-Inside Jasmine dragon -

The small group up of children had grown from a just a mere four to a huddle of ten, sitting quietly mesmerized. Even more amazing, the tables full of adults closest to Iroh's group ended their conversations to just to make sure they didn't miss a single word.

"Ozai realized far too late that a lust for power breeds betrayal." Iroh stated "An ambitious man like Lo Pan would never willingly give up such power. Why serve a Fire Lord when you could become one?"

"But what could make Lo Pan so powerful?" asked Hui "Just a piece of crystal?"

"The Phoenix of Shi was no mere piece of crystal" Iroh explained "It was once a tool of the spirit world made for the most noble of purposes. However, it had been brought to the mortal world and became a weapon of fear and destruction. The very first avatar, realizing the danger it posed, broke it in 3 pieces and scattered them to the winds, in the hope that they would never be found"

"But Ozai said he only had two pieces, right? " asked Tai

"That's correct" said Iroh pouring another cup of tea "Years of searching only produced two pieces, the head which increased his bending 100 fold and the body which allowed him to travel to the spirit world without restriction. It is a frightening thought to have a man like that, a man whose ambition and cruelty far exceeded even Princess Azula, wield such power"

"Speaking of Princess Azula, whatever happened to her?" asked Lan "Didn't Zuko banish her"?

"No..." Iroh said sadly "After losing the Agni Kai to her brother, the one small shard of sanity she had shattered into a million pieces. But Zuko still cared for his sister, even after everything she had done. It seemed too cruel to banish her in her condition. So he sent her to a place on a nearby island so that she might recover"

"A... CRAZYHOUSE !?."

Iroh sighed "More or less..."

Chapter 2

The Escape

It was hard to believe that the filthy ragged mess in the cell was the once powerful Princess Azula. Despite the having the finest healers in the fire nation monitoring her around the clock, she showed no signs of getting better. Her brilliant gold eyes that were once filled with refinement and self-confidence had dulled to blank cold stare. Her hair grew into a long lopsided tangled mess. Dark circles formed under her eyes from lack of sleep. She lost a lot of weight from refusing to eat much, despite the healer's assurance that the food was not poisoned.

"They want me gone...They betrayed me..." she thought over and over.

Pulling her knees to her chest, she rocked back and forth, tears welling up in her eyes. She never felt safe, knowing that someone was always out to get her. But worse she felt utterly and totally alone. Feeling her tears slide down her face, she erupted in anger. Angry at herself for being so weak and angry at everyone who betrayed her. Screaming in frustration, she furiously blasted fire at the walls of her small padded room, but the fireproof walls did little more than singe slightly. Collapsing in a heap, she vowed to make herself strong again.

"I don't need friends or family, they just betray you and plot to kill you" thought Azula sinking deeper and deeper into her delusions

Little did she realize, that tonight her rantings would ring ever so true, just not who she thought it would be. Before his death, Ozai ordered the demise of his once favored daughter. Lo Pan thought it fitting to grant the late Firelord's last request. It wasn't out of any loyalty, it was that insane or not, Azula posed a great threat his plans. Therefore she must be eliminated.

A small team of black armored soldiers landed their war balloons on the small island. A chorus horrific unnatural howls filled the air as they stormed the small facility. The sounds of death and agony filled that halls of the small tower as the healers and patents were viciously cut down. Their orders were simple, no mercy and no survivors.

Azula clamped her eyes shut as she heard a healer beg for his life and his cry of horror when they refused. It was then that She knew that Mai must have planned this, perhaps in retribution for sending her to the boiling rock to rot. It had to be, because Zuko didn't have the brains or the killer instinct to pull it off alone.

For the very first time in her life Azula, felt utterly helpless and extremely frightened. Her heart jumped into her throat as she realized, this was one situation she couldn't control. However she had no intention of going quietly

They kicked her cell door open, filling her room with a blast of red hot fire. When the smoke cleared Azula was nowhere to be seen. Quickly jumping down from the ceiling, quickly dispatched her would be assassins. No fire bending, no perfect movements, just wild feral slashing that only madness and a strong will to survive can bring. Racing out the cell she slammed the heavy door shut using her fire bending to weld the edges shut.

Running down the hallway, her heart raced. The only thought in her mind was "Survive", nothing else mattered. Reaching the court yard of the complex, she stopped. The months of imprisonment had taken their toll on her, as her eyes snapped shut gasping for air. Finally opening her eyes, they widened in fear at her predicament.

She was surrounded...

Katara and Appa were fighting a losing battle. The fires weren't coming any closer to being put out and the air was becoming thick with smoke and war balloons. She hated herself what she was about to do, but there was no other choice, get the others and run.

Sokka and Suki fought bravely guarding the citizens escape route but there was just too many of the soldiers. Looking at each other, they silently agreed to destroy the tunnel entrance saving the people but dooming themselves to a likely death. Tossing his new boomerang, Sokka caused a small cave in sealing the tunnel shut. Kissing Suki, Sokka prepared for his last stand. Just as the soldiers moved in for the kill, Katara and Appa swooped down knocking the unnatural fire benders in every direction. Both sighing in relief, they quickly hopped into Appa's saddle as the mighty air bison took to the air.

Toph had a feeling she bit off just a bit more than she could chew. No matter how hard she tried the tanks kept coming. And she was getting tired, there was not much left in her. Just as things felt bleak, she felt herself grabbed, being lifted off her feet, and pulled into something made of carved wood and leather, Appa's Saddle. Closing her eyes in relief, she silently thanked her hero, Sokka.

The roof Zuko was on was becoming unstable and dangerous due to the repeated barrages of fire from the war balloons. He winced as he felt the roof sway and coughed as the choking smoke entered his lungs.

"Zuko! Hop On!" Sokka yelled holding out hand

Just as he was lifted into Appa's saddle, the roof under him collapsed feeding the huge fire below. Zuko silently gave thanks for such good friends

Aang was weakening fast, and worse he still couldn't enter the avatar state. The waves and waves of soldiers seemed endless. Just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he's helped up by his escort of royal palace guards. Just as they are overrun with soldiers, Appa landed nearby. Zuko, Katara and Toph hopped out using their bending to keep the mass of soldiers at bay as the guards help Aang into the saddle.

"Okay" said Yang, the captain of the guard "The avatar is safe, Fire Lord Zuko. We'll cover your escape"

"No" said Zuko "We'll cover yours! Take the hidden tunnels and meet up the evacuees, get them as far as you can away from here"

"But your majesty, It is our duty to.."

"Don't argue! I gave you an order, now do it!" said Zuko "It's hopeless to stay here!"

The captain very reluctantly gathered his guards and lead them toward a stone dragon, pulling its ear. A hidden stairway appeared nearby it. As soon as the guards escaped, Zuko blasted the dragon to prevent anyone from following.

Toph, Zuko, and Katara hopped Back into Appa's saddle, Sokka flew Appa high over capital city hopefully out of the range of the fire balloons. As the city below burned, there was a mutual feeling among the group, one of defeat and failure.

"I'm sorry... " said Zuko sadly to the city and his people

Azula found herself surrounded. Whoever these soldiers were, they weren't fire nation. Could it be that Mai and Zuko possibly hired a whole nation of unknown fire benders to take her out? One that even she never heard of? Of course it made perfect sense, They could have total deniability for getting her out of the way.

She covered her ears as the soldiers made a horrendous sounding howl. Then all at once, they blasted her with continuous jets of fire. Thinking quickly, she formed a massive shield of blue fire, protecting herself and dispersing the attack. Using the sheer her force of will, she blasted her shield outward. The resulting shockwave knocking all the soldiers off their feet.

Breathing deeply, she used what little fire bending she had left. Columns of blue flame erupted from her hands and feet, shooting her into the sky as high as it would take her. Red and orange flames licked at her back and arms as the soldiers attempted to shoot her down. Ignoring the pain Azula took herself higher and higher, until the island was just a small speck. Realizing too late how high she was, the air started to get too thin for her to breathe or bend fire.

Before losing consciousness, she thought she saw three air bison... That was impossible wasn't it? She didn't have long dwell on it, blacking out as her limp body fell from the sky.

Appa was moving as fast as he could away from the capital. But bad luck just seemed to follow them everywhere

"We got trouble!" Katara yelled

Trouble was an incredible understatement, because closing fast was an enormous ball of white fire. Even worse, despite their best efforts, they couldn't dodge it. It appeared to follow them as if it had a mind of its own. Seeing no other options, Sokka flew Appa into the bay in a last ditch attempt to escape it.

A loud massive explosion of water and fire split up the group. Aang, Zuko and Katara were shot in one direction while Suki Sokka, Toph and Appa were shot in another.

From the top of the prison, Lo Pan smiled at his destructive work, but he knew better than to think that was the end of them. Closing his eyes, the phoenix on his chest started to glow, pulsing like a heartbeat with pure energy. Four shadowy figures rose from the ground with glowing red eyes.

"I want the Avatar alive; do what you wish with the rest. Now GO!" Lo pan ordered

As his unnatural minions disappeared, he looked upon his prize, the fire nation capital city. In a fantastic display of his fire bending powers, he snuffed out the massive fires sparing the rest of the city from destruction.

"The Fire Nation is no more" gloated Lo Pan "So now a new era will rise from its ashes...Mine! The era of the Black Phoenix Empire"