Well, here you go. I hope you'll like this.
Exactly one year after the second Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula, the Firelord took a day off from all of his duties. He walked alone up a worn path to the western edge of the caldera. A large golden statue was erected at the end of the path, looking down over the city with a fierce but beautiful expression.
Zuko kneeled in front of the statue and bent fire into the brazier around the statue. He looked at the wooden nameplate with wet eyes. The plate read: 火烈公主阿祖拉 (Fire Princess Azula).
"Azula." The thirty-one year-old Firelord whispered. "Thank you again for everything, sister." He gritted his teeth as memories flooded his mind.
"Have you heard? Assassins broke into the palace and killed the princess!" A loyalist ran into the dungeons under the palace, eyes wide.
"What?" The loyalist guards all gasped. "But how?"
"I don't know! Come quickly, though!" The loyalist said.
"What about the prisoners?" One of them asked, gesturing to Zuko, Kazura, Ursa, and Iroh.
"Their bending is suppressed." The informer said. "Leave them, and come quickly to the throne room!"
"Did you just hear that?" Zuko whirled around. "Azula…Azula's been assassinated?"
"Move, Zuko!" Iroh took a deep breath. "They should not underestimate us." He opened his mouth, and once again his fiery breath escaped him. The Dragon of the West blew the iron bars apart with his scorching fire breath, and the four of them quickly escaped. When they reached the upper parts of the palace, they headed to the throne room and found shocked loyalists surrounding a body. Zuko and Iroh quickly subdued the loyalists and Zuko shouted for palace guards, who quickly captured the loyalists.
"Bring them down to the dungeons." Zuko said harshly. "And leave us!" He said, making his way to the body on the throne. The four of them kneeled around the body of Azula. Her face was peaceful, a slight smirk still present, smug even in death. Zuko ripped her sleeve apart and touched her wrist. Her skin was still lukewarm.
"She passed recently." He said. Kazura had her head buried in Ursa's robes, and Iroh stared down at his niece in shock. Zuko's eyes burned, and he started to pick his sister up, when his eyes caught a glint of gold.
The headpiece of the Firelord and a note fell out of Azula's robes. Zuko set his sister's body down carefully and opened the note.
"What does it say?" Ursa whispered.
"The loyalists have all been taken care of. You can take care of your guards, Zuko. Go to my room and move my mirror. Behind it you should find a loose metal board. Open it." Zuko read.
"She knew." Iroh said sadly. "She knew we'd escape by nighttime, which is when the suppressants would wear off." He said. Zuko remembered Azula telling him that his bending would be gone for a day.
He let a sob escape his lips.
"We have to give her a proper burial first." He said, looking at the crown. "She never crowned herself." He suddenly realized. "I…I'm still Firelord even though she defeated me."
"As I said, she knew." Iroh said. "Come." He said. "We have much to arrange."
Zuko sobbed in front of the statue of his sister.
"I'm sorry, 'Zula." He choked. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you." He clenched his hands into fists and punched the ground, releasing a shout of agony. He remembered hurrying to Azula's room after the funeral.
Zuko opened the compartment behind the mirror and took out the scroll, untying the ribbon. His heart clenched when he realized that it was the ribbon his sister used to tie her hair with. He grasped it in his hands tightly and fought tears as he unrolled the parchment.
"Dear Zuzu," Zuko smiled sadly when he read this. Trust Azula to call him this even in a letter such as this.
"By now I'm probably dead. If you're reading this, I definitely should be." He read, laughing thickly. "Well, just so you know, these past two years I have been infiltrating the Triple Threats undercover, and I've kept in touch with the Loyalists. They both have different agendas. A year ago I learnt that Zolt was planning to assassinate you and then make quick work of Kazura. Obviously he did not expect me to come back to Caldera City. Yes, Zuko, I did it to protect Kazu. With you dead, she'll have to become Firelord, and she's too young, but don't take it badly, brother. I do love you enough to die for you too." He muttered. He smiled tearfully at her statement. It was so Azula.
"On the other hand, the Loyalists were planning for me to take over the throne. They concocted a good plan, I must admit. It fit with my plans perfectly. They infiltrated the palace and gave you bending suppressants so I could challenge you. As you know I did not crown myself, which means I was never Firelord, and you would still hold your title. By throwing you, Kazu, uncle, and mother into prison I knew you would be safe, and I also knew that the same night an assassin would be sent by Zolt, so I had to take your place."
"Azula…" Zuko whispered in shock. She did all of this for him? She risked her life for two years and destroyed her reputation in Republic City and then challenged him to an Agni Kai again…and finally died in his place. Biting back a howl of pain, Zuko looked at the letter again and read the rest of it with feverish eyes.
"I have a favor to ask of you, Zuko. See, when Kazu was five, I told her that I'd take her to see father. Before I left for Republic City I told mother that I had promised Kazu that she could see father, but the schedule of the enemies' plans were so tight that I couldn't fit anything in, and now…I never could. I just want to ask you to take Kazu and mother and see father together. I'm sorry I won't be there with you, but if I didn't die, you would not be alive either, so I have no regrets."
Zuko scanned the last part and sunk to his knees, letting the letter flutter to the ground. The words would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"I'm sorry I could not keep the promise I made to you twenty-five years ago, Zuzu." Zuko whispered, reciting the words that were burned into his mind. "Looks like you've finally beaten me." He whispered.
A hand came to rest on his shoulder, and Zuko looked up. Iroh's old, kind face looked down at him. Zuko turned, and saw his family and friends all gathered behind him. He looked at the ground again, tears running down his face.
"She was the bravest of us all in the end." Aang said quietly. After the news of Azula's death reached Republic City, he and the others dealt with Zolt and the triads quickly and effectively, using their rage and grief to fuel their attacks. They returned to the capital of the Fire Nation as soon as they finished rounding everyone up. After the truth of Azula's leave of absence was released, she was honored as a national and worldwide hero, an idol for children growing up all around the world.
"I never got to say goodbye." Zuko said quietly, wiping his tears away angrily. The memory of Azula was as fresh as ever, plaguing his consciousness and dreams even after a year.
"Dad, aunt 'Zula's always going to be in our hearts." Kazura said softly. "We don't have to say goodbye as long as she is with us, maybe not in body, but in spirit."
"Well said." Aang smiled. "Zuko, instead of mourning her, we should honor her instead." He paused. "I propose that today should be a national holiday celebrated in honor of Princess Azula." He declared. "What do you think?"
"I think it's wonderful." Ty Lee whispered, looking up at one of her oldest friends. The way the sun glinted on the statue made Azula's eyes come to life. It looked like the exact shade of gold her eyes were in real life. Ty Lee felt her heart clench, and hot tears threatened to overwhelm her composure.
"Yes. I think that will work." Zuko said, standing. He gazed at the statue, and everyone else looked up as well.
"I never thought we'd be here in a situation like this." Sokka stated. "I always thought Azula would either come out victorious and we'd be done for, or we'd never have to see her again."
"Fate is strange." Iroh said. "But we make our own destinies, and she made her own legend." He praised.
"When I first held her in my arms, I knew she was destined to be great, but after I was banished I always thought she would be great, but terrible." Ursa admitted. "But now, she's great, and respected…and loved." She said. Kazura grasped her grandmother's hand tightly.
"We should get back to the palace." Zuko said. "I'm going to do the paperwork and announce this today, so the people can benefit from a holiday right now." He said. Everyone nodded and began to walk away. Zuko lingered slightly, gazing at his sister's statue again.
Zuko's eyes glazed over as he looked at his sister's signature at the end.
"My eternal love and gratitude," Zuko read. "Azula." He finished.
"My eternal love and gratitude as well, Azula." He smiled, placing a hand over his heart. Then he turned and hurried after the others.
A soft wind blew across the caldera, and for a fraction of a second, the flames Zuko lit in the brazier blazed blue.
"I can't believe I've been dead for a year." A voice commented. Two figures watched the group walk away.
"Time flies when you're dead." The second figure said in an ancient and powerful voice.
"Was that supposed to be funny? Because it wasn't." The first voice snarked.
"Aren't you supposed to be a bit more respectful to your elders?" The second voice asked amusedly.
"Yes, well, when you finally told me who you were, you laughed at my reaction. I still resent you for that." The first voice said.
"It was to be expected."
Azula was cold. She has never felt so cold in her life. Her limbs were leaden, and when she tried to lift a finger, it felt like she was stuck in time. Sluggishly, her eyelids opened. A foggy sky greeted her, and she could feel something wet covering her entirely.
She groaned, and then sound came out small and defeated.
Suddenly, the foggy atmosphere dissipated and the sun shone through. Azula's body arched as fire raced through her veins. She rose above the ground, which she realized was the seaside. Steam curled off her as her heat evaporated any liquid left on her clothes or skin. Incredible power and warmth surged through her being, and her eyes glowed golden.
There was a roar from the heavens, and something approached her from the center of the sun. Azula squinted, still suspended in midair. As the creature came closer she gasped.
A pure white dragon raced towards her at an alarming speed. As it got even closer, Azula could see into its eyes. Amber met gold.
The dragon roared, and blue fire engulfed her. Yet she did not feel any pain. Through the inferno of blue, she could see the dragon still barreling towards her, and she closed her eyes when it impacted with her. She was driven backwards as the dragon somehow flew into her, disappearing into her.
As soon as its tail entered her, a bright white flash lit up the whole area, and Azula began to fall, losing consciousness.
When she next opened her eyes, she woke to see a great, ancient-looking red dragon peering at her with deep golden eyes. She yelped, sitting up, making the dragon recoil.
"Where am I?" She asked, surprised that her voice wasn't raspy. She regarded the dragon cautiously. Her uncle Iroh had slain the last dragon, so she was either dead or living a very bizarre reality.
"You are in the spirit world, my child." The dragon spoke in an old and wise voice.
"Hmm." She murmured. So she was dead after all. Then she remembered the assassin killing her with a poisoned dart, thinking that she was Zuko. Aha.
"Was it worth it, child?" The dragon asked.
"Yes, it was. I made three promises in my life that I truly meant." Azula said. "I could not keep two of them, but I honored the first to the word. I protected Kazura from the pressures of the throne with my life. If Zuko died, then she would have to take over the throne as per the rule regarding the ascension to the throne." She looked into the dragon's eyes again. "I have no regrets." She said simply, repeating what she had written to Zuko in her letter.
"Yet you never said goodbye, my child. Do you not at least feel a slight bit of regret for that?" The dragon asked.
"Yes, but what's done is done. They will understand." Azula said adamantly, standing. "And why do you keep calling me 'child'? I am the daughter of Ozai and Ursa, and nothing else." She said.
"Not even the princess of the Fire Nation? Conqueror of Ba Sing Se? Slayer of the Avatar? Wielder of the Spirit Flames?" The dragon asked coyly.
"The Spirit Flames?" The last words caught Azula's attention. She focused her attention on the dragon.
"My dear child, what is the color of spirit magic?" The dragon laughed. "It is blue, like your flames. When you were born, the spirits saw fit to gift you with the rarest color ever present in fire. Even the flames of life…" The dragon raised his head and breathed a blaze of red, gold, green, and purple into the sunny skies. "Even the flames of life are not blue. You were destined to be something great, Azula. Your mother knew this, but under the influence of your father the greatness was marred. The spirits miscalculated." The dragon sighed. "But here you are."
"Why is Kazu's fire blue, then?" Azula questioned.
"Indeed." The dragon sounded amusedly. "She was not blessed with the Spirit Flames by the spirits themselves, child." He said. "When you made the promise to protect her with your life, you transferred some of your life force to her, and therefore some of your powers. A promise like that is not to be taken lightly in the spirit world." The dragon said seriously. "To put it simply, when you died, Kazura found herself unable to bend blue flames anymore. When you died, your soul became whole again, and your life force came back to you. Nevertheless, your niece is an exceptional bender, child." The dragon's eyes twinkled at her.
"One last question." Azula said pensively. "You know so much about fire, and you're a dragon…who are you?" She asked.
"Child, have you not guessed?" The dragon laughed, spreading its great wings. He hovered in the air. "I am the origin of fire. I am the sun. I am life."
"I am Agni."
Azula glanced at the silent dragon next to her.
"Why are we here again? You just said you wanted me to come. It's only been a year." She said, tapping her foot.
"I have an offer for you."
YAY! Azula isn't completely out of the story! Woo!