WARNING: DARK THOUGHTS, MENTIONS OF DEATH AND SUICIDE.


They had had the discussion before. Out of pure fear, Aang suggested that him and Katara begin to date again. While Aang felt like he was still the same person, he felt like Katara was completely different. There was so much that he had to learn about her. Her favorite perfume had changed in the time he was gone, and that convinced him that other things had changed too.

Her words were still clear in his mind. "Destinies can change. People can change!" Although he would never use her words against her, they still haunted him.

She tried to assure him that she was still the same peasant that found him in the South Pole all those years ago. She still liked to be kissed on the forehead and practiced waterbending every chance she got. She loved her family deeply and wished that her mother were there every day.

But Aang wasn't convinced. He needed time, and Katara eventually accepted it. So, for the last month, the pair had been "dating." They slept in the same room and were practically inseparable. They had even found a solution to how they were going to raise Tenzin.

But that dream made something shift in Aang. He woke up with a smile on his face and an irresistible urge to tell and show Katara how much he loved her. They had gone through so much together, and she had gone through so much without him.

He finally realized that he didn't want to spend another second without her being his.

"I don't think I can live a life where you go off all the time, and I am expected to be there when you get back." Yeah, they still had to figure that part out. Despite Katara telling him that she would go anywhere with him, he understood where she was coming from. He wanted to be involved in his life with her and their family… which he definitely wants to expand.

And then there was a single sentence that made him almost chicken out. "I don't think I can be happy with the Avatar." They had spent a long time being happy. Katara loved to travel, and she was no longer tied to her tribe. Things were different now, and Katara had stated numerous times that she wanted Aang and everything that came with him. But it was a lot to ask of a person.

Hell, if Aang could choose, he wouldn't choose being the Avatar.

But there was something about that dream that seemed so realistic. It was almost like it was a vision of the future. Can Avatars see the future? He excitedly asked himself. It was a far stretch, but that dream made it feel possible.

Katara in white and blue robes, Aang in monk wedding attire, and Tenzin in a combination of the two. Yeah, that felt right.

It felt so right that Aang laid back down in bed and tried to relive it.


Breakfast the next morning was… awkward. Katara fumed the entire time but remained on her best behavior. The others remained completely oblivious until Katara told them in the lounge after breakfast. Everyone thought this situation couldn't get more unreal, but it did. They were in shock and slightly outraged, but they understood that there was nothing they could do to change things.

It was then that Zuko excused himself to "catch up" on Firelord things… but in all honesty, he wanted to avoid everyone. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to sulk in peace, and he wanted to firebend the anger out of him.

He spent the entire day alone besides eating lunch and dinner with Ursa, who asked too many questions. He tired his best to answer them, but he felt… dirty.

"I'll understand when I am the Firelady one day," Ursa bravely told him. It was true, and she was mature enough to understand the struggles her father was facing. Zuko felt an overwhelming sense of pride towards his daughter and was sure to tell her so.


Zuko had delegated a planner to plan the execution. In the center of the arena, a contraption would be set up to hang Azula. It had a 360-degree view for all of the spectators to see. The arena would be filled, and then they would stop allowing people in.

Zuko had one request. That once Azula was pronounced dead by the mortician, that her body be immediately transported back to the palace and prep for burial. She was going to have such a public death, and he felt like she deserved some respect.

The day of the execution was one of the hottest days in Fire Nation history. It was almost dangerous to be outside, but that didn't stop people from lining up outside of the arena hours before the start time. People were excited and bubbling with anticipation.

Meanwhile, the opposite was true within the palace. Everyone was slow moving and running late. Katara didn't want to leave Tenzin and Ursa behind, but she knew that children shouldn't see any more death or violence. They had had enough of that for a lifetime. A nanny happily agreed to watch them.

The group was the last to arrive at the arena, and it was not with smiling faces. As impassive as they tried to be, their posture and behavior showed their dismay. There was a section of the arena specially dedicated or the world leaders, the White Lotus, and the group. They had a front row seat and perfect view to Azula's death, and they were not happy about it.

Aang had elected to sit beside Katara this time. He did not want to be on display, and he secretly hoped that the spectators would sense his objection to the method. Zuko and his second in command stood on a tiny platform beside the execution platform. Zuko looked physically ill, but he managed to pull it together in time for the start of the spectacle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us here today. As many of you know, a jury has found Azula guilty and sentenced her to death by hanging. I have taken great pride in being an honest and fair Firelord, and I promised to fulfill the verdict no matter what it may be. Today, we will carry out those orders." Zuko couldn't believe the words he was saying, but he really did want to be fair and true to his word. He had commissioned this trial, gathered a jury, and agreed to follow out their verdict.

He was not the same as his father, a murderer without a conscious.

No, Zuko definitely had a conscious, and it was speaking to him now. It was screaming to him to stop.

Despite his inner struggle, Zuko handed the microphone to his second in command. With a little more enthusiasm, he said, "Guards! Bring out the former princess."

Drums began to beat loudly, and the crowd roared. It was like this was a game or entertainment, and it did nothing to settle those with doubt. Two guards ushered in Azula, who was walking at her own will. Her metal shackles were still on her hands and feet, and her metal mouthpiece was intact although it allowed for her to speak.

Once Azula reached the hanging device, a rope noose was wrapped around her neck. Drums were still pounding like a frantic heartbeat until the man gave the signal. Silence ensured.

"Azula, former princess of the Fire Nation, you are here today because the jury found you guilty. You have taken and ruined lives, and now it is time to pay the ultimate price. Do you have any final words?"

Azula was standing perfectly straight with her head high. She nodded yes.

The microphone was handed to one of her guards. He placed it before her mouth.

In her signature shrill, Azula clearly said, "Zuzu, our mother is alive. Firelady Ursa is alive."

What happened next happened so quickly that some spectators missed it.

Zuko had called off the execution and sent Azula back to her cell. He followed after her and the guards. In pure chaos, the crowd was booming once again. It was then that the group could be seen following after Zuko.

Zuko's second in command tried to calm the situation. "Please settle! Crowd! The execution had been postponed for the time being. Please watch the palace gates for an update!" Then, he too was gone.


In a tiny space outside of Azula's cell, the group had gathered. Katara, Aang, Toph, Suki, Sokka, and Iroh were staring at a pacing Zuko. He was pulling at his hair in frustration and muttering to himself.

"I shouldn't have called it off," he confessed. "But I had to know what she knows. I couldn't let her die with that secret."

Iroh was the only one brave enough to speak. "What if she if lying?"

Zuko stopped pacing. He looked his uncle directly in the eye and said, "It's a chance I'm going to have to take."

"Then let's take it," Iroh said as he placed his hand on Zuko's finely dressed shoulder. He wanted his nephew to know that he was not alone. The others gave him a reassuring smile or nod, and they headed inside to face Azula.

Azula was standing in her shackles against a wall. She was waiting for them with a smile on her lips. Once everyone was before her, she snickered. "Well, well, well. Don't I feel popular?"

"Azula, what do you mean our mother is alive?"

"Zuzu, you haven't spoken to me in a month, and you expect me to share valuable information so freely?"

Zuko clenched his teeth, ready to scream. Then, it hit him. This was Azula's secret weapon, and she had been hiding it since Toph captured her. She wanted to be caught. She didn't fight back or cause an explosion. She wanted to play one final game.

A mind game.

Well, Zuko smugly thought to himself, two can play that game. Then, he grinned at his sister.

Azula's eye narrowed. "Oh fine, brother. I'll tell you what you want to know since you spared my pathetic little life. When our father killed himself, he told his biggest secret. Our mother killed Grandfather in order to save you. In return, she had to disappear."

"We already assumed this, Azula," Iroh reminded her in a stern voice, like a father scolding a child.

Was she wasting time?

"Right, Uncle. What you don't know is that he had her followed. All that time, he knew where she was, and he knew when she moved. When I escaped, my original goal was to hurt everyone close to Zuzu. Poor Mai," Azula faked a pout.

"Leave her out of this," Zuko said in a low voice. While the topic of Mai made him a hot head, Zuko knew that he had to give her the show she wanted.

"Sorry, Zuzu. Aren't you glad I spared that sweet daughter of yours?"

Sokka and Aang had to hold Zuko back from ripping open the barred door. This time, he wasn't acting.

"Anyways," Azula said, unfazed. "I searched for her for a long time, but it seems she also heard that I had escaped. She was a hard lady to track down."

"Toph," Iroh called out in his normal voice. "Is she telling the truth?"

Toph replied without hesitation, "Yes."

"Now Uncle, why would I lie to you?"

Iroh narrowed his eyes at her. He too sensed her point in this conversation. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"You all think so poorly of me, yet I am trying to help you in my final moments."

This time, Toph asked a question. "Did you find her?"

"Ah, no. I didn't not find her. I heard news that the Avatar might still be alive and had to abandon my mission. I couldn't risk the Avatar finding me before I found her."

"So, you let me capture you instead?" Toph asked.

"Yes, but I got my revenge in the North Pole, didn't I?" Azula snickered.

Toph stomped her foot and encased her feet in earth to stop herself from hurting or killing Azula. Through gritted teeth, Toph said, "She's telling the truth."

"Always am," Azula replied in a sweet voice. Then, in her normal voice, she continued, "I knew it would hurt Zuzu more to know that I knew where our dear mother was, and he didn't. You haven't even been looking for her."

"I looked for her," Zuko admitted. "I didn't find any evidence of her being alive."

"Then you should fire your detective… Oh wait, he stopped looking for her and started looking for the Avatar." Azula's ember eyes flickered to Aang.

Aang felt his heart drop. Was it true? Did Zuko's detective stop looking for his mother because he went missing. Is he the reason Zuko never found his mother?

Zuko wasn't even fazed by this attempt at a distraction. He had to stay focused. "Then where is she now?"

"Right this second? Now how could I possibly know that? I've been locked up for over a month."

Zuko growled. "Azula, that's enough. If you know where she is, then tell us or I'm sending the guards back for you."

"Go ahead. I already planned to die today."

"Zuko," Iroh cooed. "Perhaps it is time to finish what we started today. You can rehire that detective after."

Zuko pretended to ponder this for a moment. Well, he actually pondered this for a moment. Maybe that should have been his original plan… He knew he should've consulted Uncle first. Why was he always so hot headed?

"Zuzu, don't you want to know where our mother is?" Azula asked innocently.

Zuko nodded slowly.

"The last place I tracked her to was on the back of a giant lion turtle. Apparently, a whole village lives on one-"

Zuko cut her off by storming out of the room. The group followed as the sound of Azula's protests rang out.

Once they were outside of the prison, Zuko took a moment to gather his thoughts by bending over and placing his hands on his knees. In the meantime, the others caught up with him.

Feeling sick, he asked Toph, "Was she telling the truth?"

"Yes," Toph told him. It was times like this that she hated being a human lie detector. There were some perks, but this was not one of them.

"Zuko," Aang called to his friend. "I've met a lion turtle."

"You have," Iroh asked in disbelief.

"Yes, it was during the Hundred Year War, right before I battled Ozai, but I didn't see anyone living on his back."

Zuko grabbed his hair in frustration. "Maybe there's more than one?"

"When should we start looking?" Sokka asked. He was grateful for another mission and happy that their lives had another purpose.

Before Zuko could reply, a guard approached them. He had run to them and was out of breath. "Firelord Zuko," he said bowing. "There's a visitor for you in the Receiving Hall."

"I'm not taking visitors right now," Zuko said in a stern voice. For Spirit's sake, he was watching his sister die today. What was wrong with this guard?

"Sir, she said she was your mother."