A/N: This whole chapter is basically just: Book 6 from Azula's POV. As such, it is an extremely long chapter, longer than the last one and the longest in the entire series. Please enjoy! And this half-written story is horror at best, the kind where the hero still dies in the end. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

The Avatar and The Dragon Empress

SEVEN

YEARS

EARLIER

[151 AG]

Azula truly feels that she is at a crossroads in her life. Never more in her entire life has she been at such a vulnerable place, such a unique standing, that she could be so easily swayed. If the wind outside blew one way or the other, it could drive her down a different path. To live, to die. To become a monster or rage against that belief. To become the Dragon Empress or The Guardian once more.

A sudden knock on her door startles her and jerks her out of her trance. She looks to the front door with surprise and anxiety.

'It must be Wara.' She thinks to herself.

Azula puts the space sword back down on her kitchen table. She rises, and slowly ambles towards the door.

"I'm coming."

It's a funny thing, this knock on her door. It's a reminder of how the world goes on, even when she's ready for the end. Even when she is prepared to walk beside Death and go to her time in the dark. She approaches the door, ready to face the world, just as the sun also rises up every day. She comes to a stop as the knocking continues.

Azula opens the door to the one who knocks.

"A-Aang?!"

The younger, bald man with an arrow tattoo on his head and a shaggy beard beams brightly at her. He pumps both fists in the air victoriously.

"Azula! You really are here!"

"Huh?!"

"I was worried you wouldn't be home or that you'd be dead or something."

"What's -? What's happening!"

"Don't leave me out in the cold and wind, can't I come in?"

Aang enters while Azula stammers, unable to produce a full sentence or complete thought. She is too stunned by this development. After he enters she looks out. The entire horizon from her front door is an open plain, leading up to the sea cliffs. There isn't another soul in sight anywhere. He had come completely alone.

'And why wouldn't he! If he's here to arrest me, there's nothing a non-bender could do to stop the Avatar!'

"Nice place. I like the carpeting. Very chic."

Azula swings the door shut and follows him as he is quickly working his way through the rancher home. He turns a corner and comes to a stop in the kitchen. Azula nearly bumps into him as she enters too. He is staring intently at her dining table. With a puzzled look on his face he asks her a question.

"Ugh, is that Sokka's sword on your dinner table?"

Azula steals a glance at the all black blade that she'd left on the table when she went to answer the knock. In hindsight it had been foolish to go to the door unarmed and unprepared. She pushes those thoughts aside to answer his question.

"It's, uh, it's my sword. Now."

"Hmm? He made that sword. I saw him do it. He used to have it displayed in his study."

"I pulled it from the Mo Ce Sea."

"Oh! Did you?" He is astonished.

"And then I defeated him in combat and took it from him a few years back."

"Yip freaking yip, Azula. You are a badass!"

None of this is computing for her. She is frazzled and having a very hard time understanding what has happened and what is going on. So she returns to asking him questions.

"How did you-"

"Sorry to bother you, really, but, uh, can I bother you for some tea?"

"Umm. Sure. Let me put a pot on."

"Perfect!"

Aang collapses onto her living room sofa while she retreats to put on a pot of tea, utterly bewildered.

When the teapot sings, Aang rushes into the kitchen like a pet that hasn't been fed all day. He gleefully sits down at the table, a grin as wide as the world on his face, as she pours him a cup. She pours herself one too as he takes the first sip. She sits down opposite of him while he puts the cup down.

"Oooh it's hot, but delicious!"

"Thank you?"

"What's your secret? I'd love to try it some-"

"Enough!" She finally puts her foot down on his shenanigans. He looks surprised and yet not at all. "What is the meaning of this! How did you find me? I haven't told anyone where I am, least of all anyone from your crew. I haven't seen them since I took that sword from Sokka!"

"And by that you mean to say you haven't told Zuko, Ty Lee, Suki, Lomin, or Mai where you are?"

Aang is incisive, cutting her with his words and his calm, collected demeanor.

"Well, erhm, yes. Yes, that is what I meant."

He takes another sip of the tea. He frowns a bit as he explains something to her.

"You know, that greatly hurts them. They miss you and they love you. It's hard to go on like that. For them and you."

Shrugging, she raises the cup to her lips. Before taking a sip she replies, weakly, "I won't argue with you there."

He asks with a curious look on his face, "So tell me, is it really true that you lost your bending?"

She huffs through her nose and rolls her eyes. "You think it would've taken me that long to make the tea if I could bend? Yes, it is. The fires went you a few years ago. But-"

"Did you know this happened to your brother too?"

"Toph mentioned it, yes."

"Did she tell you how he got it back?"

"It didn't come up, no."

He smiles devilishly.

"You want me to help restore your bending like I did his?"

Exasperated, Azula groans.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're not going to explain yourself until I do exactly that?"

With a smile and a youthful look on his face, Aang nods in acknowledgement.

"Would you be more interested if I told you it involves a cool dragon dance?"

Aang and Azula are outside, just beyond her fenced in garden. It's a dreary, windy, overcast day. The sea cliffs are only a couple dozen feet away, although Azula has a sense that if either of them went tumbling down right now the Avatar wouldn't let either of them die to some damn fall. Aang is going over the dragon dance moves, showing her how to exactly do it. Azula had forgotten how expressive he is with his hands and his eyebrows. Although he is much, much older than the last time she saw him, he is very much the same person. After several minutes of having her mimic and reflect his motions he finally decides they are ready. First, though, he puts a disclaimer on it.

"This won't be the same as when I did it with Zuko. There were Sun Warriors, and two dragons, and an eternal flame, and-"

"Then do we have to do it?"

"Oh yeah. Oh yes!"

"And you're sure it's going to work?"

"Absolutely positively no doubt in my mind!"

Azula and Aang do the dance of the dragons and nothing happens. After another two tries, Aang hangs his head in shame.

"Okay, so in retrospect maybe it wasn't the dance that did it."

"You're impossible! Didn't I just say -"

"No, but I swear! Trust me! Maybe you didn't do it right?"

"I didn't - ?! Are you -"

"That's gotta be it, there's no other explanation!"

"UGH! Unbelievable! Excuse me."

Azula storms off.

"Where are you going? Can I come with!"

"NO!" She shouts back at him like a spoiled rotten princess child.

"Aww c'mon, why not?" He asks, following anyway like an annoying little brother.

"I'm all worked up now. I need to meditate! I need to do breathing exercises, because you're pissing me off!"

"Hey! I can do that!"

Azula stands near the edge of the sea cliffs. She thinks of all the lessons she's learned. She shuts her eyes and her ears and she lets the emotions wash over her like a waterfall. Her hands rise up in front of her and she feels the wind between her fingertips. She rushes to a place of zen to try and reduce the stress of her annoyance. Aang comes quickly to stand beside her. He quickly falls into his own rhythm, imitating her motions and more deftly finding his groove. Sensing him beside her, Azula doesn't feel at ease anymore. She opens one eye and steals a peak at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" She mutters.

"I'm meditating! It's a silent activity, you know? Maybe you didn't have a good teacher? Do you need me to teach you?"

"Why you little -! Don't you dare speak of her like that!"

"Her who?"

"Why Ty Lee, of course! She taught me everything I know about meditating."

"Oooh, I see. She's pretty great at meditating, so you must be a bad student."

"Shut up!" She commands him, stamping her foot.

Finally, Aang listens. He quiets down and becomes one with the environment, sinking peacefully into a pleasant silence. Azula does the same, remaining mute and letting her negative emotions go through her and dissipate. They move freely from her body and grant her the serenity she so desperately craves. They're quiet for a long time, the only sound supplied by the wind blowing and the crashing waves against the cliffs below. At her most peaceful moment, Aang speaks to her.

"Azula, how does Ty Lee make you feel?"

This somehow doesn't disturb her like all of his other questions and comments.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you talked to anyone about her? About what she means to you?"

She tries to picture her face. It's a jumbled mess.

"No. No one knows who I am. No one knows what I've done."

"And how does that make you feel?"

"I just feel… lonely."

"And when you're with Ty Lee? What do you feel?"

Ty Lee's face comes into focus. Her grey-brown eyes. Her salt and pepper brunette hair. The wrinkles on her forehead, the folds of her skin showing years of lived life and happiness. She feels a rush of emotions thinking back to all of their many years together. How Ty Lee gave her strength and purpose. How she filled her up with her kindness. How every time she was with her she felt a warmth far greater than anything else.

"It feels like… the touch of the sun. She fills me up better than any food. She satisfies me more than any goal or plot or scheme. She gives me energy. She makes me happier than I've ever been. She accepts me not despite my darkness but because of my darkness. And my heart aches without her, knowing she's alone. Knowing she hasn't heard from me. Knowing that the last time I saw her, the very last time, we argued and fought and I broke her heart. I would give anything, anything to be with her again. To feel her touch and her warmth and her love."

"That's it, Azula! That's it! Focus that!" Aang exclaims.

There's a sensation in her heart that is growing

"Everything you said, everything you feel. Your bending isn't energy or life or the sun. Your bending? It's love incarnate. It's all of those emotions you feel for Ty Lee, and all the people you've loved in your life. They are what give you your strength. They are your source."

The sensation in her heart expands. It grows to her chest and throat. A seizing feeling as her lungs heave repeatedly. She draws quick, successive breaths over and over again. Finally, she opens her eyes, extends her palms, and a wave of blue fire explodes out from them for the first time in five years. Aang looks on admiringly. Azula looks at her palms in earnest shock.

"I … I can't believe it."

"Believe it. Honestly, I can't believe it took you this long. All you needed was a little push!"

Aang smiles a huge, dopey, lopsided smile at her.

Azula turns away from him and back to her palms. She opens them slightly, towards the sky. The next moment there's a crack and lightning explodes up into the heavens in massive, branching streaks.

"Yes! There we go!" He shouts in excitement.

Azula is giddy. She jumps up and down, leaving her feet and pumping her fists.

"Not so lonely anymore, huh?"

"I love her! I love her! I love her!"

"I know you do. I can see that, and it's beautiful!"

Azula jumps up into a hug towards Aang and he embraces her. He holds her up off the ground and carries her as they run around along the sea cliffs. In her backyard at the end of the world, the Avatar and the Dragon Empress celebrate. Azula has found her true meaning of firebending and the Prodigy with Blue Fire has been restored.

They lay down on the grass together, heads near one another, staring up at the sky. They watch as the clouds form and fall apart. They are at ease and at peace, so Azula finally asks him her questions again.

"Alright. Really now: Are you just here to drink my tea and restore my bending?"

"Maybe. Maybe that's all I'm here for?"

"I doubt it. Just tell me, how did you find me?

"I have my own intelligence networks."

She sits up so that she can look at his face and they make eye contact. She stares him down defiantly. He finally acquiesces, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"It was Toph. She told me."

She should've figured as much, but Toph had promised to leave her alone. As if reading her mind, Aang cuts off this line of thinking with some assurances. He scootches over on the ground and comes to sit beside her. They are shoulder to shoulder, butts on the grassy field, both facing out into the horizon of the Great Sea.

"But I wouldn't come here to force your hand or betray your secrets or anything like that. I promise. As far as I'm concerned, you are hidden and you chose to be that way for a reason."

"Then why are you here?"

He sighs heavily before speaking.

"I'm dying, Azula."

Ever the irreverent one, she snorts in response.

"Oh Aang, don't be sad. We all have a time to go. Most of the world thinks that I died 5 years ago!"

He laughs and she chuckles.

"Hahahah. That's true, but this is different. I met with some healers recently."

Aang does his best to explain the complicated nature of his diagnosis. He tells her how because he was in the ice for 100 years his lifespan has been shortened significantly. Despite him being a firebender present for Sozin's Comet, he would not see his lifespan expanded like Azula's would be. In the end, he outlines that he only has a few years left to live.

"It's liberating though, in its own way."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I feel like I appreciate things more now. You know? In a split second my awe was cracked open. I appreciate everything now, like deep conversations with friends. Like, can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"When was the last time you watched the sunset? I mean really watched the sunset?"

Azula racks her brain. She filters through her memories and can't think of a single one where she actually just sat and watched the sun set over the horizon. She's done it, she knows. She's lived this long and gone through her entire life, it's obvious that she's done it. But there's been so many days she doesn't quite remember just sitting and watching it pass beyond the distant hills. She remembers sunrises, sure, but she can't recall any major events of her life happening at sunset. Aang has a point.

"I don't."

"Exactly!" He shouts gleefully. "We live every day without ever really living!"

"That's remarkably well said, Avatar."

He chortles at her using his title. "Thank you, Dragon Empress!"

"You're welcome."

"So, as I was saying before the sidebar: I don't want to waste the precious little time I have left. I want my legacy to last. I want to leave something behind, after life."

"After life? You can't relate on such matters. You'll live on long after you're gone as the Avatar. None of us can say the same. No one else alive knows what that's like!"

Aang knows this, Katara has said similarly to him before, so he has no good retort. He nods along while starting out into space. Azula continues.

"The rest of us simply have the time we have while we have it," she says with a sigh. She adds, "It's been my life's work to build a legacy worth remembering."

"Well, I'd say you achieved that. The books, the name. People remember you. I, for one, hope they remember Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

"No. They'll remember me as the villain. As a black eye on Zuko's reign. They remember me as being the one who killed you. For my criminal empire. My legacy will go down alongside my father's and my forefathers. Small men, with small minds, whose ambitions were beyond their reach, and who left nothing but fire and ash in their wake."

She concludes with a huff. He turns his head to look her in the eyes.

"Well then, how do you want to die?"

She's stunned by the question and doesn't react. However her lack of reaction is it's own reaction.

"What? Isn't that what you asked my wife? In Lonlhai? And Sokka? Also in Lonlahi? Well, how's about it?"

She doesn't answer.

"Sokka told me you don't fear death. You welcome it."

Finally she finds her words. She jumbles them together to respond. "That's true. I'd like to walk with Death in the end, if possible. The only thing I'm certain of is that I don't want to die alone."

"Hmm. That's a good goal."

"But a great man once taught me that our lives don't end when we pass."

"Oh? So you will be reincarnated? Didn't you just chastise me for this a moment ago?"

"No. It's more that our spirits persist. It's an old fisherman's belief that after we leave this world, we return to the ocean. We are reborn in the spirits of our descendants."

Aang smiles at this, finding much comfort in it.

"That's beautiful. I think I would very much like to meet that fisherman. He seems like a wise man."

"He's the greatest man to ever live. Far greater than me or you."

They sit again in comfortable silence with the thought of Lin of Baochou Village on the mind. Azula thinking of her friend and Aang trying to imagine the fisherman who had imparted such wisdom. After some time, a few moments, perhaps a minute or two, Aang breaks the silence.

"Azula, I want to ask for your help."

She sits up in the grass a little taller.

"I'm listening."

He takes a deep breath in through his nose, before releasing it through his mouth.

"Someone once said to me that the Avatar's job is to fix the problems created by the prior Avatar. And ever since then I've never been able to get it out of my head. It's been wormed into my brain. I ended the war and brought peace to-"

"But that just drove the greater threats into hiding. Where they can operate from the shadows."

"Yes! Exactly! And despite all that we did to open borders, the world is smaller than ever, and more dangerous than ever."

"I know exactly what you mean."

Aang stands up. He walks closer to the sea cliffs, where he's only a step or two away. Azula rises and comes to stand beside him, at the definition of the end of the world. His grey eyes turn to Azula and her amber ones find his. He speaks passionately and somberly.

"I'm asking you to do the impossible…"

A moment later, Azula agrees to his request.

"I have two conditions first."

"Name them. No request is too tall. Considering what I've asked you to do."

"The first will require your assistance to break international laws. Are you sure you can commit to that?"

"Ha! I know you don't know me so well, but I'm not exactly a rule follower myself."

She chuckles at this before trudging onward. "Alright then. I want your help to rescue Ty Lee from Kyoshi Island."

"Pfft. That'll be easy!" He waves it off.

"You have enough confidence for both of us, I see?"

"Absolutely. Now, what's the other thing?"

"I'd… like to meet one of your past lives. If that's possible? I've read that it is, but-"

"Oh. Avatar Asuna, isn't it?"

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I'm in tune with my past lives, Azula," he explains politely. "There have been times when I've felt the connection to her growing stronger."

"I see. That makes sense."

"In particular, there was a night when you were living in Ba Sing Se. I went into the Avatar State involuntarily. She had called upon me."

"I devoted years of my life in search of Asuna. I'd like to talk with her."

"Okay, let's do it! Just as a warning though, I can't maintain these forms for very long. They're really draining. So you'll only have a few moments. Whatever questions you have, you better be ready."

"Okay. I know what I want to know."

Aang takes a step back. With a wry grin he says, "I have to enter the Avatar state to do this. You're not gonna zap me while I'm doing it, are you?"

He laughs and she gives a stifled chuckle.

"Here we go!" He says.

Aang's eyes and tattoos glow white and blue for a moment. A transformation she has seen before, even if it was a lifetime ago. Suddenly though it changes. A whirlwind like a miniature tornado appears and surrounds him. She feels her feet coming off the ground briefly before it suddenly stops.

Standing before her is not Aang anymore, but instead it is Avatar Asuna. She appears as a woman in her early to mid 30's. She has black hair and the same grey eyes as Aang. Her hair is worn as two large, swooping pigtails, forming a criss-cross formation behind her head, ultimately sitting on each of her shoulders, to the front, resting on her breasts. She has a thin face and a long neck. She wears old, formal, traditional fire nation garb. She wears a headpiece which has two pronged horns. Her skin is darker than Azula's, and her arms are massive. She smiles wistfully at Azula.

"You kept searching."

"Just like you told me to do."

Avatar Asuna smiles but urges her, "We don't have long."

"Okay, okay! I have to know why you saved me in Ba Sing Se?"

She scoffs. "That's your first question? It's simple. I couldn't let my successor as the Spirit of Lightning die to some damn mob."

"Well, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Next: I'm known by many names-"

"I'm aware. You stole both of mine."

"But what about your names? All the books in today's world can't seem to decide which was correct?"

"A much better, more complex question. I was born Akola of Ember Island … as a man."

"Hm?"

"But even before I was the Avatar I never felt that was right. It never fit me. The world was, hmm, different then. So, when I became the Avatar I traveled and I had an opportunity to reinvent myself. I started going by Asuna and I told strangers I was a woman. There were naturally critics and doubters, but who were they to question the Avatar?"

"Naturally."

"After I finished my Avatar training I traveled the world with my wife Mareen. During that time we met one of the last living Lion Turtles. He bent the energy within me and made me into a fully fledged woman. Which is what I allow you to see me as today."

"Thank you. That sounds like it was terribly difficult and complicated to live with, but your explanation answers so many questions."

"Is that all? You've waited your whole life to talk to me!"

"Then what about your sister?"

"You know about her? I didn't think-"

"I learned it somewhere. That you grieved her loss, but I never learned how or why. What happened to her?"

"My twin sister was Lua. She was a prolific fire bender and many believed she was the Avatar. But when we were 10, she was struck by lightning and died instantly."

"I'm so sorry."

"Later in my life, amongst my grief and a thunderstorm, I asked Agni to strike me down. He delivered a bolt … and I instinctively sent it back to him."

"You invented lightning redirection!"

"I was born in the Fire Nation, but I always thought I should've been from the Water Tribe. Water bending came so much more naturally to me. Much like womanhood."

Azula has cherished this opportunity but she can tell her time must be running out.

"I wish I could ask you about Monk Sanzin and so many other things, but I fear that would take too long?"

Asuna, for the first time, averts their eye contact. She meekly explains, "Speaking of him weighs heavy on my heart, so I am glad you did not ask me to recount those memories."

Nodding, Azula concurs. She adds, "I understand now why the Fire Nation has erased you from its history."

"A lifetime of reading about me and that's what you think?"

"Should I see if some other way?"

"The Fire Nation didn't erase me. They can't. Just like the world can't erase you, my little Spirit of Lightning."

This is fascinating to hear. Azula doesn't know how to react. Avatar Asuna finishes her final words.

"We will persist throughout time for anyone who looks to us for an example - for anyone who looks for a friend to those in need."

Suddenly, Avatar Asuna is swept up in an identical whirlwind that enveloped Aang the first time. After it ends, there is just the older Aang, and he stumbles instantly. Azula rushes up to catch him, preventing him from collapsing to the ground. She holds him up and says, "Let's get you laying horizontal on the couch. I'll put a stew on."

Beleaguered, he rejoices. "Sounds great!"

The two sit and commiserate and hang out and chat. They share stories and compare notes on the various major events of their time. Although they have never been close before, they fall into conversation like old friends. In another life, there's no telling how close they could've been if given the opportunity. They talk late into the night until they pass out from pure exhaustion. The next morning, Aang feels strong enough to travel home.

Azula escorts him out the door, but rather than heading back towards Mallard's main village, he goes back to the sea cliffs again. She stands a few feet behind him as he looks out across the Great Sea. There is a windstorm blowing all around them. He turns back with a smile.

"I've got a parting gift for you."

"Oh do you now?"

"Something I can't put in my last will and testament."

He lofts something through the air to her. She catches it against her body.

"Wouldn't look good to give the Dragon Empress one of my most prized possessions."

She holds in her hand a wooden object.

"It's a whistle?" She asks. "Is this for your flying bison?"

He just smirks.

"Something like that."

Azula holds it up to her mouth, confused and bewildered. She reluctantly blows into it. The swirling gust picks up with intense ferocity. Suddenly a blue beast rises up over the cliffs. Azula's eyes follow it as it floats up above her, the biggest smile of her life dawning on her face.

The Dragon Empress finally earns the first half of her title.

[Late Winter/Early Spring 151 AG]

It is pitch black on Kyoshi Island and Azula uses that cover of darkness to slink harmlessly through the forest terrain to the opposite side of the island, far from view of the watchtowers. She'd arrived the day before and spent the entire day in disguise, completing reconnaissance of the island. She'd even managed to pluck a moonflower and leave it on Ty Lee's route from the market to her home. Azula was hoping it would help Ty Lee realize the truth when the time came. She pushes all of that to the side as she reaches the rendezvous.

Waiting for her in the clearing is a man she once killed and his mammoth, pet dragon. Aang rubs the long snout of Bakunawa with one hand, and holds a bag in the other hand. As Azula approaches he turns and flashes a smile at her. He lifts up the bag and offers it to her.

"Thanks again for your help with this."

She takes the bag and opens it. It's a sack of old bones from sheep and rams that had passed. She nods at the contents, certain they will do the trick.

"A jail break. How exciting! Look at us. Huh? Look at us! Who'd have thought?"

"Not me."

"Not me! The two of us finally working together for the betterment of the world. Amazing!"

"Truly."

Aang fixes his gaze upon Azula. Amongst the black night and moonlight, they make eye contact. He speaks with reverence.

"Remember: you can't give up. You have to convince her."

"I know." Azula brushes off his serious vibes.

"Promise me."

"Promise you?"

"We're friends now, right?" He asks.

"If anyone on Earth knew that we were friends I think they'd black out," Azula jokes. When she only gets a stern look in response she replies, "Yes, okay. You're my friend. We're friends."

"Then promise me you'll convince her."

"Alright, alright. I promise. Sheesh," she says. Aang smiles from ear to ear. She can't handle it, "Alright, enough of that. Now let's go over the plan again."

"I'll create a fog and then guide the winds to cover the village."

"Once the fog is set, I'll take out the four western perimeter towers."

"This will make them believe we're coming from the west and then overcompensate by pulling people off from the east. I'll also knock out the guards on the southern tower, relocate them to safety, and then collapse the structure."

"During all of that, I'll sneak in through her window like I used to always do."

"Lastly, I'll go to the quarters for the water benders and fire benders and knock them out. Assuming you can convince Ty Lee to run away with you, then you two escape to the East and ride Bakunawa here off into the night. I'll set off the fire alarm and then no one will be in a position to chase you down, let alone stop you."

It's a good plan. Shit, it's a great plan. It's almost failsafe. Completely ironclad in every way. She shakes her head in astonishment.

"I know you said you're a ruler breaker, but this is just something else. You are surprisingly good at it."

He smiles wistfully.

"Now just imagine what I'll do when they come to tell me you're back and have 'left not even the bones' of Ty Lee."

She can't help but laugh. Before they set off she can only say one thing.

"Thank you, Aang. I just-" She trails off.

"Don't. This isn't goodbye. I'll find some excuse to come visit you all on Mallard at some point. Just focus on convincing her. And don't forget: You promised."

In the moonlight Ty Lee sees the black blade glistens with a substance. She wonders if it's blood and how many Azula struck down to get here. She licks her lips and shifts the weight of her foot. Azula has not advanced on her yet. She doesn't know what to expect from this next question. Nothing has been what it seemed.

"Have you come to kill me?"

Azula's expression doesn't change. Her free hand grips the hilt of her sword. It is a heavy burden she carries. But she promised the one who made this possible that she would not falter.

"You said it best back in Lanxi. I've come to bury you first."

Azula puts the sword away into its scabbard. She steps forward, opens her arms and pulls Ty Lee into a tight embrace. The feel of her skin gives a kind of warmth she has missed and longed for over the years. It's satisfying and exhilarating and she is thankful.

"Azula?" Ty Lee asks, confused and surprised. "What is going on exactly?"

Azula steps back, arms still around her wife's shoulders.

"The only way the world will allow us to be together is if they think you're dead. There won't be anyone to chase after if they think I killed you. And I can keep you safe from my enemies if they believe you're gone."

Surprised and scoffing, Ty Lee asks, "So you want to fake my death? How will you do that?"

"I have an idea."

"Even if we could, we couldn't possibly escape. I'm not even sure how you made it past the perimeter defenses in the first place!"

"I didn't arrive on the island by traditional means. Nor did I do it alone."

"So it's real then? You have a plan? For us to be together and for us to escape?"

Azula is honest with her.

"I don't know if we'll have happy endings, but we can lead happy lives together."

She braces for impact.

The moment has come.

They have come to the cross roads.

Ty Lee doesn't make her wait at all.

"Alright," she says. "What do we do?"

[Early Winter 153 AG]

"You're alive?!" Lau asks, but he gets all the confirmation he needs seeing the stack of letters on the desk.

"Sorry to disappoint."

"N-not at all! Oh happy day! Ming! She's here! Did you do this? Did you know?"

"No sir." She denies it.

"Pardon me, Lau, but can we go somewhere more private? Just the two of us? Your office, perhaps? There's much to discuss."

"Yes! Yes, oh yes! Please, please, step right in. We have so much to talk about! I can't believe you're really here!"

Azula steps past the desk and goes into Lau's office. She gestures for him to shut the door behind him. Gan-Lan turns to Ming Fe and quickly tells her, "Cancel everything on my schedule until she leaves!"

"Yes, sir." Ming Fe agrees, but is disappointed to do so.

The door shuts and she is cut off from knowing anything else.

Once they are alone, Azula plays things carefully. She listens to Lau Ga-Lan tell her everything she already knows. She regales him with stories of her life and even the story of when she first met his father. She had told him, at the time, 'I'm going to make you famous, Lee.' Although she was unaware of just how true those words would be.

Having had time to prepare and carefully plan, everything has gone according to script. Azula spent time researching further into the Red Lotus and the alleged mole in the Cabbage Corp that Xai Bau has, and after enough time and digging, she uncovered it: a lowly executive assistant, so close to the action she is practically invisible. Ming Fe is the entire reason Azula is here today.

Now that Aang has passed, she has to set the cards in motion. She needs it to look like she's trying to fill the power vacuum of Aang's death, and her return to Republic City will help fan the flames of conspiracy theories that she killed the Avatar herself — conspiracy theories that she started.

Once it's time, she plays her hand with Lau Gan-Lan in recovering her fortune in the Cabbage Corporation. She pulls in every fancy lawyer and accountant that they have. A room full of white collar workers, each of them straight and narrow, not a crook among them. She had decided that threats of force wouldn't suffice in this environment, but rather something easier: legality.

This was how Azula came to require Non-Disclosure Agreements with each and every person of relevance or power in the Cabbage Corporation. They are good men with good hearts, her research into them had found, so they need a proper motivator.

Once everything is settled, and all the papers are signed, Lau asks her to reveal her plan. She smiles genuinely and tells them what she will do.

"I have a few things planned. First, we will need facilities all over the world. I've spent my life wandering the globe. We can not be so self-centered as to believe that the only place where things are worth doing is in Republic City."

"Fair, fair. So what do you have in mind?"

"A myriad of ideas," she says, handing out a folded piece of paper she'd brought with her. "I'll make sure to bring a full portfolio for our next meeting, but for now these are the big ticket items: Sayaka's School for Self-Defense. Lin's Fishing Emporium. I want a scholarship program named after Siqniq of Lonlhai for business students. I'm still deciding how to honor my wards Meng Shou and Tapisa, but I'll figure that out in time."

One of the VP's of Finance croaks a rebuke, "Your shares in the Cabbage Corporation are abundant, you could run these kinds of simple business ventures for decades and never run out of money. But some of what you're describing will be difficult to achieve politically."

She nods, expecting the question.

"Which is exactly why we're going to use the Southside of the Lower Ring in Ba Sing Se, and leverage a new relationship with the Port of Lanxi to make all of this happen."

After one Executive President of Operations has a chance to review the scrap she brought in he replies, "It will take many years to accomplish this kind of infrastructure simultaneously. Can we wait that long?"

"I have time to spare. We'll take as long as we need."

There is silence for a moment. Lau Gan-Lan decides to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"You were once known as the Dragon Empress, mastermind of the criminal underworld here in Republic City. I can not, in good faith or good conscience, move forward with these ventures if we are to engage in any kind of criminal enterprises. No amount of loyalty to my father will break my own moral code now."

There are noises of agreement, some even pounding the table. Azula puts up a hand to quiet them.

"You have quite the spine, to stand up to me like this," Azula compliments him. Lau is unmoved, much more interested in her full response. She smiles, "Rest easy that my old life is behind me. However, I have a vested interest in appearing as though I am rising to power again in such proceedings."

"How does that benefit you?" One man asks.

She turns to him with a wicked smile.

"While we do the good work here at Cabbage Corp, without knowing the details or the motivations behind my actions, my enemies will trip over themselves to show me the vile plots they have in-hand; to one-up me, sort to speak."

Lau Gan-Lan understands now.

"And in doing so, you will hold all the cards without ever tipping your own hand."

She nods. Lau Gan-Lan admires her.

"You truly live up to the Puppetmaster title."

Which brings her to this gravestone. A reminder of her past self. A living example of how the hate in her heart drove her to nearly dying so many times before. If she could just go back to those younger days, and talk to herself then, she would have so much to say. She doesn't hear the footsteps of another approaching. It isn't until it's too late and a once familiar voice speaks to her.

"Hello, Old Friend." Azula says as she comes to a stop.

"Huh!" Zirin exclaims at the sound of another visitor.

"Oh!" Azula startles when she realizes there's another person at the grave. "My apologies, I didn't see you sitting there."

Zirin remains seated in her pop-up chair, with her large brim sun hat, and doesn't dare raise her eyes to meet the gaze of the other woman. She had expected to be left alone at the grave and was given a jump scare just now when this stranger appeared. She doesn't know her intentions or motivations.

Neither woman realizes who they stand in the presence of. They are both trying to hide their real identity and thought they'd be left alone in this place, only to find another here as well. They don't want to make eye contact and they haven't heard the other's voice in forty-five years. They are effectively strangers, coming to mourn the same person they once knew.

"Did, um, did you know her? The deceased?" Azula asks.

Zirin stares again at the inscription.

Azula of Caldera

85 AG — 113 AG

Sister, Daughter,

Friend

She nods.

"I think I did. Some version of her. Long ago."

The vague answer doesn't tell Azula if she knows this woman or if she simply had some run in with her. The truth is that the stranger probably knew of Azula and that was all.

"What about you?" Zirin asks.

"Hmm. I'd agree. I probably knew some version of her. Whatever version she wanted people to see, anyway."

They sit together for a minute or so in silence, observing the gravestone. They each reflect on the things that brought them to this point. How it started with the death of an empire. How they both stand before a hollow grave, devoid of any meaning because that empire rises again from the ashes. There's a sense of kinship between them, even as they don't say anything nor realize the gravity of this meeting.

"Did she ever hurt you?" Azula asks, with a gulp.

Zirin thinks about the question for a good long while. She mulls it over before providing her answer.

"Yes. In many ways."

At first, Azula is disappointed. Zirin keeps going though.

"But in the end, she saved me. Whether she knew it or not, whether I gave her credit for that or not. It was because of her that I was able to make something of my life."

Azula nods.

"I've been thinking about what I learned from her as well. The things she didn't teach me feel just as big." Azula trails off.

"Such as?" Zirin eggs her on.

"Such as ending the cycle of violence. That was never a lesson that I got from her, but one that I have learned is vital."

From this clue, Zirin senses that she is in the company of another former Kemurikage or Fire Warrior. All of those girls who turned to Zirin after she dismantled the Dragon Empress. She feels a great sense of duty to this woman; as though she owed her in ways she never could repay. Azula continues.

"Today, especially today, I feel free, and safe, but I still have things I must accomplish."

Curious, Zirin can't stop herself from asking, "From what?"

"There are people still experiencing violence because of my actions and inactions. When I was younger, I couldn't see it. I didn't want to. But now? Now I have power, and so I have a responsibility to stop that violence."

"But doesn't that violence only beget more violence? More pointless graves and lost lives?"

This has been an intense conundrum of Zirin's recent life. She has struggled with the idea that Zase was still out there, still lauding over Yu Dao. Still hurting and furthering that cycle of violence.

"Perhaps. In fact it's all but assured." Azula does not assuage her fears. "But villains? They rely on us to count the costs. They win when we choose to do nothing."

Nothing else is said after this, as nothing else needs to be said. They never once even considered introducing themselves to the other. Eventually, Azula leaves Zirin there, with the empty grave and a mind full of thoughts.

[Early Winter 155 AG]

It is a beautiful day at Aang Square in City Park. The public park is a 10 square acre park in Midtown. It is an icon as well as a meeting place, and most of all represents a center for cultural activity. It is an open space where artists come to celebrate nonconformity with a rich history over the years. Famously, there are rows and rows of pai sho tables for players, locals, and tourists to test their skills. Today the park is alive with the sounds of life persevering. People talking, satomobiles honking, the city going about its business, even birds chirping despite the crisp winter air. This is the setting for Xai Bau as he comes to stand beside a short, muscular man with faded black hair and olive green eyes.

"What's she been doing?" Xai Bau asks.

The short man pauses and takes in a deep breath. After the pause he replies, "Absolutely nothing."

They say nothing as they observe her. She is sitting alone at a pai sho table, staring off into the distance in quiet contemplation. She's staring in their general direction and it is probable that she already sees them. She's playing with something in her right hand.

Azula can see them, standing at the opposite side of the crowd. She's known all along that he would come, and it appears he's brought a friend. Someone she doesn't recognize from any of her or Ty Lee's research into the current state of the Red Lotus. It's times like these that she wishes Aang was still around, so she could discuss with him.

Alas, it is precisely because Aang is gone that she's in this position now. She flips the rock over in her hand again and again, thinking of how Xai Bau had once told her that he would find her no matter where she hid, 'without any stone left unturned.'

She always knew that a time would come when she would need to be 'found' again. So she has spent the last two years carefully setting the pai sho table exactly according to plan. Now that all of the pieces are in place, and she is ready to play the game again, she now allows herself to be "caught."

[Winter 155 AG]

"I can get us out of here, Xai Bau," Azula tells her dark skinned partner quietly. "But it'll be dangerous. We have to go back some of the way we came, towards the lava side."

Looking around, the grey eyed man shrugs, not seeing any other course of action. He tells her, "Better than waiting for the lava to come to us, or the roof to collapse again."

The bald Xai Bau turns and shouts across the distance, "We're going to find a way around. Meet us back at the lizards! Be safe! If we're not there in an hour, just leave without us!"

With that, the group goes their separate ways. Azula leads the way back towards the throne room.

"That boy sure is headstrong. Am I to assume he's your heir apparent?"

"He's not my son, but yes. Some day he will be ready to take on the mantle."

"Hmm, but he's not ready yet you don't think?"

They reenter the throne room. Azula takes them down an alternate route as they chatter.

"No. Left in charge of the Red Lotus today and he would be ruinous, I am certain of it. He requires more refinement."

Azula files that note away, recognizing that Zaheer is not ready to lead the group according to his Master.

"C'mon, this is the way." She says, leading him further.

The path out takes an inordinate amount of time, but it is their only choice at this point. The lava and fires cloud the way. Combined with the charred corpses of the attackers and defenders of the fortress, the result is a thick stench in the air. Not one either of them is likely to forget any time soon. They exit from the building but the lava is overflowing and quickly taking down this part of the complex. There is a platform leading to a walkway of sorts along some cliffs.

"Over here! Quick!"

She takes off running and he is quick to follow. They safely reach the nature-made structures all along the ridge of the perimeter outside the walls.

"Which way now?" He asks.

"If we keep following this, it'll eventually start going up and then out. Back towards where we initially came in from."

There is a rumble of the Earth and the ground beneath them shakes. He hurriedly comments, "Best not to waste time then!"

The two of them make their way quickly, but carefully, around the canyon-like walls heading for their exit. They are silent as he follows carefully. Xai Bau had come with intentions of not ending this journey with Azula, but destiny had other designs for them. Suddenly though their luck changes in an instant.

"Watch out!"

Azula pulls Xai Bau away from a collapsing walkway when a rock slide comes tumbling down upon them, down into the boiling lava below.

"You saved me?" He asks, astonished as they lay on the ground of the precarious walkway together.

"For the second time tonight, might I add," she says as he stands up first. "And we're so close to getting out of this mess! Just a little - OOF!"

Xai Bau punches her in the head. He kicks her and punches again. She raises her arms up to block the blows and protect her head and ribs. When he decides that she's had enough, he grabs her by the collar, spins her tiny body around, and slams her into the wall. He feels the ground is uneasy beneath him.

"Xai… Bau… why?"

He is right in her face, sweat glistening off of his bald, black head.

"Surely you must understand. We've been playing this game for so long. I've grown tired of it at last. And what better opportunity? I can simply blame it on a rock slide that took you down before I could save you!"

"Why are … you - ?"

"The younglings will idolize you for what you've done tonight. I'd rather you be a dead hero to them."

Something changes in her eyes. She fights back, not kicking with all of her force, but enough to cause him concern.

"What are you… planning? Tell me!"

"Hahaha," he snickers, slowly choking the life from her. "No, I don't think I will. But I will confess to something, Empress, before you go into the ground."

He stares into her panicked, scared amber eyes. He relishes this moment. After all, he's waited years to tell her the truth.

"I am the one who caused The Destruction of Lonlhai."

"No. No!" She cries out, inches from his face.

"I wasn't there myself but I made the call. I ordered the mercenaries. It was a grand achievement. Destroying a place you loved so much. I knew it would devastate you. Oh, how I wish I had been there to watch them scream in agony. To see them go up in flames."

Anguished and struggling to breathe, Azula asks, "Why are you – telling me – all of – this?"

"Because you won't be alive to tell it!"

Xai Bau plays his last chip. He kills the Dragon Empress, spinning her around, removing her from the wall, pushing with all of his might, and releasing his grip on her so she goes flying off the cliff, falling to her doom.

"Huh!"

At least that was the plan.

"See, that's where you're wrong." She says in a low voice, not struggling for air or speech whatsoever.

Azula grips his hands and arms with her full strength and power. She stands up straight, no longer struggling or appearing weak. She raises her head ever so slightly and her eyes meet his. The next moment, she sends electric static shockwaves up through his arm until it zaps through his entire body. He collapsed into a heap on the ground with a heavy thud.

"UGHHHH!"

"You see, that is exactly your problem, Xai Bau. You've spent so long hiding behind executioners and cut throats, you've forgotten what Death looks like."

She lazily steps around his helpless body.

"You- you - you -"

"Yes. I am what Death looks like. The blue flames and lightning course through my blood once again. They have for many years now, in fact."

"How?" He asks, weekly.

"It's a rather long story so I won't bore you with the details. I couldn't very well let you know that I had my bending back. You'd never underestimate me if you knew the truth. So long as I was benderless, in your eyes, I was powerless. A foolish thing to believe. Even when I was only woman I was formidable."

"But, Ty Lee -"

"Safe and sound, back at home. Patiently awaiting my return."

He painfully twists his body. The cliff side that he lays on cracks and threatens to give way. Azula makes a tsk, tsk sound as she shakes her head at him.

"For the record, I didn't come out here planning to kill you. I didn't get all of the information I needed from you yet. But once you tried to make your play, you forced me into the endgame. So now I have no choice but to defeat you."

A lifetime of conflict and disdain for one another has brought them to this. He tried to kill her but failed. Now she holds all the power. She observes the collapsing structure around him and bends down into a squatting position beside his reeling body. She whispers to him in a sinister tone.

"Have you heard the parable of the fisherman?"

He does not answer, too scared to speak.

"A fisherman comes home one day to find that everything that gives meaning to his life is gone. Homes are burned, the water is poisoned, fish slaughtered, his boat stolen. Everything that he loved, taken from him. His loved ones. One can only imagine the pit of despair, the hours of Hei-Ran-like lamentations, the burden of existence. He makes a promise to himself in those dark hours. A life's work erupts from his knotted mind. Years go by. His suffering becomes… complicated. One day he stops. The fisherman, who is no longer a fisherman, sees the wreckage he's left in his wake. It is now he who burns. It is he who poisons."

He looks up at her and looks into her eyes. He sees the reflection of the cavern walls and the lava below. A mixture of darkness and fire. His nostrils take in the hot and heavy smog of the lava. His fingers wry and retch, trying in vain to take hold of anything, a painful numbness running through him. When she looks into his eyes, there is not even a glimmer of hope. Death finishes her sermon.

"And she knows that she must pay. That she must meet Death for all that she's done. And so she will… but not before you, Xai Bau."

She rises up and stands beside him. The ground cracks and breaks.

"You won't kill me!"

There is a defiance in his words. He knows better than she does. He is cornered in their game, but despite everything he still believes he will win.

"You're right. I won't."

Relief. He releases the breath he was still holding. He reaches his hand out to be pulled up from his place below her. His last gasp before the ground would've given out and he would've fallen to the lava below. He can feel the foundation crumbling beneath him even now. She looks him dead in the eye.

"But I don't have to save you either."

Xai Bau doesn't have time to react. No time to reply. No time to realize he's lost. The rock he's on crumbles, collapses, and he falls instantly down into the magma and fires below.

The last pai sho chip is cleared from the table.

[Early 158 AG]

[DAY 1]

"Mama Azula!" A small voice calls out as it enters. A little girl, recently celebrating her 6th birthday, wanders into the poorly lit room, "Why are you hiding in here?"

Azula is hunched over a desk, forearms pressed against parchment, a quill in her hand and ink rubbed against her fingertips. She is staring intently at the page once more, contemplating the words she has written down. As the floorboards creak and the shadows grow closer, she looks up into the face of a beloved daughter.

"Sayaka," she coos at the little one. "Come, sit with me at once."

The girl, whose bright brown hair and stone gray eyes made her look like a vision of her other mother in childhood, waddles up gleefully. As she closes the distance, Azula snatches her into her arms, a warm embrace waiting, and settles her on her lap.

"What are you writing, Mama Azula?"

The girl, named Sayaka by some good stroke of fate and happenstance, is her adopted daughter. One of three that she and "Mama Ty Lee" took into their home on Mallard Island barely over five years ago. The other two, a waterbending girl named Sonok, now 9, and an earthbending boy named Katan, now 12, had completed their family at the end of the world. It had always been Mama Ty Lee's dream, and with their lives begun anew, Azula was certain to make it a reality at long last.

The three of them had been in a foster home near Mallard together, with Sayaka not even one years old and Katan only six when their parents had passed tragically. Some six months later when Azula and Ty Lee brought them home, it had been a difficult adjustment for all parties. The children were rough around the edges and struggled to adapt to their new mothers. The mothers, well beyond the prime of their lives, found child rearing to be much more difficult when it was your own and not someone else's. Thankfully, given time, the children eventually came around, and the mothers became better parents, and the group is now a cohesive unit, a truly happy family.

"It's a letter for your Uncle." She explains to her youngest daughter.

"I have another Uncle? You mean besides Uncle Lin and Uncle Aang?"

Azula chuckles.

"You don't even remember your Uncle Aang. You weren't even a year old when you met him!"

"That's not true!" She protests. "I remember. Plus you and Mama Ty Lee and brother and sister talk about him so I know he was my Uncle!"

Azula laughs some more, hugging Sayaka tightly. She continues, "Well, it's not for him anyway. You have an Uncle named Zuko as well. It's a letter for him."

"Cool! Can I help?"

"Hmmm. No, my sweet child, you can not," she stares at the writing once more. "Now how's about you run along so I can finish this. I have to get going now that the sun is set."

"O-o-okay." The child murmurs as she jumps down.

Since the moment that Ai Zhou wrote to Azula with the news of Lin's illness, the family of five packed their bags and made for Republic City. For the last few weeks they have been staying with Lin and his family. When Lin was still active, for the first week or so, they went to fine dinners, and walks in the park. They even took a boat out on the water, much to the delight of the children and 'Uncle Lin,' who regaled the children with stories of how he used to transport their Mama Azula all over the place.

Now, however, Lin is bedridden and sickly. The disease has set upon him like a fire in his belly. It ate him alive and it burned him down like a candle with two wicks on each side. She fears he has not much longer to live, but she has precious little time left to act. She'd met with Zaheer, Ming-Hua, Ghazan, and P'Li just yesterday and learned all that they planned.

When she departed the Red Lotus years ago, she left Zaheer in charge. She thought this was 'mission accomplished' and that the group would tear itself apart, or sink like a ship without a captain. Some of Xai Bau's final words, after all, were that Zaheer was not ready for the mantle of leadership. However, much to her dismay, the Red Lotus has trudged onward, ever forward, and now all has been revealed to her. So she must move fast to once again get the pai sho chips into place. She fears she has already lost the match, having underestimated Zaheer.

Which brings her to the letter she has labored over. It is not perfect but it is all she could think to write. She reviews it once more.

My Fire Lord Zuko,

I have spent my life in service to the Dragon Empress, but where she goes now I can not follow. Indeed, in my writing to you, in my treason, I know that my life is forfeit, and perhaps I will even be dead before you get this letter. Nonetheless, I must write to you for the good of all mankind and to maintain balance in the world.

The Dragon Empress has gathered her most powerful allies and devised a sinister plot. They are making their way for the Southern Water Tribe and plan to kill Avatar Korra. They have exceptional bending abilities, a crew more dangerous than any alive, and they will strike in six day's time from this writing. You and your friends should do well to prepare for that moment.

I'm sorry it has to end this way.

Truly,

The Fisherman

Azula nods as she finishes rereading. It was a dangerous thing, this letter. She had gotten Lin's signature at the bottom already. She would send it using his family's seal. And she addressed it from the Northern Water Tribe, just in case word somehow got back to Zaheer — he would believe the betrayal came from his co-conspirator from the Northern Water Tribe who'd gone silent. Finally satisfied, she rises and seals the envelope. She picks up a small, wooden whistle and walks out into the hallway.

Azula enters the room filled with family and loved ones of the man running out of time. They were conversating before she entered the room, but once she did they dropped into a dead silence. She approaches the bed where an old man looks up at her smiling. Lin has never quite looked worse for wear, but he wears his classic expression all the same.

[DAY 2]

"What do you want?" He asks, a mixture of hope and fear in his voice.

They stare at one another, her amber eyes piercing him like the black blade piercing his table, where countless family dinners were once had. She looks down at her right palm. The scar that has reminded her every day since she last saw him, so she could never forget. So she could always remember what he did, what he took from her. There's the slightest hint of a smirk on her face.

"Have you heard the parable of the fisherman?"

When asked this question before, others have been too scared to even speak. Not Yakone.

"Are you going to kill me?"

She tilts her head for a moment and smirks.

"No. Not yet."

Azula rises from the chair, as quick as lightning, dislodges the blade, and is upon Yakone. She shoves him into the wall and lifts the blade up to his throat, barely a hair's breadth away from splitting it open. He gurgles for air before he even realizes what's happened.

"Grlah!"

She holds him there as he barely struggles and stares deep into his steel blue eyes. She could kill him right here and now if she wanted, but she doesn't. She's come all this way to question him before passing judgment.

"Do you still have your bending? Are you the one who's going to help Zaheer to abduct Korra?"

"Sure! Yes! It's me! I'm the one!"

Confusion rises in the warrior woman.

"What?"

"That's - ? Yes. It's me. I'm helping him to get to the other one."

She shakes her head. His reaction is not at all what it should be based on what he's saying. She pauses and then pursues.

"Where will they go first? Which location?"

Yakone has no idea what she's talking about so he tries to guess. He figures if she came all this way then it must be somewhere close by.

"Agna Qel'a. Of course."

"Yue on Earth," Azula mutters in disappointment. She drops him down and steps away, and he is the one left wanting. She goes back to the table, shoves the sword back into it and replies, "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Yakone massages his throat but can't help but get emotional. He refutes her, "No, I do! I do! I'm helping them! I swear it!"

She huffs in anger as he comes and kneels at her feet.

"Please! You must do it! Stop me from helping the abduction. Stop me by whatever means. Cut me down!"

"Stop." She tells him, pushing his hands away. "You just look pathetic."

"I am pathetic. Please, you must do it. You must kill me! Then I can be with my wife and child again."

Yakone does not fear death. He doesn't even welcome it. He actively seeks it out. He desires death. She stands up and drags his body across the ground, propping him up into a seat.

"Come now. I won't give you what you want. I have too many questions to kill you now."

Yakone is a shell of his former self. He can't bend. He can't do anything. He's fragile and beat and he desires an end to his suffering. He will find no such joy from Azula though. She takes his venizen and brings it to the counter. She rips her sword back out from his table, finds a cutting board, and unpacks the meat.

"Yue, you really like it bloody, huh?"

"If you're not here to kill me, then what do you want? Why are you here?" He begs.

She sinks her blade into the meat. Her space sword is too sharp, the meat too soft, and it slices through swiftly. She hits the cutting board and the velocity causes the blood to splurt. It splashes up on her face and armor.

"Uh." She groans in surprise.

She looks up at him. Now with the blood splattered on her face and body she looks like a whole new vision of Death. She doesn't bother wiping it off, instead choosing to continue cutting while answering his questions.

"I thought you would be the traitor I'm seeking, but I see I was mistaken. So, instead, I guess I'm here for closure."

"Closure?"

She keeps cutting as she explains.

"Yes. You see, soon I will be going to meet Death, at long last. So to make that walk in peace, I need to know some things that only you can answer."

Azula places the venizen in a pan with some oil. She finds some spices and sprinkles them on. Then she uses her firebending to quickly heat up the bloody meat from the bottom. Only a few seconds on one side and then she flips it to the other.

"Will you put me to the sword after?"

She plates the meat and begins cutting again.

"No, I don't think I will," she says and he sighs. "While it would bring me some joy, it would make you happier. But most importantly: I can't dig three graves."

Azula finds some condiments and utensils.

"Three graves?"

She brings the food over to the table and lays the plate in front of him.

"Yes. Which brings me to my first question: What ever happened to Zirin? She's the one who helped you, and betrayed me. Did you actually kill her?"

He pauses to think about what to say. He remembers the girl and her daring escape. Azula takes a big bite, instantly enjoying the savory taste. He looks at her, covered in blood.

"If I tell you I killed her, would you put me to the sword then?"

She smirks.

"So she did get out!" She replies smugly. She chews and swallows before adding, "A younger me would be delirious about this news, but now? Now I'm just happy for her. It was a shit life and we all deserved better."

While Azula's mind pivots to poor Sayaka, the one from Honan Bay not her daughter from Wara Island, and how she didn't escape like Zirin did; how the poor destitute girl met with a terrible fate. She compartmentalizes, choosing to tackle those emotions later on. For now, she eats and questions the old war dog.

Yakone quickly comes to the realization that she will not run him through with the sword. Death has come to once again taunt him - a far crueler fate than any physical pain Azula could ever inflict.

Azula returns to Republic City too late.

Lin was gone soon after she left.

When she finds out, she collapses to the floor, crushed by the weight of her failure.

Mama Ty Lee, Katan, Sonok, and Sayaka hold her as she weeps. They console her and soothe her broken heart. If not for their strength, she might've been broken entirely by this turn of events. Instead, they prop her up with love and support. They'll stay for the viewing the next morning at sunrise, then all climb atop Bakunawa to go home to Mallard.

[DAY 4]

The grass all around them sways with the breeze. It has been there since the first dawn on this island, and it will still be there long after Azula is gone. They will never forget what she has done nor what she will do.

"When they tell my story, someday. Always remember me as you said: As the Dragon Empress. As a friend to those in need."

"No."

"Huh?"

"I will remember you as Asuna of Lanxi. The woman who played pretend as a house Mother to a little girl."

Azula remembers the sight that was forever burned into her memory. Alane dead and Yasuko alive.

"Told her of the Dreaming City."

Helping to raise the girl and save Lanxi while Lonou was depressed.

"Believed in her."

How she filled that little girl with love and adoration that she never got from her own mother.

"Taught her about gardening."

Planting seeds in the soil together.

"Took her to visit her mother's grave."

The long walks with Ty Lee.

"And told her to never fear the wrath of fire."

The sun envelopes them on Mallard Island together. Azula's legacy being told back to her in real time.

"That is how I will remember you when you're gone."

Suddenly, out on the horizon, a small group of figures appear, emerging out of the woodlands near Azula's home. There's four people in total, with one towering over the other three smaller ones. Yasuko considers them curiously. She would be alarmed but when she steals a glance at Azula, there is no concern on her face at all. Just a warm smile.

"Do you know them?" Yasuko asks.

"I do," Azula says, taking a sip from her drink. She turns back to Yasuko and looks her in the eyes. "You showed me your family. Now, let me introduce you to mine."

A few minutes later Mama Ty Lee and the three children come to a stop in front of them. The three adolescents are shy and bashful towards the older woman, who stares with open mouth astonishment at them all. Ty Lee is the first to speak.

"Oh good, you got my letter. I was worried you wouldn't be able to figure it out."

"Your letter?" Yasuko asks.

"You did this?" Azula juts in.

"Of course I did this," she brushes her off. "Not like you were gonna do it."

"Alright, well, we'll discuss this later," Azula puts a pin in it. She then turns her attention to the children, "Hello family! We have a guest today! Say hello to your cousin, Yasuko."

"Hello cousin Yasuko." The three say in unison.

"Go on then, tell her your names." Mama Ty Lee encourages.

The boy steps forward and waves timidly. He is an adolescent with sky blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. He is looks strong and average height for his age. "My name is Katan. I'm the oldest."

"Well hello! It's so nice to meet you, Katan."

She reaches a hand out and he shakes it with a spaghetti arm. His blush is red as tomato as he stares unabashed at the beautiful woman in front of him. Afterwards he steps back and a loud, younger girl steps forward. She has a stunning combination of olive green eyes and luxurious, long white hair. She reaches a hand out and shakes it firmly.

"Well my name is Sonok, and I'm the middle child," she says proudly. Yasuko stifles a giggle. "I can also waterbend!"

"Ooh! Ooh! I can Earthbend!" The boy tacks on.

"Well, Sonok, it's a pleasure to meet you."

That leaves just the last one. A scared, six year old girl clings to the fringes of Ty Lee's dress. She has stone grey eyes and full head of brunette hair. When Mama Ty Lee puts a hand softly against the back of her lookalike, and the small girl steps forward at last.

"My n-name is Sayaka. I am s-six years old. But I can't bend."

Yasuko leans forward and puts her hand out. Sayaka cautiously takes it. She whispers sweetly to the youngest, "Hello Sayaka. It's so nice to meet you! I have a little girl who's around your age too. She can't bend and neither can I - and that's okay."

Sayaka's eyes become huge and she goes flush in the cheeks. Before she can start crying, as she is one to do when overwhelmed, Ty Lee ushers them all to go inside.

"Run along now, all. Put your books and trinkets away. Sonok, please put the groceries away."

"Yes, Mama Ty Lee!" They say together as they race in through the little red door.

"She's much prettier than Ms. Wara!" Yasuko hears one of them whisper to the others.

When they're all finally alone, Ty Lee opens her arms. "Well? Come here, darling! It's been far too long!"

Yasuko rises and embraces the older woman. It's a warm and luxurious feeling. Ty Lee whispers, "That's good. Very good."

When Yasuko finally releases the hug she says, "So you sent the letter?"

"I sure did. Find Toph and you'll find me."

"Speaking of Toph," Azula says while extending the letter to Ty Lee. "She sent this note with Yasuko. Everything is going according to plan. He's going to collect an army. Hopefully he and Katara will finally bury the hatchet."

"I love your brother but he can be such an idiot at times, so I don't know if they will. You don't think-"

"Suki and Lomin? Oh, I'm sure of it."

"Uhh. We'll discuss what to do about that later. For now, we have one family member with us!"

"When did you send this letter to her again?"

"While we were in Republic City, staying with Ai Zhou and Lin and their family. Sent it a couple days before we left. I'm surprised you got here so quickly!"

"I have, uh, considerable resources at my disposal. I was able to drop everything in pursuit of you two."

"And pursue you did! Now you're here already and it's too late to be going anywhere. You must stay for dinner. Tell us about your life and your daughter! Azula can fly you home in the morning if you wish."

"That sounds lovely," Yasuko agrees. However, the last words from Ty Lee register on a delay. With a confused look on her face she asks, "Wait, 'fly' me home?"

The wives share a knowing smile. Azula leans back in her chair and calls into the house.

"Sonok! Can you bring me Baku's whistle?"

"Coming!"

A moment later the bright eyed, white haired girl comes rocketing out of the house. She carries a wooden object in her hands and an excited expression. She stands next to her seated mother, while Ty Lee heads wordlessly indoors.

"Mama Azula! Can I call Baku?"

Yasuko is bewildered as to who 'Baku' may be, but doesn't say anything. Azula bites her lip, tilts her head, and pretends to have to think long and hard about it.

"I don't know."

"Please! Please, please, please, please!"

"Oh, alright!"

"Yay!"

After a brief celebration, Sonok takes a huge breath in. She blows with all of her might into the whistle. Yasuko waits for something, but at first nothing happens. She looks around and waits as the wind suddenly picks up around them. The heavens groan as if there is thunder above. Yasuko's eyes rise to the sky and she watches in complete and utter shock as a legendary beast descends.

[DAY 5]

"So the key has been," Azula explains as they slide off of Bakunawa's dragonrider's seat together. It is pitch black, long before sunrise, and they have landed on the far reaching outskirts of Republic City, as close as they could get to the Sato Estate. "To only fly after sunrise or before sunset."

"People don't see a rider on the dragon, so they don't know you control it."

"Correct. We fly at night, and land in remote locations so that we're never spotted, or if we are, we're too high up in the clouds for anyone to see us riding him."

Azula comes around and softly strokes Baku on his long snout. Yasuko, having already done so multiple times on Mallard Island, joins her in doing the same. Azula scratches under his chin and rubs his great, giant white beard. She tells him, "You ate a lot last night so no complaining about being hungry today. We don't have much time to waste, Baku."

He whines a bit but nothing serious. She steps away with Yasuko. Azula points in the right direction as she says, "Shouldn't be more than a short walk to your home now. Go be with your family. Ty Lee will speak to our friend at the airfield on Mallard and get your ship back to the city."

"Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. So much, for so many things. This trip? This last day? It has meant the world to me!"

"I agree. I'm glad that Ty Lee wrote to you. It's brought me much closure."

"I hope you are successful and this is just the beginning of our many family reunions!"

Smiling warmly, with rekindled fires in her heart, she replies, "Nothing would make me happier!"

They hug once more before Yasuko steps away.

"So, you're off to Kyoshi Island?"

"I am indeed. Baku and I have to get going so we can be in and out before the sun rises," Azula pauses. She hems over her words but decides to say them, "Thank you for all that you said yesterday, Little Dragon. I am grateful."

"Of course. I meant everything."

"I know you did. And now, as you said, I must go forth."

In the blackness of night, on the outskirts of Republic City, the 'mother' and 'daughter' stare at one another. They share the moonlight and a lifetime of memories. They also share an inner flame, a passion to do what is right. Azula tells her finally.

"I must once again face the wrath of fire, but I do so with renewed courage. With your words in my mind, and a blaze of bravery in my heart."

They hug once more and then go their separate ways for the last time.

[DAY 7]

"What are you gonna do? Are you really gonna go through with this?"

It's Wara of Mallard Island who asks her.

Azula looks up and doesn't reply.

She grips the headpiece tightly, stands up, and walks out the door.

Azula has no proof, but she knows that Zaheer killed Yasuko. Just as she knows that Xai Bau burned Lonlhai to the ground as a vengeance against her, she knows that Zaheer has done it now too. She walks up to the place where she sees her Space Sword and snatches it from its placeholder. For one brief moment she sees her reflection in the sword, and she is reminded of the journey that has brought her to this moment.

Ty Lee is standing at the door, holding Bakunawa's whistle. Katan, Sonok, and Sayaka all crowd around Ms. Wara's legs. Azula looks around, tears still in her eyes from the news about Yasuko. All around their home she sees mementos and artifacts. Living testaments of a lifetime of memories and love. Everything from the 'memory box' that Ty Lee kept is now on display. Family portraits, printed pictures, drawings done by the children over the years. All of them are reminders of the love that built this life and made this house at the end of the world into a home.

And now she says goodbye to it.

"Hold this, please."

Ty Lee takes the space sword from Azula.

The Dragon Empress raises her hands above her head. She delicately pulls her hair back, holding the headpiece into place. She threads the hair through her fingers until it's pulled tight and into place. She forms a topknot and then slides the blood splattered headpiece into place. For the first time in over forty-five years, since the day Zirin nearly cut her down, the Dragon Empress dons the hairstyling of Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.

"Katan, Sonok, Sayaka. Come here please."

The three children rush away from Ms. Wara and collectively hug their mother.

"Please be safe, Mama Azula!"

"Come back to us after!"

"I'll miss you. Please don't leave!"

"I'm sorry, all. This is something that Mama Ty Lee and I must do."

The children tear up and cry, rubbing their tears and snot on her black warrior outfit. She holds them tightly and lets them feel their feelings fully. She holds them as long as they wish, and only when they all stop hugging her first does she rise up and take the Space Sword back, allowing Mama Ty Lee her chance to crouch down and embrace the children. She plants kisses on all of them and hugs them so tight she threatens to break them. There will never be enough time to love them, but she must eventually depart. Ty Lee stands as well and opens the door. The mothers leave the children in the care of Wara of Mallard Island.

They embark together, calling for Bakunawa, and flying for Wolf's Cove.

"Hello, Katara."

Katara feels as though a waking nightmare has come to life. Her very worst fears playing out right in front of her. The Dragon Empress rises once again.

Katara takes a half step back and bends nearby snow into water around her. She motions with her hands and quickly tries to think of a way to engage Azula and save Korra. Before she can develop a plan of attack though, Azula puts an end to it.

"Fortunately for you, I'm not here for that."

"Huh?"

Azula lodges her space sword into the snowy ground, the way she once used to place Agni's Lament or Moon's Veil. She then carefully puts Korra down on the ground and softly speaks to the rambunctious child, "Can you play with my friend, Ty Lee? Just for a little bit?"

"You look so COOL! I like her, Master Katara!"

Ty Lee, who to Katara appears as a Ghost, walks up and reaches a hand down to Korra. The child happily takes the hand. Ty Lee, noticing the intensely shocked expression on Katara's face, giggles a bit.

"Good to see you too, Kat. Don't worry, we won't go far."

The two of them run off to play together within earshot and eyeview.

"Who are you?" Azula asks, turning her attention to the man she neither knows nor recognizes.

Unalaq stutters, completely stunned by this turn of events, "I-I-I'm -"

"He's none of your concern!" Katara interjects.

Azula, annoyed by her aggression, huffs. "Protecting Korra is my concern, and I don't know who he is, therefore he is of my concern."

"What? What? What are you talking about? What's going on? Aren't you here to kill the Avatar?'

"I'm here to save the Avatar."

"What!" Unalaq can't stop himself from shouting his disbelief.

Azula ignores him, eyes trained on Katara. She watches as Katara struggles to slide the puzzle pieces together. She finally mumbles out, "Did Zuko invite you? And not tell us? But… no. He said that - unless… ?"

"No, you dum dum. I am one who warned Zuko. I wrote him the letter that 'the Dragon Empress' was coming from Korra. It was me who sent the note, not Lin."

"What? But why?"

"I learned of their plot 7 days ago and wrote to Zuko. I worried that if the letter came from me then people like you would question the sincerity. I had to unify all of you behind a common enemy. Who better than me?"

"If it's not you who were fighting, then who?"

"Their name is the Red Lotus and they are more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Katara tries to comprehend all of this, while Unalaq sinks into a pit of despair. He is on the precipice of being uncovered, his plot unveiled. He remains deadly silent, too terrified to move or speak even a word.

"So… you're here to help us? To fight for us?"

"Yes. This may very well be my last good deed."

Katara openly laughs.

"You must be joking. You? Going to your death? For us? For… for… for Korra?"

Azula just shrugs.

"Like I said: Who better than me?"

Unalaq is seeing the threads of everything coming together. He sees the future unfolding in front of him and tries to stop it.

"Is it not enough to mean well? To warn us and get us prepared, but to stay out of the fray? Surely, with your knowledge of these Red Lotus you can avoid excess bloodshed and we can capture them another day?"

Azula looks Unalaq dead in the eyes as she says this next part.

"I have stood amongst the ashes of thousands of lives I could not save. Do you think they cared that I "meant well" by leaving them to fend for themselves?"

Katara is reminded of Lonlhai and her failures there. She is deep in thought as a soft crunch of feet against snow signifies that Ty Lee and Korra approach. She looks up at Azula's golden eyes and asks her, "So you're going to them? To fight?"

"I am. I'm going to defeat the Red Lotus, or die trying."

"Then let me come with you! We can all come with you!" Katara insists.

Unalaq tries to back out, "Master Katara, I-"

"We can't," Ty Lee says, cutting them off, hand still holding Korra's. She continues, "There's an unknown agent at play. The Red Lotus is expecting Azula to show up, but they had someone else who may be coming. Someone they wouldn't even tell Azula about."

Unalaq finds it hard to breathe. Katara ponders this concern. "I see. Hmm."

"Regardless of if there's one or many more people coming for her, we don't know, so we must be prepared and remain at her side."

Katara is finally understanding fully what is going on. She asks her, "So that's it then? You're just going to go fight them yourself? Heading off to your death potentially?"

Azula nods.

"I've decided. This is how I want to die. Being a friend to those in need."

Without another word, Azula rips the Space Sword from the snow. Ty Lee steps forward and plants a kiss on her lips and a tight embrace. She steps back at last. Unalaq shifts into damage control, certain now that there is no hope for comrades and the plan is a failure. Azula nods to Katara, who doesn't react, before turning to walk away. She gets a few feet when a voice speaks to her.

"Thank you."

She stops and looks back. Katara and Azula nod to each other. Perhaps the most respectful gesture the two have ever shared. Azula turns back around and keeps walking, pulling something from her pocket. Katara yells out.

"How will you get to them?"

Azula laughs before shouting over her shoulder.

"Oh, that's right, you didn't know!"

She blows into the whistle, without revealing it to the onlookers.

"Show off." Ty Lee mutters under her breath.

"Your late husband left me a gift!"

A massive shadow sweeps overhead.

Azula is headed towards the battlefield. In these brief moments, while she grazes the heavens, she is reminded of her youth. How she used to run along the beach of Ember Island, play-fighting with Zuko. As a little girl she imagined this as a dream.

Flying through the sky, the wind whipping in her face, a small girl with dark, black hair and bright, golden eyes rides a dragon into battle. She holds up her mighty sword and commands her partner to bank downward. Her magnificent beast lands on the battlefield. She disembarks and gracefully approaches her enemies.

[151 AG]

Aang stands up. He walks closer to the sea cliffs, where he's only a step or two away. Azula rises and comes to stand beside him, at the definition of the end of the world. His grey eyes turn to Azula and her amber ones find his. He speaks passionately and somberly.

"I'm asking you to do the impossible… I'm asking you to look out for my next life."

He pauses.

"To defend it."

Each word is emphasized.

"To fight for it."

Lin's words come back to her.

"And if need be to die for it."

"Legend, Azula."

"Will you do that?"

"A lasting legacy in your name."

"For me?"

He waits for her answer. She doesn't make him wait long.

"No, I won't."

He squints but smiles, knowing she is not done.

"I won't do it for you. I'll do it for me. And my legacy."

A/N: Okay so listen up because when I say this I legitimately don't think any of you will believe me: Not one time in the 70+ chapters, 430K+ words, of this entire saga, has Azula ever sat down and watched a sunset. It was an extremely intentional choice that I made from the very beginning. She had many times where she watched sunrises or made note of where the sun was at a given moment. Other characters have watched the sunset. But never Azula. I have not once written a scene where she was awash in the orange hue of golden hour. So it's very meta for Aang to, philosophically, ask when she's "really" watched one. How often do we remember such things explicitly? But the reality is that my Azula, this one, has never had an important moment that happened at sunset. Go ahead, reread the whole story if you want. But you'll learn that I'm right. Anyway, this chapter was such fun to write, specifically thanks to Aang. Omg I NEED to write more future Aang & Azula bff's. He was so chaotic it was amazing!

Moving on, let me briefly talk about Avatar Asuna next. I spent… SO MUCH time working on her story and background. I came up with her own lifespan as an Avatar - and it wasn't even in the story! I wrote about her family, her childhood, the day she found out she was the Avatar, her travels, meeting her wife, and so much more. For some context in this chapter: Monk Sanzin was her Airbending Master. He led a crusade against the FN and even convinced Asuna it was for benevolent reasons. Then, as he was exterminating the Sun Warriors, she showed up and had to kill him. I came up with a whole scene where his air is so strong it's extinguishing her fire and she has to lightning bend to kill him. I didn't get to expand on it even a modicum of what I had originally planned to do. But nonetheless, there is so much more to her that isn't in the text of DE:TLOA. If you have any questions about Avatar Asuna, I will happily answer them! Please ask!

Side note, very quickly: "I have my own intelligence networks" = Toph. Always Toph. Azula says it like 2-3 times in Book 6, and it's always Toph. It's because Aang says it to her here in this chapter, and then whenever someone asks her in B6, it's just like a homage to Aang trying to be coy about Toph. Alright, sorry, just needed to say that.

I loved, loved, loved some of the readers complaining about how some of the timeline stuff stopped making sense once we entered 'THE WEEK THAT CHANGED AZULA'S LIFE' phase. The Red Lotus themself openly discuss the logistical impossibility of Azula going to the Northern Water Tribe and then back to the Southern Water Tribe, unless she takes an airship but those I modeled after airplanes with flight schedules and passenger manifests and such (unless you're a 1 like Toph or Yasuko and you can charter your own ala Azula going to Lonlhai in Book 5 and Yasuko coming to Mallard in Book 6). So the Red Lotus was meant to represent the readers there being like, "Huh? How's she going to do this?" I spent a painstaking amount of time in this series explaining the timeline of travel. Azula takes months to get from point A to point B at times. She talks with people about which ways are the best to go, and sometimes she went the long way. I spent a whole chapter on her and Toph going the long way! I ran calculations on boats and ferry travel and then airships and mongoose lizards and Appa and so on. I wanted everything grounded in reality so that when we entered THE WEEK, the readers would go, "Wtf is going on?" I turned the jetpack on Azula to FULL THROTTLE. She was fast traveling all over the entire planet seemingly overnight – because she was! A dragon flies faster than any of that crap! Azula just has to be careful with Bakunawa and only fly at night when no one can see a dragonrider. I even referenced in Zuko's obituary for Aang that Bakunawa was seen flying beyond Caldera to the west – this, too, was a hint. So when you look at the map of ATLA, Caldera is all the way to the west. In the IRL comp, it's Los Angeles, or like Las Vegas may be a closer equivalent. And in all of my descriptions of Mallard Island, it's as far EAST as the world can go. It's the first thing a new sun touches each day. The IRL equivalent being Australia. Zuko watches Bakunawa fly beyond Caldera and further west… so far west… that he actually goes… to the EAST! To Mallard Island! To Azula! Yue, I spent so, so much time working on the logistics of this, I apologize for nerding out right now but I hope you all are enjoying it because I'm just getting started.

What was the very first thing in the entire series? The first scene that I showed you in Book 1 Chapter 1? It was Azula as a child, pretending to be the Dragon Emperor - flying on a dragon, with a great sword, landing and approaching her enemy (Child Zuko in a Blue Mask). From the very beginning, it was leading to this moment. To Azula, arriving on the battlefield, and approaching her enemies. That scene and her quote about, "I remember who I am! I am the Dragon Empress! There's only one way this ends!" was designed from the beginning and it's the first thing she says in B1C1 and then she says it again before the climatic end to the last chapter. What's more! What's more! Azula remembering and forgetting things was a whole thing that I drew out. She goes through all this stuff and at points in Book 5 she has forgotten details of her own life. She doesn't remember certain things. Then, in Book 6 Chapter 6, when she's meeting with Yasuko, I bluntly said, "A few years ago she remembered everything." What happened a few years earlier? She got Ty Lee back. Bringing Ty Lee home unlocked the fog of memory in her mind and suddenly Azula remembers everything. Ty Lee is the guiding light in her life that allows her to remember. Which is why she says, "I remember who I am!" UGH. I love this freaking story.

A note about Zirin. So, Azula runs into her at the gravesite and says the things about ending the cycle of violence. When Azula and the Red Lotus show up in Yu Dao to get P'Li, it is Zirin and Ukuyi who have attacked. They've rallied the last banner women of the old Fire Warrior and Kemurikage to attack and free the people of Yu Dao from the Warlord's grasp. That's why someone, while attacking, references the Kemurikage. Azula was not behind that, has no idea what is going on, doesn't know it's The Dragon Slayer who does it. It's all just odd and convenient timing for her, although it does cause a fuss with the volcano exploding and such. So some good luck and some bad luck. It's the perfect storm of shit that makes it easy for them to slip in undetected, but still struggle to slip out.

On the Aang front: I tried to leave breadcrumbs throughout the entirety of DE:TLOA that Aang would eventually side with Azula. Going all the way back to Book 1, Chapter 14 "Love." Aang (correctly) sides with Ty Lee about Azula when Zirin frames her for the attack on Mai. I drew explicit comparisons between Azula and Aang throughout Book 4, with Azula going so far as to say, "There is no Avatar here! That's why I stepped in!" And then in B5C1 Aang is thinking like, "Well… yeah. If I wasn't there, maybe it was better that she was?" Additionally, Book 5 starts with Chapter 1 titled "The One…" and Chapter 10 is titled, "... Who Knocks." What is the very first line of Book 5 Chapter 1? "Aang knocks on the door." I truly answered the question of 'who is the one who knocks?' as soon as you start Book 5. It's right there. Then the very last thing in Book 5 ("... Who Knocks") is that Aang comes and knocks on the door LOL so he starts and ends the book by knocking on a door. Way back in Book 2 I debuted Ty Lee's recurring nightmare/premonition about Azula & the one who knocks. The details of that have changed over time, because it's a dream and such, but always, always it included prose about the wind blowing strongly. It was supposed to draw attention to the wind and the air and such. On top of that, the idea narratively is that Aang rides Bakunawa to Mallard Island and dragon's wings flapping is what causes all of the wind and the shutters to smash and such. Which, by the way, during B5C10, I examine everyone and their search for Azula, and I mention that Katara is on Avatar Island going to make lunch for herself. For herself! Aang is missing! He's not there. She/we don't know it, but he's arriving at Mallard Island right around that time. Chapter 6 Book 1, I tied Aang and Ty Lee together by having them "die" in the same chapter - two of the most important people in Azula's life at that point! In Book 6 Chapter 6, during the conversation with Yasuko, Azula references Raava for the first time! She mentions Lion Turtles for the first time! Because she met Asuna and Aang and they talked and she knows things now that she didn't! Then she says, "The grass and AIR" here will remember her. I mentioned in the comments for Book 6 Chapter 4 that I had better ideas for the chapter title but went with "Avatars are Forever" anyway without explaining why – this is why! Because I wanted all of these tiny things all throughout the story that connected Azula and Aang. What color did I make Bakunawa from the start? The Blue Dragon to Druk's red. What color is Azula typically associated with? BLUE. Someone play Mastermind by Taylor Swift. Anyway, there's many more but they're either not as obvious or I've forgotten them over the years. But it was all intentional, from the very beginning. Aang is like a living God type thing figure in ATLA. Azula's at her own 'crossroads of destiny' at the end of B5 and it was truly Deus Ex Machina that she goes from potentially wanting to commit suicide to having this grandmaster plan to get Ty Lee back and rise back to power and secure her legacy. It's Aang. It was always Aang. He has his own motivations for wanting her out of the shadows and he explains them here. He asks her to do the impossible… which is what comes next.

Quick side note? Shout out to all of the loyal readers and commenters who have read this story. It's been so fun to read your theories, ideas, and predictions of how this would all end. However, I want to highlight Lionqueen145. In the middle of Book 5, LQ145 dropped a review that more or less predicted all of the events of the remainder of Book 5 and Book 6, even down to the meeting with Aang. They missed some of the finer nuances to my version, like thinking Azula really would be the one to kill Aang in the end, but mostly they really saw the forest through the trees. I was shook when that comment came in! Nice job by everyone!

Now? Well, now we're at our end folks. Now, Azula goes forth and does the impossible. Not for Aang or Korra. But for herself.

This chapter's OST is "To Leave Something Behind" by Sean Rowe.

Love always. Aang forever! AZULA FOREVER!

Notorious