A/N: Now I'm the villain in your history. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

Legacy

(Summer 102 AG)

Flying through the sky, the wind whipping in her face, a small girl with dark, black hair and bright, golden eyes rides a dragon into battle. She holds up her mighty sword and commands her partner to bank downward. Her magnificent beast lands on the battlefield. She disembarks and gracefully approaches her enemy, a young boy in a blue mask.

She twirls the sword in her hands for a moment. Stepping away from her monster, her opponent mirrors her steps as they circle one another. She dawns a large grin and chides him, "I remember who I am! I am the Dragon Emperor! And there's only one way that this ends."

"You will not succeed!" He shouts back. "I shall put you back in your place!"

The two children charge at one another, wooden swords swinging wildly through the air. They attempt to parry each other's blows but the heavy wood is too much for their little arms. They feebly wave them at one another, but tire out quickly. The boy turns and tries to flee, his feet pushing through the sand. His younger sister gives chase and after a few feet he tries to turn and face her. Bodies crash into one another as she can't stop her forward momentum and they fall together onto the beach.

Pushing up and off of him she complains, "Zuzu, you shouldn't have stopped!"

"I was trying to turn and sword fight you, Azula!"

She stands up over him and dusts herself off. Dropping the wooden sword she reaches a hand down to offer to him. It's not much help, she's too small and scrawny to really pull him up, but Zuko takes it anyway. They stand in front of each other under the glow of the moonlight. The waves of the ocean at Ember Island crash to provide the sound. Walking a few paces back of them within eyesight are their parents, quietly and ideally discussing this year's rendition of the show.

Zuko whines, "Why do you always get to be the Dragon Emperor? You're not even a boy."

"Because I'm the better fighter! So I'm more deserving!"

"Nu-uh!"

"I am the Dragon Emperor," she proudly proclaims to the moon and sea. Azula stands with both arms raised and faces the water. "And you are just my little puppet!"

"No way, Azula! I want to be the Dragon Emperor," he replies as he playfully pushes her out of her victorious pose. "You can be the Dragon Empress instead."

Azula turns back to her brother as he walks forward and yells at him, "Eww, no Zuzu, you dummy! The Dragon Emperor and Empress got married."

He spins back to his sister and shouts, "That's not what I meant Azula! I just meant we would be a great team."

He crosses his arms and huffs as he walks forward. Azula feet churn through the sand and she steps to follow after him. "Oh yes, Zuzu, we would be the most powerful duo in the world!"

Zuko walks along the water, picking up seashells and tossing them back into the ocean as they go. Azula mimics her older brother, grabbing other ones and throwing them too. After a few moments of silence, she finally declares, "I hate the Dragon Empress."

Zuko turns his torso to the side to peer out at her with his left eye. "Why?"

Azula picks up a shell and launches it with her full force. "She has all this power, but she just hides it away."

Zuko tries to reason with her, "She wanted Noren to love her for herself, not because of her power."

Azula stares out across the moonlit ocean. She hears Zuzu's answer, but she does not accept it. She rejects this prospect, telling him, "If I ever had power like her, I wouldn't hide any of it."

Zuko looks at his sister, staring with such seriousness. For a moment he is drawn in by her confidence and charisma. He wants to agree with her, but they are but children, so instead he finds the whole thing very silly. "You're so weird, Azula."

She spins her head at him and scowls. "Not as weird as you!"

She sticks her tongue out at him. He sticks his own back out at her and they face off, their heads getting closer and their eyes narrowing at each other. Finally, Azula raises her wooden sword up again towards him and shouts, "How dare you insult the Dragon Empress!"

The sound of wood smacking echoes across the beachside. The children parry the blows two more times before their little arms get tired again. Once more, one of them runs off and the other gives chase. They run off through the sand, headed home, their adoring parents lagging behind, practically fading away in the dark of night.

A chorus of clicking noises fills the air. It is a loud, buzzing song that pulsates rapidly. The sound stirs up across numerous insects of the same variety, all singing together. A pleasant orchestra signifying summer and warm days. The girl at the bench reaches up and adjusts her matted black hair. She sits within the shade of an overhead tree, taking in the world around her. She is free and unafraid. Her jaded golden eyes trace down to her hands. She holds the smallest ration of bread she could rip off.

Her eyes look up at the overcast sky and feels the heat permeating through her clothing. It sticks to her in skin in places, giving her no comfort. The weather has offered no respite to them in their journey. She is daydreaming again about sword fights on Ember Island; about seeing Love Amongst the Dragons with her parents. She dreams of her family and what once was, and what could never be again.

Absentmindedly she lifts her ration of bread and nibbles on it. She's found over the last month that if she eats it slowly she thinks she enjoys it more. For the former royalty, it is all about valuing what precious resources they have almost them. She had once lived in decadence, now she savors the scraps she has left.

"Azula," a voice comes to her. She turns to the brunette a few feet from her. "Someone's asked for you."

She scowls at her right hand woman. Her brow furrows as she replies, "Soldiers?"

"No, he's," she starts, her voice filled with apprehension. "A local fisherman."

The former Crown Princess rises from her seat beneath a tree. She steps through the shadowy woodland towards her friend. Her voice is charged, her tone serious. Her golden eyes burn into the dark eyes of the girl she approaches. "What the spirits is this, Zirin? Some kind of trap?"

"No, Azula. I promise," she flinches slightly as Azula stops in front of her. Zirin's hands grip her pants, awaiting the next words, anticipating more accusations of disloyalty. "He came to us arms raised, we searched him, and he just knew you were here somehow."

Azula peers over the teen's shoulder towards the rest of their group. She clicks her tongue as she thinks. Her eyes return to the dark ones in front of her, awaiting her next commandment. Azula purses her lips and then calmly says, "Be prepared to subdue him. We can't know if he was followed."

"Of course." The girl quickly breathes out.

The leader cranes her neck to spot a disheveled, tan man through the gaps in the forest and her girls. Her mind calculates what this could be about and how he found them. She dawns a wry smile as a thought comes to her.

"Introduce me." She directs her subordinate.

"Ma'am?" Zirin asks, confusion and concern spiking.

"He already knows I'm here. He found us somehow. If he was sent by my brother, well, we might as well relish our last moments of freedom."

The girl nods in understanding. She turns on spot and leads her towards the invader.

Azula stops and stands as graciously as she can given the conditions. Her hair sticking to the back of her neck, she folds her arms in front of her. Zirin wipes her brow, standing a few feet back and to Azula's right. The remaining dozen girls stand in a semicircle, blocking escape.

The man before her is short and stout. He has a long, brown goatee and hair that almost comes down to his shoulders. He is just as humid as the young girls all around them, and at least twice their age. His clothes are ragged and ripped. His eyes dance about, but they always come back to the golden eyed leader of this pack of teenagers.

Zirin projects her voice to the gathering, "I am introducing Princess Azula. Bow before her."

The older man, seemingly surprised by this, does a double-take before bowing his head slightly. He quickly raises his head and returns his gaze to the Princess. Zirin had meant for him to bow to the ground, or at least kneel. She is mad at herself and worries that Azula will be more mad. Yet Azula is unconcerned. She takes stock of the man and quietly prepares her questions.

After a moment of pause Zirin cuts through the silence, "And who are you?"

Once again the man does a double-take, this time looking at Zirin like it's his first time seeing her. He stutters out, "Oh, apologies. Uh, well, my name is Lin."

"How did you find us?" Zirin starts by asking him.

He scoffs at this. He looks at the golden eyed beauty and says, "The world is far too small for a woman like Princess Azula to simply disappear."

After a brief pause to look around he adds, "No matter how deep she chooses to sink."

"What business do you have here, Lin?" Zirin questions him.

He turns his full attention to the brunette now as he accepts that Azula won't be addressing him. "I heard the rumors and wanted to come talk to her myself."

"What rumors?" Zirin demands.

He peaks at the young girls around him, then back to the second-in-command. "That a bunch of young girls were starving up in the woods near Jingchan," he starts. This draws some low murmurs and whispers among the girls around him. Uneasily, Zirin leans back on the balls of her feet, sweat beads dripping down her forehead. "Being led by a Firebender who dispatches anyone who gets too close."

He pauses a moment and his eyes turn to her. He says, "Being led by our former Crown Princess, Azula."

Zirin keeps hoping that Azula will step in and talk. Every second she doesn't weighs on her. She ventures onward, "Then you must know you'll be the next to be dispatched by us."

Realizing that they have taken his intrusion as an act of aggression, Lin quickly raises his hands in surrender. "No, no! That's not necessary. I don't come to bring you trouble."

"Then what do you bring?" Zirin asks him, her tone accusatory and doubting. She too now folds her arms in front of her.

He places his hands back down slowly and answers, "I come to ask your help."

Tilting her head to the side, Zirin's eyes quickly flash to Azula. She only looks at the back of her head before returning to Lin. She asks him, "And what exactly is it you need help with?"

Lin motions with his hands passively as he explains, "I am a fisherman off the coast of the Baochou Village. I've lived there most of my life. Last week some raiders and thieves sacked us. They stole my boat."

He allows a pregnant pause, expecting sympathy or condolences to be shared. When none are he awkwardly laughs and adds, "Not much work for a fisherman to get done without a boat."

Again, no one entertains him with pleasantries. No one chuckles or forces themself to laugh. The girls all around him stare with violent intentions. They are ready and prepared to immobilize him, if given even the slightest indication from their leader.

Zirin asks him, "Why us?"

He smiles at this, feeling the answer obvious. "Local authorities are too scared to do anything, nor are they very keen on the idea of revenge fueled vengeance. But you all operate outside the law."

Azula finally speaks, "Why should we help you?"

Lin finally turns back to her. He grimaces and offers, "Because it's the right thing to do?"

Azula doesn't even blink. No one is moved by this comment. They are hungry, desperate, and hot. Lin realizes that this answer won't suffice. He adds, "And I'll provide you transport whenever you should need it."

"That's hardly helpful for 'a bunch of girls starving up in the woods.'"

Lin nods his head in understanding. "I can feed you all with some of my remaining stock."

The girls all around once again begin whispering their excitement to one another. Even Zirin can't help but smile at the thought of fresh fish. She can't remember the last time she'd had a warm meal. Azula, however, narrows her eyes. She ends the fervor by saying, "It'll cost you more than some leftover fish."

Lin softly chuckles to himself and looks around him. He returns his green eyes to looking at Azula, "Well, I can't pay you. They took everything from me. Just feeding you all would clean me out of my remaining inventory."

The Fire Warriors are uneasy about this standoff. In Zirin's opinion, they should take the meal and make the deal. Yet Azula is in charge and she presses on, "You said yourself that these raiders and thieves cleaned out your entire village. We have 13 girls, only some of whom can firebend. You expect me to risk their lives and our freedom, for what? Some fish and a free boat ride whenever we need it? Hmm? We're taking on far more risk to help, and you don't seem to be offering anything of real value."

Previously swept up in the moment of a fresh meal, the young girls all around are now seeing what Azula sees. They grow agitated that this older man would so readily put them in harm's way for his own gain. He looks around and feels the walls closing in. What's more, he sees his opportunity disappearing. He had feared this may happen, but he came prepared.

"Princess Azula, I believe you should do it because there is more to life than getting paid."

"Is that so, Lin? Perhaps then you should go home yourself and do something else beside fishing. Do anything you please, seeing as there's more to life than getting paid."

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. He sees what she is saying but she's missing the point. "What I mean is that by doing this you can gain something far more valuable than money."

Genuinely curious now, Azula asks him, "How's that?"

Lin steps forward now. Confidently he tells her, "If you make yourself more than just a girl. If you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, then you become something else entirely."

Narrowing her eyes only slightly Azula asks, "And what is that?"

"Legend, Azula. A lasting legacy in your name."

He delivers this with reverence. His eyes, Zirin's eyes, the twenty-four eyes of the Fire Warriors, all turn and fall upon the young girl. She stands tall and proud. She peers down at Lin from a standing position above him. She takes what he has said and turns it over in her mind. In a flash she is transported back to the moonlit oceanside. She remembers the play and her parents and her brother. She remembers arguing with Zuzu.

"If I ever had power like her, I wouldn't hide any of it."

Azula is the most powerful Firebender on Earth. She has the Fire Warriors and the Kemurikage at her command. She should not be hiding her power away in the woods, nibbling on stale bread to savor its taste. She always imagined herself flying a dragon, carrying a powerful sword, being this incredible warrior and leader. Charing forward bravely into the face of danger to bring glory and honor to the Fire Nation and the world.

Lin has stirred something deep within Azula. She nods her head at last in agreement, the smile curling on her lips. She shakes her head, "Not in my name."

Lin looks at her confused. Azula says, "I shall be the Dragon Empress."

The group of girls collectively nod their heads in equal parts wonder and agreement. Even Lin, with so many more years than them and more mature, recognizes that this specific moment is bigger than him.

Azula tilts her head and tells him, "We will help you. For the food and your services. We shall take back what was stolen from you."

Lin nods his head and recalls what Zirin had told him to start. He bows his head and bends one knee. He kneels before the Dragon Empress.

A/N: Hello! First and foremost, thank you so much for taking the time to read my silly little fic. I truly hope you decide to take the time to leave a comment, or review, or give kudos, or favorite, or bookmark this story. I hope you like it enough to do those things and I love to engage with the readers whenever they come in!

My first A/N and my last A/N are the only times I really leave any thoughts. I've learned from my peers and inspirations that less is more.

Unlike with "Touch of the Sun," this entire story has *not* been completely written already. I asked some people on my twt if I should post this story as I progress through writing it, or save it all to post when it's done being written. Overwhelming majority wanted it to be posted as I write it this time. So the good news is that you don't have to wait so long to get new content from me. Bad news is you are officially at the whim of my personal life and when I feel like writing. So no more updates on Sun/Wedn/Fri, instead they'll be sporadic and spaced out.

My story summary told you this already, but I do have a full outline, very detailed, of what I'll be doing in this whole story from start to finish. It's going to end up being 40ish chapters, it will be spread across 3 separate books, and we are going to cover *the entirety* of Azula's natural life. You read that right. Her whole natural life after she, Zirin, and the Fire Warriors / Kemurikage faded into the ether at the end of the "Smoke and Shadows" comics.

My last two major works I had very clear inspirations and stories that I drew from. This one I don't have a direct inspo. Instead, I read the raw deal that our girl got after the canon comics and I said, "Okay, how do I fix this?" So that's what I'm trying to do here. This is my most ambitious story undertaking ever (40+ chapters!) and I'm very excited & very scared (so much writing!).

Book 1 will consist of many chapters similar to this one in length. Likely very short and to the point. We will have the most chapters in Book 1. Book 2 will have less chapters, but longer. Book 3 will have only a few chapters, but they will likely all be pretty long (5K+ words each probably, and at least a few closer to 10K probably).

I am covering Azula's entire life. The good, the bad, the ugly. It's going to get so much worse before it gets better. We are going to stick close to canon, but not entirely. There will be major character deaths in all 3 books I believe. I am a Tyzula Writer and that will be included, but right now, in canon, Ty Lee is still afraid of Azula. There will be some Azula+Zirin, but the endgame is Tyzula. I'll be doing a 'childhood friends to enemies to friends to lovers' arc for Tyzula (atla twt ppl are always begging for this storyline so here's y'all's juice). It's going to be a long ride, slow burns, soul searching, angst, and watching as the red string of destiny intertwines itself throughout Azula's life. There will be massive time skips at various points. I'll be skipping or glossing over major events while Azula is busy doing other things. Sorry I'm not sorry.

On my fandom twt I have a thread tracking my every waking thought as I write this fic so if you want to see some additional nonsense regarding this fic, check me out at Gonzo_the_GOAT.

On a separate note, I have created an Official Soundtrack (OST) for this story. These are songs that I chose for a myriad of reasons. They emotionally align with the story, they remind me of things I was thinking about as I wrote it, they are songs I listened to for inspiration as I worked on this story for the last few months. I will be updating my bio whenever I remember to do so with the chapter, song+artist. This chapter's OST is "Flaws" by Daughter.

Most of these end A/Ns from here on out will just be that chapter's OST. Again, I appreciate all comments, reviews, likes, and kudos, or what have you. Thank you so much for your time!

Love always. Tyzula forever.

Notorious