One Step Forward, One Step Left

by The Sinful

For want of a single nail, the war was lost. So why not make it two nails instead? Thus, a war meeting goes slightly differently, resulting in a different royal being banished. And a slight shift in the timeline means the younger generation were born a decade earlier.

One Step Forward, One Step Left

"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"[Reading/listening to a message/letter]"

-]|[-

Life was never easy at the South Pole. Everyone knew that, even if they'd never come within 100 miles of the place, though most such people didn't realize life was possible there either. Still, in the last year or so, things had been getting a little easier. More of the younger generation were old enough to hunt or fish without Sokka or Katara there to guide them. And with the Fire Nation not having returned since… that day, Katara felt confident enough in teaching the tribe's two remaining waterbenders, Massak and Nakul, what she knew. Okay, so she couldn't teach a lot since she was entirely self-taught, and times were still somewhat lean, and their village was still down to only a couple dozen members, but Katara chose to look on the bright side. The alternative invariably led to staring at the ocean depths contemplatively and wondering if the cold or lack of air would do the job first. Besides, as one of the two children of the Southern Water Tribe's chieftain, she was technically responsible for everyone at the South Pole. Even if the tribes had broken up years before she was born and they rarely heard from other villages anymore.

Of course, now there were two new mouths to feed. While young Aang's airbending would certainly prove helpful in some form or other, Katara could only hope that his bison Appa was both omnivorous and reasonably self-sufficient when it came to food. The (allegedly) flying bison might be adorable, but he also outweighed the entire village combined. The giant beam of light let off when Aang was awakened was still unexplained but given their seclusion, Katara wasn't too worried about it, even if it was probably visible for miles. It was also miles to reach any other village, the closest being two days on foot if the weather cooperated.

Speaking of Aang, she could see him approaching now, wrapped in borrowed furs, wearing warpaint under his eyes, and running towards where she and her students were bending snow to build up the wall around the village. "Hey Katara!" The young monk called to her as he approached. His enthusiasm made her smile; it was always nice to see kids being kids. Stopping in front of her, he smiled brightly and announced, "I got the extra snow up on the other side of the wall and Appa packed it down real tight!"

"Thank you Aang, that'll save us a lot of time."

Looking out at the village, Aang brought up something that had been bugging him since he'd noticed it. "I wanted to ask, who lives in that one hut? The one with the smoke coming out of the chimney?"

Normally such a qualifier wouldn't help much, but it was the middle of the day. Everyone was working on something. As such, Katara knew exactly which hut he meant. Sure enough, he was pointing at only one in the village that was technically unoccupied. "That's Nini's hut," She answered. Next to her, Nakul and Massak both stiffened. "We don't go in there."

"What? Why not? Is Nini really mean?" He asked with that childish curiosity of his.

With a gesture, she told her students to keep working while she explained things. "No, she's dead." The Airbender's eyes widened and his mouth fell open as Katara continued, "It was when my mother was a little girl. There was a really bad blizzard that lasted for weeks. After about a month, mom realized she hadn't seen Nini since the storm began. She and the other villagers went to check their hut but no one was there." Katara's voice became more ominous as she spoke, "The others went to look for them outside the village while mom waited inside the hut. Suddenly, there was a crackling fire going in the middle of the hut as she heard a voice say, 'I'm so cold and I can't get warm.' Mom turned around and saw Nini, but she was as blue as the sea, as though she was frozen. Mom ran to get help but by the time she came back, Nini was gone." Aang jumped in fright as the tale came to an end. "Ever since, smoke comes from her hut, as though Nini's still trying to get warm."

-]|[-

A young woman glared towards the horizon from the deck of her ship. To be fair, she always glared. The burn scar taking up a considerable portion of the left side of her face made her default expression a glare. Though she had once worn clothing of higher quality, these days she dressed as an imperial officer, the uniforms harder wearing and easier to replace. Besides, according to her father, she hadn't been royalty for over half her life. As she looked towards where the beam of light had come from, she frowned in irritation. 'Thirteen years I've been searching for you and you finally make an appearance less than a year before the deadline.' Still, she had time. Time to put one of her plans into motion and finally set things right. Footsteps behind her alerted her to the arrival of the only family she had left to claim. "I trust you saw it too, Uncle? We finally have some concrete evidence of the Avatar's location."

"Or perhaps," the old man offered, "It is merely the southern lights."

Azula rolled her eyes despite not looking at him. "We've seen the southern lights before, Uncle. And the northern lights, and a dozen other phenomena. None of them were like that. It's him; I can feel it," she insisted. Her hands tightened into fists and a deadly smirk curved her lips as she imagined finally achieving her goals.

Iroh sighed patiently. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up too much, Azula. I know how much you have staked on this and how long you've waited, but if it doesn't pan out…" He trailed off meaningfully.

"I have lived on this ship since I was eleven years old, Uncle!" Blue flames escaped between her clenched teeth as she near shouted before taking a deep breath to calm herself. Quieter and more in control, she said, "I've forgotten what the capital looks like at sunrise, the taste of proper fire flakes, whether it was Mai or Ty Lee who liked Zuko… I've forgotten home." For the first time, she turned and looked at her uncle, appearing tired on a spiritual level. "It has to work. I don't have any alternatives left."

-]|[-

Flashback

Thirteen Years Ago, Fire Nation Capital

Princess Azula and her older brother, Prince Zuko, were attending their first ever war meeting. Though while her worthless older brother had to get in as Iroh's guest, Azula herself was seated beside their father, Firelord Ozai. In her mind, it was only natural. Zuko might be two years older than her but he was a failure as a prince. Some might insist he was above average in several areas, but they were royalty; anything less than perfection was intolerable. And unlike her worthless brother, she was perfect in everything she did. Thus, it fit perfectly that she was their father's favorite and undoubtedly the one who would one day succeed him as Fire Lord.

Yet, no one could truly be perfect at all times. Somewhere, somewhen, they would falter and misstep. For Princess Azula, today was to be that day. Down below, General Mujing detailed his plan to sacrifice an entire division of soldiers to gain a potential advantage against the Earth Kingdom forces. "What better bait for a trap than fresh meat?" He asked sinisterly as he explained his reasoning.

In normal circumstances, this would have been the moment Prince Zuko loudly protested the plan, insisting it wasn't right to sacrifice so many loyal soldiers. Fortunately for him, retired General Iroh had been keeping a close eye on his nephew. The boy had barely taken a sharp breath before his uncle was holding him down with a single deceptively strong hand. Unfortunately for Azula, this distracted the young prince long enough that the generals in attendance heard her mocking scoff, "Pathetic."

The flames in front her suddenly spiked several feet upwards, a clear sign of her father's agitation. "Something you care to share, Princess Azula?" Ozai's voice was, as always, cold as ice. Only the climbing flames belied his displeasure.

Had she been less sure of her position, Azula might have rethought her response or begged forgiveness. Instead, she soldiered on, as haughty as always. "Sacrificing an entire division of men for a minor advantage against an opponent of equal size? Tell me, General, how does one achieve your rank when the extent of your strategic ability is to outnumber your enemies two to one and still lose half your forces?"

Though the various generals sputtered in outrage, it was Ozai's response that drew her attention from where she smirked so smugly down at them. "You forget your place, my daughter." That actually gave the young girl pause. Had she done something wrong? "The only penance for this insult is an Agni Kai."

That put her arrogant smirk back in place. Staring down at the worried General Mujing, Azula replied, "As you wish, Fire Lord. I can't promise I'll spare his life, I'm afraid."

One Week Later

The disgraced Princess Azula walked up the gangplank of her new ship, trying but ultimately failing not to grimace as the bandages pulled on her burn, the side of her head shaved to properly treat her father's "lesson". She refused to be pitied by anyone. She would not realize for some time that said pity likely saved her life. Fire Lord Ozai was fickle and to fall out of favor meant far more than simply being ignored or pushed aside. Her ship, the Lost Soul, was crewed with the dregs of the Fire Nation navy, conscripted from prisoners who were headed for the Boiling Rock: would-be deserters and mutineers. All were promised a full pardon and early retirement should they succeed, but all were expected to simply "deal with" their new commanding officer and go AWOL.

But Ozai didn't account for human decency and altruism. The first saved Azula's life as her new subordinates looked upon a disfigured little girl and saw someone who could be their daughter, their little sister, their niece. It was easy to kill a grown man, especially one you hated. But a little girl who still had half her face covered in bandages and the other half angrily pretending she wasn't fighting back tears of bitterness and despair? No, none of them had it in them to simply throw her overboard and sail away. The second saved Azula's life as her older brother, horrified at what happened to his little sister (even if he was terrified of her more often than not), ran to the only family member he still trusted and begged Iroh to do something to help her. Thus, the Lost Soul gained an unexpected passenger in the form of the Dragon of the West.

Flashback End

-]|[-

"Seal jerky?" Sokka offered their village's newest member. The acting chieftain would admit to being suspicious of Aang at first. People frozen in ice underwater were weird and weird things tended to be bad. Trusting easily is how you discovered a hole in the ice the hard way. But Aang was a good kid who liked helping people, an always valued trait in the Water Tribe. And if he seemed a little too carefree sometimes, he at least brightened your day with his cheer.

Looking at the preserved meat Sokka held out to him, Aang waved his hands in front of him. "No thanks. I'm actually a vegetarian."

Sokka took back every good thing he ever said or thought about Aang. "Yeah, not here, you aren't."

A swift smack upside the head courtesy of Katara shut him up. She gave him a quick glare before turning her attention to Aang. "It's fine Aang. We've got plenty of sea prune stew to go around. Here."

Aang took the offered bowl and sipped a bit of the brown stew. Immediately his face scrunched up in disgust. The stuff tasted like particularly nasty medicine. But then he remembered that the other option was eating meat. So he bit back his distaste and quickly scarfed down the entire bowl, hoping it'd be better if he couldn't taste it for long. "I'm gonna go check on Appa." And possibly hurl, he didn't say.

-]|[-

The next day came far earlier than Aang expected, particularly as it was currently late spring, meaning there was only a couple hours at best of night. After a quick breakfast, most of the teenagers were sent off hunting with Sokka while Katara and Massak worked on building a new hut for Appa to sleep in. Thankfully, it was fairly easy to shape the snow properly with waterbending. The only real trick was not drawing too much from one spot.

But then their lives were upheaved by the second set of strangers in as many days. "Fire Nation!" The lookout, a position that usually just meant watching for bad weather and the occasional polar bear-dog, shouted at the top of his voice.

Katara's blood froze in her veins at those words. The Fire Nation hadn't been to Wolf Cove in fifteen years, not since their final raid. What could they possibly want? And now of all times, when nearly half the tribe was out gathering food. She and Massak ran towards the lookout point on the wall while the noncombatants all hurried into their huts. "No bending!" She ordered the young teen, "As far as they're concerned, my mother was the last bender at the South Pole!" Massak nodded her head frantically. She was too young to remember the last raid, but she'd heard the stories all the same. She wouldn't bend even if they set her on fire.

The pair made it in time to see a ship, far larger than any they'd ever seen before and entirely made of metal, easily breaking its way through the ice. Thankfully, it stopped before the cracks reached the walls. The front of the ship lowered, revealing itself to be a ramp, and down it walked a woman who could have been called beautiful if not for the considerable burn scar on the left side of her face or the fact she was clearly a Fire Nation officer going by her uniform. Katara grabbed a hunting spear as the woman reached the bottom of the ramp. She wasn't trained to fight with one but she knew how to hunt with it; hopefully that would be enough. Four soldiers followed down the ramp to flank the woman who called out in a proud and strong voice, "I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation! I come seeking information on the Avatar!"

'The Avatar?' Katara wondered in bewilderment, 'Why would she want information on someone who's been missing for over a century? And why would she come here?' A glance at Massuk and the lookout, both armed with clubs, showed them looking equally confused.

"If you present him or his location to me," Azula continued, "I'm willing to trade twenty gold pieces or ten barrels of rice." The gold was worthless, Katara thought to herself. No one in the South Pole used something so heavy and worthless. Though the rice, she only vaguely remembered having some before in more prosperous days and knew it was a very useful food. They had nothing to offer this Azula and wouldn't help her on principle anyway, but that was a much more effective bribe.

"Rice?!" Aang called as he suddenly appeared, having moved far faster than Katara knew was possible. "Did you say rice?!" The boy was nearly drooling at the mention of a food he could eat that wasn't sea prune stew.

Azula smiled slightly, which actually did quite a bit for her looks and softened her commanding presence. "Indeed I did. Though I must ask," She quickly glanced at the obvious arrow tattoo on Aang's forehead, "What exactly is an airbending master doing at the South Pole?"

"Um, I mean, you know… just… hanging out?" Aang lamely offered, his eyes darting around as he tried to come up with an excuse that didn't out him.

One well sculpted eyebrow arched. "Indeed? You're quite a way off the beaten path, aren't you, young prodigy? Why, if I didn't know better, I would-" What she would do would remain a mystery as a boomerang struck the side of her head, cutting off her speech and nearly causing her to faceplant into the snow, and a loud war cry echoed through the village from Sokka and the returning hunters.

The four Fire Nation soldiers took up stances that even the youngest Water Tribe members could recognize as fire bending stances as Sokka and his hunting party took up defensive positions at the front of the village. Before the situation could escalate further, Azula threw herself to her feet in a move Katara didn't think anyone could pull off in snow. "Stand down, you idiots!" She roared at her men, ignoring the rivulet of blood trickling down the right side of her face from where Sokka's boomerang had struck her. Turning back to the Water Tribe of Wolf Cove, Azula took a deep calming breath before speaking again, "As I said. We're here for information about the Avatar and are willing to trade. Though I must admit, I expected to find an elderly airbender or waterbender, not a child."

The fire princess's words had Katara side-eyeing Aang with consideration, seeing him in a new possible light. The boy himself was noticeably sweating despite the cool temperatures. "Er, why would you think I'm the Avatar of all people?" That he didn't outright deny it earned him more looks from the other tribe members.

Azula tilted her head as she smirked. "I've studied the Air Nomads quite thoroughly over the years. One fact in particular that stood out was how only an airbending master would have those tattoos," She offered as she gestured towards the visible arrow tattoos on his forehead and hands. "While I do know a thing or two about prodigies," Was it Katara's imagination or did one of the firebenders snort, "Being recognized as a master at ten is quite the accomplishment. Possibly a record even, given most Airbenders aren't recognized as masters until their twenties at least."

"I was eleven actually," Aang corrected, not helping his case in the slightest. Finally, with a heavy sigh and a noticeable sag to his shoulders, the boy finally confessed. "Fine, I'm the Avatar." A moment later, he straightened up, pointing his staff towards the Fire Nation ship authoritatively, "If I come with you, will you let these people go? …Oh and give them that rice you promised!"

"Of course," Azula's smile was smaller than her smirk but more genuine. She loudly clapped her hands twice, which must have been a prearranged signal, as men started rolling barrels down the gangplank. As the food was unloaded, Azula shocked them all by bowing low at the waist. "After all, we are here to serve you, Avatar."

-]|[-

That day's midday meal was supplemented by food from Azula's ship and help from her cook, who was watched like a hawk as he worked. Despite their gesture of goodwill, no one trusted any of the Fire Nation. Well, except Aang. He was friendly with everyone. He particularly liked talking to an elderly man (who insisted he wasn't that old) who had introduced himself as Uncle Iroh. The portly man was a wondrous storyteller, such that quite a few villagers found excuses to work nearby and listen in as he told of places he had visited, such as the upside-down city that was the Western Air Temple or the great Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se.

As everyone ate, the Fire Nation and Water Tribe sat separately, though both groups sat close enough to listen to Iroh, who sat in the middle and regaled them with a tale of his visit into the Spirit World. On the opposite side of the campfire, Sokka and Katara confronted Azula with Aang happily eating a bowl of rice and dried vegetables nearby. "So, what do you really want with Aang?" Sokka demanded around a mouthful of fish.

Azula gave a pointed look towards his full mouth before speaking, "As I said, I'm here to serve him. Though perhaps it'd be more accurate to say I'm here to teach him." At the disbelieving looks from the two siblings, she shrugged. "He'll need to learn firebending if he is to defeat my father and help end the war. And where exactly do you propose he find another firebending master willing to help him with that?"

"So that's your angle!" Katara declared triumphantly, "You want Aang to overthrow your father so you can rule!" Clearly, a 'good' firebender was impossible. Even ones who might help others were really only helping themselves.

If she hoped for vehement denials or protests, she was sorely disappointed. Instead Azula offered a half shrug. "To a certain extent, yes. I certainly do crave revenge on my father for what he did to me." Though she had too much control to motion towards it, the other three members of the group all glanced towards her scar. "But I've also learned a great deal these last thirteen years." That tidbit got Sokka's and Katara's attention. They were reasonably sure Azula was roughly their age, so if she'd been hunting for Aang for that long, she'd have been at it for at least half her life. "If you believe Great-Grandfather Sozin's memoirs and Fire Nation propaganda, this war was started to spread the Fire Nation's prosperity to the whole of the world. Yet the Earth Kingdom is filled with slums and hovels, an entire school of waterbending has been wiped out, and the Air Nomads were genocided. How can we be spreading prosperity if everyone is cursing us as they lay dying in the dirt?" She paused for a moment, head tilted quizzically as though in thought, "Though I suppose we are spreading the Fire Nation's prosperity."

The conversation was interrupted as Aang's bowl fell from his nerveless fingers. "What did you say about the Air Nomads?"

Azula looked at him in confusion, not understanding how he couldn't already know this. "The opening act of the war. Sozin used the power of Sozin's Comet, yes he named it after himself, to eradicate everyone found at the four Air Temples with battalions of firebenders placed in advance. I believe he led the attack on the Western Air Temple personally."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Aang shouted at the top of his lungs, desperate to believe his own words.

All around the campfire, everyone fell silent. Iroh, who had been right at what he considered the best part of his story, guessed what Azula had told the boy and spoke up. "She is not," He spoke solemnly, "I wish she was, but I have seen the Air Temples myself… and the remains of the Air Nomads. We gave them proper burials but…" the old man drifted off, his eyes haunted by what he had seen.

"IT'S NOT TRUE! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!" Aang's voice echoed as though several people were yelling at once as his eyes and tattoos glowed with an unnatural light. A whirling sphere of wind and snow formed around him as he slowly floated into the air, his face twisted in grief. "THEY CAN'T BE DEAD!"

Even as they fled in fear, every villager and many of the soldiers understood the denial they heard. Very few of them had not had a similar reaction to news of a friend or loved one taken from them by the war. But as the wind picked up and even Azula backed away from what she had accidentally unleashed, one stayed where she was. Barely able to stay on her feet, Katara cried out towards the grieving young boy, "AANG! I know you're hurting! I know what it's like! When the Fire Nation took my parents from me, I felt like I was all alone in the world! But I wasn't and neither are you! I'm here for you, Aang!"

As she shouted, Sokka stepped forward and added his own piece, "We're here for you, Aang! We'll help you get through this!" Slowly, the wind died down and both the snow and Aang were lowered back down. Sokka and Katara quickly wrapped the unconscious boy in a hug. When Azula hung back, Katara shot her an expectant look and the princess awkwardly joined the group hug after a moment's hesitation.

-]|[-

The next day, the three waterbenders had made quick work of fixing the damage Aang's episode had caused. One major upside of almost everything being made of ice and snow: It's easy to put things back together, particularly with a waterbender's help. Azula found the time to speak with the eldest villager she could find. Such people tended to have the most reason to hate the Fire Nation but also the most useful information. "I assume it's safe to say the Chieftain's wife isn't a waterbending master?" She asked. She was fairly certain of the answer, both due to the raids her grandfather had ordered and the girl's own apparent inexperience, but it never hurt to confirm such things.

"She's his sister," came Kanna's gruff answer. At Azula's poorly hidden look of revulsion, she added, "They're not married. They're just both in charge of the tribe. But you're right; Katara is entirely self-taught, thanks to your people." The princess accepted the bile with grace. She was well aware of her nation's atrocities, though (and she'd never admit this out loud) at least that particular one had something resembling a point. No waterbending masters meant future waterbenders would be far less effective. If not for the Northern Water Tribe staying out of the war, she imagined Azulon would have ordered similar raids on them. "Why do you ask?"

"Aang will need training in the other three elements. While I will train him in firebending, we still need someone to teach him water and earthbending," Azula explained. "So it would seem our destination is the North Pole."

The elderly woman stood in thought for long enough that Azula wondered if she was simply ignoring her. Just before she turned to leave, Kanna spoke up, more warmly than before, "My grandkids are becoming attached to that boy. He brings them hope, even beyond his status as the Avatar. No one here has been able to be as carefree as him in a very long time.'' She fixed Azula with a stare and insisted, "Take them too. They might have their responsibilities here, but we can manage. The others are plenty old enough to do the work that they had to do alone." With that, Kanna simply walked away, apparently deciding their conversation was over.

-]|[-

"Will they be okay without us though?" Sokka asked once again as he adjusted his pack. Their belongings were packed up, minus what would do more good staying in the village, and it was almost time to leave.

Katara couldn't tell him without it going to his head, but she was proud of how he had grown. No longer a boy trying to prove he was a man, he was a man trying to look out for those who needed him. "It'll be fine," she insisted. "Most of the children are older than we were when we took over."

"So, we're just waiting on Azula then?" Aang asked as he zipped by on his air scooter. Katara found herself torn between wanting to ride it and cringing at the idea of speeding along while balancing on the toes of one foot atop a ball.

"Not for long," Azula called as she walked down her ship's gangplank. "Apologies. But I felt it best to not so obviously declare my heritage if we're going to be traveling on a sky bison." When she got close enough, the trio saw that she looked like a whole new person. Gone was her Fire Nation military officer uniform, topknot, and makeup. Instead, she wore a simple green dress of reasonable quality that had seen better days, her hair was kept in a simple low ponytail and hidden by a straw hat, and her lips were their natural pale pink. On her back was a worn traveling bag and in her right hand was a spear. In place of a Fire Nation princess was what anyone would swear was an Earth Kingdom refugee who had suffered a close encounter with a Firebender.

"Wow, I can hardly believe it's you," Katara offered sincerely. "Wait, what's with the spear?"

Gesturing with the spear in her right hand, its ostrich-horsehair tassel swaying with the movement, Azula softly said, "It's a family heirloom. My great-grandfather used it to fight off Fire Nation soldiers back when our family still lived in Taku. He survived the initial battle, but a firebender burned his arm to uselessness so he passed the spear on to his son. When father became a man, his father gifted it to him." The exiled princess's eyes grew distant as she regaled, "Father wanted to give it to my older brother, but Sud and Father were called to the frontlines not long after Sud's fifteenth birthday. They were on the frontlines during the Siege of Ba Sing Se… they- they never…" She trailed off with a sob.

Sokka quietly gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure they fought bravely to the very- Wait." Realization sank in as he processed Azula's story more. "Wow. You are good!"

Wiping away the crocodile tears trailing down her face, Azula smirked. "I try." Getting her first close look at Appa, she asked, "So, can he really carry all four of us?"

"Oh sure!" Aang reassured her. He leapt through the air and hugged Appa's furry forehead. "Appa here could easily carry half a dozen people while flying." The sky bison gave a groan that sounded like agreement.

"Far be it for me to gainsay an expert." Looking towards her waiting uncle, Azula ordered, "After three days, start following us north. The Avatar's return will become known eventually and it wouldn't do to seem as though I gave up on my mission. Not yet at least."

"And if someone demands to speak with you?" Iroh asked. A legitimate question. While he was the famous, or infamous depending on who you asked, Dragon of the West, there were always headstrong idiots who only respected official rank and didn't care they were speaking to the man who once led the Fire Nation's armies.

Azula shrugged in response. "Make something up." With an impressive leap, she flipped right onto Appa's saddle from the ground. "Say I was lost at sea and you're trying to honor my memory or some such, Uncle."

-]|[-

Kneeling in front of his mentor's skeleton, Aang brokenly whispered, "I hadn't wanted it to be true." Despite hearing it from Azula, he had been so sure the other Air Nomads were still around. But the temple had been empty save for a flying lemur he'd named Momo. Well, Momo and the countless skeletons of both Fire Nation soldiers and Air Nomads. He really was the last of his kind.

Azula quietly knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Aang. I wish it wasn't either." Sokka and Katara quickly joined them, wrapping their arms around the pair. Azula had to consciously fight her reflexive response but managed to keep it to merely stiffening momentarily. Even Momo glided over to land on Aang's opposite shoulder and wrap his tail around the boy's shoulders, chirping softly.

"This is all my fault."

"No, Aang. It isn't." None of them were sure which of them actually said that, even if they all agreed. "It's the Fire Nation's fault for starting this war and attacking the Air Nomads."

"But if I hadn't run away-" Aang quickly cut himself off, as though he'd said more than he intended.

All three adults shared a quick look and understanding passed between them. They'd ask about that later, but for now they'd focus on comforting Aang. "You'd have been another skeleton decorating this temple," Azula insisted. "Then what? The next Avatar is born but now there's no one for them to learn fire or airbending from? No, what happened here was an atrocity, but that's on my family's heads, not yours."

-]|[-

A few days after their visit to the Southern Air Temple, the group were making camp on Whaletail Island. As they sat around the fire, Sokka commented, "You know, dad used to tell me there's no whales in these waters because the island itself was the tail of a giant whale."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't decide to dive while we're here then," Aang joked, earning a chuckle from the others.

Azula's smile faded as she considered what they had heard the other day. Perhaps she should leave it be, but she had always been too curious, as Zuzu could attest when she would drag him around to overhear something they weren't supposed to. "Aang, back at the temple, you said you ran away." Aang flinched at the reminder but she pressed on, keeping her tone soothing, "What did you mean?"

Looking around, he saw all of his companions looking at him expectantly, minus Appa who was asleep and Momo who was chasing insects. "I… I guess you guys deserve to know." Aang leaned back against Appa and stared up at the clouds as they slowly drifted by. It was easier if he wasn't looking at them as he spoke, "Back when I was younger, I always seemed to excel ahead of the other kids. By the time I was ten, I was better than my own teachers. And I earned my tattoos, showing I was an airbending master, before I turned twelve." Though he couldn't see it, Azula offered a sympathetic nod. She knew all about being a prodigy.

"But then… everything changed one day. The monks told me I was the Avatar and that I had to stop a coming war." Memories flashed through his head as he spoke: Children not wanting to play with him because he was the Avatar and it'd "be unfair", Master Tashi insisting he train rather than play. "Only Gyatso really seemed to care that I was only twelve. To everyone else, it was like I was already supposed to be this mythical figure. I just wanted to be a kid!" Sokka and Katara exchanged sad looks at that, remembering their own lost childhoods. "Then the monks decided to send me away to the Eastern Air Temple. They wanted me to leave everything behind!" Aang briefly shouted, earning a rumble groan from Appa. He quickly patted the sky bison's side, "Sorry buddy."

Quieter than before, Aang continued, "I couldn't take the pressure. Or the idea of never seeing Monk Gyatso again. …So I ran. But there was a storm. Me and Appa couldn't stay in the air and ended up underwater." He remembered how terrifying that storm was. The howling winds, the constant lightning, waves taller than Appa was long. Then came the darkness and cold as they went under. "The next thing I knew, you two were waking me up. So yeah, I ran away from my responsibilities."

There was silence for a time, no one knowing what to say. Then Azula spoke up, her voice as quiet and solemn as Aang's had been. "My father gave me this scar when I was eleven." Everyone looked at her, Aang in particular as he hadn't heard her implied comments back at the South Pole. Unlike Aang, she stared into the flames rather than the sky. "I had been sitting in on one of his war meetings. As father's favorite child, I sat at his side, unlike my brother who could only get in with Uncle vouching for him." She remembered how smug she'd been about that fact, reveling in being her brother's superior despite being two years younger. "While planning further expansions into the Earth Kingdom, one general proposed a particularly stupid battleplan. He wanted to sacrifice an entire division of new recruits to gain an advantage on the battlefield." Back then, she had mocked the plan because it was pathetic and spoke of poor strategic ability. Now, it disgusted her as a waste of loyal soldiers.

"I spoke out. I insulted his plan and his ability for needing to outnumber his enemies two to one to achieve victory at the cost of half his soldiers. I was a fool." The campfire briefly shot up before she got herself back under control. "I thought I was untouchable as father's favorite and I failed to realize what losing that favor might mean. Father scolded me for my disrespect and insisted I could only absolve myself through an Agni Kai." A glance showed the others' confusion, forcing her to explain. "A duel between firebenders to settle disputes and meant to only be for the gravest of offenses. I didn't care; I knew I could beat that General Bujing. But I was wrong. Because he wasn't my opponent, the Fire Lord was." Azula closed her eyes as she remembered turning around and seeing the Fire Lord on the opposite side of the stage. She recalled the pain, the betrayal, the despair at realizing her father was so furious with her that he would face her in an Agni Kai. "Unlike my mother, he never showed any fear or disappointment in me. He praised my skills, my talent, my ruthlessness. I couldn't bring myself to fight him. All I could do was bow my head in defeat."

"And he burned you anyway?" Aang gasped. Unlike the others, he knew a bit about Agni Kai and what the condition for victory was.

"He called it a lesson. That suffering would teach me my place," She spat the words bitterly. "The next day, he gave me 'an opportunity to redeem myself'. I was to scour the world, find the Avatar, and bring him back dead or alive." She'd still been delirious when Ozai had visited her in the infirmary. Half blind and barely able to think past the pain when he told her she was no longer a princess, no longer his daughter, and no longer welcome within the Fire Nation. "It was a fool's errand at best and a suicide mission at worst. You had been gone for almost ninety years at the time. But for the first few years, I did my best anyway. I searched everywhere for even a trace of your existence." For the first time in her storytelling, the former princess smiled ever so slightly. "I would've been dead if not for Uncle. He kept the peace with my crew while I was still a haughty brat, desperate to redeem herself. And eventually, Uncle convinced me to give up on my quest, after a fashion. He taught me things, showed me things." In her mind's eye, she could still see Ran and Shaw performing the dragon's dance alongside her and her uncle, the man willingly going through judgment a second time for her sake. Azula held up her right hand and a small rainbow-colored flame formed above it. "Things I never dreamed of. That's when I knew I had to find the Avatar, not to capture or kill him, but to teach him. To help him stop my father and end this war."

"And get revenge on your asshole dad," Sokka chimed in.

Azula snorted in amusement. "That goes without saying."

Katara looked towards Sokka who gave her an 'after you' gesture. She nodded and looked downwards, one hand reaching towards her necklace. "The Fire Nation killed my mom… It was sixteen years ago. We all knew what it meant when black snow fell from the sky: Another raid." Like every time she revisited that day, Katara could see the black snow falling, smell the acrid stench of the Fire Nation's war machines, hear people desperately fighting to keep from losing more of their own. Now that she was telling the story, she could also feel her desperation to reach her mother. She still couldn't say why she knew her mom had been in danger, but she did. "The raids had been ongoing longer than our parents had been alive. Even though we made them retreat each time, each time they took more of our benders. I ran to find mom while the adults tried to fight the raiders back. I found her inside our home, along with the leader of the raids." In her mind, his hateful eyes glared down at her. "He somehow knew there was one waterbender left in our village. Mom told me to leave but I still heard her telling him she was the last waterbender. I went to find dad but I heard mom scream. I ran back to find that man walking out of the house. He had the fucking gall to smirk at me! Inside mom was… I could barely recognize her." Katara fell silent, unable to continue.

Sokka shuffled over and wrapped an arm around Katara's shoulder. "I was trying to help defend the village when it happened. The Fire Nation suddenly retreated and no one could tell why. No one had been captured in the raid." The young man stared out into the distance without actually seeing anything. "Then we heard Katara's screams. Dad and I raced back home, only to find Katara kneeling over mom's burnt remains. The smell was… I couldn't bear to be around cooking meat for two months." Even though they'd only known him for a matter of days, both Aang and Azula realized how badly a self-identified carnivore like Sokka must've been shaken to be unable to stomach meat. "Three years after mom died, all the men left to fight in the war. I tried to join them but dad insisted I was too young and had to look after the village. We haven't heard from them since."

Azula stared at the fire a moment longer before standing up, picking up Aang from where he was leant against the dozing Appa, and setting him down in front of Katara before sitting on her other side. The four mutually embraced each other and each of them drew strength from the other three. The fire would burn out before they let each other go.

-]|[-

As Appa flew towards the island below, Azula looked down with interest. "Kyoshi Island. Supposedly Avatar Kyoshi created it herself in a single day centuries ago. Do you think it's true?" She couldn't imagine the amount of power required to do such a thing. Did Kyoshi cause a massive volcano to erupt to form the island? Or did she simply use waterbending to force the ocean away? The Fire Nation had a few bases at sea, mostly prisons for earthbenders, but they were small and cramped by logistic necessity. Nothing like an entire thriving island.

"I dunno," Aang offered from where he was seated atop Appa's head. "I might have done it but it's not like I did it, you know."

Sokka, who had only recently stopped clutching the saddle for dear life whenever he flew, turned towards Aang and inquired, "Can't you like, ask your past lives?"

"I dunno," The young airbender repeated. "Maybe? Anyway, there's the elephant koi!" The others barely had time to look where he was pointing before Aang dove off Appa's head, aiming straight for the giant orange fish that could be seen breaching the surface of the bay below.

Katara quickly dived for Appa's reins and started maneuvering him down towards the shore, albeit somewhat clumsily. As they flew downwards, it was Sokka who spotted trouble. "Guys, is it me or is there something really big in the water?" Indeed, when the others looked, a massive dark shadow could be seen winding through the bay and heading straight for the elephant koi.

"Damnit! I'll grab him, get to land!" Azula shouted before vaulting over the saddle. Once she was away from Appa, she used firebending to rocket herself downwards even faster. She was still picking up speed as a dorsal fin even larger than an elephant koi breached the surface just behind Aang. Then the head of a massive eel-like creature rose from the waters. From what she could see of the beast, its body would take up a substantial portion of the bay's coast if it stretched out. And it was currently trying to eat Aang, who wasn't even as large as one of its eyes.

Azula pushed more power into her propelling jets. She wasn't sure she could hit the serpent with anything powerful enough to drive it off without also hitting Aang. The only thing she could think of at the moment that had both the power and precision needed was lightning, which was not an option for obvious reasons. She was only fifty feet away as Aang used a burst of airbending to push himself away from the monster's snapping jaws. Thirty… twenty… ten… now! Cutting off the flames from one arm, Azula grabbed Aang by his arm and rocketed them along the surface towards the shore. "Azula, look out!" Aang's cry made her look back. To her shock, the creature spewed a jet of water towards its fleeing prey, forcing her to dodge. With only three limbs to maintain her flight, she lost control as the high-pressure stream clipped her. Both of them tumbled as they hit the water at speed, skipping across the surface until they hit the beach.

"Aang?" Azula asked as Sokka and Katara ran towards them.

Warily, Aang asked, "Yes, Azula?"

"If you do that again, I'm going to kill you."

Naturally, that's when more trouble arrived. "That's them! They're the Fire Nation spies" The group barely had time to register the shout before they were attacked, bound, and blindfolded.

-]|[-

"I'm telling you, we're not Fire Nation spies!" In her own head, Katara felt her argument would be more persuasive if not for the old man's unfortunately valid counterargument.

"Lies! We saw the other one firebending!"

"Technically, I'm ex-Fire Nation," Azula offered from where she was tied up next to Katara. All four of them were bound to a large statue of a woman that Katara assumed was Avatar Kyoshi. and the villagers were as far from welcoming as possible. Besides the old man, who was apparently the village chief, and various villagers, there was a group of warrior women wearing green uniforms and heavy face paint.

One of the women, likely the leader as her outfit was a little more ornate than the others, backhanded Azula. "Is that the best you can do? Pretend you're not a baby burning monster anymore?!"

That was when Sokka spoke up, and if Katara hoped he'd defuse things, she was sadly mistaken. Severely mistaken. "Hey, where'd those guys who ambushed us go?"

The warrior woman looked at him in confusion, or at least Katara thought it was confusion; the makeup made it hard to tell. "What guys? We ambushed you."

Sokka scoffed in response, "Yeah, okay. Like a bunch of women managed to beat me in a fight." It was times like this that reminded Katara that while Sokka was more grown up than he used to be, he still held onto some old beliefs. The time spent as the only "man" in the village probably didn't help.

"Excuse you?! I could beat you senseless with my hands tied!"

"Er guys, not to interrupt," Aang interrupted. "But we're not Fire Nation. I'm the Avatar. See?" With a deep breath, he blew out a gust of wind that propelled him out of his ropes and on top of the statue.

Though most everyone present gasped in awe, minus one man who screamed and fainted in excitement, the warrior woman wasn't convinced. "And what about her?" She demanded, pointed at Azula, "We saw her firebend!"

"She's my firebending teacher, duh!"

Though the woman looked ready to protest more, the village chief put a hand on her shoulder. "He has a point, Suki. The Avatar needs to learn firebending as well as the other three elements." As the others were cut loose, he bowed deeply towards them, "Our apologies for the misunderstanding."

Azula glanced up at Aang and muttered to herself, "You couldn't have done that sooner?"

-]|[-

Suki and the other Kyoshi warriors were practicing their moves when she noticed their guest. That man from the Water Tribe, Sokka, was standing in the doorway and watching them. "Can we help you?" She asked. She might not like his attitude, but he was traveling with the Avatar so she'd at least attempt to be polite.

"I just thought I'd watch you ladies practice. Maybe I could show you a thing or two?" He replied arrogantly.

Okay, forget politeness. She was going to wipe that smug look off his face using the floor. He might be a bit of a looker, but that attitude needed to be buried in a shallow grave. "Is that so? Well, I could certainly use a sparring partner." Her fellow warriors quickly realized her plan and moved to the edges of the practice room, leaving plenty of space for the coming 'spar'.

"Sure, why not? Just so you know, I'm not afraid to hit a girl." As he took a noticeably amateurish stance, one of the Kyoshi warriors came forward with a length of rope. "What are you doing?"

Suki placed her hands behind her back and let her subordinate bind her hands together. "Oh this? Lin is just helping me prove that claim I made earlier." She knew that would infuriate him, as it would anyone who fancied themselves a warrior.

Sure enough, Lin had barely seated herself with the others when Sokka came in with a wild haymaker. Suki easily twisted to the side, bumping Sokka with her hip as he passed and making him stumble. He recovered and went to punch her again, only for a swift kick to his ankle to put him on the ground. "My, I must admit, I've never seen such a fighting style. Tell me, how do you intend to beat me from the floor?" Sokka proved adaptable, as rather than waste time getting back to his feet, he lashed out with a kick, intending to knock her feet out from under her. Instead, Suki leapt forward over his attack and curled her legs up to bring her still bound hands in front of her before landing knee-first on Sokka's stomach. As he gasped for air, she grabbed the front of his shirt and smashed her forehead into his nose.

While Sokka writhed on the ground, clutching his face, Suki hopped back to her feet and calmly undid her bonds. "As I said, with my hands tied."

-]|[-

The following day, the Kyoshi Warriors' training was once more interrupted by Sokka. "What, did you not get enough last time?" Suki mocked him, expecting more arrogant posturing from the man.

To her surprise, he instead knelt on the floor and bowed to her. "No. I came to apologize for the way I acted before. It was sexist and uncalled for to look down on you as warriors just because you're women. And, if you'll have me, I'd be honored to learn from you."

'Well, I definitely wasn't expecting that.' She thought. The humility certainly improved her opinion of the man. And he would need to know how to fight if he was going to be facing the Fire Nation alongside the Avatar. "Very well. But you'll obey all my instructions and follow all our traditions."

"Of course," Sokka readily agreed. "Whatever it is, I'm ready."

15 Minutes Later

"I'm not ready," Sokka whined. The man was wearing the traditional Kyoshi Warrior garb, modeled after the late Avatar's own clothing. His goatee stood out even more than usual against the white makeup caked on his face. Looking to an entirely too amused Suki, he asked, "You're not just screwing with me for kicks, right?"

"Of course not." Okay, she was getting a kick out of it, but she wasn't screwing with him. "The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."

All the warriors present, including Sokka, stood up straighter at Suki's explanation. "Bravery and honor," He quietly repeated to himself, pride filling him at the idea.

The moment was ruined when Aang walked by and cheerfully called out, "Hey Sokka. Nice dress!"

-]|[-

The city of Omashu was home to the largest and most efficient delivery system in the world, where dozens of earthbenders all over the city used their skills to send stone carts of goods and messages throughout the city via stone slides. At that moment, four people were at the top of the city, squeezing themselves into a single cart. Given the three adults, Aang was basically sitting in Katara's lap, not that he minded. "Are you ready for the ride of your lives, guys?" He asked excitedly as the cart precariously balanced on the edge of what felt like a mile-long descent.

Katara made the mistake of looking down and swore she could see the ground getting even further away. "This seemed like a fun idea at first, but now I'm having second thoughts!"

"Too late," Azula insisted from the back of the cart. A swing of her arm launched a short but powerful burst of fire behind them, propelling them over the edge and down the slide.

All four shouted in varying degrees of fear and delight as they hurtled down at increasingly ridiculous speed. As they approached the end of their descent, another cart, this one carrying several polearms, came down the adjacent slide. Worse, both slides conjoined up ahead and their cart was pulling ahead. Once the two slides converged, the cart behind them started catching up, turning their screams more towards fear than enjoyment. "I'm on it!" Azula shouted. Firmly grasping the sides of the cart, she lifted herself straight up until her legs were free and swung her body around so her feet were pointed behind them. Blue flames burst out from the bottom of her shoes like a rocket propellant. Not only did this demolish the cart of polearms, it also propelled them faster down the track. Azula cut her flames and lowered herself back into the cart to enjoy the rest of the ride.

Aang whooped with joy at their greater speed even as Katara's grip on him tightened. Unfortunately, the mail system was designed for carts to be propelled either by gravity or by earthbending moving against gravity. It was not designed for carts that were being propelled by bending and gravity at the same time. As such, they hit the upcoming turn and slammed right through it, launching them off the track entirely. Their cart bounced through a training field right as the officer in charge was giving a speech then it hit a roof and slid sideways before landing back on a track and sliding down once more.

Their ride continued at speeds Sokka would privately admit were completely terrifying, especially as they started crashing through things, like another cart, a building, and finally a vendor's stand filled with cabbages. The cart smashed to pieces on the ground and all four found themselves sprawled out among the pile of cabbages. With a groan, Sokka remarked, "That was easily the most reckless thing I've ever done."

From underneath him, Azula muttered, "Barely in my top ten."

-]|[-

"Aang, I don't mean to rush you but we're almost out of time!" Katara urged him as the jennamite encased her a little bit more. By this point, her, Sokka, and Azula were almost completely covered by the crystals.

"What about Rocky?" Sokka suggested. When everyone looked at him, he tried to justify himself, "Because he's an earthbenders?"

"We'll keep that as a backup but that's a good try!" Katara offered.

Azula's face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone named Rocky in my life. Try Lee. There's a million Lees," she tried.

"Don't you know who the Earth King is? Since you're a princess?" Aang asked.

"Former princess," Azula corrected. "And I know who the Earth King in Ba Sing Se is, but I don't know who rules Omashu any more than I know who rules Ember Island." There was a moment of silence before she remembered they probably hadn't heard of the place, "Resort island in Fire Nation. I'll take you all there after the war."

"Anyway," Aang said, trying to get back on track, "The challenges were all unexpected and I had to think in ways I'm not used to…" His eyes lit up as realization hit him. Turning towards the patiently waiting king, he said, "You're a mad genius, Bumi!"

The king laughed, snorting a few times, as Aang hugged his old friend tightly. "It's good to see you, Aang. I've missed you."

"Little help here?" Katara asked.

Bumi looked over at the trio as though he'd forgotten they were there. "Oh right." With a single pulling gesture, the crystals all shattered. He caught a chunk as it flew by and took a bite out of it. "Jennamite is actually made out of rock candy!" Curious, Azula grabbed a piece that was still on her dress and took a small bite before grimacing at the taste. It was far too sweet. Heedless of her actions, Bumi turned back to his childhood friend. "Aang, your destiny is no small thing. You must master the elements, defeat Fire Lord Ozai, and end the war if you are to restore balance to the world."

Pretending she hadn't just spat out a piece of candy, Azula spoke up, "And you'll need to do it in less than a year."

"What do you mean, less than a year? How's he supposed to do that?" Katara questioned her, unable to determine why the firebender would insist on such a short timeframe.

"Sozin's comet is due to return next year," was Azula's answer. "I don't know when exactly but sometime between late summer and early autumn. When that day comes, every firebender will become a hundred times stronger." Her serious gaze turned towards Aang, willing him to understand how time critical things were. "The Fire Lord is easily one of the strongest firebenders in the world, possibly the strongest. As strong as you are, Aang, I don't want you fighting him when he's enhanced by the comet."

"I suppose you would know, wouldn't you, Princess Azula?" Azula's eyes widened in shock as her head whipped towards the ancient earthbending king. He gave her one of his half-insane smiles as he said, "Surprised? A king needs to keep himself appraised of these sorts of things. My men are too young to have ever seen blue fire before and thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. But I've heard things in my long life. I might not know why you've sided with Aang, but so long as you do right by him, you're alright in my book."

-]|[-

As the quartet, quintet if one counted Momo, wandered the pirate ship's hold, they took in the various "curios" the crew had on sale. Aang and Sokka found random bits that caught their eye but nothing particularly interested Azula. Everything on display would either be useless weight or just plain useless so far as she could see. That was when she heard Katara's delighted gasp of surprise. "A real waterbending scroll! And look at these illustrations!" Sadly, the price for something so valuable was well outside their budget. Azula wouldn't have blinked at paying a hundred gold pieces for a decoration back when she was still a princess, but they currently had less than two and a half gold pieces left between money donated by grateful villagers and what she'd taken with her from her ship.

But then something managed to catch Azula's eye: A Water Tribe necklace. A very familiar Water Tribe necklace. While she couldn't be certain, partially because she didn't even know what the designs meant, the princess felt she knew whose necklace it was. "Katara?"

The young woman turned to see what Azula wanted, only to find her staring at something in her hand. Walking over, Katara saw what she was holding and gasped in even greater shock than when she'd found the scroll. "My mother's necklace! How did it get here?!"

The captain spoke up, "That thing? Found it while raiding an abandoned Fire Nation prison." Ah yes, Azula remembered that place. The warden really should have burned lumber rather than coal. Katara's little plan probably would have failed if he had. "It's yours for only… two hundred gold pieces!"

And there it was, Azula thought bitterly. Of course a pirate would up the price of something when he knew how badly someone wanted it. She wouldn't be surprised if he sold it for less than five to someone else. "That's not fair! It's mine! It belonged to my mother!"

As the waterbender raged and the pirate captain mocked her by further increasing the price, Azula found herself lost in thought. 'A mother. One who loves her children enough to die to protect them.' "Aang, Sokka, take Katara out of here before she does something unfortunate."

"Me?! He stole the only thing I have left to remember my mother by!" Katara screamed in outrage.

"Katara, I understand, I do. But this isn't the place to be fighting," She tried to reassure the other woman. "I'll meet up with you later. I've got some shopping of my own to do." The waterbender let out a frustrated wordless scream and stomped off, Aang and Sokka sharing an awkward glance before following after her.

Once they were gone, Azula turned towards the captain, who immediately told her, "I won't be selling it any cheaper to you. You'll just be giving it to her."

"Of course; that's perfectly fair. But perhaps a barter?" When the man gave her an expectant look, she reached into her dress and pulled out the one vanity item she had kept with her when she left the ship.

"I-is that?" He reached towards the object, stupefied, only for Azula to pull it out of reach. She knew better than to trust a pirate to inspect the goods before the deal was made.

"A Fire Nation crown," She confirmed, "Specifically, the crown of the banished princess."

A look of both suspicion and greed came over the pirate. "And how did you find such a thing?"

Azula's smile was filled with viciousness and bitterness in equal measure. "She's the reason I have this scar," she explained as she gestured towards her face. "But she was an arrogant little brat and I killed her before I even finished healing."

-]|[-

A day later, the trio were resting after their latest misadventure. From where he lounged against Appa's side, Sokka reprimanded his sister, "I still can't believe you stole from pirates."

Katara didn't look up from where she was once again practicing her new waterbending moves. "They're pirates," She said exasperatedly, "They stole their goods in the first place. If anything, stealing from them is perfectly justified."

Beside her, Aang worked on his water whip. "I don't think that's how it works, Katara," He offered.

Being that it was her turn to cook, Azula was carefully watching the campfire. Though she still offered her own opinion, "No one is going to cry over pirates being robbed. Not even other pirates. Though that does remind me," reaching into her dress, Azula tossed something to Katara, "Catch, Katara."

Snagging the object out of the air, and losing control of the water she was bending, Katara stared at her hand in astonishment. "My mother's necklace!" She immediately tied it around her throat, delighted to finally have the memento back. "Thank you so much! See, I'm not the only one robbing pirates!"

"Actually, I bartered for it."

Everyone else shared a bewildered look, Sokka shrugging to indicate he had no clue. "What could you have traded that was worth two hundred gold pieces?" Katara asked.

"My crown." When she glanced up and saw the look Katara was giving her, she felt compelled to add, "You told us it was all you had to remember your mother by. I… I don't have that," She confessed, staring distantly into the fire, "Not even a goodbye. The first I learned of Mother's absence was Zuzu bursting into my room, demanding to know where she went. She was just gone and all I have left of her are memories. …I don't want that for you."

-]|[-

AN: So this is a fusion of two ideas I had. First was the idea of Azula being banished. Not original, but it seems too common for people to just make her a genderbent Zuko. Second was the idea of everyone in the younger generation (minus Aang) being born a decade earlier. Technically I added some extra changes since otherwise Sokka would've gone off to war with his father, being that he'd have been 23 at the time. For things like that, assume that they happened at the same point in a character's life and thus a decade earlier. The scenes at the South Pole were meant to show that Sokka and Katara aren't quite as you know them, due to having spent roughly half their lives in charge of the village and having had to make peace with the idea that their father and the other men probably aren't coming home. By the way, if it's in the comics or in Korra, I'll take what I like and ignore the rest, such as the idea that Ursa is at fault for Zuko's abuse which isn't being so much ignored as shot in the head along a desert road.

As for why Ozai seems to be setting Azula up even worse than he did Zuko, I kinda headcanon that since Azula was always the perfect child, her disappointing Ozai would be dealt with more harshly than Zuko. As we see in episodes like Zuko Alone, Ozai already considered Zuko a failure long before he was banished, but he considered Azula to be "born lucky". It's like when you're watching a show and your favorite character does some unforgivable shit as opposed to when a character you barely tolerate does.

Naturally, some things simply don't happen because of Azula joining the Gaang immediately. For example, Zhao takes much longer to learn of the Avatar's return since he doesn't find out through the one pursuing him. Likewise, there's no big battle at Kyoshi Island since Iroh's merely pretending to be hunting Aang. Finally, Aang never goes to Crescent Island to speak with Avatar Roku since Azula already informed him about the comet.