The first flashback in this chapter is about Azula and I'm not intending to bash her at all. She's my favorite character. However, I'm being honest about who she is and what I believe is IC for her and explains much of Zuko's reluctance to trust/help her. I haven't thanked you all for reading and reviewing and encouraging this story. Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me and makes me happy that so many people like it!
When the two siblings shattered their relationship forever, Zuko was seven and Azula was five.
He got the pet he always wanted, a little puppy. Zuko begged and begged his mother for two years, and she finally got the permission from his father to give it as a birthday gift. He also received a beautiful, priceless knife from his doting uncle.
Azula watched with envy running through her veins and glinting in her eyes.
"You get the good stuff," she said, pointing at the knife on the table and the puppy beneath it. "Why don't I get puppies and knives. I got Barbies for my birthday."
Zuko grinned at her. He did like, for once, to feel superior.
He should have known from the rage in her eyes.
In the morning, he woke up and saw that he lost his knife. He knew exactly who stole it, and he ran out from his bedroom to track her down. He stopped at the door to their playroom. It was ajar, and he sidled inside. Azula was not in there.
His new puppy—Sonny—was. But not alive.
He found his knife beside the slaughtered animal.
Zuko saw the towering dollhouse adorned with real gemstones—one Azula rejected for reasons unknown to him—had a new alteration.
In blood, she had written, "Still smiling, ZuZu?"
If he did not hate her before, he hated her starting on that day.
"I like these places," said Azula over her third cup of coffee.
They were in another grungy diner.
Katara dared to take another sip of what tasted like swamp water. She changed her mind about it and decided to order a milkshake; water that foul probably was not good for the baby. They were in the middle of nowhere but Katara still felt uneasy, as if everyone in the diner was watching her.
She now understood why Zuko was so paranoid. The Rising Sun was terrifying, darker than the Manson Family or Jonestown when it came to hunting down its old members. If Zuko was telling the truth about burning people alive in frequent human sacrifices, they probably deserve the attention true-crime and cheap documentaries give them.
"I always liked diners too," Katara said, nodding at her sister-in-law. Zuko clenched his jaw, of course offended by anyone showing kindness to Azula. The waitress brushed by and Katara ordered that strawberry milkshake before directing her attention at her fiancé. "So, tell me about Mai? I've been waiting to ask for this whole car ride."
"Which was super ultra long since we had to stop at every dumb boring rest stop," Ty Lee whined. She was less and less charming as time went by; maybe she was a good romantic partner for Azula.
"I'm sorry for being pregnant," Katara snapped, trying not to regret helping a young woman in need. She cleared her throat at Zuko. "Mai?"
Zuko nervously answered, "She's really nice for letting us go. Or there's a horrible plan that counts on us becoming more comfortable after she let us go. Or there's a horrible plan that involved her somehow marking us with a tracker and…"
"I mean your past with her." Katara should have had to explain that.
"When did you become jealous?"
"Maybe on the stupid boring car ride," Ty Lee chimed in.
"I'm not jealous," Katara said, making Azula cackle. "I'm not. I'm just in a lot of shock from suddenly meeting all the friends and family from the past you never talk about. She was engaged to you, so I assume she's important to you, and so I want to know about her."
Zuko nodded. "I really understand that. It-it sucks. I wish we could've been a normal couple, but my dad was never going to let that happen."
"He is not as bad as you think he is," Azula says, setting down her mug on the scratched, dirty diner table. "He hated you, I know, but I would not call him a portrait of evil."
"I disagree. I think he's a monster and I think he should let us go," Zuko said vehemently. "No; I don't think he's a monster, I know he's a monster."
Azula's expression soured, but she did not bite the hand that fed her. It was clear that she needed his help to escape Ozai.
And Zuko, as much as he despised and distrusted his sister, wanted to help her.
Zuko and Katara fell for each other fast and hard.
He was standing in the lobby of the hospital, uncertain where to go or what to do. A piece of paper was clenched in his fist. It was a note from his father, which made it seem like a very bad idea to return to his current residence.
He saw the cute doctor staring at him from behind the reception desk. As he lingered, she finally looked up.
"You know, you're discharged," she said.
"I…" Zuko trailed off.
She must have been able to read his face because she said, "I'm off in five minutes. Do you need a place to stay?"
"Uh… yes." He felt his face burn from shame. It was awful to be a beggar.
Katara smiled warmly and he felt comforted by it. She had that affect on people.
By afternoon, he was at her apartment. It smelled nice and everything in it was blue. Everything. He was impressed by the cleanliness after living in a shack with four other guys after escaping the Rising Sun.
He hesitantly sat down on her couch. Zuko didn't want to make it dirty.
"So," Katara said, sitting down on the coffee table. Her knees almost touched his and he tried not to think about it, "you got hurt in a construction accident but you don't have anywhere to go?"
"Nope," Zuko said. He wished he did not sound so cavalier about it.
"You can stay the night," said Katara.
She gazed at him with those stunning blue eyes.
He could not help but feel a rush.
"Do you still love your dad?" Ty Lee whispered. Katara listened from the other bed; they did not have much privacy in cramped motel rooms.
"Of course I do. How could I not?" Azula replied, making it sound like that was obvious. "He gave me everything in the world. I am ashamed of the fact that I spit in the face of all he has done for me."
"But…" Ty Lee simply looked into Azula's golden eyes. She saw something there that Katara did not, and lied down on the bed, ending her conversation with Zuko's sister. "Let's watch TV."
Katara grabbed the remote and turned it on. The news was the first channel and she was about to switch to another show before she heard the reporter say, "Rising Sun."
The woman in a crisp suit was discussing a crime, her eyes placid but clearly sad.
"The fires stretched through the entire city," said the woman. "We have no idea if there will be legal action taken against the fringe cult. Their leader has made a statement that these brutal attacks were extremists who were offshoots of their church…"
Katara changed the channel when Zuko walked out of the bathroom, dripping from the shower but fully dressed.
"What did they do?" Azula asked, lunging for the remote. Katara yanked it away.
She began to wrestle with Katara before Zuko grabbed her arm and pulled her off.
"She's pregnant," Zuko snarled, gently pushing Azula backwards. He turned to his fiancée. "What's she talking about?"
Katara turned back on the news, hoping Zuko would not have a mental breakdown.
The Rising Sun—or 'extremist offshoots' in Ozai's words—had taken an entire mall hostage and burned people at the stake. They burned the building and it spread to others. Police tried to negotiate but they had no desires other than to spread fear.
It seemed like people were helpless, but Zuko was angry at law enforcement for not saving at least a few people. One-hundred civilians died and almost two-hundred were injured.
"There's no way he can get away with this," Zuko hissed, sitting down with his face ruddy and his fists tightly clenched.
Katara frowned. "Yes, of course there is. The Rising Sun isn't a cult, per se, but a religion and these people were a thousand miles away from the main compound. We don't persecute the leaders of…"
She did not know. There should be special protocol for this, but she was not anywhere near an expert. Katara looked to Azula for help, but got nothing other than a vacant expression.
"It might not have been referring to you," Ty Lee chirped, rubbing Azula's arm. She looked so hopeful; Zuko envied her.
"I am fairly certain: 'return her to our custody or this is only the beginning' might possibly be referring to me," Azula whispered. Her awe seemed genuine and Zuko was starting to believe that she might be telling the truth. He was healthily skeptical, but she did not appear to have any knowledge of this terrorist attack.
Katara set her hand on her stomach.
"She… knew I was pregnant…" Katara whispered.
"And that matters why?" haughtily snapped Azula.
"What if Mai told him?" Katara asked, her voice cracking. "What would the reaction be? Zuko…"
"I'm not sure exactly what, but it probably would be bad," he answered.
In the morning, Zuko looked at the girls. They were all eating candy bars for breakfast.
"I don't know about my Uncle. I've…" Zuko paused. "I've been thinking and he'll find us if he thinks he needs to. He's tracked me down before. I thought I could do the same but after what happened at the mall I really think we should focus on hiding."
"Where?" Azula asked, cocking an eyebrow doubtfully.
"Somewhere. I don't know. The woods or a little town or a little apartment or somewhere they won't find us," Zuko said.
Ty Lee nodded vigorously. She squeezed Azula's hand.
"I love that idea!" she said.
Azula shook her head.
"Your plan has one flaw," she said gravely. "There is nowhere they won't find us."
As if planned, the group jumped simultaneously as something slid under the door. It made a good deal of noise for nothing but an envelope. Slowly, Zuko rose and walked to pick it up, yanking his fingers away from the crack beneath the door in fear that a knife will slide out too. He walked and set it down on the table. The wax seal on the envelope was impossible to mistake; it was the insignia of the Rising Sun.
"You were saying?" asked Zuko and no one replied. "They could've barged in and killed us, so this letter freaks me out."
"Just open it, coward," Azula snapped, reaching forward and tearing open the seal. She pulled out a piece of paper that looked like ancient parchment but could not be. Scanning it as everyone else waited in frozen silence, she at last finished reading and looked up. "It is a dinner invitation, to... welcome your child into the family."
Katara sank into her chair. Zuko clenched his fists.
"We're..." He clenched his jaw, unable to continue.
Katara interrupted. "We're going to RSVP. Or... just attend. There's no return address. We go to the dinner and..."
"And? And?" Zuko exclaimed, tearing at his hair. "You have NO IDEA what you are dealing with!"
Katara, fuming and red-faced, stood and glared at him. "I know that we're all scared, but maybe if we play along we can do something about this."
"They'll probably sacrifice us at a Sun Altar!" Zuko screamed, but Katara refused to stand down.
"I want to go to the dinner. You all may choose what you want to do," said Katara cleanly, crisply and steadily. "We see what exactly they want from us-"
"They want Azula!" Zuko shouted.
"I think this is the only way to protect ourselves," Katara replied, sitting back down. "I think we need to take chances right now, since finding Iroh seems impossible."
Azula rolled her eyes. "I'm not going with you idiots. I put far too much effort into getting out of that place to get back in."
Zuko shook his head. "We both escaped," he said. "We could do it again, and more effectively the second time. Katara might be right about wanting us to go there and figure out the situation, and then… do something."
"So, we board a plane to Arizona and show up at their dinner party and… see what happens?" Azula scathingly asked.
"If you don't like it, we can split up," Katara stated.
That was the end of the conversation.
They had made up their minds.