Mao opened his eyes slowly, fading in and out of consciousness, seeing only shadows.

"Your highness, he appears to be regaining consciousness," said a feminine voice, leaning over him. Another shadow approached and loomed over him. "He is still very weak. But what we can do for him is to let him rest."

"When can he start talking?"

"A week or two-"

"Make it three days."

"But he will not-"

"I don't care. Just make sure that he talks."

Mao's vision blurred once more, exhaustion overtaking him.

Mao could feel someone else's chi flow into him as he lay there. It felt soothing as it seemed to bathe his skin in warm water. When that chi moved to his chest, it caused an immense burning sensation that felt like someone was pouring molten steel into him. His eyes opened wide as he arched his back and let out a scream. The chi immediately dissipated, Mao was reeling from the sensation, gasping for breath. A young woman who was sitting beside starting apologizing profusely. But Mao was too weak to care, and was tuning her out, trying to catch his breath.

A Fire Nation soldier burst into the room. "What's the matter?" He demanded.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. Healing him is proving to be very difficult."

"I don't see why you're wasting time on him."

"It's not a waste of time. I'm working to save his life."

"That's why it's a waste of time. He'll probably die anyway."

"Leave! Leave right now!"

The soldier left the room as the young woman resumed the treatment.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you. But this is part of the treatment. If it is too much we'll stop."

"Do what you need to do," Mao said weakly.

"Okay then," the young woman said as she used Waterbending to gather hot water from a nearby basin.

"You're a waterbender."

"Yes, I'm a doctor," the woman said as she pressed the hot water into Mao's body, acting as a conduit for her chi to enter the body.

"Are you Fire Nation?" Mao grunted as she lightly pressed her palms into his chest.

"My family moved to the Fire Nation a long time ago, long before the war."

"Not that I'm judging you," Mao winced as she lightly rubbed the lightning burn across his chest. "I just find it ironic is all."

"They tell me that you're an Airbender like the Avatar was."

"Was?"

"Yes. Prince Zuko killed your Avatar."

Mao gripped the bed sheets, the pain was more intense than the first time. But he did not scream. The doctor circled her palms about Mao's chest. All the while Mao's thoughts were racing. 'Aang is dead? Impossible. But what if it was true? What happened to the others? What became of them? Sokka would probably fake Aang's death to gain an advantage. That's what I would do. I need to return to Kanto. General Honda needs to know about this. I must find out more. How am I going to escape? Think!' The doctor continued rubbing for a few more minutes and then stopped momentarily, as she deposited the spent water into a bucket, and moved to Waterbend more fresh hot water.

"Your chi is completely disrupted. And this wound here, it was not made by any fire technique that I've seen."

"No, it was a lightning technique."

"Lightning? It's a miracle that you're alive at all."

"A miracle that I intend to take advantage of," said Azula, who silently entered the room, causing the doctor to jump. "If you will excuse us Fuyumi, I would like to have a few words with the prisoner."

"But I'm not done with his treatment-"

"Did you not hear what I said? I said leave," hissed Azula. The doctor bowed politely, casting her head down as she left the room.

"I have to say I'm quite impressed. You're the only one who's ever taken a lightning strike and managed to stand right back up again. What's more amazing is that you were struck in the chest and live to tell about it."

"I'll be sure to mention you in my memoir," Mao said dryly.

"Come now. Be reasonable. Face it you've lost. The war's over, just accept that. You can start a new life and live quite happily if you wanted to."

"I'd rather die than to bow to the Fire Lord."

"That can easily be arranged," Azula shouted, but her face softened. "But believe it or not, I grow tired of this war. Surely if we work together we can work out an arrangement. I've seen what it has cost my countrymen and the pain that it has inflicted." Azula walked over to a counter and eyed the medical instruments neatly arranged before her. She picked up a probe and started to test its tip gingerly.

"You know nothing of what I have suffered."

"But I do," Azula replaced the probe, turned, and leaned against the counter. "I've lost family in this war just as you have. What is even worse is to have your own family betray you."

"You have Zuko."

"Zuko is my brother and he's a given. He will never betray his family." Azula crossed her arms in front of her and scanned the room. She thought of something and smirked. "It was hilarious watching his desperate attempts to capture the Avatar and to regain his honor, but only to get thwarted every time by you or his little friends. But now that the Avatar is dead, and Zuko will be taking all the credit, there is nothing to stop him from returning home with honor."

"But what have you to gain from lying about Zuko defeating the Avatar? That would mean he could return home in glory, making him first in line for the throne as your father's heir. You're now just a spare."

"So what?" Azula hissed in Mao's face but he was unfazed. "What do you know?"

"I know enough. That deep down you love your brother. But you refuse to show it, for fear of appearing weak. You sought to gain strength so that you'd better be able to protect him. You taunted him, challenged him, and broke him, hoping that he'd become stronger and stand on his own two feet without anyone's help, and be finally be accepted by your father after you were both abandoned by your mother. You even went to Ba Sing Se and risked your own life, just so that you would know that he was safe. Even now you're ready to lie and risk a scandal just so that he can return home with you."

"You talk too much, you know that?" said Azula softly. "But, it's amusing talking to you. In some ways you're like my brother, who always struggled and frantically fought to keep his position. Only to fail spectacularly. It's really quite sad really. Sometimes I wish that I didn't have a brother."

"At least you have one. You should really make amends with him while you have the chance."

"What makes you think that you can give me advice on my personal life?" Azula spat.

"As someone who killed his own brother? Yes. I feel that I do bear some responsibility to advise you, so that you won't make the same mistake as I have."

Mao awoke with a gentle shake on his shoulder by Tachibana Yumiko, as she sat beside him on the bed over his sleeping form. Her ivory skin and jet black hair was complemented by the Fire Nation dress that she wore. It also brought the color of her cerulean eyes that revealed her disposition to Waterbend, but deep down she was an Air Nomad.

"What time is it?" asked Mao as he sat up and started to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Eight in the morning. Zuko is finally going to see his sister."

"Do you know where he's heading?"

"Don't know. He's been tight-lipped about it so you're going to have to follow him."

Mao rubbed his eyes, stretched, and yawned.

"What did you dream about?" Yumiko asked.

"What are you a shrink now?"

"Maybe."

"I was having a vivid dream about the fair princess Azula."

Yumiko raised an eyebrow.

"You sure you want to try to find her? I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to stab you in the back. Besides, she's officially crazy. She's been admitted into a mental institution."

"No. I don't think she will stab us in the back."

"And what makes you so certain?"

"Because I know her. Better than she knows herself. Besides, we need someone like her."

"Why?" Yumiko asked incredulously.

"Because she is exactly the sort of person that we need in the upcoming war. Besides..."

"Besides what?"

"Nevermind, it's nothing..."

Zuko walked with great purpose to the sanatorium where Azula was being held. Mao kept a respectful distance in order to help mask his presence. He was unfamiliar with the Fire Nation's capital city, if he did he would not be risk being found out. As luck would have it, he noticed that he was being carefully watched as well by a Kyoshi warrior, who was hiding behind a tree. The trademark face paint was a dead giveaway.

Suki needs to train her subordinates better, Mao thought.

As Mao entered the lobby, he was immediately greeted by Zuko's voice, which being used in a heated exchange with a man in a white coat. The young Fire Lord had trouble controlling his temper and was attracting stares from everyone who walked by. Mao calmly approached the reception desk, seeing a familiar face.

"Good morning Fuyumi Sensei," Mao said pleasantly.

"Oh hey!" exclaimed Fuyumi. "What are you doing here?"

"Just here for a checkup. Heard that you were in the neighborhood."

"Well, step into my office and we'll get started!"

In the back room, Mao was ordered to take off his shirt and let the doctor do a physical exam.

"So how's Princess Azula?"

"How-how did you know?"

"It's well known that the Fire Lord was going to lock away his sister like he had done with his father, but Aang was able to convince him to put her in a mental institution instead. So, when I saw him in plain clothes and walking toward the hospital district, I followed, and then I came in and saw you. That's when I knew."

"...You and Azula are so much alike, it's scary. As to Azula's health, I have been to heal her body, but not her mind. So it's almost completely out of my hands, I'm sad to say," Fuyumi sighed. "Her mind has fragmented into different personalities. But it's like you're talking to two different people. Akihiro calls them personas. She has an artist persona, and a gamer persona. Her artist persona controls her Firebending but she has become a very sweet child. Her gamer persona can't control her Firebending, but is very quick witted and brilliant in creating board games."

"Does she still play Go?"

"Yes, she does. But she gets bored with it, since she doesn't have anyone to play with, and she prefers to create new games than to replay the ones that she already knows. It's really quite interesting."

Mao furrowed his brow and looked at Fuyumi in the eye.

"How? How, is this interesting? Her mind is messed up and she's stuck in a sanatorium and can never leave. If she gets better she will be locked up and Zuko will throw away the keys."

Fuyumi was silent for a few moments.

"I understand what you must feel. I grew up with her when my father was the royal family's physician. Seeing her like this pains me. I just found it interesting, in that I get to see parts of her personality that I had not seen in a long time. That's all."

"Does she remember me at all, do you know?"

"Actually both of her personality remember you very well. Her gamer personality especially. She said that she wants a rematch. But be careful. She has a violent temper whenever she loses. But when she wins, she gloats. So watch out."

After Mao's treatment and physical exam he stayed out in the lobby long enough to hear Zuko shouting from where he was sitting. Zuko was yelling at Azula, asking about someone. Azula was sobbing, followed by loud noises and crashes. She started pleading with her brother to stop because she did not know anything, and that she did not know where to find the person of interest. Mao was tempted to barge in and stop the whole thing. All of a sudden Azula started yelling and screaming back at Zuko and orderlies starting running through the hallways towards the source of the shouting. A few minutes later Zuko stormed out of the sanatorium.

Good riddance, thought Mao as he watched Zuko's retreating back.

Mao figured that Azula would need a few hours before she was in any condition to see any new visitors. Then again it would be probably be better if he came back tomorrow. But he may never get this chance again. So he waited for a few hours, had lunch, and read the local newspaper before he made his way to her room.

He glanced around and did not see any Kyoshi warriors about. He had taken pains in getting their real identities so even if they did not have their facepaint on, he would still recognize them at a glance. Mao walked over to the room which had the scorch marks that graffitied the door and walls just as Fuyumi had described. It was really quite something to see.

"Ah, I see that Azula has another visitor. Fuyumi told me about you," a man approached him.

"You must be Akihiro. My name is Takashi."

"So how do you know Azula?"

The door swung open and Azula was standing at the door. Apparently someone had forgotten to properly close the door.

"Takashi!" cried Azula, who bear hugged Mao, which greatly surprised him. The person who is so close to him now is one of the most formidable Firebenders that he had ever met, and who nearly killed him in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se.

"For a minute there I thought you would be hurling blue fireballs of death by now," Mao joked.

"What?" Azula looked genuinely puzzled. "I would never do that. Never," Azula said sweetly, still holding him tightly, and burying her face in his chest. Her forehead was touching the chest of his shirt where her lightning technique had struck him.

"Yeah, it was bad joke. Did you do all this?" Mao managed to point at the drawings.

"Mhm." Azula nodded and grinned. "I have more, come on!" Azula yanked Mao inside and started showing him all of the drawings and paintings that she had done. Meanwhile Akihiro stood by observing them both.

"Doctor," began Mao as Azula saw a bird fly by the window. Giddy as a child, she rummaged through a disheveled pile of art supplies on her bed, and pulled out a pencil and sketchpad. She leapt into the eave of the window where she sat and started drawing feverishly.

"Just call me Akihiro."

"Oh Akihiro is not a doctor. Doctors are for sick people when they die," said Azula as she reached onto the desk, took out a g-pen, and continued drawing.

Mao raised an eyebrow and glanced at Akihiro, who gave him a knowing glance.

"Akihiro, do you mind if I spend some time with Azula on my own?"

"Well. I don't feel comfortable with leaving her with a visitor I just met before and I..."

Mao then held out a white lotus tile in front of Akihiro that immediately drew his attention.

"It would be inconvenient if it was found out that the Fire Lord's sister is under the tender care of a member of the White Lotus. All of whom have proven to have mixed loyalties. In fact I have been hearing some nasty rumors that they may very well have their own agenda. Why, next thing you know we'll have some important people asking you some difficult, and awkward questions, that involve matters of national security. Wouldn't you agree, Doctor?"

Akihiro furrowed his brow. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"My name's Takashi. And all I want is what you want: to cure Azula."

"What do you want from Azula?"

"I want to see her cured. That's all. But right now, I would just like to talk to her. Alone."

Akihiro left the room, but stayed close to the door that he kept ajar. All the while, Azula was peacefully sketching her next drawing. Mao peered over her shoulder and leaned against the desk. It was a drawing of a hawk that the Air Nomads used for hunting. He recognized the breed, noting that it was wonderfully drawn and with such great detail, it even included the tool that they use to train them in catching prey in mid-flight.

"Where did you learn how to draw?"

"Oh, I've always loved drawing pictures. Mommy likes my pictures and I show them to her whenever she comes to visit me. But Daddy burned them though and said that they were a waste a time. That's why he hates me. He doesn't like the other me either."

"You mother visits you?" Mao asked gently.

"Mhm. But she'll only see me. Whenever she sees the other me though, they always fight."

"So, your mom and dad visit you? When was this?"

"They visit all the time. I show mommy all my pictures. I have to hide my pictures whenever daddy comes."

Mao raised an eyebrow as he recalled that Ozai was placed under guard as per Zuko's orders, while Ursa was still missing and she does not appear that she wants to be found. In fact, one of the first things that Zuko had done after he was made Fire Lord was to find his mother, but came up empty handed. He even sent for June to track her down and still nothing. If either of them had been traveling about the Fire Nation, he and Zuko would know about it.

Azula flipped a page and made a pencil fall beside the desk, causing her to gasp.

"Here, I got it." Mao reached over to pick it up but she grabbed his wrist and pulled it back.

"No! Don't! She'll get mad!" Azula pleaded and looked genuinely scared and frightened.

"Who will?"

"Azula!"

Mao finally noticed then that she sat on one side of the desk. He glanced around the room to see that there was arbitrarily divided. Like two roommates the room was messy with games strewn on one half of the room, and art material on the other half. Even the desk, which was the only one in the room was divided in half, and large enough for two to occupy it.

Mao looked at the ceiling out of curiosity to see even that was divided and found it was not. Instead there were drawing of birds scorched onto the ceiling. Mao then smiled at Azula reassuringly.

"It's okay, it's right over here," Mao pointed at the pencil.

"But she'll find out and then she'll take over. And she hates me. She never lets me do what I want and she's always in control. I only get to be in control when she's asleep. But when she wakes up she takes control no matter what I'm doing." Azula held Mao's robes in an iron grip. Who would have thought that such a small girl could have so much strength? Then again the little girl is Azula.

"Can I talk to her for a bit?"

Azula looked surprised.

"You want to talk to her?"

"Mhm."

"But."

"Don't worry. I'll talk to her and ask her to be nicer to you."

"You promise?"

"You know I always keep my promises."

Azula hung her head and started looking sad, which made him feel bad that he was forcing her to do something that she did not like.

"Okay...since you promised," Azula trailed off and a moment later, her entire demeanor changed. Gone was the sweetness and tenderness of the little princess who was there was a moment ago. The person who now stood before Mao, looked like the fire princess that everyone feared, and he respected.

"Hello Takashi," smirked Azula as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Hey Azula. I see you have your game face on."

"Life is a game. And I always win." Azula sneered. Mao smiled slightly and let out a low chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Azula frowned.

"You're standing on the wrong side of the room."

Azula looked about her and was visibly perturbed, as she quickly stepped over to gamer side of the room. She then wiped her shoes on the carpeted floor as though she stepped into something filthy.

Mao turned away to hide his effort to suppress his laughter. Her reaction was almost comical if she was not in her right state of mind. Recomposing himself, he turned to face Azula who was finishing checking the bottom of her shoes.

"That was a dirty trick," Azula hissed. "Then again you were always good at deceiving people."

"Sometimes even the truth can be used to deceive," Mao took out a Go Board and the cases holding the black and white stones from the corner of the room. "Do you wish to continue where we left off?"

Azula raised an eyebrow and walked towards him as though she was feline stalking her prey.

"I was getting bored with that game. I haven't had anyone to play with in awhile who can match my skill. Even after I explained the rules which are so simple."

"Even with a handicap?" Mao put two stones into his hands and held them out in fists in front of Azula. She pointed a fist which opened to reveal a black stone in its palm. Mao handed Azula the container with all the black stones in it.

"EVEN when I let them cover the whole board with handicap stones," she sneered. "When was the last time you played?"

"When you visited me at the Boiling Rock. I haven't had anyone to play with since then."

"Did you forget the rules?"

"I was the one who taught you the game."

They played quietly, taking their time. Mao made light conversation, trying to see how her gamer persona thought and worked. The gamer persona took on an extreme competitiveness, and was more fanatical about winning than when she was in her right of mind.

When she won the first round and she started dancing around the room and started singing a popular song in the Fire Nation that young people were singing nowadays. Who would have thought she had such a nice voice? Not at all something one would expect from a field commander or a Firebending prodigy.

They started a second round as the topic shifted to Zuko. Which turned out to be an interesting topic as it immediately led to their Agni Kai. Azula recounted every detail of her tactical brilliance, up until she underestimated a certain Water Tribe peasant girl.

"Why did you attack Katara when you were having an Agni Kai with Zuko?" asked Mao.

"She was a bystander and she was just in the way. It's not my fault that she was getting some stray shots. Besides, Zuko jumped in the way and saved her anyway."

"You cheated." Mao gently tapped a stone down onto the center of the board.

"I didn't cheat, I never cheat. She just...got caught...in the crossfire. It was his fault he wanted to play hero. He was foolish. Why would anyone want to be the hero if they know that they'll get hurt?"

"Did you ever think that you were ever a hero for single-handedly conquered Ba Sing Se? You had put your life on the line."

"Did you think that you were a hero for taking that lightning shot for the Avatar?" Azula tapped a stone loudly onto a corner of the board close to Mao.

Good move, thought Mao as he was forced to defend his precarious position.

"I remember reading about your people, the Airbenders," continued Azula. "For all their power they turned out to be weak. They never had the will to win." Azula pressed her advantage.

"Times have changed. I am nothing like the Avatar or the monks. But strength is relative," Mao countered, lightly tapping a stone to stop her advance.

"Strength is the ability to win. Winning is power. Without power you will become weak and become prey for the strong. And the weak deserve to fall before the strong." Azula slammed a stone to the side of the board. Mao quickly replied by placing a stone next to Azula's in her corner of the board that she had neglected to defend properly. After a few more turns, Azula successfully defended her corner, but Mao was forcing her to make unnecessary moves. Mao now controlled the tempo of the game.

"Indeed being strong is good. But sometimes the strengths that have made one great can also be a detriment, and are in some cases become strategically irrelevant." Mao placed a stone to invade more of her side of the board that offered him some room to maneuver. She responded by aggressively attacking his one stone. But he carved enough living space for his stones to survive on their own, deep in her territory without support, and threatened to spread like a cancer. "Strength, is therefore using the resources available to you gain a strategic advantage over your opponent. What is perceived as a weakness can become a strong point. That is the goal of strategy."

Azula began to bite her thumb and bounce her knee up and down. Mao now had control over the conversation as well as the game. She loudly tapped another stone down. It was a weak response.

"The beauty of this game is that it assumes that both sides are equal in every respect in this conflict, and they win by the merits of their tactical brilliance and their strategy. Instead of trying to destroy your enemy, you are competing for territory. An example of economy of force if you will." Mao gently placed a stone down, forcing her again to play to his rhythm.

"This game is not at all like real life," Azula retorted. "If that was so, the Earth Kingdom would have won the war long ago. But then again their leaders were always a bunch of incompetents anyway."

"Does you mother visit you?" Mao asked gently as though to change the subject.

"She never visits. She always sees the princess, but not the monster."

"You're not a monster," he replied softly.

Azula looked up from the board and was genuinely surprised. She simply stared at Mao as though she had a moment of clarity and then she frowned.

"Not to her. I'll always be a monster. Just like your third mother, you told me about her. She called you a monster after you killed your half-brother. He wanted to inherit everything from your father instead of you. We're both the same. We became monsters so that we could survive and get what we want. Everyone else in the world is no different."

"We are... what the world makes us into. But I cannot accept you being a monster. It would be like saying that you're inherently evil. Which you're not. You're a good person, you just have to learn how to get along with other people. Maybe your other self can help you."

Azula snorted and leaned back in her chair.

"What can that weakling teach me?"

She glanced at the board and realized that Mao was winning. A skilled Go player would be able to read the board and know that Azula was going to lose no matter what she tried. Azula screamed and overturned the board and went into a frenzy. Mao stood up and watched her as she threw a Pai Chou board at the orderlies who had burst into the room. She then lunged at Mao who used his Airbending to sweep her off her feet and put her into a bear hug. She continued to scream and flail about, kicking at the orderlies when they got too close, and tried to use the back of her head to hit Mao in the nose. Finally Mao dragged her to the ground and used his weight to pin her.

"Azula, listen to me. I'm like you, I know that you hate losing. So do I."

"I hate you!"

"Listen to me. Tell you what, whoever wins the next round can order the loser to do whatever they want."

"You're too good. I can't win."

"Oh stop being such a baby, you won the first round didn't you? If it'll get you to stop acting this way I'll give you...Um, three- no- a two stone handicap. How's that?"

"Fine, but white doesn't get the extra five and half points! Now get off you pervert!"

Mao got up indignantly as they both rose and picked up the board and the stones. Azula picked up her black stones on the gamer's side of the room. The orderlies left the room after a few words from Mao to assuage their fears. After Mao picked up all of the white stones and placed them in the container, he saw most of the black stones on the other side of the room. The side of the artist, while the gamer kept to her side.

"Aren't you going to pick those up?" He asked pointing to the stones.

Azula looked at the stones and frowned.

"You get them," she said sharply.

"They're just right there."

"You can get them for me."

"Now, now. You know that you threw them and that you need all of your stones in order to play. You know the rules. You can only place stones on the board. You can't move them or take them off of the board. And you don't have enough to play with. Unless you're too scared to go over there?"

Azula pouted and trudged over to the line that divided the room. She stepped cautiously as though she was stepping into a swamp. Quickly scooping up the stone, she leapt back to her side of the room.

"You missed some." Mao pointed in the far corner of the room where the black stones reflected light off of their polished surfaces. Azula exasperated, marched over to the other side this time, quickly picked up the remaining stones, and slammed them into the container.

"Let's just play already!" Azula placed the handicap stones for black on the board. Mao took one of the corners that was vacant since the corners of the board offered the best defensive positions. Azula immediately challenged the position by placing a stone next to his. Mao simply ignored the challenge, and placed a stone in the last vacant corner only to be challenged again, and he was forced to counter. The battle of wits was on.

Mao had to think harder since having a two stone handicap for evenly matched players was a big advantage. Not to mention, getting rid of the five and half point rule is also a mistake on Mao's part if he wants to win since he is white. The five and half point rule was established to break ties and make the playing even for white since they would automatically get five and half points. In the past, white was customarily given to the more skilled player, but it gives the initiative to black, who can make things very difficult for white, since black gets to move first, and black can set the rhythm of the game at the very beginning. If the players are equally matched, it was usually black who wins, usually by five points if they played without the special rule.

Azula was well aware of the advantages of moving first, and she more aggressive this time as she kept tapping her stones hard onto the board. Mao replied in kind as they moved rapidly and the game ended more quickly than he was comfortable with. Azula tapped the last stone on the board. Mao examined the board and said "pass." Azula also passed which officially ended the game. Moving the stones around to make the counting of points a lot easier, they then placed the captured stones into each other's respective territories. This would reduce the number of points that their opponent had gained with the stones that their opponent had captured from. And then they started the final tally.

"56, 57, 58, 59, 60," said Azula. Mao wrote the score down. "How much do you have?"

"60. It's a tie."

"Wait, what about the extra-" Azula looked puzzled and then her face darkened, "you cheated."

"I didn't cheat. I kept my hands visible at all times and I kept all my stones next to yours, including the ones I captured next to your pile."

"It's easy to cheat in Go, don't lie to me."

"Did you lie that you never cheated in Agni Kai?" Mao asked simply.

"NO. I never cheat and there can be only one winner," Azula asserted. "Maybe you made a mistake somewhere." Azula grabbed the piece of paper from Mao and started to shake her head in horror. "No, no, no, no. There has to be a mistake." Azula scurried from one side to the board to the next. She grabbed the piece of paper from Mao and recounted. She recounted the board. She checked if she had overlooked any captured stones. She frantically checked under the table and chairs. She checked, rechecked and checked again.

"We didn't make any mistakes. It's a draw. No one wins, no one loses."

"NO!" Azula cried. "A rematch, we have to have a rematch! No handicaps, you can be white and have the extra points." Azula grabbed Mao's robes and smiled in desperation.

"No Azula. You have to accept this outcome. We're evenly matched."

Azula stared at Mao once again in a moment of clarity. But in the next moment, she started crying and sobbing as she slumped against Mao, who held her to prevent her from falling and hurting herself. He held her still as she regained her footing and rose to her feet. She looked at him in the eye in puzzlement through her tear streaked face. Realizing that the artist persona was back, he simply took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears.

"She's... she's crying. She never cries. What did you do?" the artist persona asked.

"We had a little game. And neither of us won."

"But isn't that the point of having a game? Why have a game if no one wins?"

Mao smiled, led her to the bed by the arm, and they sat down next to each other.

"I put us into a stalemate on purpose. One day, she should create a game that would allow us to beat the game and not each other. Maybe that can be fun too."

"Wow. Then maybe... if I learned how to play games and win... she'll let me have control." Azula's face brightened. "But wait. I'll lose though and she won't ever let me have control. I'm not perfect like her."

"I'm not saying that you have to be the best of everything. I'm just saying that the other you should accept your limitations. Just like you said that you're not good at games. But the other you is not good at drawing."

"You're good at everything Takashi. You're perfect and you're a boy. Daddy would have loved you."

Mao snorted. "I'm not perfect and I will never be. I fail all of the time. But it is by doing and by learning that we overcome our shortcomings. You can start by learning to become a big girl by helping look after your other self."

"Why should I?" Azula pouted putting her fists on her hips. "She's never nice to me."

"Well she doesn't know how to be nice. And you don't how to play games. So you two need each other, and right now she needs you."

"She needs me?" Azula asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. You two need to learn from each other to become stronger together."

Azula stared him for a few moments and asked. "Why?"

"Because... because... I was told by Fuyumi... that when you get stronger... you won't be grounded anymore," Mao offered weakly.

"Fuyumi told you I was grounded?" exclaimed Azula and peered at the door to see Fuyumi ducking behind it. "I see you!" Azula then pouted by crossing her arms, and turning her back on Mao.

"Keep it up and you'll be grounded forever like your dad," Mao said teasingly.

Azula relaxed and turned back face Mao.

"He's grounded too?" she asked incredulously, like a child never heard of a grown man being grounded like a child.

"Yeah," Mao said as a matter of fact. "To get ungrounded, you need to become strong again. And you need your other you to help. Or else."

Azula looked sad, which pulled at Mao's heart strings, making his paternal instincts kick into overdrive as he pulled her into hug.

"I also need you Azula. I need your help as well. When you two get better, can you help me as well?"

Azula pulled back with a moment of clarity, then she stood up, and put her hands on her hips as though she was child given an important task.

"Okay! I'll help! Then we won't be grounded anymore and we can come visit you! And we'll help you become strong too Takashi!"

Mao stood up.

"You can do it. I know you can."

As Mao was about to leave the room he stopped and turned around.

"By the way."

Azula froze from what she was doing.

"Clean your room."

"What?" Whined Azula.

"No whining. You're a princess and you should really clean your room."

"By myself?" Azula protested.

"Have your other self help out. And don't think of it as a chore. Make a game out of it."

"But I told you I'm not good at games and what do I do if she never gives me control after she cleans up?"

"Well...make control...the reward for cleaning the room up the fastest, I guess. Or, something like that. I don't know," Mao offered weakly.

"You're not my brother so you can't order me around," she objected, but then she smiled and said, "But I like you better than Zuzu. He's mean to me like daddy. My other self protects me when he comes to shout at me."

Mao's stomach sunk.

"Zuko...loves you very much. He just doesn't know how to show it," Mao said before turning to leave the room.

"Takashi, wait." Azula ran up to Mao and gave him a friendly hug for a few moments. Then ran back into the room to hide her blushing face. Mao mentally cursed himself for thinking that he may prefer Azula to stay this way. Standing at the door, he turned to look back to see Azula looking about the room wondering where to start.

She really is a good kid, thought Mao as he closed the door behind him. He turned to see Zuko with his arms crossed at his chest. A smirking Akihiro was standing beside Iroh who looked quite stern.

"Hi. Takashi," Zuko said as though he was spitting out something unpleasant.

Edited by Avatar Amaya.

Special Thanks to Churnook who edited this chapter and whose story this chapter was based on.