He cursed himself. He cursed himself twice, why the hell not? It wasn't even a surprise anymore at this point, his life being one big cosmic joke and whatnot, that something like this would inevitably happen. Azula's "Super awesome fun idea" was for Toph to place cuffs of earth on his wrists, as well as smaller earth rings on his fingers, one between every knuckle, effectively making his hands her playthings. But oh, why on earth would it happen for any other occasion but dinner at the Fire Lord's Palace! With the Fire Lord's still fully insanesister he might add!

But, if there was anything to top it off, well, it was the seating arrangement. This was where the "cosmic" twist of fate came in, because surely neither the sadistic Firebender nor the sadistic Earthbender had anything to do with that. Nope, it was just the universe getting it's own two cents in and waiting for the laughs. One his right, his sister, a girl who, on a bad day, could slice you in half with just a cup full of water, if you're lucky, and on his left the Fire Lady herself, Mai, a.k.a. grumpy chick who throws knives too accurately, who also happened to be married to the Fire Lord,the really grumpy guy with the scar and short temper and ability to shoot fire. He was dead. Hopelessly doomed, his fate sat right across him, in the hands of the little blind girl who smiled like someone who was either going to win big, or win really big, and didn't care who knew it, and next to her the evil, demonic mastermind herself, wearing an equally devious smirk on her deep ruby lips. If he listened really, reallyhard, he could just about hear the thoughts flying between the two as if by some hyper-telekinesis.

His head dropped hard enough that his chin may have very well left a bruise on his sternum, and he let out all the air in him with one defeated, audible groan of hopelessness. His eyes begged mercy from Toph; unfortunately for him, she couldn't see eyes.

Everybody was there, well, almost everyone anyways. Enough to bear witness to Sokka's humiliation, in any case. The Avatar, Aang, of course was there, claiming an interest in how Azula's mental well being was, though in reality he was there "just in case,"and there wasn't a single person at the table, Azula included, who didn't know that for the truth it was. He had grown a little in the last year and gained a negligible amount of muscle, but otherwise he was still pretty much that same, goofy looking monk everyone remembered, in what could have very well been the exact same robes no less.

The siblings from the Southern Water Tribe were present, Katara wearing those same looping braids on either side of her head with the rest of her dark auburn hair pulled back in a bun, and adorning her neckline was that same old sapphire amulet. How Azula wanted so badly to just reach out with both hands and tear those hair loops in different directions, but such thoughts were "evil," and she had to be a good girl for this dinner. Going further down that particular side of the table, next was Sokka, who's only difference was all the stone-jewelry affixed to his hands. Oh, the fun things he was going to be forced to do. He couldn't wait.

Mai was after Sokka, just before the end of the table that was designated for the Fire Lord himself. Her crimson colored silken robe was only too familiar, except it looked much too big for Mai, just as it had for Azula's mother and previous Fire Lady, Ursa. Come to think of it, was there any woman out there on whom the robe would actually fit properly?

Zuko sat, tall and proud, right where he was supposed to be, at the end of the table where he could still remember seeing his father sit for the evening meal almost nightly. A shiver went down Azula's spine seeing him sitting there, thinking about just how eerily similar he was to their father in appearance, the scar that consumed his left eye, up to his hairline and back to his ear being the obvious exception. That part was uniquely Zuzu, although the rest was almost a mirror image to what his father must have looked like at that age. It was like looking back in time almost. One could only hope history did not repeat itself.

Around the next corner of the table, on the Fire Lord's left, was his little sister, currently the sole heiress to the throne, the guest of honor to whom this dinner had been dedicated. At least, that's how it was supposed to go, so long as she was willing to play along and pretend that this wasn't an officially unofficial group interrogation in the works. At least she had somebackup, even if it was just the one person sitting on the other side of Toph, beaming happily about the table in her pink on pink outfit.

Zuko cleared his throat in preparation to speak, and a dead silence fell over the table that had been, for all intents and purposes, already silent.

"Welcome, friends, to my home once more. I'm glad you could all manage to make the trip, I know we all live about as far from each other as we possibly can, but it warms my heart to have my friends here at last. It's been too long for many of us." A round of agreeable cheers came from (most of) those seated around the table, before allowing Zuko to continue with his address. "It warms my heart infinitely more, however, to at long last be able to welcome my sister home, where she belongs, and has been missed." Not so much enthusiasm for that second part.

It was Sokka (or Toph, depending on what you knew of the situation), who unexpectedly began the clapping, eliciting shared looks of dumbfounded bewilderment from the majority of the people present. Toph and Azula were sporting almost identical grins from across the table while Ty Lee was trying with great difficulty to suppress hers. Sokka's clapping became much more enthusiastic than it had any right to be, and all he could provide to go with it was a cheesy, uncertain smile.

The others, more or less begrudgingly, joined in with him after the initial puzzlement died down a bit, but there were still plenty of skeptical looks being shot at the tribal warrior. Zuko cleared his throat once more to regain the attention of his guests, and after they were his once more he continued his little speech.

"Tonight is about healing old wounds, restoring old friendships and forging new ones, but above all else," He paused only briefly to glance down at his sister before returning his gaze to everyone else and finishing, "It is about forgiveness. I know for some, this can be hard..." It was Katara who received the Fire Lord's attention this time, "But I know also that it is possible, because you have all done it before for someone who was your enemy. I only ask you give her that same chance."

Fresh applause greeted this closing statement, as everyone acknowledged the truth for what it was. Even Sokka found himself clapping genuinely as he considered his friend's words. In truth, it wasn't really that long ago that Zuko himself had been their arch-nemesis, the object of all of their hatred and fear. He had proved himself though, and when the choice ultimately came to him, the then Prince of the Fire Nation had chosen to stand by the Avatar and his friends, choosing to fight his own father and the genocidal campaign of his countrymen. If he was willing to vouch for his little sister, that was good enough for Sokka. Of all the people present, he was the only other big brother in the group, and he knew what it meant.

As he took his seat once more, Zuko caught Azula's amber eyes and saw the unmistakeable look of gratitude shimmering in them. He gave a small nod in response before returning his attention to the table. Reaching for his glass, the Fire Lord was about to raise a toast but, to his and everyone else's surprise, somebody beat him to it.

"To Azula. May she, too, restore her honor and find her place in the world!" It was Aang's voice that gave this declaration, and although he was often eager to forgive and find the good in people, it was still more than a little strange to hear somebody she had attempted to kill (and technically succeeded in doing so) give a toast in her honor.

One by one, glasses were raised in response, with more or less agreeable cheers of their own.

"Here's to you, Princess Sparkles!" Toph nudged her playfully.

"To Azula!" Ty Lee's giddy voice rose up, high above the others.

"Try not to kill anyone?" Sokka mused with all of the usual sarcasm.

"Bitch." The girls on either side of him both uttered under their breath, avoiding the notice of the others as they played along.

"To you." Zuko said endearingly, in a way only an older brother could as his glass moved over to clink with Azula's. Glasses were upended across the table, followed quickly by grimaces from those who had apparently never had real rice wine before. A favorite in the Fire Nation not only for it's hot, throat burning sting, but also because it doubled as a rather effective source of fuel, burning quite easily and very intensely.

"While I thank you all for the kind words," she glanced at the two girls sitting opposite with a pointed, knowing look at this, but continued on without skipping a beat, "you can spare me any unnecessary pleasantries. I know what many of you probably still think of me, and I don't expect that to change for no reason all of the sudden. All I can offer, for what it's worth, is an apology." Azula finished with a look to all seated, and as if on cue, many of the faces present shifted to reveal how they truly felt, but there was a thin veil of respect that at least they could be honest about it.

Also as if on cue, Toph clapped her hands once with an eager look that was more accustomed to Sokka's face and yelled, "Let's eat!" Her apparent lack of fear for sitting adjacent the former most dangerous enemy the gang ever faced did a lot in easing everybody's latent trepidation.

And so, the real reason everybody was there revealed itself. A feast in the royal palace of the Fire Nation.

They had had a few throughout the year, but they were of such a rare and fantastic occurrence that the old group of friends would use just about any excuse to show up for one. As gold laced, flawlessly polished silver lids were pulled, exquisite dishes of bright and dazzling color revealed themselves, an aroma wafting to fill every corner of the room and entice a mouthwatering sensation from all present.

There was less than a heartbeat of pause before arms from all directions shot out over the table, and the clatter and clink of metal on glass filled the space, washing away any lingering negative feelings and heralding in the joy that was food.

Once plates were filled with all that they could hold and people were again seated and sedate, casual conversation began to pick up around mouthfuls of delicious joy. The majority of the talk consisted of Aang recounting his most recent adventures to the tribal siblings and a half-listening Toph. Azula barely managed to suppress a few chuckles at catching the Earthbender use the term "twinkletoes" when referring to the Avatar. Who'd have guessed that they would share an affinity for nicknames as well?

"You did what!" Zuko asked in amused disbelief, nearly spitting his drink out after hearing about Aang's diplomatic trip to the North Pole that ended up with him catching a fever.

"How was I supposed to know it would happen! You never told me that sick Firebenders could sneeze fire!" The young Avatar responded in a desperate attempt to both defend himself and hide his embarrassment. He was failing spectacularly at both.

"So you melted their sculpture to the Moon Spirit with one good one, eh twinkletoes?" Toph couldn't help but butt in with her own quip at her friend's discomfort. She couldn't seethe sheepish look he gave in response, but she had a pretty good idea what his silence meant. "Nice."

"Yeah, I guess the next time someone tells me I should stay in bed I should listen. Well, at least I offered to help fix it, being a Waterbender and all..." He began to explain, only to be cut off by Katara and her two copper pieces worth.

"Offered? You tried to fix it right away, and you ended up making Yue look like the Earth King's bear Bosco!" She exclaimed with hardly contained laughter as the image resurfaced in her mind. Whatever response Aang may have had prepared for that remark was lost amongst the laughter of a half dozen people, and his face and ears turned to a shade that almost matched Zuko's crimson robes perfectly.

"That's alright," The young Fire Lord began after regaining some composure, "I remember when Azula got her first cold, she nearly burned half the palace to the ground." At the mention of her name, the girl in question paused in mid-bite, quickly adopting an affronted expression in response to her brother's exaggerated account of her first childhood illness.

"It was not half the palace, more like half of my room." She replied matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, thanks to the Imperial Firebenders showing up as quick as they did. Everyone thought it was an attack by deserters at first." Zuko pointed out in as snide a tone as he could without actually sounding offensive.

"It wasn't that bad."

"You blew your doors off the wall!" He shot back, sounding more amused than aggravated.

"So it was a little unexpected." Azula responded casually, as if the subject of discussion were something as unassuming as the weather.

"They flew 20 feet down the hallway!" Zuko cried in disbelief, amazed that she was trying to make it sound like nothing out of the ordinary. Stopping to consider their lives thus far, he decided maybe that wasn't too far from the truth of the matter.

"Well then I guess it's just a good thing nobody was eavesdropping outside of my room." She stated while calmly wiping the corners of her mouth with a crimson silk cloth.

"...I barely dodged them." He admitted after a brief moment of hesitation.

"So nobody important anyways." She teased coyly, the corner of her ruby lips curving up ever so slightly in a signature smirk that she and she alone seemed to be capable of pulling off so perfectly.

"Oh, haha very funny Azula." Countered Zuko, sounding every bit the opposite of amused. "We're going to have work on your sense of humor and joke telling abilities. Maybe Sokka can give you some pointers?" That last part he couldn't help but end with a chuckle, already knowing how badly that particular scenario could go.

After hearing all this, Katara couldn't help but instigate the situation with, "Oh, so you've been trying to kill your brother since you were what, 4?" with an amazing mix of hatred and cynicism that was thinly masked with sarcasm, so as to put on the appearance of trying to remain civil at a dinner table, but in a way that didn't fool a single person there.

Without missing a beat, Azula merely played along, saying "Yes, but I haven't been successful yet, and I've been trying awfully hard haven't I?" She shot a glance at her brother and added, "I guess I'll just have to try harder, won't I?" That last part she said in a way that would have been threatening before, but now it seemed to be more humorous and sarcastic, almost like an ordinary sibling teasing the other.

"I'll be happy to have a proper rematch whenever you want one." The young Fire Lord stated confidently, and promptly added his own teasing "Just pick a good hairdresser this time. Your last one was terrible."

"Yes, I suppose we may have to banish them, won't we?" She said sardonically.

"I think we can let this one slide." Zuko answered kindly in turn.

A brief silence enveloped the table, when suddenly Katara shouted, almost at the top of her lungs some believed, Sokka's name, and everyone turned to see him with his hand on his sister, in a spot it certainly shouldn't ever be.

"Oh, hey, Katara, uh.. how's it goin'?" He tried to add a laugh but it came out meek and helpless. "You see, there was this bug, and I, uh, well you see.."

Katara's hand shot up and with a sound like lightning cracking the sky outside she smacked the side of his face, leaving an instantaneous red hand print on him. Nobody seemed to notice the two girls barely constraining their laughter on the opposite side of the table. Azula was the only one of the three girls who knew what was going on and could still keep a straight face, if only because of the years of practice.

"Sokka, I think we need to have a talk." Aang said in a tone that, while serious, seemed slightly unsure. He didn't really have any idea how the conversation was going to go, and almost afraid of what he may discover.

"Yeah, you got it buddy." He responded, all of the fight having already gone out of him long, long ago.

Dinner continued for a while longer with more casual conversations picking up here and there. They were nearly finished, and for a moment, Sokka actually thought he was in the clear. He was close, so close.

"SOKKA!"

Yet so far.

This time, however, it was not his sister, but the girl on his other side, the Fire Lady herself, who screamed his name in fury. Mai, nothing the kindhearted girl as Katara, didn't let him off nearly as easy. Quicker than his eyes could even register she drew a shuriken and stabbed it into his hand. Her eyes opened in surprise when she felt the blade hit something like rock, yet Sokka still yelled in pain and fear.

Looking down, Mai saw that it was, in fact, rock that she had hit. Unfortunately for Sokka, it was the rock from his palm, and not the back of his hand, that she had hit. On the bright side, had it not been there, the blade would be sticking completely through his hand, and probably hurt more.

"OWWW! You STABBED ME!" He cried, as if it had happened for no reason whatsoever.

"You grabbed me!" Mai shot back, still entirely ready for a fight with a room full of people, or one idiot.

"But wait, why are there rocks... Toph!" Katara accused after piecing things together in her head. As soon as she did, however, the three girls on the other side of the table all burst into laughter at once.

"Snoozles.. you got stabbed!" The blind girl said while catching her breath, and with a wave of her hand the rocks all came to her, gather together into a ball that she then threw down and buried into the floor seamlessly.

"Yeah, I got stabbed! You got me stabbed Toph!" He cried indignantly. "You team up with Azula and I get stabbed!"

"Hey, it was just her suggestion, I did all the handiwork." As if by some comical magic, Sokka immediately brightened up and chuckled lightly.

"Handiwork, good one Toph. Hehe-Ow!-" He held his right hand and looked at the knife still protruding from it. "It still hurts though." Mai reached for the knife, and expertly pulled it out, swift and clean.

"Here, I didn't hit anything important, it should heal up fine." She wrapped a napkin securely around his hand, tying it neatly at the end.

"Besides," Toph started, "You probably had that one coming." She gave him a grin, knowing the shenanigans he had a tendency to get into.

"Yeah, probably." Sokka admitted without any further argument. And all around group laugh was shared to show no hard feelings, and they all returned to their food.

Dinner finished up without any further incidents, and it wasn't long before everyone began excusing themselves for their respective rooms. It was a late dinner in the first place, and now it was just a ludicrous hour to still be awake. With full stomachs, everyone made their way to a warm, comfy bed.

Azula went first to her balcony, enjoying that eerie late night glow that still blanketed the landscape, along with the fresh, brisk night air. Ty Lee came swift and silent a few minutes later, having pretended to go to her own room and then immediately heading for her friend's.

"Hi Azula." She greeted quietly, making her presence known, even though it was unnecessary. She then wasted little time in crossing the distance between them and holding her best friend. After a brief, intimate kiss was shared the Princess walked over to her still broken mirror, and picking up an old brush she turned to the other girl.

"Could you help me, please? I'm no good at doing my own hair." Azula admitted with a small laugh. Ty Lee was staring out into the night when she heard the question, and turning she walked slowly, almost uncertain in her steps. A worried look was making it's way across her face.

Outside the room, a few dozen yards from the walls of the palace itself there stood a solitary tree with some bushes, arranged purposefully and yet still appearing somewhat natural. Within the branches of the tree, Vzad sat silently, waiting with the patience of a stone. Nida appeared silently at his side a few heartbeats later.

"She knows we're here. Let's see what she does." She breathed in that hauntingly beautiful silk voice of hers. To this, Vzad said nothing, instead nodding his head an imperceptible amount and continuing to wait.

"Is he done yet?" He asked suddenly, seriously, and took Nida by surprise for a moment. She thought about it for just a second then replied.

"I'm not sure, haven't seen him." Vzad nodded to this, and took up his silent vigil once more.

"Ty Lee?" Azula asked cautiously over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" The other girl responded, sounding still as if something were weighing very heavily on her.

"Is something wrong?" The Princess asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Oh, no, I mean, why would something be wrong?" She replied, tripping over her own words. She wasn't a very good liar, and she knew it, which is why the next thing she said was, "I'm sorry Azula. I love you." Her voice was dark and so very unlike Ty Lee that that fact alone sent a pang of fear through Azula's heart.

Her eyes widened in the mirror as her friend moved too fast for her to react against, had she even been capable of it. As it was, she was paralyzed from the terror and betrayal, and with just a few quick jabs along her back, she fell, completely limp and helpless. To her, it felt as if an eternity were passing as she fell towards the ground. Her hair flew around her head, like streaks of ebony flame in the wake of a comet. Her thin, crimson robe fluttered on her skin, feeling as if it were trying to simply pass right through her.

She hit the floor hard, her head impacting squarely with the solid boards. She felt a sharp, biting pain in the side of her head, quickly replaced by a warm, wet feeling that spread out from underneath her. Azula watched as her blood spilled from her head and marched outwards, conquering the horizon and covering everything she could see in a layer of thick crimson.

Through the reflection that the puddle of blood showed her, she could almost make out Ty Lee, standing above her, head hung low and body wracked by silent sobs. A lone tear drop made it's way, gliding off of her chin and falling, silently.

Azula watched that tear drop falling, her vision darkening around the edges so that it was all she could see, just a lone diamond falling through a black void. The last thing she saw was that tear drop falling and disappearing into the ocean of dark red, reverberating in her ears as everything faded with it's last cry to the world, a deafening, final drip that resounded until it all went black.