Author's Note: So, this has been in my head for a while and I've decided to start it. Basically, the original story of Avatar is taken and stretched/slowed down. Instead of happening over a span of roughly two years, the war continues while Aang trains and comes closer to being an adult. Character ages are slightly fudged, but most of the kids are roughly 18 or 19 when this storyline begins. Aang is maybe 16.

So, here's the deal:

After being suddenly and unexpectedly banished, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation disappeared two years ago. Sozin's Comet is less than six months away and Prince Zuko, Iroh, Mai, Ty Lee and the majority of the Gaang are holed up in the Fire Nation, licking their wounds after another unsuccessful attempt to infiltrate the Fire Nation capital.

Mai defected from following Azula after a run-in with Zuko made her realize she'd rather be at his side. Ty Lee, after Azula's mysterious disappearance, found Mai and is working towards peace because she wants things to calm down, rather than out of some political dedication. Zuko, Mai and the Gaang wonder at times what would happen with Ty Lee if Azula were to resurface; her true loyalties are unknown.

Aang, Katara, Sokka and Suki's troop of Kyoshi Warriors are dealing with their own losses, as Toph abandoned them to do things her own way over a year ago. Toph leaving is steeped in less mystery than Azula's absence from the war, but her reasons were fuzzy and have something to do with Katara.

I plan on a good deal of romance. Maiko is established as is Sukka. Aang and Katara's childhood "romance" faded over time and the two have remained close, especially after Toph leaves. Tyzula and Katoph are planned, as is light Aang/MOC. Since pretty much everyone is conveniently an adult, blood, violence and sex are in works.

Please forgive me, but I haven't seen much of the later seasons. I know enough to say that the Boiling Rock incident with Azula, Mai and Ty Lee and beyond are void or will be reworked.

The point of this storyline is a Fire Nation myth I concocted: the Nation-less. It will be explained more in-story, but the gist is that it was once prophesized that a time would come when the Fire Nation would be ruled by a corrupt leader and the true Fire Lord would risk treason to form an alliance with members of the other nations to bring him or her down for the good of the Fire Nation and the world.

I've never written such an epically AU story before, so please bear with me. Please know that I chose to list this story with Azula and Toph as the main characters because they are the most important characters in terms of plot. I do plan on writing an Azula/Toph fic, because I like a challenge, but this isn't it.

Enough of my rambling – let's get into the story, shall we?

Prologue

Standing in the throne room, waiting for a meeting with her father, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation took a minute to collect her thoughts. Surely Ozai would not be pleased that she was questioning his orders, but Azula hoped he would consider her input as he had before. The fact that this particular set of orders were assigned to her should, she prayed, be irrelevant to the fact that she intended to push her father in a different direction.

Increasingly over the past year, Ozai had allowed Azula more leverage as the Fire Nation's victory loomed closer. After the fall of Ba Sing Se, Azula had been given the honorary title of Captain to commemorate her victory. Since then, Ozai had made a habit of asking her advice before making a large decision. He didn't always agree with her opinions, but he made a show of listening.

Perhaps, Azula reasoned now, he was recognizing his mortality. Ozai was not the first Fire Lord to wage the Hundred Years War and he may not be the last. The many power hungry generals and nobles in the Fire Nation, the Colonies and throughout the war-torn world needed to understand that Azula was next in line. Perhaps it was just a ploy to seem weaker than he was, should anyone be stupid enough to challenge him. Not that anyone could win. No one but Azula stood a chance against the Fire Lord in combat.

"Daughter. I was told you wanted to discuss your orders with me. Is something the matter?" Ozai's tone was deceptively kind as he entered the throne room.

Azula knew better by now and kept her guard up. Face neutral, she bowed to her father and stood at attention as he settled himself into the orate throne at the head of the room. "I will be short father. I know your time is precious. I have very little issue with the orders you gave me."

Ozai frowned. "'Very little'?"

"I do not understand why you have classed Ty Lee as a threat. She can be a challenging opponent, but her loyalty to me is unquestionable." Azula knew she was treading a line, admitting Ty Lee's loyalty was to her personally and not her father or the Fire Nation, but it was the truth. The acrobat didn't care much for the war, she'd made that clear to her princess in private, but whatever Azula asked her to do, she would.

"Precisely, Azula. She is loyal to you. Why is that?" Ozai leaned on arm on his throne, watching his daughter carefully.

"I'm not sure what you mean, father. Ty Lee has been my friend since childhood and I—"

"Your friend, yes. She cares about you." Ozai held back a sneer.

Azula hesitated, afraid she knew where her father's line of reasoning would end. "Yes, she does."

"And you, Azula? Do you care about her?"

Again, Azula hesitated. "Yes, to an extent, I suppose." She hoped her aloofness seemed natural.

"And you do not understand that that makes her a threat to us?"

Within the last year, Azula had noticed Ozai increasingly referred to them as a unit. She wondered sometimes if he didn't see her as a person but merely an extension of himself.

"No, father. I am confident you will make it clear, though." Azula lowered her eyes, unable to meet Ozai's gaze any longer.

"Love is a powerful motion, my daughter. It makes people, even strong, intelligent people, do stupid things. Foolish things. We cannot have that kind of weakness around if we are to end this war and take our place as the rightful rulers of the world." Ozai leaned back in his seat, taking a perverse pleasure in watching Azula's resignation.

"Then let me send her away, father. I agree my judgment needs no distractions, of course, but I do not see the need to kill her." Azula looked up again, knowing she was showing her hand.

"No. The very fact that you do not want to end her life proves it is a necessary move." Ozai stood and walked towards Azula. "You will kill your brother, your uncle, your friend Mai and your… friend Ty Lee."

The suggestive way that her father said that Ty Lee was her friend did not escape Azula's notice.

"They are traitors, other than Ty Lee, who is trouble waiting to happen. They are threats to our future and threats must be dealt with. Do you understand me, daughter?" Ozai stopped a few feet from Azula and waited for her reply.

Azula kept her breathing and voice even, but inside something was breaking. "Yes, father." Bowing again, Azula turned and left the throne room. Her mind spun with possibilities. There was a time when questioning her father, let alone considering disobeying him, would never have crossed Azula's mind. Things had changed, now. She could bring Ty Lee with her as she tracked town her traitor relatives and Mai. That was easy enough to decide. Once the traitors had been dealt with, she could conveniently lose track of Ty Lee. Ozai knew the acrobat's skill at disabling her opponents, so it wouldn't be too farfetched that she would best Azula in combat.

That, however, would only lend evidence to the idea that Ty Lee was a threat to the war and to the Fire Nation and it would make her a traitor. She would be hunted. Another option was to carry out the majority of her mission and then go on the run herself, with Ty Lee. Azula stopped walking and considered this for a moment. Would it be so bad, she wondered, to live somewhere in the Earth Kingdom with Ty Lee and let the war continue without them? She would never be Fire Lord that way, but at least Ty Lee would be safe.

There was, of course, the fact to consider that no matter what her father insinuated, Azula and Ty Lee were not lovers. Azula had known for years how she felt for her bubbly friend and despite some encouraging moments of awkward closeness, nothing concrete had happened since Azula had recruited Ty Lee to hunt her brother and the Avatar more than two years ago. After Mai ran off to be with Zuzu the remaining twosome had become even closer and Azula often wondered if Ty Lee was just waiting for to make the first move, but she didn't know for sure. Running off to the Earth Kingdom with Ty Lee because she was in love with the acrobat and couldn't bring herself to seriously hurt the other girl was a flawed plan if Azula didn't have the guts to tell her how she felt.

Shaking her head, disgusted with herself and the weakness and indecision she felt, Azula resumed walking to her room. The next several days were spent in contemplation as preparations for her departure went on around the palace. Ozai seemed to believe that Azula was going to follow his orders and left her alone in the days leading up to her mission. In that time, the princess came to understand that the only way Ty Lee would not be in danger was if Azula refused to kill her and ensured her protection. That meant directly disobeying her father, something Azula was loathe to do, even if she felt he was wrong.

Reaching Ty Lee's room the morning they were supposed to leave on Azula's mission, the details of which she had not disclosed to the acrobat, Azula stopped. Knocking softly, she ran through in her head what she would say.

The door opened to reveal the pink-clad young woman. Ty lee beamed at seeing her friend and ushered her into the room. "What's up, 'Zula?"

Face somber, Azula waited until the door was closed to speak. "I need your help, Ty."

Ty Lee frowned, wondering what her princess could possibly need so badly that she admitted it aloud. "Okay. What can I do?"

"I need you to leave the palace as soon as possible and catch a boat to the Earth Kingdom. Zuko and his… allies are there somewhere and my mission is to hunt them."

"Again?"

Azula offered Ty Lee a rare smile. "Yes, again. I want you to arrive separately and try and find them. Befriend them. Get Mai on our side if you can. I'll meet up with you after a while and we'll work them from the inside and the outside." Azula knew this was something she would have done if she were planning to carry out her mission, so it seemed a reasonable request.

Ty Lee sat on her bed, still frowning. "I don't know, Azula. Mai is our friend. I don't know if I want to lie to her."

Azula grit her teeth for a moment. "Mai left. With any luck you can convince her to come back and be our friend again. Wouldn't you like that?" The princess hated playing on her friend's emotions, but she needed Ty Lee out of the palace immediately.

"Of course!" Ty Lee perked up at this and smiled. "Why can't I travel with you to the Earth Kingdom though?"

"If someone sees us travelling together, Zuko won't believe you're not working with me." This was true enough.

"Makes sense. Okay." Standing from the bed, Ty Lee approached Azula and put her hand on the prodigy's arm. "When will I see you again?"

This almost made Azula visibly wince. She let herself look away, unable to see Ty Lee's face and lie. "Soon. A few weeks at most."

Ty Lee raised her other hand a turned Azula's face to hers. They stood there for a moment, silent. Azula wanted to sink into those grey eyes, but she knew time was short. Pulling Ty Lee abruptly into a hug, she sighed. A surprised Ty Lee hugged back, but said nothing.

"I need to speak to my father before I leave. Safe travels, Ty." Azula hesitated and placed a light kiss on the acrobat's forehead. Ty Lee blushed and hugged Azula again.

"Thanks. I'll miss you, 'Zula." Ty Lee looked up at Azula, whose face was once more stoic and unreadable.

Azula stepped back, not knowing when she's be able to hold Ty Lee again, if ever. "I'll miss you, too." Bowing slightly, Azula exited the room and headed for her father. She arrived at the throne room and spoke quickly with one of the guards.

After a few minutes, she was able to get an audience with the Fire Lord, who looked impatiently at her.

"Yes, Azula?" Ozai sat at his throne and looked irritable.

"I came to apologize, father." Azula stood still, wishing the few guards in the room were not present for this.

"Apologize?" Ozai asked in surprise.

"For the other day. When we spoke about my orders…"

"Yes, yes. It's fine, Azula. I understand your reservations, but it has to be done."

"No. You misunderstand me."

Ozai narrowed his eyes at being interrupted and at Azula's words.

Azula swallowed and continued. "I didn't make myself clear before. I can't do it. What you have asked of me, I can't."

Ozai stood, keeping a tight rein on his anger. Never in a thousand suns had he thought his daughter would do this.

"Can't? Or won't? You are not able or you are not willing?"

Azula lifted her chin and looked Ozai in the eye. "I am not willing."

"You disobey me then? You commit treason and throw away all you have achieved, for that girl?" Ozai's hands shook now.

"Yes." It was the last word Azula spoke as crowned princess of the Fire Nation.

Ozai's hand lit with flames and the guards on either side of the room looked at each other nervously. Azula refused to move, knowing that she was destroying a lifetime of training, discipline and work.

"You are a fool, Azula. How dare you betray me! You will fight for your life," Ozai shot a stream of fire at his daughter, who jumped aside, visibly surprised. "And the life of your precious friend."

Grateful she'd thought to have Ty Lee leave before she spoke with Ozai, Azula fell into a fighting stance. She hadn't anticipated a fight, but had little choice now. The throne room guards kept silent and still, knowing a false move would bring the Fire Lord's wrath and flames on them.

Ozai screamed and threw himself forward, punching at Azula with flames and lightening. The younger fire bender moved out of his way, much faster than her father, but did not return fire. "You are worse than your brother. At least when he spoke out it was with the good of our nation in mind. He was misguided and he paid the price for his mistakes, but you. You will die for yours."

The impromptu Agni Kai continued for nearly an hour. In that time, Azula did not summon a single flame. She understood now, as she fought to avoid her father's deadly strikes, why Zuko had not defended himself years ago. Ozai may be trying to kill her, but how does a child attack her father? Ozai caught Azula suddenly and squeezed her arms. Azula screamed and tried to kick him away, but by the time she could, her arms felt raw under her armor and she knew the majority of her arms would be scarred badly. By the time Ozai tired himself out, Azula's attempts at evasion secured her life, but her arms, torso and legs were badly burned. She wished now for the simple, contained scar Zuko sported. Roughly a third of Azula's body would be scarred after that fight.

"Get out of my sight." Ozai's voice sounded was raw as Azula's body felt. "Go! You are banished. You are nothing. You are not even worth killing, but your precious Ty Lee is. Guards!" Ozai turned from Azula then and the guards jumped, thinking they had been forgotten.

"No." Azula spoke softly, but the men heard her. "You will not harm her, father."

Ozai looked over at Azula, shaking with exhaustion from having tried to desperately to kill his remaining heir. Before he had a chance to sneer or yell, Azula launched forward and struck her father once, using a move that Ty Lee had taught her. It was useless act, since Ty Lee was probably on a boat by now, but Azula found she couldn't help it. The thought of palace guards reaching Ty Lee before the acrobat was safety away was too much for the tired, burned and now banished princess could handle. Realizing immediately what she had done, Azula stared for a moment at her immobilized father. Ozai was equally dumbstruck. Despite the fact that he'd just spent a good deal of time trying to kill her, he had a hard time with the fact that Azula had struck him.

Knowing she'd just sealed her fate by committing high treason, Azula dashed past her father before the guards could react. As she raced through the halls of the palace, she heard her father yelling and the footsteps of men following her. Grabbing a bag of clothes and supplies from her room, the exiled princess ran out of the palace as quickly as her injuries would allow as word began to spread of her actions and their irreversible consequences. Pulling her hair from its recognizable top knot, she skidded into an alley on the streets of the capital and quickly shed her armor. The only way she could survive now was to be undetectable. The scorched clothes she wore underneath her armor were plain and would get her to safety.

Walking as calmly as she could, the princess asked around the docks for a few minutes until she was satisfied that her pink-wearing friend had indeed boarded a boat to the Earth Kingdom a few minutes before. Satisfied with that for the moment, Azula watched the horizon sadly, wondering where she would go now and what she would do. Everything she was, had been, was now lost and her entire body hurt. She boarded the next boat for the Earth Kingdom and avoided the guards that were beginning to search the crowded docks. They didn't recognize her, thankfully, but Azula kept on her guard. As the ship departed from the harbor, Azula looked back at the palace in the distance, wondering how long it would take for news of her banishment to reach Zuko and the Avatar. She hoped Ozai would keep the specifics of her treason quiet. She didn't want Ty Lee to find out that way. Or any way, for now.