Hey! I noticed some of the other authors doing this and thought, "Hey, that's not a bad idea!"
So here I am.
Hope you guys like the story so far. I'm aiming for about 10 chapters, so settle in.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender. Support the official release, cause it's badass.

{Azula}

Her hair was standing on end. She could feel the battle atmosphere beginning to set into the air.
Azzazle's clenched fists and grinding teeth told her that he had a bitter history with this lone waterbender.

"Captain Zhang, wake the crew, Kortaka can't of stopped this ship alone, I'd say his here with other waterbenders who've immobilized the ship, we cannot allow this vessel to be damaged so deep in Fire Nation waters!"

"Agreed," said the captain with a nod. Azzazle suddenly turned to Azula.
"Take the princess here back to her room; I want two imperial firebenders at her door until the crisis is averted."

They all began to disperse, and the captain announced the attack on loudspeaker whilst ringing the alarm. Azula watched Azzazle begin to descend the stairs, but he paused midway and turned around.
"Oh, and Kortaka is mine, no-one is to interfere!"
"Of course!" the captain yelled back at him. "Azula! Follow me!" he said, taking off down the stairs.
Azula hesitantly let her legs carry her after Zhang.
I won't be going back to my room just yet.
They were almost back at her room, Azzazle taking a quick path to the deck. She slowed down so that she could create a blind spot between her and the captain as they turned down the halls. When he turned the last corner, she had enough space to dart down a different corridor without him noticing.
She headed towards the deck, determined to see how Azzazle would handle a waterbender at night.

{Azzazle}

He took a deep breath. He knew Kortaka was only here for him, but if he found out she was on board, the consequences would be more than he could bear.
He grabbed the accommodation door wheel, and took a deep breath before turning it open.

He stepped out on deck, and Kortaka was still standing there waiting for him. The waterbender was much older than him, around his thirty's Azzazle guessed. He was physically strong, well-toned muscles under his wolf pelt robes, but no helmet to obscure his vision. He had strong cheek bones, and a face lacking any cheerful expression. His black hair was accompanied by two sets of locks on either side of his face, as his long overgrown warrior's wolf tail flickered in the wind, and his blue eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, grimaced back at him.

Azzazle took another deep breath before speaking.
"Kortaka," he said, his voice fading slightly. "Your skills at tracking me are legendary."
Kortaka stared back at him, his eyes filled with hatred. Azzazle knew that Kortaka wanted to hurt him, but it was more than that. Kortaka wanted him to suffer, wanted him to truly suffer, as he had.
"Your skills at running away are equally legendary, murderer," he replied, his fists clenching.
Azzazle sighed, a fight was inevitable. He had tried to negotiate before, but Kortaka wouldn't listen to reason.
"When will you stop? When I'm dead? Will that make you a happy man?" Azzazle said, his voice trembling.
Kortaka slowly shook his head.
"The day I stop hunting you, will be the day the sun rises in the west, and sets in the east. It will be the day were the ocean tips over the walls of Ba Sing Se, and the world ends in ice on the day of Sozin's comet. It will be the day the South Pole meets the North Pole, and the spirits sing hallowed songs of the demise of men. There is nowhere you can run, nowhere you can hide, where I won't find you. You will spend every day of the rest of your life looking over your shoulder to make sure that I am not there, watching you, waiting until the sun goes down, to come for you. Death is your only escape from my wrath."

Chills shot up Azzazle's spine, as his body became riddled with goosebumps. He knew that Kortaka would keep his word, but despite this. He couldn't bring himself to kill him, because, in a way, he had created this monster.
Azzazle raised his hands into a battle position, an advanced style of firebending.
"One night, Kortaka, you may have my blood, but not tonight."
Kortaka immediately reacted, throwing multiple water whips at Azzazle from the puddles on deck. He clenched his teeth, diving out of the way just in time, as the whips turned to icy knifes and struck where he was standing. He retaliated with a fire blast aimed at Kortaka's legs, but the waterbender was fast and powerful, and created a pillar of ice underneath him, lifting him off the deck some 10 feet in the air. He began bending a barrage of waves trying to pin Azzazle down. He gasped, as he tried to fend off a freezing wave that had connected him, and hardened into ice, trapping his hands against his chest. He quickly responded, exhaling hot air from his nose, melting the ice to free his hands. Kortaka was charging at him now, but Azzazle blasted himself free of the ice, and rolled to the starboard side, dodging an ice spear that would have pierced his heart a second earlier.
He had burned himself in the process, but he was alive, and Kortaka wasn't near done. Kortaka turned, and slashed at him with two horizontal ice knifes, one at his feet, and one at his head. Azzazle jumped, ending up just between the two, and watched as the top ice blade glided inches above his eyes. He extended his legs, firing a concentrated blast at the waterbender while he was off guard, but he blocked it with another ice pillar, which he quickly converted into a wave of slashing ice as Azzazle hit the deck. He rolled away again, and rolled backwards, flipping himself back onto his legs to give himself some space from the deadly waterbender.
Kortaka, attacked again, roaring as he charged towards him.
Azzazle clenched his fists and pulled them side by side to his stomach, to give him more balance. He proceeded to unleash a volley of fire balls at him with his legs. The waterbender was incredibly agile; he created a series of ice walls and slid across them avoiding all the blasts, only blocking one or two fireballs with waterbending when he absolutely had to. Azzazle jumped, launching one more in the intended path of Kortaka's ice wall, but Kortaka had read the attack and had dismounted half way through, and launched a straight stream of ice directly at him. Azzazle's feet met the deck again, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the blow as it cut into his right shoulder. He clutched it whilst withdrawing, closing his right eye in pain. Kortaka began waving his hands, as a wave formed behind him, and began washing onto the deck.
"You can't defeat me! Not like this! Not with the full moon tomorrow night!" Kortaka yelled, in an almost insane ecstasy of power.
Azzazle didn't like it, but Kortaka was right.
I have to think of another way. I need to avoid his bending.
Kortaka suddenly directed his hands at Azzazle, as the wave on deck charged towards him.
Azzazle quickly hatched a plan. He launched himself with his firebending into the air like a rocket, avoiding the wave and bringing a pillar of fire down onto Kortaka with the flame from his legs. The waterbender sheltered himself with a umbrella of water. Azzazle landed, rolling forward and launching a powerful fire ball at him. The waterbender quickly pulled the water in front of him, as the fire connected it a spilt second later. The fireball combusted with huge force as the elements met, creating a thick steam. He broke off his attack and charged to the side, masking himself in the mist, and running at Kortaka's last position. Kortaka bended the steam into a ball of water above him, but Azzazle was now close enough to attack him. Kortaka's eyes lit up in surprise as Azzazle appeared in front of him out of the fog. Azzazle slid on the deck, as Kortaka converted the ball of water above him into ice shards which he brought down on him, but Azzazle was quick, and had slid through Kortaka's legs, and sprung to his feet behind him.
I've never done this on a human in a fight before… I hope this works.
Kortaka spun around, but Azzazle side stepped him, and began his attack. He hit Kortaka in several places, making his limbs go limp and his bending seize up. Kortaka swung his free arm around, and pulled it towards Azzazle. The puddle at Azzazle's feet rippled, but nothing happened.
"What did you do to me?" he shrieked, his anger, wild and uncontrolled at his sudden inability to bend. Azzazle ignored him, and leaped forward, connecting him in the face with his fist. Kortaka staggered back against the gunnel, clutching his face in surprise, and Azzazle jumped up, making contact with both legs on his chest, launching him over the side of the ship and into the water below. The ship suddenly lurched, as it began to steam again. Azzazle rushed over to the gunnel, looking back at Kortaka being helped onto a small water tribe ship. Kortaka met his eyes as he was being pulled aboard, but Azzazle was clever enough to slow him down. He fired two concentrated fire balls at the mast of the ship, burning two sizeable holes in the sail before the waterbenders put it out.
He exhaled, falling back onto the deck, his heart beating so loud he could barely hear his breathing. He was amazed to see what a beautiful night it actually was. The stars were twinkling, as he watched one shoot across the sky, and the moon was nearing full in the distance.
"Well, you can handle yourself can't you?" her voice asked, making him turn towards her.
"Where did you learn to block Chi?"

{Azula}

She was amazed that the firebender was able to best the waterbender in such a hostile environment.
She strutted on over to where Azzazle was laying, just as Zhang appeared behind her.
"Sorry Azzazle, she slipped away from me," he said apologetically.
Azzazle was still panting, and responded with a nod.
"A little trick I picked up from my teacher," he said. Azula raised her eyebrow.
"Ahh, the mysterious blue and white hooded man," she recalled.
Azzazle smiled, and looked up at her face.
"What did you think of my firebending?" he asked sincerely.
She scoffed.
"Average," she lied with a smile.
His skills easily surpass advanced firebenders.
"However," she continued, seeing Azzazle's attempt to mask his disappointment under a snicker.
"I'm curious to find out who taught you, your form is… different," she said, as a description for his form failed her.
Azzazle grunted, slowly pushing himself to his feet.
"I had many teachers," he summarized.
Azula looked at his right arm, and noticed a stream of blood running down from his shoulder and dripping on the deck.
"You're bleeding," she added with a pointed finger.
"Oh? Oh! That!" he said, looking at the cut on his shoulder. "That's nothing, but I think I will need to run these burns under some water," he said, gesturing to his knees, which Azula had seen him burn as he blasted himself free from the ice.
"You burned yourself? That's sloppy," she said folding her arms.
"Perhaps you should show me some of your firebending then?" he said, walking past her and heading to the accommodation deck. Her stomach jolted at the insult, but she found herself with a silly grin on her face.
"Maybe I will."

Azula walked into the medical room to see the cook stitching Azzazle's cut. He greeted her with a wink, and she slowly sat on a chair opposite the room.
"So, are you going to tell me who the waterbender was? And why his trying to kill you?"
The look on Azzazle's face changed into a guilty frown.
"No. Let's just say that I wronged him, the less you know about Kortaka, the better. His apart of my bitter history, not yours."
Azula ignored the statement.
"It must have been something truly terrible for him to pursue you so tenaciously ."
Azzazle closed his eyes, regret plaguing his face. Azula felt a sudden empty feeling in her chest.
Is this… Am I feeling sorry for him?
"This isn't about me," he said, raising his head and looking at her. "This is about helping you,"
he said with a smile.
She smirked.
"We'll see. The moment this ship reaches land, I'm leaving."
Azzazle shook his head.
"Oh really? And go where? To the royal palace and challenge your brother to an Agni Kai? How will you get to the Fire Nation? Via ship? With what coin? You don't think people won't recognize the princess of the Fire Nation and turn you in?"
"Am I so much safer here with you?" she debated with a sly smile.
"You are! I'm not sure if you've noticed, but you don't exactly have the resources that were available to you eighteen months ago!
Azula opened her mouth to argue, but no words reached her.
"That's what I thought," he said, standing up as the cook finished his stitching. As he stood, his robe fell to the ground, and Azula's eye's widened to see that he had several scars and burn marks all over his body. She began to study them all, when Azzazle interrupted.
"It's rude to stare," he said jokingly.
She snapped back to reality, feeling her face heat up.
"No! I- It's just! You look like a chopping board," she said jabbing the insult at him to cover her embarrassment.
To her surprise, Azzazle laughed at the comment.
"After this many run-ins with Kortaka, I feel like one."
She smiled at his ability to take her insult.
"All of these scars are from the waterbender?" she asked inquisitorially.
"Not all of them. The burns are mostly my fault, but all these cuts are his handiwork," he said pointing at the three most noticeable scars.
"This one was the first time Kortaka came after me," he said, pointing to a horizontal scar that reached from his front to his back on the left side.
"I tried to jump out of the way, if I stood still, he'd probably have cut me in half."
She grinned.
"That's only a scratch," she said.
Azzazle smiled back at her.
"Compared to this one, it was," he said, pointing to the one adjacent to his heart.
"He jumped me when I was sleeping overnight at a hot springs. He wanted to cut off my head, but I woke and palmed off his attack, and Zhang was in the next room so he cleared off fast when he failed."
Azula raised her eyebrow.
"Didn't stop him from attacking you on a ship full of your allies," she added.
Azzazle pointed at the next scar on his abdomen, which was diagonal across his six pack.
"This one was after an extended battle with some pirates. He attacked me while I was resting after my escape. I burnt one of his legs pretty bad and managed to get away. That was the only time he attacked me during the day."
Azula nodded in approval.
"So his far from stupid, I understand, he attacks you when you are at your weakest. What about the one above your eye?"
Azzazle ran his finger over the long cut, which was the size of his eyebrow. He closed his eyes before speaking.
"This was the first physical scar Kortaka gave me," he said, slowly stroking it with his finger back and forward.
"Physical?" she echoed.
Azzazle walked towards the door, before stopping and turning towards her.
"Get some rest Azula. It's going to be a long journey."

One week later…

{Zuko}

He stepped off the docker and onto the wharf of the Asylum Island. He could see the Warden being escorted to the wharf by two guards. He had not told them that he would be arriving so soon.
Zuko had chosen to go onto the Island alone, but his adviser, who had joined him on the dock, suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me Firelord. The Avatar has returned your message, and he will meet you at the palace with his former companions as you instructed. He should only be two weeks off the Fire Nation."
Zuko nodded.
"Very good," he said, containing his excitement to see the group again.
The Warden walked up to him, and along with his guards, fell into a deep bow.
"Welcome Firelord. We did not expect your arrival for another week," he said, with an obvious nervous chuckle.
Zuko returned a slight bow.
"My apologies, but time is of the essence if we want to pick up Azula's trail."
"Of course Firelord," he said with a gesture. "Shall we walk?"
Zuko nodded again as the made their way up the dock.
"I want to see the room my sister was in, I want to speak to the guards and orderly's who had contact with her before her escape, and I want you to fill me in on any details they leave out."
"O-of course!" said The Warden. "We… Uhh… Know your sister didn't escape on her own; she had an accomplice from the outside. A firebender, at that, possibly with the assistance of an earthbender."
Zuko stopped in his tracks, as his stomach jolted.
"An earthbender?"
"Yes Firelord. They escaped out of a tunnel which was dugout down the hall from your sister's cell. We hypothesized that it must have been dugout over time, when the guards were changing shifts, so no-one would notice the noise. Then the firebender blasted through on the day of the escape and went in alone."
The Warden continued to re-tell the story as they ascended up the mountain. They entered the Asylum, and began they're rounds through the wards. Zuko was shocked at the state of the facility. The rooms were dark, cramped, and usually lacking sunlight. The patients were huddled in corners, whispering and muttering to themselves. He could hear laughing far off down the hallway, which turned into an insane crackling scream.
Zuko stopped, turning on the Warden, his anger slowly rising.
"Take me to the room where you kept my sister," he said sternly, piercing the Warden with his glare.
"O-Of course Firelord! Whatever you wish," he said with a stutter.
They began descending into the mountain until they reached a small row of rooms.
"This is the D Ward Firelord Zuko. We keep our most dangerous prisoners here."
Zuko turned on the Warden, his anger had reached boiling point.
"Patients."
"Excuse me Firelord?"
"Patients! These people aren't prisoners! They're sick! And these conditions you're subjecting them to… They're terrible! Worst then The Boiling Rock and the Royal Prison put together!"
The Warden trembled, and Zuko had just realized that he had advanced on him so far that the Warden's back was against the wall.
"F-forgive me Firelord! But funding is so low! All the Fire Nation's taxes are sent to the re-building effort in the Earth Kingdom!"
Zuko's eyes widened as a terrible realization had struck him.
Am I turning a blind eye to the suffering of my own people?
He backed off the Warden, seeing the genuine fear riddling his face.
"Just! … Just take me to my sister's room," he said, proceeding down the hallway with a sigh.
"O-o-of course Firelord! Your sister's cell was the last room at the end to your left! I will go retrieve her orderly and the guard on duty right away!"
Zuko proceed to the room until he was standing in front of the metal door. He took a breath, grabbing the handle and opening it with a creak.
The room was dark, and extremely unremarkable. The walls were jagged stones, and the only accessory was a bed suspended off the ground by rotting wood to his right. He walked in, he could imagine Azula in here losing her mind, and the thought sickened him. He walked up to the back wall, to see that there were sizeable holes in the stone. He ran his hand across them, looking down at the floor.
Chains use to be here.
He could hear a drip far off down the hallway, and with it, the sounds of footsteps nearing.
They reached the door, but Zuko didn't turn. He began speaking softly to himself.
"I guess it's no secret I don't hold much love for my sister. But this… I wouldn't wish this on her… I wouldn't wish this on anyone."
"No Firelord," agreed a voice behind him, but Zuko ignored it.
"After I finish my inspection, I'm shutting this Asylum down, and re-building one outside that will be better suited to help the mentally sick, and…" he said turning to face the Warden, who was accompanied by a guard and an orderly.
"And if I so much as hear a rumor of this kind of cruelty again," he growled.
"I will have you all banished."
They all shuffled uncomfortably, as Zuko slowly let his anger die.
"These uhh… These are the two men who were present for your sister's escape."
The guard and orderly stepped forward with a bow.
They began to re-tell the story, and Zuko simply stood there, studying them with golden eyes, nodding occasionally and listening to every word they said.
"Then he shot a ring of fire at as, and proceeded to escape on a Explorer Class Fire Nation ship. Our ships were docked on the opposite side of the island, and by the time we prepared them, they were long gone," said the guard, finishing his tale.
Zuko nodded one final time.
Who would do this?
"Is there anything more you can tell me about the infiltrator? Did you see his face?"
The guard shrugged, scratching his head.
"Uhh, no Firelord. He was a firebender, he was fast and smart enough to infiltrate the Asylum and make a quick getaway, and he was wearing a white and blue hooded cloak, and that's about it."
Zuko suddenly jolted at the last description.
"What? A white and blue cloak? Are you sure? A navy blue? With a white collar?"
"Uhh, yes. Yes Firelord… How did you know?"
Zuko couldn't believe it. He stood stunned for a moment, as the picture of the cloak became clear in his head.
"I've seen those colours before… On the day of Sozin's comet," he said, his fear being realized.

"The Order of the White Lotus."