Azula mentally sighed miserably. She was in her standard fire nation garb, with Fire Nation soldiers following behind her, at a respectable distance of course, that way she could be allowed some breathing space from those people.

She just wanted to tell them to take a hike, that she didn't need them, that they were just idiots for following the ideals of such a disgraceful Fire Lord, but she knew they would probably look at her like she was crazy, even if she couldn't see it through their masks, report to her father in which she would in turn be interrogated by him, possibly resulting in her swift death because she had insulted the Fire Lord and she wouldn't be able to escape, even with the excuse of not being from this time, who on earth would believe that she came from the future?

At first she didn't know how to really deal with being bought back to the past, mainly in fixing her mistakes, but she knew she couldn't bring attention to herself, it would end terribly for her and the second chance would be worth nothing. She had to play it carefully, pretend to be her old self in front of her father and his followers while discreetly owning up to her mistakes. There was still a few problems in that though, she really had no idea what to do, where to start, what exactly to fix. It was all a jumble of confusion, most things looked much easier in the distance then they actually were and this was no different, she really wished she was back in her time right now, she didn't need this stress.

They were approaching an all too familiar tent. The circus, Azula had often wondered why on earth Ty Lee would choose such a profession. Yes, she had a knack for acrobatics, she also wanted to stand out from her identical sisters, but she could have easily used her skills for something better, like combat...which she did, fighting for her cause and not the Fire Nation's, there's that stab of guilt again. Ty Lee had a good life, although the circus wasn't what one would call a stable job Ty Lee was still at peace, until she had to come and screw it up. She wasn't blaming herself fully though, Ty Lee was to blame too, she would list reasons as soon as they came up. Okay, she was a bad friend, she could admit that, and maybe that was one of the first things she had to fix, Agni help her.

"Stay here," Azula ordered her soldiers. They were obedient with no question and she knew exactly the reason why, they still feared her, they still thought of her as the vindictive Princess who enjoyed other people's suffering, wow, even that sounded bad to her.

She made her way into the circus tent and knew exactly where to track down her old friend, she did it before. It didn't take long for her to locate the acrobat and for a fleeting moment she hesitated in what she was about to do, she would be taking Ty Lee away and possibly screwing her over...again. She quickly pushed the feeling aside and made herself known.

"Hello Ty Lee," Azula greeted as evenly as she could, it was a bit hard sticking into character because she tried her best to not give anything away, she didn't know why she was doing it though, maybe a force of habit so people didn't take advantage of her.

Ty Lee stared at Azula in surprise. Never in her life did she think she would actually see the Fire Nation Princess so soon. They were still friends and Ty Lee still valued her, she was one of the first people to know and understand her, but seeing her here bought shivers down her spine, Azula may have been her friend but that didn't stop Ty Lee from fearing her. She mentally scolded herself, she shouldn't be thinking such thoughts, Azula wasn't just her friend, she was her best friend.

"Azula?" She still had to make sure, you never knew if it was just a double or a like alike, just ask her sisters.

"Yeah, it's me," Azula said. Ty Lee looked so young. She wasn't the same as those guards outside, she was her friend and if Azula was going to fix things with her then she needed to drop the mask, she decided to act like the person she was now and not her past self, she offered a small smile at the surprised look her friend was sporting.

Ty Lee actually did a double take. She couldn't believe her eyes. Azula was...smiling? It didn't even look remotely malevolent, it looked so real and...pretty, she guessed. Ty Lee had never seen Azula smile like that and she was starting to doubt that this was even the Princess at all.

"It's been a while huh?" Azula asked when she realised Ty Lee wasn't going to say anything, was the smile a bit too much or something?

"...Yeah, it has. Uhh... How are you?" Ty Lee asked awkwardly, she couldn't help it, she was still in shock.

"I'm well but I didn't come here for idle chit-chat," that sounded more like the old her but she really was in hurry to get this over with.

"Oh...Then why are you here?" Ty Lee asked curiously.

"I want to recruit you in helping me find certain people," Azula said carefully.

"Recruit?" Ty Lee didn't like where this was going.

"Yes," Azula said. It felt really strange, doing this over again, like any mistake she made would have dire consequences.

"Sorry Azula but I really enjoy it here. I feel at peace and my aura has never been pinker!" Ty Lee said cheerfully.

Azula was about to plead with her when Ty Lee's name was suddenly called by the ringmaster.

"Oh! Gotta go, it was nice seeing you again," Ty Lee said and then left to do her tightrope act.

Well that was a bit faster then she expected but she did take longer to get here then the first time so it was understandable. She needed Ty Lee though, not just for the sake of finding Zuko, Uncle Iroh and the Gang, especially Aang, but to have an actual stable relationship that wouldn't result in betrayal in the near future.

She made her way and saw Ty Lee getting ready to perform her act, just like last time. She spotted the ringmaster and paused. Last time she had him burn the net beneath the tightrope in order to put pressure on Ty Lee to join her, Agni what kind of friend does that? She didn't really know how to persuade someone without instilling fear into them, she was left with pressing questions. How could she get Ty Lee to join her this time around? What could she do? It was obvious that Ty Lee didn't want to come with her and if she tried something different then before she could mess up in recruiting Ty Lee to her cause indefinitely. She really thought about this and only one solution seemed plausible of working without unexpected consequences. She sighed.

Silently apologising to Ty Lee, Azula made her way to the ringmaster, she didn't like this but she really couldn't think of a better option.

"Nice night for performing," Azula said to the ringmaster, who immediately recognized her.

"Yes, it is! It is a pleasure to have you here princess," the ringmaster said respectfully.

"I'm glad to be here. That girl, is she good at what she does?" Azula said indicating to Ty Lee who was getting ready to start.

"Very, I'd say she's the best," the ringmaster said confidently.

"Why don't we test that hmm? Light this net on fire and release all those animals," Azula ordered seriously, just this once, Agni she hated doing this.

The ringmaster knew that he didn't have a choice and he acted as ordered, everyone knew not to mess with the prodigy.

Azula made sure not to look up as the performance commenced because she knew she would see the hurt in those big grey eyes, Agni she was so sorry! She quickly made her way to the back and waited patiently for the show to finish and made sure to calm herself as much as possible before approaching Ty Lee. Everything was acting out exactly as before, all she had to do now was to force Ty Lee to go with her again.

"Great performance, it was rather enjoyable if I do say so myself," Azula said in mock glee.

"I'm glad you liked it," Ty Lee muttered.

"I'm looking forward to the next day's show as well," Azula said with a mirthful smile, it was all an act however, that would stop when Ty Lee agreed to come with her.

That's the Azula she remembered and the shiver of fear shot through her spine again. She had no choice, she had to accept or risk getting herself killed because of the Princess, "I'm not performing anymore."

"Oh?" Azula asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! The universe is giving me strong hints that it's time for a career change," Ty Lee said cheerfully but Azula could easily see the fear that radiated from those grey eyes.

"So you'll be joining me?" Azula asked already knowing the answer.

"You bet!" Ty Lee said with a grin.

"Good, we leave immediately," Azula said then made her way outside the tent with Ty Lee following her. Azula could see her soldiers, at a distance, playing cards and that gave her the opportunity to talk to Ty Lee alone.

"...You know I would never hurt you right?" even she knew that was impossible to believe but she wanted see how Ty Lee would react to what she said.

"Of course," judging by the nervous smile she was sporting Azula knew Ty Lee didn't believe her, hell she wouldn't have believed herself in the past, but things were different now.

"*...I'm really sorry Ty Lee," Azula said honestly with sadness, the guilt was slowly eating away at her and it didn't feel right doing that to the acrobat again.

"For what?" Ty Lee asked in true confusion and shock, Azula was never the type of person to apologise so freely and sincerely, she really looked remorseful and her aura showed she wasn't faking.

"For setting that net on fire. I felt really bad for putting you on the spot like that but I really needed your help, I'm desperate," Azula said honestly. She felt a bit better with that confession, it was the truth.

"...Who are you?"

Azula looked at her and for the first time in her life she could actually see a hint of anger coming from Ty Lee.

"What do you mean Ty Lee?" Azula asked confusedly.

"You are NOT Azula," Ty Lee said curtly.

"Of course I am. Who else could I be?" Azula asked in surprise, what was Ty Lee's problem?

"The Azula I know wouldn't say such things so freely, especially using words like 'desperate'. She is strong-willed and doesn't show weakness to anyone. I have to admit that you've got the looks close enough but your aura isn't the same, hers was black and yours is a light yellow, which indicates constant confusion and Azula was never like that, she was always sure of herself. I'm going to ask you again, who the hell are you!?" Ty Lee spat, she was getting really angry know, how dare someone try to steal her best friend's identity?

"Ty Lee listen-"

"No, you listen! Azula's my best friend and I won't stand for any imposter trying to trick me!" Ty Lee quickly went into her fighting stance.

Oh Agni, how did things get so bad so quickly? Azula could admit that she never expected this out of Ty Lee, she was willing to fight her, because she thought she was an imposter, and Azula felt touched, as weird as it sounded. She didn't know Ty Lee felt so strongly about her, she seemed scared of her but it seemed that when push came to shove then Ty Lee was really a good friend. Looking back confirmed her assumptions, Ty Lee used to be by her side all the way until the Boiling Rock incident, she really was bad friend indeed.

"No Ty Lee-" She was cut off when Ty Lee charged and tried to strike her. Azula knew that if she was hit by any of Ty Lee's chi blocking strikes then it was game over for her. She didn't want to hurt Ty Lee, she wouldn't do that anymore. She quickly jumped on top of a cage to dodge one of Ty Lee's fists.

"Princess! We're coming!" One of the soldiers shouted as all the soldiers ran to stop Ty Lee.

"Stay out of this!" Azula snarled at them, they were NOT going to harm Ty Lee.

"Oh? So you even have fake soldiers?" Ty Lee asked as she glared at the imposter, she wasn't really focusing too much on reason anymore.

"Ty! Please stop this!" Azula implored and realised her mistake too late, the only person she called Ty was the future Ty Lee and not this one.

"Aha, I knew it! Azula NEVER calls me 'Ty'!" Ty Lee said angrily, she was losing herself, she rarely got angry and on the few times she did then it never ended well. She advanced on the Princess.

"Okay, that's it!" Azula shouted then shot a small blue fire-ball at Ty Lee.

Ty Lee yelped and covered her face with her arms and closed her eyes, the flame was too fast to dodge, she expected to feel pain but all she felt was a warm sensation at her left side. She waited a while and when nothing happened she slowly opened her eyes.

"Huh?" Ty Lee said confusedly. She looked to her side and saw burn marks on the ground next to her. She...missed her?

"There, don't you see!? Who else can firebend blue fire!?" Azula said irritably. She was a bit surprised that she could still do that, she thought she lost the ability to bend but her arrival in the past must have changed things, drastically.

Ty Lee looked like a deer caught in head lights. No one but the real Azula could summon blue fire when fire bending. So all this time she was actually attacking her best friend, oh boy, she felt rather silly right now for losing her temper.

"You really are Azula... Oopsy!" Ty Lee siad sheepishly, she had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life.

"You attack me and all you have to say is 'Oopsy'?" Azula's brow twitched, the nerve of this girl.

"No! Azula I'm so-"

"Tch, let's just go," Azula said as she jumped down from the cage she had used to stay out of Ty Lee's range and began walking away from the scene, not even waiting for anyone else.

Ty Lee quickly rushed to catch up with the Princess and when she did only awkward silence was present. After a while Ty Lee had enough of the awkward atmosphere and decided to start.

"...Uhhm Azula?" Ty Lee asked meekly, she was afraid Azula might do something to her in her anger.

"What?" Azula asked as she glared at Ty Lee. Here she was trying to be nice and that's what she gets in return? Even if she deserved it Azula still felt upset. Her glare softens when she saw Ty Lee flinch and look down.

"I'm really really really really really sorry. Please forgive me," Ty Lee pleaded with her hands together.

Azula rolled her eyes. Did Ty Lee know the power she had over people? She was way too adorable and airheaded to stay angry at, stupid puppy dog pout.

"...Fine," Azula grumbled.

"Thank you thank you thank you," Ty Lee squealed and hugged the Princess, who stiffened from the unexpected contact. There was a pause but it didn't take long for Ty Lee to realize what she did and quickly let go before Azula burned her.

"I'm so sorry," Ty Lee said with a pleading tone.

"It's okay... It didn't feel that bad," that was true, it felt warm and a bit...comfortable.

"... What exactly happened to you?" Ty Lee asked curiously.

"What do you mean by that?" Azula asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You never acted this way back then, when we were in the academy," Ty Lee said.

"What can I say, things change," Azula shrugged, she wasn't lying, just not telling the whole truth.

"Okay... Can I ask you a favour?" Ty Lee asked hesitantly.

"What is it?" Azula said with a frown.

"...Could you call me Ty? It sounds really cute," Ty Lee said with a faint blush, Agni she felt really embarrassed.

That was unexpected, it seemed that the Ty Lee of this time liked the name as well, although she wasn't expecting to have the same relationship with the Ty Lee of this time compared to the Ty Lee of her present. It was still endearing to know that with time they could actually have a strong bond as friends.

"Sure Ty," Azula smiled.

Ty Lee beamed at her. Azula had changed from the last time she saw her. She wasn't angry about the net incident because Azula seemed genuinely regretful for it, she also seemed more open to her. Ty Lee didn't know what to make of this side of Azula, even her eyes seemed different, they didn't hold the mirth they used to, they looked more...soft, mature, if you could put it that way...so different, but she still held elements of the young Azula she had met at the academy.

"So where are we going now?" Ty Lee asked curiously.

"We're heading back to my ship. After a few days we will find Mai and recruit her as well," Azula said.

"Why do you need us exactly?" Ty Lee asked.

"To help me locate certain people," Azula said.

"Who?" Ty Lee asked.

"We'll talk more about it in my sleeping quarters," Azula said softly as she noticed a lot of people where staring at her and her soldiers.

"Sure!" Ty Lee chirped. Whatever It was it had to be really important for Azula not to be talking about it in the open. She was also going to see Mai again, after so long, she actually wondered how she was doing, and couldn't think of anything. Hopefully their reunion wouldn't be the same as Azula and hers.

"I wonder how Mai is doing?" Ty Lee asked.

"If I know her then she is most probably bored out of her mind," Azula said rolling her eyes. She hoped Mai wouldn't attack her like Ty Lee did. It never ceased to amaze her how easily things could change with just simple acts. The moment she acted friendly with Ty Lee she was immediately attacked, that never happened before so she needed to be a little more careful with how she acted, no need for more unexpected events in the timeline.

She took a glance at Ty Lee, she seemed...happy, and the fear that she saw earlier was not present in those eyes. It was a shaky start of redemption, but a good start none the less. She wasn't deluded in the least with the situation at hand, they were in the middle of war, Aang was being hunted down by Zuko and her father was in power, all very intimidating elements but she wasn't known as a prodigy for nothing. One step at a time, if she played her cards right then this timeline could end up better for her then the one she came from.

AN: Thank you guys for the reviews and I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far.