BLUE STORM

Ty Lee watched fearfully as Azula looked over the beach, her eyes acquiring that same intensity of a huntress that she usually admired, but today, it made her shiver all over. She had guessed many ways of how their vacation could end, but never in a thousand years she would've seen this coming.

Everything had felt great for a while of course.

The four of them had a long conversation on the sands, where she found herself spilling words of self loathing, and confessing to feelings she had long known but never acknowledged.

"You're Ty Lee to me." He had spoken and smiled, and even Mai had echoed the thought while her other friend just looked away and she couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about, if she thought back to those secret wishes and even more secret nights.

They had all done it of course, Mai had admitted she was always meant to behave properly. Zuko spoke quietly about being afraid although Ty Lee couldn't guess what he was afraid of. Maybe his father, the Fire Lord was almost as scary as Azula could be and speaking of Azula, the Fire Princess spilled out words about her mother that broke her heart until her smirk appeared again and she acted like nothing mattered. In the end they had all banded together to crash the party and she thought everything would be okay. She really thought things were all right, that they were truly, undeniably, friends.

But that only lasted until Mai whispered her goodbyes before going to bed, and Azula called her to this small alcove overlooking the house. At first she had blushed and stammered questions, wondering and wishing until she felt it in the air, the heat, an aura seething and churning like a storm about to break, and that made Ty Lee want to look away, her gaze falling on the piece of scroll Azula had crumpled in her hand.

"W-what is that?"

"Nothing of your concern" Azula muttered coldly, her gaze never leaving the quarters. Eventually, the lights went out in the bungalow and two shadows jumped out of the window, landing smoothly despite the height.

As the Fire Princess' face twisted into a strange smile, she finally revealed herself under the light of the moon, stopping the other two dead in their track along the beach. Ty Lee followed hesitantly, her heart beating faster as she recognized Mai and Zuko in dark stealthy clothing. The wind billowing against them as they stood opposite one another, the taste of salt mingling in her lips as she hoped for the ocean to swallow them whole.

"So, gone out for a little night stroll you two? I have to say, black is such a dull color for a date, but then again that might just be your style." Azula didn't smile, but her mouth twitched almost mockingly. "Unless, of course, you're trying to hide, but then again there are few reasons for… Oh wait, you perverts! Honestly, I knew you were bold Zuzu, but not as bold as to dishonor a noble friend of mine before your marriage."

"Azula." Zuko said, the words released from his throat like a bursting prisoner while Mai's hand disappeared inside her sleeves.

Ty Lee shivered. Was that what this was all about? Were Zuko and Mai trying to sneak out? Was Azula mad about it? Summoning as much of courage as she could, she finally stepped forward, forcing a smile upon her lips.

"Look guys, I-I don't know what this is about, but I'm feeling some very tense auras right now, so why don't we go back to the house and..." Her voice startled to a stop when Azula snapped the scroll towards her brother.

"Don't bother yourself Ty Lee, these two over there are not what you think, they are traitors! My spies have just killed a hawk carrying this little message here."

"You put spies on me?" Zuko sounded shocked, and Ty Lee wondered how it would feel if she had someone spying on her.

"Of course I had to spy on you, you were out there acting so challenging, visiting uncle and the whole time I could never even glimpse one bit of guilty on your eyes. Tell me Zuzu, who are you going to meet and where is this meeting point? Not that it matters much you see, this is just a copy, I had men send your Hawk ahead, just to keep the ruse." Now her amber eyes were cold. "You see, despite everything, I'm still merciful enough to offer you a solution, you come with me now and deliver me these traitors you're meeting and maybe, I'll forget to tell father all about this, what do you say?"

"That is not gonna happen Azula." Zuko whispered and yet his voice caught up to them all the same.

For a moment Ty Lee thought Azula hadn't heard, but then her voice barked, rising for the first time. "You fool, both of you. You really want to stand there and be branded traitors forever. Losing your precious honor was not enough and now you want to drag my friend with you?"

"This is my choice Azula" Mai spoke for the first time and when Ty Lee tried to read her friend she found only staunch determination, summoning a familiar prickle behind her eyes.

"Oh, is that right? Must've been some amazing lies he spelled out to turn you against me."

"He didn't lie."

"Please, no..." But Ty Lee's words were drowned by Azula's laughter.

"Oh Mai, you really impress me, who knew that after all this time you had a traitor's spirit."

"It's not treason, Azula." Mai narrowed her eyes, taking a step forward. "I'm simply not afraid of you anymore."

"Just let us go, please." Zuko begged, his voice cracking.

"Please?" Azula repeated mockingly and then her hand burst into blue flames, the scroll turning to ashes in front of her. "After everything I did for you, bringing you back home, this is how you repay me?"

"Azula, we don't have to do whatever father wants, we..."

But the blue flames were already bursting from Azula's hand, making Ty Lee jump back in surprise at the violent punch. When she looked back, Zuko was already jumping away, and Mai's daggers were glinting as they speed under the moonlight.

"This is your choice big brother! Remember that when I give you something to remember me by!" She jumped, wheeling away from Mai's attack, creating a burst of flames that defended her from Zuko's fireball as Ty Lee watched everything, her knees trembling and feet planted in the sand.

"You guys..." She mumbled, trying to find her voice, not sure what she could say that would stop this. She wanted them to sit down and talk, she wanted to remind them of playing kuai ball together, and destroying that idiot's house. She wanted more tea afternoons with Mai, and Azula to smile at her and ask her how to flirt, she wanted… "Stop! Please Stop this!"

Zuko scream's cut her words down as he was launched back, barely able to shield himself from the blast, and suddenly Azula was running around towards Mai, her feet bouncing chunks of sand, as Mai threw dagger after dagger towards the moving target. And then Ty Lee saw it through her tears, the flames firing from her hand, the smile across her lips, as she sent them towards Mai, a blade of fire that cut open her sleeves.

She wants to kill them.

And before she knew what was happening, Ty Lee was moving.

It was a very subtle shift, the one she felt.

The moment they connected, the silent conversation under her eyes, and lingering exclusion of her own desires. Curious, she watched them, all her dear friends and brother, circling around the campfire, the flames cackling and spilling embers towards the sky, a fire that would've been much more lovely if it was blue.

Ty Lee was still silent, her eyes shaking, held back by some secret that was so only to herself, a boring one at that, and so obvious, like everything related to someone that wore their soul bare for anyone to see it.

Mai's question had been a simple one, a stoic inquiry of Ty Lee missing her circus.

"I suppose, I do miss it a little, not sure if I can explain it."

Azula sighed, the night filled with a heavy silence, the shadow of her family's house still there, peering at them over the cliffs and mounts, glaring at her with Zuko's stupid silence. Feeling cold, she let out a chuckle, because it was obvious and her failed idea of a party still tasted like ashes in her mouth.

"It's just that, it isn't easy growing up with six sister, you know? It was like I didn't even have my own name." Her friend had brushed aside a lock of her hair, her watering eyes looking away. "I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set, so, I mean, now, at least, I'm me… Right?"

From the side, Mai had smirked although it seemed almost bitter to her trained eyes. "Is that why you always have ten guys drooling after you?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Attention issues, I mean you never cared for any of them, right?" And Azula felt her body's almost squirming at the implication, as she watched the unfolding conversation. "Since you didn't had any attention as a kid, you're making up for it now."

Ty Lee scrunched her face, she was angry now. "Well, what's your excuse, Mai? You were an only child for fifteen years, but even with all that attention, your aura is this dingy, pasty, gray ..."

"I don't believe in auras." Ty Lee narrowed her eyes and Azula couldn't help but smirk. Mai apparently caught her reaction.

"You don't believe anything, Mai."

"Mai..." Zuko's hesitation in calling her name was curious, but it did seem to prompt an answer from her friend.

"I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you." She eyed the sky, her dark eyes falling into some far off memories of something sad. "You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well, it wasn't. I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted ... as long as I behaved and sat still, and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about."

"Well, that's it, then." Azula felt like pointing out. "You have a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything, and why you can't express yourself."

It was so obvious, such clear problem she had to wonder if Mai really didn't understand that about herself. For a moment, the frown that etched on her face was very real, she seemed almost ready to confront her, but as expected, she never did. She looked away.

"Well, that is two to go, and since were all in this little melodramatic journey, what are you gonna say dear brother?" She turned her eyes at Zuko, he had been listening only until now, as he confronted her gaze with his mismatched one. She had always wondered if his vision had been impaired by the burn, but never really asked. There was no telling why.

"Well, you seemed very sad, this whole trip." Ty Lee pointed out, and the sight of her brother's mouth smiling was odd to say the least.

"I suppose I am, I mean, what can I say? My father decided he should burn my face to teach me a lesson, and although I mostly can forget about it, it never really goes away. Even now, I'm still afraid of how suddenly things can go wrong, it can be paralyzing." He moved his hands around, producing a small flickering flame. "To speak truly, I don't think anyone ever grows up perfectly, we are all, damaged, I think, it took me a long time to understand there is no shame in that, in seeking friends who listen, in admitting to our fears."

"No shame?" Azula lifted her chin. "You have all just spent your time complaining about your lot in life, your lack of attention and your privilege, and now you, still strung up in the past even though you have everything you ever wanted."

"Pride is often the source of shame, that is what uncle said to me."

"That is true, I think." And Ty Lee looked at her, and then the other two as well, and suddenly she was the target, the last one left .

"What, you're waiting for something? I'm hate to disappoint you all, but I don't have sob stories like all of you. I could sit here and complain how our mom liked Zuko more than me, but I don't really care." She gazed upon the fire, fire was good, fire reminded her of what mattered. "My own mother thought I was a monster... She was right, of course, but it still hurt."

She didn't understand where those smiles came from suddenly, all she could see was a splintered shield giving sight of her weakness, something to never show, something to be ashamed of. She heard Ty Lee's whisper with name printed into it, and felt the sudden clarity of giving out to her rage, just a little, as they all went back to ruin a certain party, forgetting the weakness she had who. A Fire Princess had no weakness, she was perfection, even as it was stuck inside her throat, like a torn becoming fire as the girl screamed, rolling over the gray sand, clutching her burned arm like a lifeline.

For a moment, Azula didn't understand what had happened.

She had Mai where she wanted,

The little traitor was on the ground, vulnerable, and she could feel it deep inside, her chi burning, blowing out, ready to deliver rightful punishment for her crimes, just a burn, nothing more. Just something to remind Mai to never cross her again, to never dare give her that look.

But then, in a blur of pink, it was someone else on the ground.

It was her friend, burned.

Who burned her? Her mind asked, even as she felt her lungs clutching in need of air, the waves and skies disappeared, it was night, she couldn't feel the sun, but she could ask the question. Who burned her?

Mai was there before she knew it, getting Ty Lee to her feet. Her eyes were closed. She had gray eyes, she should open them, but then she would cry. She was always crying about something. Always. Stop crying! She wanted to scream. Crying is for the weak, but Mai was already glaring at her, a different glare than the one she tried to erase, now there was accusation simmering beneath those usually empty eyes.

It wasn't my fault. She wanted to scream… It was….

"GO!"

His scream was what woke her up, a desperate call that sent her friends scurrying away, their feet limping on the sand, as her brother's gaze met her in defiance.

Ember eyes, guilty eyes.

"This is your fault!"

The words made Zuko brace himself, falling into a stance that was purely defensive as he watched Azula snap out of her shock.

"This is your fault! You hurt her!" His sister screamed like a tygerdillo, she screamed like she had screamed so long ago, but not quite. This was different, Zuko realized, this time she wasn't slipping she was focused on one single goal. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"Azula… It wasn't..."

But the blue fire was already roaring his way like a attacking beast, and he barely reacted in time to build his own chi into a barrier, the impact alone pushing him back. There was no time to think. The first attack had barely hit home when the second came, and then a third, rage made into flames.

"Azula stop!"

But she didn't seem to be listening anymore as he had to jump back, his body falling into the old teachings of the dragons, bringing up his shields one after another and understanding by his laboring breath that he couldn't win this fight.

"Azula!"

No matter how much he knew, no matter his skill, he was still unused to this body, he was still lingering on weakness and unbalanced and Azula, all her rage didn't make her slow down, in fact it seemed to push her forward as she run at him.

"Die!" Cried out his sister, repeating the words in every jab. "Die! Die! Die die diediediediediedie..."

Her fist hit his own, jets of blue and ember dancing together, before more blue fire erupted and pierced the stone and the trees at his back, flames burning alive and soaring towards the sky, and then he was gasping, his knee screaming with sudden pain that traveled through his body and made him fall down shivering.

Cold and hot.

It had been years, decades, but he never forgot the feeling of a burn.

Still, he knew she was coming, and rolled away as the ash and sand burned bright where he had stood a moment ago. Still on the ground, Zuko threw a fist forward aimlessly, hoping to push her back, but Azula barely blinked as she run through the fire, the ends of her hair smoldering in ashes as energy cackled around her fingers. Gritting his teeth, Zuko stepped back, the lightning seemed to lit the beach with sparks, the air itself moving in waves as Azula's wide eyes bore into him. It was a shock, but for that first time in his life Zuko felt it.

His sister hated him.

With one simple look he felt when something rigid and cracked caved inside his chest. The realization that he had possibly made everything worse, sinking everything into a dark pit. It had all gone wrong. Azula spied on him and was now losing her mind much earlier.

"DIE!"

Azula screamed as Zuko stood still, his body frozen. Why couldn't he move? Why can't I move? He shivered, but his legs failed him.

She hated him.

He failed.

Suki, I'm sorry...

He closed his eyes just as the world tumbled away, muffling his ears with the booming discharge of power and then... Nothing.

Instead of the energy piercing through his body, he found only Azula being thrown back by her own power, the smoke of the explosion still dancing under the wind where she stood a moment ago.

Unbalanced.

He didn't wait for her to get up.

Whatever power made him freeze a moment ago lifted away, and he was running into the island, running through the roads and into the jungle.

Birds flew out of his way as his blurry vision found roots and stones on his path. He jumped, burned a bush, and found himself tackling something hard on the ground. He rolled with the other body, wondering how Azula had managed to get in front of him, and then scoffing at that same thought. She was Azula, she could do the impossible. He fell down a slope, and then hit his back against a trunk, losing the little breath he held to. Zuko was ready to hear her hateful voice again, but when she called his name, it was not alarm he felt, but something else, achingly good.

Blue eyes looked down on him, blue not ember, blue and filled with something he missed more than words could tell.

"You, Stupid Lord, what do you think you're doing? Are you all right?" She whispered in a hoarse voice, and Zuko chuckled offering her his own teary smile.

"I am now."