I don't own ATLA.
II.
"Who… who's there?"
She'd been against the whole trip from the very beginning. She understood why her uncle Iroh decided to explore some so-called exciting spots in the Earth Kingdom. Pathetic, useless, but rich old persons used to do that all the time, and Iroh, after his failure at the Siege of Ba Sing Se, and dismissal from the Fire Nation Army, was the quintessential example of that kind of person.
It was also understandable why Zuko had wanted to accompany Iroh, given the strong bond between uncle and nephew. Also, Zuko has been feeling down ever since their mother… had gotten into trouble.
He had locked himself up in his room all the time, and Azula, who noticed lots of things which remained unseen to others, had observed that the signature glimmer, which was common among the children of her brother's age, had disappeared from Zuko's eyes without a trace.
What was most disturbing, that Ozai had insisted she should also join Iroh. Azula had the strange feeling, like a spike in the heart, that her father didn't want her in the palace any longer. Maybe she was way too curious about politics and the war going on, considering her age and gender…
Anyway, this place is just creepy… Incredibly interesting, but also incredibly frightening, she thought.
Semidarkness reigned over the great halls and narrow hallways, and the walls all around were covered with bookshelves, with thousands and thousands of books and scrolls on them. Azula was a smart child, and she liked to read… well, if it was impossible to gather information in any other way.
She was quite sure if she'd spent too much time in libraries reading books, the world she wanted to know about would be quite different when she'd finally come out from the library.
She became tenser, understanding someone was indeed here with her, and it was certainly not one of her relatives. And also not one of the soldiers coming along with them.
Moreover, Azula had the strange feeling it was not a human who was lurking around under the tall bookshelves. She could feel it in the air, hear the silence of the complete lack of breathing.
It was something utterly strange and unnerving to sense. The old and musty air of the library around her, which smelled like a mixture of the odor of dried-out feces dropped by various rodents, and mildew leading an accomplished and happy life on the sheets of paper, changed all of a sudden, without even moving an inch.
Azula could imagine an invisible thing standing in the corridor, letting the smelly air to flow across its body and to take its terrible, unearthly moist with.
She felt goose bumps appearing on her limbs as she realized if Death had a stench, it would be definitely something like this. She couldn't tell where this thought came from, though.
She considered running away, which was really unlikely; usually others were running from her.
Azula was not a coward. Even the ones who hated her admitted that. But she did fear of things she didn't understand.
And spirits were definitely such things.
Stabbing a human with a knife could easily destroy him or her. But doing the same thing to a spirit wouldn't cause the same outcome.
On the other hand, a spirit which crossed the vast between their world and ours could do serious harm to a human. And no matter how often did Azula cheat in various games, this behavior seemed to be a bit unfair even to her.
"We are here with the permission of Wan Shi Tong" said Azula, pulling herself together. She wanted to take control of the situation, no matter how afraid she was.
Running away would just show she was easy prey.
"I think you should talk to him about whatever complaints you have in connection with us being here. And by the way, I would like to ask you to leave me alone, and let me read in peace. Thank you!"
"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you!"
At the end of the hallway, a tall figure leapt out of thin air.
"Though I do understand that something makes people feel… uncomfortable in my presence".
The spirit (because it was quite clear now that it was a spirit) arrived at the luminous circle drew by the crimson and orange flames Azula was bending.
"Father?"
It looked very much like Ozai, and it was really different at the same time. The main difference was in its motion: the spirit-Ozai walked with some weird, mechanical movements, like Azula's father after drinking too much spirit.
The creature looked at the young girl standing before it, and it smirked. Azula felt the color draining from her face. The spirit's smile was so similar to Ozai's, it could totally fool Azula, if there weren't the terrible smell and the odd movements.
The man in front of Azula begun to shrink, and the girl took a step backwards instinctively. It was quite extraordinary to see her father becoming a young boy in mere seconds, the process coming to a stop only when he reached age nine or ten.
The child Ozai looked almost like Zuko, save the bit round face and the features which forecasted the appearance of the future Fire Lord. But their build, hair and eyes were much the same.
"I hoped we shall find a common ground easier this way" told the spirit ", Princess Azula, daughter of Ozai".
"So you know my name" said the girl with a frown.
"I know many things about you".
"Well, then it would be kind of you, if you'd tell me yours. If you have one, of course…"
"In the Spirit World, I'm called Jianzhu Shí".
"The Architect…" mumbled Azula. "So, let me guess. It was you who built this library, right?"
"Oh, no, no" answered the spirit, using the immature voice of the young Ozai, and then he let out an inhuman, screeching laugh. Azula wanted to cover her ears with her palms, but her instinct told her she shouldn't. "This library was designed by a long deceased master, a human. A humble subject of a forgotten empire. He built this building… but he did not create the library in it. The library had existed in the Spirit World since the very beginning of time. This building was only needed to make it capable of existing in this world as well".
"Then why…"
Soft noises were to be heard, as others were walking through the hallways nearby, and this time they were human beings. Soon, their voices reached the girl's ears as well:
"Azula! Where are you?"
She looked away for only a second, but it was fairly enough for Ozai to get replaced, and Azula was now looking into her own cold, hollow, amber colored eyes. Her doppelganger was even dressed into the same crimson gown as her.
"It was a pleasure to talk to you, and I wish we'd had more time" said the spirit." But you see, we don't. And I've been waiting far too long to let you leave without me!"
And with that, the intentions of the spirit became as clear as day to Azula. She would be the host for the Architect, just like the building was the home of the library….
"But… why?" inquired Azula, startled. "Why obsess me?"
"I'm the Spirit of Progression" said the fake-Azula. "And I need someone who wants a better world, by any means necessary. You are such a person, aren't you? You want to make fundamental changes, don't you? I can give you all the power you need to reach your goals!"
These words were like music to Azula's ears. It was everything she wanted. Strength, to be able to deal with the imperfection and narrow-mindedness, which she had to face every single day.
And she knew that even power alone won't be enough. People wouldn't understand her noble efforts, her vision, and she'd have to move forward inch by inch, crumbling their resistance with well placed hammer blows…
She was terrified at the thought a spirit would occupy her body, because it was impossible to foresee the effects of that. But she did know that if Jianzhu Shí would not obsess her, she would become the wife of a ridiculous moron twelve years older than her…
"You'd already decided" said the spirit, lurking closer.
Azula didn't even realize, but both of them held up their hands, and the fire she was bending all along now blew out.
But darkness never fell on them, given the eerie blue light which glimmered around the hands of each of them, and when their palms finally connected, a blinding flash of azure brightness filled the black void around the two Azulas.
Azula fell onto her knees, due to a sudden nausea. There was a terrible cramp in her guts, and her muscles trembled as pure energy rushed through her small body. She wanted to cry out loud, but not even a single note was able to leave her dried-out throat.
She felt warm liquid flowing down her leg, and she realized she'd wetted herself.
When the pain subsided, Azula slowly managed to get onto her feet. She was dizzy and felt like throwing up, but she could feel something else as well.
She held out a hand, palm upwards, and inhaled deeply. A small, bluish flame appeared above her palm, not bigger than candlelight, but it was so mind-blowingly warm Azula thought it'd burn her brows if she'd leant too close to it.
She felt unnaturally calm and confident, considering the uneasy situation. She knew for sure that everything will be all right.
She put out the fire, and laid herself at the bottom of a bookshelf, right before the light of a different fire arrived at the spot where she was standing before.
Two people appeared at the end of the corridor, alongside with the flames: a short one, and a bit taller one.
"Ah, there you are! You shouldn't have left us! This library is dange…" Iroh suddenly ceased to speak. "Azula!"
Iroh ducked next to the girl lying in fetal position with her eyes shut, and he checked her pulse. Azula was smiling secretly as Iroh's hand wandered to her forehead. It was not a big deal to make the naturally high body temperature of a firebender even higher.
"She has a fever" said an upset Iroh.
"She also wetted herself" Zuko pointed out, almost joyfully.
"Don't be so insensitive, Prince Zuko!" said Iroh strictly. "She'd probably caught one of those nasty tropical infections".
Iroh gathered the light body of Azula into his arms, and he started walking towards the same direction he arrived from, with Zuko following him.
"Another reason for leaving. We'll show her to the doctor, once we'll get back to the camp".
Oh no, I knew I'd miss something! Seems like I'll still have to invent a good explanation about what happened, after all, Azula thought, and she tried to lie in her uncle's arms as limply as it was possible.
"You've heard it. I want you to bury this building. And you can quote any price you want, I'll pay. This is the best offer you'd ever gotten, I'm sure about that".
The leader of the Sandbenders seemed to be puzzled, as he rubbed his head, covered with a dusty turban, before spitting.
"Even if we could do that… There are other people who want to come here. They pay a lot every time. And they are coming frequently enough to provide a living to our whole tribe".
"Maybe I wasn't clear enough" said Iroh, with mannered calmness in his voice. "You'll bury this library, to prevent anyone from finding it again. Otherwise, I'll come back with a battalion tomorrow, and wipe your tribe out of existence".
The tall desert dweller, dressed in old clothing ruined by the unwelcoming environment he had to live in, stared at the chubby firebender for a while through his goggles before answering:
"We will do our best, Sire. But it will be expensive…"
"That is not your concern. Now, why don't we go back to the Oasis, have a glass of iced tea, and work out the rest of our agreement?"
While the Sandbenders and the soldiers were climbing up to the slightly unstable Sand-Sailors, Iroh went to gather the kids.
He caressed Zuko's raven hair, while looking upon the humongous marble palace of knowledge standing in front of them.
"It has to go" he mused to himself. "The secrets of this library mean danger to the whole world if they fall into wrong hands".
So here's part two. I understand that maybe some of you wanted to see some TyZula, or at least Ty Lee appearing. Well, I won't ship them since they are freakin young in this fic, but I can write write an extra scene to part three with Ty Lee included, if you want. Please, let me know!