Authors Note: Not a very long chapter but I hope you guys enjoy it!

"Well guys, it's been fun. But now I have to go back to my other warriors." Suki said, packing up her stuff.

"You aren't staying?" Katara asked.

"I have to finish up my job back at Full Moon Bay. Once that's finished, I'll meet you guys at Ba Sing Se with the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. This way you guys will have plenty of backup in case anything goes wrong."

"That'll be really helpful, thanks! And sorry for not telling you about…" Aang trailed off, staring at Azula.

Suki shrugged, "It's alright, I understand. If I hadn't seen how you guys are together, I would have tried to take her into the Earth Kingdom soldiers. I assume that's what you wanted to avoid happening?"

"Yep! Not to mention some other…factors that make her situation even more complicated." Sokka said.

"Other factors? Well, you guys can tell me that next time. And I would ask the tiny princess in question, but unfortunately she's asleep."

They all turned to look at Azula, who was laying down in Ty Lee's lap, exhausted. It seemed like the fight against the serpent had finally caught up to her. Suki noticed that Sokka had a small smile on his face as he stared at Azula. He really had it bad for her.

And with that, Suki made her way back to Full Moon Bay. Aang decided to take Than, Ying, and their newborn daughter to Ba Sing Se on Appa, and would then return to pick the rest of them up. When he came back a short time later, his face was pale.

"We have a problem. A big problem."

"What's so bad that we have to put seeing the Earth King on hold?" Sokka asked as they flew on Appa.

"You'll see soon." Aang replied.

Azula, who was awake at this point, had a bad feeling in her gut. Whatever Aang had seen, she had no doubt that it had something to do with the Fire Nation. And sure enough….

"Look down there! That's what I saw!"

The others did as Aang said and looked over the saddle.

"Is that a drill?" Ty Lee asked.

A drill?

Azula looked over the saddle, with Mai holding her to make sure that she didn't fall off.

"That's what it was! See, Mai?! I told you I wasn't going crazy! I completely forgot that the Fire Nation was planning on breaking the outer wall of Ba Sing Se with that thing!" Azula exclaimed. The others looked at her in horror and shock.

"AZULA! HOW ON EARTH DID YOU FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THIS?!" Sokka shouted, staring at the drill before them.

"Excuse me, have you seen me lately? Of course I forgot about the drill!" Azula said, gesturing towards herself. Sure, she had a feeling for a while now that she was forgetting something whenever Ba Sing Se was mentioned in conversation. Conversations here and there in the palace mentioning a drill, and that it was going to be used to break into Ba Sing Se. Father telling her of a war meeting that had gone well, and that soon they would have Ba Sing Se within their grasp.

At the time, she had felt thrilled.

Now, not so much.

She certainly didn't want her father to win here. Not when he was trying to have her captured and possibly killed. Father would suffer a loss here, that she would make sure of.

Was she being petty? Perhaps, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Look, you two can shout at each other later, right now we need a plan to stop this drill." Katara said.

Immediately, all eyes turned to Azula.

"Why are you fools staring at me?"

"I mean, you're the princess of the Fire Nation. Surely if anyone would have an idea of how to stop that thing, it'd be you, right?" Sokka asked.

Azula shrugged. She did have a small idea of how to stop it, but they needed to get inside the thing first.

"Yes, I do know how we can stop it. Follow me."

They had made their way inside the drill, and had begun doing what they could to stop the drill from the inside. Everything was going fine until 3 guards caught them. Aang, Katara, and Sokka moved to fight them, but before they could…

"Now, Ty Lee!" Mai shouted.

What happened next caught everyone off guard.

One by one, Ty Lee chi blocked Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Azula moved to help them, but was stopped by Mai who picked her up.

"We offer you the avatar and his companions, as well as Princess Azula, who has been declared a traitor."

"And how do we know that you're telling us the truth?" One of the soldiers questioned.

"You don't. But we're handing you the avatar and the traitor princess on a silver platter. Can you really take that chance?" Ty Lee asked.

The guards seemed to contemplate this for a moment before nodding, "Very well. We will take you all to War Minister Qin immediately."

Azula snorted. That moron was running the show? Her father really should get rid of him.

"Lady Mai! I wasn't expecting to see you here! And you bought me the avatar and Princess Azula as well! Oh, this is a glorious day indeed!" War Minister Qin said.

"It was my pleasure. We knew that we couldn't stay with the princess any longer when she made her desire to help the avatar clear. As soon as we saw this drill, Ty Lee and myself knew that this was the only chance we had to escape and return to the Fire Nation. Now, would you mind explaining to me what your plan is here?" Mai asked.

"Of course! You see…"

While Qin was busy telling Mai about his plan, Azula slowly burned the rope tied around her wrist. It's a good thing Ty Lee didn't chi block her. When she was free, she did the same thing for the others. Mai looked over and saw what happened, and smirked.

"Well this conversation has been delightful, but I'm afraid that it has to come to an end."

"What do you mea-?"

War Minister Qin was cut off as Aang used his staff to slam him into a nearby wall, effectively knocking the man out. One by one, they took out the other guards until they were the only ones left standing. Mai and Ty Lee ran to the controls and quickly pulled on each switch that they could find, shutting down the drill. They all turned to each other and smiled.

"WE DID IT! AZULA, YOUR PLAN WAS GENIUS!" Sokka shouted, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Hey! Put me down, you idiot!

Eventually Sokka did put her down, and they went to go tell the soldiers who were on guard at the top of the wall the good news: that the drill had been stopped and Ba Sing Se was safe. The guards thanked them profusely and they were allowed entrance into the city. They were told to take the train, however, since someone would be there to meet them. The others didn't seem to think much of it, but this puzzled Azula. How could there be someone there to greet them when nobody should even be aware that they had arrived yet? Sokka noticed her look of confusion.

"Are you finding this just as weird as I am right now?"

"Yes, very. It doesn't make sense that they'd have someone to greet us this soon. It's honestly creepy."

"I'll say. We're going to have to keep our guards up while we're here, looks like. Which means that you need to stay close to me and the others at all times. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

They got on the train and were soon inside the city. Azula was actually amazed by how big it was. Uncle really didn't do this place justice in his letters.

When they got off the train, they looked to see if anyone was waiting for them. Soon enough, a woman approached them.

"Hello, my name is Joo Dee. It is an honor and my pleasure to welcome the avatar and his friends to Ba Sing Se."

"Thanks! We're happy to be here." Aang said.

Azula turned to look at the woman. Her voice sounded somewhat familiar……

What she saw made her blood run cold.

It had been a few years, but Azula could never forget the long hair or that face. It was a face that she saw every day, after all.

"Mother?"

Authors Note: If you guys want to see more about this fic, such as snippets for future chapters, follow me on my ! https//Akiizayoi4869?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator