The fire nation asylum was not pretty to look at. Outside it loomed like a castle out of a nightmare, and inside the dark dreary energy of it was palpable, it was depressing and reminded Ty Lee more of a prison.

Most rooms she passed were made of dark stone and had only a small window with bars, a bed, table and singular chair. Some even had, what looked like chains or constraints. There was no way any real healing or recovery could happen in a place such as this.

She absently followed the warden, who also reminded her more of a prison guard. Upon seeing this place she suddenly wished she hadn't waited so long to visit—there was no way Azula was going to get any better being left alone in here.

'So what therapies are used on the patients here?'

The warden chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. 'Therapies? Most of these patients are beyond help. We merely house them here, and try to keep them from hurting themselves or others as much as possible.'

'I mean, you don't even try? There are plenty of chi balancing techniques or plant medicines that could…'

'Listen lady, that's not what we do here ok? Sometimes we use shock therapy or drugs to subdue them, but we don't like to do that unless absolutely necessary. Drugs are expensive.'

Ty Lee became incensed at the blatant dismissal of the patient's mental and physical health. There was always a chance for someone to get better. She was about to voice this when they arrived at Azula's room.

'Room 703. This patient is not allowed to have visitors inside. Your business with her will have to be conducted through here.' The warden gestured to the small window within the door.

'I have the Fire Lord's direct approval to visit this patient, I'm not talking to her through a door.'

The warden squinted at her. 'Who are you again, exactly?'

'I'm—I'm a Kyoshi warrior and one of the personal bodyguards to Fire Lord Zuko. He asked me to personally look after this patient.'

The warden continued to squint suspiciously at her. 'Are you a fire bender?'

'No.'

'Then I can't in good conscience, let you go in there. The patient is far too aggressive and unstable.'

'I can take care of myself.' Ty Lee countered. She let out a breath. 'Look, I can block her bending if it comes to that, just, let me in.'

The warden continued to study her with a disapproving brow, then shrugged and unlocked the door. 'Don't say I didn't warn you.'

Ty Lee nodded and turned towards the door.

'I'll be, over there, if you need anything.' The warden gestured much further down the hall than Ty Lee thought necessary.

So, staff here were afraid of Azula, but then that was to be expected. Azula could be ruthless and brutal and she supposed she should be afraid too and yet, she wasn't. Whether this was due to her conflicting feelings for Azula or sheer stupidity, she wasn't sure. She was fully aware of what Azula was capable of and yet, before her betrayal and the prison incident, Azula had never directed any of that towards her. In fact Zuko was not wrong in his assessment that Azula had always treated her differently than others. It was something they had always had, something that had grown much stronger over the past several years—an unspoken rule to look out for each other, one which Ty Lee was about to put to the test.

She clicked open the door to reveal a very dark room, only some sun rays shone through the small barred window. Ty Lee took a breath, then shut the door behind her.

'If it isn't my old friend, Ty Lee.' Ty Lee turned in the direction of Azula's raspy voice and tried to make her out as her eyes adjusted to the dark room. 'Come to gloat finally, have we?'

'Wasn't that your thing?'

'True.' Azula responded and Ty Lee could almost hear the smirk in her voice. Her eyes finally adjusted and she could barely make out Azula's dark form sitting on the floor under the window. She moved closer.

'What do you want?' Azula hissed at her approach, the amusement quickly gone from her voice.

'I wanted to see you.'

'And what did you expect to find?'

'I don't, really know.'

'Well you've seen me, now get out.'

'Azula.'

'Ty Lee.' Sarcasm and venom dripped from her words, yet still, Ty Lee missed hearing her say it.

'I wanted to see how you're doing.'

'How do you think I'm doing?'

Ty Lee was finally able to make out Azula better, and her chest started aching again at what she saw. Azula was sitting on the floor, rather, leaning up against the wall and her whole body was pinned in a straight jacket. Her hair was disheveled and she looked somehow—thinner than she used to—most of her strong muscle mass seemed gone and she had dark circles under her eyes. Did they leave her bound up like this all the time? Ty Lee had the immediate urge to free her from the confines of this, and of this place—it wasn't right.

'Do they leave you like this all the time?' Ty Lee asked, finally coming to a stop and kneeling on the floor near Azula.

'Don't pretend you suddenly care.'

'I'm not pretending.'

They both sat in silence for a long moment. There were a million things she wanted to say, but didn't know how to begin.

'So, you really are one of them now, are you?' Azula asked with disdain—yet her snide tone had clear undertones of hurt in it, which meant she cared about something—or someone. Was it possible it was still for her?

Ty Lee glanced down at her Kyoshi uniform.

'Yes. I met the Kyoshi warriors when I was in prison. I fight with them now.'

'How ironic that you of all people who hated being being lumped together with your sisters, should choose to join a cult of fangirls who all dress like deformed platypus bears together. You truly have changed.'

'We don't dress like deformed…!' Ty Lee shot back then took a breath and stopped herself. Don't react Ty Lee, you know better.

'Still doesn't explain the first part.'

Ty Lee sighed and considered this. 'Maybe I missed being part of a team.'

'Perhaps this team you won't abandon. But I wouldn't bet on it.'

Ty Lee felt as if she'd been slapped. 'I never wanted to abandon you.'

'And yet you did.'

'You threw me in prison.'

'Because you defied me!'

'What we were doing was wrong Azula! What your father was doing, was wrong. Look me in the eyes and tell me you still agree with that man!'

Even in the dark, Ty Lee could feel the presence of sharp golden eyes snap on to hers. Rage swirled there, then gave way to something else, something vulnerable that Ty Lee realized she missed terribly, then quickly back to rage. Azula was an excellent liar, but her eyes always held a glimmer of the truth.

'My father is a fool.' Was all she said. Her eyes went somewhere faraway then she turned away. It wasn't exactly an answer but it felt like progress.

Ty Lee took a breath. 'Can I atleast get you out of that for a while?' It was so hard to watch Azula struggle to even sit up in that thing. 'Maybe we can go outside and talk, have you even been out of this building?'

'I have nothing to say to you.'

Ty Lee sighed. 'Then we can go outside and not talk.'

Azula continued to stare at the wall and said nothing. 'They won't allow it.' She answered finally, sounding defeated—a tone Ty Lee never before heard from her.

'Since when do you take orders?' Ty Lee prodded with a mischievously raised brow. Azula didn't react. Ty Lee considered for a moment, how Azula was sitting under the window, under the few rays of sun she could get in here. Firebenders got their power from the sun—being away from it this long could throw anyone into a depression, but especially a bender whose chi was directly energized from the sun.

'If I chi block you, I can get probably get them to let me take you outside for a while.'

'Afraid of what I might do if you don't block me?' Azula sneered.

'Yes, actually.' Ty Lee answered honestly. More like, afraid of what she might do to others—if Azula wanted to hurt her she likely would've tried by now.

'You should be.' Azula mumbled. 'Do it then. It's not like I can stop you.'

Ty Lee took a breath and scooted closer to her. She'd almost forgotten how powerful Azula's chi was when they were this close—it felt warm and familiar and brought her a strange sense of comfort. Carefully she reached out and swept Azula's hair to the side so she could reach the chi point on the back of her neck. Azula's eyes pierced hers, and she found herself staring right back. It had gotten to a point over the years, that they could communicate just by looks alone, a roll of the eye, a smirk or an intense stare of vulnerability when one of them was in danger—and just then, the latter is what Ty Lee found herself unable to pull her eyes away from.

'I'm sorry, if this hurts.' She said softly.

'Come on Ty Lee, I learned how to overcome uncomfortable touching years ago. Just get on with it.'

'What…?' Ty Lee whispered, confusion quickly gave way to a disturbing realization. She immediately stopped what she was about to do.

'What… do you mean?'

'Stop looking at me like that.' Azula hissed suddenly, the vulnerability in her eyes quickly replaced by anger. Then they went hollow and faraway again and she turned to the wall as if a person were there.

'Well what choice did I have? What did you think would happen after you left? He was willing to kill and banish Zuko, did you really think I would walk away unscathed? The one who looks just like you and yet has none of your pathetic weaknesses? I was a better version of you, I was perfect, and he made me take your place—you had to have known it would happen—but of course you knew, and didn't care as long as your precious Zuzu was safe! Don't pretend to look like you care, stop looking at me like that ahhhhhh!'

Blue flames exploded from Azula's mouth towards the wall she was screaming at.

'Azula!' Ty Lee screamed, then squeezed behind her neck, effectively blocking her upper chi flow. The flames stopped instantly and Azula sagged, breathing heavily. Ty Lee caught her to keep her head from cracking on the ground, and held her tightly as she continued to thrash, tears of rage spilling down her face.

'I hate that I look like you, hate it! I can't even bear my own reflection anymore thanks to you—I hate you!'

Ty Lee pinched her other pressure points, cutting off her bending completely and causing her whole body to go limp in her arms. She then pulled Azula into her chest and leaned herself up against the wall. 'Azula.' She whispered and hugged her tighter.

It was always clear to her that Ozai was a monster. He'd played games and manipulated both of his children for as long as she'd known them and had always pitted her and Zuko against each other. She'd watched how it had shaped them over the years but never, ever had she realized he'd gone so far as to physically abuse her. Azula did look just like Ursa, and both of them were very beautiful. That sick piece of—

'Make her leave—the sight of her makes me sick!' Azula spat through tears and gritted teeth.

Ty Lee glanced at the empty wall then back to Azula. She tilted Azula's head so that she was looking up at her and no longer at the wall where she was hallucinating her mother.

'She's not here Azula, she's in your mind.'

Azula couldn't move, but her wide teary eyes flicked from Ty Lee to the wall and back several times. In them, something Ty Lee had never seen before: fear and pain. It was only a brief flash, then her eyes narrowed to the calculating gaze that could pierce steel.

'Leave me.'

'I'm not leaving you like this.'

'Then what do you want from me?' Azula hissed, almost a desperate plea.

'I want you to get better, that's what I want!' Ty Lee could feel her own eyes welling up with tears, she swallowed them back.

Zuko's scar was clearly visible on the outside, it was obvious what Ozai had done to him. But Azula's scars, they were hidden on the inside. How had she not seen this? How long did it go on for… what else had that man done to her that she did not know about?

Azula's brow twitched, a spark of recognition flashed then vanished just as quickly. 'You've become a much better liar Ty Lee. I almost believed you for a second. But don't think I will be fooled by you a second time.'

Finally the tears did spill, and Ty Lee gave up trying to hold them in. 'I'm not lying! I want you to get better, I want you to be ok—it hurts me to see you like this. I want my friend back—I want you to be, you again!'

Again Azula stared, analyzing her. 'I can't stand that look in your eyes—you think I'm weak, pathetic. Stop looking at me and get out!'

'I'm not leaving you again!' Ty Lee nearly shouted, somewhat surprised by her own outburst—and yet it felt strangely good to finally say that out loud. Surprisingly, Azula looked equally stunned for a brief moment. Ty Lee let out a breath to calm herself down. 'I don't think you're weak, or pathetic, I've never thought that. To me you've always been the strongest, smartest person I know, and now, I believe that even more. I will not leave you here alone like this.' Ty Lee repeated.

Azula stared at her for a long moment, and she stared back, reinforcing the truth of her own words. There was one thing she knew for certain, Azula was a human lie detector and right now it was clear Azula could see she was telling the truth. Eventually Azula relented and cast her eyes away.

'Don't you think you've suffered enough? Let me, let us help you.'

'Like my brother helped me into a cell right next to our father? I'm sure you can imagine what a treat that was. I decline, thank you.'

'That was wrong of him, he shouldn't have done that—he knows that now. When Mai and I found out we made him take you out of there. And we didn't know…'

Ty Lee swallowed the lump in her throat. 'We didn't know what he'd done to you. No one should ever have to go through that.'

'It made me strong.'

'He hurt you, Azula.'

Azula was still looking away from her, and did not respond. So Ty Lee adjusted them into a more comfortable position, prepared to sit there all day if necessary.

'Why?' Azula asked finally after a period of time had passed. Her eyes still did not meet Ty Lee's.

'Why what?'

'Why betray me, only to come back now? It makes no sense. Why are you here?'

'Because I couldn't let you hurt Mai, I care about her—and somewhere I know you do too. The ends don't always justify the means Azula.'

'Spoken like a true weakling.'

Ty Lee sighed. 'Loving people isn't a weakness, Azula, it's a strength. Ruling people with fear is what's weak, it causes betrayal, it is not reliable at all. But love is, love is what holds people together even in the toughest of times, it's what creates loyalty. Look at the Avatar—people fight with and for him because they love him, because he loves and cares about them—they don't fear him and no one has betrayed him.'

Long silence.

'You didn't answer the second part.'

Ty Lee took a breath. 'I came here because, you're my friend and, despite everything that's happened—I still care about you too.'

'Long Feng has placed you in my command while we overthrow the government. If I sense any disloyalty, any hesitation, any weakness at all, I will snuff it out. That is all.'

Ty Lee smirked. Whether or not she always agreed with Azula's methods, she had to hand it to her, she really did have a natural presence for leadership. Most of the Dai Li agents either looked like they revered her or were about to wet themselves.

'The thing is, princess—' One rogue agent stated as he stepped forward. 'How can we be sure of your loyalty? How do we know you won't turn on all of us once the city is ours? All we know at this point is that you are a very competent liar.'

'Well done Bei Ling, how observant of you. Gold star. The answer is, you don't know. At the end of the day you will have to decide whom you trust least. Your choice between a weak pathetic man who now resides in the very prison you threw him in, or princess of the strongest nation the world has ever known, will change the course of all of your lives today, one way or another. Choose wisely.'

Before Ty Lee knew what had happened, she was thrown against the wall, her throat constricted by a hand made of rock. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move and she started to panic.

'No princess. We need to know now, just how strong your loyalties are. Kill her, prove your loyalty to us and you will have earned our trust as our princess, our commander. Kill me, and the rest of the Dai Li will turn on you. It is you, who have a choice to make.'

Ty Lee felt the earth further constrict her windpipe. She coughed, desperately trying to draw any air in. Azula turned to her, her eyes wide with surprise, quickly overtaken by rage, then eerie calmness. Ty Lee stared back at her, desperately pleading for help.

'Do you really think I would jeopardize this entire coup for the price of one insignificant life?' Ty Lee could barely see Azula's golden eyes piercing into hers as blackness creeped in around the edge of her vision.

'That's what we're about to find out.'

'Yes Bei Ling, we are.'

Instantly the room became electrified—in the space of a heartbeat, static emanating from Azula fizzed through her own body, causing Ty Lee's hair to stand on end. Azula's eyes flared blue and zeroed in on her. Lightning crackled around her, she spun suddenly, the cavern flashed blue and Bei Ling's dead body hit the floor before Ty Lee could blink.

'Release them. Now.' Azula hissed.

Immediately the earth constraints loosed and Ty Lee felt herself slide to the ground. She grabbed her throat and gulped down breaths of fresh air, waiting for her vision to return.

'Let this be a lesson in loyalty to all of you. One or many insignificant lives will not stand in my way of victory. Those who remain loyal to me, will be protected, exalted even—those who are disloyal, those who are weak…' Azula walked over and nudged the dead Dai Li agent's face with her boot. 'I repeat, will be snuffed out. When the time comes, the choice of which side you will be on, will be yours to make.'

Ty Lee heard the Dai Li salute with a fist to the chest, then march away. Suddenly she was staring at Azula's boots.

'Are you alright?'

She was still on the floor, her breathing coming in short raspy breaths. She glanced up at Azula and nodded. Azula's brow creased in concern and she bent down on one knee to inspect Ty Lee's neck. She felt the light touch of Azula's thumb run down the side of her neck.

'It's badly bruised. Can you breathe normally?' Ty Lee took a deep breath and nodded again.

'I'm fine too, thanks.' Ty Lee heard Mai from her other side. She glanced at her to see her rubbing her wrists.

Azula rolled her eyes and turned to Mai. 'I should hope so considering you weren't the one strung up by your neck.'

'And I wonder why that is.' Mai questioned apathetically then turned away to retrieve her blades.

Azula arced an eyebrow at her. 'What is that supposed to mean?'

'It means, you two should be more careful. It's becoming increasingly, gaggingly obvious to those who are paying attention how much you two care about each other. It's going to start becoming a liability—it already has.' Mai swept a hand towards Ty Lee.

'As if your feelings for Zuko wouldn't create the same problem.' Ty Lee shot back at her, feeling suddenly defensive and realizing it came out no more than a hoarse whisper—her throat felt very sore.

'Probably would, but I don't parade around taking over enemy cities with him either. Outside of the Fire Nation, you both need to watch it.'

'Point taken.' Azula spat harshly. 'Can we focus on the mission now please?'

Ty Lee started to stand up. Azula took her under the arm and helped her the rest of the way up. She suddenly became light headed and swayed; Azula grabbed hold of her upper arms to stabilize her and searched her eyes. Was it worry Ty Lee saw there? Worry for her? Or worry for the mission—but no, with the Dai Li now likely fully in her command Azula had all but won already. Then if it wasn't worry for the mission—it was worry for her…

'Can you fight?'

'Im fine.' Ty Lee rasped, still unable to pull her eyes away from Azula's.

'Good. I need you today.' Azula said, the worry in her eyes flickered in that way that made Ty Lee want to do anything to help her.

'You see this, this is exactly what I'm talking about.' Mai said in monotone and rolled her eyes.

Azula squeezed then let her hands slide down Ty Lee's arms before releasing them. The only acknowledgment she gave Mai was a slight roll of her eyes. 'Come on ladies, let's go. There are still a few loose ends—the avatar, and my brother.'