Title: This Time Imperfect
Rating/Warnings: T for a few strong curse words on Azula's part.
Summary: During the Day of the Black Sun Azula realizes, after a conversation with her father, that she was just his second wind, and all she did was get caught up in power. She never really meant anything to him, and all he ever did was lie. She tries to cope with this newfound hatred for the Firelord when Aang comes to her with a proposition.
Author's Notes: The title of this story and this chapter are songs that belong to AFI. I tried to keep Azula (and everyone else for that matter) in character whilst making her hate her father. This is another what if story. What if Azula was more like a modern day teenager? I was going to keep this rated K+, but I decided that Azula needed to let off some steam and bend the rules (Lolz puns). And I'm sorry if I fail at writing; I'm going to high school this month. Anyway, enough babbling. Let's do this thing.
Aang let out a breath. "I'm ready to face the Firelord." He said, reassuring not only his friends, but also himself. He used airbending to throw the door open. As expected, Firelord Ozai was in the throne room. What wasn't expected was that Azula was too, but she was facing toward her father away from the door. Her posture was poor, and her head hung low.
"What? The Avatar? Azula, stop them!" Ozai shouted. Aang, Sokka and Toph fully expected Azula to comply, but she didn't. She just stared at the ground. No one spoke for a few moments. "What are you doing, fool?" Ozai growled at his daughter.
Slowly she looked up. "You lied. Six years down the drain, father. You lied." She quietly repeated.
"Yes, I lied. Get over it, Azula. That's not how I raised you. Ursa never actually cared about you anyway. There are other pressing matters, now obey your father and capture these enemies of the Fire Nation!"
Azula's fists clenched, and the words stung her. "No. Six fucking years of my life were worthless," She raised her voice, causing everyone to jump at the curse word. Sokka, Aang and Toph were visibly shocked by her strong language. "That's almost half of my entire life, father. Is that all I am to you? A joke? A tool? Some sort of fucking jester? I thought you had loved me. Now I see that I was wrong. I did everything for you. My every breath was in the name of the "amazing Firelord" and it was all for nothing. I'll let the Avatar kill you. After six years of hiding behind your daughter you're finally going to face judgement, you fucking coward." She turned, and without making any eye contact, she stormed out of the throne room, leaving a shocked Ozai, and our three heroes completely baffled. Unfortunately the guards came in and fought off Aang, Sokka and Toph while Ozai himself fled.
Azula had left the secret underground bunker, and was now in the open air of the capital city. Her stride was hurried and uneven, suggesting that she was troubled, which was of course true. Ozai had lied about everything to her. He lied about Mai, and Ty Lee, and Zuko, and Iroh, and Lu Ten, and Ursa, and Azulon, and even herself. He fed her noting but cruel lies since she was barely old enough to talk, and now she was smart enough to realize it. She was smart enough to realize that she too was as corrupt as her creator. Anger boiled her blood, but she looked up and saw the destruction of her own homeland. It called to her, pleading for her to protect her home, but she couldn't. Was this even her home, or was it another of Ozai's lies? She watched the moon's shadow free the sun, and she felt her firebending return to her. She felt the power manifest beneath her skin and burn at her fingertips. She knew that Aang hadn't killed her father. She knew it even more when she heard the Avatar and his friends slowly approach from behind.
"Azul-"
"I knew you were alive. I knew about this invasion. I regret telling him you know. It would have been better if he were dead." She saw the large shadows cast on the ground before she saw the airships that they belonged to. She knew they would charge the beach. "You need to retreat. Go back to your vehicles before the airships reach them." She didn't really know what manner of transportation they had arrived here in, but she knew that the airships would cut them down.
"Come with us." Aang said, surprising everyone there.
She shook her head. "You know what my answer will be, Avatar."
"We need you, and now that you're not with Ozai, you need us, and you know it," He slammed his staff into the ground, "I can put Ba Sing Se behind me if you can."
She sighed. What choice did she have? She could stay in the Fire Nation and be executed, retreat to Ba Sing Se and be thrown in prison, go to one of the Water Tribes and be sacrificed to whatever made-up god those primitives followed, or try to survive on her own; something she didn't have enough experience in. "Very well. Know this though, Avatar, I am not your friend, and I am not your ally. I have learned that by joining any faction I will always be betrayed in the end. I won't make that mistake again. My personal airship isn't as fast as your bison, but it can carry your entire army," She glanced to the skies and saw the airships dropping bombs, "If your soldiers haven't retreated yet, then that is their only hope of escape. I will take care of my crew, and prepare the ship for flight. Go." Without another word she disappeared down one of the streets. Aang nodded to her, though she was already long gone.
Sokka tilted his head. "Do you think she's serious?"
Aang sighed. "I hope so. She seemed legitimate enough. I just hope this doesn't backfire on us."
"Knowing Scorcho," Toph said in reference to Azula, "She'll put us back to square one."
- Later -
"Katara! We have to get out of here. Ozai got away." Aang said as he joined Hakoda and Katara.
"We can't, Aang... Those airships destroyed our ships." She pointed to the flaming wreckages of the submarines.
Aang grabbed her hand. "We found someone at the palace who is willing to help us escape. She has one of those airships."
Katara's eyes widened. "Really?"
At that moment, an ornate airship came around one of the bends and started lowering to the ground. A bright blue flare shot into the air before turning orange and fizzling out. "Don't attack that airship!" Aang shouted.
"No..." Katara said under her breath as she saw that unique fire that still haunted her dreams. "No," She said louder, "Aang! Please don't tell me that that's..."
"It is," He said calmly, "I know you don't want to trust her, and I don't either, but right now it's her or death."
"Yeah, um... is there a difference?" Sokka said with a sigh.
The airship landed, and the ramp lowered. Hakoda took a deep breath. "Alright everybody, listen up. Firelord Ozai got away this time, but he won't be so lucky next time. We've got a new weapon. Everyone retreat to that airship." The entire army pushed back firebenders and got onto the ship. A few firebenders slipped by, but those that did were quickly detained and thrown back. After nearly an hour everyone had boarded the ship, excluding Appa and Katara. Katara refused to go to Azula for help, and someone needed to fly Appa. Aang wanted to join her, but he knew that his priorities were with Azula. He had to know for a fact that this wasn't a mistake.
The airship took off. Everyone was so tightly packed that Aang could barely find who he was searching for- Sokka, who insisted that Hakoda come with them- before going to the cockpit, which also had a few chatting swamp waterbenders and Water Tribe men in it, who happened to annoy the hell out of a certain firebending ex-princess. "Hello, Azula." Aang said as he entered.
"Finally. I nearly died from boredom. Or perhaps it was the stench of these... muckbenders." She shuddered. Aang noted that it was the first time he had every seen her give off a physical sign of emotion. She never shrugged, or shook her head, or tapped her foot, and she very rarely crossed her arms or spoke with her hands.
"Well... they aren't technically 'muckbenders," He scratched his head, unsure of how to respond to that, "Um... anyways... A-Azula?" She grunted in response. "I know of a place nearby where we can go. It's big enough for the army, and it can hide every single one of us from the Fire Nation."
"Then lead the way." She let go of the controls and the ship lurched to one side.
"Gah!" Aang shouted and grabbed the wheel she had previously been holding and tried to right the ship. "Are you even supposed to fly this alone?" He shouted as he managed to get the ship going in the direction of the Western Air Temple.
"You aren't supposed to, but I don't usually listen to the rules. Why are you here, Avatar? Because I know you didn't bring your friends with you just to tell me where we were going." She eyed Hakoda, and Sokka.
"We... um..." Aang was too focused on attempting to fly the airship. This is so much different than Appa! He thought in a panic. Azula pushed him aside and retook the controls.
"I have some questions for you," Sokka stated, "And I'm going to start off simple. Where is Suki?" He tried to sound intimidating. Azula laughed, her attention focused on the skies ahead.
"Don't think for a moment I won't start a fight up here. You may have your army, but I have nothing to lose," She watched Sokka's expression soften out of the corner of her eye, "Better. Your girlfriend's cowardly little warriors singled her out as the leader. They got sent off to some beach resort prison while Snookie got sent to Boiling Rock."
"It's Suki," He corrected, and ignored it when he heard Azula mutter a quiet 'whatever', "And what is Boiling Rock?"
"First class, top of the line Fire Nation prison. It's an island in the middle of a boiling lake," She said proudly, "Once you're in, you aren't getting out... unless of course you're a guard. It's quite coincidental that Mai's uncle runs the place."
Sokka brightened. "So it will be easy to get her out of there?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that idea? I'm not the Princess anymore, genius, and Mai's uncle despises me with a passion. If anything it will be harder. Besides, what makes you think that I'd want to help the likes of you break out a dangerous-" She cut herself off and closed her eyes for a moment longer than a blink, and let out a slow breath. She had to calm down if she was going to get anywhere with these people. "If you really want to get her out of there, you will need an elaborate plan."
"But we have an entire army," Sokka pointed out the obvious, "Why don't we just storm the place?"
"Because, you fool, if you storm the prison you will be letting out more than just your little Sookie-"
"Suki!" He threw his arms up in exasperation.
"Right." She rolled her eyes, "If you use that brilliant idea, you will release thousands of prisoners. Real prisoners. These are rapists, murderers, enemies of the Fire Nation, and traitors. Trust me, they will find a way to get off the island. You will also face many casualties. The Fire Nation isn't afraid of bloodshed. You'll have to use a small, stealthly group of people. Two or three at most. It will be an arduous task, but patience is rewarding. Besides, why do you need her? She didn't put up much of a fight, you know."
Sokka seethed. "You have no soul."
"Who needs a soul when you've got firebending?" She said smugly, "All grudges aside- for now- I find that I must applaud whoever designed your little battle plan. Had I not known about the eclipse you'd have successfully killed us all." She loved the horrified expression that plastered itself on the Avatar's face once the words left her mouth. She quietly hummed, "I must've hit a nerve. You know, Aang, this entire world is based on death. You're born, you live, and you die; more often than not at the hands of another bigger person. There is no sugar-coating it, there is no hiding it. Death, murder, and violence is always inevitable-"
Before she could continue, Aang ran out of the room. Sokka glared daggers at Azula before running off to comfort his friend, leaving Hakoda behind. Azula grinned wickedly, completely ignoring the man behind her. The chief shook his head. He had raised two children, and he was a smart man. He knew that an outer force was making Azula this way. No one is born evil. He knew that Azula had to have had a troubled history, what with Ozai as her father. He wanted to ask about it, but he thought better of it. The last thing he needed was a pissed off, hormonal, sociopathic teenager with the ability to burn someone from the inside out on his ass five kilometers in the air. He slowly approached her. "Do you need any help?" He asked as he watched her take the job of three pilots at once.
She eyed him suspiciously. No one ever offered to help unless they wanted something from you, but Hakoda didn't look like the sneaky type. "I don't need anyone's help... but it's better than having you stand around and be useless, so I suppose I will permit you to assist me."
Hakoda resisted the urge to laugh. Yep... typical teenager.