AN: I'm so rusty at fic that I needed two bottles of WD-40 to move my fingers and type this. I just couldn't resist Tyzula. A forewarning, this is a Tyzula Redemption story with twists and as much unique-ness as I can give it, but it definitely is simply Tyzula Redemption with no other plot and uses many of the common tropes. I just hope I gave it my own spin.

It's ALL in Ty Lee's POV.

/MAPS/

by Tyzula-Forever

I was talking to a mirror.

Well, talking to myself in a mirror because nobody else was gonna to help. I definitely needed some encouragement, and people around here could use so many lessons in being supportive and loving and colorful and not such constant downers. The problem was that I kind of was agreeing with some of their negativity and I never did that.

I stood up for stuff people really didn't like, which got super exhausting when constantly around Mai, but I did it because there was a bright side to everything. Like, like, this ugly vase I had that my grandma gave me so I had to keep it and keep it up in my room. It was ugly except at one time of day when the light hit it just right. It was beautiful.

So, I was trying my best to think that way about Azula instead of act like everybody else. But. . . they had some really good points.

Did I think Azula was going to see me and suddenly change her mind?

No, I was pretty sure that Azula was going to either attempt to murder me or worse; ignore me completely. But I wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of knowing that I agreed with their jerk opinions about Azula.

Zuko had a hero complex. Suki had old scars. Aang was hopeful but him not taking any action was making me want to rip my braid off. Katara and Sokka were super against me even trying to talk to her. Mai again pretended to not even care about Azula which was ridiculous and she would have to give up that act eventually.

They all would because I would prove them wrong. Duh.

"Are you ready?" Zuko asked and I jumped. Oh Agni, he just saw me giving myself a pep talk over bringing my ex-girlfriend lunch. "It's really not as awful as you think. Slightly jarring, I've heard, but she's not like. . . last time you saw her, I guess."

"That's really not so impressive." I shivered, because I never stopped thinking about her, about how hard she fell.

Zuko pointed. "There's lunch. Don't get eaten instead of the food."

x

"Azula," I said softly, inviting myself into the once familiar bedroom. I realized it wasn't a prison; the princess could get out any time she wanted, free herself, burn it all to the ground, kill her brother or mother. But she just stayed inside, dutifully obeying her house arrest. "I brought you lunch."

She didn't say anything. She acted like I was a ghost, like I didn't exist.

I felt awkward when I walked in and searched to set it down. Her room was always bare and empty except for dragons and the softest bed ever, which was still there, but now there were stacks of books and scrolls. It was weird, but she was always really smart. There were a few clothes left on the floor, more books and scrolls.

Maybe she got bored, I guess? I usually found other stuff to do that didn't involve reading.

I waited. I thought about leaving, but before I could start walking towards the door, I asked, "Can you tell me why you don't want to talk to me? I just showed up here after so long and you won't even look at me. I'm happy to see you and you at least owe me a hello."

I sounded stupid and I knew it. If she didn't want to talk to me she wouldn't talk to me in order to tell me why.

The princess paused and set down the book I only just noticed. "I owe nothing to anyone. Everyone owes me everything. If I told you or my brother or mother to rip out all of your teeth and give them to me, you should, because your idea of helping me is locking me where I can't embarrass you and visiting to make yourself feel better."

I gulped. Yeah, that was bad. She sounded so eloquent when her speech could be summed up to go fuck yourself.

"Well, I've never visited," I chirped proudly. Azula did not look impressed.

"I know. I have lost what little respect I had for you. I have appreciated you and Mai staying out of my life, as per my wishes. But I knew that eventually you would try to smile my loathing away and melt my cold, cold heart."

"I wanna help you."

"You'll give up. Everyone always does. You know why? Because I wanted them to give up," Azula said with that same intoxicating beauty.

She was not so beautiful anymore, even if her words were just as gorgeous as they always had been. I wanted not to notice how unattractive I found her right now really bad. But I did. Azula seemed to have given up on herself as much as everybody else gave up on her.

"I'm not gonna give up," I whispered, and I wished that my voice had been louder. "So … there are a lot of books in here. You never had a lot of books."

"They are my last refuge."

That sounded unpleasant, but I smiled at her. I was pretty sure she could see right through it.

"Oh." She didn't have anything else for me to comment on. "It's good you have a hobby!"

"I need something to keep me company as I slowly die here."

That sounded more unpleasant, but I kept smiling at her.

"Well… I have to go." She didn't argue when I left.

I didn't expect her to.

x

The minute I was with Zuko, it all just spilled out like fire gummies from a bag or something.

"I'm horrified of your sister!"

"Join the club."

"Shh! I'm horrified for your sister. She's not her. It's like someone just snatched her corpse and decide to live in it."

"That's an image I didn't need."

"She needs someone to save her."

"I think she would disagree."

"I'll force her to be saved."

"She'll rip her own arms open."

"Not my arms?"'

"Hers. Much more frightening."

"Does she want to leave the palace?"

"She can't leave the palace and it's not like she's asked. I think she has said two words to me since I rescued her and took full responsibility for her house arrest."

"Does she need someone to look after her?"

"Do you remember when I told you about her ripping her arms open?"

"Really. I mean, she just lies in the darkness with books."

"Ty Lee," Zuko said, grabbing my arms to steady me. I think I was about to topple over. "Stop trying to find an excuse to stay. Everybody does when they see her."

"She said something about that."

"That they always give up? Yeah, I know. Because they do. Only my mother and I stuck around. Even Katara did her time trying to atone because she felt bad about the horrible mental descent. I understand why you would. Just like I understood why you wouldn't come back here despite being so hung up on her for years."

"I was wondering if you'd like to hire me," I said and I wanted to be sweet, but I choked on the words too much. "What? I think she might take me a little more seriously if she knows I'm here to stay. If everybody else walked out so fast, after all…"

Zuko looked confused by that and I guess I could see why. I had the most perfect life in the world, and doing mercenary work like this was really different from the Kyoshi Warriors and everything they had given me.

"The Kyoshi Warriors, though. That's your everything."

"They gave me a second chance." I wrung my hands and avoided looking at him. "And it was awesome! But … well, my mom used to say to pay things forward. I want to give her a second chance." I think I wanted to get one with Azula too, but I wasn't sure yet about that. It was too confusing right now. I knew I was just like Zuko said and that I felt bad because I was directly responsible. Mai had been telling me for years that I wasn't, that anyone would do it, but I blamed myself from the moment I found out what happened to her.

It was time to fix that ache that never quite went away. A hole inside of me that was just her size.

Zuko couldn't resist my offer, just like I expected. It almost made me laugh out loud instead of just in my head, because I was thinking about Azula and Mai and me and how we used to mess with him. He was a jerk, but kind of a good sport about it sometimes. Mostly a jerk, though.

"You want to keep her from losing it? Or at least, that's the work you're asking for, because it's a lot, and I'm pretty sure she hasn't forgiven you from the scene in there."

"She needs somebody. I can be that somebody. I've always seen it in her, I've always seen the girl who just needs some love to take that twistedness away."

Zuko swallowed and I could see he didn't agree with me. But he still said, "Yeah. Yeah, you can try. Maybe she will be more responsive to someone she, uh, dated. She might still be into you."

That really wasn't what I was going for, but I smiled, because however Zuko let me do it was a good reason for him to let me do it.

"She seems kind of content being left alone," Zuko said and I sighed.

"She can't be content! Have you seen her? She looks scary!"

"Well, she's always looked scary to me…" Zuko trailed off.

"I want to make her…" Azula again.

I missed her for so long. I never stopped thinking about her. I never got over her.

But when she turned up, I couldn't bear to face her.

This was about me. It had nothing to do with healing Azula, and everything to do with healing myself.

I always knew I was selfish, and so that realization wasn't so surprising.