The avatar was dreaming.
Transient thoughts collided with one another again and again, forming a kaleidoscope of images that flashed back and forth in his mind. Aang often had such dreams, and wondered if it was because of his constant contact with the spirits. Some were memories, of this life or one of the many before, and some were manifestations of things that he could never have described in words if he had been given centuries to write them. But none of his dreams had ever been quite like this.
He was floating in an endless expanse of black, which felt remarkably like the feeling you get when you dive underwater and twist upwards to face the surface. He felt a strong sense of serenity, like he was meditating. And then the dream began to change.
He saw the four elements rise up from the abyss in four giant pillars and begin to twist together, forming the shape of a man. Instinctively, he knew it was himself.
As he watched, another figure rose up directly behind the first apparition, this one formed entirely from the surrounding shadows. Hatred emanated from its eyes.
He wanted to call out and warn the first figure of the impending danger, but found that he couldn't speak or move, or even make a sound. He watched in helpless horror as the shadow struck the other from behind, landing a heavy blow and knocking his opponent to the ground.
Aang tried as hard as he could to break his unseen bonds and attack this newcomer, but he just couldn't find the strength to even move himself. The two figures were locked in full combat now, and the shadowy stranger was clearly overpowering the first. It threw the other once more to the ground, lashing out with sharp talons and tendrils of shadow. Apparently satisfied with the destruction it had caused, it turned and began to walk away. Before it could make it two paces, it turned back once more as the original figure rose to its feet once again, this time clutching shadow in one fist and light in the other. The two charged forward to battle again-
Aang's eyes snapped open, a gasping breath finally making its way into his lungs. Panicking, he frantically sat up in his bed and looked around his room, taking a moment to realize where he was and that it was just a dream.
Was it just a dream? Or something more...? he thought as he looked out through his window into the night sky.
The prison gates opened slowly, allowing the young woman just enough room to enter the courtyard. Two Fire Nation guards fell in behind her, and the warden emerged from his quarters to greet her.
"Lady Ty Lee." He smiled, bowing. "Punctual as ever, I see."
"I do my best!" The acrobat replied, returning the bow with a broad smile. "How is she today?"
The warden shrugged, looking away. "Same as always, I'm afraid. She never speaks, she's stopped making eye contact, and she barely even eats anymore. Quite honestly, we just don't know what to do with her. The doctor visits her several times a day just to try and talk with her, to get her to say something. But she's blocked us out, I'm afraid. Maybe for good this time."
"I'll see if I can get her to eat something." Ty Lee replied, her charming demeanor falling for only a second. "I think I can get there by myself from here."
"Of course." Said the Warden, nodding to her escorts. She continued on alone as the men made their way back to their posts. She sniffed the air. At one point she found the constant steam in this place to be quite annoying, but in the years since she had grown accustomed to it.
Five years…she thought. To the day, almost.
In the past, the Boiling Rock had served as the Fire Nation's most notorious prison. However, in the years since the conclusion of the war, it had been converted into a mental hospital and treatment center. While it had once housed some of the Fire Nation's most wanted criminals and prisoners of war, it now housed only a handful of patients. And her, of course.
Ty Lee opened the door to the Boiling Rock's most secure building, where they kept patients that were a danger to themselves and others. The ones they didn't have much hope left for. Not that they didn't try, of course. With her, particularly. They had tried virtually every therapy they knew, but nothing seemed to work.
She walked calmly through the darkened hallways, smiling at the guards she passed and trying to ignore the things some of the patients shouted at her as she passed. They each had their own cell (she hated using the word cell, but that was essentially what they were) that they were confined to, furnished with mattresses and toilets. There were only so many luxuries the facility could afford to give its patients, especially since many of them were liable to do bodily harm to themselves if given anything more.
This hallway was usually fairly loud, and she had become accustomed to the taunts and jeers that some of the patients would send her way as she passed. A guard opened one final door for her as she came to the end of the hallway, the only area of the building that was dead quiet. The room on the other side of the door was dark, with just a few beams of light coming in from a high window. Ty Lee poked her head in through the door, not wanting to startle the cell's lone occupant.
"Hey, 'Zula…" she whispered.
The former Fire Nation princess was curled up in the corner of her cell, facing away from the door. She made no attempt to answer, and barely even moved when she heard Ty Lee's voice.
Ty Lee made her way inside, closing the door behind her before sitting down next to the bars of the cell. She could see the thick chains leading over to her friend, and the shackles on her wrists that inhibited her bending.
"They told me you weren't eating very much..." Ty Lee began, removing the small pouch from her shoulder. "So I brought you a few apples." She opened the tiny hatch that was used to deliver food and placed the apples inside Azula's cell one at a time.
"A lot's happened this week!" She continued, trying to keep up her smile and keep the conversation going. "Zuko and Mai had their wedding a few days ago, but they barely even had time for a honeymoon. He's been pretty busy lately, so I guess they were lucky to get a couple of days." She sighed happily. "It really was a beautiful wedding, I wish you could have seen it." She looked over at Azula, searching for any sign of a reaction, or that she had even been listening. There was none. "I'm sure Zuko wished you were there too…I know he hasn't been to see you in a while, but he really does miss you. Even if he'll never admit it…"
Dumb hothead, she thought. Zuko hadn't been to see his sister in nearly a year. In all honesty, she could understand why. Azula had stopped talking to him, or even acknowledging his presence, long ago.
"Your Uncle Iroh performed the ceremony," She continued, "and I could swear the whole Nation was there. About time those two finally tied the knot, if you ask me." Ty Lee giggled. Her laughter faded as she looked once more to her friend, who still hadn't even turned to face her. She sighed.
Ty Lee stayed in the cell for about an hour, talking to Azula about whatever came to her mind. She laughed as she told the story of how Sokka had finally proposed to Suki the day after Mai and Zuko's wedding, and how suki had wanted to kill him for taking so long. She talked about how rapidly the Nations were changing, how the Earth Kingdom and the water Tribes were trading once again with both each other and the Fire Nation, and how nice it was to see people from all Nations walking the palace grounds.
"I feel like we never got to experience that while growing up, you know?" she said. "We only ever got to talk with Fire Nation nobles or military leaders. But now, all kinds of people are there. They're so much fun to talk to!"
The one sided conversation continued until Ty Lee finally ran out of new information. She got to her feet slowly, putting her hands on the bars and peering into the darkness at Azula. "Won't you say something?" She pleaded.
The other girl twitched, but offered no response. With a sigh, Ty Lee turned to leave. "See you next week." She said, trying her best to smile. "Take care, okay?"
Azula said nothing, and it was only after Ty Lee was gone and the door had closed behind her that she looked over to where her friend had been. She slowly crawled across the floor and picked up one of the apples, holding it close to her for a moment before taking a small bite.
It was almost sunset by the time Ty Lee made it back to the palace, but she had grown used to the long commute. She made her way back up the palace stairs towards her room, deciding that a hot bath sounded lovely. On her way up, she took a little detour to her favorite balcony, where you could see the entire city. It looked beautiful, bathed in the colors of the swiftly falling sun…
"Ty Lee." The voice came from behind her, and she turned.
"Oh. Hey, Zuko." She grinned as the Firelord walked up to her. Zuko had grown a lot over the last five years, in more ways than one. He looked every inch the leader he was now, but he had never grown out the traditional Firelord beard, probably because it made him look more like his father.
"How was she?" He didn't have to tell her whom he meant.
"No different than usual..." She replied, her smile finally failing her. Zuko was one of the few people in the world that she felt comfortable dropping her cheerful mask around. "She won't even look at me anymore…It's like she doesn't even know I'm there." She stiffened up her face, but Zuko wasn't stupid. He saw the tears that had been forming in her eyes. "She's completely cut herself off, and…and the doctor is saying that it might be permanent, this time…"
Zuko placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising his friend with a hug. Hugs were something Zuko didn't ordinarily dabble in, but he knew when they were needed.
"It's good that she has you." He told her. "You just have to give her time. Right now it's just important that she has somebody. If she didn't have you there every week, I guarantee you she'd notice. You're the only thing she has to keep her connected to the outside. When she's ready, she'll talk to you."
Ty Lee pulled away from him, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "Thanks, Zuko." She said, already smiling again. "I needed that. See you at dinner!" with that, she was back up the stairs and on her way to her room.
Zuko watched her go. She really was a strong girl, he thought. Nobody else he knew could have gone through everything she had, and still come out of it with a winning smile. If there was anybody who could bring Azula back to reality, it was Ty Lee.
He turned to face the setting sun, taking in the view from the balcony. No wonder she liked it up here, he thought. He rarely took the time to appreciate things like this anymore, with all of the rebuilding that had been going on for the last several years.
A shadow darted across his face, snapping him out of his thoughts. Raising his hand over his face and squinting his eyes against the sun, he caught the familiar outline of a swiftly approaching air glider. His face broke into a surprised smile as he waved to his friend.
"You're early!" He remarked as Aang landed, the wings of the glider retracting into his staff. "The council isn't until tomorrow night, you know."
"I know." Aang replied, eagerly clasping his friends' hand and giving him a pat on the back. "It's been pretty quiet lately, so I thought I'd go ahead and come by."
For a while, Zuko had been worried that Aang wouldn't stop growing. He had long since passed Katara, and had managed to get on equal planes with Sokka before finally leveling out. Pretty much the only thing about Aang that hadn't changed was his shaved head, and his perpetually goofy grin. He had also set up his temporary headquarters on Ember Island, since business called him to the Fire Nation so often. As it turned out, groups of rebel soldiers rapidly lost interest in fighting when the Avatar was present.
"Also, there's something I needed to tell you." Aang's face suddenly became serious, which was rare for him.
"What is it?" Zuko asked. "Did something happen?"
"No, nothing's happened, but…I think I had a vision last night."
Zuko's brow furrowed, and he motioned for Aang to follow as he turned to walk into the palace. Visions from the Avatar were not something to be taken lightly, as both he and his ancestors had learned. "A vision of what?" he asked.
"Well, I'm not really sure." Aang admitted. He proceeded to tell Zuko everything he had dreamed; the figure made of the elements, the shadowy opponent, and the battle whose outcome he hadn't seen. "I don't know what it means," he concluded. "But it has me worried. I think something bad might be coming, so I wanted to come early to warn you."
Zuko nodded. "Thanks, Aang. I'll tell them to alert the guards, just in case. Do you think it has anything to do with the council tomorrow?"
"I don't know…" Aang thought about it. "It might, but why wait so long? It's hardly the first council we've had. And why would anybody want to harm the council members?"
"Grudges run deep," Zuko replied, shaking his head. "And there are quite a few Fire Nation nobles who liked things as they were under my father."
They shared a contemplative silence, which Zuko finally broke. "You must be exhausted after that trip. Why don't you join us for dinner tonight? We can talk more inside."
He led the Avatar through the palace, and before long they were talking about their lives, discussing the state of the Nations, and asking about friends.
It was just like old times.
Night had fallen on the Capital Island, and heavy clouds had rolled in from the North.
On a quiet mountain peak overlooking Royal Caldera City, a shadow stirred. A man walked silently along the ridge, a thick cloak wrapped around his shoulders. The harsh winds that assaulted the mountainside didn't seem to have any effect on the cloak, and he lowered his hood as he sank down to his knees to stare down into the glowing lights of the city.
"That's the place." He said in a low voice. "What? Yes, I know. Trust me, it will work. And besides, he's down there. Isn't that what you want?" He cocked his head, listening intently to something. "Of course, master. Don't worry, all will go as planned. After all, we've got the element of surprise on our side."
He stood once again, throwing his hood back over his face and beginning the long climb down towards the city.