Azula, of course, had a plan. He shouldn't have been surprised when he ran to her house; it's been minutes and she's already packed, her guards lugging a few bags behind her as they head toward the gate which leads out of the city. It's been rebuilt along with the rest of Ba Sing Se and it's not at all difficult to leave from, especially with the documents one of her guards slides the sleepy earthbender keeping watch.

When he had left the Lower Ring once with his mother it'd taken a week to get just their passes — it feels patently unfair that the citizens of the Upper Ring get to leave on a whim. But he supposes that's life and he'll be on the right side of it from here on out.

It's dark, down in the vestiges of the night, and before they finish getting across he looks down at the streets once more. The ones here aren't the ones he grew up in — they're tidied and well-kept, full of hedges and trees — but he feels like they are still intrinsically from Ba Sing Se. His heart hurts and he looks down like he'll be able to see it pulsing. Yes, he hates Ba Sing Se for what it's done to him but it isn't too bad of a place. It's full of people who he supposes just want to live, and he can't blame them for that. If Mom and Dad didn't have him, if it was just Zuya, if he couldn't bend . . . he could have been happy here. Relatively poor and regular, but happy. If only his fire wasn't such an integral part of him.

There are the classmates he won't see again, even if they stay away and whisper about him. There's the school building and the servers and regulars to the shop. There's Aunt Ty, who might be Mom and Dad's only real friend. And then there is his family. His heart beats faster and this time he doesn't glance down, just traces the lanterns in the guardhouse. Azula has her hood up, obscuring her face from the person at the gate, and she's turned away from him anyway; a good thing. He doesn't want her to see this moment of weakness or the tears which are welling up in his eyes.

He'll miss Zuya and her small strength and determination, the way she's always willing to believe whatever she's told. It's a part of her charm, her pure naivety. The way she usually trusts him blindly, always knows that he'll catch her. Sure they fight sometimes like siblings are prone to do, but he doesn't understand how Dad and Azula can have such a tumultuous relationship. He can't imagine Zuya ever trying to kill him or vice-versa; that's simply not what siblings do. He'll miss the way she always chi-blocks him and therefore wins their arguments. He says he doesn't fight back because she's a girl but that's just to save face. At close quarters she'll always have the advantage. Even if he actually learned how to use his dad's swords properly, she'd still have him.

He'll miss Mom and the way she hugs him and scowls at him all the same when he doesn't help with dinner. The stories she tells about everything, the ones that he knows are fabricated to begin with. Mom has a strange way with words. The way she's always so awfully protective of him, the way she just loves all of them so much and isn't afraid to say it. Some part of him thinks it's because of everything she's lost, but he hopes that isn't it. Mom always smiles for him and Zuya. He hates that that might be a facade. And this might have all happened because of his parents but he can't really blame Mom. She doesn't lie when she says that they're all her entire world.

And Dad?

He thinks he might miss Dad. He doesn't think he should because this is all Dad's fault. He's going to make up for Dad's loss and Dad running away. He doesn't want to miss his father but . . . some part of him believes that he might have truly believed he was doing what was best for them. He might not have been right but he might have believed it nonetheless. Dad who wakes up in the morning and usually meditates with him, Dad who takes him out to dinner and buys him extra custard when Mom isn't looking, Dad who holds his hands and tells him to be strong and proud. Dad's always told him to be firm and powerful and to have pride. Maybe Dad can only blame himself for this. You can't teach your son about power and then be angry when he runs away to grab it.

Kaz has assigned most of the blame of this situation to his father because that's easy. Because his dad's lie might have been the biggest one; being an undercover prince is the revelation of a lifetime. He doesn't think this one will ever be topped. And sure, it might be more multifaceted. A part of him knows that Azula's story is a little too much, that she's powerful but she couldn't have won against a firebender and a waterbender working together. But that's running too deep into his imagination.

He'll come back one day. He will. This goodbye hurts and makes him want to fall apart in tears but he can't do that right now. He's already made his decision and he can't come back now. He needs to let them go so he can focus himself. So he can accept his destiny. He has chosen, hasn't he?

It's been a few minutes and he wonders if they're going to head back, but when he turns to the side he sees the guard is lazily going through the papers. Azula looks insulted by his dawdling hands on the paper but she can't really say anything, so she looks at him and raises her eyebrows in a gesture he thinks might actually be an attempt at humor. He just rolls his eyes in response as one of her men, an earthbender, salutes next to her before whispering something in her ear. She scoffs at what he says and the man moves away.

Kaz grabs the man's arm as he stops to bow to him. It's so strange to think that — that an earthbender, a soldier, is bowing to him just because of his relationship to his aunt — but it doesn't really matter, anyway. "What happened?" he questions. It's late and he's mentally exhausted and he wants to think about something inane.

"I was just informing the Fire Lord about the status of the Earth King's soldiers, sir. They are luckily not in the Upper Ring tonight."

"And why's that?"

The man leans up and looks to the side, where Azula has turned back to the documents and looks like she's about to set the gatekeeper on fire. Then he shrugs and turns bright red.

"Come on. I won't tell her."

He shrugs. "There's been some sort of disaster in the Lower Ring. They've captured a waterbender and a firebender trying to destroy a part of the -"

Kazou doesn't hear the rest of that sentence. Waterbender and firebender. How many waterbenders are hiding with firebenders in Ba Sing Se? Not enough to have this be a coincidence.

He thought his heart had stopped before but now it's truly not moving. He chokes on air and the guard stands there awkwardly for a second before reaching out and slamming his back. The gesture makes him lurch forward but the coughs escape him.

He's leaving his family but he doesn't want them to be hurt. Mom and Dad tried to destroy something. They wouldn't do that for no reason. They like it here. Even if he left wouldn't they try to stay quiet here? There is nothing inconspicuous about a waterbender and a firebender in the Lower Ring of the city. They have been hiding here for something like twenty years.

There's a reason they're doing this now and his second thought is Zuya; they better keep her safe.

He's sure his emotions are warping his face because the tall man beside him, despite being thrice his size and probably having more combative experience, looks terrified. "Sir . . ."

"Uh. Where would they take their prisoners?"

The man twitches. "Probably to the palace, I dunno. When I was younger probably Lake Laogai but I guess not there anymore. Maybe the Crystal Catacombs? Yeah, I think that's what they're using as a prison these days."

His decision is instinctive. "Can you —"

"Oh," the bumbling man continues. "No, they use the part with the river, that wouldn't work. Then yeah, the palace prisons."

"You're sure?" Idiot, he wants to say, but he knows he really shouldn't.

"Yeah, sure. What's the deal?"

Kaz glances to the side at Azula, who's turned back to him and looks like she's about to stalk forward. He winces because she isn't going to be happy about this. But she also isn't going to leave without him, not when they're this close. He knows that.

And that's why he reaches over for the man's beard and tugs his face down, ignoring the screech of pain he hears. "Alright, let's go. You're taking me."

There's a strange authoritative grounding to his voice. He's never ordered around any of Azula's guards before but they can't exactly say no to him. It's a good feeling which settles into his chest. "I can't — the Fire Lord —"

Is almost next to them and definitely looks murderous right now. Confidence, Kaz. Pride.

He lights a finger up under the man's facial hair and he squeaks. It's almost funny. Then Kaz smirks even if he feels every second of this in his chest. "Let's go."

The guard is cross-eyed, staring at the purplish-blue flame which turns into red before extinguishing next to his chin. The bottom of his beard is already gone - the stench of burning hair in the air is repulsive. It takes too long for him to quickly nod and the earth to rise up and move them back down the road they'd taken. Azula, almost next to him, is in the distance.

"Kazou! Come back here right now!"

Her indignant tone almost feels caring. "I have to get my parents."

He can feel her seeth. "You're coming with me and we're leaving."

"I swear, I'll go! I just need to save them. I can't let them get in trouble for me!" He begs even though it won't do anything. It's not like Azula cares at all about his parents; now that he's with her she might even want Dad dead. And there is a thought that makes him shudder. He's mad at Dad but he really could never wish something so terrible upon a family member.

"Kazou!" She repeats and she's growing closer. He shaves off a little more of the man's beard and they're zipping to the palace again. "You insolent child!" Is all that's left before he can't hear her voice anymore, though loud and insistent footsteps are still sounding.

Would she really follow him? Maybe he can use this. He's not proud enough to believe he's going to defeat several earthbending guards alone or with his parent's help. Azula and her retinue would be nice. They won't help his parents but he's strangely confident that she'll throw her lot in if he's in danger.

They reach the prison moments later and he lets go of the guard after giving him a well-practiced glare and snapping his fingers to create a spark. He's not quite as good at the intimidation thing, definitely terrible in comparison to his aunt, but the fire is a fortification of his claims.

He stands outside of the locked building, noting the three guards outside, and thinks about how he should have thought this through further. This prison is well-designed, newly formed after the war, and it's not exactly like he can burn down the metal walls surrounding it.

All in all, he frowns, this place looks much too innocent to be a prison. Aside from the guards in uniform and its uncharacteristically large size, it could pass off as a regular Upper Ring building. There's a fountain outside and trees spotted across the courtyard, a wide circle of earth opening up as if to welcome people inside. It's hilarious but he supposes this isn't the way that prisoners enter. It's much too well-made, probably a way for visitors to escape.

Kazou is wondering if he can melt metal, if his fire is really hot enough, when steps sound behind him. He stays stalwart as Azula roughly places a hand on his shoulder and pulls him to her, her teeth showing in rage as she sneers at him.

"Attachments, Kaz? You'd made your choice, hadn't you? This is inane. We need to leave. Stop this madness."

He crosses his hands over his chest in a gesture he realizes later only gives away his adolescence. "They're in prison because of me. I need to get them out! They're still my parents."

"That's nonsense. We were leaving regardless -"

"Well, yeah!" He shouts, and the rest of the retinue behind her turn around and start scouting the premises, looking at the other guards across the wall they're all behind. "I thought I was leaving them fine! That I could come back and they'd be fine! Now they'll never be okay and I can't leave them in jail. What about my sister?"

She doesn't look inspired at all so he tries again, tries to control his anger. "Master, I understand that this is unnecessary, but please. They're my family. If you could save your father wouldn't you?"

"No," she says shortly, and that doesn't help his case at all.

"Please, Aunt Azula?"

He's never really played the family card; he hopes it'll have some weight. Seconds pass and he's almost given up hope before she snaps her fingers and the guards come back to attention. "Kaz —"

And then several things happen at once.

A burst of water erupts through the center of the prison, pressurizing the metal until it tears. It spurts up and everyone stands in shock for a second, just staring at the roof collapse. Shards of metal don't fly but the prison almost looks like it's flattening itself. Even the guards at the structure turn around and gawk.

There's a bit of hope niggling in his mind but as the spray continues for a few seconds he almost lets it go. But then he sees a head of brown hair and he's glad he didn't. It's Mom, clutching onto Dad, carrying herself out of the prison on a wave. He's not sure where all the water is coming from at first but then he sees edges of metal coughing their way out onto the ground.

His mother, who cooks dinner with too much salt and sews stuffed toys and hugs him, just blew up a building's plumbing system.

He's sure his mouth is hanging open as they both land next to the fountain in the courtyard. Dad moves to blow flames at the guards and two of them come to their senses and create walls to block him. The third one gets Mom, who moves over like she's about to dunk him in the fountain.

He's not sure what happens next to that guy because then he hears his aunt's gasp. It sounds different than her usual sounds; she's always calm and collected. This sound is truly shocked, like she'd been swept off her feet.

"Azula," a familiar voice says, and he turns to the side and bites his lip as he sees Aunt Ty there. He'd think Azula would be staring at his parents, who are currently pummeling up the second wave of guards to come out through the prison. Her men are standing with their hand poised for action. He's not sure how many there are — in the dark he thinks maybe six or seven — and he doesn't care anyway.

He'd guessed that Aunt Ty was in on the story even if his parents hadn't given her away and Azula hadn't discussed her at all. He'd believed the backstory she'd told; that she'd run away and joined the circus as a teen, learned how to block chi and then settled down when she found his family. Perhaps they'd been friends during the war. Perhaps Azula hadn't mentioned her because she wasn't relevant.

He thinks that's wrong, because both of his aunts — one honorary, one by blood — are staring at each other like there is a lot of history there. He doesn't know what that might be but he knows the look on Aunt Ty's face. She's gearing up for a fight.

One of the earthbenders on their side shoots a ball of earth at her but she nimbly jumps over it, her two fingers pointed up. The other half-dozen look like they're primed for combat but Azula holds up a hand and they pull back. "This one is mine," she growls, and it's a type of anger that makes him shudder. "Hello again, Ty Lee. It's a pleasure."

"I wish I could say the same," the other woman says, walking closer. Azula hasn't started fighting yet. She's just staring, looking at Ty Lee's face like she's drinking it in. It would almost look wistful if not for the hardness of her features.

He decides when he hears an uproar from the courtyard that this looks like a very personal confrontation, whatever it is. When he turns back to the scene outside of the prison he wants to gasp again.

Whatever his mother had done hadn't fully destroyed the prison, she'd just launched herself and his father out of some kind of cell. He'd hoped that wasn't the case — if she'd freed some other prisoners they might also be fighting the guards. But the amount of guards outside has quadrupled. Only one of the original ones looks like he's out of it, head up in the fountain. The other eleven have his parents circled up.

Mom's hands are covered in water and Dad looks like he's reaching to shoot fire. He doesn't have his swords, those must have been taken away, but there's a small dagger in his hand. Still, he doesn't know what Dad can do with that, especially considering that he isn't in close-quarters with the angry earthbenders.

He chances a look to his side and sees his aunt's men dawdling. "Hey, idiots!" He shouts. "Go help them!"

Yeah, Azula wouldn't approve of this at all. He's not surprised at all that they're doubting his orders but he doesn't have time for this. He thinks about anger, even more for this city — they've put his parents who have never done anything wrong but exist, into prison — and shoots a stream of blue fire into the courtyard, running towards his parents and into plain sight. After a second he heards resounding footsteps right behind him and he wants to smirk again.

It's Dad who sees him first and he can't quite understand his father's eyes at first; they look curious, maybe? But whatever emotion it is disappears into something that looks a little like shock when his gaze drops down to his son's flames. He looks maybe a bit disappointed.

But it doesn't matter. It's still Dad and Mom and he's angry, and as another dozen guards flood out through the drooping metal doorway he makes fierce eye contact with the man. I'm here, he tries to say, aren't you proud of me?

Maybe he would have seen a silent response if he'd taken a second longer. But the soldiers coming in start launching balls of earth at him and he dodges one before it comes close to taking off his head. And screw you too.

The guards behind him, former Dai Li or whatever they are, aren't fighting at all. They step away from the balls coming towards them but that's it. He risks taking a second to look back at all of them. They're frozen. "Cowards! Fight them!"

None of them move and he wants to shout in anger as he dodges another boulder before shooting bursts of flame over at the couple of guards that are coming their direction. "Fight them!" He tries again in vain.

Again, steps sound and he has hope. But the next minute, when he risks a second to look back once again as the edge of another boulder hits his arm, he realizes that the men are gone.

"Cowards!" He says, and he wants to yell again; he holds back before realizing that nobody is going to stop him from doing so and bursts of flame pass his lips. It's not quite powerful enough to actually burn any of them but it creates a wall of smoke.

At the side he sees Dad fighting a dozen benders at once, his mouth exhaling bursts of flame. There are two swords in his hands that aren't his dao blades. They must have been taken from the soldiers as well. In the brief instant he observes he realizes that Dad isn't fighting violently, just in defense. In his peripheral vision he can see his mom sending waves out at the other soldiers, messing up their rigid stances and creating mud underfoot. She's walking toward him when suddenly something else rips through her throat.

"Zuya!"

Why would she invoke his sister's name right now?

The smokescreen is clearing up but he reuses his tactic and creates another one. The balls of earth which fly through the fog don't come anywhere near him. He thinks he might have successfully blinded them. He's never made smoke before but he supposes the dirt particles filling the air from the micro-explosions across the ground might be working in his favor.

To the side, hiding behind a tree, is Zuya. And she's on the wrong side of his mother, on the wrong side of his parents, too far away from him. She's right where the guards are and the ones to the side are staring at her too, now. It's not often you see a young girl in the middle of a fight.

"I loved you!" He hears from the side and he can see Aunt Ty fall to the ground. Azula is above her with a desperate look on her face. She's wearing the kind of emotion he sees when she tells him that he's improving. It's not like her, at all. And he can't tell, his vision's hazy, but her voice almost makes it sound like she's crying.

"You know nothing about love."

Azula's hands raise like she's about to finish the other woman off and he knows that he should intervene. Aunt Ty isn't family but she's been like it to him; she never enjoyed blocking him, she always tries to make his favorite foods even if she's terrible at cooking. She babysits them and teaches them acrobatic stances she learned during her time in the circus. Besides his parents she's all he's ever had here.

Kaz doesn't have to end up doing anything because Azula moves to the side and leaves Aunt Ty where she is, panting against the ground. "Not going to finish me off?"

She sounds bitter.

"You're not worth it," Azula sneers, and then she turns her back to the other woman to face him again. "Kazou, where are my —"

He doesn't care where her stupid guards are right now because he's remembered that Zuya is hiding behind a tree. He watches in shock as one of the guards runs up to her and catches her, pulling her into his arms, some kind of sword pulled under her chin. He sees red.

But his screen has dissolved and he's been standing for too long. The earth underneath him rumbles and tosses him to the ground. He can see the earthbender doing this ahead, his stance grounded, and shoots a flame of fire at the man's feet. When he loses it and jumps off the floor the earth rising beneath him hardens. He thinks about landing on his feet but definitely can't manage that. When he finally hits the ground, somewhere near Azula, he hears a crack and a shot of pain, unimaginably terrible, makes its way through his left arm. It feels like it shoots through his spine and he can't move, can't do anything as he sees a new scene play out in front of him.

His mother has spikes frozen in the air, pointed at the guard holding his sister in his arms, a devilish grin on his face as he holds her closer to her. Zuya lets out a screech as she's pulled closer to him and he hears his father let out a scream of rage as he breathes out a ring of fire at the guards holding him. They fall back, several of them screaming as their flesh starts to harden. His dad burned those men, and it's terrible but that's not what's important to him.

Azula stands where his shoulder is, flames coming out of her palm, and he finds the energy to move his head to see where her gaze is located. She's staring at his sister as well, something like concern flitting across her features.

And this is a picture: him, on the ground, writhing in pain; his parents and his rather evil aunt standing poised at a man who's holding his sister with the threat of death; one of his aunts reaching out to Zuya on the ground, her eyes dilated; the rest of the men staring at their comrade at the tree.

There is a tree somewhere on fire and dawn is suddenly here. The sun is on his face and he realizes that he hasn't missed it very much. It's anger that's driving him, not light.

"Zuya!" Someone yells out, and he realizes it's Ty Lee, who's laying across the ground. He doesn't know what they're going to do.

"Let her go," says someone else, and it's his mother. "We'll go back, we'll go with you. Let her go."

He can't begrudge them this. If he could get up right now, if he could speak, he would think he could sell his soul to get his sister back. His sister, whose face has turned from fear to something set in stone.

Kazou hasn't realized that there is another silent conversation taking place between eyes here because he's been focused on the man holding Zuya. His parents are watching like hawks and they can't see everything. But he sees Azula place her foot firmly against the ground, sees his sister's left arm twitch, and he prays to all the spirits he can think of.

He prays to the Blue Spirit, first of all, his sister's hero. He pictures the ugly blue mask Mom once drew for them and holds his breath and says everything he can in a few seconds. She's done nothing wrong. She's good. Please don't —

Azula lets out a stream of flame towards Zuya and the soldier and his mother screams. It's a heart wrenching, terrible, and as the flames intermix with the man's hastily constructed walls and a dust cloud settles over the place where they were both once standing, a tree on fire, he lets out one of his own of well even though he knows that there is —

And then he thanks the spirits because his sister has rolled to the side, her features covered in mud and her fingers pointed up. He can almost hear her heavy breathing from here. The soldier is on the ground, his legs void beneath him. Some of the earthbenders behind him start moving forward and he takes in a deep breath before kicking out flames from his feet, facing them.

His faith was well-placed; for whatever reason Zuya had looked into Azula's eyes and they'd found a solution to this. She hadn't looked at their parents even though they were too far away anyway. She hadn't looked at him or Aunt Ty. She'd looked at Azula.

This moment feels like too much and he wonders if Zuya really is something else. But it's interrupted by a series of ice darts swaying above his head, changing their aim towards his aunt.

In the moment he doesn't realize what he's doing. He doesn't even consider how different the situation might look to his parents; from their perspective Azula had just tried to kill Zuya. It's too much to comprehend and he doesn't have the seconds to think about it. He raises a single arm and shoots, and all of the darts turn into steam and drift away in the air. And better that, too, because Azula isn't looking at the action at all. She's still staring at Zuya, who's turned up and is panting, her face covered by dirt.

He wonders if they see themselves in each other. He wonders what that means. But he doesn't have time to think about that anymore, either, because then Zuya runs to Aunt Ty's side and the remaining soldiers start to attack again. His mother is staring at him, clearly disappointed, and he doesn't dwell on it. He struggles himself to his feet and pulls his limp left arm across his body, turning his right out to blow another layer of flames at the earthbenders. He's too slow to dodge a boulder at his left and he's about to accept his fate when it bursts apart. Blue fire. Azula is with him.

Whatever has happened makes all of them fiercer and his aunt is a formidable bender; they don't defeat the rest of the soldiers, this strange grouping of his parents and him and his aunt, but they hold them off until his mother freezes the ground underneath them, changing the mud to a slippery slope. They all start falling on top of each other, losing focus.

He's never comprehended his mother's power before but it's truly incredible. He can't quite comprehend the amount of focus needed to freeze such a large area, to keep it up. Azula grabs his right arm and pulls him with her, her grip on him tight, as they sprint down to where they came from. The main gate.

"No!" He says without thinking when he turns back and sees Ty Lee on her feet, holding a Zuya who looks relatively unharmed. His mother is with them and his father is staring out at them both leaving, another undecipherable look on his face. Maybe it's hatred. Maybe something else.

My own father, he realizes, thinks I'm a monster.

"You got us in this mess," she mutters and digs her nails into his skin. One of them is cracked and he knows it'll leave a mark. "We are leaving. Now. I have my personal agents waiting outside the gates. And they're loyal," she hisses and he can't fault her for that. Her guards here were idiots, were cowards. But . . .

"I need to see them!"

"Azula!"

That makes her pause and Kaz shudders. The way his father says her name sounds so terrible. And it's obviously bad enough for her to release her hold on him. He takes the moment to clutch his injured arm to his chest. The adrenaline in his blood is going down and now it hurts like nothing physical he's ever felt.

"I win, Zuzu." That used to be his nickname for Zuya. It doesn't feel right.

"Kaz," he won't turn around. He won't. "Kaz, listen to me."

He does and then immediately wants to look back because that horrible feeling is back, like Dad is thinking what's wrong with my son?

"Kaz," and he sounds earnest, holds out a hand, his face bleeding and hair flopping over his eyes. "I don't know what she's telling you but she's lying, okay? Azula - Azula always lies."

"And that's rich coming from you," her voice is deadly. "I'm the one who told him the truth, Zuko."

If only she wasn't right. "We'll fix this, okay?"

"No," he whispers to that, "no. I'm — I'm going, okay? I'm going to do what you couldn't do. What you were too weak to do."

The words are vindictive and he feels them pierce his father's exterior. He shouldn't feel good about this.

"Don't do this, Kaz." And that's his mother who's walked up behind his father, her hands open and her eyes pleading. Please, she's saying, please. "This will destroy you."

"I love you," Dad tries. "I can't let you do this."

He quivers as Azula grabs his arm again, the left one. It pains but that fuels him. He addresses his mother. "You said that you'd love me no matter what."

"I —"

She doesn't finish the sentence and that's all he needs to hear. "You said —" he chokes out, and then turns around again. The sun is beating down on him. He could have woken up peacefully today.

"We'll always love you. I meant it, Kaz!"

Azula's claws dig deeper into his fingers and he lets her drag her away. "No, she didn't," he grumbles, and for once she doesn't give him a dark response. She runs a hand through his hair in a way that feels almost familiar.

"Ready to meet your real destiny?"

"Yeah," he looks out at the gate that will mark his exit. "Yeah, I am."

The author wrote a 5.5k chapter in two hours (daily updates, yay :) and has a lot of feelings about this. I would love to hear from you!