Azula felt her consciousness returning and let out a groan as she opened her eyes.

When she opened them fully, the first thing she saw was a rather familiar ceiling and as she sat up, she could see perfectly well that she was back in her cell.

"What? When did I ever…?" asked Azula before remembering the events from earlier.

When she found herself cornered by Aang, Zuko and the others, she shot a burst of fire at a guy she had never seen, only to later find out that it hadn't affected him in the slightest and before she knew it, he was knocked down and most likely returned to her cell while she was out cold.

"Who was that guy? How was he able to do that? Tsk. Surely Zuzu must have hired him to keep me in check." said Azula.

"You know better than that. He cares about you."

"Really? Locking me in a cell is 'cares about me'?" asked Azula.

"He did it for your sake. You're hurt, but he can help you heal, just like your uncle and your mother."

"Don't mention her! She's to blame for everything that's happened to me! If it weren't for her, none of this would have happened!" exclaimed Azula.

"You know it's not true. You're simply denying the truth."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear any more from you! Go away at once!" said Azula.

"All right, but you must know that I will never leave. No matter how much you deny it. You need me."

"SHUT UP!" shouted Azula throwing a wave of blue flames around her. "The only one I need is my father! He was the only one who cared! He would never have betrayed me! I don't need you or anyone else!"

…

Azula mentally let out a sigh of relief that that voice in her head was gone.

She didn't know how long she would be gone for, but at least, she would enjoy the silence as she sat frustrated by her attempt to escape, though a part of her mind still wondered about the mysterious guy who knocked her down earlier.

The next morning, Rimuru was walking through the halls of the palace until then, he saw Zuko looking at a painting showing his entire family in a time before when his mother had to leave to protect him.

"Thinking of your sister?" asked Rimuru startling the Fire Lord as he approached him.

"Yes. Despite everything she did, she is still my sister. I thought that after finding our mother, things might change, but she is still as she always was and I have a fear that at this rate, she may reach a state that she wouldn't return from." said Zuko.

"You worry about her. That's normal, but are you sure there's any chance of helping her?" asked Rimuru.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to find it. I'd like us to go back to being a family like before, well, in spite of our parents. You know what I mean." said Zuko.

"I understand. Tell me, have you tried talking to her?" asked Rimuru.

"Heh. It was the first thing we all thought, but when my mom, my uncle, Mai, Ty Lee, Aang or I go to talk to her, she turns her back on us, ignores us or even tries to attack us." said Zuko.

"Well, maybe it's because you are people she knows very well." said Rimuru.

"What do you mean?" asked Zuko.

"What if I were to talk to her? She doesn't know me at all." said Rimuru.

"What? Are you sure? What if she attacks you?" asked Zuko.

"What's the worst that can happen? Burn me or electrocute me?" asked Rimuru with a smile.

Zuko stopped to think about it.

It was true that Azula only reacted aggressively to everyone she met and was only more… friendly to the guards who brought her the food and utensils needed to live in a cell.

Now Rimuru was offering to help her try to heal, like a psychologist.

For a moment, he thought he might be in trouble if she attacked him, but then, he remembered that, after knocking Azula unconscious, he revealed that he was totally immune to elemental attacks, so, if Azula were to throw a fireball or lightning at him, nothing would happen to him.

Perhaps there would be in that a chance that Azula could heal and they could be together as siblings.

"All right. You can go, but if there's any trouble, feel free to let the guards know." said Zuko.

"Heh. I appreciate the concern, but I can manage on my own." said Rimuru.

"What are you two talking about?"

The two turned their heads to see Aang and Katara approaching them.

"Oh, I was just telling him about I was going to talk to Azula." said Rimuru.

"What? Lord Rimuru, no offense, but are you sure about what you're saying? That girl is crazy." said Katara.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm just going to talk to her, nothing more." said Rimuru.

"Well, since you're so powerful, I guess there wouldn't be a problem with that." said Aang.

"*Sigh* Yeah, I guess you're right." said Katara remembering how strong Rimuru was.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've arranged to meet to talk." said Rimuru before walking off, leaving the Avatar, the Fire lord and the waterbender behind.

Azula was still in her cell sitting with her knees on her chest.

Ever since she woke up in the morning, she kept thinking about that guy who knocked her down, the one who survived her fire as if it was nothing.

She wished she could have him in front of her so she could ask him questions.

That's when she heard footsteps approaching the cell area.

It was probably a guard sent by Zuko to punish her for trying to escape or a servant bringing her a meal consisting of something that would be given to the animals or even a couple of guards laughing at her for her situation.

"I expected a welcome from a princess."

Azula's eyes snapped open when she recognized that voice and she looked up to see the person surrounding her thoughts.

"You could at least say hello." said Rimuru with a smile.

"You!" shouted Azula before launching a fireball that hit his face directly, but then she saw that he wasn't affected in any way, something that left her surprised again.

"You know? I had a feeling you would greet me like that." said Rimuru.

"What did you come here for? To mock me? To finish what you left half done?" asked Azula.

"No." began Rimuru before sitting down with his knees crossed. "I just came to talk."

Azula was very confused.

What did this guy want to talk to her about?

At first, she wanted to tell him to go away and leave her alone, since she didn't feel like talking to anyone, but then she remembered that she had questions about him and how he was able to resist her attacks.

In fact, a very small part of her thought she could trick him into releasing her.

"Do you want to talk? Fine." began Azula before sitting down with her knees crossed. "But in return, I want you to answer a few questions for me."

"Okay. I'll let you start. What's your question?" asked Rimuru.

"Who exactly are you?" asked Azula.

"Of course, forget introductions. My name is Rimuru Tempest, I am the leader of the Jura Tempest Federation." said Rimuru.

"Jura Tempest? I've never heard of such a place." said Azula.

"Well, that's because it's not in this world." began Rimuru leaving the princess surprised and confused. "Before you say anything, it's my turn to ask. Tell me, are they treating you well?"

"Tsk. As well as can be expected from a prisoner they consider a total nutcase. I'm surprised they haven't sent torturers or sent me back to the asylum where I was before." said Azula.

"Why do you think they would send torturers to you?" asked Rimuru.

"Uh, uh, uh. First my question, then yours. What's that thing you said that's not of this world. I thought there was only this one and the spirit world." said Azula.

"Well, as you can see, there are more worlds than you can imagine. They are known as alternate worlds. There are some that are similar, but with small changes like for example, you are born a girl instead of a boy and then there are the ones that are completely different like this one and mine." said Rimuru.

More questions arose in Azula's mind regarding this information.

Since she was a child she always believed that there was only one world and it was this one, at least until her uncle started telling her and Zuko about the spirit world, but now that guy was talking about the existence of multiple worlds and he came from one of them.

"My turn. Why do you think they would send torturers to you?" asked Rimuru.

Azula wanted to dismiss that question and concentrate completely on the previous topic, but if she messed up, it might make him leave and who knows when he'd be back, so she'd be left with no answers, so she had no choice but to play along.

"Because they weren't going to? After all, I'm one of the worst people in the Fire Nation. Everyone thinks I'm a monster, including my mother." said Azula.

Rimuru was curious about that last thing she said, but if he wanted answers, he had to wait his turn.

"Now answer me this question. How did you endure my fire twice? No human should be able to do that." said Azula.

"You said it. No human." said Rimuru with a smile.

Azula was confused and the confusion turned to shock when she saw Rimuru melt into a slime.

"I'm actually a slime." said Rimuru.

Azula stared at him in shock for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

She was laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach to keep from splitting.

"Wow, that's the first time someone reacts like that." thought Rimuru, as the custom was for people to be surprised, not laugh.

"HAHAHA. Is that really who you really are?" asked Azula ending her laughing fit. "If it wasn't for the fact that I've seen you withstand my fire like it was nothing, I would have considered you something weaker than a bug."

"Yes, many people think that until they see me in action." said Rimuru before returning to his human form.

"If you really are a… slime, how could you do that?" asked Azula.

"I'd love to answer, but now it's my turn to ask." said Rimuru.

Even Azula didn't realize she had formed a pout at that.

"Why would your mother consider you a monster?" asked Rimuru.

That caused Azula's expression to change to one that mixed anger and sadness.

"She always has. Ever since I was a little girl, whenever she looked at me, it was always with an expression of anger and fear. She always preferred to be with Zuko even though I was our father's prodigal daughter. For him, I was born lucky while he was just lucky to be born. I was better than him in every way, but my mother always loved him more than me." said Azula.

Now Rimuru understood the princess better.

Azula only wanted her mother to treat her like a normal child, but her father, who, apparently, only saw her as a tool to be used for his purposes, manipulated her to be like him and that was surely what frightened the mother, that her children would be like him.

From what he saw in Zuko, he was the complete opposite of what she had been told of what Ozai was like, so it was no wonder the mother was more worried about him and more so after what Azula said what her father thought of him.

He seemed to be delving into her mind, but he couldn't dive in head first, he had to do it bit by bit.

"Now it's my turn, how did you survive my fire?" asked Azula.

"Well, you see, in my world, we have what is known as magic. In my case, I possess many abilities as well as the ability to use various types of magic. One of my abilities allows me to be immune to all elemental attack." said Rimuru.

"All elemental attack? So…" thought Azula before she suddenly threw a lightning at the human slime, which wasn't affected in the slightest, which left her surprised.

"Did that give you confirmation?" asked Rimuru knowing what she was trying to do by throwing that lightning at him.

"Y-Yes." said Azula nervously.

If he was able to withstand her flames and her lightnings that were more deadly, then that guy was much more powerful than she thought and she didn't stand a chance of defeating him or forcing him to release her.

What she had in front of her was a real monster.

"Okay, now me. What can you tell me about your father?" asked Rimuru.

"My father? Heh. I was his little right eye. While my brother was on a trip away from home, I stayed behind honing my skills, all to meet his expectations and I succeeded when he made me Fire Lady, but my idiot brother had to stand in my way once again and snatch what was mine!" exclaimed Azula angrily.

So, when Zuko was out of the equation, Ozai focused his intentions on her to be a killing machine that would do his bidding at will, but she took it as him wanting her to be perfect and that can put a lot of stress on anyone.

"Now why the leader of a nation from another world on this one? Did you come for tourism?" asked Azula.

"No, I came because a friend of a friend needed my help. Apparently that friend came from this world and felt it was in danger and the threat was so great that he feared the Avatar couldn't solve it on his own, so I came to lend a hand." said Rimuru.

"Tsk. And what kind of threat could it be if the mighty Avatar needs your help?" asked Azula.

"I don't know exactly, but since I answered two questions in a row, you'll have to answer a couple of mine." said Rimuru.

Azula grunted slightly as she realized she had screwed up slightly.

"So your father made you Fire Lady, but from what the others have told me, shortly before your coronation, you banished everyone. Why?" asked Rimuru.

"Of course I banished them. I couldn't trust anyone. My mother betrayed me, my uncle betrayed me, my brother betrayed me, my friends betrayed me. Any one of them would have betrayed me." said Azula.

"Maybe that's not why you did it, you did it because you were afraid they would betray." said Rimuru.

"Afraid? Afraid?! I'm not afraid of anything! I told that voice and I'll tell you!" exclaimed Azula angrily.

"What voice?" asked Rimuru in confusion.

"A voice inside my head that keeps telling me that people want to help me, that what I did wasn't right." said Azula.

"Ah, I understand. It must be your conscience." said Rimuru.

"My conscience?" asked Azula.

"Yes. It is the voice inside our head that tells us what is right and what is wrong. That just shows that deep down you know you are wrong." said Rimuru.

"Wrong about what?" asked Azula.

"About everything. Your father never wanted you as a daughter, he just wanted to use you as a weapon to kill anyone who wouldn't obey him." said Rimuru.

"Shut up." said Azula with her head down.

"Your friends betrayed you because they weren't really your friends. To you they were just soldiers to be used for your benefit." said Rimuru.

"Shut up." said Azula clenching her fists that were smoking.

"Your family just wants to help you, but your resentment prevents you from seeing it. What's more, I'm sure you realized everything from the beginning, but you camouflage it in that hatred and resentment you have and that will only make you lonely in life." said Rimuru.

"Shut up!" shouted Azula getting up and starting to throw fire attacks at the unaffected human slime. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" shouted Azula as she continued shooting fire attacks.

By the time she stopped attacking, she fell to her knees and hands to the ground with her head lowered, but Rimuru could hear faint sobs as he saw a couple of drops fall from her face.

"Shut up. *Snif* Shut up." said Azula as she cried.

Rimuru really didn't expect it to end like this, but the fact that she was in that state would be a breakthrough in her development as a person.

He transformed into slime and passed the bars of her cell before returning to his human form and giving Azula a hug, who was shocked as she continued to shed tears.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all this, but you should know that there are still people who care about you despite all the damage you did." began Rimuru before breaking the hug, walking out of the cell and heading for the exit, only to pause for a moment to turn his head and look at her. "You have a chance to start fresh, to be with those who care about you, but the decision is up to you alone." said Rimuru before walking out completely.

Azula remained kneeling with her eyes open.

In her entire life, no one except for her mother, which had been a few times, had ever hugged and comforted her like that.

She began to reconsider Rimuru's words and began to think about her whole life.

What if she was right? What if she knew she was nothing more than a tool for her father, but decided to listen to him anyway? Did she do it because she was jealous that her mother was with Zuko all the time? Did she just do it to try to win her affection?

When Mai betrayed her, it was to save Zuko, for she loved him more than she feared her.

That was the key.

Fear.

Her father always told her that the only way to get respect from people was through fear.

In fact, that's how she convinced Ty Lee to join her group, because she scared her so much that she couldn't refuse.

And what did he get out of that? Respect? No. All it got her was that they all abandoned her.

She sat with her knees hugged to her chest and her head propped up, thinking about the human slime's last words.

Accept help from the others and be able to be with them as before or let her hatred and resentment overpower her and stay locked away forever?

As Rimuru said, the decision was hers and hers alone.

AN: Did you know that they were originally going to do a fourth season focusing on Azula's redemption?

Unfortunately, they never got around to doing it because of the live-action movie, which was a failure.

In fact, there should be more stories where Azula can have a second chance.

I hope I played her right.

See you in the next chapter!