The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. - Sagan

A/N: Chapter 4 is here. Zuko is having his issues with his sister. Things are about to get complicated.

0o0o

Sprinting to the side and hiding in a wall crevice next to the lift, Azula scanned the floor ahead of her for any guards.

What was she even doing here?

The thought kept flashing before her mind's eye continuously since she broke out of the building. The last thing she remembered was...

What in Agni's name did she remember, anyway? She remembered the day of Black Sun and the invasion and after that, just a blank. Her brother was there, sitting across from her. What was he saying.

"Have to get a hold of myself," Azula mumbled to herself for some sort of self-encouragement. Passing shapes caught her eye again, encouraging her to look up from her hands.

"Over here! The fire lord is in the upper floor! Get the rear guard!" Shortly after the disembodied command, dozens of guards swarmed up both the lift and the stairs. Seeing her chance, Azula looked to her sides and then behind her. Down below was the first floor and reception area. As the visible area below her line of sight was without furniture, that meant that the reception desk was directly below her.

No matter. Whatever was going on, she was undoubtedly being hunted down. But then there was the question of the fire lord. Why was her father here and the guards after her? Filing the questions away for something to be answered later on, she vaulted over the railing to the floor below.

0o0o

The young fire lord slid down the wall to the below floors, using one of his arms as a brace to slow his descent. Upon landing to the floor with minimal discomfort, he ran forward past the lift and vaulted over the desk. With the commotion with the guards running about and back up security attempting to hold the rest of the patients, the staff had already evacuated to safe zones. Snapping his head in random directions, he attempted to spot Azula anywhere in the area with only futile results. Moments before he was going to check outside, the subject in question descended suddenly from the floor directly above. With the plain clothes she was wearing, much like a sashed pants and shirt uniform, Zuko was nearly caught off guard by the blur of clothing.

Entering instinctually into a fighting stance, Zuko yelled her name.

Azula was already motioning to run out the door before she jerked to a stop.

"Azula, just calm down," her brother requested without budging. Azula spun around quickly, raising her hands up in a defensive stance.

"Where is...What is this place?" she asked slowly. Zuko breathed once before slowly relaxing out of his stance. Should he tell her what this place was? She looked out of sorts. She was continuously glancing in every direction in subconscious paranoia every half second and she looked uncertain. Zuko thought quickly. Lying would probably only compound the already disastrous situation.

"It's a mental hospital" Zuko stated objectively, hoping not to get her nervous. He slowly began to advance toward her, his arms held out neutrally.

Mental Hospital.

Images flashed before Azula's already confused mind. Chains, fire...trapped in ice? There was another girl. Dark skin, blue eyes.

"Who is the waterbender?" Azula asked, attempting to get clarification from the fragmented memories housed in the recesses of her mind. To Azula, Zuko seemed to have flinched at her mention of the waterbender. But why, she did not know.

"Azula, if you come with me, I can explain," her brother offered, gesturing a hand toward her, hoping she'd take it. She looked around the room slowly. There were many doors. She could faintly hear the cry of soldiers as they were probably looking for her at this very moment. The soldiers' footfalls could be heard reverberating, slowly growing in volume.

"You put me here, didn't you?" Azula demanded, suddenly growing more angry. Zuko's expression was that of sadness. He did not know how to respond to the question. Anything he said would just make him sound evil. Azula resolved not to waste any more time. She turned sharply and ran out of the door.

Zuko didn't bother to chase her immediately.

You put me here, didn't you?

Zuko felt like such a jerk. In the end, was he still only hurting his sister? In a momentary burst of rage, Zuko punched toward the floor, a concussive force of flame blasting to scorch the ground that his fist was pointed. The soldiers had finally arrived and were waiting at a respective distcance behind him. A couple of soldiers ran forward to give chase to the wayward princess and one had the thought to ask if he was alright.

Zuko nodded after glaring a hole through the floor to show that he appreciated the gesture.

"Tell the civil advisor to order the patrolling of all transportation. She might try to leave the nation's borders," the fire lord ordered, blinking away the sudden urge to weep. He had failed his sister before. He wasn't going to do it again. The doctor had said that too much negative stress may damage her ability to access memory in certain ways. Was Azula not remembering who Katara was an example, or a prelude to something worse? Dwelling on it now would only delay him from getting to Azula quicker.

Looks like he would need the gang's help after all.