Disclaimer: I'm back And I still don't own Avatar. Phooey.

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The day seemed to crawl by. Murmurs in the halls of the palace were plenty and frankly, they were riding on Aang's nerves. The air was edgy as if everyone thought they were living in their final hours, but of course nothing had happened. Yet. Azula had been sighted in some backcountry around the outskirts of the capital. Details could not be drawn from the witness; he was still in disbelief. Everyone knew her face; everyone knew what it meant for the nation. The Avatar walked casually to the throne room where he knew where Zuko would be. He immediately spotted Iroh as he entered, sitting at a desk looking at maps. He looked like a different man, his brow furrowed in concentration, tiny spectacles resting on his nose. He looked up and smiled.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang."

"General Iroh." Aang clasped his hands together and bowed. He moved on past the desk to the throne at the end of the large, elaborate hall. The young Fire Lord was there, eyes closed tight, massaging his temples with his thumb and forefinger.

"Zuko." Aang called, eyeing the conflagration that never died behind the throne. Zuko looked up, and if he had been startled, he did not let it show. Aang smiled, but he was certain that it had turned out lopsided; Zuko was giving him that look.

"So tell me Avatar, what would you do in my situation?" Zuko spoke casually, but Aang couldn't help but notice the slight edge in his voice. Old wounds don't heal as fast as one would think.

"I would do no different from what you have said. It wouldn't be smart to try and ambush Azula. We don't know her exact location, condition, or intention." Aang said confidently, holding the brooding Fire Lord's stare. "She may not have her elite team anymore, she gave it up, but she is a force to be reckoned with on her own." Of course Aang knew about Azula's betrayal to Mai and Ty Lee. Not much went on unnoticed in the months after the fall of Ozai. Taking away Ty Lee's ability to walk was the cruelest punishment imaginable for the young acrobat. Aang supposed that at that point, Azula figured she had nothing to lose or gain by harming her alleged friend.

"Mmhmm…" Zuko grunted. It was getting late; the sun was setting. "Well, shall we go meet everyone for dinner?" He eyed Aang and rose from his throne. He went down to meet the Avatar and they walked out, followed by Iroh.

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After dinner, Katara and Toph were led to the new room that they would be staying in. Lady Mai suggested that they stay with Ty Lee for the remainder of their visit, for emotional support, she'd said. Not that either of them minded, but Ty Lee had changed so much. It wasn't exactly easy to talk to her without bringing up something that shouldn't even be whispered around her. Toph could understand, though.

" I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't walk." She'd commented.

"And if I couldn't see, I'd still be in the same situation but without my books." Ty Lee replied, smiling just slightly. She didn't want to be rude and moody around her new friends. Toph and Ty Lee yammered on the latter's bed, laughing and joking. Katara sat on the fluffy futon they'd brought in, gradually taking her hair down and occasionally interjecting into the conversation and laughing. It was late, the moon had passed the center of the sky when they finally put out the lanterns and called it a night. It had been the most fun Ty Lee had had in years and for a moment, she forgot all about her sorrow.

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Darkness was her friend this night, as it had been over the years. Being an exile was unsettling and the very notion left a bitter taste in her mouth. After rounding the world and back, she was ready. Five years of growing and maturing had left her different in many ways. Some good, some bad. Of course the definition of good and bad is ultimately determined in each persons' mind the way they believe it to be. It was simply a matter of interpretation. Crouching here, next to the palace, her feet bruised and bloody from the trek, she considered her options and decided to do what she did best.

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When Zuko entered his bedchamber, Mai was sitting in at her vanity brushing out her hair. He saw her look his way via the mirror and smiled. It's crazy how things work out. They never would have imagined five years ago that things would be this way. In fact, when Iroh suggested that Zuko marry a noblewoman so as not to cause an uproar of citizens and officials, Zuko had absolutely no idea who to choose. They tried everything from mask balls to simply making them come before the young Fire Lord and present themselves to him, all in order to find him a suitable wife. When Uncle suggested Mai, Mai, Zuko was most certainly not for the idea. Truthfully, she gave him the heebie-jeebies back then. Maybe it was because of Azula or maybe the way she looked at him. It wasn't horribly difficult to convince Mai to marry Zuko, but thrilled would not be the word to describe her reaction. Whatever feelings she had for him as a girl were ruled as a childhood infatuation in her mind for years. Mai realized then, at the altar, that those feeling were not gone. She even cried. Zuko remembered lifting her veil only to see tears. It startled him at first, and then he saw a smile on her lips and went in for the kiss. It was innocent and light and those present had cheered in celebration of their new Lord and Lady.

Zuko approached her after dressing in his nightclothes. She appeared much more tired than usual and he assumed that it was due to this mess about Azula. Mai stood to meet him and immediately entered into an embrace. They stood there in the lamplight for a time, listening only to the sound of their breathing. The young Fire Lord then took her hand and led her to the bedside. She brushed her lips tenderly against his.

"Good night, my Prince." Then they retired to bed.

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Aang was jarred from his slumber at around three in the morning. At first he thought that it was just because of Sokka's snoring. It sounded similar to truck downshifting on the highway, whatever that meant. He was just about to drift back to his dreams when he heard it. It was the tapping of bare feet on the tile in the hall. Aang rose from his bed and took up his staff. He tiptoed to the door and peered through the crack. What he saw was disturbing in the least. There was no person around to belong to the footprints, but the Avatar could see that they couldn't have gotten far. What at glance appeared to be mud was actually blood. Smeared, but recognizably bloody footprints laced the hall in an abstract fashion. There was no telling whom they belonged to and Aang wasn't positive that he wanted to find out. Confused in the least, the Avatar stepped into the hall and followed the crude trail. He stopped for a moment outside Ty Lee's room. Should he get Katara? Perhaps so. He knocked lightly and waited for an answer. Fortunately, Katara was the only one disturbed and she immediately recognized that the reason for his presence was not particularly frivolity. She grabbed her water pouch and followed Aang further down the hallway; neither of them spoke a word.

The trail led into the throne room and the couple braced themselves for what could possibly lie behind the ornate doors. The source of the cruor was apparent the moment they entered the room. A crumpled form lay face down on the floor, blood pooling at its feet and center. They approached cautiously, but nothing prepared them for what they saw. There, in the center of the Fire Lord's throne room, was the beaten and bloodied body of his worst enemy. Azula.

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I said it'd be here quick, did I not? I actually have it finished, but I decided to put it up bit by bit. ;D Thank you again, please review!