The Mechanist was drunk. Ever since Princess Azula had cried herself out in his arms, he'd felt numb. And he intended to stay that way. He'd had a large stash of the "moons shine" hidden in the back corner of his workshop. He'd never been allowed to accept payment for his work, but "gifts" from grateful nobles and merchants that he'd been "assigned" to work for were common. He was currently working his way through some truly awful moon peach brandy that one of the lead engineers at the airship base had distilled. Was distilled what happened to brandy? Was it brewed?

He needed to find some good copper pipes and make his own whiskey.

Yes. Mechanics were threw now. Spirits, the drinking kind, that was where the future lay.

"Mechanist?"

The Mechanist looked over at his workshop door, expecting the Fire Princess again, but only seeing her brother.

Zuko.

"You've never had an interest in this place before," the Mechanist found himself bolder. It must be the brandy.

"No," the Crowned Prince said softly, "I never understood why Azula was so fascinated with this part of the palace. Not until I rode in a war balloon for the first time. But I think it'll be many years before I allow myself back inside a tank." The prince turned the unmarked side of his face towards the elder man and tried to smile. Awkward small talk. Polite Pleasantries. The Mechanist was used to such.

"Did you know my son, Prince Zuko?"

"I can't say that we had ever spoken. Azula kept him away from me," the prince said, taking the liberty of seating himself opposite of the Mechanist.

"Drink? It's not fit for a prince, but its the best I have," the Mechanist turned and grabbed an unused beaker off the bench behind him and sloshed in some of the awful stuff for Zuko. He had lied. There was half a case of good fire whiskey and some fine Earth Kingdom wines in the back, but good booze was to be savored. Bad booze... that was to forget. He laughed as he pushed the glass towards the Prince and again when the poor boy attempted to save face after the first sip.

"That's... that's awful. Are you sure it isn't tank fuel?"

"It may be, it may be. Why did you come here, if you didn't know my son?" the Mechanist poured himself another draught.

The Prince looked serious for a long moment. "I have a favor. Well, two favors and... and a promise, I suppose."

"Politics aren't your strong suit. Just say it and I'll let you know if it can be done. I'm too tired of the game so you'll forgive me for not playing."

"I need a balloon. I will be leaving tomorrow in secret. I also need something built," the Prince pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his robes and slid it across the table.

The Mechanist unfolded it and turned pale. It was an old drawing of a glider. An Airbender's glider. "Why do you want this?" The Mechanist narrowed his eyes at the Prince.

"I am going to present it to the Avatar as a gift before I beg his forgiveness and become his firebending teacher. I will help him defeat my Father and end the war. I believe the world has suffered enough."

"Such words. I may have something you can have," the Mechanist got up and stumbled through the workshop. He moved through the old and abandoned projects.

"You do?" the Prince followed, picking his way around the various obstacles that the Mechanist had long ago learned to live with.

"Yes, yes, it's all here. Every prototype that I've ever created is here," the Mechanist shifted through a pile of schematics and old canvas designs for the original war balloon.

"I can't see how you can find anything in here," the Prince grumbled.

"I know exactly where everything is," the Mechanist grasped the wooden staff and whirled around with it, landing in a sloppy stance facing the prince.

"What is that? Is that an original?"

"No, no, a replica only. I may be a prisoner, but I'm not about to start dealing in contraband," tried as he might, the older man couldn't help but giggle a little manically as he held the Airbender's glider. "This... this is the glider that Teo and I built. In order to improve the design of an item, you must be intimate with that item, yes?"

The Fire Prince just stared with a blank look on his face.

"It has a compartment for snacks in it," he shook his head and tossed the oddly-weighted staff to the prince. "There you have it. You can leave now!"

"No, I need a balloon too! You promised"

"For a man leaving in secret, you sure are making a fuss!" the Mechanist resumed his seat at his workbench to finish his drinking.

"I figured that you of all people would plan for the eclipse tomorrow, old man," Zuko had dropped his voice and narrowed his eyes.

"Perhaps I did once. Perhaps I did. You should see to your sister. I can practically hear her wailing from here," the tired inventor picked up his glass and drained it.

"My sister?" the Prince blinked, "What about her?"

"Are you really so dense? Your FATHER sent my SON to be EXECUTED because AZULA LOVED HIM!" the bottle was thrown down on the workbench, creating a vicious jagged edge that was swung towards the naive prince.

Thankfully, the Prince did not unleash his fire on the grieving old man and instead hurried out of the workshop, never to return.

Ty Lee hugged her best friend close, trying to rock her back and forth to calm her sobbing. "Shhhh Azula, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay. I'm here and I'm not leaving you."

Once Azula had cried her heart out with the Mechanist, she'd confronted her father. And he'd called her a whore. Especially if she would let any Earth Kingdom slave touch her. Ty Lee hadn't been there, but she could only guess what went on after that from the Princess's torn robe and the broken look in her eye. "Perfect... perfect... I have to be perfect," Azula kept muttering.

The former circus freak had rescued her princess from the baths where she'd tried to scrub her skin off. Now she was close to getting her into bed. "Shh... sleep now, Azula."

The Fire Princess's eyes slid closed just when there was a steady knock at the door.

Ty Lee sprung up from her position in Azula's bedroom to answer the door in the antechamber. "Who is it?" she kept her voice hushed so as not to wake the sleeping princess.

"Its Zuko."

She opened the door a crack and peeked out. From his vantage point, she could only see the perfect half of the Fire Prince's face. "What do you want?"

"Where's Azula?"

"She just fell asleep. What do you want?"

"Ty Lee come on, just let me in."

"No. She doesn't want to be seen. She would prefer to grieve in peace. And she's already taken enough guff about it, so you don't have to lord it in her face!"

"What? Lord what in her face? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing! Just go away, Zuko. Mai should be back from Omashu by now."

"What are you trying to hid from me?"

Ty Lee debated. Zuko had always been oblivious. He'd never seen how much of a monster the Fire Lord was. How much Azula had been tortured by the man and his perfection. How poor Teo had been used as a bargaining chip and then was... put down like a lame ostrich horse. She felt fresh tears forming as she remembered Azula in the bath, that it finally dawned on her that she'd been pregnant when they returned and her Father had her baby terminated. And because of that baby, and the act that caused it, Teo had been executed.

These concepts were too advanced for Zuko, who couldn't see things from Azula's side. "Nothing Zuko. Azula feels like crap right now. She's not going to want to see you. Do you want to be burned?"

"I need to borrow her balloon," he ground his teeth.

"You mean TEO'S balloon? Its down by the docks, if that's all you want, then take it. Leave Azula alone!"

"Thank you, Ty Lee."

And the Prince was gone.

"Ty Lee? Who was at the door?"

Ty Lee turned to see Azula, the quilt from her bed covering her like the wrappings of an old nun. "Just Zuko. He wanted to start an argument, so I sent him away."

"Oh. Good. I don't... want to see him," Azula carefully sat down on the cushions on the floor. "He'd give me that look. That... awful pity look. I can't stand it. That's... that's the look you give to broken people."

"Oh Azula... you're not broken," she rushed to her friend's side and put her arms around her. "Not at all."