Title: Accepting Azula

Author: l_anaki/hohlagh; aka Lord Anaki

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Family/Friendship

Disclaimer: All characters you may recognize belong to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzo; Nickelodeon; and everyone else who made Avatar: The Last Airbender possible. Also I am making no money from the posting of this fic.

Warning: Possibly AU? Possibly OoC?

A/N: I know in Canon it says Azula descended into madness, but I was a little disappointed that the ending didn't show anything. I always wondered what happened to Azula… This is her story set after Season 3.

She never thought that she would be back here again, especially not as a prisoner. She was kept in isolation for the most part and the Cooler prevented her from firebending. Of course she had tried to escape (more than once in fact), but it was no use. Azula wasn't the type to give up easily; however, she was losing her hope. No one would be coming to rescue her. Her two best friends had betrayed her and she had lost what supporters she had had by banishing them. She eventually broke just like most people who were sentenced to the Boiling Rock.

Time became meaningless as the days blurred together. She started to crack a little more – but in a good way if that was possible. She was beginning to remember happier moments her family had shared… More importantly though she came to the realization that her mother had loved her and Zuko hadn't been her favorite. No, mother had shown the same amount of care and concern to Azula, but she had blocked this information from her conscious mind believing that it would make her weak somehow.

Knowing the truth brought Azula back from the brink of madness and her mind finally stopped fighting. She went through a metamorphosis similar to the one Zuko had had (unbeknownst to her). Unfortunately for her she was still at the Boiling Rock, but she didn't really care as much as she thought she would. She deserved to be punished for all of the things that she had done. Azula sighed somewhat before drifting into a peaceful slumber – the first she had ever had.

Ding Ding Ding

"Wake up everyone! We have a very important guest visiting the prison today: Fire Lord Zuko!"

Azula glanced at her door when it opened and two burly-looking guards stepped inside. She stood calmly and let them bind her hands so she couldn't firebend… Not that it really matter of course as she had lost her mojo. She couldn't seem to access her inner chi. Azula understood the precautions though. She had almost killed her brother the last time they met. She was eager to see Zuko again so she followed the guards as they led her to one of the meeting rooms. It didn't take long at all for Zuko to enter. He sat down across from Azula and she smiled at him slightly.

"So… little Zuzu the Fire Lord, huh?"

"Don't start, Azula." Zuko said harshly.

"No, no, no!" I think it's great!" She insisted quickly. "I'm proud of you."

Zuko raised his eyebrow. "That guard was right. You are sick."

"I'm feeling fine, actually. I've thought a lot about what I did and I know that apologizing probably won't make anything better, but I am sorry."

"What's happened to you?"

"I came to a realization."

"Oh?"

Azula nodded. "Yes. I always thought that fear and power would pave the way to glory. I guess I took after our father too much so I only saw what he wanted me to see. When my friends betrayed me I lost sight of myself…"

She trailed off and stopped for a moment. Talking about what had happened was hard, but she knew that her brother needed to know. Zuko, meanwhile, was wearing a slight frown. He had never heard his sister speak like this before… A part of him couldn't help but to wonder whether it was a trick; if she was just trying to get on his good side so she could escape. He voiced none of these suspicions though because she sounded sincere and he wanted her to continue. It took Azula a few minutes to regain her composure.

"But then something happened while I was here." She finally continued. "I saw our mother."

"Mother's here?"

"No, I don't think so… At least not in the sense that you mean… But I found her spirit inside of me – memories of when she had been nice to me, to both of us, which I had blocked out."

"I see."

Both of the siblings fell silent once more. Zuko didn't know what to think let alone say or do, but he knew Azula was telling the truth. He sensed something had changed in her rather like he had sensed something was off with her before their Agni Ki. He came because the guards had told him his sister was sick… She wasn't sick; she was better.

"Zuko?" Azula began tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

Zuko smiled slightly. "I forgive you."

"How can you? I've done so much… I nearly killed you during our Agni Ki…"

"But you didn't and I'm fine. Nothing a little healing water couldn't fix." The Fire Lord chuckled. "I went through the exact same thing you did and I thought that everyone would hate me because of my past mistakes; however, the Avatar taught me that the most important person to forgive you is yourself."

Azula nodded.

"Are you ready to come home?" Zuko finally asked after another pregnant pause.

"I still have time to serve…"

"I can release you. I am the Fire Lord, you know."

She snorted and thought for a long moment. "I'm not sure, Zuko. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Okay. I accept your decision, but if you change your mind you tell one of the guards or send me a hawk, deal?"

"Deal."

Ooo0ooO

A year passed. Of course Azula was taken out of isolation and she never saw the Cooler again, but she was still at the Boiling Rock. She knew she was ready to go back home; however, she had yet to contact her brother. This was not because she didn't trust his word (she was well aware of the fact that Zuko rarely broke off deals), but because she wasn't sure what she would do when she returned. She didn't want to be tempted by the power or become jealous of her brother's position.

"Guard!" Azula called.

One snapped to attention. Every since the Fire Lord had come for a visit they had been ordered to show the woman some respect and treat her like a princess. This didn't include any special privileges though. She had the same food and the same curfew as every other prisoner with only one difference: they now had to address her properly.

"I wish to see Zuko." Azula continued. "Send word."

She smiled slightly when the man gave her a nod and went off down the hall. She decided to at least make herself presentable this time so she showered and brushed her hair and dressed sharply in a simple yet elegant Fire Nation outfit. She knew Zuko would waste no time in coming and as such didn't really worry about the fact that she was getting ready this soon. She was pretty surprised though when the guards led her to the meeting room an hour later.

She took a deep breath before entering, relishing in the fact that her hands weren't tied behind her as they had been before. By now most of the guards knew that she couldn't firebend anyway. She opened the door, inclined her head toward Zuko, and then took a seat.

"You got here pretty fast." Azula commented.

"I was going to help Aang rebuild the Western Air Temple so the hawk didn't have to fly far and the Avatar lent me his flying bison."

"Ah."

"So what do you want, Azula? Are you ready to come home?"

"No."

Zuko stared. "Then why did you call for me?"

"Because I want out, but I don't want to go back to the Fire Nation right now."

"Well then… where will you go?"

"I think I need to spend some time with our uncle. He seemed to help you out when you were struggling… plus I want to help Ba Sing Se."

Zuko nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

And just like that Azula was free. She followed Zuko to the courtyard where Appa was and admired the creature from afar at first. She felt a little nervous about flying, but she climbed on anyway. She almost screamed when the beast took off and she held on for dear life as they flew across the countryside. Although she had been on an airship in the past, Appa's movements were quite different from a machine's. Right then and there Azula decided that she would keep her feet firmly on the ground as soon as they reached Ba Sing Se.

For some reason she had thought that flying on Appa would be faster (or at least easier) because the Avatar had always made it look like a piece of cake and even Zuko seemed comfortable. Hours went by before they finally landed again. Together the two siblings entered the Jasmine Dragon, causing a bell to tingle and their uncle to glance up.

"Azula! What are you doing here?" Iroh demanded.

"Uncle, please," Zuko said, "she's not here to fight. She's here to learn."

The older man raised his eyebrows. "What can she possibly learn from me? I'm a disgrace and I shamed the Fire Nation."

Azula lowered her head. "That's what my father thought, but I'm not my father. I know you're wise and that you helped Zuko when he was struggling. I want your guidance, uncle."

Iroh pursed his lips. "Very well."

Azula smiled somewhat before fully entering her uncle's tea shop. Zuko said his goodbyes as soon as he knew they wouldn't try to kill each other, wished his sister the best of luck, and left to rejoin the Avatar. Azula spent the next three years in what she called self-banishment. She learned much about her family's history and she came to accept herself. Her uncle taught her how to access her inner chi again, but she rarely had to use her firebending skills (which suited her just fine). She couldn't help noticing that the color of her fire hand changed though – it had gone from blue and unfeeling to red and lively.

Zuko came to the Jasmine Dragon occasionally, but she didn't see her brother very often since he was pretty busy with his Fire Lord duties. Azula was rather happy in Ba Sing Se; however, she still dreamed of the day that she would return to the Fire Nation. Today was that day. It was already important in so many ways, but Azula wanted it to mean something to her as well. Today was the day that the Avatar had triumphed over her father and brought the world peace.

In years previous the whole gang celebrated at Iroh's tea shop and seeing Azula there that first time had been quite the shock to most. Luckily Zuko had quickly defused the situation and while Azula would probably never be a part of their group they accepted her. The woman glanced up when she heard the bell jingle and smiled at her brother. He always came early so they could have a little time together.

"Zuko… I've been thinking… I'd like to come home."

He smiled. "That can be arranged."

The rest of that day passed in a blur. The Avatar arrived along with the others and the tea shop was filled with laughter as they remembered the past. It took a while before the two siblings were alone again, but Azula was patient and she didn't mind waiting. Finally Zuko led her outside to his method of transport, which just so happened to be a Fire Salamander. She clambered onto the lizard and secured her arms around her brother and they were off. Fire Salamanders were well-known for their speed so they reached the sea in no time flat and switched over to warship which sped them across the ocean.

Azula was beginning to feel a little nervous the closer they got to the palace, but for the most part she was excited. She wasn't expecting a grand welcoming party or anything like that, but there were more people on the streets than she had been anticipating. She looked over at her brother and received a grin. She knew then that he had been planning this for a while.

"Welcome home, sister."

~ Fin ~