Azula found herself back in her cell thinking about recent events.
Those she once considered enemies, friends and family had rallied to save her when she was kidnapped by Long Fei's men.
Moreover, she was surprised that Rimuru was with them.
He honestly thought they would be glad to have her taken away, so that way, they could get rid of her and all the trouble she might cause, but that wasn't the case.
They saved her because they cared about her.
Part of her was surprised and grateful for that, but another part still doubted it, thinking it might be a hoax or something.
However, that wasn't the only thing that had happened that crossed her mind.
The most surprising thing was that her father, the one she idolized and the one she went out of him way to please, had escaped.
At first, she thought she would be the one to free him or that he would come for her after he escaped on his own, but neither of those things happened.
She wished she could have talked to him even one more time to ask him one important thing that gnawed at her insides.
Was she a daughter to him? Did he ever really love her or was she just another useless thing to him as he always said about Zuko?
Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted when someone entered the room where her cell was and when she raised her head, she saw that it was Rimuru.
"How are you feeling?" asked Rimuru.
"Well, since I just got kidnapped, pretty good." said Azula.
"I'm glad." began Rimuru with a smile before showing a serious face. "Listen, the others and I are going on a mission to locate and arrest your father."
"That was to be expected. I always thought he would die in the final battle, but the Avatar was too merciful and just took away his powers thinking that would solve everything. I hope he understands that he was wrong about that." said Azula.
"I won't lie, I thought the same thing too, but Aang doesn't regret what he did thinking of everyone's good, including Ozai's." said Rimuru.
"Why did you come by the way? Did you come just to inform me what you will do?" asked Azula.
"Yes, I did because you are also involved." said Rimuru.
"What?" asked Azula confused.
"I talked to the others and got them to agree to include you in this mission with us." said Rimuru.
"You… You want me to… go with you… on a mission to look for my father?" asked Azula completely surprised.
"Well, that is if you want to. We won't force you to do anything you don't want to." said Rimuru.
Azula was silent as she thought about the human slime's offer.
The last time she went with the Avatar and her brother on a mission it was to find her mother and it was because she had been missing for years and wanted to see her again.
This time, she was being included to search for her runaway father.
For an instant she almost laughed at the irony of fate.
She could say no, as she was sure the others wouldn't want to be with her, long after what happened the previous time, but if she accepted, then maybe she could see her father and get the answers she needed, that she wanted to get.
"Okay, I accept, but it will be your fault if anything happens." said Azula.
"I've already been told that by the others." said Rimuru.
Later, they all gathered at Appa's side, ready to start their journey.
There was a tense moment when Azula joined them, but thanks to Rimuru, Aang and Zuko, no problems occurred.
With everything ready, they climbed onto the back of the flying bison and took flight with the intention of locating Ozai as soon as possible, although they had to make a short stop to pick up Toph.
"So, not only has that silver-tongued puppet master Long Fei returned with the intention of getting revenge on Azula, but the world's greatest tyrant took advantage of his attempt to kidnap her to escape to who knows where. Did I miss something?" asked Toph.
"No, you understood correctly." said Katara.
"The only thing I don't understand is why she's here." said Toph pointing to Azula.
"Gee, it's good to see you too." said Azula sarcastically.
"The feeling is mutual." said Toph.
"And it wasn't my idea, it was your little monster friend's." said Azula.
"You should speak to him with more respect, since he is the lord of a powerful nation." said Aang.
"Not to mention he's a Demon Lord and that only the strongest get that." said Sokka.
"What? Why didn't you tell me that?" asked Azula.
"I guess it didn't come up during our conversation the other day." said Rimuru with a nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head.
"So how are we going to track down the father of the year? I don't know if I have to remind you that I can't see anything standing here." said Toph.
"I have the right remedy." said Rimuru just as Ranga stepped out of his shadow, startling everyone except Toph.
"Agh. That's the second time I've seen it and it still freaks me out." said Sokka.
"What? What happened? Can someone tell the blind girl?" asked Toph.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that a huge, horned wolf has come out of Rimuru's shadow." said Mai.
"Oh, okay." said Toph accepting it as normal.
"What the hell is that thing?" asked Azula, getting a slight growl from Ranga that died down as soon as Ty Lee started petting him.
"Oh, don't mind her. You're a good, monstrous boy." said Ty Lee.
"He's Ranga, one of Rimuru's most loyal subordinates. It was thanks to him that we were able to find you." said Zuko.
Azula was surprised, as she didn't expect to see one of the human slime's minions so soon.
"Ranga, can you locate Ozai's trail from this height?" asked Rimuru.
"Of course. There's nothing that escapes my sense of smell, master." said Ranga before standing next to Aang on top of the flying bison's head.
He sniffed the air a bit for a while until finally…
"Got it. He's pretty weak, but I can see the trail he's left." said Ranga.
"Good. Tell me which way, I'll lead Appa in that direction." said Aang.
For a while, the Avatar was guiding the flying bison following the directions of the monstrous wolf.
Sometime later, the group continued flying until they spotted a village near the base of a volcano.
Aang sent Appa to land near the entrance, as they didn't want to attract too much attention.
Once landed, they all climbed off the back of the flying bison.
"Is this the place?" asked Sokka.
"Yes. His scent is all over this place, but it's here, no doubt." said Ranga.
"Good job, Ranga." said Rimuru petting the monstrous wolf who gasped with his tongue out as he wagged his tail in a sign that he liked the gesture.
"So what do we do now? We don't know where exactly he might be." said Ty Lee.
"If our father were here, he obviously wouldn't expose himself easily." said Azula.
"You're right. He's probably hiding somewhere." said Zuko.
"And since they helped him escape, it's possible that there are members of that group around here hiding among the villagers. So we'll have to be careful." said Rimuru.
"For the time being, we could go around asking people if they've seen or passed anything out of the ordinary." said Aang.
"And since I'm here, it will be easy to spot the liars." said Toph.
"Unless they're as good a liar as I am." commented Azula remembering when she proved that Toph was incapable of detecting her lies.
"Touché." said Toph.
"Unfortunately, we don't have another clue. So, for now, this will be what we'll do." said Mai.
"We should split into groups so we can cover more ground. Obviously Lord Rimuru will go with Azula, since, in case she reveals herself or something, Lord Rimuru is more qualified to deal with her quickly." said Katara.
"Wow, you didn't even hide it." said Azula rolling her eyes.
"It doesn't matter to me. This way we can chat some more while we look for clues." said Rimuru.
Azula folded her arms and looked away, as she didn't want to admit she was right on that point.
"Well then, let's get going." said Aang as the whole group split into teams of two and went their separate ways.
Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched from half a distance by a Dai Li soldier who promptly sank to the ground as soon as he saw the teams leave.
In a certain subway chamber, Ozai and Long Fei stood on an elevated platform as they watched Fire Nation soldiers and members of the Dai Li train fighting each other, either with weapons or using elemental bending.
"It looks like our men are working very well." said Long Fei.
"Not good enough. I want to storm the palace and take back what once belonged to me and I can only accomplish that with my best men. I don't care if most of them fall in the process." said Ozai.
"Of course, but with the help of my men, it will be easier. They won't even know what's going on until it's too late." said Long Fei.
At that moment, the Dai Li soldier from before came to the platform and knelt behind the two former leaders.
"My lord, I have news." said the soldier.
"Report." said Long Fei.
"I just saw the Avatar and his team entering the city." said the soldier.
"You said it was impossible to find us." said Ozai with slight anger.
"And it is, don't worry. Even if they stayed in that town for months, they would never find this place. Even that earthbender brat won't be able to locate us with her detection ability." said Long Fei with a confident smile.
"There is more, Lord Ozai. It seems that in the group are your two children." said the soldier.
"Azula and Zuko working together? I'm surprised to hear that after everything that happened between them." said Ozai.
"Me too. In fact, that might be a good opportunity for us." said Long Fei.
"What do you mean?" asked Ozai.
"Well, from what I've heard, your daughter has always been devoted and obedient to you. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage." said Long Fei.
A sinister smile formed on Ozai's face in a sign that he understood what he was saying.
While the others were wandering around town looking for clues as to the whereabouts of Ozai and his group, Rimuru and Azula were on the terrace of a bar having a (non-alcoholic) drink as they watched people pass by them.
"We're supposed to be asking people or looking for clues. What are we doing in this place?" asked Azula.
"Elementary, my dear Azula. Tell me, where is the best place to get information about anything that happens?" asked Rimuru without receiving an answer from the princess, as she was confused about it. "In bars, people usually chat about whatever and when one is drunk, they confess things they wouldn't do while drunk."
"Mmm. That's a good point. I would have done the same thing during my time searching for the Avatar and Zuko instead of stumbling around the world." said Azula.
"Tell me the truth, why did you actually agree to join us on the mission?" asked Rimuru.
"Heh. Do I show that much? I guess, before I met you, I was planning to escape and free my father so that together we could regain the throne and take revenge on those who ruined everything for us." said Azula.
"You mean the father who treated you as a mere tool for his plans and didn't care about anything else?" asked Rimuru.
"That's exactly why I signed up for this mission. A part of me still doubts that what you said." said Azula.
"And you want to go back to your father to ask him directly, don't you?" asked Rimuru, crossing his arms.
"Yes. I would like to hear the answer come straight from his lips." said Azula.
"And what will you do if it's exactly as I said?" asked Rimuru.
"I… I don't know. I haven't thought about it yet." said Azula with her head down.
"Well, whatever you do, you have my support." said Rimuru putting his hand on her shoulder.
Azula looked at the hand on her shoulder for a moment before pushing it away.
"I need to go to the bathroom, unless you want to watch me there too." said Azula.
"Go ahead, you can go if you want." said Rimuru.
"Come to think of it, if you're a slime, are you a boy or a girl?" asked Azula curiously.
"Slimes have no gender, so I'm neither, but internally I'm a boy." said Rimuru.
Azula shrugged at that answer and went to the bathroom.
After a while, Azula walked out of the bathroom, but then, a man walked past her and bumped her shoulder with his before continuing on his way.
"Hey, you could at least apologize." said Azula as she watched the man walk away.
She was about to continue on her way when she noticed something in her pocket.
Pulling it out, she discovered that it was a folded piece of paper and upon opening it, she saw that it was a message.
Looking in the direction in which the man had gone, she could intuit that it was he who had left the message when he 'bumped' into her, but she didn't understand why he had done so.
It was when she read the message that her eyes went wide with shock.
'Azula, it's your father. We need to talk. Go to these coordinates and we can meet.'
That was what it said on the note and she couldn't believe it.
Her father really was there and he wanted to see her.
On the one hand, she was glad that her father wanted to see her and no one else, but on the other hand, she was nervous, as she didn't know whether to warn the others or not.
Sure, it could be a trap, but it would be if the others went with her.
She could tell Rimuru, since, being all-powerful and all, he could get her out of any conflict, but she felt she had to make that meeting on her own and with no one else.
She needed answers and she could only get them by going alone.
"I'm sorry." thought Azula before leaving so she could have the meeting she had originally wanted.
Meanwhile, Rimuru was in her seat waiting for Azula, or at least it seemed so.
"Warning. Azula's presence is moving away from the current point." said Raphael.
"I know. I wonder what happened." thought Rimuru.
"Analysis. I would recommend following her." said Raphael.
"I thought so too." said Rimuru before getting up from his seat.
Azula continued walking until she reached the coordinates written in the message, which were a large tree located near the foot of the volcano.
Once she arrived, she stood there, thinking that her father or someone would appear to guide her to it, but then, a hole opened up underneath her, making her fall and slide down a tunnel like a slide.
Finally, she emerged from the tunnel and saw that she was in a small subway chamber that was completely empty.
She lit a flame of blue fire, as she suspected it might be a trap.
"Azula."
A voice suddenly startled her as she turned to point her flame at the person who spoke, but she froze when she saw who it was.
"Father?" asked Azula surprised to see her father.
"How dare you point it at your father?" asked Ozai stepping into the chamber.
Azula realized what she was about to do and lowered her hand as she extinguished her flame.
"I-I'm sorry. I just reacted on instinct." said Azula.
"Never mind. That proves I taught you well." said Ozai.
"Tell me, father, why did you call me to come here?" asked Azula.
"I heard that you had come with the Avatar to find me. Are you friends now?" asked Ozai.
"No. I can assure you of that." said Azula.
"I am glad to hear it." said Ozai.
"May I ask you something, father?" asked Azula receiving a nod from her father. "Was I at any time a daughter to you or was I just a weapon to be used in your plans?" asked Azula asking the question that lingered in her mind and heart.
"How could you think that? Of course you are my daughter. If I trained and educated you it was so that you would become someone worthy of succeeding me, someone better than your brother, but that all went down the drain because of him and the Avatar. The reason I brought you here was to ask for your help." said Ozai.
"Help?" asked Azula.
"I'm not who I was since the Avatar took away my powers, but if we work together, we can take him, your brother and all his friends down. That way, we can get our revenge and make them pay for everything they've done. Join me, Azula and together we will rule the Fire Nation again as father and daughter." said Ozai extending his hand towards her.
Azula stood there looking at Ozai's hand and debating on what to do.
She could go back to him, take back what she lost and return to the life she had before, but if she did, she would lose what she had just built, especially the close relationship she had with Rimuru.
If she accepted her father's hand, she would be turning her back on everything he did for her.
A single question was running through the princess's mind.
What did she really want?