling shorter than him._

_"Found one what, Zu-Zu?"_

_He didn't scowl at the nickname, in fact he did the exact opposite, his grin becoming a full-blown ear-to-ear smile. "I found the perfect shell for you, I've been searching all morning!" Youthful vigor and happiness shone brightly through his golden eyes just as the sun does in the sky._

_An eyebrow quirk, and then, "What exactly makes you think I even want a shell."_

_Ignoring any attempts to defeat his optimism, Zuko replied, "It's the perfect one for you, Azula! See, look." He opened his hand, and in it was a black shell perhaps a shade or two smaller than her own palm. It was completely smooth, a somewhat rare occurrence, but what really made this one special was the way it reflected a brilliant, dark blue in the sunlight. It was beautiful, and for a moment Azula let her eyes be entranced, but soon enough she snapped back to reality._

_"I guess it's alright for a shell, but why did you even bother looking in the first place?"_

_Zuko was thoughtful for a moment before answering, "You're my sister, Azula. I wanted to get something just for you to remember this vacation by. I picked that one because it reminded me of you the way I found it. It was just sitting there in a pile of other shells, all of them black, but it was the only one shining."_

_Her mind wasn't old enough to really understand or appreciate how that was the single nicest thing anybody had ever said about her, but she did feel a twang of emotion that her eyes hadn't yet mastered how to hide as they opened wide. "Thanks, Zuko," was somehow the only response she could muster, a truly heartfelt sentiment that she would know too few of in her life, at her brother thinking that among countless others, she was someone extraordinary._

_Zuko brightened like fire itself as he cried, "I'm so glad you like it! I'm gonna go find mom right now and let her know!" he shouted before turning and taking off once more. It was obviously going to be motivating him beyond elation for the remainder of the day, and she smiled as he ran off in an ecstatic sprint only a child can know. She glanced down at the incredibly rare shell in her tiny palm and knew exactly where she would place it.  
_

A much older Azula looked down at the small, black shell, little more than a ray of light from the evening's sun peeking through the window and reflecting off of the coating. She could hardly explain the force that took her straight to this spot the moment she began exploring the estate, much less the instinct of which board to move that revealed the tiny shell protected in some small, dark red wrappings.

Clutching it as if it were more precious than air itself, Azula lowered her hand and raised her head, turning to an otherwise dead silent, enraptured Avatar, Aang having been able to do little more than listen intently to every word she told him. It was such a raw feeling of love, and of good memories, that he knew instantly in his heart that she was so much more than his ex-enemy, so much more than an enemy at all.

With downcast eyes at how ashamed he was, perhaps now more than ever before for his running away all those long, long years ago, Aang finally mustered the breath to say sadly, "I wish that Azula had stuck around." _I wonder what she could have been like without the war…_

"Me too," she whispered, replacing the floorboard and standing to her feet. Aang had never really appreciated how good of a liar she really was, but when he saw the lack of sadness, the lack of any sign of regret at all for her life, he developed a new respect for her. Even now, she could pretend to be perfectly fine, even so much as keeping her voice entirely level, when the Avatar knew just how badly she was screaming on the inside.

He couldn't help but ask, as she was moving to leave the room, "Do you ever think about what your family could have been like if the war hadn't happened?"

A sharp breath was the only sign Aang caught, before she turned and replied with all the veneer of a veteran soldier, "Let me tell you one of the first things you learn in strategy, Avatar." Looking him directly in the eye, she told him, "All you have is the now. Time spent worrying about what you could have or what you could be working with, is time that could be better spent worrying about what is actually happening, and how to avoid being on the losing end of it."

Well, that's one way to look at it, thought Aang as he perked up a bit himself. He had already made peace with his past, but the far reaching consequences of his actions still haunted him from time to time. Still, the Avatar had to maintain presence of mind at all times, so he practiced exactly that as often as possible. Azula turned on her heel to exit her old room and examine other parts of the house, more mischievous parts of the house, an age old curiosity of all the "forbidden" rooms that she wasn't allowed in as a child suddenly resurfacing. A part of her smirked at the power of time giving her all the "keys" she needed, via swift kicks to locked doors. There was an awful lot of this house I wasn't allowed into back then…

As Azula bounded off like a cat in search of prey and exploration, Aang turned the other way and decided to examine more public sections of the Fire Lord's vacation home. It was still a sufficiently odd feeling to be taking refuge in the literal home of one's greatest enemy, but that odd feeling was freshly sprinkled over with comical curiosity. There were tapestries of babies… presumably the babies of Ozai's family. They were all easily under a year old and lacked every ounce of the viciousness that defined the royal siblings in Aang's eyes. Seeing once mortal enemies in such hilariously harmless depictions caused him to giggle a little bit to himself as he continued down the hall.

There was a formal dining room, or at least formal insomuch as there was a table big enough for several people to sit at during meals. It made a little sense, given all the chairs that the Fire Lord would sit in while at work, that he wouldn't want any on vacation. That, or they were all burned. It didn't really matter, he figured they would probably eat most of their meals in the courtyard so they could be under the sky.

It was still going to take some getting used to, being penned up in a single location like this for an indefinite period of time after all the constant traveling he had been getting used to. Still, it was nice having the security of nobody chancing upon you. When they said restricted access on Ember Island, they meant it, and nobody wanted to risk breaking onto the Fire Lord's property. Or at least, nobody but his daughter.

Aang breathed deeply as he walked out the open front door and faced the ocean, his staff clutched to his chest and a far away smile on his lips as he watched the world get dark around him, and the moon begin to rise into the sky. It would be full shortly, and as it was, it already lit up the sky like a giant lantern, bathing everything in a pale, phosphorescent glow.

* * *

Azula exited the house into the courtyard, not out of a particular desire to be there, but rather because that's where everyone else had decided to gather, and she had had enough of being alone for essentially every night since she joined the ridiculous group. By extension, she reminded herself. She only joined because Zuko wanted to, it had hardly been her idea.

She took up a place that seemed socially comfortable to her, which meant it was 10 feet away from the nearest other person, and began immediately glancing at everything that wasn't somebody else's eyes, or even face. Yes, she was blending right in.

Even if everybody else might have missed her arrival, there was always one person you simply couldn't pull such a thing off against, and Toph was quick to shout loudly enough that it got everybody's attention, "Hey Sunshine, nice place you got here."

Azula cringed, hoping to avoid talking to anyone if it were possible, much less the entirety of the group all at once, as indeed, all eyes were now turned in her direction. Never one to be put off by being on the spot, she replied with perfect smoothness, "Yes, our family does have a specific taste that's simply to die for. It will certainly beat sleeping in ancient ruins, at any rate."

Aang cringed at the crude reference to his people, but if Azula noticed her blunder she didn't let it show. Despite her having all the social awkwardness of a three legged komodo-rhino, Toph held the conversation with professional ease, asking, "You think there's enough rooms to put all of us up?"

"Well, I'm sure none of you have any issues with sharing rooms with one another, so I believe we can put Water Tribe up in Uncle Iroh and Lu-Ten's room, Suki can have her pick between the ever classic antics of Ty Lee or Mai's 'sparkling personality', and those two can have my old room." Suki cringed at the thought of having to stay in Azula's room, of all people, but she could appreciate a bed, even if the company was rather unappealing.

"I'll stay in my parent's room, since I doubt any of you would feel very comfortable in the room where Fire Lord Ozai bedded his wife, and Toph and the Avatar can both take Zuko's old room." The way she tossed her brother's name out as if he were as meaningless as a tissue was somewhat unsettling, but it could only be ignored for the time being, due the massive wave of disgust that was brought on by the way she referred to her parents bed. The tap of her finger against something was Azula's way of applauding herself whenever she made an excellent move, and the sound of her nail clicking on the stone step underneath her could be heard just before she added in the most casual of manners, "I'll bet Zu-Zu was conceived in there, actually."

"You too, eh Sunshine?" Toph asked with all the sly curiosity of a cat who already knew the answer. Azula shook her head though.

"No," she said, suddenly dark and worlds away in her features, "I was conceived while mother was being punished for Zuko's weak, sickly state."

She gave the briefest of pauses before shaking her head in mockery of legitimate disdain, smirking but not looking at anything but an empty shadow in particular, her smirk itself a shadow of any real sort of humor.

"I guess that explains a lot," she said, and in the darkness, she saw embers burning, a portrait of her mother's face as the flames consumed it on a moonlit beach.

Everybody looked at Azula, and perhaps for the first time, they all saw a new side. Whether it had been the weeks that had passed with her becoming a constant fixture in the group, or the fact that they had suddenly realized she was so much more human than they usually thought, nobody could say, but after seeing her for so long with her hair down and no armor or attempts (well, serious ones, anyways) at hurting anybody, Azula had slowly become something like a strange, awkward sister to their little group, even if some of her "family" still hated her. She was no longer an outright enemy, and you're allowed to hate your family, you just can't kill them.

There was still something unsettling about how critical she was on herself, as if she were blaming herself for something that happened before she was even born. Did she consider her entire life a punishment for someone else's failings? Even if Azula was more or less sarcastic when she said it, she was still essentially truthful; it did explain a lot.

Sokka, never one to know how to break an awkward, emotional silence or let his stomach go unanswered, took a stab in the dark and asked, "So, uh, got any food in this place? It seems big enough that it would have something stored away."

Azula actually thought about that one, she was too young to really notice where it was stored, only when it was served, back in those days. She remembered that they did have a cellar, even if she was forbidden from going down there as a kid, and supposed that would be the best bet. "Maybe. I'll have to do some digging around. It's been a long time since anyone's actually stayed here."

Getting up, she meandered off into the dark, once again long-forgotten childhood secrets being pried open sweeping away her negative feelings, if only for a moment. Though she claimed it was for food, Azula was far more interested in simply exploring the place, and seeing if she could find anything more interesting.

Another locked door found itself flung open after receiving a kick that shook the nearby foundation of the house, and Azula lit a small blue flame in her hand to light the now practically pitch black cellar. It was mostly empty, but there did appear to be barrels toward the back wall. As she opened them and examined their contents, she found only a single sack of cured and dried meat, but not much variety nor volume. It would serve long enough for a proper trip into the market, so she grabbed the small sack and turned to leave, when something glinted in the dark just out of the corner of her eye.

As she neared the object and her light cast itself more impressively upon its surface, she realized it was a bottle, full and with the seal unbroken. Azula may have been socially deprived, but she wasn't stupid. She knew what was in bottles in cellars, and she also knew she had drank small volumes of alcohol during special meals, and they left a fire inside of her that she was hungry to feel more of, but whenever she asked she was denied. Never one to be told no and leave it at that, she swiftly grabbed the bottle and left the cellar, satisfaction brimming in every inch of her as she made her way back to the courtyard.

Azula found herself being eyed more warily than when she had first joined the group, even from her own two friends. To say who was more interested in the bottle and who in the bag was impossible to do, but Sokka was certainly himself favoring the bag. As if to answer the look in his eyes without waiting to hear his voice, she tossed him the sack and though he at first flinched as if it would explode in his face, he relaxed when no such thing happened. His look couldn't have changed from fear to fascination any faster as he noticed the meat inside, and soon he was eating like a happy fool.

Aside from him, there were many more eager eyes still on the bottle, and Ty Lee was the first to ask, "Azula, is that a bottle of… alcohol?" Her eyes were wide with the curiosity so plainly evident in her voice as she regarded her best friend like an alien specimen.

Shrugging, Azula raised the bottle to better appraise it, but it was as plain as any other bottle one might find just lying about. "I assume so, or at least, I hope so." She pried the cork out with minimal effort and raised the bottle to her lips, not even bothering to sniff the liquid as she took a swig, only to nearly cough it up an instant later. She bore a look that suggested spoiled milk would be a more welcome taste than what she had just suffered. "That, tastes, awful." She smacked her lips a few times in an attempt to somehow erase the taste, but it was a futile effort.

"Uhm, are you really sure you should be doing that? Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" Katara asked with all her usual motherly annoyance, but Azula let it affect her like a summer breeze did a stone wall.

"I'm also a little young to be conquering impenetrable cities and killing Avatars, but life seems to have a different set of rules for me." She took another swig, this time having the luxury of knowing what to expect and bracing herself for it. Then her look turned devious as she held the bottle out. "You know, if you wanted some, all you had to do was ask, Katara."

The Waterbender looked visibly offended at the offering, but it was Toph who responded first with, "I'll take some!"

Katara was clearly about to start chastising her, but she was beaten to the punch when Toph told her, "Hey, you didn't let me try any of that cactus juice, and it sounded like some pretty interesting stuff if half of what Snoozles over there was babbling about is any indication. I'm not passing this one up."

With a that's that sort of dismissal, Toph took the bottle and raised it to her lips, grimacing as she swallowed a mouthful of the harsh, burning liquid. "Ugh, you ain't kiddin', Azula. That stuff's wicked." She handed the bottle back, but it was Sokka's inquisitive hand that raised itself up first from her other side, a silent plea that, for renowned as she was in her ability to perceive all things around her, the blind Earthbending Master couldn't notice.

Azula (strangely, he would later come to realize) had his back, however, and shrugged as she said, "I believe your friend, the Oaf would like some." Despite the eyes that slowly turned to regard him with all manner of inquisitiveness, the young man from the Southern Water Tribe simply held his hand out, a look of utter nonchalance on his face with his eyes closed and mouth drawn up in a pondering manner.

Ignoring everyone, he simply replied, "Hey, I'm not gonna pass up a chance to taste the mystery bottle from the Fire Lord's cellar." His hand was soon met with a glass bottle, noticeably cooler than the outside temperature, but that wasn't saying much.

Following suit, he up-ended the bottle without so much as a sniff, taking a decent swig of the liquid before he lowered it once more. With an animated shake of his head, he made a noise of disgust, commenting, "That tastes like liquid fire, it's eating my tongue!"

"Well, it is a specialty of the Fire Nation, actually. It's called _sake_." Azula remarked off-handedly, then without any warning switched gears. "Avatar!" she shouted suddenly, and Aang found himself involuntarily shoot up straight and wide-eyed. _Every time! _he cursed himself. _Why can't I break that habit!_

She smirked to herself, like she always did, then ordered, "Take that bottle and drink a mouthful, then I have a task for you."

Katara looked as if she had been the one ordered around herself, and with a scowl on her face at having to even address the pyschotic-Firebender, she hollered, "Hey, that's not how it works when you're his teacher, you can't just make him do things he doesn't want to do."

"Excuse me, Miss-I'm-Not-The-Avatar, how do you know he doesn't want to drink it?"

Aang himself was able to answer that question, "Azula, the monks frowned on drinking alcohol…"

Azula scoffed with pure derision, but it seemed more like a reflex than anything else. "When exactly was the last time Air Nomad laws applied to anybody?" When she saw the Avatar look as crestfallen as if he'd been shown his own parent's execution, she quickly amended, "Look, all I'm saying is, it isn't all bad to be the last of your kind. You can pretty much rewrite any laws you want, or at least exempt yourself from the ones you choose. You are technically the oldest Air Bender alive, doesn't that make you in charge?"

Aang was hesitant to answer, "Yeah… I guess. It's not about breaking rules though, the monks told us alcohol was really bad for you. I just don't know…"

"Oh please, we all drank some, and here we are! Our organs haven't disintegrated and expunged themselves from our-"

"Alright!" Aang said, holding his hand up as if to block the next word from reaching him, "I… get the picture." He took the bottle unwillingly, and after holding on to it for an interminable amount of time without drinking anything, he found himself being spurred on by Azula's impatience.

"Fine, you want to stay in my house? Well there's rules in my house, and as guests you are all expected to follow them. The first rule is, when the bottle comes your way, you have to take it, take a drink, and pass it on. No refusing, no stalling, and _no_ excuses otherwise."

One way or another, Azula always seemed to get her way, and even now as Aang tipped the bottle back, she smirked to herself. _Still got it. _If the feeling of talking the Avatar into drinking with her was good, then the giddy sensation that rippled through her upon seeing the distorted grimace on his face a second later was simply to die for.

Still attempting to get his bearings (and the taste out of his mouth), Aang haphazardly handed the bottle off in a random direction. Anywhere but near him was fine. It was with varying ranges of surprise and curiosity that everybody looked at the person who had taken the bottle from him. Katara of all people held the damnable bottle, inspecting it like there was a very real possibility it could explode in her face if held wrong.

"You're holding up the line, Water Tribe." Azula drawled, impatience causing her foot to tap involuntarily.

Katara turned to her newest _pal_ with a scowl that would send rocks flying away in fear and growled, "Too bad, I'm not following you're stupid rule, and you can't bully me into drinking this stuff."

Azula mimicked looking insulted, replying, "Oh, what's the matter, afraid of a little liquid are we?"

Sokka, having years of practice at it, knew when he is sister was about to let her anger get the best of her, so he decided to diffuse the situation before it became something much worse than teasing. "Hey, Katara, you don't have to drink any if you don't want to, but do you think you could pass the bottle on down? I'm getting kinda thirsty over here and, well, you know how girls can be when they start talking yakkity-yak-yak-"

"Here!" She shouted, knowing full well it was the only way he would ever shut up. With more than appropriate glee on his face, Sokka took the bottle, along with another swig, then promptly passed it to Toph once more, only to have it deftly intercepted by Suki, whom he had almost forgotten was beside him.

When Sokka looked at his girlfriend incredulously, she merely shrugged and commented, "Hey, I just broke out of prison. I'm having a drink."

The bottle soon found itself back in Toph's hands, who wasted no more of the moment before taking her own swig and handing it down to Azula again. The ex-princess was currently contemplating seating arrangements with diluted disdain, and only vaguely acknowledged the bottle's presence.

"This won't do," she mused, mostly to herself, but loud enough to be heard anyways. "Avatar!"

Spine instantly straight, Aang stared with rapt and slightly nervous attention. Azula suppressed the urge to giggle at the reaction that she had grown to enjoy, and told him, "Time for your Firebending lesson. Go into the patch of nearby jungle and find some wood, we need a fire to sit around."

"But, it's really dark out there, and there could be animals, and-"

"That's why it's a _Firebending_ lesson. Learning how to control a small fire in your palm, without burning down everything around you, is one of the simplest exercises there is. And if any big, _bad_ animals attack you, make them think twice."

Aang was still unconvinced though, "But I don't want to burn any of them, I've never hurt an animal in my life!"

With a roll of her eyes and a huff of annoyance, she pointed out, "Avatar, I've watched you sprint 300 feet up a wall and then back down it again. Something tells me that if an animal attacks you, you won't have any trouble getting away."

The real reason Aang wasn't too keen on his new "exercise" wasn't fear. For as trusting and carefree as he tended to be, there was still a logical, rational part of his mind that he couldn't ignore, and deep down, it knew that realistically, the only thing protecting his friends from his Firebending teacher, was himself. Even if she had thus far proven honest in her claim of changing sides, he could never forget just who exactly she was and what she was capable of.

Trust was a two way street though, and someone had to open their side up first, so with a sigh, Aang accepted defeat with a nod of his head. "Okay, I'll go get some firewood."

"Do hurry, Avatar," cooed Azula from her perch at the top of the stairs. "We wouldn't want to drink it all without you."

The seductive tone of her voice followed after him, streaming through him and igniting a new kind of fear in his stomach, only it was an excited fear. It wasn't the same as being afraid for your life, it was more of a fear of the possibilities a tone like that implied. Aang refocused his thoughts as he walked out of the beach house and into the neighboring patch of jungle. With a calm, even breath, he lit a fire in his palm, then set about finding some fallen branches.

Azula took her own shot of sake as she watched the Avatar disappear from view, then handed it off in Ty Lee's general direction. The acrobat understood the gesture immediately, and like a trained pet, she was up and retrieving the bottle. Ty Lee gave the bottle a curious glance herself before tentatively voicing her own misgivings, "I dunno Azula, this bottle is kind of old and there's no telling how long it's been down there or what's in it or-"

"Ty Lee." The girl in pink stopped mid-sentence and gave Azula a wide-eyed look of anticipation. "Take a drink," the other girl ordered, and Ty Lee soon found herself with the bottle upturned and a mouthful of the fiery liquid, cringing as she gulped it down. She almost handed the bottle back to Azula, but Mai's voice coming from behind stayed her hand.

"Don't think for a second that I'm just going to sit here and watch you guys get drunk without me. That sounds about as fun as watching grass grow." Ty Lee didn't need to see the roll of her eyes, as she could easily hear it. She spun on her heel to hand the bottle to her other best friend, who snatched it without a second thought and downed some of the liquid.

The small frown that tugged the corners of her lips down was the only sign Mai gave in reaction to the taste, which admittedly seemed to affect her least. "How _delightful,_" she remarked, with a notable lack of enthusiasm.

When she offered the bottle back to Azula, she was waved off in the other direction, towards the 'miscreants,' as she had come to refer to them when the three girls were in private. "Hand it to the Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors," she said with what she hoped was an honest grin and not a smug smirk, "she's earned it."

Suki wasn't prepared for the flattery, but she accepted it gracefully enough, "Gee, thanks, I didn't know I'd won your approval."

"No, I mean it. Ty Lee tells me you ran up the wall in the yard to the observation deck where you incapacitated several guards before taking the warden hostage. Single-handedly, no less. That's quite impressive."

"Huh," Suki said, not quite sure what to make of the apparent honesty. "Well, I guess when you put it like that, it does sound pretty impressive, doesn't it? Cheers." With that, she up-ended the bottle, taking a generous swig and then handing it to a patiently anxious Sokka.

"Yeah, it was pretty incredible alright. You should have seen the look on Zuko's face!" It was only as he was in mid-drink that he realized his blunder, but it was too late now, and he froze with dreadful anticipation.

"I can break one of his ribs for you if you want there, Sunshine." Toph was helpful enough to suggest. She was pretty handy for defusing a situation, and she managed to illicit a chuckle from Azula, though it was shallow and short-lived.

The silence seemed to stretch on painfully before Aang returned with both arms full of wood, and as he dropped them in the middle of the courtyard he called out proudly, "Think that's enough?"

Gauging the amount of lumber he had brought her with a single raised eyebrow as she stepped lightly towards him, Azula replied, "I suppose that will do for a while. Here's your reward." He soon found himself on the receiving end of a bottle of sake, and having already lost this argument once before, he simply took the bottle this time. A small part of him was secretly anxious for another drink, that first one had made him feel on fire.

As the Avatar took a drink from the community bottle, Azula set about placing logs of wood in a cone-like arrangement until she was satisfied there was enough, then with a single finger, she ignited a small jet of blue fire to set the wood ablaze. Once there was a respectable campfire going, she called everyone over, though the effort was pointless, as everyone was migrating towards the fire of their own accord.

They found themselves soon seated in a circle, Ty Lee on Azula's right, followed by Katara and then Aang. Sokka was seated on Aang's right, with his girlfriend naturally sitting next to him, and Toph serving as a buffer between Suki and Mai, who took her spot at Azula's left hand.

Aang passed the bottle on to Sokka, then asked a question that seemed to cause everyone to ponder, "So… what should we do now?"

Surprisingly enough (or not, depending on how well you knew her), it was Ty Lee who broke the silence with, "Well, I remember one of the first nights after I had joined the circus, they were having a fire and drinking, and I wanted to meet new friends, so I joined them." The revelation that she actually was a "circus freak" was fully appreciated by Katara and her brother, who both shared a snorting giggle, but it didn't affect the acrobat. "We played a game that they called, "ask me a question". It's really easy, actually! We'll start with cutey since he has the bottle."

Sokka stopped mid-swallow and looked to his clearly perturbed girlfriend, then back to Ty Lee, who was grinning like a fox. "You choose one of us, then that person gets to pick any question they want to ask you, and you have to answer honestly."

If eyes were torches, Azula would be a roast duck by now, but lucky for her, they were not. "Oh!" Ty Lee exclaimed, "I almost forgot, you have to pick a different person each time it's your turn. Also, you don't get to take your drink until you answer. And the person you pick is the person who has to go next!" Touching her finger to her lip and closing one eye, she thought about whether or not that was everything, and once satisfied that it was, she said, "Okay, pick someone!"

Sokka thought about it for a moment, humming as he did so, until he came to Suki and his face lit up. "Suki!"

She realized that he probably picked to her expecting that she would go easy on him, which is why her look turned devious as she said, "Okay, you want me to ask you a question, Sokka?" When he nodded eagerly, she asked him, "Where you ever with any other girls after you left Kyoshi?"

His face went white as the moon when he realized the answer, and he choked out with a cheesy grin, "Well, there was Princess Yue?" Sokka shrank back, covering his face with his arms from the rightly anticipated fury of Suki as she lunged towards his face.

"WHAT!?"

"Butifitmakes you feel any better, she's not here anymore!"

"Where is she!?" Suki demanded, one hair away from snapping in anger. All the response that she received was a sole finger pointing up, into the night sky. She looked up in confusion, then back down to him with disbelief evident on her face. "What, she's on the moon?"

"No," he said, returning to a normal poster and his tone becoming curiously serious as he explained, "she is the moon." Now he had everyone's attention, and rightly so. "When Zhao attacked the Northern Water Tribe, he killed the Moon Spirit."

"Ah-Ha!"

"DAMMIT!"

Everybody looked to Azula and Mai as they interrupted Sokka's touching story with their shouting. "I was right, you owe me a new knife, Azula. Any knife I want, regardless of price."

The Firebender was fuming where she sat, arms crossed over her chest and a defiant pout on her lips. "Fine!" she growled, recalling the terms of their agreement.

"Uh, what are you guys talking about?" asked Aang, though he was clearly not the only one interested in the answer.

With a huff, Azula told him, "We made a little bet on what happened that night at the end of last winter. She bet Zhao had done something to the Moon Spirit, I said it was a preposterous notion."

"You bet on what happened to the **MOON?! **On the night it _disappeared?!_" Sokka's incredulous accusation was mirrored in the hearts of his sister and the Avatar, but the once-Princess of the Fire Nation merely shrugged.

"It came back."

"Yeah, because Yue sacrificed herself to give it her spirit energy!"

When Azula didn't show any response, Suki decided it was up to her for a little payback. "Alright, fine. Azula."

The other girl looked blankly back at her, eventually asking, "What?"

"Ask me a question," Suki clarified, and suddenly everyone remembered the game once more. The bottle was firmly in her hand after she snatched it from her boyfriend, and she looked ready to take anything Azula could dish out.

"Fine," she drawled, then a devilish smirk pulled the corner of her lip back. "How was prison?"

"Awful. Pick someone." With that, Suki tossed the bottle back and took her drink.

Azula had to think about it for a moment as she reached over for the bottle. Who could she trust to ask her a question that she had to answer truthfully. Well, she could always lie, and get away with it, but that just wasn't in the spirit of the game. "Hmm… how about… Toph."

"Sunshine, you don't want me to ask you any question I want to."

She didn't have to think twice about the implications, so Azula quickly amended herself, "Fine, Avatar." Turning to meet his suddenly apprehensive gaze, she told him, "Ask me a question."

Suddenly finding that the back of his neck itched, Aang stumbled over his own words, "Uh, well… I guess…" He looked up, and that's when he caught Azula's golden eyes, and he saw past the terrifying being that haunted his nightmares. He saw the girl, the human being with feelings, however guarded and repressed. "Did you want to kill me?"

The entire group couldn't have fallen more silent than if she had killed them all, right then and there. A loud snap from the fire shattered the silence, only to have it fill in like an unending void a moment later. She had to answer truthfully, but that was exactly the problem. She didn't know the truth.

Looking at him, looking into his hundred-year old, powerful grey orbs, she remembered that moment beneath the palace of Ba Sing Se, when it seemed almost as if the sun itself had entered the cavernous chamber. She remembered the looks of sheer terror on the face of her brother and all her Dai Li agents. She remembered the stories of the siege up north. Closing her eyes, Azula responded in a small, quiet voice, "I didn't want to die."

Looking as if he had just been stabbed through the heart, Aang started to ask, "What," but he was cut off just as soon.

"I heard the stories of what happened up north. You could have buried me with Zuko and all those agents. I did the only thing I could think of to save our lives. I… I'm sorry, I just," she trailed off as if saying the words were a physical struggle, but finally managed to admit, "I was scared."

Everyone looked at Azula as if she had just morphed into a different animal in front of their eyes. Words they didn't think could ever come from the ex-princess' mouth had just been heard by all, and for the longest time, nobody could think of anything to say in response. Aang finally gave her an honest, forgiving smile, "It's okay, Azula. I don't blame you for what you did. I guess, in your own way, you were just protecting someone you cared about. I can hardly fault anyone for that."

Suki handed the bottle over, "Here, you earned it." With a weak smile, Azula took the bottle, along with her well-deserved drink, then a light breeze picked up, if only momentarily, and swept the negative emotions away into the night. Everyone turned to look at the Avatar now, as he thought about who he would have ask him a question. After some deliberation, he finally decided.

"Toph, ask me a question."

Azula allowed herself a smirk when she saw the cat-like grin on the blind girl's face, and knew that very soon the Avatar would be regretting his choice. "Alright, Twinkletoes, if that's what you really want." Cracking her knuckles high above her head, she asked with perfect casualness, "Who do you think is prettier, Katara or Azula?"

Aang didn't even have time to make sense of the question before there were two very intense sets of eyes trained upon him. One burned golden in the fire light, the other a deep, icy blue. He couldn't remember ever being asked a harder question, and not simply because the two girls were both rather attractive. No, what he really had to decide, was which one would he be safer angering.

"Well, which is it, Avatar?" Azula cooed from across the fire, a predator's eagerness in her face as she stared him down.

"Yeah, Aang, what's taking so long?" Katara demanded, irritation growing in her voice after he failed to answer immediately in her favor.

"Well…" eyes darting back and forth, Aang had to come up with an answer, so he settled on what his heart was telling him, "Katara is."

From across the fire, Azula sat back with a knowing smirk on her face. "Wise choice, Avatar. You should never anger the woman you're going to share your bed with. You'd be surprised how long we girls can hold a grudge," she told him as she handed the bottle over. With a breath of relief, he accepted it and took his drink.

"Alright, I guess it's my turn then," Toph declared, and just as quickly seemed to make up her mind. "And I know just who to ask, too. Hey, Katara!" The girl in question's head suddenly snapped up at the sound of her own name, "If you could ask me anything in the world, what would it be?"

Thinking just as long and hard as such a serious question demanded, Katara finally asked with no small amount of wonderment, "Why did you save Azula's life?"

What sounded like it should have taken days to think about took Toph no more than a fleeting moment as she replied, "Because she deserved it." With nothing more than that she reached her hand out, waiting expectantly for the bottle that soon found it's way to her.

All eyes soon drifted towards Katara as the Waterbender thought about who she would pick. Her eyes met Suki and the two girls shared a grin. "Azula."

"Lucky me," Azula sighed, rolling her eyes appropriately to her words. Deciding she wouldn't let the insipid girl off as easily as the last one, she took a deadlier aim with her question this time, "What happened to your mother?"

For the space of an eye blink, Katara looked almost as mortified as she had under Ba Sing Se, but like that moment itself the look flashed away to reveal guarded anger. "What do _you_ care?"

"I asked you a question, you have to answer the question. You don't get to ask a question back, does she, Ty Lee?" Azula glanced over her shoulder to see the acrobat shaking her head.

"She's right, you have to answer the question."

Gripping herself (and her anger as well), Katara scowled as she replied with no great desire for detail, "The Fire Nation killed her in a raid when I was a child."

"For no good reason whatsoever?" Azula mused from across the fire. She had half a mind to ask if she was fighting with the warriors, the savages having need for anyone who could swing a club probably, but decided against it.

"You only get to ask me one question," Katara reminded her, this time having the leverage of the rules on her side and being sure to rub it in.

Azula merely shrugged in response, however. "It's more of an elaboration really, but I guess if you want to be picky…"

"She told them she was the last Waterbender in the Southern Tribe. She lied to protect me, and they killed her because of it."

Satisfied with the confession, Azula nodded and handed the sake over. "Your mother was a very brave woman," she said before letting go, as the bottle met Katara's hand.

Her only response as she took the bottle was a simple, resolute, "I know."

Taking a breath, Azula hummed out a sigh before saying, "Well, I suppose it's up to me onsce more." She took another moment to deliberate before reluctantly choosing, "I ssuppose I owe it to you, so Mai, go ahead and ask me a queshtion."

Ignoring the unusual slur to her friend's words, Mai let the possibilities sink in before she decided on a question. She could ask Princess Azula anything in the world, and she would get an honest response. _Most of these fools don't realize what exactly that entails, but I do._ Glancing to her right, she found her friend's eyes and saw the same understanding in them, but she didn't seem worried by the implications.

After a fair enough amount of time, Mai made her choice and asked, "What happened to _your_ mother, Azula?"

Katara hadn't even seen that one coming, and that's when she remembered something Zuko had told her back before he turned on them in Ba Sing Se. He had lost his mother as well, somehow, though he hadn't elaborated. That was _her_ mother as well, the Fire Lord's wife. _What _did_ happen to her?_

Azula sneered at the question, though it may have just been to cover a flinch that she probably wouldn't ever own up to. "She was banished."

"Banished? For what?" Katara asked before Mai or anyone else even had a chance.

The drunken Firebender looked at her ex-nemesis with crossed-eyed annoyance, but with a shrug she said, "Oh, I suppose. You _did_ elaborate, after all, I suppose I should as well. She assassinated my grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon."

The appropriate amount of gasps were her immediate response, and after letting them pass she continued, "My father asked to replace Iroh as heir to the throne, and my grandfather was furious. He ordered the death of my father's firstborn son. He wanted him to kill Zuko."

"So your mom wouldn't let him." Sokka finished for her.

"Obviously. Dad's Fire Lord and Zuko's still… alive." Azula blundered into that one herself, and for some odd reason, she was having more difficulty than usual suppressing the emotions. Much more, in fact, but she was still able to beat them into submission eventually. "Anyways, she killed him to save Zuko's life, and had to leave forever because of it. She disappeared in the middle of the night, without ever so much as saying 'goodbye' to me."

Silence was the predictable, and only, answer, as everyone could only stare at the firelight flickering off her face. _It certainly explains a lot,_ thought more than one person, though nobody put words to such thoughts.

"You mean, that's what happened to Lady Ursa?" Ty Lee asked, an ages old curiosity finally being satisfied. Azula nodded.

"Yes, she murdered the Fire Lord to save my stupid brother's life, but she couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye to me." That same longing ache from the beach fire weeks ago began to crawl, just underneath Azula's skin, but just the same as last time she squashed the feeling. "As if I care."

Katara passed the bottle with wary reluctance, but Azula was happy enough to snatch it away without any similar reservations. "I can't imagine how awful it must have been to have a mother who treated you like that."

The Firebender only snorted in response though, pausing just shy of taking her drink to bite out, "Like I need her anyways." However obvious of a lie that may have been, nobody was going to call her on it as she took her drink and then directed her attention to Mai.

Not waiting for a prompt from anybody, the sullen knife-thrower picked someone easily enough. "Aang."

The Avatar blinked in obvious confusion, before asking, "Me?"

Mai shrugged, as if the simple gesture itself explained her reasons perfectly, and the bald Airbender began to rattle his brain. He knew next to nothing about her, literally anything was open for question. Then again, maybe that was why she chose him.

Silence stretched on into the darkness, the crackling pops of the fire being the only noise to intrude upon it, until at last the Avatar asked, "How did you ever become friends with Azula?"

"Exsactly what is sthat supposed to mean-"*Hic!*"-Ahfvatar?" Azula demanded with an unfocused glare at the Airbender. The drink was clearly starting to affect her more than she would ever admit, and Aang found himself suddenly dreading the prospect of a drunk Azula. The term 'loose-cannon' would hardly describe it.

Hands raised in the best placating gesture he could muster, Aang replied swiftly, "Nothing! It's just that, well, you guys seem so… different."

"I believe the rules say _I'm_ the one who's supposed to answer." Mai interrupted, to the relief of more than just Aang. "If you really want to know, it was all political. I was my father's only child back then, which originally bothered him, but when he found out Prince Ozai had a daughter, I suddenly became his precious, darling ace in the hole."

As the information sank in, Azula seemed to almost physically deflate from the realization that one of the two people in the entire world she called a friend had an ulterior motive for being such. "So you… never even _wanted_ to be my friend?" she asked, the somber reality granting her a strange, momentary sobriety.

Mai shrugged in typical Mai fashion. "To be honest, I didn't really care one way or the other. At first, I just figured you were another rich, spoiled brat, just like every other girl at the academy. Then I found out you _were_ another rich, spoiled brat." She paused just long enough to give her friend a devious smile before elaborating, "But you turned out to be the most interesting one of the bunch."

"You can say that again, Mai." Ty Lee said with a giggle from where she sat on the other side of Azula.

"Well, I scertainly _am_ int'resting, I'll gif you that one," she commented as she handed the bottle over to Mai, who was more than happy to take it.

"I guess it's my turn to pick now," announced Aang, as he racked his brain for the decision. "Uhhhzula?" He wasn't sure if he had made a wise choice, or doomed himself, but he was certain he would find out as her golden eyes fought valiantly to focus on him from across the fire.

"Do you have the guts to kill my ffather, Ahfvatar?"

Aang felt himself freeze up as soon as the words left her lips, like the speed with which Katara herself could turn water to ice. All this time, he had known what he had to do; defeat the Fire Lord. He just hadn't ever considered, _seriously_ considered, the fact that defeating him, would mean killing him. Was he ready? _Could_ he even do it? He had to answer her question honestly, and there was only one truth he knew when it came to the subject.

"I don't know."

Of all the possible responses he could have given, he knew hadn't picked the best one. He just didn't realize he had picked the worst, either. The camp fire before their faces exploded into a pillar of blue in an instant, and died down just as quickly, to reveal Azula on her (unsteady) feet, glaring death and hatred straight into his soul.

"YOU DON'T _KNOW?!_" She screeched, sheer anger diffusing the alcohol induced speech impediment and making her words crystal clear and precise once more. "Do you have **any** _idea_ what I've sacrificed for you, Avatar!? Do you have any idea what my _brother_ has sacrificed? He's probably either dead or being tortured right this very moment, all because he just _had_ to come teach _you_ Firebending, so you could deal with my father once and for all, and now you don't even **know** if you have the guts to go through with it!?"

Everyone was standing by this point, with the sides clearly taken, though everyone was hoping to avoid an actual fight. "Azula, please calm down, you're going to hurt someone." Ty Lee pleaded from her friend's side, unsure of whether or not grabbing her arm would help calm her, or send her into an even more uncontrollable fit.

Azula, however, was having none of it. "Do you even realize what he'll do to you, ALL of you, once he catches you? What he'll do to _me_, personally…" and just as suddenly as her rage had appeared, it was wiped away, like dust in the wind, to be replaced by an even more unsettling emotion: fear. Terror was probably more appropriate a description. The realization of exactly what she had done, how badly she had betrayed Ozai, forced a very real, very relentless feeling of absolute dread to race down her spine, contorting the features of her face as if she had just witnessed Agni herself come down from the heavens to erase them all from existence.

"I have to go- I have to run, to find somewhere to hide," she began muttering, looking this way and that for an escape, like an animal in a trap. "I, I have to go, I have to go now!"

"Azula, wait-!" A last, futile cry from Ty Lee, before Azula turned on her heel and bolted. And promptly tripped over the log she had been seated upon. All any of the onlookers could do was flinch back as they watched (and felt) her crash unceremoniously into the hard stone. Ty Lee was at her side just as quickly, and a cursory inspection revealed the princess to be breathing, but otherwise out cold.

"Well, at least that takes care of a potential disaster." Suki commented, and the whole group breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Wonder if she'll even remember when she wakes up, that was some pretty potent stuff."

Various murmurs of consent rippled throughout the group as the tension slowly eased away. Aang eventually gave in to an enormous yawn that had been desperate to escape, then said, "Well, it's pretty late, we should probably get some sleep."

"Sounds good, but we have one problem," Mai told him, then gestured to the prone body on the cold, hard stone. "Who's carrying her?"

While the immediate lack of volunteers wasn't exactly surprising, it was counter-productive to their cause. Katara nudged her brother in the ribs and suggesting in a good-humored fashion, "Why don't you do it, Oh-muscley-man-you."

Sokka, never one to let a challenge against his manliness (or his muscles) slip by with impunity, happily stepped up to the challenge. "Oh please, she's just a girl, how heavy could she be." He stooped down to scoop her into his arms, then grunted as he struggled to fully bring himself up. "Spirits, what do they feed her, metal!? I've carried penguin-seals that didn't weigh this much!"

Mai was only too happy to answer that question for him, "Muscle weighs more than fat, stupid."

"No kidding," he grumbled while trying in vain to keep the strain out of his voice. When he finally stabilized his center of gravity to the point where he could walk without falling, Sokka took off for the interior of the beach-house, praying to the spirits that the Fire Lord's room was close by. As he went, he tried not to pay any attention to the way Azula unconsciously nestled her head against him, or the heat of her breath melting through his shirt. _Spirits, she's warm,_ he thought as beads of sweat formed on his brow.

Eventually, Sokka found a room that looked like it could possibly be the one he was searching for, though at this point, he decided, it didn't matter. Nudging the door aside with his foot, he entered a modest little room with a lone bedroll and a small door leading to a personal patio outside. Too drunk and tired to care anymore, Sokka decided this was the room he was leaving her in, and so he went to the bedroll and carefully lowered Azula down, cradling her head so he didn't cause her any more brain damage. He was pretty sure she had enough of that.

He had almost set her head down when she suddenly stirred, some small part of her waking though her eyes never opened. "Mmm, thank you…" she whispered, taking Sokka by complete surprise with the sincerity of her voice.

"Ahh, sure, no problem, just being… friendly. I guess." He tried to leave, only to have his chin grabbed by one strong, soft hand, and a moment later he felt the brief but loving caress of her lips against his cheek, before she fell back completely to drift into slumber.

His heart raced in time with his feet as he bolted for the door, only to stop dead in his tracks when she hazily spoke once more, as if to a phantom he couldn't see, "Thank you, Zu-Zu."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** I give no excuses, only the next installment of the story. Hopefully, the length can make up for the wait, if only marginally so. As always, thanks for taking the time._


End file.
