Truth

War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
--Bertrand Russell

The torches along the tunnel walls were damp and unlit, making Azula curse silently. Letting go of Ji's reins, she took a moment to focus before she started bending. It was an easy if not trivial task and it took Azula merely seconds to have the whole place brightly-lit. She walked.

"Welcome back, Your Highness," Yun, a sergeant of the Fire Nation army, said, bowing as Azula entered the metallic chamber. She handed the reins to Huo, another Fire Nation soldier, who escorted the flaming crowlion to a stable. "The preparations are complete."

"Good." She sat on the throne and accepted the sheathed katana Yun had handed her. "Has my father been informed of my arrival?"

"As we speak, Your Highness."

Azula crossed her legs and placed the katana on her lap. Folding her hands on top of it, she looked up at Yun who stood by her side. "How long until the eclipse, Sergeant?"

"About thirty minutes," the soldier replied. She touched her own set of blades uneasily, "Do you really think—?"

"Of course, Sergeant. I am certain that our plan will succeed. Now do not fret. You are unsettling my nerves." Azula said and looked at the pair of large doors in front of her. Her hands curled around the katana, gripping it tightly.

Yun blinked and looked at the doors. Unsettling her nerves? Surely the Princess was joking? She frowned. What had happened? Why would the greatest firebending prodigy of their time be scared of the invasion?

"Sergeant."

"Yes, Your Highness?" She asked.

"Remind me to pay my respects to Father later, will you?"

"Is that…is that, Aang?" Katara asked, squinting. She used her left arm to shield her eyes from the sunlight. "Why is he heading back? He can't have—"

"Aang!" Sokka stumbled to his feet and turned around, startled. Hakoda moved to stand besides his son, a similar expression of surprise on his face.

"Please tell me that the Fire Lord was really a big wimp and you're here because you didn't even need the eclipse to bring him down." Sokka said once Aang had landed on the ground.

"I…I'm sorry, Sokka." Aang looked at him, a pained expression on his face. His eyes moved to Katara who was staring at the ground before moving further to rest at Toph's diminutive figure. "He wasn't there. No one was."

"She betrayed us." Sokka buried his face against his hands. "Every single thing we did was for nothing!" He growled and threw his arms up in the air. "I can't believe we fell for that good-for-nothing traitor—"

"Sokka!" Katara glared at her brother. Turning her attention to Toph, she said. "Did you know?" Toph avoided her eyes and bowed her head. "No, of course you couldn't have known," Katara spoke softly. "None of us could have anticipated her betrayal. All we can do now—"

"Is to follow me." Toph said, interrupting the distraught waterbender. "If you really think she betrayed us, then it would be logical to say that they're all still here, hiding somewhere. Give me a moment will you?"

Aang and the others looked at each other questioningly. Sokka shrugged and said, "Well, I guess there's no harm in trying. Go ahead, Toph; see if you can find them."

Toph brought one knee down and placed her hand on top of the stone floor. Grunting, she forced her fingertips down the ground, digging through the stone like it was sand. The ground shook for a moment.

Welcome, my child. It was the Earth, gently greeting her. Her eyes fluttered shut.

Jianyu tossed the Pai Sho tile in the air and caught it, staring at the floor blankly. It had become a habit of his after spending tedious hours listening to his second-in-command drone on about field reports. His hand prepared to throw it again when he heard the door slam shut. His hand jerked and the tile flew. He jumped on top of his table and did a back flip, catching the White Lotus chip in between his toes. His left hand touched the floor and his right reached for the tile. Pushing off, he landed on his feet and placed his hand on top of the table, the lotus tile underneath.

Cai, a refugee from the Fire Nation, squeaked and handed the platter to a tall bald man before hurrying off to the kitchen where her master, the head cook, awaited. She tripped along the way and caused an ancient jar to topple over. About to pick the pieces up and place them on her apron, she was stopped by Jianyu who gave her a tender push towards the door. "No need, Cai."

She nodded quickly and walked towards the door. It took her a while to open it; she was too nervous to focus and find the handle. Jianyu grabbed the cup from Deshi's hands and sipped it cautiously.

"How is the tea, sir?" The man asked, watching Jianyu anxiously.

"Bitter," he answered, after some thought, and put the cup of tea down. "Has the Merchant reported yet?"

"We received a messenger bird yesterday. He says he is nearing his destination, sir."

Jianyu nodded and leaned against the desk, folding his arms. "Enlai sure is late," he mused out loud.

Deshi sighed. "Sir, what's the point of giving us code names when you address us by our real names anyway?"

Jianyu laughed and scratched his head. "Well, she did say it made everything sound more mysterious."

"Lady Fire is long gone, sir," Deshi reminded him.

The man made a face. "I know, Deshi." He started flipping the tile again. "Should we continue teaching Cai?" He asked suddenly.

Deshi had set down the platter he was carrying when he heard the question and was glad that he did so; he would have dropped it otherwise. "It's the only thing she has," Deshi began to argue but stopped when Jianyu raised a hand.

"Remember that she is a firebender, Deshi. Normally, it would be unheard of to teach a firebender the ways of earthbending—"

"But she's blind, Jianyu! Without those lessons, she would be virtually useless."

The leader of the White Lotus snorted. "That's not true; there are other ways for her to learn how to see."

"She's not like the Blind Bandit we've heard so much of," Deshi said and brought his fist down. "You're not thinking of making her learn on her own, are you? Throw her in a pit of fierce dragons, perhaps?"

"First of all," Jianyu said, green eyes flashing dangerously at Deshi, "there are no more dragons left. Second, why throw her in a pit full of dragons when we can just ask a master firebender to train her?"

"Who do you have in mind? Surely not the great Dragon of the West?"

"He's in prison, the old fool. Still haven't escaped yet, which surprises me. That man is a predator; he wouldn't let some brittle bars confine him."

"Fall back! Move to the secondary defense units," he shouted and dragged his fellow Fire Nation soldier towards the large gates. A ball of water shot from his side, making his comrade scream in terror. He grimaced and shook his head. Letting go of his comrade, he turned back to face the waterbender heading his way. He gulped. Here goes nothing. "Go," he commanded to the man and brought his arms in a firebending stance.

Faintly, he wondered why the enemy standing in front of him wasn't wearing any pants. He shrugged it off as some kind of culture thing the waterbenders had and attacked.

The waterbender didn't seem that experienced in bender battles and needed a constant supply of water to fight him. All he had to do was to break the water jars near the enemy. A problem though was the fact that he was being backed in a corner with no way to go. Where are the reinforcements when you need them? He had heard some of the men speaking in hushed tones; it seemed that half the Fire Nation army was missing.

Well, no point in worrying about that. He thought and brought his fire whip forward.

The floor was cold. Zuko tried to draw some heat from the flickering torches but Iroh kept distracting him. "Will you stop doing that?!" He growled, his control slipping once more.

Iroh glared back at him and stopped tugging the metallic bars in front of him. Hiding his hands which were trembling from exerting so much effort inside the sleeves of his clothes, he sat on the ground and turned his back from Zuko.

The young prince let out a sigh. Sitting besides the old man, he looked at his uncle pleadingly. "I'm sorry alright, it's just…it's so cold in here that I thought I could warm the floor or something."

"A true man would endure any suffering." Iroh spoke quietly. "You must conserve your strength, Zuko."

"Hypocrite," Zuko said and snorted. "You should tell that to yourself, Uncle. You were pulling at those bars like crazy."

"They were no ordinary bars," Iroh said. "Whoever wanted to imprison us here anticipated everything."

"Oh, you mean Azula? Well, she is a prodigy after all," Zuko snarled. "It's obvious which child Daddy loves best."

Iroh looked at his nephew sadly. "Have you learned nothing, Zuko? Stop being so worked up over little things; it wouldn't do you any good. Besides, haven't you noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

Iroh scratched his beard and closed his eyes. "I guess it's time I tell you about…how your father thinks." He touched Zuko's shoulder and looked the young man in the eye. "For him, you are the prodigal son, Zuko. Do you remember the story?"

"You mean, about that guy who ran away from home after getting his share of the riches?" Zuko asked. "Didn't he go back after all his money was gone and ask for his father's forgiveness?"

"Precisely," Iroh spoke. "To him, you are still his first-born child and heir to the throne. To him, you are the forgiven son whom he still loves from the bottom of his heart."

"You're lying!" Zuko said. "If he loved me, then he wouldn't hurt me like this." He shouted, pointing at his scar. "He wouldn't challenge a thirteen year old to an Agni Kai and then exile him to forever hunt the Avatar who had disappeared a hundred years back."

"Zuko."

"He doesn't love me, Uncle. He never did. All he cares about is perfection. And if you've noticed, I'm not exactly the perfect one here when I should be! I should be able to-to kill someone without batting an eyelid or—"

"Zuko!" Iroh slapped him and grabbed his shoulders. "Listen to me." He commanded. "You're father is a manipulative…man who will use any means to achieve his goals. Years ago, he saw in his eyes, a pathetic boy who could not reach his standards. He saw a boy who actually cared for the people and he knew it wouldn't do. Do not blame yourself, Nephew, for not being perfect. No one is."

Zuko dropped the angry expression on his face. "Sorry," he murmured. "It's just…Azula—"

"Azula is not to blame for any of this either. Especially for her upbringing."

"I'm ready to face the Fire Lord," Aang said and wiped the sweat off his hands. They moved to hold his glider firmly.

"We have five minutes until the eclipse," Sokka said urgently. "We have to attack hard and fast. Let's go!"

They stepped inside the large hallway.

"Welcome, my friends," Azula said, a weary smile on her face. "Surprised to see me?"

"Where is he? Where is the Fire Lord?" Aang demanded, his glider in an attack position.

"Am I not good enough for you?" Azula asked. "You hurt me." She said dramatically, sweeping her arms to her side.

"She just wants to waste our time, Aang." Toph said. "Go and find the Fire Lord. I'll deal with her."

"Are you sure?" Sokka asked, concerned. "Can you…are you sure you can do this?"

"Yes," Toph said and moved into a fighting position. "I'm sure."

Sokka and Aang turned to go but two women stepped out of the shadows, barring their path. "Running away on me?" Azula laughed. "Sorry, Aang, but I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave just yet."

"Let them go, Princess," Toph snarled. "If you don't, I will have to deal with the three of you myself."

"And how can you do that, Toph? There's only one of you and three of us." Azula taunted, trying to keep her voice steady.

Toph took a deep breath. Lend me your strength. She called to the Earth. It responded.

Azula, seeing the tidal wave of rock coming her way, pushed all her emotions aside and quickly moved into a series of bending poses, a drill she knew all too well. Clearing her mind of everything she felt, she jabbed her index and middle finger forward, calling forth the lightning from her fingertips.

"Duck!"

Aang threw himself to the ground and rolled to his left as a large piece of debris flew by his side, missing him by inches. "Toph!" He scrambled to his feet and helped Sokka up. "We have to find Toph! She might be injured."

"Oh no you don't." Mai walked through the dust clouds which hung in the air, her face filled with resolve.

"No one is allowed to interfere with the Princess's fight," another voice said. A tall young woman clad in typical soldier garb pulled a pair of long daggers from their sheathes. "Although…I was expecting her to fight the Avatar; not some powerful earthbender. Guess I'm wrong."

"Sergeant," Mai nodded in greeting.

She bowed to the weapons mistress, "Lady Mai. And how are our prisoners?"

The young woman smirked as she pulled a blade from her sleeves. "Not doing so well. Those were some impressive bars, Sergeant Yun. I commend your work."

"I do come from a long line of blacksmiths, Milady," Sergeant Yun said and grinned.

Mai crouched into a fighting stance and tilted her head upwards. "Let's go."

Aang dropped his glider and brought his fists forward, twisting them. The bladed weapons which flew from Mai's hands stopped in mid-flight as a single solid stone wall flung upwards from the ground. Mai ran towards Aang, leaping from behind the wall and grabbed a knife from her sleeve. The Avatar jumped to his side and rolled, dragging his left hand against the floor. Rock crawled around his arm forming a shield which he used to defend himself from Mai's attack. "Aren't you even concerned about Azula?" He demanded, calling forth a small wind to bring his glider to him.

Mai faltered at her attack for a moment and looked away. "She can take of herself."

"Wrong move!" Aang shouted and took the glider from his side. Air lashed from it, sending Mai reeling backwards. Aang's gaze flickered to Sokka who was having a hard time catching up with Sergeant Yun's movements. His eyes moved around the room in a desperate attempt to find Toph.

The vibrations of the earth alerted him. He brought his glider up just in time to fend Mai's attack. "You'll pay for that," Mai hissed and jumped backwards, throwing several projectiles at Aang's head. The boy twirled his glider, creating enough wind to effectively stop the blades from ever reaching their target.

"Where the heck is Toph?"

"…concerned about Azula?"

Did someone...say my name? The Fire Princess wondered and blinked. She tried to move her arms but found that she could not. Have I…lost? Her fingers twitched. No. She couldn't have. It was impossible. There was no way that the greatest firebender of their time, Daddy's little prodigy, could lose so easily. She closed her eyes and saw herself standing in front of the throne room.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

She frowned. "You."

Azula sneered. "Still the same as ever; I should have known not to expect you to change so easily."

"What do you want?" She asked, scowling.

"You, of course." Azula said. "And since you're not as willing as I had hoped you'd be, I'm afraid I'm going to have to force you." She disappeared.

The real Azula looked around despairingly. "Where are you?" Arms wrapped themselves around her tightly, making her flinch in pain.

"See? This is why you need me, Azula. You've become so weak," Azula whispered. "Accept me. Now."

Azula screamed.

There was no way of describing what Toph had felt at that exact moment. There was definitely pain in there somewhere, but she knew what pain was—her back against the boulder, the burning sensation in her ribs, blood trickling down her chin, the laughter of her opponent ringing in her ears, her fingertips numb from the impact—and this wasn't it. This was something more.

Betrayal.

She should have seen it coming. Should have known not to trust the enemy. She could hear Katara's voice echoing at the back of her mind. I just hope you make the right decision. Had she? She wasn't sure anymore.

But then she remembered Azula's words; remembered the way Azula had hugged her like she was the most precious thing in the world. She remembered those moments of silence they had shared just sitting side by side. Azula's confession, the fact that she couldn't lie to Toph anymore… There were so many things to remember.

And she was certain that Azula could never betray them. She slowly rose to her feet.

"Azula is not to blame for any of this either. Especially for her upbringing."

"What do you mean, Uncle?"

"Have you ever wondered why I always call her by her name?" Zuko shook his head; no, he hadn't. "That's because she isn't my niece. We're not blood relatives," Iroh said calmly.

"What?!" Zuko stood up from the shock and fell; his feet got in a tangle as he tried to step away from Iroh.

The old man sighed and helped Zuko into a sitting position. "She is her mother's daughter alright. But she is not Ozai's child."

"So…we're half?"

"Yes, she's your half-sister." Iroh said and tugged on Zuko's tunic, dusting the dirt off his shirt. "Her real father is a highly respected man in the earthbending circles."

"E-earthbending circles?"

"He teaches, simply put, but he is no earthbender." Iroh pulled out the lotus tile from his sleeves and showed it to Zuko. "He is also the leader of the Order of the White Lotus."

Sokka rolled across the room and slammed against a pillar of rock which had sprouted from the ground. He slid to the ground and moved his head just in time to avoid a fatal blow from a dagger's sharp edge.

Aang—who was perched on top of the pillar—looked down and gave Sokka a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Sokka." He let go of his grip on the stone pillar and landed behind Mai who was trying to hit him with a pair of throwing stars—she had run out of knives—as well as an occasional dart. Where Mai had managed to hide these weapons prior to the fight, Aang didn't know.

"Hey, Aang!" Sokka shouted and twisted his own blade, letting his enemy's dagger slide by. "I think I see Toph."

Aang snapped his head and ducked just in time to avoid another shower of projectiles. "Where? Where?"

"There!" Sokka pointed to Toph who had gotten up from the ground. He then blocked Sergeant Yun's dagger and forced her to back away, moving into offensive.

Aang smiled in relief and turned his attention to Mai. "Let's end this."

Azula took a step forward and stopped. The eclipse had begun—five long minutes had already passed—but she didn't care; she didn't need firebending for what she had to do. Running towards Toph who was standing in the middle of the room, oblivious to the fighting around her, Azula feinted and rolled to her left. Using the footholds of a stone wall that had been bended—possibly by Aang—Azula climbed to the top and let go of her hold. For a moment, she simply watched her comrades who were battling with the enemy. Twisting in mid-air, she landed lightly on her feet and grabbed Toph by her neck. That's when she first noticed that her right hand was bleeding.

The young earthbender choked, her hands reached for Azula's right arm as she struggled to pull away from the taller girl. Her feet left the ground as Azula lifted her. The Fire Princess pulled the katana from its sheathe with her free hand. "Ready to die?"

"No." The blind girl managed to sputter out. "Not…yet."

Azula roared in pain and fell to her knees as she felt something bite her. Toph landed on the ground, breathing hard. She lifted her own right hand; it too was bleeding. She closed her hand into a fist before collapsing to the floor, unconscious.

The Fire Princess smashed her body against the unknown force that was restraining her. Feeling the…creature let go of her, she stood up, pirouetted and blindly swung her katana against it.

The beast had the form of an armored scorpion-wolf but with its whole body made out of rock instead of flesh. The katana bounced off the scorpion-wolf's armor and flew from Azula's hands to land a few feet away from her. Her hand reached for her left shoulder where the golem-like creature had bitten her. It wasn't deep, much to her surprise. She had studied about this type of animal before and knew that their fangs would have made much deeper marks on her shoulder.

Gradually, she felt her firebending come back to her. At the back of her mind, she could feel the other Azula trying to get out of a metallic prison that had appeared, enclosing her. "Good," she murmured under her breath.

The armored scorpion-wolf nuzzled Toph's shoulder gently in what looked like concern. Howling soundlessly, it fell to the ground, unmoving. Azula's brows furrowed in puzzlement. What had happened? Did Toph bend that…thing?

"Toph!"

Aang and Sokka rushed to her side, stealing glances at Azula's direction. The Fire Princess felt a hand on her shoulder and leaned against Mai's arm, her eyes half-closed. "You alright?" Her friend asked her.

"What the heck did you do to her?!" Sokka asked furiously.

Azula remained silent; she knew Sokka wouldn't react well to what she had to say. I don't know. Would that be too hard to believe? With him? Yes, it would.

"This is all a trap," she whispered, her voice hollow. "Run away while you still can."

Sokka was about to take a step forward but didn't as he felt Mai's cold gaze on him. "Why would we believe you? Especially after everything you did?"

"Look, water boy." Mai snapped. "I may not know what happened between you guys but I'm not stupid enough to think that this is no trap. The eclipse has ended and the Fire Lord will arrive soon. The three of you are not well enough to fight. Do you still think you stand a chance?"

"She's right," Azula said. "Mai, I need you to escort them to the entrance. Afterwards, you must go to Zuko and Iroh. There's a separate chamber besides that room. Stay there until I say otherwise."

"But—"

"No buts, Mai. I need you there. Don't ask; there's not much time for explanations." To Aang, she said, "Think what you will of me. I don't really care. When I first offered my services to you, the only thing on my mind was one thing: to ensure that you would not face the Fire Lord this day. As I've said before, there's not much for explanations so you'll have to make your own guesses." As an afterthought, she added. "And friendship? It would have never worked between us, Avatar."

"You still haven't answered my question, Uncle. What did you mean when you said that Azula was not to blame for her upbringing?"

"It's true," Iroh said mournfully. "Your mother loved your father very much. She loved him so much that it was hurting her deep down to know that she had betrayed him through Azula."

"Is that…is that why she had always treated Azula differently?"

"Yes," Iroh said. "She could never love Azula the same way because of this. Your father, on the other hand, I think he knew. That's why he constantly pushed Azula to become better in the hopes of breaking her. But because Azula was born a prodigy, everything he made her do only made her stronger."

"So in the end…?"

"No one ever truly loved your sister."

Suki was herding the last of the Fire Nation soldiers when something caught her eye. Shielding her eyes with the fan she always had with her, she gasped. "They're back! Hakoda, they're back." She called to Hakoda who was conversing with Bato. The man used his spear as a cane—his leg had been injured—and moved forward to meet Aang and the others.

"Wh-what happened?" Katara asked after seeing Aang's flustered face.

"It's over," he croaked. "In the end, I couldn't fight him."

"Aang," Sokka frowned. "It isn't your fault."

"Yes! Yes it is," Aang snapped and glared at Sokka, his hands which held the reins were shaking. "I should have fought with her. Not Toph."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Hakoda said, rubbing his temple. "Just what happened?"

"Toph fought with Azula." Aang spoke, "Please, Katara, can you heal her?"

Katara's gaze flickered to Sokka who was carrying Toph's sleeping form. The blind earthbender's right arm had a hastily wrapped bandage around it. There was also blood on her shirt as well as her neck, although Katara was relieved to note that Toph bore no other injury besides the one on her arm. "I can't right now, Aang. I've healed too many of our men. I don't think I have the energy to even risk waterbending right now."

Suddenly, tears fell from Aang's eyes. "I couldn't do anything," he said. "I have failed you all."

"Aang." Sokka gently placed Toph's head on his lap before placing a hand on Aang's arm. "If Toph was awake right now, she'd say: Well what the heck are you waiting for? Don't we have a certain Fire Lord to run away from?"

"You're right." Aang said, a small smile on his face. "She really would have said that."

"It is done."

"My daughter."

"Do you dare question my loyalty again, Fire Lord Ozai?" Azula spat. "I am not deaf; I know what goes inside the palace. You think me a traitor?" She snorted "Think again."

"You do not understand! Why are you angry with me anyway?"

"Come, Sergeant. Your wounds need treating. As do mine."

"You will stop right here and address your father with the proper respect, young lady!"

Proper respect? To my father? Azula thought, aware of her vision turning dim. Just who do you think you are to demand that sort of thing from me? Father? You're nowhere near that close, Ozai. She dropped to the ground and all she saw next was darkness.

They look at me through hateful eyes
The things they see are made of lies
They judge, they rule, an unfair trial
Thinking me long past the mile
They do not bother to look beneath
To try and see what makes me, me
--Contrasting Shades (by kaibasgirlx)
A/N: Yey! I updated quickly, which is a surprise considering the fact that this was a long chapter. Haha. I guess I just couldn't help it. Don't expect me to update soon though. I think my brain turned into mush when I wrote this.

First of all, thanks to kaibasgirlx (I hope I spelled your name right) who gave me permission to use a part of her poem. Thanks! Of course, my reviewers have my utmost gratitude as well. Don't know what I'd do without you guys.

As always, if anything is confusing, please leave a review. I always try to answer them. (Because I have nothing better to do.) I'm also very sorry (as usual) if my grammar has dropped its quality again. Like I said, keeping track of the mistakes is just really hard to do with a longer chapter.

If you look at my Bio, you'll be able to see the pairings for this fic. I would like your opinion of who Zuko should pair up with. Zuko/Ming or Zuko/Ty Lee?

Lastly, kudos to anyone who can tell me just who Cai and Enlai are. (Clue: Cai has been mentioned before and Enlai is a canon character with a non-canon name.)