Chapter 3: trust

"Here you are Ms." the shopkeeper said, handing Azula a canteen as she tossed him a couple copper pieces.

Azula exited the shop to find Eichi waiting outside wearing a strange safari hat "hey kid, what do you think"

"That you look like an earth kingdom jungle tour guide" she quipped trying to be intimidating "and stop calling me kid"

"Oh I am sorry, how are you PRIN…" he said before Azula cut him off

"Are you completely incapable of letting go of this childish and unprofessional attitude" Azula said with venom in her voice

"Essentially, yes" Eichi said, there really was no intimidating this guy "this thing is coming with me to the new world"

Azula raised her eyebrows at this. Yes she assumed he would probably keep his memories in the end and she was fine with that since he wasn't much of a threat. But she needed to display her dominance somehow "and what makes you think you'll be going to the new world"

"My perfect reality involves me finally treating my ex wife well and getting another shot, you keeping me from that doesn't make you so much a strategist as so much a bitch" he answered surprisingly fast. "Come to think of it, my perfect day would just be me and her sitting back at the table talking about the day, I'd cook for her, she'd tell the same stories for the thousandth time, we'd maybe dance a little" he said with such a passion in his voice, the kind of passion that helps you work for things. Azula shrugged at this "What about you, what would your perfect moment be" he asked

Azula wasn't sure what to say "I don't need to go through anymore psychoanalysis if you don't mind" Azula said in a very authoritarian tone. Still the idea went across her mind and she started to piece together what that moment would look like. She came up with a few, none she wanted to say out loud. "Come on we need to keep moving" she said moving on

Azula shivered as she felt the cold water on her fingers. There were no more air bubbles coming out of the canteen she got from the village, that meant it was full. She raised it from the river and put the cover back on, the morning air was even colder than the water. Eichi was a few feet away leaning against a tree. She didn't let him carry any of the supplies, she thought it was a smart way of keeping him from running off. It had been about half an hour but he didn't make any kind of escape or attack her in any way. This was getting more confusing than suspicious.

There was a waterfall a little bit to their left and Eichi was over there taking in the view. After a moment he started acting strange, he flipped around and seemed really nervous "we need to get out of here". Azula approached him cautiously, something was definitely wrong. Eichi wiped his brow once she approached.

She looked over the cliffside and took in the view. The fire nation had some beautiful landscapes, many considered them some of the best in the world. She could see rolling green hills with zebra-crabs grazing on three foot tall grass, farmers working on their crops, and a small group of travelers having breakfast.

She focused harder on the group of travelers, Azula's heart almost stopped as she realized who they were. They were Eichi's little gang way ahead of them, she recognized them the moment she saw that tapestry. They were traveling on giant skinks, a much better way of transportation. They had set up a dining area where all the members were located.

Azula grabbed Eichi and pinned him to a tree, keeping him from getting their attention was the first thing she could think of. They had been catching up like she feared, but now they were actually ahead of them. If they got to Jia Lisha first then that was it, she wouldn't remember anything. Or she could cease to exist, either way it would be bad. Heck they would probably be able to turn her into a man or a cobra-fish if they wanted.

She needed to act fast, she needed to find a way to slow them down. She moved her hand and uncovered Eichi's mouth, she then proceeded to tie him to the tree. He didn't put up much resistance, he was definitely smarter than she gave him credit for. Once she was sure he was secure, she went back to the cliffside and got a good look at the enemy camp. They wouldn't stay for long, this was clearly just an overnight camp.

Azula surveyed the area, which was easy since they were no less than two hundred meters away at the bottom of a cliff and out in the open. There was no way she could sneak up on them, and they were probably going to start moving soon. Azula started breathing heavily, her heart started rapidly beating, she had chills, and her whole body was trembling. She had to think of something and had to think fast.

Ok, ok she could figure this out. She was an excellent strategist, she could easily figure out a way even against impossible odds. She took another look at the camp and noticed the only thing keeping the giant skinks contained was not tied down, they were just being held in what looked like makeshift corral. That was it if she could release the giant skinks then they would have no fast way of transportation. Giant skinks move at sixty miles an hour if they aren't carrying any cargo, they wouldn't be able to see the skinks escape much less catch them. The corral was on the edge of the camp, she would have to hike to the other side and it shouldn't be too hard to release the skinks and make a run for it.

But there were guards wandering the whole camp. Yes they were mostly just goofing off but they would surely notice her if she made a single mistake. Three years ago she would like those odds. But now after three years of none of her plans working, could she really trust herself not to mess up.

"Hey kid just wanted to say that most of the camp is concentrated on the east side, if I go there and scream loud enough I should be able to distract them long enough for you to release the Giant Skinks" Eichi said. He was an excellent liar; she'd never say it out loud but he may have been as good a liar as her, maybe better. He hid all his signs very well, but he couldn't hide that he just wanted to get back to his group.

Azula didn't give him a usual quip or threat, they didn't seem that effective on him anyway. She simply approached him and tightened his restraints. "stay put" she said with a tiny smile, a way of saying 'I see right through you'.

She took a good look at the cliffside and it was more like a tall hill, it was pretty steep but she could slide down. She slowly slid down the side, she fell on her face a couple of times but she managed to keep a steady pace and not get injured. She slouched under the cover of the tall grass like a majestic geeko-pather and made her way to the west side of the camp. She only took a couple quick peaks to make sure the main gathering didn't disperse or notice her. She finally made it to the corral on the west side. Azula finally took her chance, she flipped the door lock and flung the door open.

Azula quickly spirited away and slouched when she reached the tall grass. She started to tip toe blending into the silence of the grassland. Silence.

Azula turned around to see the giant skinks didn't run out of the corral, in fact they didn't seem to react at all. She quickly walked back to the corral "um shoo, you're free" she said to no avail. "Hey do you hear me, get out now" Azula said in a more authoritarian tone, that only seemed to make them back off slightly.

She made a small blue flame in the palm of her right hand and went to the back of the corral. She waved it around trying to scare them out. The skinks barely raised their heads, they were pretty brave.

"Hey" someone whispered. Azula leaped behind cover and made another flame in her left hand, she tried to maintain it but her left arm became exhausted quickly and started to tighten, the fire was out after a second. "Ms. don't worry I'm not with them," the voice whispered again. Azula peaked behind cover and took a look around, the nearest guard was twenty meters away and facing the opposite direction. "Over here" the voice whispered once more. Azula took a look in the direction of the voice and realized it was coming from one of the prisoners. He was in a cell about five meters away to the left of the corral, he was a watertribe man who had to have been around his mid twenties. There were several other prisoners, she recognized some of them from last time.

Azula hesitantly approached "hello" she said warmly

"Can you get us out of her, the lock is right there" the man said pointing to a lock on the side "wait you were one of the prisoners the other day, the one who escaped"

"Uhhh….yes" she said before doing anything to the lock

"Thank you so much for coming back for us" he said with a giant smile

"Sure thing" she said, figuring it was ok to let them out. Azula hesitated for a second, but the original plan wasn't working and she needed to try something. She quickly pulled the pin out of her headpiece and picked the lock in under ten seconds

"You really helped us," the man said, guiding the other prisoners out starting with the two children. He spoke in a really low tone, obviously to avoid attracting attention.

Azula considered this more of revenge on the cult for kidnapping her, a way of inconveniencing them further. She glance back at the corral "can you get the giant skinks out of there"

"That's perfect, good plan Ms." he said, helping the children on one of the skinks before mounting himself. "I need to get the others out of here" he said as the other prisoners quietly mounted a few other skinks but there were still a bunch left, maybe nineteen. "I'm Bato by the way, from the southern water tribe" the watertribe man introduced

"I'm… Ty Lee" Azula lied while shaking Bato's hand "I need to know how to make the skinks run off" Azula said getting back on topic

"Um" he said scanning the area "find cilantro, the smell of that stuff is is like torture to them"

"Well I guess I'm always up for torture" Azula whispered under her breath. Bato kicked the skink on its side and in less than a second they were suddenly moving faster than sound.

"What was that?" a masculine voice came from behind her, and she recognized that arrogant voice immediately. Azula immediately sprinted into a tent for cover. She peaked through the door to make sure Botan didn't see her, thankfully he didn't. He started wandering around and made his way to the corral "wha, APUT GET OVER HERE" he screamed at the top of his lungs

Aput sprinted over "what"

"You idiot, you left the corral door open" Botan said closing the doors

"I… I'm sorry, I thought I closed it" Aput said. He wasn't suspicious, that was a good thing.

Botan did a quick head count "a bunch are missing, wait where's Pippin" he whistled into the tall grass "Pippin, Pippin" he called out. He started moving some of the tall grass out of his way

A loud rumbling noise suddenly came from right behind Azula. She did a complete one-eighty degree turn to find a sleeping woman snoring loudly. This was her personal quarters so it was unlikely she'd find any Cilantro in here. A scary thought entered her mind, the only place she'd find cilantro or anything food related was in the dining area where the entire camp was lounging.

"Wow, what a predicament you're in'' her mothers voice came from right behind her. Azula wanted to tell her off but she couldn't without waking the woman right next to her "you know your friend Eichi probably could've distracted them for you and you could get the cilantro, just saying it could have helped"

'He's my prisoner, not my friend' Azula mentally said. She hated having to stay silent, even if Ursa wasn't there it still felt incredibly demeaning. She took another peak out the doors, thinking ignoring her was the best option, but she had no good view of the dining area.

She could hear the grass outside rustling "Pippin, Pippin" Botan called out. They had gone out into the grass, if there was any good opportunity to get to the dining area it was now. She snuck through the tent doors and got behind a barrel of water for cover, here she had a much better view of the dining area. It was packed for the most part obviously, with everyone sitting on blankets. But Fen was at her own table by herself and on a high pedestal (they seriously set that up just for her).

She couldn't stay still for very long. She snuck to her right over to the edge of camp, it was probably the safest route to the dining area. She noticed a man come out of a small teepee with lettuce and oregano, if this place had any cilantro it was in there. She got ready to run after it, it was a straight path and if she sprinted fast enough she could make it without being noticed

"You really think that's a good idea" her mother's voice blasted in her ear

"Huh" Azula gasped

"You're gonna just run to the teepee in front of all those people, great plan" Ursa said attempting to pat Azula on the back but her hand kept phasing through her

"You guys hear something" someone with a full mouth asked

Azula nearly had a heart attack when she heard this. "I'll check it out," someone said, causing Azula to burst into the tent next to her. It was actually quite decorous and cultivated, but she didn't have time to admire interior design right now.

She looked to the corner to see an old man sitting in a wheelchair, she nearly screamed but she covered her mouth just in time. But the old man didn't seem alright, he wasn't moving or breathing, and he was completely immoble. Azula placed her hand in the path of his breath, nothing was coming out or in. She checked his pulse and he was definitely dead.

Azula heard the sound of footsteps coming. She rolled under the bed, it was the only hiding place in the tent she could fit. Wait who has an entire bed carried around and set up at a campsite. "Ehh it was probably nothing" Azula finally recognized that arrogant voice, Fen's. She then realized the old man was the same one she saw Fen with when she first saw her. Azula laid still and limited her breathing, she used to have training exercises with father to be completely undetectable. "Huh" Fen exhaled as she plopped on the bed directly over where Azula's left shoulder was. She squinted in pain but avoided making any noise, and Fen didn't seem to notice her.

"Father, good you're here" Fen started to say. She was talking to a corpse, the leader of a cult or gang or whatever was having a conversation with a corpse, what a surprise. Azula looked over to see her mother doing that 'crazy' gesture where you wave your finger around next to your head, where did that come from anyway. "I have failed you, the earth kingdom has been returned to the Earth King" Fen continued, much to Azula dismay "but I am continuing your big backup plan, to create the reality you dreamed of, and it's finally in motion only about one more day of travel left". 'Not if I have anything to say about it' Azula thought to herself. "I vowed to give you everything you wanted, to slaughter all who deserve it, to subjugate all who need guidance"

"WE SHALL RULE THIS WORLD TOGETHER AS FATHER AND CHILD" Fen went on as if it were a sacred prayer and Azula was forced to listen. Wait… was this how she sounded to people. "I vow to make you proud father, nothing will stop me" she said shooting crystals out of the ground

A crystal popped out and scratched Azula's right arm "HUh" Azula gasped before quickly covering her mouth, if that didn't alert Fen then her explosive heartbeat might.

Fen froze in her tracks and lowered her arms "AHH CHOOO" she sneezed before exiting the tent.

Azula let out a long sigh of relief. She waited a minute before exiting under bed just to be sure it was safe. She gently grazed her arm wound, there was a little bleeding but other than that it was no big deal. She took a look at Fen's bed "crazy or not she has great taste" Azula said before noticing a piece of paper on the sheets. Azula's curiosity got the better of her and she took a look. It was a map of the fire nation with a little x next to the capital…the capital…where the meeting point is. With this she could find Jia Lisha without Eichi. She quickly stashed the map into her boot.

She approached the door, it was quiet, she took a peek outside and everyone was still in the dining area with Fen returning to her seat. She looked back at the teepee, she had a clear shot. She took a deep breath and calmed her mind, she sprinted off towards the teepee and she swore she was there before the next second. After a quick look around to make sure no one noticed her, no one did, she entered. There were a lot of spices across a shelf, organized extremely well even by her own standards. It only took a moment for her to find the cilantro, Azula could've let out a girly squeal if she was any less professional.

"Alright you ten start disassembling the dining area, you five start packing up my personal belongings, you find me a good book" Fen bossed around, Azula had to move fast she was running out of time. She could hear people moving around right outside, so she couldn't sprint out the front. There wasn't another door in the back, there was only the way she came in. Azula went to the back and pressed her ear to the cloth, there was no sound so it was safe. She quickly took off her headpiece and felt the side, sharp but maybe not sharp enough. She rummaged through the spices for anything that might be sharper, but it was all just jars.

"Teo, any chance you can clear out the spice rack" a voice came from outside

"Sure"

Azula leaped to the back of the teepee and started cutting into the cloth with her headpiece. She made a small hole and started sawing as fast as she could

"Hey, how come I've never met your wife," the guy named Teo said from outside. Azula didn't pay much attention but at least he was buying her some time as she sawed.

"Pfft, well I mean it's not like she goes along with these crazy adventures, now put the spices away" the other one said. She could see Teo's hand grasping the door and Sawed faster.

"You're not really married are you," Teo asked, opening the door slightly. At this point Azula made a six inch hole and tried to go through, but her hips couldn't fit.

"Whaaaat, of course I'm marr… oh alright I'm not married there's no Makia" they continued. At this point Azula was frantically sawing, desperately trying to make a big enough hole. Finally the hole was about ten inches and she hopped through.

Azula speed walked back around the perimeter. She finally had a good view of the coral, it was unguarded and everyone was still gathered by the dining area cleaning up. She did it. She couldn't help but smile in amusement. She opened the jar ready to finish the job and was about to throw it in

"NO" Azula heard before being pounced on, the next thing she knew she was in the tall grass being pinned to the ground. She finally got a glimpse at her assailant, it was Botan. "He…." he tried to scream before she plunged her hand into his mouth. She quickly kicked him in the knee causing him to moan in pain and loosen his grip. Azula took this opportunity and flipped him around and grabbed him in a choke hold.

"Botan, Botan you alright" Azula could hear Aput's voice "Botan where you at?" He didn't see their confrontation or know where they were.

While she was distracted for a second Botan smashed his elbow into her left shoulder, it almost hurt as much as that boulder. He elbowed her two more times trying to break her hold on him, everytime hurting more. He let out a couple loud moans to try and get the other's attention, Azula had to push harder to prevent any loud sounds. Botan smashed his elbow into Azula's shoulder one more time causing a cracking noise. Botan tried to shoot fire right in the direction of Azula's face but she quickly grabbed his fist and stopped the fire.

Azula tightened her grip, which just made her shoulder hurt more. Botan threw his other elbow at her, this one hitting her right in the nose. Azula fell to the ground, her face covered behind her hands. She peeled them away only to see Botan standing over her prepared to blast fire in her face. And there she was needing her right hand to hold herself up and barely able to move her left. The smile on Botans face could've killed her by itself "thanks for coming back, means I get to do this" he said, throwing his palm forward to send out… barely a puff of smoke.

'What happened' was the only thought going through her mind. Botan seemed just as confused as her while he examined his hands. Azula started to pick herself back up and get on her feet.

Botan stepped to the side to reveal none other than Eichi holding an empty syringe "really you didn't feel the needle? You've gotta see a doctor about that"

"Eichi" is all Botan could say. Eichi flipped a rock in his hand and smashed it against Botan's head causing him to collapse to the ground unconscious.

"Lesson to you kid, don't watch an enemies face, watch the hands" he said fidgeting with his now empty syringe

Azula finally got back on her feet, her own prisoner escaped his restraints then used his freedom to save her. She stayed silent, unsure how she was supposed to react. She then looked to the ground and realized it was gone, the cilantro must've flown out of her hands during the fight, she failed.

Eichi held up his untied restraints "you may be an amazing firebender and liar but for Agni's sake you suck at knot tying" Eichi said with a warm smile. He then gently grabbed her shoulders and started guiding her through the tall grass "come on kid you need some water" Azula took a peak towards Botan "Oh right we should probably bring him with us" Eichi said starting to drag him along "I'll tie his restraints this time"

Azula chugged down her third refill of water, it was more refreshing with every sip. Her pain had worn off a bit but she was still really sore, her left shoulder and nose specifically, and she wouldn't be able to hike for a while. Luckily she had bought some bandages at the market and Eichi was applying them to her arm. Botan was still unconscious and tied to a tree over to their right.

"I would ask if you want to see a healer but I'm pretty sure I already know the answer" he quipped

Azula just stayed silent, saying any kind of quip or anything disrespectful just seemed a lot more wrong than it did this morning. She failed and while it did cost her honor it may have also cost her life. She failed to chase away their giant skinks and she was in no shape to try that again.

"I'm getting the idea you're having some inner turmoil, copper piece for your thoughts" Eichi said finally taking notice of her silence

"What is wrong with you" she finally said

"Worst copper piece I've ever spent" Eichi quipped

"You could have escaped and turned me in, it was in your best interest and yet you didn't" Azula said, dumping all her confusion. Eichi chuckled a little causing Azula to scorn "I'm serious there was no good reason for you to help me, it was stupid"

"I have my reasons"

"Like what" Azula growled

Eichi let out a deep sigh "you know what I'm going to give you three reasons and you can decide which one makes the most sense to your twisted little mind" Azula nodded "reason one, when I see you all I see is a hurt little girl who shouldn't be alone and just needs a little help"

Azula contemplated this "or" she said in a snarky fashion

" 'or', as you saw my former colleagues are evil and psychotic and my perfect reality would be better without them blowing up the world or whatever"

Azula chuckled at the obvious answer; but her curiosity started to overtake her, as if there was still a something she wasn't getting "...or"

Eichi sighed "or maybe I'm just a sucker who believes people like you and me are not beyond saving" he said before walking away.

Those words left a chilling feeling in her. It was a lot like the last time she saw Zuko a couple of days ago, had it really been that short a time. Someone else saying she wasn't an unsavable monster, not that it mattered of course. She was about to have her memory wiped or something, she was two injured to travel and Fen's merry band of cultists would get moving any minute.

Her mind drifted to Zuko, her mother, and her 'former' friends. She always believed they were always planning to betray her eventually if she let her guard down, but now here she was the world about to be reset and yet they never made such an attempt.

An old memory crossed her mind, back when she was maybe nine. Father had to attend an important war meeting near the shore, so that meant she got a rare day off. Her mother had forced Zuko to play with her and even arranged for Mai and Ty Lee to join near dinner. The two of them didn't do too much other than complain and make fun of each other for most of the first half. At some time around lunch one of the maids slipped some flaming hot pepper juice into her drink as a joke, the peasant was actually pretty brave. Azula was just about ready to light her uniform on fire when Zuko held her back and said it would be more fun to play a prank on her. She was hard to convince, she may or may not have kicked him in the shin. At that point the maid had slipped her reach, she didn't handle it well and ended up yelling at Zuko. She didn't know it at the time but he ended up stealing some garlic salt out of the kitchen, loaded it onto a tarp and hung it over the door to his room. Later that day the maid went to clean his room and got covered in garlic, then of course she had to do her job and clean it up. She didn't confront him about it, she wasn't sure what to say. Once again even after all the pain she caused him, he acted kind towards her.

After scratching an itch on her cheek she realized that old memory actually made her smile. And of course Eichi was there and had a look saying 'I know what you're thinking' without saying a word. She would've denied it or insulted him, but in that moment she really had nothing to lose.

"I would wake up, do some calisthenics but not to the point when I was tired…" she began

"What?" Eichi asked in confusion

"You…you asked what my perfect day would be like earlier and I never answered" she said assuming that was the end of it

Instead Eichi sat next to her "well I'm listening"

"Then I guess I'd have breakfast, I'd talk to my mother a little bit and she would be completely straightforward with me" she continued, although she was unsure if she wanted her mother to be completely straightforward depending on what she might say. "My father would give me all the praise in the world and actually say he's proud of me" she said knowing that was probably the most unrealistic thing in the story. "I wouldn't train at all in fact I'd probably eat and nap mostly" she kept going, starting to smile "Ty Lee and Mai would probably come over to hang out and we'd…." she suddenly stopped at a loss for words, what would she do with her friends. Yeah there were a few things she herself considered fun but if this was supposed to be a perfect day it should be mutually fun.

"Can't think of anything, come on you're a princess aren't you there has to be something you used to do for fun" Eichi said, he didn't seem surprised though as if he didn't expect her to say anything about fun.

Seriously at this point she would like to go an hour into this little 'quest' without having some kind of depressing realization. There was still one more person she had to consider "me and Zuko might do some firebending for fun, but really we would just sit and talk about everything" she said getting that regretful feeling in her stomach again "maybe we'd reach a compromise or just forget everything" she said letting out a sigh. It was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Azula felt Eichi's hand patting her shoulder, it hurt obviously but it was still nice. "That's nice kid" he said, "though still confused about one thing"

"What"

"Well most of that sounds like your life right now, or what it could be" he said with a smug look "what would you need a new reality for"

"Same reason you do" Azula blurted out "I didn't want to, but I just want everything fixed. Not just for…." she almost 'not just for me' but stopped herself. She looked up and the look on Eichis face made her freeze. He must've seen what she did, what they were doing wasn't for anybody else, if anything they were hurting others. So that was it, nothing changed, the only way for her life to get better was at the expense of others. Again.

Eichi gulped and took a deep breath. "You know" he started stroking his chin and shaking a little, he was clearly trying to just forget about what he just heard and move on "maybe we're not out of this yet" he said, causing Azula to lift her head in confusion. "The skinks are pulling all their supplies and Fens hideous antiques in covered wagons, we could try some non-consentive hitchhiking"

Letting the enemy do the work for them, it was ingenious. But this could still be a trick. "How do I know I can trust you not to turn me in" she stuttered

"Well if you don't want to, then I guess we'll just wait here" he said sitting down "like you said, you're in charge so it's your decision" he said tapping his log

Azula peaked down at her bandaged shoulder. She remembered her fathers teaching about how trust is for fools, yet there she was thirty minutes ago avoiding trust and it blew up in her face. Azula started to shake at this thought, she took another look at Eichi. She remembered that map in her pocket, she could sneak off without him if she wanted. Her eyes wandered between her pocket and her bandaged shoulder, she lifted her hand "let's get going"

"Alright Everything's loaded, can we get moving now" a voice came from outside the wagon. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but thankfully Fen's ugly furniture was actually quite comfortable

"Alright, alright I'm moving" another voice said

Azula slowly sat down and tried to conserve her energy, she would need rest if her injuries were to heal. The wagon shook a little when she sat down and Eichi gave a shushing symbol.

The wagon started to get at a stray pace and all voices silenced, the wagon was moving pretty fast courtesy of the giant skinks

"So what's going to happen to Botan" Azula asked trying to make conversation, realizing they just left their prisoner tied to a tree

"Oh he'll just have wait until the medicine wears off" Eichi said picking his teeth

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