Chapter 5: The Doctor

The doctor watched as the young Kyoshi Warrior, whom he knew to be a close friend of Fire Lord Zuko, made her way out of his building. As soon as she was gone, he turned to his earthbenders.

"Search the visitation room, particularly the Pai Sho set. Make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary."

The earthbenders nodded, disappearing through the door into the other room. The doctor smiled to himself.

If only everyone could be so obedient. Speaking of which…

"Did you find anything of interest?" the doctor asked Hana, the receptionist. She nodded silently, and produced a crumpled latter stamped with the blazing emblem of the Fire Lord. The doctor took it gingerly and opened it, skimming over its contents.

"Oh my…how interesting indeed," the doctor said to himself, a smile spreading across his face. He tucked the scroll into his pocket for safekeeping. "You are dismissed."

Hana nodded and gathered her things, departing for the night. The doctor smiled. A leader was only as good as his subordinates, after all, and he had the very best.

Now it was time to put to use all the interesting things he'd learned today.

The doctor made his way downstairs, past the floors with the regular patients, past the fourth floor where that horrible waterbender now resided, and to the fifth floor, where his prize was kept in isolation.

He remembered the day he first met her, a little more than a year ago.

"Right this way," Du Yi said, opening the door to his office for himself. He was excited, and reasonably so.

Today was the first day with his newest patient, and one of the highest renown.

It wasn't every day a doctor got to treat the princess of what used to be one of the world's most powerful nations. It wasn't anymore; the Earth Kingdom had seen to that.

And good thing, too…for if it weren't for them, and all his friends in high places, he would not have had the opportunity to do what he was doing now.

He sat at his desk and took out a roll of parchment and a brush, eager to begin. The soldiers wheeled in his patient, parking her right in front of his desk. They then positioned themselves at the back of the room, standing silently at attention.

So this was the girl who once brought his nation's capital to its knees when no one else could. She did not look like much, but he knew looks could be deceiving.

She did not look particularly intimidating, and her face was completely expressionless, except for her eyes. Her eyes were the color of the most precious coins, and looked just as valuable. They shone with a depth that the doctor had seldom seen, and as they glanced around his office, he could tell there was a certain spark to them.

Aware, the doctor noted.

"Hello, Azula," the doctor said slowly, as if he were speaking to a child. "I'm Dr. Yi."

He extended his hand to the girl, who made no motion to accept it. She looked at him with her eyes half-lidded, yet they still managed to send an unnatural chill down his spine, eliciting a reaction of both fear and awe. He could only imagine what she might have looked or acted like during better days, and he was certain that, had he not been a loyal citizen of the Earth Kingdom, he may very well have followed her gladly into battle.

Or at least, he would have sent soldiers in on her behalf.

"I'm going to be your doctor from now on," he continued, still speaking slowly. Du Yi knew that one had to speak slowly in cases such as these; otherwise one might not be understood. "I hope we will do great things together."

He waited a moment.

Unresponsive, he noted.

"Do…you…know…where…you…are…right…now?" he asked, a little louder and a little more slowly. Perhaps she could not hear him.

"Yes," the girl said, suddenly. Her expression remained unchanged. "In…the…office…of…a…buffoon."

He crossed out unresponsive.

"So you can hear me. I'm Dr. Yi, and I'm going to be your doctor from now on," the doctor said, willfully ignoring the girl's mockery.

"I heard you the first time," the girl deadpanned, her face still stony. "I'm crazy, not deaf."

"So you're aware of your mental condition then?" the doctor asked as he scribbled the note down, his interest piqued. It was rare to find one both mentally ill and self-aware.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Do you always sound so fascinated with your patients?"

The doctor blinked. "I…wouldn't know."

"I see. Quite unprofessional of you, wouldn't you say?" the girl asked, though it sounded more like a statement. She looked at her nails with a casual yet fluid grace, in spite of the large manacles around her wrists. "It doesn't exactly lend a sense of confidence. Are you really the best the Earth Kingdom had to offer? How pitiful."

The doctor smiled as he took some more notes. He was well aware of the girl's infamously vitriolic tongue and had been thoroughly prepared against any sort of barb she was going to throw at him.

It was his job, after all, and he was very, very good at his job.

"Well, you must admit, you're a very fascinating young girl. It's not every day I get to meet the conqueror of Ba Sing Se."

"Oh?" Azula asked, raising one eyebrow. "And exactly what about me is fascinating?"

Flattery, the doctor noted gleefully. He knew he had to appeal to her ego. From what he'd read and heard, he had already diagnosed her as a textbook megalomaniac; he only needed her to confirm his hypothesis.

"Well, everything. Your extraordinary accomplishments, your unique firebending talents, your impressive high marks in school…you have to admit, you are quite the exceptional individual," the doctor said with as warm a smile as he could muster as he flipped through his patient's considerable dossier. It had been assembled with quite a bit of help from his accomplices, some purposeful and some unwitting.

"Exceptional," Azula repeated evenly. "So you think that I am superior to most individuals?"

The doctor nodded. "Why yes, of course."

"And if one is an exceptional being, such as myself, does it not stand to reason that most individuals would seem inconsequential to one who is superior? As a subject is to its sovereign?"

"I would suppose so."

Excellent. All of this was only serving to prove his hypothesis.

"Of course. So if superior beings find normal people inconsequential, then normal people find superior beings exceptional?"

"Well, undoubtedly. Superior beings are exceptional by their definition."

"Then you should know that flattery from you is nothing more than poetry from a dullard; empty words pouring out from a worthless individual. It'll get you nowhere," Azula said flatly, her face still stony and expressionless.

The doctor narrowed his eyes, staring at his new patient for a moment, then smiled.

"You think I'm worthless then?"

"By your own logic, yes. Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

"…By all means."

She sighed and rolled her eyes again. Though the gesture was small, it managed to make the doctor feel strangely insignificant. The feeling drummed up the revenants of horrible memories lodged in the base of his mind, which he pushed back down with little effort.

"If normal people find superior beings exceptional, and if superior beings find normal people inconsequential, then superior beings would find other superior beings normal. Since you have made it clear you find me exceptional, then you are by your own admission a normal being, and thus, inconsequential to me."

"…So you automatically assume that I am not exceptional?"

"No need to sound so offended," Azula said with a feline smile. The doctor hated cats with a passion; they weren't loyal or obedient like dogs were. "You're the one who said it, not me."

"Well, if I understand correctly, you believe you are a superior being, and thus everyone else around you is automatically worthless, isn't that so?" the doctor reasoned out slowly. His patient seemed to respect logic, making it the best tool to use against her.

"Oh, I never said that."

The doctor furrowed his brow, frowning slightly. "But you did. Just now."

"You seem to either lack understanding or a good memory. And judging by the notes you've been taking, I'm going to assume both," Azula commented, her eyes falling onto the doctor's roll of parchment. He hastily covered it with a book, and she continued. "I've done nothing but ask pointed questions and draw overly simplified conclusions from your answers. The only behavior that can be ascribed to me is one that you've already decided. Quite a pointless exercise, don't you think?"

The doctor's frown deepened. He looked at the girl, at the smug little smile on the corners of her lips and the piercing light of her eyes, and he exhaled sharply. Then he smiled.

She really was good. Everything they said she'd be and perhaps more.

This was going to be harder than he'd anticipated. Well, no matter. He knew how minds worked. He always got what he wanted in the end.

Besides, he'd always been curious exactly what the limits of the human mind were.

"If it's so pointless, why agree to partake in it at all?"

"I'm bored, and I enjoy intelligent conversation," Azula answered as-a-matter-of-factly, examining her nails once again. "And since there's none to be found, you'll just have to do for now."

The doctor smirked.

"What makes you think I'm not intelligent?"

"What makes you think you are?"

"But at least you find our conversation amusing, then?"

"If by amusing you mean slightly less dull than staring at a wall, then yes."

The doctor sucked in his lower lip and took a deep, calming breath.

"No need to lie to me, Azula…I know you find this all very entertaining. You can be honest with me, you know…I'm only here to help you," the doctor said gently, his eyebrows knit together in concern.

That was, after all, how one conveyed sincerity, he had learned.

"Is that so? I find that highly unlikely."

"And why is that?"

"Please. You and I both know the answer to that one."

"Enlighten me," the doctor cajoled. He had to keep her talking, because the more she talked, the more he would be able to uncover. And if keeping her talking meant playing dumb, then he was not afraid to do that, either.

Azula's eyes narrowed as she silently looked the doctor up and down. The doctor remained unmoving, his reassuring smile frozen dutifully on his face. Finally, she spoke.

"Are you pretending, or are you really just daft? If you want to pick apart everything little thing I say and analyze it in the hopes of finding some deeper meaning, you might want to be a little less obvious with all your questions."

The doctor maintained his smile, though he could feel the muscle in the corner of his mouth twitch involuntarily.

"No need to be so hostile with me, Azula. I'm merely trying to get to the heart of the matter, so that I can understand what's wrong. And then, if you'll let me, I can help you. I've been trained in the mental health sciences by the very best at Ba Sing Se University."

The doctor gestured to his framed diploma sitting on the corner of his desk, in full view of anyone who entered the room. If his patient had noticed it, she made no indication of that.

"Is that so? And what did they teach you at this grand university? To pick me apart and dissect every single one of my thoughts? Then what? Give everything you see a name, because if you name it, then maybe you can recognize it. If you can recognize it, then maybe you understand it. Oh yes, that's what they call 'science'. It helps you understand, isn't that right?" Azula questioned derisively, her lips still curled in the most infuriatingly small smile. "Understand it, so that you might control it. Well, that's just called human nature."

The doctor did not notice his own smile fade from his face.

"So you don't believe that I can heal you?"

"I believe you think you can heal me. You think you can just crack open my brain, take out all the rotten bits and put me back together the way you want?" Azula asked lightly, a pleasant expression on her face as she leaned back in her chair, her head tilted slightly to one side.

"If you're going to put it crudely…" he trailed off, taking the time to adjust his glasses.

"And how has that method worked out for you so far? I presume you think you're quite effective judging by the way you carry yourself."

The doctor pursed his lips. He was used to evaluating others, not being evaluated himself. His patients were usually never in a condition conducive to analyzing others. "How do I carry myself?"

"Like you're something noteworthy, or impressive. You must have 'healed' quite a few people," Azula posited, still smiling condescendingly. The doctor gritted his teeth together, trying hard not to grind them.

"I have healed many."

"Is that so? Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard the story about the Boy and the Dragon?"

This should be good.

"No…why don't you tell it to me?" the doctor wheedled, though he got the impression that she would have told it regardless of how he responded.

"It's an old Fire Nation fable. One of my favorites, actually. Once upon a time, back before the Great Dragon Hunts, there was a young boy. All his life he dreamed of catching a dragon…it's all he ever thought about. He was quite obsessed, you see. One day, while working in the field, he sees a dragon flying over his village, and he decides that this is the dragon he wants to catch. Now, this particular dragon was not a very nice dragon. This dragon was quite deadly and cunning, and like most dragons would use his fire to destroy things he saw as unworthy. So for years and years, the boy chases the dragon all across the country, trying to catch it, even as the dragon burns down homes and villages and other worthless things."

"…What happens then?"

"Well, here's where it gets interesting. There are many variations to the story, and all of them have different endings. But the general message remains the same. My favorite ending is when the boy finally, after decades of searching, manages to catch the dragon in a large trap. The boy is very ambitious, as you can probably tell, and he decides he wants to tame the dragon. So he fashions a muzzle for it, and he manages to ride it for some odd years."

"An impressive feat."

"You would think so. Well, eventually, the dragon and the boy get to know each other, so the dragon asks the boy, who is now an old man, if he can remove the muzzle. The boy trusts the dragon, even after he's seen the dragon destroy so many lives, because they've been together for years. He thinks the dragon has changed. But the boy isn't stupid, so he puts on a suit of armor and rubs poison all over it as the dragon watches, just in case. Then, he finally, carefully removes the dragon's muzzle. And do you know what the dragon did?"

"…No, tell me."

"He snapped the boy up in his jaws and swallowed him in one gulp, dooming them both," Azula answered simply, her eyes alight with a certain kind of vicious excitement.

"…Why would he do that? He knew the armor was poisoned," the doctor asked, being in his nature to ask critical questions of likely false stories. If there were any weaknesses in any tales, one simply had to unearth them by asking the right questions.

The same theory applied to people.

"Because that, my dear 'doctor', is the moral of the story," Azula said mockingly, which again made the doctor feel strangely insecure. "Destruction is in the dragon's nature, as foolishness was in the boy's. You cannot change your nature, no matter what you do or how hard you try, much less that of someone else. It doesn't matter what happens to you because deep down, people are always the same. They were born to be a certain way, and they'll die a certain way."

"Why did the dragon not simply light the boy on fire?"

"Who knows? It's just a story," Azula shrugged carelessly, glancing off to the side. She looked back at the doctor and smiled. "The details aren't important, but the moral is."

"But perhaps the dragon ate the boy as a sign of respect, instead of simply killing him outright. And perhaps the dragon might not have eaten the boy at all had the boy not rubbed the poison on his armor. That showed a lack of trust on the boy's part," the doctor reasoned back. He knew she was going somewhere with this, that she had a point she was attempting to prove, and he had to impede her with logic before she reached it.

"Well, we'll never know the true story now, will we? So it's no use trying to reason out all the possible outcomes," Azula said with another dismissive wave of the hand. Then she leaned forward, almost conspiratorially. "There is a saying in my country. 'Never chase a dragon.' The fable's original intent is just as a cautionary tale against fruitless endeavors. But I think it says so much more about human nature, wouldn't you agree?"

"That human nature cannot be changed, or that humans desire to exert their control over things that cannot be controlled?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Azula asked, crossing her legs. Though she sat chained to a wheeled chair, she still managed to look as if she were perched upon a throne.

"I'm not the one that needs their mental health rehabilitated."

"Funny. I was just about to say that," Azula said lightly, glancing upwards.

"Are you implying that I belong in a mental institution?"

"Isn't that what you've been implying all this time? I think you're the one that's confused, 'doctor'," Azula said with mock pity, resting her chin on one of her hands.

"I am a doctor."

"Oh, are you getting mad? How intriguing. I thought you were taught by the very best. Surely they didn't tell you to get snippy when your patients don't dance the way you want them to. And if they did, then I truly have no faith in the Earth Kingdom's education system."

"I'm not mad," the doctor said quietly, his voice low and as even as he could make it.

"Well, neither am I, but no one believes me, either. I suppose we have that in common," his patient said wistfully, though he could no longer tell if it was fake or genuine.

"Do you truly believe that you are completely sane?"

"Does it even matter what I say when you're just going to interpret it any way you want? Besides, I think you've already forgotten what you wrote down on your notepad when we first started talking."

With a single, elegant digit, his patient indicated the corner of the scroll peeking out from under one of his books. The doctor removed the book and glanced down at his notes. Mental self-awareness, it read.

"And you wonder why I call you a 'doctor'," Azula said with a dramatic sigh.

"You're just talking in circles now."

"Aren't you supposed to be the one controlling this conversation? I don't think you're quite cut out for this occupation."

"Do you feel in control right now?"

"Do you?"

"Stop answering my questions with questions."

"Maybe if you stopped asking stupid questions, I would."

"Why don't we try a different exercise? This is clearly going nowhere," the doctor said firmly, removing his glasses and polishing them before replacing them on his face. "How about an exchange? I present a topic, and you talk about it truthfully for as long as you feel like. Then I will comment truthfully on a topic you present. Does that sound appealing?"

"…Well, that depends. What do you want me to talk about?"

"Control. You obviously have issues with it. So tell me about them," the doctor said abruptly, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. He was going to get to the heart of the matter, no matter how hard she tried to derail him.

"I don't think I'm the one with control issues in the room, but suit yourself," Azula said with a small shrug. "Control. Power. Fear. All three are inextricably linked."

"…Is that what your father taught you?"

"…My father?" Azula's expression suddenly went dark, causing the doctor to smile. Now that was the reaction he had been searching for. "Is that what this is all about?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" the doctor said with a small smile, parroting the girl's earlier remarks.

"…" Azula looked down at the ground, then resumed speaking quietly. "My father used to beat me, you know."

The doctor perked up and leaned in closer. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

"I don't think I ever saw him happy unless he was picking on someone smaller and weaker than him. The one time I did…I believe it was when we went to the circus. I was only six at the time…and we saw these acrobats, soaring and flying through the air…Father was so pleased, it was the first time I'd ever seen him smile without shedding a drop of blood…" Azula breathed dreamily, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "That was when I decided I wanted to be an acrobat. So when I was thirteen, I ran away from home to go join the circus…but I was caught in the middle of this horrible storm, and then I was frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years, only to be found by a brother and sister of the Northern Water Tribe—"

The doctor frowned suddenly. "That's…how much of that story is true?"

"Oh, none of it. Or all of it. Or maybe just some of it. What do you think? It's your job to decipher the truth, isn't it?" Azula queried with a wicked grin. There was not a single trace of teardrops anywhere on her face.

She was faking it. He had wondered exactly how much of it had been a ruse, meant to make him look like a fool.

"You know, this doesn't work unless you tell me the truth. I won't tell you the truth about me unless you do, first."

"Did you not like that story? What a shame…Well, how about this one? I was born on a small farm in the southern regions of the Earth Kingdom. I was one of several children, as is often the case in poor families, but unlike most of my siblings, I wasn't a bender. But that didn't matter to me, because I was cleverer than most and it meant I didn't have to be sent off to war when I got older. So while almost all my brothers and sisters went off to train their Earthbending, volunteering themselves for an early grave, I found myself gravitating towards Ba Sing Se University. I'm not physically strong by any means, and I'm quite a bit of a coward as well, so I was glad to not be directly involved in the war, especially not after I watched my own farm destroyed by the Fire Nation's Imperial Army. Now, I don't have much of a mind for numbers, so I couldn't study a real science like most other academics. I'm smart, but not that smart, and more conniving than actually intelligent. I'm not actually interested in helping people, otherwise I would be a real doctor. But I might even be considered a genius if I were to rise to the top of a relatively new field. So I decided to study the mind, because what's more powerful than a human mind?"

"…Stop it," the doctor said quietly through clenched teeth.

"I found out that the human mind is a very miraculous thing…and one that is not very easily understood. However, it can be controlled, given enough time and with the proper techniques…because you see, I've never actually been interested in academic pursuits. No, I like power, and power is control. How am I doing so far?"

"…I said, stop it. Now."

"Oh, but I haven't even gotten to the interesting part yet. About how I think what I'm doing, while it could be considered unethical by many, is ultimately for the good of us all. Because I genuinely believe that if everyone were just the way I wanted them to be, the world would be a better place…still, I have to wonder, how is my sister doing?"

The venom in her voice sank deep into the doctor, drudging up his long repressed memories of his unresponsive sister, lying in the hospital bed, eyes open and glossy. He could feel the memory and the anger and the sadness pulsing through his veins and pounding in his ears, until he just couldn't stand it any longer.

"SHUT UP," the doctor roared, slamming his hand into his desk, banishing the memory back deep down where it belonged. He breathed deeply for a moment, removing his glasses and collecting himself. He cleared his throat. "That's…that's quite enough out of you."

"Oh, so I was right about the sister? Thank you for the confirmation."

"Lucky guess," the doctor hissed.

"Oh, trust me. Luck has nothing to do with it whenever I'm concerned," Azula said with that same, damned smile, the one the doctor wanted to do nothing more with than wipe off her face. "It was either a sister or a lover, and judging by your unfortunate, badgery looks…well, process of elimination, I suppose."

"How," the doctor started quietly, replacing his glasses on his face. "How did you know all that?"

"Doesn't your handy little dossier tell you? Or did your associate fail to include that embarrassing little detail?"

"Not even you can tell all that just by looking into my eyes."

"Please. That's just an expression, 'doctor'. It's simple observation; no different than anything you do. You are supposedly one of the best doctors trained in mental health to come out of Ba Sing Se University. Judging by your age and that nice little diploma you've displayed so prominently on your desk, you've been a 'doctor' for quite some time, and must have had many patients in order to achieve that kind of renown. Of course, anyone who's ever really been to Ba Sing Se would know more than a little bit about its sordid history with the Dai Li…or did you forget how I managed to orchestrate your city's downfall in the first place? You have no compassion in your eyes, as was evident when you failed to hold the door open for me and the guards, despite the fact that it made it extremely inconvenient for us to enter. Moreover, I sense utter disdain coming from you when you mentioned my father, so I suspect you must have lost something important to you during the war.

"The southern regions of the Earth Kingdom are closest to my nation, so it's likely that your home was attacked and since neither you nor anyone who was left on the farm could bend nor fight, you lost both of your parents. As for how I knew you were poor and grew up on a farm, you seem to have left a bit of your lunch on your robe in your haste to attend our little meeting. If I'm not mistaken, that's an eggplant and tofu dish, common among the southern regions, but only among the poorer families who can't afford meats. I can also smell the garlic on you, which you might want to consider doing something about. And even though you're probably doing quite well for yourself with all this esteem and recognition, you still sport an old pair of glasses that's been polished about a hundred too many times. You don't keep them because you particularly like them, or else you would not have taken the finish off so carelessly, but because they still work and you're thrifty, a result of your meager upbringing. Old habits die hard, don't they? A poor family from the southern region likely farms, and because of the nature of farms, you probably had many siblings.

"You're obviously not a bender not only from your posture and gait, but also because you had the time to get yourself an education while the war was going on…but how you paid for that education, now that's interesting…I presume someone close to you, your sister perhaps, who also was not a bender, must have helped you pay for it somehow…and since you were able to afford an education at the illustrious Ba Sing Se University, it's clear that none of your other siblings pursued academia, thus they probably fought in the war, thus they were probably benders, which explains why you seem to have a bit of an inferiority complex. So you have a grudge against the Fire Nation, an unhealthy obsession with your sister who helped you afford the tuition at Ba Sing Se University, and you feel the need to lord your above average intellect over others, particularly if they're gifted in the bending arts. Does that sound about right?"

"…" The doctor didn't respond.

"Yes, that's what I thought. So you see doctor, your little game is pointless with me because I have no need to know anything you, whereas you want to know everything about me. And, to make matters worse, I just proved that no matter what you do, no matter what your name is or what you change it to be, how far you think you've come or how many patients you 'heal' or how many degrees you earn or how much money you make…underneath it all, you're still just a poor little farm boy who misses his mommy and daddy. Truly a tragedy for yourself and your profession, wouldn't you say?"

The doctor pursed his lips and exhaled sharply through his nose. He looked at the two earthbender guards and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. As soon as the door closed, he removed his glasses and set them on his desk.

"Do you want to know what I think, Azula?" he asked, steepling his fingers together as he leaned forward on his elbows.

"Not really, but I get the feeling you're going to tell me anyway."

"I think you're a wicked, vile little piece of trash who desperately needs to be put in her place," the doctor hissed, all pretense of civility dropped and long forgotten.

"Ah, here we go. The muzzle's off and the dragon shows its true self at last," Azula gloated, leaning backwards in her chair, a smug smile fixed firmly on her face. "That didn't take very much at all."

"Laugh all you want," the doctor said casually, a cruel smile rising to his own lips. "You won't be laughing when I'm through with you."

"Is that supposed to be a threat? I'm shaking. Really."

"Don't push me, you little snake. I've done things the likes of which you've never dreamed of."

"Like what? Brainwashing an army of women to look and talk and behave like your sister? I have to say, that was a rather brilliant plan, but lacking in execution…Surely you didn't think that people would fail to notice every single tour guide in the city possessed the exact same name and mannerisms? Remind me, which one of us is the egotist again?"

The doctor smiled, ignoring the girl's further barbs. She really was impressive, and far too impressive for him to continue the kindly doctor charade he thought he'd mastered after all these years.

"Do you know what I believe, after all my experiences in this profession? You said that I thought power was control. Well, that's only half right. What power is…what it really boils down to…is the amount of pain you can inflict on another human being," the doctor said with a cruel smile. He licked the front of his teeth, tasting a bit of eggplant. "It is that truth that leads me to believe that all minds are alike in more ways than they are different. You may have greater intelligence than most, but I bet you still respond to pain the same way as anyone else."

"So you're going to torture me. Is that all? I thought a learned man like yourself would have more interesting methods of procuring what he wants."

"Oh, but I'm not going to torture you. Not physically, at least. I doubt someone of your background would yield to such crude methods. No, I'm going to hit you where you're most vulnerable; your mind," the doctor said with his own wicked grin as he carefully replaced his glasses on his nose. "You see, I believe that every single person, no matter how depraved, cares about at least one other person other than themselves. That single bit of empathy, no matter how small, is what makes us human. It separates us from the monsters and the dragons. And you know what else? Those people, the ones that we care about…are the keys to all of our hopes, our dreams, our doubts, and our fears. So all I have to do is worm my way into that little skull of yours and find that one person…or two, or three…and not even you will be able to keep up your defenses."

"I'm afraid you've miscalculated, 'doctor'. I am very much a monster."

"You don't say…but we all know you're quite the little liar. So why don't you tell me about your relationship with Zuko?"

"Zu-Zu?" Azula asked, raising one eyebrow as she dropped her chin slightly. She laughed. "Oh please. Your arrogance is showing once again. Just because your sister somehow manages to care for you doesn't mean all sisters do."

"You say one thing, but that pet name you have for him says something else."

"Oh yes, I forgot, I call him that because I love him so," Azula deadpanned, rolling her eyes once more. "Come now, 'doctor'. You've already shown me your hand. Do you honestly believe you're going to get anything out of me at this point? If so you're more delusional than I originally thought."

"Well, I wanted to give you one last chance to behave civilly before I turned to more…coercive methods. But now I see that was just a waste of time," the doctor said calmly, reassembling the dossier and slipping his notes inside as well. "All right, then. Have it your way. It's such a shame though…I really wanted the two of us to get along. I didn't want it to have to be this way."

"Now who's the liar, 'doctor'?"

The doctor smiled again. She was certainly right about that.

Even after a year of treatment, the doctor had made hardly any progress at all with his most stubborn patient. He'd learned a few interesting things about her and her resilience, but in terms of reshaping her in the image he desired, he was nowhere close. The farthest he had gotten in changing her normal behaviors were the long strings of poetic nonsense she would mutter to herself when she thought he wasn't watching, which he always was. It was a sign that his treatments were starting to take a toll on her mental stability and sanity, but it wasn't quite the progress he had hoped for at this point.

But today, that would change.

Today, he'd finally found his trump card.

"Hello, Azula," the doctor said cheerfully, entering the dark room. He and his patients had been spending quite a bit of time there lately. Azula sat silently, strapped to her chair. "How are you doing today?"

She glared at him with her dull eyes, but did not respond.

"Have nothing to say today, do you? But you're always so chatty otherwise," the doctor mocked, the devilish smile now on his lips instead of hers. He sat in the chair opposite her and crossed his legs. "You think you'd be in better spirits. After all, you've had visitors two days in a row. That's quite unusual for you."

Silence.

"Yes, and such interesting visitors indeed," the doctor continued, pulling out a brand new dossier he'd just compiled this morning. He leaned forward in his chair and smiled. "So why don't you tell me about Ty Lee?"

A/N: Ooh, the plot thickens. Whoever said the doctor was no good was right on the money. For anyone who caught it, this chapter is an homage to the Joker from B:TAS, whom as we all know is Mark Hamill, who also plays Ozai.

This chapter was the hardest to write so far (I really dislike the doctor), but it's got a lot of important plot points that will surface later. Next up; a chapter from Azula's POV…sort of. You'll see.

Someone asked me who I enjoy writing for most, and it's pretty difficult to choose. I haven't written much from Zuko's POV yet, but he's got a couple of meatier chapters coming up so we'll see how that goes. Mai is difficult to write, because she's so blasé about everything and she definitely observes more than she feels, and descriptions are the bane of my existence. I prefer writing dialogue and Azula is great fun to write dialogue for, but I find it really hard to get into her actual headspace (by that I mean, I know how I want her to think and feel, I'm just not 100% sure how I want her to think about the way she thinks and feels). Ty Lee is probably the easiest and most fun, because she's mostly normal, but also kind of weird and goofy and goes off on runaway tangents a lot. So Ty Lee wins.

If I were to write for someone else though, Toph is my second favorite character (behind Azula) so I'd love to write for her, but sadly she doesn't quite fit in this story.