First chapter of the New Year. I'm so stoke. School starts for me on the 4th, so I don't know what exactly will happen. I can expect lots of basketball practice, and millions of homework assignments. School will also be the only time I can talk to my girlfriend. (Her father found out, and he got really we decided it will only be an in school relationship.) I also will be attedning my anual school of rock, starting this Feburary. In the meantime, while I got some time to kill, I'll be writing for this, and two other stories. So sit back, relax, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Please review.

With a sighing breath of antagonizing stress, he let go of every worry. It's not easy letting go of your pride, epically in front of your authoritarian figure. But with the situation as gruesome as it was, Zuko was running out of options. He needed help. So, with no more pride in his body, he pleaded, "People are dying Unlce, what should I do?"

He sipped politely on his tea, as his nephew explained the problems he was facing with Azula's treatment. Iroh was always the go to guy when any member of the gang faced some problems. He helped Suki and Sokka when their child's constant crying kept them up at night. He helped Aang and Katara when they talked about troubles with the constant travel as part of Aang's duty as the avatar and how it was affecting their marriage. But ever since the end of the war, Zuko spent very little time asking Iroh for advice. It wasn't like that they no longer spent time together. On the contrary, they in fact spent more time together than they did during the war, if such a thing was possible. They always talked about simple things; they had interesting discussions about certain subjects such as Life, war, and the difference between politics and morals. But never did Zuko ask for advice. Those conversations came up as a spark of the moment. Never did they come about as advice for any situation.

Now, with the state of Republic city hospital and with the state of the gang at stake, Zuko forced himself to ask Iroh, for the first time in ten years, for advice.

They were currently in Iroh's small home in Ba Sing Se. It was like the guest house they lived in when they were hiding from the fire nation during the war. Iroh placed the cup down. He hummed to himself as the answer formed inside his head. The nouns, verbs, subject and predicate of the sentence placed itself in his head like a puzzle. Lifting up his finger, he told his nephew his most solemn and gentle advice. "Endure Lord Zuko;" He announced. Standing up, he provided the rest of his guidance. "Take on the challenge, and make the choice that would benefit you more. What choice do you believe would be best?"

"Well," Zuko began with sadness in his heart. "I think that the only reasonable action right now would be to execute her."

Noticing the sadness and the disappointment in his voice, Iroh concluded that Zuko was not proud of the answer. "But," Iroh replied. "You don't think that should be done, now do you Lord Zuko?"

Zuko looked up with puppy dog eyes, which revealed affliction and sorrow. "I want her to be banished to an Island. Just her and her alone. She'll be the only inhabitant and I believe that it would benefit the people. However, the advisors believe that this would not work."

"Still," Iroh inquired. "It's not about what they believe is better for the people, it's about what you believe. As the Fire Lord, you'll be making decisions based on what you think is right for the people. And you won't be able to please everyone. Some people will hate you and wish not to understand why you've made your decision this way. But that's the point of the Fire Lord. He can make the choice that no one else will make; the right choice."

"But I don't think any choice I make will please any one. I think any decision I make will be wrong." Zuko proclaimed. As he said this, his voice became louder, and his self affliction and torment was revealing itself. "On one hand, if I don't kill her, she may somehow spring free from the island and kill us all. Sure, it's very unlikely to happen. The advisors calculated that there'd be a 78% chance that she won't make it off the island. Still, there's that 22% that the officials only seem to focus on." He sipped on his tea after finishing the first point. Once he quenched his thirst, he went on with his second point. "So, on the other hand that leaves me with killing her. But if I do, I feel that I would be no better than my father before. I want to show the people that I am a peaceful leader; one who knows that the death penalty is wrong. Besides that, killing her would be a perfect opportunity for the rebels to gain more people to their cause, saying that me killing her shows that I have no respect for anyone, not even family."

"Again," Iroh stated. "This is not about what they, the people, believe. It's about what you believe. Sometimes, making the right choice is hard. There are those who will be opposed to it, and then there are those who you must decide for, even if the decision is against their will."

"What makes me so confused is why is my sister acting out now?" Zuko explained. "To the advisors and the gang, she's my sister. But to me, she's just another common criminal. I know it seems wrong. She was blood. But my father was blood as well, and what he was doing was wrong. My sister is doing wrong as well, so I had to put up a fight and force her into therapy. I knew that she wouldn't go down easily. But recently, she's been crossing the line. She has sent two doctors home, one of which went completely mad and now he's a patient of the asylum as well. She's killing people left and right, and shows no signs of stopping. She's crossing the line, and I don't know why."

With a hum, his differing opinion on the matter could be seen as bright as the sunshine. Placing his tea cup down, Iroh began to give Zuko advice, to which Iroh knew Zuko wouldn't be fond of. "With much respect, my nephew, you crossed the line first."

Zuko corked a brow. "What do you mean?" he asked inquiringly.

"She would have not acted out recently, if you hadn't have preformed your actions in a desperate and dynamic manner." Iroh stated. "You hammered and squeezed your poor sister with therapy and medication, to the point of desperation. And in her desperation, she turned into someone that even she fully doesn't understand. This is no longer your sister Zuko. This is a monster. And this monster cannot be bargained with, nor negotiated with. She will act on will and compulsion. And she, if not handled properly, will cause destruction."

"My sister is somewhere inside her head." Zuko replied. "Maybe if we search deep enough we can find that little part of her that can be negotiated with."

"Perhaps this being that is now your sister, is someone that you don't fully understand either." Iroh proclaimed. He pulled out his chair and sat on it once more. He looked at Zuko straight in the eyes. These eyes that Iroh was presenting showed that he was full of wisdom and guidance. Zuko'z ears immediately perked up. When Iroh showed this face, it usually meant he was about to present a big pearl of wisdom.

"Let me tell you a story." Iroh began. "When I was still a private in the fire-nation Army; rising through the ranks in order to become a general, me and a couple of my close friends were called by the fire lord at the time, your grandfather. The Fire Lord was still trying to take over the entire air-nation, but instead of genocide, he was trying to bribe local tribes with precious stones. However, the caravans that were carrying these stones were being raided by a bandit. So, as an assignment to raise our ranks, me and a couple of my closest friends in the army, were assigned to track down the stones. But, after six months of searching, we never met anyone who had traded with him."

At this point, Iroh stood up from his chair again. Noticing that his tea had run empty, he went over to his tea pot, and poured himself another cup. As he did this, he looked out the window. And then he stated the biggest and most important part of the story. "As we began to leave on the ship, I looked out on to the port. I noticed a child…..playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The Bandit had been throwing the stones away."

Zuko was confused. "So why was the bandit stealing the stones in the first place."

Iroh turned around, with a giant smile of nostalgia present on his face. "Well, because he thought it was for good sport." Once he said this, Iroh took a good sip of his tea, then walked over to his chair and sat down once more. This time, his face was painted as the face of importance. "Zuko, there are some people, like you and I, and like the Avatar, who always look for logical and non-violent approaches. But fire Lord Zuko, you must understand that there are people like your sister, who can't be bought, bullied, or reasoned with. Some People just want to watch the world burn."

At this point, Zuko looked down to the ground. His eyes were gleaming with understanding, and he began to comprehend this advice, and was agreeing with it. He began to realize that his sister was far beyond treatment. There was no possible way that she could come back after turning herself into this monster. He also realized that while banishing her may not be the best choice, to him, it was the right choice. It was a decision he had to make, and at first, he thought about performing the task now.

"I wish to banish her immediately." Zuko proclaimed to his uncle. "It's my choice and my choice alone. And many people may be mad at me, but I know that it was the most peaceful and most reasonable decision."

"I will support you all the way." Iroh exclaimed. And with that, Iroh walked over to his nephew, and gave him a caring hug, to which Zuko returned as well. Once he let go, Iroh asked him a question. "So when are you banishing your sister? Today?"

"Hell no." Zuko replied with a laugh. Zuko then walked over to his uncle's tea pot, and poured himself another cup as well. "While I do know that my sister is far from recovery, I will not give up hope. I will still banish her two days from now, when her last therapy session is complete. I want to see how this turns out. I don't expect a full recovery, but with the right amount of good therapy, I might be able to heal some damage. And this would be a decision that my father would never have made. Sure, I might be hardheaded, but I will not give up."

"Whether that is a good decision or not," Iroh began. "I will fully support you. But, if I may make a suggestion, I believe that it would be better to get a doctor who knows Azula from before. We need a doctor who knows what Azula was like before her break down. It will be a lot easier to find that part of her inside her head that is no longer this monster."

"Well, none of those exist." Zuko proclaimed. Suddenly, a thought erupted in his mind. But I have the next best thing, he thought. A sigh exhaled itself out of his mouth, and it was a sigh of annoyance and realization.

"We're going to need Mailto."

He was vaguely surprised at doctor Mailto's house. Sure, he knew that people involved in medical science usually got good paychecks. But he had no clue that the life of a doctor could be so extravagant and luxurious. At least, that's what Zuko thought of when he saw Mailto's house for the first time. Although it was only a single story house, it was very large in square feet, and seemed deluxe and modern. The Artistic beauty of the house and how the colors ran so well with each other was phenomenal. When Zuko started out for his journey to find Mailto's home, he feared that he'd live a long distance away and that the journey could take days. Luckily, Zuko found out that Mailto's house was only a small distance away from the earth kingdom capitol. It only took the fire lord 30 minutes to find Mailto's village and home.

Now Zuko was facing the front door. His nerves were now tense. It was strange. He feared rejection. He feared that the doctor would say "no," and that he'd be out of luck. Casting away his fears, he breathed in deeply, and knocked on the door.

And when the door opened, Zuko was surprised.

Instead of Mailto answering the door, it was a very beautiful young woman. She had long flowing blonde hair, green eyes, and seemed to be somewhat small. At a minimum, she was only 4'8. At first, Zuko thought that the woman was Mailto's maid. His house was very sensational. But as Zuko studied this woman more, he noticed that her attire was that of a large earth kingdom robe which was only available for the rich and prosperous.

When the woman recognized Zuko, she was immediately stunned. She gasped out of surprised and bowed before Zuko. "Lord Zuko!" she proclaimed. "I had no idea you were coming."

"It's alright madam." Zuko affirmed. "I was wondering if I could speak to doctor Mailto."

"Oh, well of course. Excuse me one second." She exclaimed with a smile. Then, turning her head, she shouted behind her, "Honey!"

Zuko heard footsteps coming towards them. She opened the door a bit more giving Zuko a larger view of the house from the inside. Zuko then noticed Mailto walking towards them. He was walking calmly and was composed. When he noticed Zuko, it was like lightning struck him. He immediately ran forward. Once he was directly in front of Zuko, and besides this woman, he knelt down and humbled himself before the fire lord. Even when Zuko was not in his nation, he was treated like royalty.

"My Lord." Mailto proclaimed as he bowed. "You presence truly honors us."

"Relax." Zuko chuckled with a fair grin. "May I please come in for a moment?"

"Why of course!" the woman proclaimed with a smile as she bowed again. When she finished saying this, Zuko nodded out of respect and slowly walked into the house. Mailto reached out behind him and closed the very large door. "Please, make yourself at home." The woman declared.

More like make yourself "three homes" Zuko thought as he stared at the room in awe. The room was humongous. The entire house glowed with serenity and extravagant wealth. The room was filled with fabulous art and lavish furniture. While Zuko did have better in his own palace, it still stunned him that Dr. Mailto could even afford this house, let alone this room that contained such a magnitude of wealth.

Zuko turned around and noticed the doctor and the woman hugging. They were staring into each other's eyes, with the look of everlasting trust and understanding. Love, as Zuko was able to confirm by the way the held each other, seemed to be so radiant that it caused the Fire Lord to smile. 'I'm sorry that I must separate you two for a moment." Zuko said, causing them to jump in surprise. "But I was wondering if I could speak to Mailto, alone."

"Okay," the woman replied brightly. In a bold and daring move, she kissed Mailto on the cheek. A bright crimson blush immediately covered his face. Kissing was something that you did not do in front of royal guest. But Zuko only laughed it off, as he watched the doctor become horribly embarrassed. After kissing Mailto, she turned towards Zuko, and bowed once more. "Would you like anything to eat?"

"That won't be necessary." Zuko replied. "My meeting with Mailto will be very short, but thank you anyways."

"Yes, Fire Lord." She humbly told him. Then she went on her way, walking to an open door which seemed to have lead into the kitchen. Zuko turned around and watched this woman walk away, as Mailto did as well.

"Who is this woman?" Zuko asked aloud.

"Her name is Tera." Mailto statted.

Zuko turned around and faced Mailto. "Do you love her?" he asked.

"Why Yes. Of course." Mailto exclaimed as he as he sat himself down on the couch. Zuko sat down on the couch facing Mailto. Between them, was a glass coffee table. "After all, she moved in with me two weeks ago."

After the both of them got comfortable in their couches, Zuko gave off a serious look. It was a look that sent a shockwave of importance surging throughout the room. Zuko was about to speak to Mailto on an important subject. And by the look on the Fire Lord's face, the gravity of the situation was tremendous. After a few seconds of silent staring, Zuko finally spoke.

"I'm going to make this short and sweet." Zuko proclaimed calmly, as he looked at Mailto directly. "There are only two days left on my sister's last session of therapy. I know that she is now incapable of fully recovering, but I want to at least fix certain qualities about her. It will sort of be like placing a stick and cloth on a broken bone, when you really need healing water. But at this point, I'll take anything I can get. If it can benefit my sister, then I'll have it. In short, , I want you to be Azula's doctor for the last two days."

Mailto released a sigh of anguish and annoyance. He buried his face into the palms of his hands. He looked like he was worn out. He looked as if he had come from a long and gruesome battle. His expression was gruesome all right. He looked like he was about to die. With a long, exasperated sigh, he proclaimed, "I can't be Azula's doctor."

Zuko, realizing that Mailto looked exhausted and aggravated, decided not to react aggravated as well. Instead, trying to lift Mailto's sprits, he smiled. "Come, come now." Zuko stated. "You're a great doctor."

"I'm a horrible doctor and a failure." Mailto replied with monotone. Slowly however, Zuko started to notice that his voice was becoming strained. He heard sniffles coming from Mailto, and he also notice that the poor doctor seemed to be in horrible agony.

"You're a great doctor with a beautiful house and a wonderful girlfriend." Zuko replied trying to lift his spirits.

Mailto looked up.

Zuko was struck cold. The sight was almost frightening. Mailto's eyes were crimson red. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He had the look that only a tortured animal could provide. In all of his pain and suffering, Mailto to said something that drastically changed Zuko's mood from upbeat, to serious and curious.

"Did you ever think that the reason I left was not for me, but for her?" Mailto asked.

"What? Tera?" Zuko asked.

"No!" Mailto exclaimed, trying to be quiet but showing his pain. "Azula. I had to leave for Azula." He then buried his head as more tears left his eyes, falling down to the ground like droplets of rain. He mumbled to himself. Zuko however, immediately caught it. He incoherently said aloud, "I should have left 2 years ago."

Zuko corked a brow. "Why two years ago?" Zuko inquired.

Again, Mailto spoke only to himself. "Ever since it happened, I knew she would never come back."

Now Zuko was really interested. His curiosity was unbearable. "Why? What happened 2 years ago?"

"All I've been after that was a thorn in her side. A scratch that she couldn't itch away. All I was, was a constant reminder of what we did, and I gave her false hope and tortured her with my presence."

This was starting to intensify these feelings of curiosity for Zuko. Now anger was starting to get involved. With a harsher, darker tone, Zuko asked again, "What happened 2 years ago?"

"I constantly kept teasing her and hurting her with my existence. I am a horrible person. I am so stupid. Why did I do such a thing?"

Zuko finally lost it. The anticipation was too much. His anger was at boiling point. Something awful had happened two years ago, and the fact that he wasn't aware of it, and that he was being teased by Mailto constantly referring to it. His curiosity was now controlling his emotions, which shift drastically to anger. Shouting, but not so loud that Tera would hear from the other room, he screamed "what do you do?"

The doctor looked up. He was very surprised that Zuko reacted in such a way. After staring into his eyes, he felt the guilt eating himself from the inside out. The pain caused him to break down. He dropped his head and cried. He cried furiously. He cried in such a way that even a 3 month old child would be jealous. It was a torturous cry that showed that his pain was more than just emotional.

Zuko, was struck odd and surprised by this action. After seeing this, Zuko started feeling his guilt eating him alive. He felt horrible. So trying to relieve some of Mailto's aguish, he walked over slowly, and began to rub the doctors back.

Mailto looked up at the Fire Lord once more. The tears were now streaming down his face like a waterfall. Through sniffles and snot bubbles, Mailto began to speak. "If I tell you this, you're going to hate me. You may even want to kill me."

"I will not kill you." Zuko proclaimed. His importance and powerful gravity of his voice was stretched to the point that it was almost cartoony. But that only was because Zuko needed to address the issue, and have Mailto understand, that no matter what happens, he will not kill him.

Mailto looked into Zuko's reassuring eyes. And with much pain, Mailto gave forth the information that would change Zuko's life, forever.

"About two years ago," Mailto began. "One of the guards was going on his nightly rounds checking the cell blocks. He went up to Azula's cell, and he found her with a knife to her throat, willing to comment suicide. She told the guard that she would kill herself unless he got me to the cell immediately. He rushed over to my office, and told me the information. I sprinted to the cell as fast as I possibly could. I went in there, and I tried to calm her down. She said that she had nothing. She said that she lost everything after the war. She said that she never had love and that she had nothing to live for. I tried to convice her that she had everything to live for, and that there was hope that she would get better. But she was frantic Lord Zuko. She held the knife to her throat and then….and then I asked the question….. "What do you want?"….and then…she told me that she wanted a lover. She said that she would kill herself if she didn't get a boyfriend soon."

….what the hell does that have to do with Mailto being a horrible doctor? Zuko thought harshly to himself. The Fire Lord was confused. He watched Maitlo, as the doctor began to shudder in horrible agony. He was now franticly crying in such a way that Zuko sensed that the next portion of his story was going to be the hard part. But why was Mailto asking this way.

Suddenly, in a flash, it hit him. It was like a knive had stuck him in the gut. Every single memory he had about his Sister's therapy went off in a dash inside his head. It was like watching thousands of arrows, each containing a memory, striking him in the head. And some arrows were more powerful than others. It suddenly dawn upon him. Now he realized why Azula always seemed so flirty during therapy. Now he realized why Azula always called Mailto "Dear," or "Puddin." Now he realized why Azula seemed so shocked when Long Feng told her about how Mailto quit. And the news, in all, was horrific. Oh no! oh no, no, no, no, no! Zuko thought in his head.

"I had to do something!" Mailto cried. "She was going to kill herself! I thought at first I should run, but then she started moving the knife slowly across the skin…..I….I-I thought I saw blood. It had to be Blood!...I panicked. I didn't know what else to do…..so…I…..I… It started with a kiss…..and then…."

Then he broke down. With tears falling down his face, and an agonizing weeping that would make anyone who heard it cringe, Mailto told the horrible truth. "I fucked her!"

Other than Mailto's crying, the only other sound that was present, was no other sound. Horrible dreadful silence filled the atmosphere. The room became cold and dark. Zuko was gone. He was shocked, disgusted, and horribly, horribly angry. This mixture of emotions caused his face to have a blank stare. His whole presence was just blank. Standing there in front of the doctor, Zuko didn't know what to think. His whole reality had been shattered. The life that he thought he knew was completely overwritten and changed. He was gone.

And then he was angry.

Mailto looked up at the agonized Zuko. The Fire Lord pointed at the doctor, and gave forth his judgement.

"Now….I am no longer asking. I'm ordering. You will be Azula's doctor for the last two days. I can see that ou hate being around her, so that will be the first part of your punishment. The second part; I order you to marry Tera on the last day of therapy. Don't worry about a venue or money. I'll take care of that. You will marry Tera at once, so that you won't pull any more of this perverted shit again. I will tell you this. Someday, I may find a way to forgive you. But as of right now…you're dead to me Mailto. You're dead to me."

And with that, The Fire Lord left the house; never to return again.

Wow.

Um…..well….this new information might be a little shocking to you all. But that's how I was planning it.

I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Even though it was short and that last piece of information probably just like….change your whole thoughts on this story.

Um…please review?

PLEASE!