Zuko came up to the front door of the sanatorium where his sister was kept. A pair Kiyoshi warriors who were standing guard at the front door bowed to him as he approached. He knew both of them from visiting his sister once a week. Not that he was afraid of his sister, but because of what Mao had demonstrated when he made that unexpected, and unwanted visit. He could have easily abducted her, and spirited his sister away to some remote corner of the world. But no. Mao just waltzed in, and talked to her for a few hours.
If you ever cared about your little sister once in your life, now's the time to show it! Mao shouted at him when he and his uncle confronted him.
Mao infuriated Zuko.
But more than anything, Zuko wanted answers. Answers as to where his mother had gone. His mother. Who vanished so many years ago. One of the first things that he had done when he was made Fire Lord, was to have his people search for her. But no one knew where she had gone and the trail had gone cold. Eventually he asked for the aid of June who could track anyone in the world; but even that led to a dead end. He kept asking his father, but he kept quiet about it. The only other person who could possibly know about her whereabouts is in this sanatorium. Who had eavesdropped on his parents' secret rendezvous when she was a small child, barely a year and a half younger than him.
During Zuko's questioning with Azula, her so-called artist persona would feign her innocence, and claim that she did not know anything. But this only invoked his rage because he knew she was lying, and this act of having a mental disorder, is nothing but an elaborate ruse. A sick and stupid mind game to confound and confuse him. What made it harder was that she would cry and not fight back. Even as he threw things at her, throw fireballs, or curse at her, she would cower in the corner. But it was when she is cornered that her true colors would come out.
When cornered she would start throwing things back at him, yell, and scream at him as hard she could. But she would never use her Firebending, but that was made her even more cunning, since it only confirmed her story of having a mental disorder. That bird-brained doctor, Akihiro, even went as far as calling her true personality, her 'gamer personality', which has been coming out more frequently during his visits. Akihiro told him that it was a defensive mechanism of sorts when she was dealing with him. He knew that it was all a trick, and that she was running out of ideas. Zuko mentally shook himself out of his reverie, when noticed that Suki was not there to greet him at the door as usual.
"Where is Suki, Akane?" he asked.
"She's with Akihiro."
"I see," replied Zuko. It made sense for Suki to keep tabs on her prisoner. "How is Azula?"
"Your sister is steadily improving," Akane replied quickly. "It has been becoming difficult to tell which personality is which anymore. It may be a positive sign that her personalities are merging together."
"You actually believe that my sister is actually sick?"
"I…I don't know. You will have to ask Akihiro about that."
"Is that so?" Zuko studied the ground.
"Will you…What will you do when Azula is cured?"
"…I haven't thought about it yet. It depends if she is the still the same person as she was before."
"If I am be so candid," said the other Kiyoshi warrior, Kanna. "Akihiro suggests that Azula may not be the same person as she was once."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"It's very likely that she may become a completely person."
"Really?" Zuko asked skeptically, drawing a mental image of Azula when they last fought in an Agni Kai.
"Maybe in the best possible way," Akane quickly added but the damage had already been done.
"No. I don't think that she will…" Zuko trailed off as he walked inside.
Akihiro opened up the sliding window frame to allow him to look into Azula's room. His patient had made steady improvement since Takashi, or Mao's fateful visit. He begrudgingly accepted that Mao was a positive influence on her, unlike her brother who only yells and screams at her. But nonetheless, Mao has proven to a be a potentially dangerous person, when he revealed that he knew of his affiliation to the Order of the White Lotus. He could very well manipulate Azula's personalities for his own ends. This he cannot allow and must keep her away from him at all costs. His heart lightened, when he saw that Azula was sitting on the gamer persona's side of the room, painting figurines at the table.
Have they been exchanging skills? thought Akihiro. He gently closed the sliding window, opened the door and walked in. Azula looked up.
"Hey Akihiro," Azula said simply. "I thought that we don't have a session today."
"We don't. I just wanted to check up on you. So what're you doing?"
"Oh, my other self asked me to make chess pieces for her. She wants some Water Tribe and Air Nomads. She got tired of the Earth Kingdom." Azula pointed to the box full of chess pieces that personified the Earth Kingdom. They were badly scratched and nicked. While the Fire Nation chess pieces were in almost pristine condition, having been given a new coat of paint.
"Have you been getting along with your other self? Have you been getting into fights lately?"
"No. We always look out for each other. When can we see Takashi?"
Akihiro was surprised. Her question could very well suggest that she has some attachment to the boy. He mentally struggled with himself to find an acceptable answer to her question. He did not want to be at odds with her. That would endanger their relationship as doctor and patient, in which trust is paramount. But he did not want to lie to her. But first of all, the person that she wanted to see was not named Takashi, but Mao. He does not know what would happen if he revealed the truth to her, that Mao had lied to her, while her own brother treats her harshly. It would pushing her back into a corner.
"Takashi can't see you anymore."
"Why not?" Azula asked, her face was now filled with worry. She looked like a child being told that she would not see one of her best friends for a long time.
"Because your brother would not allow it," Akihiro replied, settled for telling half of the truth.
Azula reaction was immediate as she dropped her paintbrush.
"Why? Why is Zuzu so mean to me?" Her eyes started to tear up. She threw the chess piece to the ground and cupped her face in her hands.
"I'm sorry," Akihiro said as he got up and placed a comforting hand on her shaking shoulder. "I'll tell your brother that he can't visit you for sometime." Azula managed to nod.
As he left the room he was greeted by Fuyumi and Suki.
"We heard everything," said Fuyumi. "I think it would be best if Zuko stopped seeing his sister for a while. It seems unhealthy for her. Every time she seems to make progress, he comes in and-"
"Yes. I agree with you. For now, I think it would be best to cancel the next session, until she recovers."
Fuyumi nodded in acknowledgement. But almost right on queue, Zuko was walking towards them in his full Fire Lord regalia. He longer bothered to change into ordinary clothes.
"Zuko," said Akihiro as he turned to him. "I'm afraid that your sister cannot see you today."
"What? Why?"
"She is making significant progress and I wish to make sure that she maintains that progress. If she sees you so frequently...I am uncertain what may happen."
"I'm her brother!"
"But your, treatment of her, is deconstructive," offered Suki. "If we at least give her a chance-"
"A chance to do what? Hurt more people? Don't you remember what she did to you? How she hurt Aang?"
"She was doing her duty," replied Fuyumi.
"And she relished every minute of it. You don't know her the way I do. In fact you grew up with us, don't you remember Fuyumi, how she tormented everyone?" Zuko barked back.
"...I remember her as a girl who was hungry for attention. While your father-"
"Be quiet! As her only family, I say what should happen to her!"
"Please don't this Zuzu," whispered Fuyumi.
"Don't call me that!"
"Fire Lord," interjected Suki. "She's your family. Won't you give her a second chance?"
Zuko was beside himself. He felt betrayed, he wanted to lash out. He wanted Azula to disappear from his life who always bullied him, tormented him, and kept pushing him. Azula, the perfect one and their father's favorite, and was chosen to be Fire Lord. Even though he kept repeating the reasons of why he left to travel with Aang, it still hurt realizing that his father would not wait for him to make amends. What brought the greatest unease is that, is that he had Azula live, she has been and will always be a threat to him. It would simpler if he took her out and executed her, but it was never that simple.
"...fine..." Zuko said dejectedly and left. "But if she turns out to be the same fire breathing monster, I will personally kill her."
Suki let out a breath that she had not realized that she had kept in. The tension was gone along with Zuko. Is there really no way to end their old grudge?
"Akihiro, may I see Azula?" asked Suki after Zuko's retreating back had disappeared around the corner.
"I don't think that it would best thing right now. Now that her gentle side was told she can't see Mao."
"What connection does Mao have with her anyway?"
"Mao and Azula had fought each other repeatedly when he was traveling with the Avatar," replied Fuyumi. "Somewhere along the way, they came to respect each other. At Ba Sing Se, he was left behind by the Avatar and was captured by Azula. He was later taken to the Boiling Rock where she, sort of, interrogated him. Seeing them together was sort of natural, in a weird, twisted way."
"Sort of interrogated him?" Suki laughed nervously. "Yeah, I know, I was imprisoned there too. Mao and I are old friends from before. I did find it a little odd that Azula kept seeing him when we were there. Do you think that-"
"Azula is emotionally unstable which is playing havoc with her mind," Akihiro interrupted. "If she knew of your personal connection to Mao, and you see her now. It might make her condition worse."
"But is there a chance that she will be, well, the same fire breathing, man-eating Azula that we all know?"
Fuyumi could not help but chuckle at the dark humor.
"Are any of us the same after a period of time? There is no telling what she will become after this episode," replied Akihiro.
"But what about her parents coming to visit her?" interjected Fuyumi. "The only people who come to stop by and visit her has been me, Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, you and Mao."
"Well," breathed Akihiro. "Her parents, Ozai and Ursa are just delusions, or hallucinations, of her parents who come to visit her from time to time. But do not mistaken them as figments of her imagination. Her apparitions are just as real to her, as we are to each other as we talk with one another."
Suki slumped her shoulders. She could not help but feel pity for the poor wretch. If Azula does not recover from her mental illness, she may stay locked forever, imprisoned in her own mind as it were, not to mention physically. If does she recovers, there is no telling what awaits beyond these doors.
Later, after curfew, Azula was still crying. She was crying so hard in fact that Akihiro later ordered Fuyumi to have her sedated for fear that her condition might get worse. After some coaxing and administering the sedative to her, Fuyumi laid Azula in her bed and tucked her in. As her head touched the pillow on her bed, Azula fell into a much needed taciturn sleep. In her mind, however, it has become a routine for her personalities to awaken, and share their dreams with one another, as their physical body slept soundly. They would meet at the foot of the bed, in their shared dream scape. Her artist persona would wear pink clothes, as it is her favorite color. While her gamer persona would wear crimson.
"What should we become today? A hawk? A horse? A bear?" the artist asked the gamer in her childlike voice.
"Hmm..." the gamer rested her head on her chin. "Let's be dragons," she suggested in a deeper and mature tone.
They transformed and manifested themselves into dragons. The gamer appeared large and muscular, and exuded power, as though its wings could create hurricanes. The artist was more slender, and while she was smaller, her movements were graceful like a dancer.
"Shall we?" asked the gamer as her claw reached for the door.
"Why do we have to use a door to start the dream? It's so...mundane."
"Mundane?"
"This is a dream after all. Dreams inspires art. And art is a dream made manifest. Art and dreams are beautiful because they come naturally and-"
"And spontaneously?" the gamer deadpanned as she finished the sentence for the smaller dragon. "Humor me this time dear. Your randomness is endearing but a little annoying."
"What's wrong with being a little random?" The artist tilted her pink dragon head.
"Randomness is unbecoming of a lady," the gamer lectured, pointing an index claw as though she was a teacher about to start a very lengthy and boring lesson. "Wouldn't you want to be more ladylike for Takashi?"
"Yes. But it doesn't seem to matter anymore though. Akihiro said that I couldn't see Takashi..." the artist trailed off and tears swelled in her eyes.
"There, there. I heard what happened," the gamer placed an affectionate claw on the artist. "We promised Takashi that we'll work together to grow stronger. In order to do that we must rely on each other. That is part of the game."
"A game?"
"Yes. Against Zuko who wants to keep us down. If we falter and give up, he would win."
"Why does everything have to be a game?" exasperated the artist.
"Life is a game in way. If you think about it. Each of us have choices, each our own methods, our own strategy to get an edge over everyone else, or simply survive in most cases. And just like in a game, life is full of conflict, and there is always someone better than you. You live life with the cards that have been dealt to you. And whether we like it or not we have to play it, if we are to cope."
"It doesn't have to be that way," reasoned the artist, "Takashi said that we should play a game that we don't have to compete with each other. Instead we work together to beat the game."
"Sounds like fun."
"Yeah it does. Takashi is really smart, I like him."
"So do I."
The artist looked at the gamer curiously and then smiled. "Then let's go! So that we can get stronger so we can be with Takashi!" The artist went to the door pulling the gamer behind her. Opening the door they entered a huge room, where everything dwarfed them. The artist coiled in fear, while the gamer bristled, her alert eagle-like eyes glancing from one part of the room to the other.
"Where are we?" asked the gamer.
"Daddy's study and there he is, at his desk." The artist hid behind the gamer.
There were sounds of running feet approaching and then a small Azula as a toddler burst into the room with pictures that she made. Her face and hands were covered in paint.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" cried a grinning toddler Azula as she grabbed her father's robes.
"Yes Azula? Get your hands off child! Now you got my robes dirty!" yelled Ozai.
"Sorry," said Azula softly who looked she was about to cry. The artist cringed in fear at the sight of her father in a scornful rage.
"What do you want?" asked Ozai gruffly.
Azula face brightened, "Look at what I made!" she cried holding up the pictures so that her father could see them all at once.
Ozai snatched the pictures away from Azula's outstretched hand, frowned and then burned them in front her. Azula's eyes widened in bewilderment, as she watched her colorful pictures being burned in front of her, and dropped into a metal garbage can. She stared unblinking, watching the paper crinkle from the heat and turn to ash, the smell of ashes filling her nostrils. As she breathed the scent of ashes in, she felt calmer for some reason. After the embers had died down she looked up at her father.
"You don't like my pictures? Mommy likes them," she asked innocently.
"Yes Azula, I don't like them. Show them to mommy from now on. I don't have time for such things."
"Why?" she asked in curiosity.
Ozai looked at Azula. "Because it's a waste of time. In fact you shouldn't be wasting your time on such things either. You are the princess of the Fire Nation and you should act like it. Even though you can't Firebend like your brother yet."
"But I don't want to Firebend!" Azula pouted and stamped her foot. "I want to draw, and paint, and make pictures!"
"Quiet child!" Ozai pounded the desk, causing the toddler to jump out of her skin. "Listen to your father! You are a princess and you represent the power and prestige of our glorious house, and you should be feared. Through fear you will command true loyalty and respect! Do you think that people will fear you if you waste time drawing?"
"No," Azula said weakly and began to cry.
"Don't cry. Don't you ever cry."
Azula began to sniff and started to whoop to try to hold her tears in.
"You're still crying."
Azula inhaled deeply and held her breath. When she exhaled, she stopped crying.
"Good girl. This is a harsh lesson to learn. But you must be strong. Just like a sword you must be cleansed and tested by fire. Through fire you are purified. Everything is a test. That is what it means to be a Firebender. Do you understand?"
"Yes daddy."
"Good. Now, don't bother me until you can Firebend like your brother." Ozai turned back to his work, expecting his daughter to do as she was told. Only the artist and the gamer watched her leave.
"Stupid Zuzu..." muttered Azula once she was out of earshot.
"Daddy was wrong," said the artist as the dreamscape changed the turtleduck pond as the toddler Azula was making finger paintings. She was grinning stretching out her arm and sticking up her thumb in front of her as she watched the turtleducks. It something that she had learned from watching an artist visiting the palace to begin her family's portrait. Beside her were Ty Lee, Mai and Fuyumi. Azula's mother, Ursa, watched them intently being sure to encourage them. "My drawings aren't a waste of time. They made feel good. Mommy liked them, so did Fuyumi, Ty Lee and Mai."
"Yes, but father told you to stop and concentrate on Firebend once it manifested," the gamer replied as the dreamscape changed to when Azula first discovered her Firebending.
She was showing her mother her latest work, but in her excitement she burned it by accident, almost including her mother. Ozai who saw the whole thing happened ran up to Azula and picked her up.
"Good job Azula! See, I told you can do it and you did it! Now, from now on, you can practice with your brother," Ozai said continuing his praises.
"I'm sorry mommy," apologized Azula to her mother.
Ursa smiled weakly to the father and daughter, as Fuyumi offered water to her. Zuko ran up to his mother and grabbed her leg.
"What's wrong Zuzu?" Ursa placed an affectionate hand on her son's head.
"No one will play with me," Zuko whined.
"You shouldn't even be playing, you should be concentrating on your studies! If you're not studying, you should be training!" Ozai started lecturing Zuko with Azula still in his arms.
"There was no place for the artist in Father's game," the gamer continued. "To him, anything he could not use, was a hinderance. If there was any sign of weakness, he would try to hide it, or purify of any weaknesses until it became strong. He wanted your creativity for me to use, and to understand tactics and strategic thinking. It was a sound strategy in his mind to achieve his ambitions."
"He even tried that even on Zuzu?"
"Even Zuzu. He didn't want any weaklings in his company."
"That still doesn't make it right. And I still drew my pictures."
The dreamscape shifted to Azula's first day at the Fire Nation Academy for Girls. She sat alone in the classroom, drawing a picture of an apple, a half empty drinking glass, and book in front of her. But as the sound of footsteps approached her, she quickly put her sketch book into her bag. She then opened the book to a page that she had bookmarked, and took a bite of her apple and began to chew. Ty Lee and Mai rushed in as other girls followed, evidently back from recess.
"Hey Azula, why weren't you at recess?" asked Ty Lee.
"I preferred to stay inside and read. Besides I have Firebending practice later today," Azula replied cooly.
"What are you reading?" asked Mai.
" "Sozin", it's about my great grandfather, it's becoming a classic I heard."
The gamer sighed.
"You did continued to draw, but only in secret. Not even our friends, knew about your artwork. We never told them for fear that you would get caught by father. So you see. In a way we were playing a game and we lost, even if we weren't aware of it at the time," the gamer said bitterly.
The dreamscape changed to a teenage Azula practicing her Firebending in a courtyard, her father watching attentively with her martial arts instructor. Azula had just finished with one of her forms, and her instructor telling her to make some minor adjustments. Ozai grew disinterested looked around and noticed her book bag. Azula froze where she stood and watched her father lift up her bag to reveal her sketch book. Ozai raised a curious eyebrow and replaced the bag. He then threw a scornful look at his daughter and walked out of the courtyard.
"You shouldn't waste your time at pointless pursuits," Ozai said over his shoulder.
Azula's face contorted into anger as she marched up to her book bag, grabbed her sketchbook, determined to burn it. But in that instant of when she began firebending, the red flames sputtered into an intense blue flame, as the sketchbook burned in her hands. That was the first time that she could produce blues flames. Azula's eyes widened in complete surprise, and then smirked as she threw her sketch book across the courtyard. The pages curled up, as it was completely engulfed in flames.
"Ha, ha, ha!" she laughed out loud.
"Come on, Azula," whispered the artist to the gamer. "Let's leave this place. It hurts."
"I agree," said the gamer as she flew out of the courtyard, the artist closely following. "But let's see how the rest of the game turned out."
"What's the point? Zuzu won in the end. He became Fire Lord, you told me."
"He did win, but he had help from the Avatar and Takashi."
"Takashi? He was playing against us?"
"Yes. He was never on our side to begin with."
"Oh..." the artist said dejectedly.
"But it was fun playing with him," the gamer reassured the artist.
"Why?"
"Because, we were always evenly matched. He pushed me past my limits, and in a way helped realize my potential. And somehow it was fun."
"Is that why you like him?"
"There are other reasons," the gamer shrugged.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes, don't you?" The gamer stopped in mid-flight and looked inquisitively back at her companion.
The artist grinned and giggled. Her claw curled in a loose fist in front of her mouth.
"What's so funny?" The gamer furrowed her brow.
"A-zu-la and Ta-ka-shi, sitting-in-a-tree..." sang the artist pumping her claws in the air.
"Oh shut up! I shouldn't have told you about him!" The gamer's crimson dragon face turned redder.
"Too late!" the artist giggled, "don't forget, I like him too." The artist took the lead as she brushed past the gamer.
"Yes, I know," the gamer said softly as she followed.
The pair saw more pivotal moments in Azula's life. Some of it was happy, some of it was confusing, while others were sad and painful. But there was one memory that had hurt her most. It was when she and her brother were at the turtleduck pond. At the time she felt that she was lecturing him about grieving over their cousin Lu Ten's death. In her mind, she was just sharing the knowledge that her father had taught her of how to become stronger. But being a child, she did not know when she went over board.
"Azula! You're a monster!" said Ursa, her face a mixture of hurt and anger as she wrapped her robed arms protectively around her only son. Azula felt as though someone had stabbed her in the heart. She knew that her mother loved Zuko more than she. Maybe if she smiled more and acted like a good girl her mother would forgive her, and may even love her just as much?
"I'm sorry," Azula said sweetly. "I was only playing."
Ursa bristled and ushered Zuko away from the garden. Azula's face fell as she watched their retreating backs and went inside. Her shoulders shook as she tried to keep a straight face.
"Don't cry. Don't you ever cry," Azula thought to herself to keep from showing pain or sadness, but it did little to remove the pain in her heart.
"Azula? What's wrong sweetheart?" Her father's voice called out to her. Azula turned to face her father. Her father was a stern and strict man. But even so, she could not help but shed tears as she ran to him.
"Mom-mommy called me a monster! Nobody loves monsters! She loves Zuko and hates me!" cried Azula as she fought back the tears, wiping her face.
"There, there child. I know, come here," Ozai said as she buried her face in her father's robes, who was by now hyperventilating. "It goes to show that I was right, it's better to be feared than it is to be loved." Azula then began to wail, her screams muffled by her father's robes. "Shhh...It's alright to cry sometimes. I won't tell anyone that you cried this time."
"Am I, a monster?" asked the artist timidly as the dreamscape shifted.
"No, mother was wrong, neither you nor I are a monster," the gamer replied calmly.
"How do you know?"
"Because, Takashi said so. And I have a feeling that he's just as bad as we are."
"Us? You mean you, right? Mommy was wrong about you. Because I forgive you."
"Mother...did everything that she could to protect us. But it wasn't enough, and eventually we ended up like this. Broken, fragmented. We are actually one and the same. We're both Azula. You are me, and I am you." The gamer placed both of her claws on the shoulders of the artist as they gazed into each other eyes.
"I am you and you are me…" the artist said hypnotically.
"How lovely," another voice said, it sounded just like Azula, but it held a malicious bite in its pronouncement. The dreamscape shifted into a dim and cavernous hallway from the imperial palace. From the shadows a third persona appeared in Azula's human form, clad in black, with her trademark sinister smirk across her face. Her hair tied in her signature hairstyle. She walked as though she was gliding across the floor.
"What?" asked the artist who was completely confused.
"Who are you?" demanded the gamer.
"I am you. The part of you who enjoyed being the monster. The part of you that enjoyed seeing people squirm as we unleashed our wrath. The part of you that found relief in hiding our pain, and delight in tormenting our DEAR elder brother, after our mother abandoned us."
"She didn't abandon us," the artist objected, "she-she had a reason."
"The reason why doesn't matter, what matters is that someone else needed to feel the pain that we felt," the sadist replied darkly.
"I didn't do that!"
"Of course you didn't. Since you are nothing more than a silly, ignorant little girl who likes to run off and escape into your fantasy world. Do you even know why our mother left us?"
"I do. She left because...because..."
"You can't even remember can you? Instead you run and hide behind your other self. Pathetic," the sadist walked closer to the artist. Despite being in human form, the sadist walked as though she was stalking the pink dragon, as it drew back and hid behind the gamer.
"We don't want you here!" the artist said behind the gamer.
"Crawl back to whatever you came from, demon," the gamer growled at the sadist.
"Oh, so now we're demons?" the sadist sneered.
"YOU'RE THE DEMON!" the gamer leapt at the sadist, stopping just inches away from her face, baring her fangs that would make any man cower. But the sadist cooly maintained eye contact with the gamer with her signature smirk.
"Then how do you feel about this?" the sadist turned and waved her hand, as though she was in command of the dreamscape, as it dissolved and revealed a familiar scene. It was the public arena where Zuko had his fateful Agni Kai with their father.
"Do you remember? How dear Zuzu grovelled at our father's feet?"
Zuko was draped with a silk cloth, embroidered with the family crest. He kneeled facing away from his opponent on a raised platform for everyone to see. As per the custom, he and his opponent would not speak nor see each other, until the decisive confrontation. A Fire Sage climbed onto the center of the raised platform between the fighters.
"Is there any chance for the duelists to reconcile? Any at all? Very well then." The Fire Sage left the platform. "On a count of three! You will rise, turn and face each other! And begin the Agni Kai! ONE! TWO! THREE!"
Zuko rose and faced his opponent, his determination evaporated in an instant when he saw his father, Fire Lord Ozai as his opponent; whose honor Zuko had unwittingly defiled.
"Father! I'm so sorry!" Zuko went to his hands and knees, his head touching the ground. "I didn't mean to insult you! Please forgive me!"
"Stand and fight me Zuko! Fight to defend your honor!" Ozai shouted, his face contorted in rage as he approached his son.
"No, I won't fight you!" Zuko looked up at his father, his eyes filled with tears.
"I will not allow my children grow up to be spineless weaklings! I see now that I have failed you my son, you have learned nothing...Since I have failed as your father, let pain and suffering be your teachers!"
Azula smirked she watched her brother being burned by their father.
"I had found that delightful. Didn't you?" asked the sadist in a matter of fact tone, with her arms casually folded across her chest.
"That was not a fair game," the gamer glared. "Zuko thought he was going to face the general whose wasteful strategy he had objected to. Not our father."
"Fair," the sadist spat, "is a useless word made up by weak fools to limit the strong. Would it have been fair for father to let Zuko off the hook? Besides, his cowardice in the Agni Kai with father only compounded his error. And father gave him a chance to face him like a man and what did he do? He grovelled at his feet begging for forgiveness. Besides, Zuzu deserved to be punished." The sadist trailed off as she furrowed her brow, her hands clenched into tight fists, her eyes averting away from the dragons as she was remembering something unpleasant.
"You're nothing but a parasite," replied the gamer.
"What was that?" the sadist glared at the gamer.
"You heard me, you're nothing more than a parasite, feeding on the pain and suffering of those around you. Even friends and family are nothing but prey to you, but you can't do it by yourself. You twist my skills at playing games and reading my opponent to give you what you want. Even here you relish in Zuko's painful past, but you didn't do anything to cause it."
"Oh, don't sound so all important. It just goes to show that you are conceited as you are hopeless," the sadist countered as the dreamscape changed to Ember Island when Azula and her friends and brother were on their vacation. It later devolved into reckless vandalism as Azula and her clique became party crashers, and destroyed a vacation home of a son of a prominent naval officer. "There was no strategy when we burned down that idiot Chan's house on Ember Island, just cruel pleasure. Besides, without me your little victory dances would be hollow. You need me to revel in victory, and inspire you to get even when you face defeat. Remember that annoying nomad, Takashi?" The sadist waved her hand again and the dreamscape shifted to the secret catacombs of Ba Sing Se.
"Hold still!" barked Azula as she threw blue fireballs at Takashi who deftly evaded her attacks and swiftly counter-attacked. At one point he actually used her own attacks against her, by making the fire burn hotter and bigger than she had intended to, forcing her either to abort her attack, or risk being burned by her own technique.
When she winded up for a big attack, he countered by using his Airbending to rapidly close the distance between them. Using his momentum he typically threw a powerful right hook. Using his dominant arm no doubt.
She dodged and threw another fireball point blank at his face. Just as the flames manifested in her fist, he surprised her by grabbing her extended fist. What came next, stunned her, as he made the small space around her hand and wrist devoid of air, thus making her ability to create fire impossible.
Azula's eyes widened in complete surpise. Why didn't she think about that before? This annoying nomad was making a fool out of her. It annoyed her that she was outsmarted, and it shocked her that she could be losing. She hated losing. She hates to losing more than she wants to win. Even if it was a fair fight.
"You can't have fire without air," Takashi said as he grabbed her other hand as she tried to counter. "You might want to hold your breath," he added as he caused the air pressure to change.
Azula tried to kick him with her Firebending, but nothing happened, instead he simply blocked with his leg opposite of hers. She was about to struggle out of his grip, Zuko came in to help her, lighting Takashi's sleeve on fire. Takashi did a few backward somersaults, landing besides Aang, putting out the flames with his Airbending. As much as she did not want to admit, she and her brother had reached a stalemate with Takashi, the Avatar and the Water Tribe peasant. Then almost on cue the Dai Li appeared and leapt into a standard column formation behind them.
One of them approached them and said, "We are here to assist you Lady Azula."
"Excellent. You could not have had better timing," replied Azula. Even at his best, the Avatar could not fight this many people, including Azula and Zuko. But the peasant was not going down without a fight, as she assumed a fighting stance started using her water octopus technique. Takashi stepped in front of the Avatar placing him in between him and her line of fire. But she was close enough to hear him, and his voice echoed off of the catacomb's walls.
"Aang, did you master the Avatar State?"
"Almost."
"Almost is not going to cut it. Did you or did you not?"
"I did. Give me a minute."
"You will have it." Takashi stepped towards the Fire Prince and Princess, as the Avatar encased himself with crystals to begin the Avatar State. Azula's mind went into overdrive as she processed the situation, and picked out the best tactic to use. It was not the most elegant tactic nor require much finesse, but it would get the job done.
"Attack!" ordered Azula and the Dai Li obeyed, as she began the complicated form to use her lightning technique.
Takashi dispatched the Dai Li easily as she had expected, but the Dai Li were now ganging up on him. Takashi countered by using his Airbending to maintain his momentum as he increased his speed, a technique among others that she had become painfully familiar with. She considered her rival's techniques to be faster, more efficient and deadlier than the Avatar's. In fact, had it not been for the true Avatar's return, she would have thought that Takashi was the Avatar, since he proved to be a far more formidable adversary. As she was finishing her form, the catacomb was filled with a blinding light, and the Dai Li fled in terror realizing that Aang had just entered the Avatar State. It seemed that the fight was as good as lost.
Takashi looked momentarily at the Avatar as he began to slowly rise out of his encasement, but turned away and his eyes locked with hers. She saw everything in those grey stormy eyes; fear, urgency, anger, determination. He powered off of his back leg and in an instant he would be on top of her. But he would not be fast enough. Azula smirked at him in this cold calculation, as she shot a bolt of lightning at point blank range into his chest. His body instantly recoiled as though an ostrich horse had kicked him, stopping his speed and momentum, sending him flying backward, hitting the ground, his body rolled like a rag doll.
And not a moment too soon, the Avatar was in full view from his encasement. Azula smirked in triumph as she shot a second bolt of lightning into the Avatar's back. She could have not have had a better target.
"Aang!" the Water Peasant screamed as she caught her falling friend in mid-air. She held the Avatar's battered form in her arms, as she then scanned the room to see where her other companion was. She was clearly confused wondering where Takashi was and who should have protected the Avatar. When her eyes fell on his body, her face immediately turned into a mixture of surprise and terror she saw him. She covered her mouth as tears began to run down her cheeks.
"Looks like the Avatar is dead," sneered Azula as she was about to make another order, but stopped herself, as she watched Takashi slowly picking himself off the ground, and his battered form assumed a fighting stance. As hopeless the situation was, he still had the will to fight.
"People should know when they're conquered," said Azula.
"Death...first," Takashi panted in weak but determined defiance.
A pair of Dai Li stepped in front of Azula to deliver the coup de grace. She did not wish to kill him, but to spare him may make her appear weak in front of the Dai Li, whose respect for her and her authority was paramount. But before they were able to deliver the final blow, they were stopped dead by a powerful fire blast. Iroh had arrived and leapt in front of Takashi.
"Get out of here," yelled Iroh and immediately started hurling more fire blasts.
The Water Tribe Peasant fled with the Avatar's unconscious form, as she rode up a waterfall that led back to the surface.
"I said go!" Iroh yelled at Takashi but when he saw his chest wound, he understood and kept fighting. When the peasant had escaped with the Avatar, Iroh surrendered and his body was immediately encased by crystal by the Dai Li. With Iroh restrained, Azula nonchalantly stepped up to Takashi who could barely stand and smirked a disgusting grin.
"You're all mine, Takashi." She whispered as she gently pushed him in the chest, causing him to backwards onto the ground; fatigue finally overtaking him and he finally succumbed to his wounds.
"You and I make a good team, wouldn't you agree?" the sadist sneered at the gamer as the dreamscape changed back to the cavernous hall. "Without me, you would not have had your greatest triumph."
The gamer lowered her head in the cold acknowledgement of the sadist's statement.
"She doesn't need you to win anymore," the artist said defiantly having finally gathered her courage.
"You stay out of this, weakling." The sadist hissed at the artist, but she would not be cowed.
"If I'm such a weakling," the artist said as she brushed past the gamer, "why do I share a room with her and not you?"
The sadist recoiled briefly in shock and then her face contorted into malice.
"You are nothing without us," the gamer added inspired by the artist's renewed courage and took her place in front of her companion. "She can create works of beauty, I formulate tactics and strategy, but you can create nothing. At most you can do is cause pain and use manipulation people to do it. You may be as much a part of Azula as we are, but you need us more than we need you."
"You're going to need a doctor when I'm done with you!" The sadist instantly transformed into a black dragon, as she launched herself at the gamer like a striking snake, aiming at her throat. But she was intercepted by the artist, much to the surprise of all three dragons. As the artist slammed against the sadist and the fight was on, as the two dragons tore at each other in a desperate death struggle. The sadist's claws were locked together with the artist and was trying to squeeze the life out of the other. But the artist bite the other on the neck. The sadist howled in pain, the artist then delivered a decisive uppercut into the sadist's jaw and sent her flying. The artist then towered over the sadist's unconscious form, snarling and baring her fangs. The gamer watched in shocked silence.
All the Gamer could say was, "you've been spending too much time with me."
"Just because I don't like to fight, doesn't mean I can't," the Artist stated simply between breaths. "At least I don't do a victory dance."
"I could teach you," the gamer offered with a smile, the artist smiled weakly in return.
"Pathetic," said the sadist underneath the artist catching the artist completely off guard. The sadist pushed the artist off of her. "You should finish the job when you have the chance." The sadist let out some sparks of electricity from her mouth toward the artist. "But top marks for biting. It goes to show that even someone as timid as you has some bite in them."
"Don't compare me to you," the artist edged away, the gamer moving to put herself in between the two once more.
The dreamscape changed yet again. This time it was the throne room of the Fire Lord, everything was huge to the dragons, just as it was when they were in his office. Sitting and towering over them was a huge Ozai in his Pheonix King regalia.
"Azula," growled Ozai.
"Daddy!" whispered the artist as she went behind the gamer.
"Father," the gamer and the sadist calmly bowed, but their attitudes were contrasted to one another. The gamer bowed in curt politeness, as the sadist bowed her head as though she was lowering her horns to prepare to charge.
"I thought that by going down a few memory lanes by now, you would realize the things that have made you strong," Ozai said with displeasure.
"All you did was bully us," spat the sadist.
"I did it for your own good. Through my purifying fire and my tutelage, I pounded all of your imperfections out of you. And purged all of your mother's weakness. You should be so fortunate that I did it for you while I had the chance, otherwise you would have struggled like your brother. But look at you now, all broken, you are a shadow of your former self. Even now, you waste your talent on mindless pursuits, masquerading as filthy animals."
"What was I to you then?" the sadist asked vehemently.
"Address me properly young lady!" barked Ozai.
The three dragons immediately transformed back to their human forms but kept their respective colors. The gamer stood at rigid attention, as the artist stooped hid behind, peeking over a shoulder. The sadist crossed her arms across her chest, appearing quite bored.
"Clearly I was wrong about you Azula." He sighed as if about to do an unpleasant chore as he slowly got to his feet, "You were the child that I was most proud of. But now I must destroy you before you disgrace our family any further." Ozai towered over the three Azulas and hurled a massive fireball and none of them had time to react, as they felt the intense heat. But the fire was dissipated with a gust of wind with a lone figure before them, with his back to them.
"Takashi?" asked the gamer.
"Yep, it's me all right" Takashi turned to face them.
"Takashi!" cried the artist.
"Hi Takashi, are you here to save the day again?" the sadist deadpanned.
"We could really use your help," the gamer interjected. Her mannerism sure to provoke anyone's willingness to help her.
"Sorry, but I can't fight your battles for you. But there's someone I think that you should see." Takashi stepped aside to reveal Ursa.
"Mommy!" cried the artist, who ran up to her mother and managed to hug her waist. Ursa was just as tall and beautiful as Azula remembered her when she last saw her.
"Hi baby," replied Ursa as she hugged her, and placed an affectionate hand on top of the artist's head.
"Don't touch her!" shouted the sadist in blind fury, "don't you ever touch her!"
"It's okay Azula, it's just mommy," said the artist trying to assuage her new companion.
"That bitch," growled the sadist. "Has no right to be called our mother!"
"Azula, come here," said the gamer gently to the artist who reluctantly obeyed. "Why did you come back mother? Why now after all these years?"
"Because I love you Azula. And I always will."
The gamer's chest swelled but exhaled as she said, "that's not good enough. There has to be more to it."
"She's right," added the sadist. "When you left us, me and Zuko were left alone with father, who made me into a monster just like you wanted."
"Now who told you that you were a monster?" asked Ursa incredulously.
"You did," replied the artist in childlike innocence. "Why did you call us that? Was it because we were always bad?"
"No baby," Ursa hugged all three personas. "You're a sweet and affectionate girl. How can anyone not love you? I heard that you have a boyfriend now. What was his name? Takahiro?"
"His name is Takashi," spat the sadist as she pushed herself away from Ursa. "See? You can't even remember something as simple as that. Since you're always hovering over your precious Zuko. Did you ever think for once, that your own daughter wanted to be feel loved by you, just as much as my brother? Not that it mattered. I was able to manage just fine without you. Even now, I can handle father on my own."
"I loved you both. I did what I thought was best for you and your brother. I know I wasn't perfect. But believe me when I tell you, that leaving you was the hardest thing I have ever done."
"Well your best wasn't good enough. And not once did you ever say that you loved me," the sadist said bitterly as she turned and walked away from Ursa.
"It's no use remembering hurt feelings, we still need to deal with father," said the gamer as she walked past her other personas.
"Wait for me!" the artist scampered after the gamer.
The sadist rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as she walked beside the gamer.
"I didn't ask you to come along," said the gamer.
"Someone has to bail you two out if things get too rough."
"So you've decided to face me. Good," said the giant Ozai, "now playtime's over!" Ozai threw a giant fireball at the three as they scattered in different directions. The gamer attacked headlong, hitting him at the legs trying to knock him off balance. But being only waist high to Ozai's full height, she bounced off of him instead.
Ozai rose his foot to stomp the gamer into the ground, when the sadist did a slide tackle at Ozai's ankle causing him to lose his footing momentarily, but it was enough for him to miss the gamer. The gamer rolled away and was immediately in a kneeling position, throwing herself into Ozai's chest. Ozai staggered, but was quick to give the gamer a malicious bear hug. The gamer cried out in pain. The sadist tried to help her persona, hitting Ozai as hard as she could but it was no good.
"What are you doing just standing there?! Help us, you coward!" the sadist screamed at the artist who looked confused and uncertain of what to do, she looked scared to the point of tears.
"Try-try kicking him in the shins!" the artist stammered.
The sadist went wide eyed and did what the artist suggested. Ozai promptly let go of the gamer and started hopping on one foot, while holding his afflicted shin. The gamer fell onto the ground unconscious.
"Azula!" the artist cried, going over to the gamer.
The sadist pressed her advantage by Firebending at Ozai's face. She threw a fist at his face, but nothing happened.
"You can't Firebend? Then you're a bigger failure than I had thought!" said Ozai malicious. The sadist froze, wide eyed with terror as Ozai straighten himself growing ten feet taller. Ozai backhanded the sadist sending her flying into the air, causing her to hit the ground hard and roll beside the gamer.
"As for you young lady. It would appear that I would have to burn my hard earned knowledge back into you," added Ozai, as he turned his attention to the artist. She was still kneeling beside the other two personas, as she tried to make herself small as her giant father strode toward her.
"Daddy, please stop," whimpered the artist.
"This is for your own good Azula. You are my hope and dream." Ozai held up his fist that was now engulfed in flames.
"I'll be the best good girl in the world from on daddy. Just, please stop." The artist closed her eyes, covered her ears, and sat into a ball, waiting for the fireblast that was sure to come.
"You will never be perfect," Ozai's voice echoed.
The artist's eyes shot open. Ozai shot a wall of flame down onto the three personas that was sure to incinerate them. He sickeningly grinned in triumph appreciating his dark work. But it was short-lived as a stream of blue flames shot back at him, causing him to swat it away, shielding his face.
The artist stood before Ozai though still uncertain of herself. He threw another fireball, but the artist batted it away. He threw another, and another, and another. But the artist simply waved them away with her palms, making them dissipate harmlessly away from her and her companions.
"That's my girl," purred Ozai, "see? Now what did I tell you? You can do it if you set your mind to it. Remember practice makes perfect."
"No!" cried the artist, shaking her head, her hands pressed against her chest, her knees shaking. "I never wanted to learn how to Firebend. But you made me. You made me do it. Why?" The artist sobbed.
"It was for the best. Because of me you became the best. You know it to be the truth."
"No! I never wanted to be the best! I just wanted to be happy with you, Zuzu and mommy!"
Ozai audibly sighed.
"I see now, that I was completely wrong about you. You are nothing more than a weak failure and a monster. You don't deserve to be Fire Lord. Zuko is more deserving of it than you. You can waste all your time drawing your pictures, but you'll never amount to anything," Ozai said maliciously.
The artist fell to her knees, wiping away her streaming tears as she wailed over her other personas.
"Why're you crying you big baby?" asked the sadist weakly laying on her side. She did little to console the artist who buried her face in her hands and started hyperventilating.
"He's right though. The Fire Nation lost because of me," said the gamer who stared upward spread eagle. "To the whole fucking world, I'm nothing but a failure. There is never any sympathy for losers in the world. The moment I lost the Agni Kai, I lost everything. All my actions, everything I did were considered to be that of a monster."
"You mean, I am the monster. Everyone hates me. Including you two," said the sadist with surprising bitterness as she sat up.
"You're not a monster," said the artist who finally calmed down and looked placidly at the sadist.
"No. Takashi is wrong. Father is right. I am a monster," the gamer closed her eyes and said with finality.
"I'd hate to say it, but for once I agree with you," said the sadist who sat with her head resting on her palm.
"No, you're both wrong! Takashi says we're not monsters! Mommy and Daddy lied!" the artist shouted angrily.
"They lied?" asked the sadist wide eyed with incredulity.
The artist hesitated and started nodding vigorously. "And Takashi was telling the truth! He said that if we learn from each other, we can get stronger, and we can go see him!"
"But how? Father is too big and strong, for us to handle," asked the gamer.
"Not unless we do it together," said the artist stood up, like a child about to do something important.
The gamer got up, grabbing hold of the artist's hand, strengthened by her resolve.
"Hey!" objected the sadist. "Don't forget about me!" The sadist added with a devious smirk as she grabbed their hands. The other two smiled back at her as they turned to face Ozai. He winded up for another attack, using his most powerful technique by shooting a bolt of lightning.
Azula, now one person clad in white, did not shirk or dodge the attack. Instead she braced herself as she extended one hand at the lightning as it connected. Memories flooded back to her, when she first encountered Zuko's lightning technique. She remembered how he seemingly absorbed the lightning, and redirected it back at her with ease. She felt the lightning burn inside of her as it streamed into her chest, and into her abdomen as her body began to reject the powerful chi. She needed to get rid of it, somewhere far away where it could not harm her. Her eyes frowned and she shouted, as she shot an even more bolt of lightning back at her father, adding her own chi into the attack. The lightning attack struck Ozai into the chest, knocking him flat on his back, laying in a smoldering heap on the ground. She approached him warily, as she was now her normal size compared to him. She kneeled beside him with a blank expression.
"I'm sorry, daddy," she whispered, "but I'm not cut out to be Fire Lord. And I will never be perfect. And I don't want people to obey me out of fear anymore. I just want someone to show that they love me, and I want to show that I love them back. If you or other people think that I'm weak for wanting to change, you're wrong. Because you've already made me strong. But now I want to be stronger. I realize now, that the Avatar and Zuko were stronger than me because of love. For that reason, my mother is much stronger than you. There is nothing more for you to teach me."
It was then that Zuko appeared. He was not scarred, nor was he a teenager, nor was he Fire Lord. Instead he appeared before Azula as a child when she was about that age. He approached her, with confident walk in his step, and had a defiant look on his face. They stood and stared at each other for a time. Azula was hesitant, unsure what may come next. After debating with herself of what to do, she genuinely smiled and kneeled down to embrace him. When she did, she was the same height as Zuko, and just as youthful.
"I love you Zuzu. You will always be my big brother," she whispered in his ear as though they were sharing a secret.