Chapter 6: If that's what you want, then it's what I want too

"Azula! Wait up!" He tried to reach out, but she wasn't listening.

The face that the Mother of Faces showed them was Noriko's without a doubt. He knew Azula would try to harm her mother once they met her, but he never expected them to find her this quickly and suddenly.

He wanted to talk to her just a bit more, to get her to open up to him just a little more. He had to convince her that killing her mother was not the answer.

"Azula!" He tried once more.

But this time, it seemed to have worked.

"Do not try to stop me, Avatar! I won't allow that woman to ruin my life any further!" Her voice was ragged and… filled with sadness.

This was his only chance to reach out to her. He had to do it!

He had no choice! He was the Avatar—

No, he had to do it for her.

"Azula, please listen to me! Your mother hasn't been conspiring against you or trying to ruin your life!"

"How can you say that! You said you would help me!" Her voice was quavering now, and he could see trails of tears falling as she ran. "You were supposed to be on my side!"

"I am on your side! Azula, all I want for you is to be happy! But I need you to face the truth yourself!"

"Stop lying!" She screeched as she turned around and fired lightning at him.

But it was rushed and unsteady, so he dodged easily.

"Azula, please! I can't let you go down this path! You're only going to hurt yourself even more!" He pleaded.

"I care about you!"

Azula wavered at his words for just a second, but it was enough for him to propel himself with his airbending and reach out to grab her from behind.

"Gotcha!"

"Stop! Release me!" She struggled from his hold, but he endured. He couldn't let her go, it was all or nothing now, and he was resolved to see everything to the end.

"Azula… please, listen to me." He lowered his tone, trying to transmit every emotion he was feeling in that moment.

"NO! You ARE working for her, aren't you! You were lying to me all this time, weren't you!" She was sobbing, as she struggled to put out words through her cries. "I can't believe I even considered trusting you!"

"Azula, your mother isn't conspiring against you… I know you know that… You know that it couldn't have been possible if she's been in Hira'a all this time." He pleaded as Azula seemed to stop struggling out of his hold.

So he decided to soften it, and now resembled something close to an embrace.

"No… That's not true…" Her voice was losing its earlier fire, and only her sadness remained. "It can't be true…"

"It is." He said steadily.

"Then why…" She whimpered. "Then why did she still manage to ruin my life…"

He didn't know. He couldn't possibly know.

"If she isn't… Then why did she hate me all my life."

Even if she didn't, something still led Azula into believing it.

"Why did she replace me with another daughter?!" She clenched her fists.

"Why did she love Zuko and not me!" She yelled through her tears. "Why did she think me a monster! Tell me! You're the Avatar! You must know!"

"I'm sorry… But I don't know." Even if he wished he did more than anything. "Only your mother can answer that, but you won't ever be able to know if you kill her."

He let go of his embrace but maintained a hand on hers, as he turned her around to face him.

"Please, Azula… You need to talk to her, it's the only way."

She bit her lip, trying to contain her crying voice.

"No! I can't!"

"You can…"

"How can you know?!" She screeched but he maintained steady. "She was right! I'm a monster! You know that!"

"You're not a monster… There's no way that can be true." Because no monster could ever show him all the emotions that he's seen from her.

"I said, stop lying…!" She clenched her eyes shut, as more tears started pooling by their feet.

"I tried to kill you… I did kill you! You know I'm a monster!"

"Eh, it wasn't that bad." He said playfully. "I'm still here, after all."

"Stop... You hate me…" Her voice was barely a whisper as she moved to put her head on his chest. "Just admit it!"

"I don't hate you. I don't think I ever did." He said with so much confidence that he even surprised himself.

Because the truth was something else now. Something that was threatening to burst out, but he knew it had to wait.

Until Azula could start healing.

"How…" She clutched a piece of his robes. "How can you say that? How can you be so kind after everything I did to you?"

"Because I finally know part of what you're going through… I can finally say that I get part of what you're feeling." He took a deep breath. "Because I'm the same."

Her face jerked so quickly to meet his that he almost stumbled back.

"What? How could you ever…" She said with wide eyes.

He's never once told anyone this… But for some reason, he couldn't imagine someone else to share it with now.

"The day I learned I was the Avatar… I lost everything I cared about. All of the expectations were dropped on me so suddenly, and all of my friends refused to play or practice with me after that…" He smiled sadly.

"So they were jealous, what of it?" She narrowed her eyes, as her tears started to subside.

"Well, that was true for everyone in the temple. No one wanted to have anything to do with me now that I was so powerful and all. Everyone stopped treating me like Aang… And now I was just the Avatar… And I hated it…"

This happened so long ago, but it was still fresh in his heart. "I got so angry at everyone that I refused to come out of my room after that…"

"Well, it makes sense. People fear those who are more powerful than them. That's just who they are…" She looked at him with knowing eyes. "I would know… That's how I've lived all my life."

"And were you happy?"

"I…" She averted her gaze. "I… don't know. Not anymore…"

"Well, I wasn't… I got so angry and frustrated that I refused to talk with anyone…"

He sighed sadly. Now that the war was over, his thoughts were now constantly haunted by his past. "And then, I found out that the elders wanted to send me to the Eastern Air Temple to begin my training… to separate me from Monk Gyatso… who was my mentor, and my greatest friend…"

The tears were falling now, to which Azula seemed unsure at what to do. So, she just remained silent, resolved to hear him out.

"So, I ran away… I betrayed everyone, and I left them to die on their own. And now, I can't help but wonder about what they must've thought about me… Did they hate me? Did they curse my name when the Fire Nation decimated our homes?"

"And what did Monk Gyatso think of me during his final moments?"

Azula started rubbing circles on his hand, although he wasn't sure if she even noticed. "I-I'm… sorry." She stuttered, clearly not used to saying those words.

"No. It's not your fault…" He tried to compose himself.

"What I'm trying to say is that no matter how much I wish I could find out… How much I wish I could apologize… I'll never get the chance. They're gone, and I'll never see them again."

Not his friends, not the elders, and not Monk Gyatso.

"But you still have a chance, Azula. You can still find out the truth from your mother… And you can still tell her how you feel. Everything her actions did to you… And how much your life has suffered." He said determined, pushing as much confidence as he could through their eye contact.

But Azula still remained unsure. "No… I don't think I can. You saw how she was when we met her earlier… She had no memories. Not of me, not of zuko, and not of her life at the palace…" Her voice was dejected. "Even if I wanted, that spirit made sure that she doesn't remember anything…"

"Then we can ask her to give them back to her. I'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to convince her, she is a mother after all."

Azula gaped at him. "B-But wouldn't that just ruin the life that she got here? Is that what you want, Avata—" She gazed at the floor, as if going through something in her head. "…Aang?" She said quietly.

He smiled. She really did listen to him.

"I think that after everything you've gone through, you deserve to be selfish for once." He said with a warm smile and a shrug. "So… yeah. If that's what you want, then it's what I want too."

She remained quiet for a long time, letting their hands hang while connected.

She looked up at him, her golden eyes shining through the darkness of the night.

"Okay."

Zuko let out a breath of relief. They finally made it back to Noren's house.

"Good thing Misu's shortcut worked."

"Yeah, I'm glad we got here before Azula…" Suki said as she walked next to him.

"But are you sure leaving Aang with my sister was a good idea? I- I'm scared that she might—"

"Actually,"—Suki put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly—"I know I said that we needed to help him but… I have a feeling that he'll do fine."

And something was telling her that it might go even better than fine.

"So, don't worry."

Zuko remained unsure but nodded at her. "Okay… I trust you, Suki."

He then turned back to face the house. "I'm going inside, so can you stay here and keep an eye out for them."

She smiled, before bowing with a hand to her chest. "If that's your wish, Fire Lord Zuko." She said jokingly to which Zuko simply groaned.

"I told you to stop with that…"

But he eventually settled for a smile. "But thanks. I'll be right back."

She saw him knock on the door before being greeted by Noren…

She didn't get to hear what they said, but both eventually headed back inside.

Now all that was left was waiting to see if her suspicions where correct.

It took a while, but she eventually noticed a pair of people walking towards her hand in hand. And It was exactly who she expected them to be.

She had to give it to herself. Her hunches were always right.

"So what brings you back this way?" Noriko asked him. "Looking for more details on the Hira'a acting troupe?

He dropped his gaze to the table they were all sitting around. "No. I came to find…"

What exactly did he want to find out… Did he really want to take away her mother's life here just because of his own desires…

"Tell me, Noriko. Are you happy?" He had to find out.

"What an odd thing to ask…" She looked at him confused.

"I know, but—please, could you answer me?"

She regarded him for a moment before breaking into a genuine smile. "Yes, of course. I'm where I belong."

Yeah, of course she was. He had no right to take it away from her, even if she was his mother.

"I believe that I've bothered you folks enough. Have a good evening." He moved to stand up and leave, but Noren's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"No… stop. I knew this would happen sooner or later." He leveled him with a serious look before turning for his wife. "Noriko, please listen to what this young man has to tell you…"

She looked surprised but eventually nodded before turning to look at him. Her eyes were expectant and serious. He knew he shouldn't but…

He sighed, he needed to do this after all.

"My name is Zuko. I am Lord of the Fire Nation… And your son."

"My… son? I don't understand, what—"

"Actually, please let me explain." Noren spoke up. "I knew from the moment I saw your scar that you were the son she talked about when she arrived back to Hira'a. I had learned everything I could about her life in the palace knowing that it would come back to haunt us."

He then bowed. "Forgive me for not confessing the whole truth when you and your friends were here, Fire Lord. I had hoped to give you enough information to satisfy you, and yet still be able to protect my home here with Ursa."

"Ursa?" Norkio asked.

"Yes… That was your old name, from your old life, my love. You were once a princess of the fire nation. And you had two children, one whom grew up to become the Fire Lord… and is now standing right before you."

"But how come I don't remember any of that…?"

Noren sighed, regret riding his features. "You don't remember any of this because a powerful spirit altered your memories… The same spirit that gave me my identity as Noren."

Wait… What could that mean?

"I used to be a man once known as Ikem."

Ikem?! Then could this mean—

But a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Zuko! They're here!" Suki called out but for some reason, she didn't sound worried…

Did Aang manage to convince Azula?

No, he shouldn't be surprised… Of course he did.

"Are you ready?"

"I-I…" Azula took a deep breath in an attempt to steel her nerves. "I am."

"Then let's go in."

Opening the door to the house, they were greeted by Zuko along Noren and his family. The looked tense, and weirdly on edge… Did Zuko tell them the truth already?

"Azula! Aang!" Zuko stood up hastily. "Where were you two?" He asked suspiciously, still wary for anything Azula might do.

"Listen, Zuko. I'll explain later." He tried to ease his nerves. "But we have a guest right now, and Azula needs to talk to her mother."

"What? What do you mean a guest?" Zuko asked as everyone looked at him in confusion.

"You guys should come outside. This is important." He said while squeezing Azula's hand. "For all of us."

Zuko's eyes widened at his gesture but apparently decided to not mention it.

Everyone stood up from their seats and followed him outside their home, where Suki and their special guest were waiting for them.

"Wait! That's—" Noren tried to say but was interrupted by the deafening voice of the Mother of Faces.

"Human, do you wish to return to who you once were? Do you wish to remember?"

He looked at Noriko, who seemed frozen in shock. Although he did feel bad for her and what they were going to do, he did make a promise to Azula.

And he was going to make sure he fulfills it.

"Noriko." He said firmly. "I know it must be hard to come to terms with everything, but I assume that Zuko already told you everything."

She was startled by his voice, but eventually nodded.

"Then please… Your children have suffered enough. We need you to remember your past."

"Aang! What's going on?!" Zuko rushed to where he was. "Why are you—"

"Zuko, please trust me." He smiled at his friend. "Just this once, okay?"

He was panicked, but he ultimately backed off. "Okay… I'll trust you."

He nodded gratefully before turning back to Noriko.

"Noriko, would you please accept the spirit's offer?"

Her face was still riddled with concern, probably still struggling to process everything that was revealed to her. But then she nodded once more before turning towards the Mother of Faces.

"Yes, I wish to remember." She said with a steady voice filled with determination.

He was glad that his words managed to reach her.

"Very well. Hold still."

The Mother of Faces extended her hand as the same brilliant glow she produced when she healed Rafa blinded everyone present.

It took a few minutes but eventually, everything went back to normal.

The sun was peeking its face in the horizon as the figure of Noriko fell to her knees while holding her hands to her face.

Zuko rushed to help her along with Noren.

And then they saw it.

He could feel Azula's body tremble, but he wasn't sure if it was of fear or anger.

He knew it wouldn't be easy.

But somehow, he knew everything would work out in the end.