Azula lost herself in the weeks following the Sun Warriors' latest assassination attempt. Or not assassination attempt. Abduction attempt. Whatever it was. Everywhere she turned, she found herself jumping at shadows, any semblance of her usual poise and confidence gradually slipping, giving way to distress and paranoia. Who were these Sun Warriors, really? They wanted to remove Azula from power and dissolve the empire, to restore the Fire Nation from its supposed corruption, that much was clear. What else would they need her for then? If not to kill her, why take her? What were they planning?
They had learned nothing from the members they'd captured, even with Yula leading the interrogations. The only useful information they had received was the identity of their leader: the shopkeeper Shin Tsang, who had organized the group shortly after the creation of the Dragon Empire. Raiding his shop had proven fruitless. By the time they returned, Shin Tsang was gone, and the shop abandoned. No more leads. Only thing left they could do was wait, and prepare for the next attack. Wait for those masks reappear.
Those masks. Those cursed, infernal masks. How many times had they appeared throughout the city? Seemingly at random, and yet always in a place she would see them when traveling with her royal procession. Hanging from a lamppost, lying in a puddle in the middle of the street, or out front of a building. They had been sparse and infrequent, at first. As they days carried on, the mask sightings became more numerous. Within three weeks, Azula had refused to enter the city altogether, remaining locked up in the palace. Had to stay where they couldn't get her. Had to stay safe.
Rumors circulated swiftly throughout the populace about the Dragon Empress' well-being. Some believed her to be ill, others that she had gone mad. Oh, how close to the truth they were. Everywhere Azula looked, she saw Sun Warrior masks. When she closed her eyes. When she dreamed. When she looked in a mirror. Never truly there, but haunting her all the same. Spirits, what was wrong with her? She'd never backed down from a challenge before. She'd never run scared. Why, then, did these people delude her mind like some kind of poison? Even those closest to her couldn't keep her at ease for long. She remained guarded and suspicious. Every moment of every day, always on edge. She couldn't trust anyone, not anymore. Only herself.
And Annie. Yes, Annie. She could rely on him, couldn't she? He'd always been so faithful and loyal, always done his best to protect her. She liked him. He wasn't like the others. She'd done her best to win him over without fear or coercion. A little harmless manipulation maybe, but she'd actually been nice to him. Such a soft-hearted, pathetic man, and yet at the same time so strong, and fierce. Perhaps that was why she had done her best to win him over? She wanted him to like her. Not fear her. Not cower. To actually care.
But did he?
No, of course he didn't. How could he? He might pretend, but she only put him off. She knew it, deep down. He had hated her before coming with her to the Fire Nation. Surely, that hatred still lingered, simmering beneath his surface. Every time she got close, he looked at her as though she were a fool. Confused at her, disturbed. If he didn't hate her, he certainly didn't like her.
Maybe she was wrong.
Dear spirits, how badly she wished to be wrong.
Azula wandered the palace halls, stumbling along tired legs. How long had it been since she last slept? Too long. She couldn't afford to sleep. Not now, not while the Sun Warriors were still out there. She needed to remain vigilant. Turning the corner into the next corridor, she froze. Wait, where was she going? She'd started this journey through the palace for some reason. Something important. Why couldn't she remember? She pressed a hand against her forehead, staring at the floor.
What was wrong with her?
"Master?"
With a startled cry, Azula spun around and kicked out a wave of blue fire, nearly tripping off balance in the process. The woman behind her ducked beneath the flames and pushed a hand upward, bending them safely away from herself.
"Yula?" Azula held a hand against the wall to steady herself. Exhausted tears stung at her eyes, blurring her vision. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I could have hurt you."
Yula stared at her, eyebrows pressing together with concern. "Apologies, Master Azula. I didn't mean to startle you."
"What is it? What do you want?"
"Well, I just wanted to tell you we received a report from Earth Queen Izumi earlier today. All Earth Kingdom states have now given in to demand and joined the empire, even the ones who resisted at first."
"Oh." Azula shifted her gaze towards the floor. "That's good. What about Zaofu?"
Yula shook her head. "I'm afraid Matriarch Kuvira remains adamantly opposed."
"No matter. We'll deal with Zaofu eventually." Under normal circumstances, she would have made plans to deal with Kuvira immediately. Right now, she couldn't bring herself to care. There were more important things to take care of. "You're dismissed, Yula."
Yula bowed, but hesitated before leaving. Again, she gave her master a worried look. "Are you alright, Empress? Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I'm fine!" she snapped, turning away. She leaned into her hand pressed against the wall, to keep steady on her feet. "If you want to do something, go be a good little Fire Lord and rule the people. And find the Sun Warriors!"
"Of course..." Yula heaved a deep sigh, and finally turned to leave. "Good day, Master."
Azula waited until Yula was gone to restart her march though the halls. Now, what had she been doing? Think harder. Remember. The more she tried to recall, the more her objective drifted away, out of reach. The more clouded her mind became. When she reached the end of the hall, she stopped and pressed her hands to her eyes. Hot, stinging tears burned beneath her palms. What was it? Why couldn't she remember?
What was it?
Annie. That was it! She was looking for Annie. She had sent him to check on palace security, but he hadn't returned yet. Yes, she needed him back to guard her room. The longer he left her bedchamber unguarded, the more opportunity the Sun Warriors had to attack her again. How long did it take to make simple rounds about the palace, anyway? Surely not all day. So then where was he? She needed him.
Wait, how long had he been gone? Had it been all day, or had she only just sent him? Why couldn't she remember that either?
Lowering her hands, Azula blinked away her tears and turned down the next corridor. Her legs quivered as she walked, threatening to give out any moment. Didn't matter. No time to waste worrying about exhaustion. She could sleep when this nightmare was over.
A glint of gold light caught her eyes, lifting her gaze upwards to find the source. Lamplight flickered, reflected off a shiny golden surface hanging from the archway above her. Her heart lurched into her throat. No. No, no, no, no! There couldn't be a Sun Warrior mask here, not in her own palace! She'd had all the ones they recovered destroyed! How did this one get here?
"You look a little flustered, Empress."
Azula spun around towards the voice. She blinked at the figure behind her, trying to make him vanish. Surely, she must be seeing things. The man didn't go away. He remained standing there, staring at her with burned white eyes. Shin Tsang.
"You," she hissed, stumbling backwards on her feet. "How are you here?"
"You place too much faith in those you trust," Shin Tsang said.
Azula narrowed her sunken, tired eyes, glaring daggers at the man. "What are you saying? Someone let you in here, is that it? You hung that mask up to mock me?"
Shin Tsang held his hands behind himself, back straight and stiff. His expression remained unnervingly calm. "Perhaps. Or maybe you're jumping to conclusions. What does your spirit tell you?"
"No, don't you speak in riddles to me!" Azula steadied her stance, knees buckling to hold herself upright. "What do you want with me? Why are you here?"
"I'm here because you stole something very important. Something you need to give back."
A scowl descended upon her face. "I've never stolen anything from you."
"I didn't say you stole it from me."
"Then who? You mean the people?" Azula wiped her eyes again to dry the burning tears. "I didn't steal anything from them! I give them guidance and protection. They still have their freedom, and their lives. All I require is that I be their ruler. It's a simple enough request, isn't it?"
Shin Tsang shook his head. "I don't mean the people, either. That is why the Sun Warriors want you deposed, granted. I need you for something else."
Azula released a howling groan of frustration. Exhausted tears surged with renewed strength, stinging a trickle of fire down her cheeks. "What do you mean? You're their leader, aren't you? What else do you want from me?"
"What you stole belongs to someone very old, and very wise," he explained. "Someone you're very familiar with. Someone you betrayed."
Azula's eyes squinted with uncertainty. What in spirits name was he talking about? What was...? Wait.
Spirits.
"No..." she uttered, taking another shaky step backwards. "You don't know about that. You couldn't know about that. Nobody knows about that!"
"I know many things, Azula." Cold sternness hardened Shin Tsang's expression, brow lowering over his eyes. "The Spirit of a Thousand Faces has called to me. You stole something very precious to him, and now he wants it back."
Panic crackled like lightning through her heart. She let loose an incoherent shout and thrust her fingers forward. Great blue flames burst into the air. They engulfed Shin Tsang, engulfed the corridor, billowed out the windows, shattered glass. When the flames flickered and died, she pulled her hands back. The hall was empty. No Shin Tsang.
"Where are you?" she shrieked, her widened eyes burning with tears she didn't bother to wipe away. "Where did you go?!"
"Azula?"
She spun around again, lightning charging into her fingertips. Moments before she released the bolt, she recognized the man ducking for cover. She staggered against the wall, allowing the lightning to vanish from her fingers. "Annie... You snuck up on me."
Anraq straightened himself, relaxing out of his defensive pose. "Yeah, sorry about that. What was that just now? Who were you talking to?"
Azula blinked. "You mean you didn't see him?"
"See who?"
"Shin Tsang," she insisted, turning back around to point where the Sun Warrior leader had been standing. "He was right there!"
Anraq's eyes flickered with growing concern. "Azula, there was no one there. You blasted your fire down an empty corridor."
"No, he was right there." She blinked at the empty space where Shin Tsang had been. Where she was sure he had been. A tired grumbled surged from her throat. Annie was wrong. He had to be. "Wait, the mask!" She turned again, this time pointing up at the arch where the mask had been hanging. "There! You see it, don't you? It's right—" Her jaw fell open, eyebrows lifting. No mask. "...there."
"Azula..." Anraq stepped close, holding a hand against her arm. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" she snapped, wrenching her arm away from his touch. "It was right there! I saw it!"
"Okay, I believe you," he said, pulling his arms back.
She turned a hopeful look in his direction, eyebrows raised high. "Really?"
"Yes, I believe you saw something."
Her expression sank. "But you don't believe anything was actually there, do you? I know what I saw!"
Anraq hummed out a quiet sigh. "I think we need to get you back to your room. Come on, you need some sleep."
"I can make it there myself!" Azula stumbled away from him, catching herself against the wall. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to trick me. You're on their side. You all are! You'd all love to see me fall, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you?"
"No, Azula, I just—"
"Stay away!" she yelled, as she continued her exhausted staggering down the hallway. Her vision blurred, and the tears stung hotter, but she did not fall. She would never fall. "Just leave me alone, Annie. I need to be alone. I have to be."
Yula yawned, sinking against her chair with arms outstretched. Two hours into reviewing these financial documents and still she was no closer to finishing than when she'd started. At least, that's what it felt like. She turned a lazy glance towards the right side of her desk, where she'd set her completed documents. A small, meager stack. Her gaze shifted towards the left, where she'd stacked the incomplete documents. Nearly twice the size of the completed ones. With a heavy sigh, she grabbed another form. Why hadn't anyone told her running a nation could be so boring?
As she signed her name along the bottom of the document, a sudden presence tingled the hairs on the back of her neck. She stiffened straight in her seat and dropped her pen, eyes darting around the room. The door to her office remained closed, no way for anyone to enter. What was that presence, then? Like something was watching her. After a moment's pause, she reached for her pen. Must have been imagining things.
"Greetings, Fire Lord Yula."
She jumped with a startled gasp, whirling her seat around with lightning charged at her fingertips. Dead white eyes stared back at her. She didn't hesitate. She let her lightning fly. The bolt ripped through the man and exploded against the wall behind him, searing the paint with a charred, blackened mark. The man didn't flinch. He continued standing there, untouched by the lightning.
"That won't do you any good," Shin Tsang said, with a simple shake of his head. "I'm not really here. Not physically, at least."
Yula moved out of her chair and stepped back around her desk, lowering into a defensive stance. "What are you, then? Some kind of hallucination?"
"In a sense. This is but a projection of my spirit, so I can speak with you even though I am unable to physically reach you."
"You want to speak with me?" Her eyes hardened. "What makes you think I want to listen to what you have to say? You lead the Sun Warriors. You've been tormenting Master Azula!"
"I have merely been revealing your master's true nature, exposing her for what she really is."
"What are you talking about?"
Shin Tsang inhaled a calm, even breath, and closed his dead eyes shut. "Azula is a deluded mess of a woman who controls those around her through fear and manipulation. Someone like that is unfit to be a leader. Look at how she cracks when something doesn't go her way, when a group stands against her whom she can't control. Her confidence and strength have given way to obsession and paranoia. You must have seen it yourself by now, how broken she has become."
Yula narrowed a curious glare at the man, her posture relaxing ever so slightly. What was this man getting at? "She has been more distracted than usual, I suppose."
"Do you think that's a coincidence?" Shin Tsang opened his eyes again and stared directly at Yula. "Azula needs control in order to function. When she meets someone or something she can't control, she breaks down, as you've already seen. How can someone like that be tasked with leading a nation, let alone an empire? The only thing she's accomplished is dooming the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom into oblivion, if she continues leading them down her dark path of fear and corruption. Her empire cannot be allowed to continue, or the world will fall into chaos."
"No, you're wrong," Yula asserted, with a shake of her head. "Azula is a great leader, and a great teacher. She's taught me so much. I wouldn't be where I am today without her."
"Yes, she has taught you quite a bit, hasn't she?" Shin Tsang nodded slowly, pacing across the floor around her desk. Or rather glided, as his body was not truly there. "You've become strong, haven't you?"
"Of course I have," she shot back. "I'm not some nobody from Ba Sing Se anymore. I'm the Fire Lord."
"Yes, you are, and I think you could be a great one. You have everything it takes to be a good ruler—intelligence, power, sincerity, resilience. It's a shame no one will ever see that."
Yula recoiled, twisting her brow in confusion. "What are you talking about? Of course they see it. Everyone sees it, how far I've come. I rule the Fire Nation!"
"But you still answer to Azula," he replied, with a simple shrug. "No matter how great or how strong you think you are, you will only ever be remembered as one of the puppets in a madwoman's pocket."
No, that's not... that's not true. It's because of Azula I was able to become Fire Lord, yes, but I still rule the Fire Nation." She took another step backwards, but her stance faltered. She stood straight out of her bending pose, eyes shifting in careful thought. "Don't I?"
"What kind of ruler answers to another? Especially one as imbalanced as Azula is proving herself to be. The Fire Lord should answer to no one but the Fire Lord, just as the Earth Queen should answer to no one but the Earth Queen. There is no place in this world for an empire and its self-proclaimed empress. There is no room in this world for Azula. She has to go, in order for the world to survive, and for you to truly to show the world your strength."
"No, that can't be right, can it? Master Azula is good for this world. She's helping people."
"No, Yula. She may think she is, but with as fragile a mind as hers, with as unstable as she is, she will only drive her people to ruin." Shin Tsang huffed a sigh, again closing his eyes. "Once again, you prove my point about you when you refer to Azula as 'Master.' As long as you are stuck under her boot, that is all you will ever be—her servant."
Yula leaned against her desk and lifted a hand to her head, brushing her fingers through her hair. He was wrong. He had to be wrong, didn't he? She couldn't allow herself to believe him. So why did he make so much sense? Was Azula actually scared of losing control of Yula? Did she fear what would happen if Yula decided she didn't want to be a servant anymore? Was Azula afraid of her?
Her mind raced, swimming with so many thoughts that a sharp throb sprang between her ears. She forced herself to sit down in her chair, hands held against her head. "Why are you telling me this?"
"I'm telling you because I want you to become the Fire Lord you should be, one who is in charge of herself and her nation. Not one who answers to a higher power."
"How... how would I do that?" she asked, with a nervous tremble in her voice. Her stomach twisted, so tight she threatened to double over and vomit.
Shin Tsang leaned close to her, so they were eye-to-eye. His voice eased out in little more than whisper, calm and sincere. "You need only help me with one simple thing."
