Chapter 4: almost there

"So bending is caused by spiritual energy right?" Eichi went on. Azula was starting to regret asking how the medicine works, but it was something she was curious about ever since she first saw it in action. "Well this stuff cuts off all spiritual energy, thereby cutting off your bending simple as that"

"Ok and spiritual energy that's something made in our bodies like blood" Azula asked, she never could wrap her head around the spirit world or anything like that.

"Well no, it's just something we all have in us from when we're born" Eichi explained leaning back to sit on the floor of the wagon "humans have a little and use it to bend, to a spirit it's essentially blood and they completely depend on it" Eichi's prolonged silence after that meant he was finished, he started fidgeting with a piece of hay laying on the floor "how many more syringes do we have"

Azula checked her bag "four"

"Hmm we better try not to waste them" he said

"What about Fen, I ran into her dead father back at the camp" Azula asked

"Oh you noticed that huh" Eichi said "Fen's father was an earth kingdom extremist who got himself kicked out of the army. Became obsessed with tearing down the fire nation and the current earth kingdom monarchy. He trained Fen ever since she could walk, driving her completely insane." Azula felt a weird feeling again, sympathy? She tried to avoid it because it would be more of a detriment in a time of war.

The sunlight coming through the holes in the roof was almost completely faded, it was getting dark out.

"At this speed" Eichi said looking out a small hole in the wall "we should reach her by noon tomorrow, lets try and get some rest in case we need to fight off our chauffeur here" he said lying down

Azula would've waited for Eichi to fall asleep first but truthfully she was way too tired, she was out like a light within seconds.

Azula's eyes started to flutter open, something was off because she was sitting upright. She was back in the palace right on the fire lord's throne. Her clothes were also changed, she was now wearing royal robes instead of the armor she just had on.

Azula tried to get up but her body was trapped in this position. The seat was slightly uncomfortable and it felt like she was sitting on something. There was a crumpling sound coming from the seat cushion too, but for some reason her dream body didn't seem interested.

There was thunder outside, nothing spooky about that. Another thing that seemed weird was that there weren't guards in the room with her, there were always supposed to be guards posted on both sides of the doorway. Her dream body started to move toward the door, she of course didn't have any control. She threw the door open and it led straight into capital city. She started walking through the street and they were also completely barren. No one walking or doing their jobs or errands, just a large ghost town.

Her dream body made her way back to the door and swung it open, it now led to Eichi's home. He was there sitting alone, somberly messing with a cup of tea. He looked over at her, his face reeking of depression and regret "was it worth it" he merely said.

Suddenly the whole world changed, almost within the blink of an eye. She was now in the palace gardens, there was another figure but he was half formed and transparent.

It took her a moment to realize the piece of paper in the palm of her hand, one with her signature on. The figure turned around, she was now looking at the scarred face of her brother "I thought I could redeem you" he said before turning around "and I was wrong" he said before fading away

"ZUKO"

Azula gasped for air as she awoke from her nightmare, Eichi was still asleep across from her and the sky was still dark. She looked out the window to see that there was some light coming off the horizon, that meant it was around 6am. She decided against waking Eichi up as he was an old guy who needs sleep, plus she would be pretty mad if he did it to her.

So this was the day, the day she had been….looking forward to obviously. She'd get everything she wanted right? And she was doing the right thing, what's best….yes best for everyone.

"Hungry?" Eichi said, so much for not waking him up. He was holding out their last bread roll offering it to her.

"Sure" Azula accepted, taking some ration "Thank you" she said. "... Are you… Excited" she said trying to build conversation

"Yeah" he said hesitantly "you got in my head a little, but I figured that would be a guarantee"

"So…." she began but couldn't find the right words "I get your doing all this for one person, but it feels like it wouldn't be worth it. Wouldn't she more or less hold you back"

Eichi looked at her with a bored scowl "look Azula, I could give you some long philosophical speech about how family is the most important thing in the universe, but I'm getting the idea you already know"

"Well, it's just that my Father always taught me love makes you weaker and would always be a detriment to your success" she slowly said. 'Her father said' that used to carry so much weight but now it felt strangely empty.

"Pfft" he laughed "I don't know why I need to say anything if you already know that's wrong, by the way promise me you'll never go into acting" he quipped "but seriously Love never makes you weaker it makes you stronger, I know better than anyone….I should've known that sooner". Eichi seemed to mellow down, as if he was having a revelation of his own "can I ask you something"

"Sure" Azula said, he obviously had something on his mind and the two of them really had nothing but time.

"Are you getting cold feet" he asked "because I think I am" he said quickly as if he was a little ashamed

"What, wait what are you saying" Azula snapped

"Nothing, you know what I shouldn't have said anything" he said backing off

For the first time Eichi seemed intimidated by her, three days ago that would have made her feel better but now it actually made her feel a little guilty. The part of her still clinging to fathers teachings told her to state her dominance, but so far everything she faced needed to be approached from a different angle. And the truth was he has been helping her genuinely, there really was no denying that anymore. The least she could do was attempt to be helpful. "Eichi I… I understand, I guess I'm second guessing myself as well" she admitted, three years ago confessing something like that would essentially be sacrilegious. "I keep thinking about what I'm after, what I'm really after" she said thinking about her family "am I actually getting what I wanted or am I losing it for good" she said letting out a long sigh

Eichi pulled out the moving photo device, she didn't even know he had it. He set it to the present and turned it on, his wife appeared reading a book. Eichi stared for a good ten seconds "I feel like I'm just being selfish again, she doesn't deserve that"

Azula took a deep breath and tried to explain as best she can "you're right, we're being selfish" she admitted "but… this is an impossible situation, we're about to choose a watered down version of what we need over losing it completely" she said with a sorrowful look

Eichi looked toward the floor, lost for words "maybe you're right, but I still think…." he stuttered "I need to think about this a little more" he said walking to the corner of the room

The carriage suddenly stopped and they both froze in place, was this it, the end of the line. The thought of it made Azula's palms sweaty.

"BREAKFAST" someone shouted from outside

"YEEHA" she could hear the driver of the cart say as he leaped off

Eichi grabbed a poncho, a syringe of 'medicine', and a crowbar "I'm gonna see if I can smuggle us something, you gonna be alright"

"Ugh yeah" Azula said, still sitting down. Eichi left the carriage quietly and closed the door behind him. Azula peaked at the device just sitting on the floor. She pressed her ear against the wall of the carriage and everyone talking was a good distance away. Azula picked up the device "ugh I really am crazy" she whispered turning the device on.

There he was, Zuko was speaking with a fire nation admiral "I'll get these orders to Omashu as soon as possible" the admiral said before leaving. Zuko proceeded on to the dining area to have his breakfast. He sat down with their mother across from him.

"Mmhhh" Azula cleared her throat "good morning Zuz…Zuko, Mother" she started "I wanted to let you know that I… I think I have a way for us to be together" she said as she watched her family continue "I just wanted to get your opinion, doing this also means tampering with your minds" she said rolling her eyes at what she was doing "I was hoping for some advice, what would you do in my place, if it was the other way around" she said to no response "yeah I expected you'd say that" she said practically face palming herself.

Something then caught her eye, Zuko was scratching the back of his neck and had an odd facial expression. He looked directly at her. Azula grasped her chest as her heart practically stopped. Zuko squinted and leaned in the direction she was seeing him from, he didn't see her.

"You ok" their mother asked

"Yeah I just had a weird feeling" Zuko said getting back to his food

Azula started to calm down and sat back down, a stray tear ran down her face followed by a couple of sniffles. Out of the corner of her ear Azula heard breathing, she looked up to see Eichi standing in the door with two sandwiches. She wondered how much he heard, but the pitiful look on his face probably meant he heard a lot. He didn't say a word and just handed her a sandwich, he sat down across from her. He didn't look at her but the expression on his face showed there was a lot going on in his head.

After a quick glance she understood what she had to do, she tossed him the device and he caught it while barely looking. He started fidgeting with it and took it outside, Azula tried not to eavesdrop but she did take a peek through one of the holes and he was talking to his ex wife. Azula backed off and gave him his privacy.

"GUYS I FOUND SOMETHING" someone called out from outside causing Azula to rush to the window "A BLOOD RED ORANGE, AMAZING ISN'T IT" the cultist said causing everyone to shut him down before Fen shoved a diamond in his stomach.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT" Fen screamed at the others. Fen took a deep breath and started speaking at a normal tone "we need to move faster and find him, when I get my hands on that map thief Botan he'll hang in pieces" she said before storming off, Azula could have laughed out loud at how much they managed to scam this psychopath. "Alright you seven stay with me, the rest of you get out there and either come back with Botan or come back dead" she said before she sat back down with the seven members she chose, while everyone else ran off into the woods. Even though it was a good distance away, Azula could see Fen smiling sinisterly to herself as the others ran away. Of course, she saw an opportunity to avoid sharing a new reality with them and she sent them away the first chance she got.

"Ok if that's not a wake up call to get moving I don't know what is" Azula said getting on her feet and grabbing her things. She quietly left the wagon, Eichi apparently had the same idea as he was already packing the device. "Let's start walking" she said trying to sound motivating "Wait" she said holding Eichi back "let's take the wheel off, no way Fen's going to leave without her ugly furniture"

Eichi held up the wagon while Azula unscrewed the wheel off with her nail, she finally got it off and Eichi set the wagon down. They started making their way off the trail and into the forest, rolling the wheel along with them.

The two of them made it about half a mile before they thought it was ok to make noise again "so your plan revolves around the group leader not caring about her workers or giant skinks but cares deeply about her thrift shop level furniture, is it sad that I have complete faith in that" he said with a laugh

"Can I ask you something" Azula asked "you don't actually know where Jia Lisha is"

"What" Eichi said with nervous energy "of course I do"

"It's fine" Azula said pulling out her map "I know where to go" she said slipping it back into her boot

Eichi's face could have made Azula laugh at the top of her lungs, a perfect mixture of confusion and possibly a seizure "you found a map, and didn't just burn my face off" Eichi said seeming generally grateful "wait a go kid you just did something selfless"

"What, are you saying I haven't been selfless" Azula snipped

"That's exactly what I'm saying"

"Yeah I was just trying to mess with you" Azula said with a small laugh "but hey you really earned it, and…I'd like to see you get what you want" Azula said with a tiny smile but realized how much of a sucker she sounded like "you know because it won't ruin anything that I want, and you know because you have proven useful, and you know…" she said before Eichi snapped at her

"Moment over you can stop now" he said continuing on

"While we're being honest" Eichi said with a suspicious tone "Fen didn't actually give me permission back at the camp, I did that on my own" he said confirming her suspicions

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL" They had already walked two miles yet they still heard Fen whine about her furniture

"Oh man she might massacre off the entire cult" Azula said with a fake shocked look "I almost feel bad, almost" this caused a shared laugh between them "she probably wishes she could burn your stuff too if you had any"

"How did you know I didn't have anything"

"Oh you told me, just now" she said causing another shared laugh "I pulled that on Zuko a dozen times or so when we were kids, he fell for it everytime" she said smiling

Eichi noticed a hint of remorse in Azula's eyes "you know, I couldn't help but notice how similar Botan and Zuko look" he said causing Azula to give him a confused look "you know black hair, tall, but no scar so I guess you could say Botan's more handsome than Zuko"

Azula rolled her eyes "I don't think so, but maybe I'm biased since Botan tried to kill me recently"

"And you know what they act very similar" he went on "both are currently rash, arrogant, pushy, stubborn…."

Azula finally snapped "hey that's my brother you're talking about, if I'm lucky I'll be half the person…." Azula gasped realizing she was just tricked "ok that was low" she rebounded, not in a humorous way but a mellow and angry way

"Yeah" he said "sorry for that kid, you really have a great brother"

Azula starred at the distance "yeah…I….I guess I do"

"What was…hm what is your favorite thing about him" Eichi asked, for a moment it felt like a schoolyard level interrogation

Azula bit her lip. She had focused so hard on what she didn't like about Zuko almost her entire life like his naivety, restraint, and overall lack of ambition. Of course there were some things she could definitely admire about him, his firebending form during their Agni Kai was impressive, his perseverance as he never gave up looking for the avatar, even his social skills she had always internally envied. "His patience" she finally said "after everything I did, him being able to say he still cares is beyond me" Azula said not wanting to look Eichi in the eye, she sighed at the fact of her stabbing Zuko in the back once again. "What 'IS' your favorite thing about you wife"

"Oh where do I begin" he said with an embarrassingly big smile "maybe Mayu's boldness, she once had the guts to eat a live crawfish on a dare. Maybe her toughness, she once stood down a six-foot earbender. But I'd have to say her self control, after all the shit I pulled she never tried anything like that…to me" he started slow down as he spoke and lost the energy he started with

Azula noticed a building in the distance. As she squinted she realized it was several buildings, they were finally at the capital city. She quickly pulled out Fen's map, the meeting spot was on the edge of the city on the volcanic wall. "We're here" she said in such an overly glamorous way.

Eichi almost fell off his feet "Great Scott"

"Come on we're so close" Azula said, starting to sprint, Eichi following her lead. She tried to focus on the topic at hand, but she swore she saw her mother shaking her head a few times as she ran.

"Come… on" Azula said in between breaths "we're…. We're so close, can't stop" she said, gasping for air. They finally made it to the edge of the capital city, the city was at the bottom of a deep basin located in the center of the top dormant volcano. Most people would assume that's dangerous and they're right, but every great city needs a big selling point. She eventually gave in and sat down right in the mud, she rubbed her forehead and was surprised by how much sweat came off.

Eichi seemed fine for some reason, he held out his hand offering a bag full of nuts "trail mix, it's going to be a big thing one day". Azula grabbed some and ate it, it was ok. She suddenly heard a snapping twig, but that was it. Animals usually kept rustling even after something like that. Yeah it might've been nothing but she didn't want to take the chance. She forced herself back on her feet and started walking again. The map said the meeting point was somewhere on top or against the basin walls, so she made her way up the top of the basin wall so she could see both sides. From an airship the top looks narrow but you could easily drive a tank train up here.

Azula made it about twelve feet before needing to sit again, this time she sat on a rock but her pants were already muddy. "Eichi, can I have some more trail mix?" she asked and he gave her some.

"Hey Azula," he said. "I need to ask you something, and it's really important that we come to the same conclusion" he said, Azula nodded with a worried look on her face. "I don't think we should change reality"

Azula's jaw dropped "what?"

"Azula please listen" he said "We still need to find a way to keep Fen away, but we can't do this" he passionately said "most of the blame is on me, there's nothing about my wife that needs to change and certainly nothing that justifies this, if I go through with this then I'll never forgive myself for it, this would be me losing her for good" he said with tears forming in his eyes "I should have known this sooner but I love the version of her I already have, I don't want a different version". He approached her "I've been scared you wouldn't agree but I've seen you… I've seen you go through a lot and I think you understand what I'm talking about… do you?" he softly said "and you might have a chance on your own"

Azula just stared in shock, her head was like a seesaw going at the speed of light. This whole time they've been focused on one thing, fixing their unfixable lives and now he wanted to just stop and go home. But… there was also no denying she sees the people in her life differently now, she was to blame for her relationship with Zuko and her mother. The choice now came to if there was even the slightest chance of having a family without Jia Lisha's help. She knew what to do.

"You think I understand?" she asked as she stood up "listen old man you've heard everything about my insane life so far, so you know what your saying is crazy" she scolded "I can't believe I was stupid enough to console in you, just another weak and uneducated peasant who's stuck in his hellish life" she said with both anger and sorrow in her eyes, causing Eichi to lower his head in sorrow "YOU'RE A CRAZY OLD MAN, YOU'RE CRAZY AND IF IT WASN'T FOR ME YOU WOULD'VE BEEN SLEEPING IN A GUTTER WITH THOSE CULTISTS"

There was a strange sound while she was screaming, she slowly looked to her left and there was a wall of diamonds blocking their path. They both swiftly turned to their other side to find Fen coming out of the bushes with one of the projectors in her hand, it was playing Eichi's speech from ten seconds ago "that was a pretty good speech Eichi'' she said with an evil chuckle as Aput and another cultist came from behind her "I'll be taking my map back now, would you prefer it before or after your deaths''

Azula pointed two fingers at her "if you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and get far away from here" Eichi said standing beside Azula

"You're walking into a losing battle, I pictured you'd be smarter than that" Azula said looking at her up and down "I've been wrong before"

The world practically slowed down to milliseconds, before Azula could generate lightning Fen was already launching her right hand forward, but not towards her. Azula lunged to her side and tried to get Eichi behind her. The second Azula finally got a chance to take a breath, it was too late.

Eichi had a diamond sticking out of his chest, it was a pinpoint accurate shot to the heart. He looked her in the eyes, shivering and unable to speak. Azula couldn't even get a detailed view of his face with tears spilling out her eyes. He opened his mouth slightly but collapsed to the ground, Azula kneeled down and tried to shake him awake.

"Stealing my supplies" she heard that evil bitch Fen speaking "releasing my prisoners, releasing my skinks, stealing my map, Forcing me To Leave My FURNITURE" Fen listed down "after everything that look on your face gives me so much pleasure"

Azula swung her hand back in anger and shot lighting back at Fen. It was a hit in the right arm but Azula felt a horrible sharp pain go straight through her left shoulder. "AAAHHHH" she screamed as she fell backwards and rolled down the edge of the basin.

Wow, crazy chapter wasn't it. Please return for the next chapter, we're finally going to see Jia Lisha. Thank you for reading, Please Review!