The night was not as dark as it should have been. An otherworldly glow emanated from the beaming spirit portal at the center of Republic City, out into Yue Bay, the battlefield, and beyond. A glow that highlighted each and every body littering the ground in grisly detail. Some were broken and mangled, others fried to unrecognizable husks, or blown to pieces. Thousands in all. So many. Too many. Scorched, blasted land slashed across the battlefield like fresh, twisted scars, a lingering reminder of Yula's horrific power, and of her victory.

"Could have at least buried them," she muttered, tightening her fingers on the dragon's reins. "Instead of leaving them to rot in the sun."

Druk bellowed a deep, low roar. There was emotion in that roar. A connection of mutual understanding between them. Agreement. He continued beyond the battlefield, soaring out over Yue Bay. More bodies here, floating like drowned ghouls in the water. Azula scanned the ocean carefully. No one familiar. No one she recognized. Her nerves fluttered, forcing a deep breath out her throat. No sign of Annie.

As Druk circled along the shoreline, Azula's gaze noticed two small objects lying in the sand. Familiar objects, at first glance. She squinted, focusing closely on them. Too far overhead to be sure. With a tug on the reigns, she urged the dragon to make a landing. "Down there, Druk. On the shore."

When they landed, Azula leaped down to the soft, muddy ground. She approached the objects with a quickened pace, only to freeze cold when they became clear. Her heart lurched, knotting in her throat. Exactly what she'd thought: a Water Tribe warrior's club, and an old, worn waterskin. Swallowing the knot back into her chest, she pressed forward and lifted the club into her grasp to read the engraving on the side. Property of Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe.

"This is Annie's club," she uttered, in a pale whisper. She sucked in a deep breath, slowly turning to look up at the dragon. "He was here on this shore."

Druk offered a low bellow of sympathy, pulling his wings in close.

Azula's gaze darted towards the sea. If Annie had been here, where was he now? He never would have left behind his club and waterskin willingly, and there was no sign of his body. Taken prisoner, most likely. That meant he was alive. If he was alive, maybe so too were the others. Perhaps even the Avatar. For how long? And where were they now? No sign left of the Dragon Empire, which meant they must have cleared out hours ago. Long gone.

"She's going to kill them. Sooner or later, Yula will..." She shook the thought from her mind. With a deep exhale, she took both the club and waterskin, and climbed aboard Druk's back again. "Take us into the city."

Another low grumble in response, this one rumbling with underlying annoyance. Druk glanced over his shoulder at her, eyes narrowed.

"Please," she insisted, with a gentle sigh. Of course, she had to remember this was not some simple beast. This was a dragon, noble and intelligent. Not her pet, not her servant. A partner. A friend. "I need to see everything Yula did."

With an accepting growl, Druk soared over Republic City. Azula watched with a rising heat burning into her face. Mountains of rubble lay strewn about what had once been neighborhoods. Shopping centers, office buildings, people's homes, all of it reduced to piles of broken concrete, twisted metal, and shattered glass. Pure, senseless destruction. Not all of the city had fallen. Perhaps forty percent remained standing, untouched by whatever assault had leveled the rest of it. Not nearly enough. Far too much had been lost. All this on top of the countless lives... Insult to injury, far beyond measure.

As they neared the center of the city, gentle ripples caught her attention, glowing bright beneath the light of the spirit portal. A pond, empty and alone amidst ruptured mounds of earth and scattered grass. A crumpled statue lay before it, missing both its arms and half its torso. Avatar Korra park, or at least what was left of it. Her heart pulsed into her throat. The place where she and Annie had been together only the night before. Nothing but ruins now.

"Could you take us down there?" she asked.

Druk swooped downward, landing next to the pond. Azula climbed down and took several steps forward, watching the water ripple against a gentle breeze. She let her eyes close briefly, inhaling a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, the destruction around her was gone. She saw trees, fields of flowers, the bridge across the pond intact, and a towering statue of Avatar Korra looming above her. Buildings surrounded her, grand and towering. No more rubble. No more devastation. Exactly as it should be. She blinked again, and that image of Republic City, that memory, faded into ruin around her. Azula sank to her knees, a nauseous wave crashing into her stomach.

What on earth had she turned Yula into? That woman had no sense of tact. No grace. No finesse, no patience. Didn't care about the consequences, only about flexing her own strength and destroying anyone who stood in her way. Yula could have used so many different methods. They might have taken longer, but could have been bloodless. No death, no ruin. Instead, she had chosen the quick and easy route. The route that led to thousands of bodies littering a battlefield like garbage in the streets. The route that destroyed an entire city. She had chosen murder.

Azula scoffed at her own thoughts. Ironic, her judging someone for their cruelty. She had been the same, not too long ago. Cruel, spiteful, manipulative. She'd have killed anyone who stood in her way if she had to. Anything to achieve her goals. Oh, she would have tried to avoid it if she could. Subtly, cunning, manipulation—those were her trump cards. If she could have obtained control that way, she would have. But what if that had failed? Would she have fallen back on her brute strength? Would she have marched on other nations like this?

Azula raised her hands and stared at them. Her fingers trembled, rapid and uncontrolled. "Could this have been me? Was I one step away from leveling cities? From killing thousands? Betraying any semblance of sanity I had left?"

Druk lowered into view, nudging gently against her side. She leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his scaly snout. At least someone had confidence in her. Spirits knew she had none in herself.

A shrill noise yanked her from her thoughts. Azula spun around, igniting a blue flame in her palm. What was it? An enemy? Lingering troops hanging back to take out stragglers? The noise echoed again, clearer this time. She blinked, lowering her gaze downward near the edge of the pond. A small creature stared back at her in the water, uttering another shrill quack.

"You're not an enemy," she muttered, letting the flame extinguish. "Just a turtle duckling."

The baby turtle duck fluttered its wings and trotted onto the grass at the edge of the pond. It quacked again, and looked upward. Frantic, afraid.

Azula narrowed a glare. "What? Frightened of me, are you? Big surprise. Look, if you're so afraid, leave me alone. I have far more important things to take care of right now."

Another quack, as the turtle duck ran up to her. The tiny creature nuzzled against her knee, feathers ruffling. She stared at it, brow puzzling together. Curious. She pulled her knee back. The turtle duck stumbled, only to run up to her again. Azula shifted her attention towards the pond. No other turtle ducks nearby, as far as she could see. That was it, wasn't it?

"You're not scared of me, are you? You're scared because you're alone." Azula reached down and offered a hand. The turtle duck leaned close, flapped its wings, and hopped into her palm. With a deep sigh, she lifted the bird close against her chest. It looked up at her, head cocked to the side, and quacked again. Calmer, almost appreciative. "Can't find your family, huh? That makes two of us."

Azula fell back, sitting in the grass with her legs crossed. The turtle duck curled into a tight ball, tucking its face close against its wing. What a silly, strange creature. It didn't even know her, and yet here it was nuzzling up to her like a long lost friend. She let out a quiet grumble, and gently scratched the top of the bird's head with her finger.

"I'll bet you had a nice family," she said, letting her gaze wander into the sky. She focused on the beaming beacon of the spirit portal. "Probably treated you well, loved you, supported you. That about right? Better than I ever had. My mother pushed me away, while my father treated me as a pawn. Raised me to treat others with contempt and cruelty. Oh, I soaked it in, alright. Took it out on others just to make him happy. Especially on my brother. Spirits, I made Zuzu miserable. How he ever forgave me..."

Druk lumbered forward and spread his wings, lying down in a partial circle around her. She offered a thankful grunt, and leaned back against his scaled side. "I'm sorry about Zuko, you know? I know you were friends with him. Much better friends with him than I ever was. Sure, we worked out things in the end, but that's the problem: it was the end. I never got to know him. Never got to make up for everything I did to him. Now I'll never have that chance."

She let her eyes close, swallowing the choked breath lifting into her throat. "I messed up everything. My entire life, that's all I've ever done. Helping the Red Lotus, starting the Dragon Empire, turning Yula into a power hungry madwoman. That's all on me. Now she's well on her way to taking over the entire world. We failed to stop her, and everyone who stood against her is as good as dead. Except for me. I get to sit here alone, surrounded by my own consequences, helpless to stop any of it."

Druk curled his head next to hers, releasing a deep, powerful exhale through his nostrils. The blast of hot air pushed Azula off balance, forcing her to right herself and open her eyes. She stared back at him, frowning.

"Yes, well, perhaps not completely alone. Still doesn't change much, does it?" With a huffing breath, she pushed herself to her feet and wandered towards the edge of the pond. The turtle duck continued to nuzzle against her palm, while she scratched the top of its head. "We've lost. Everything."

Water rippled before her. She blinked down at it, focused on her own shimmering reflection. Her image undulated, shifted, glowing bright beneath the light of the spirit portal. As the water settled, her gaze sharpened, narrowed. She wasn't alone. Another figure stood beside her, holding a hand against her shoulder as he smiled up at her. An old man, familiar and comforting in his presence. Her breath tightened, choking her throat with a rasping cough.

"Zuzu?" She snapped her gaze away from the water, looking to where he should have been standing. Nothing but empty air. She looked again to the reflection, where Zuko's image continued to smile up at her. Another one of her delusions? Or some kind of spiritual message from beyond? "I... I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Azula." His smile broadened, warm and reassuring. "Be proud. You've come so far, and changed so much."

"I'm responsible for everything that's happened," she countered. "What right do I have to be proud? How could you forgive me? How could you ever think I deserved a second chance, after all this?"

"Because you have good in you," he said. "You always did. You just needed to find it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Azula, the fact that you've called me here to ask me that question already proves it. Would someone without a good heart question their mistakes like that? Would they want to make up for the things they'd done wrong? Would they want to be better? Stop doubting yourself. Find the peace you want so desperately and seize it. Right your wrongs. Be the person you know you can be."

"But how?" Azula sniffled, sucking in a deep, shuddering breath. Spirits, was she actually tearing up? How silly. "I... I don't know what to do. We lost. Everyone else is gone, and I don't know how to find them. Even if I did, how would I help? Every time I try, I fail."

"Listen to yourself. Does that sound like the confidence of a Fire Nation prodigy? You are Azula. You're my sister. If there is anyone who can make a difference, it is you." Zuko's reflection narrowed a stern gaze at her. "Think. You have everything you need. All the pieces are there. Put them together."

Azula calmed herself, wiping her eyes dry. Yes, yes of course. She could do this. She just had to think. "Well, let's see. To learn where Annie and the others are, I'd have to ask someone who knew. That would mean tracking down imperial troops."

Zuko nodded. "And?"

"And the closest ones would be the Dragon Empire's ground troops. They came from the southeast, so it stands to reason they would depart in the same direction. I could track them down, find someone to interrogate, discover where Yula sent the prisoners..."

"Keep going."

"If I freed them, we could regroup. We could think of another way to take down Yula."

"That's good. You see?" Zuko raised a hand, giving her reflection's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "It's not over. Not while you still have fight left in you. You know Yula better than anyone, so who better suited to come up with a plan to stop her?"

Azula nodded, and breathed deep. "You're right. I can do this. I have to do this."

"So do it."

"I will." Her nerves settled, warming with a renewed surge of confidence, as she focused her gaze on Zuko's reflection. Her brother... She really did owe him so much. "Zuzu, I... I miss you."

"I know. I miss you, too," he said, with a mutual nod. "Just remember: no matter where you go, I am never far away."

The water rippled again, blurring both their reflections. When the pond settled, Zuko was gone. Azula stared back at her own reflection a moment longer, before turning away and marching towards Druk. The dragon waited patiently for her, lowering himself so she could climb aboard.

"Come on, Druk," she said, holding tight onto the reigns with one hand. With her other hand, she tucked the turtle duck close against her chest. "We're heading southeast."


Private Gunn shivered, despite the emanating heat from the campfire he sat in front of. These chills couldn't be warmed by simple flames. They were only twelve hours removed from battle. Only twelve hours removed from carnage. Images burned fresh in his mind. The screaming, the terror, the fighting, the death. Every time he closed his eyes, those memories flared up, like searing wounds across his mind.

He'd only joined the military a couple years ago, and the battle of Republic City had been the first real combat he'd ever seen. Spirits, he couldn't have been prepared for how horrific it would be. Guard duty in Ba Sing Se could never have prepared him for anything like that. He hadn't even known what he was doing half the time. Running, scrambling for cover, desperately trying to keep himself alive. He'd never been so terrified in his life. Now, here he sat in front of a campfire, staring blankly into the flames, while reflecting on how lucky he'd been to make it out alive. So many others had not been so fortunate.

He just wanted to go home.

A firm pat on his shoulder called him from his daze. "Hey, Gunn, your turn!"

Gunn blinked, glancing up at the soldier next to him. He recognized this man—a lieutenant, although he couldn't recall the name. "My turn for what now?"

"Ha, you're really out of it tonight, huh?" The lieutenant thrust a bottle towards him. The smell of alcohol was strong, pungent. "To drink, of course! This is a celebration, after all. For a battle well fought!"

"Oh..." Gunn stared at the bottle, eyebrows scrunching together. Right, now he remembered. Some of the squads had broken out victory drinks after they'd made camp that night. What a morbid celebration. Who would want to celebrate death? "No thanks. None for me."

"Hmph, suit yourself." The lieutenant took a swig himself, and passed the drink on to the next man around the fire.

Gunn huffed out a sigh, and stood up from his seat. "I need some air..."

He wandered through camp, beyond the tents, and the fires, and the soldiers laughing and drinking. A dull pounding had sprung into his skull, and right now he needed to be away from it all. Needed some peace and quiet, some time to air out his thoughts and collect himself. He needed to be alone. Igniting a small, flickering flame in his palm, he left the camp behind and made his way into the mountainous wilderness through the nighttime darkness. He stared at that flame, watched it, mesmerized by it. There was a calmness in that flame, a certain peace. He could watch it for hours.

He didn't notice the figure sneaking up behind him. Only when a firm grasp took hold of his mouth, and the cold sting of a sharpened broadsword pressed against his throat, did he finally snap out of his daze. He attempted to break free, but the blade pressed closer to his neck, drawing a thin line of blood. Any closer, and it would sever his jugular.

"Scream, and I feed you to my dragon," said a chilling, female voice. On cue, the large, looming figure of a great red dragon emerged from the shadows and growled at him.

A startled gasp burst from his lips, stifled by the palm clamped over his mouth. He nodded his head in frantic agreement, and the woman removed her hand. "P-please don't feed me to your dragon! I swear I'll be quiet!"

"Good," the woman replied. Still, she kept the sword to his neck. "Now, you're going to answer me some questions."

"O-of course. Whatever you want."

"What happened after the battle? Did Yula take prisoners, or did she have the entire resistance killed?"

Gunn blinked, swallowing a terrified knot in his throat. "Uh, w-well, the surviving enemy soldiers were taken captive aboard our Navy battleships. They're being transported to the Fire Nation."

"For what purpose?"

"Um, well, I-I think I heard mention that Dragon Empress Yula is going to have them join our Army. As a show of m-mercy."

"Hmph, and to bolster her own forces after the losses she just suffered," the woman muttered. "Let me guess, those that refuse get to rot in prison?"

Gunn gave a quick nod.

"What of the world leaders? Were they taken prisoner too?"

"I-I think so," he stammered. "They were put aboard a separate ship. I think they're being taken to Capital City, but I'm not sure."

The blade pressed tighter against his flesh. "You'd better be sure!"

"I swear, that's all I know!" His legs buckled, turning to jelly at the panic exploding through him. "I'm just a private! They don't tell me anything!"

"What about the Avatar? Can you at least tell me if she's alive?"

"Y-yes, I do know that," he said quickly. That had been a big topic of conversation since the end of the battle, how the Avatar had been defeated. "She's alive, but she's in lockup. They're keeping her sedated so she can't power out and destroy everything. That's all I know."

A brief silence followed, as the woman eased the sword away from Gunn's neck. "I see. Well, I suppose I have no more use for you."

Gunn swallowed, staring up at the dragon in front of him. "S-so... are you going to let me go?"

"You're joking, right? I can't have you telling anyone I was here."

"W-what? No, please, I swear I won't say anything! I don't even know who you—"

A hard thwack to the back of his head silenced him. He instantly crumpled to the ground, eyes closing as a cold darkness overtook him.


Druk grumbled, tilting an accusatory gaze towards his partner.

Azula rolled her eyes. "What? Don't give me that look. I'm not actually going to kill him. Or feed him to you. By the time he wakes up, he'll have long since been left behind by the rest of the Army. We, on the other hand, have a ship to catch."

Assuming the man's information had been accurate, anyway. His fear and panic had been genuine, so he most likely hadn't been lying, but then he was only a private. Soldiers that low on the food chain generally weren't privy to many details from their higher-ups. Still, it was the only lead she had, and she couldn't waste more time lurking around the Dragon Empire camp waiting to ambush someone else. Finding them had already taken her hours out of her way, and would take that much longer to catch up with Yula's Navy.

She had to find Anraq and the others before they reached Capital City. No telling what Yula intended to do with them when they got there, but Azula wasn't about to sit around and find out. Judging from what she already knew about that fool of an empress, probably safe to assume the worst. Yula would want to make a statement, now that she was on the verge of conquering the world. A way to illustrate exactly what happened to those who stood against her. That statement would come at the expense of the world leaders, the Avatar, and everyone close to them.

Azula would not let that happen.

"Come on, Druk," she said, climbing back into position atop the dragon. "Let's fly."


They flew throughout the night into early morning, until the sun rose above the horizon behind them, painting the sky a brilliant orange. Azula clutched tight onto Druk's reigns, as her eyes began to droop in exhaustion. Considering how long she had been unconscious, she'd have thought herself better rested than this. Evidently not. She needed rest, and soon. But she couldn't stop now. Not yet. She still hadn't found the Dragon Empire Navy, nothing but empty ocean on all sides of her.

The longer they traveled, the heavier her eyes became. Her vision blurred and wavered, head bowing low. Moments before drifting off to sleep, she snapped herself awake again. No. She couldn't fall asleep. She hadn't earned sleep yet. Her head drooped again, in spite of her own insistence. She shook herself awake with a frustrated groan, clawing her fingers through her hair. Druk uttered a deep bellow in response, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"Alright, fine," she muttered. "I'll sleep. You'll catch me if I fall, right?"

The dragon offered a more positive growl, and looked straight ahead. She took that to mean 'yes.'

"You too," she said, tugging on the collar of her armor so she could see into the front of her shirt beneath. The tiny figure of a turtle duck blinked up at her, snuggling up into a feathered ball. "Settle down and get some rest, you hear?" It gave a shrill quack in response.

With a tired sigh, Azula wrapped her arms around Druck's neck, set her head against his scales, and let her eyes close. How had her life come to this? How had she gone from esteemed Fire Nation Princess, heiress to the throne, and become... what even was she, now? Certainly no hero. She was just a person trying to right her wrongs. Her many, many wrongs. Even if she was now the last hope the world had at being free from a tyrannical empress, she could never be considered a hero.

Still, her life was so much different now than it used to be. So much had changed. She had changed. At one time, so long ago, she had been nothing more than her father's tool. He had raised her to believe that cruelty and violence, fear and manipulation, malice and control, were the keys to success and power. Oh, how she had believed it. Ozai had molded her in his image, made her into a younger version of himself to carry on his legacy when he was gone.

He had created a monster, a twisted product of his abuse and neglect.

At the ripe young age of fourteen, she had been more cunning, cruel, and terrifying than Ozai ever was. She had been a prodigy unlike the world had ever seen before, and had unlocked a skill that no other firebender in history had been able to duplicate: blue flames, a testament of her prestige and power. Had it not been for their inevitable defeat at the hands of the Avatar and his allies, Azula would have become a far more feared and powerful ruler than her father had ever been.

She would have been the worst thing to happen to the world.

Spirits, how things had changed... She was no longer that person. No longer that hateful, vicious prodigy who lacked care and empathy for others, so desperate to live up to Daddy's impossible expectations. No longer was she her father's daughter. She was her own person now. Perhaps that person could never truly be considered good, but she most certainly could be better. After everything she had done in her life, she doubted she would ever make it all the way to 'good', but maybe, hopefully, when all this was over... 'better' could be good enough.

Never in a hundred years would she have imagined her life following this path. Never would she have imagined being able to care about others, or for others to care about her. Being able to experience love, the one thing that had been most absent from her life. The one thing that, deep down, she had always yearned for most of all. Love had changed her, helped her heal. It had shown her what she was truly capable of. It had shown her happiness.

Happiness. Now there was something else she had never experienced before. Oh sure, at times she had been content, satisfied, pleased, or amused, but happy? That true, real kind of happiness one could lose themselves to and never want to wake from? Never. Not until now. The kind of happiness she felt knowing there were friends and family out there who loved and cared about her? That was new. So very new, and so very wonderful.

The only thing keeping her from that happiness now was Yula. Ironic, in a way. Azula had been a product of Ozai's upbringing, of his training and abuse. If given the chance, she would have become worse than he ever had been. The worst thing to ever happen to the world. Yula was a product of Azula's upbringing, of her training and abuse. She had been given the opportunity, and become worse than Azula ever had been. She had become the worst thing to ever happen to the world.

In spite of that, Yula's betrayal had been the spark that ignited change within Azula. The ultimate catalyst to her growth as a person. In a weird way, Yula usurping the Dragon Empire had been the best thing to ever happen to Azula. She might never have found her peace and happiness otherwise.

The world worked in strange, funny ways sometimes. It could take a simple girl, turn her into one of the worst villains the world had ever seen, only to spin her right around again into someone trying to better herself and make a positive difference. It could take someone who had known nothing but cruelty, fear, and neglect, and show her love, compassion, and kindness. It could heal her pain. It could show her peace.

It could be wonderful.

Heh.

Funny, indeed.