Aang and Katara accompanied Zuko to Azula's cell the next day despite his protests. Their presence lightened his mood and made his journey through the dreary dungeon corridors a little more bearable. At one point Zuko wondered how Azula was able to put up with the place for so long. Depressed or not, the dungeon's horribly damp and cold air deserves notice - maybe he should request for some renovations to make the stay here a little more bearable for Azula. Then again, these conditions were left in place to limit the abilities of captive firebenders; can't risk letting out dangerous criminals. Well, at any rate,his companions reached the door to the chamber holding Azula's cell without complaint. Zuko took a deep breath before opening it and stepping inside. The couple did not accompany him. This was a task for Zuko alone.

Azula was lying on the cell's floor, her back facing the metal bars that caged her in. Zuko suspected that she had heard him arrive long before he even got to the door and deliberately positioned herself that way. Despite her obvious resentment to his company, he carefully sat himself in front of her cell, this time dressed in commoner cloths, so as to not provoke her. Zuko cleared his throat, but Azula did not stir.

"I er, I spoke to the water tribe girl yesterday, Katara. The um, the one who sorta, er, helped me defeat you," Zuko stated awkwardly, trying seeing if his words would cause any response. Azula remained motionless. She was obviously trying to ignore him -Azula was always a light sleeper, it never took more than pin drop to wake her.

"She er, she and you actually have a lot in common you know; she has an older brother and she's really talented...like you." he tried the offer. No response.

"I was actually talking to her about you," Zuko continued anyways, "and she said, that you were mad at me, and mom, and uncle Iroh, and well um, everyone cause we treated you like well...like a girl." Silence. Wait, what? Didn't he tell Katara that that theory was invalid? Does this mean he actually think its true to some degree. But its not isn't it? Argh, whatever.

"Well, I don't know if this will help or not, but...I'm sorry," he finished. Still no response. Having anticipated this, Zuko pushed on through.

"You might not think its fair that I went and talked about you with some stranger that you probably hate, but I really didn't have a choice," Zuko pleaded. "I'm not like you, Azula. I can't think like you, or even act like you - if you don't talk to me there's no way that I'll know what you've been going through. And I want to know because I care about you. I really do." He paused and waited for his sister to respond. She did not. Refusing to give up just yet, Zuko pressed on.

"Katara, she said that you didn't really want to hurt people, that you were forced to do it cause of dad or something. You might think I just think you're a monster, that I don't understand... but I do." Unconsciously, Zuko found himself touching the scar his father left on his face. Azuka seemed to shift a bit in her position, so slightly that Zuko could have passed it off as a disturbance of light, but he wasn't willing to believe that. Maybe, just maybe...

"I hurt a lot of people too," he continued. "And I feel felt awful about it. I still feel awful. You probably do too. But I understand why I was that way now. Maybe I can understand you too. When father banished me, all I wanted to do was tear the world apart to find the avatar so that I could get my honour back. And I would have," he smiled, "if it wasn't for uncle. Actually he kinda helped me before that too. If it wasn't for his and mother's guidance, I probably wouldn't have gotten banished in the first place," he added thoughtfully. "Actually, I'm glad that I got banished, because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to make peace with myself, to find out who I really am. I know I wasn't exactly an exemplary brother to you before, but I'm here now. I'm here to listen."

Zuko studied his sister's still form intently. Azula hadn't moved, but for some reason, she looked more tense. As if she was holding her breath.

"Please Azula, say something," he begged. "I know that I was trying too hard to outshine you before, and I'm sorry. I just...I just want you to know that I don't think you're a monster, and that mother didn't think so either. Mother loved you Azula. She did. Maybe she was a bit confused about you, cause you were you know, different. But she still loved you very much. She probably just didn't know how to deal with you."

"Is that what you think?" The sudden appearance of another voice startled Zuko. He blinked but noticed Azula still remained unstirred in her position. But the voice that spoke was clearly hers. "Just because mother was all sweet talk and hugs with you doesn't make her some sort of saint, stupid," Azula continued, still with her back to him. Zuko opened his mouth to retort, but Azula cut him off. "She abandoned me Zuko. Just like uncle, just like you."

"Mother would never - "

"She went to see you before she left that night didn't she?"

"Yes, so?"

"Well I didn't receive so much as a note," Azula informed coldly. "But don't worry, I figured out why she left - to save your sorry ass of course. All you had to do was smile and not trip over yourself and she'd be all over you. You were always her favourite, and didn't matter what I did. I trained more than you, studied more than you, worked so much harder than you, but all she ever did was scold me. Mother doesn't love me, she loves you. As proof, mother even gave up her life for you. Gave up the rest of us for you. Gave up me." There was a long hollow silence. Zuko just sat dumbstruck as he tried to make sense of what Azula's had just said, tried to think of some sort of rebuttal, but nothing came. Finally, Azula broke the silence with a huff.

"Everything just happened for you. Everyone just flocked towards you without you even having to lift a finger. Didn't matter that I was smarter and stronger, you just got the free pass for being the first born son. Yet somehow, somehow you still managed to always complain about not being loved and respected enough." She laughed, "You have no idea how happy I was when father had you banished. How elated I felt that you were finally going to have to carry some of you're own weight." She paused for a bit, and though Zuko couldn't see her face, he was sure that her expression had just contorted into and contemptuous frown.

"Then, I found out that uncle Iroh had volunteered himself to watch over you in your banishment." She let out a sarcastic snort. "And in case you were wondering, he didn't leave me a note either. Sure, I've always held father's attention, but you and I both know what that really means." Zuko's stomach sank, not sure what to do with the information. Then Azula tilted her head and turned her body slightly and locked her golden eyes onto his.

"So Zuzu, still feeling jealous?"

Zuko's mouth suddenly felt dry as what felt like a sobering wash of cold air swept through him, making his stomach lurch and the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but no words came out.

Katara and Aang jumped as Zuko slammed the cell door shut. But before they could they inquire about his strange behaviour, the corridor filled with fire as Zuko roared out in frustration. Then, with a growl, he stalked off without so much as a word.

"I can't do this anymore uncle!" Zuko declared as burst through the gates to the courtyard where Iroh was having tea. "She doesn't make any sense! This is insane! You need to find someone else!"

"No Zuko," Iroh ordered firmly, as he carefully set down his tea. "Azula is your sister, you cannot give up on her. Now, why don't you come have some tea and explain what happened." Zuko scowled as his uncle, but did as he requested.

Iroh listened to him intently as he described the events of the day, frowned and stroked his beared as he analyzed the situations, then closed his eyes meditatively as he went deep into thought. The two sat there silently as Zuko waited for him to respond.

"You may not be able to understand her right now," Iroh began cautiously, "but these are Azula's genuine feelings so you need to take some time to think over what she said. And whether you realize it or not, Azula has just made herself vulnerable to you by opening up and sharing her side of the story. A privilege that ought not to be abused. She's trying to trust you Zuko. If you abandon her now, she probably won't ever again. Then she may never recover," Iroh stated sternly. Zuko groaned in response.

"Argh, but why does she have to make this so hard for me?" But why does she have to make this so hard for me?" Iroh laughed.

"You think it was easy for me? You weren't exactly compliant either you know." Zuko looked over at his uncle, and saw a playful glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, but- "

"There isn't any difference between our situations Zuko. I managed because I care about you, and I am sure you care about Azula." Zuko nodded in response.

"I guess." Iroh studied him but didn't respond to the comment. Then he decided to finished his tea.

"As family, it isn't our job to make it easy to help each other. In fact, most of the time we make it hard. But we will do so anyways, without the expectation of anything in return but the other's happiness, because we want to. That my nephew, is what unconditional love is made of," Iroh explained sincerely. Zuko rolled his and smiled at the sentiment, then slumped onto the grass with a sigh of defeat.

"I know uncle."

The sun was setting, golden rays now warming the surrounding sky into a brilliant red as it sank into distant horizon. Zuko took a deep inhale of the rapidly cooling air around him as he reflected on the day. Azula's angry and lonely words echoing in his mind. Then a curious thought crossed his mind.

"Uncle?" he asked aloud, trying to make sure Iroh hasn't somehow fallen asleep on the bench nearby.

"Hmm?"

"Did you visit Azula after we got back?" Zuko asked inquisitively, "you know, before you ask me to?" He always had the impression that his uncle did, but somehow, Azula's remark earlier unsteadied this confidence.

"She doesn't respond to me the way she does you Zuko. For four consecutive weeks I have sat in front of her cell trying to cox her into conversation while expressing my concerns for her, but she consistently ignores me." Zuko could hear him give a small sigh. "I guess I understand why now."

"So you really didn't leave her a note or something?" Iroh shook his head.

"This may be difficult for you to believe," Iroh explained, "but for most people, Azula is incredibly difficult to emotionally engage, let alone connect with. Its easy to forget that she cares and feels for many of the same things that we do. Personally, it just never crossed my mind that my actions would have any affect on her."

Zuko kept his gaze fixed on the glowing orb slowly disappearing from sight, trying to figure out the implications of his uncle's explanation, what it means for Azula. It wasn't news to him really, in fact he had been dealing with her by using that same assumption until very recently, when he saw Azula break down after the fight with Katara. He had somehow managed to just assume that Azula could handle whatever malice thrown at her, that she didn't have any real feelings. But nobody's really like that are they? Nobody can be invulnerable forever, even her. So if what uncle Iroh said was true, then when she did buckle, when the wight on her shoulders proved to be too heavy for her, or when the anger and hatred directed at her really did hurt her, there was no one to catch her and no one there to bring her to her feet again. Has she always had to suffer alone, slowly breaking down over all these years, barely holding herself together despite her collected and controlled exterior, before finally being overwhelmed by all the drama surrounding their father's defeat? The answer was not something Zuko wanted to contemplate, yet somehow, he knew the truth was even worse.

"Why didn't she ignore me though?" He wondered aloud for Iroh to hear. "Why didn't she just wave me off the way she did you? Its not like I was really nice to her before either." His uncle stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Perhaps she valued you as a brother more than you thought. Then again, maybe it was just the fact that because you directly benefited from her downfall and aided it, the sight of you stirred too many emotions for her to contain," he mused. "She may give us an answer eventually though, if we continue to reach out to her." Zuko knew where this was all going, and he wasn't about to be asked again.

"Let's go see her together tomorrow uncle," Zuko suggested. "She doesn't listen to you and I don't think I know what to say her anymore. Maybe even if we aren't much help to her much alone, we may be able to reach her together."