Hello, Avatar the Last Airbender is one of my favorite shows and my favorite character has always been Azula. This is basically an au of how I wished Azula's story went. What If Azula got a chance to undo her failure, how would that go. MAJOR SPOIERS for the Avatar the Last Airbender and The Search comic book (this takes place immediatelywhere it left off). While I loved 'The Search' graphic novel I wasn't too big a fan of Smoke and Shadow, but I am really excited for Azula in the spirit temple next year. This story took an insane amount of effort to write and I'm extremelyproud of it. ENJOY!

Oh and this goes without saying but I don't own Avatar

Chapter 1: Regret

Zuko took a deep breath as he looked into his younger sister's dark, malicious eyes "that morning on the cliff…" Zuko himself wasn't sure where he was going with this but he kept saying everything he felt "Azula our relationship is so messed up. It's been that way as long as I can remember, and maybe it'll be that way for the rest of our lives. But one fact that never changes. No matter what you're still my sister"

These words hurt Azula. Not in a physically painful way, but she could feel her insides shivering at the thought of this, what was Zuzu talking about.

"Shut up" she said, unable to look him in the eye "SHUT UP" she shouted, shooting a bolt of lightning at the space next to him. For the moment they were distracted she bolted out the door

"The letter" she could hear Zuko say from behind her

A million ideas ran through Azula's head, and the one she chose was one she couldn't find any logic in. She dropped the Letter. WILLINGLY. At this point it was too late to go back and get it so she just kept running.

Zuko had already passed the letter but he kept running "AZULA, COME BACK" he shouted running after her "COME BACK, PLEASE. I CAN HELP YOU, I WANT TO HELP YOU"

Unable to contemplate the last ten seconds she turned and looked into her brother's teary eyes "same as always Zuzu. Even when you're strong you're weak" she said as a final piece of denial before sprinting away again

"AZULA" Zuko shouted one last time

Azula ran through the thickets, inhaling as much air as she could. She was starting to get tired. She tripped once but got right back up. She took one look back, and there was nothing. No one was following her, there wasn't any noise, Zuko and her mother were far behind her. Knowing she got away, she collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. She took this moment to catch her breath.

Every thought going through her mind involved Zuko, he had to have been lying right? He didn't actually care about her, right? He didn't love her. But what about all that stuff he did, if it wasn't to escape the throne then what.

She picked herself back up and kept moving. She added a couple more miles of distance in between her and Zuko. She dropped down and figured this was as good a place as any to make camp. She considered lighting a fire, but with the Avatar's sky bison in the air she decided it was too big a risk.

"Azula" The princess immediately recognized that voice "Azula it's me your mother"

"Go Away" she spat refusing to go through this again "I'm not stupid, I know you're not there"

"No, I'm not" her mother said, her face showing complete heartbreak "only more of a reason for you to return" Azula refused to say anything, she threw a rock only for it to phase straight through the hallucination "Azula, Zuko loves you, I love you, please go back" Azula stayed silent "If I'm just in your head that just means you already know"

"SHUT UP" she said, shooting blue fire at the hallucination. When the fire died down her mother was still there in the same position, tears in her eyes. With the blink of an eye she was gone.

She layed down, and let her eyes grow tired until they eventually closed and she drifted to sleep.

Suddenly she was back in the palace, her old bedroom to be exact. She simply stretched and got out of bed. This was all clearly a dream as she didn't feel like she had any control. She could only watch as she walked out of her room, through the grand hall, and finally to the dinning hall. A large table set with all her favorite foods was set, but the people sitting at the table nearly gave her a heart attack.

Zuko was sitting near the front. If that wasn't crazy enough her mother sat across from him. She couldn't react at all, all she could do was go along with what her dream body was doing. In this case she had to simply sit down at the table next to Zuko.

"Good morning Mother, morning bro" she had no idea who said that, it sounded just like her but couldn't be

"Are you two excited for your firebending demonstration today?" their mother said. This was crazy, it was like they saw nothing weird with all three of them together, like this was just normal to them.

"Yeah, but I'm a little nervous" nervous, she was never nervous

"Don't be" Zuko said gently punching her shoulder "I've seen your routine, you'll do great Azzy"

Azzy?….AZZY…AZZY. Azula wanted to punch him in the jaw so much right now.

"Thanks Zuko means a lot" Azula started contemplating she was seeing this through someone else's perspective. It was the only explanation.

As if on cue Azula's dream body picked up a mirror on the table and looked into it, and that was definitely her face she was looking at. But something was off, she looked different. This girl's face was calm, relaxed, she was clearly weak. "I won't let you guys down, I Lo…."

"HUUUH" Azula said, jerking herself awake. She was back at her camp lying in the same spot, apparently she shot some fire during her sleep because one of the trees was in flames. That was a painful process, her head felt like it was on fire. Her mind went right back to Zuko and the letter. It would have been bad enough if she dropped it out of sheer clumsiness. But no, she dropped it willingly. WILLINGLY. Zuko actually managed to get in her head somehow, he beat her at her own game.

She started to hear a strange rustling sound. She peaked behind her to see a glimpse of a shadowy figure swinging something at her.

"HUUUUH" she gasped as she regained consciousness. She tried to get up but her hands and feet were tied to the wooden floor. She heard wheels turning and realized she was in a carriage. Was this Zuko and her mother? She looked up to see two men she didn't recognize. They weren't fire nation military, she could tell that.

"Oh good the little brat is awake" one of the men insulted

What did he just call her, how dare he insult royalty. "You, release me right know or you will suffer dire consequences" she demanded

The two men laughed out loud, as if they could insult her any further. They eased up and started to get a more serious aura "Botan, we really should make sure we got the right girl I don't want to make this trip again"

"Fine" the man known as Botan agreed "you princess Azula or not"

"Who are you, and you address me with respect" Azula said as if she were a cobra-fish ready to strike

"We asked you first, are you the ex fire lord's little priss or not" the other man said keeping his eyes on the road

Azula had enough, she roared blue fire at the man driving the car. Once she stopped, she noticed the other man guiding the fire into a safe direction, he was a firebender. "Blue fire, oh yeah this is the priss the boss wanted" Azula was beyond furious, she inhaled for another breath but the firebender grabbed her mouth. "I can't believe I gotta waste more," he said before stabbing her in the shoulder with some kind of syringe. He lifted her head and slammed it into the floor.

Once again Azula woke up in a strange place, this time she was in a prison cell. One that would make her last cell look like a deluxe bedroom. The wall behind her was made of wood, a simple escape, she just had to burn it down. She got into the perfect stance for a strike, locked her left leg into place, and shot her right arm forward to create… barely more than a puff of flame.

"Hey I saw that," a man said. Azula turned to see Botan and his friend "Hey Aput I think the princess needs another dose" he said grasping a large plastic syringe and walked closer to her

"Back off, I SAID BACK OFF" Azula screamed, furious with having to deal with these guys more

"That won't be necessary" a voice came from around the corner. The voice clearly surprised Botan as he lowered the syringe. She looked to the cell door to see a thin old earth kingdom man with white hair enter "now I think we should move on"

"That's funny, the new guy thinks he gets a say…" Botan chuckled like a serious jerk

"Oh my apologies, you must have magically contacted the spirits and gotten a whole extra crate full of that shit lying around, what other excuse could you have when we're in limited supplies, I'll just let the boss know for you" the man said, making the two men nervous. This made Botan hesitantly put the syringe away. Botan and Aput both grabbed Azula and carried her by the arms. Azula scanned her captors and her environment as they forcefully carried her, every passing minute conceiving more ways to break free and kill them. Most of which fell apart when she remembered she couldn't firebend.

She was carried through their camp, it was nothing more than peasantry filth. Flimsy scaffoldings used as shelter, and bugs flying around the outdoor kitchen. A weird altar caught her eye, with a couple of people kneeling before a tapestry of an enormous Coyote-Donkey. "Jia Lisha, Jia Lisha" the people on their knees repeated, almost as if they were in a trance.

Finally they reached what looked like the center of the camp with a small but noticeable stage setup. There were other restrained people laying on their knees around them, she wasn't the only prisoner. Most of them were gagged and were covered in scars and bandages. Botan and Aput dropped her, causing her to fall to her knees.

"You disrespectful, impudent little…" Azula said, launching her fist forward, this time barely a hint of a puff of flame came out.

The smile that crossed Botan's face infuriated Azula to her core. It only got worse as he started to slow clap "Ladies and Gentlemen, great priest Fen, I give you the so called firebending prodigy destined to lead the fire nation" his voice filled with disrespect "oh and by the way get on your knees" he said kicking her in the stomach, causing her to fall on her knees

"Maybe you were right Eichi, we almost wasted more medicine" Aput said. With the flick of his wrist water was slamming into her face and knocking her into the mud, he was a waterbender.

While normally Azula wouldn't hesitate to attack a waterbender, it confused her. Botan was a firebender, even if the war was over why would these two be friends. "In what world do a firebender and a waterbender join forces to kidnap a princess"

"I can't talk anymore I'm busy" a feminine voice sounded, cutting off Azula's current conversation. Azula looked to the stage to see a woman in her forties making her way to the stage. She had been speaking to an old man in a wheelchair, he was completely immobile and laid back, Azula swore he could be a corpse. She made her own steps out of the dirt, and by simply touching it with her bare feet she turned them into diamonds. Azula had never seen that technique before. She was an earthbender, and definitely not a beginner. "Impressive, isn't it everybody" she said facing all the prisoners.

"Not really" one of the guards whispered to her prisoner

"WHAT WAS THAT" Fen screamed before launching her right arm forward sending a diamond into the guards throat causing her to gag, bleed, and finally collapse to the ground. All the other guards began applauding, most clearly only doing it out of fear. Even Botan and Aput started shaking and breathing heavily.

Once Azula shook off the terrifying imagery, she looked around and noticed people from almost all the races she knew of, not just the prisoners but also the guards. She considered at least one would fear the consequences of harming a princess. "You don't know what you're getting into by capturing me, if any of you have a shred of loyalty to the fire nation then…."

"Shut Up" Botan said as he shoved a literal sock into Azula's mouth

"We have no loyalty to any one nation" Fen said, fidgeting and molding a rock in her hand. "Now if we would get back on topic. None of you were chosen at random, our worlds savior believe that you have the potential to come to your senses and join us, your reward is a place in the revived world" she said spatting generic cultist trash

'Ugh what' Azula tried to say but couldn't talk through the gag

"Until then you will all do exactly we tell you to do, you will be exactly where we need you to be, and you will behave" Fen continued

Azula spat the rag out "I refuse" Azula said calmly, trying to avoid looking scarred

Another chuckle went across the group "in case you haven't noticed you don't get a say" she said with a heinous smile across her face "oh and if I can make one thing clear" Fen said with a serious and authoritarian tone "our mission is very important to me, I have been waiting for this since before I was born, I have been waiting for this since before my great grandfather's great grandfather was born, so if I were you I would do as I was told and not ruin this for me" she said, Azula would never admit it but this woman definitely knew how to make someone sweat. "Now put the prisoners back" Fen said as her people started dragging away the other prisoners

Botan and Aput once again had their weak and grimy hands on her. "Whoa princess what is wrong with your shoulder" Fen said with a strange level of sincerity towards her

"What do you mean…" Azula said before Fen launched a large stone into her left shoulder causing a cracking sound. "Urrgg" she growled refusing to give her the satisfaction of a scream

"It's about a couple inches too low" Fen said waving her hand, laughing slightly as she walked off stage

Azula could barely feel her left shoulder or arm, she took a look at both her arms and there was now a clear difference. She didn't even get a few seconds to take it in as Botan and Aput started dragging her back to her cell. She grazed her left shoulder and felt more pain than she felt in years. She had been in serious fights but hadn't had any big injuries that would incapacitate her. She tried lifting her left arm but couldn't get it higher than a few inches. This wasn't too big a deal. She was ambidextrous anyway, she could still get out of this. She noticed two men dragging the dead guard to a clothing line; only there weren't any clothes hanging on it, just bodies. She could feel Botan and Aput's filthy hands start to shake as they walked past before they threw her to her cell floor.

She had a few minutes to contemplate her escape before her cell door opened again. That old guy from earlier came in. Eichi, yeah that was his name "hey kid, Fen gave me permission to give you some answers". Something was strange; he had a few old cuts and some mostly healed bruises like the other prisoners did. He also spoke in a very rushed and impatient way, and kept looking around as if to make sure no one saw them.

Azula turned her back to him, she detected a lie in what he said. She considered his request for a moment, it would be much easier to escape once outside but there were guards walking around and it was still a while before it got dark. Before she could think any further she felt a sharp pain in her arm and heard a crackling sound. Her left arm swung back in a reflex, but Eichi dodged easily. Before she could do anything else Azula looked at her arm, it still hurt a lot but it was in the right place and she could somewhat move it. She tried lifting it and she made it a few more inches before she felt too much pain and it made a crackling noise.

"Your welcome" he said gesturing for her to follow him

Azula didn't trust this guy, she didn't trust any of these people. But obviously some form of punishment would have to be delivered to these people in due time, so perhaps knowing who they were was important. From a tactical perspective at least, and for her that needed to be her top priority. She hesitantly followed Eichi, he only took her to a small building a few meters away from the stage "so this is where you plan to kill me" Azula said backing off

"Course not, if I planned to kill you I would give a long and detailed speech about killing you first" he said with sarcasm as he opened the door

Azula hid her right hand behind her back, took a deep breath, and created the biggest flame she could muster. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to do damage in case Eichi turned on her. She quickly extinguished it and followed him into the building. It wasn't what she expected, it was actually like a theater. But instead of a stage there was just a table in front of twenty chairs.

"Welcome to the amphitheater," Eichi said. He had a small device in his hand, it didn't look like a weapon. He took one last peek outside before closing the door. "take a seat" he said gesturing to the seat next to him

Azula took a deep breath fueling her inner flame as much as she could. She took a seat three chairs away from him. She gave him the most spine chilling glare she could muster.

There was a moment of silence until he finally broke it "pick a day and a time in the past" he said as if that even made an ounce of sense

"What?" Azula asked

"What moment from your past would you like to see?" he said gesturing to the table at the end of the room "any time will do". For the first time Azula was truly dumbfounded "look we're not really supposed to use these things, but I'm making an exception for you here" he said growing impatient. Azula simply glared at him, this was so ludicrous she could have face palmed herself. "Fine I'll pick for you" Eichi said, messing with a small device in his hand, he seemed to have put a specific date and time in. "Let's take a look at your father," he said, flipping a small switch and tossing it on the table.

Azula leaped into a fighting stance as a strange blue light ascended from the device. It was unlike anything she'd seen before, instead of coming from a fire it seemed to be coming from nowhere. Before she could contemplate this she started to hear a voice. And not just any voice, the voice of her father. She looked into the blue light and it was now some kind of moving photograph. "What is this?" she said, mesmerized by the idea of a moving picture. Eichi didn't answer, he just shrugged off the question. "What are you, an engineer, a shaman? She asked

"No, Cartographer" he answered "that means I study maps"

"I know what it means," Azula harshly answered before gazing at the moving picture again. She was also in the photograph. She remembered this day when she was seven and training with her father, it was an important one too.

Azula did a perfect cartwheel, sending a stream of orange flame right at her intended target. She nailed the landing, the smile across her face showing immense pride. She whipped sweat off her brow and took a deep breath. She got up and bowed to her family watching. Her brother had started to just stare off into open space barely paying attention. Her mother had been focusing on Zuko, as usual, but not to get him to focus just to talk to him, barely noticing that she missed most of Azula's firebending.

"Again," Father said. Not a shred of emotion showing, him treating this as a simple training session.

"Ugh, can I be excused" Zuko asked, Father had a completely apathetic reaction and didn't bother answering, eventually Zuko just left on his own. Her mother followed Zuko out of the room, Zuzu would have been fine there was no reason for her mother to miss the rest of her session.

"Azula, I said again" Father repeated, this time in a harsher way

Azula growled at the exit her mother and brother used. She simply got back into her starting stance and prepared to restart the routine. She once again did a perfect cartwheel and shot out fire. Blue fire.

Azula was so shocked by this that she forgot the rest of the routine and fell to the floor. She looked at her father expecting praise, maybe even a hug.

Her father no longer lacked emotion, he seemed shocked. "Interesting" he said "now, Again"

"Ahh memories," Azula whispered to herself as the moving picture froze in place.

"Your Father…was a bastard, do you know that"

"WHAT" she said leaping out of her chair "YOU WILL NOT DISRESPECT MY FATHER, HE WAS A WISE AND POWERFUL RULER WHILE YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN PENNILESS DEGENERATE WHO PRAYS TO A DOG"

"I can see where that accusation comes from," Eichi said. He barely reacted, Azula couldn't intimidate this guy for some reason. "But the interesting part of that little tantrum is how you actually defended your father"

Azula hesitated to answer, still contemplating what would push this guy's buttons. "Of course I did, he is the true leader of world" she finally said "and the only one who I could ever get to care about me"

"Oh really" Eichi said, a ridiculous grin spread across his face "don't suppose you want to see what happened later that day" he said tampering with the device

"No I came here to learn why you kidnapped me and intend on sending me back to Zuko, not to see my own memories" Azula hissed

"Oh all in due time" Eichi said continuing to mess with the device "oh and the idea isn't to send you back to Zuko"

These words concerned her. As the best liar she knew, she could easily tell when others were lying. Eichi seemed calm and honest. It took a moment for Azula to remember that he was clearly insane and believed everything he said no matter how unlikely. He continued messing with the device until finally another moving picture appeared. Only she wasn't in this one, just her father with one of her firebending instructors.

"This is an extraordinary development" her teacher said, a look of excitement spread across his face "you should be so proud"

"Maybe" Father said, stroking his goatee "her potential as an asset may be higher than expected, you will train with her as much as possible"

So that was the moment her childhood ended, after that point she barely had a moment of play time or relaxation unless it serviced her training in some way. Azula always knew this was the right move though, a prodigy like her couldn't rely solely on talent. She had to master her art, she could never afford to fail or it would just set her back.

"Well I'm not sure that's really necessary, she's just …" her instructor said before getting cut off

"She will be trained as often as possible" Father said, he always excelled at keeping a wise yet intimidating image. "Chances are she won't live up to these expectations, but she will still be a valuable weapon someday. One we can use to our disposal"

Those final words. Her father never needed to tell her about that, she always understood this. But hearing them out loud just made them more real, she couldn't explain it but they hurt.

"For her to be our perfect weapon we can't just train her in firebending, we need to mold her into a strong willed leader free from attachment or empathy" Father said, a smile crossing his face. It wasn't the kind Azula hoped for from her father, more like the smiles of enemies or someone who was threatened by her.

The picture froze in place again

"You know what you were right, what a 'Wise and Powerful ruler'" Eichi said, sarcasm filled his voice

Azula shot a horrific glare at him "your crazy if you don't see the purpose in all that…" she said before getting cut off

"Let's keep going," Eichi said, playing with the device. Another memory appeared, she recognized this day instantly, the day Zuko was scarred, probably the most degrading moment of his life. Her father was about to smash his flaming fist into Zuko's face, the moment seemed a lot less enjoyable than she remembered. The scene suddenly cut to her standing besides Uncle in the audience, she had a horrific smile. "Look at your face, look at that smile" Eichi said clearly trying to upset her

"You can't understand, we were constantly competing against each other and this moment meant father finally chose me, Zuko would have reacted the same way if it were the other way around" Azula said to justify her actions, it's what she always told herself

"Really" Eichi said before messing with the device some more. Another memory came up, Azula was chained to a sewer grate desperately trying to pull free, probably the most degrading moment of her life. She breathed fire into the air and screeched, she finally gave up struggling and suddenly burst into sobs. She uncontrollably whined and cried. The scene cut to Zuko, his face was actually genuinely upset and scared. "Hm doesn't look like he reacted the same way" Eichi said placing the device down

Azula froze in place when she saw Zuko's face, it was like she was struck by lightning. Zuko didn't react the same way, he didn't want to see her that way, he cared. Azula shook her head and tried to remember what she was taught: "you don't get it, my father's teachings about life made me the leader I am, made me the person I am" she reinstated.

"Wow" Eichi said surprised "everything you just said….was right". These words confused Azula, this guy was crazier and more inconsistent than she thought "your father made you the person you are today, yikes"

"Watch…your…tongue" Azula said clenching her fists

"Your father made you the leader you are today, what are you leading currently"

"Shut up"

"You know what are you even apart of currently"

"SHUT UP"

"Or what, are you gonna shoot lightning at me, or are you just gonna run away, those do seem to be what you do when anyone tries to help"

"I'm warning you"

"Oh please Azula, right now you're all alone. Can't blame that on daddy anymore he's in prison, the only person left to blame is yourself"

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT"

"You had a chance to be with people who actually cared about you, people who loved you"

"SHHHUUTTTT UUUPPPP" Azula screeched as she shot blue fire at him. Eichi fell back in his chair, pure shock across his face. Azula literally jumped at this opportunity and rushed out the door

"No, NoNoNoNo" Eichi said in horror. All he had to do was keep a teenager in check and he somehow messed that up. He barged out of the building and looked around and as he expected the girl was gone "Oh my…SHE'S GON-" he said before covering his mouth

But Azula was far from gone. She was hiding on the left side of the building, now was the perfect opportunity to escape as there was nothing behind the amphitheater except dense forest. But something was going on here, something interesting that she wanted to know. The discovery of moving pictures was interesting enough, she needed to know more about this place. The best hiding places are simply the ones no one would look, or at least be too prideful to try and look at. She hid behind the side of the amphitheater protected by two bushes.

"what…ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Fen said, approaching Eichi. She smacked him and he fell to the ground, she formed a diamond in her hand and prepared to attack

"Wait she went that way" he lied pointing in the direction opposite direction of her "she could be getting away" he said getting Fen to rush in that direction, Aput and Botan following her

"I'll take care of you later" Fen threatened as she sprinted away. Eichi started to silently make his way out of anyone's sight.

Azula cleverly waited for them to move on. A few thugs searched the area around the amphitheater first, which meant she had to be completely silent and make sure she was entirely covered. After that they moved on to the outer edges of the camp, which meant they would undoubtedly send a select few to search further into the woods. She couldn't move until after these people started looking further away, but she had to move before they started to ease up and just hang around camp.

Finally she got the perfect chance, the closest person was fifteen feet away well out of earshot. She quickly sprinted back into the amphitheater. If this place was a cult or something they had to have some kind of documents about who they are. Preferably one of those moving pictures.

She took a few steps before noticing the device still sitting on the table. She considered for a moment grabbing it, but it wasn't necessary and useless without an important date and time. She scanned the room for anything that looked like a filing system. She noticed a desk in the corner, she approached and carefully moved her finger along the trim. She felt a gap in the desk and found a hidden drawer built into the side. She continued grazing along the gap until she found a tiny door, she flipped it open to reveal a tiny lock. She removed the pin from her headpiece and picked the lock. There was only a file laying face down, no label or anything. Inside there was just a small piece of paper with a date and time written on it, there was a label titled Orientation.

She made her way back to the device and inserted the date and time written. A new moving picture appeared.

"Hello valued customer" a voice said. Suddenly a giant paw appeared on screen gesturing to a city landscape, it was just like her dream earlier where she seemed to be seeing through someone else's eyes. "I'm Jia Lisha, spirit of reality and memories, but if you're watching then you know that, as much as I would like to stand here and explain everything I'm currently on a tight schedule" the animal spoke in such an arrogant way it made Azula sick to her stomach "allow me to to show you our process and dedication to making sure our reality is truly the best it can be" she said. The picture changed to what appeared to be the aftermath of a battle in the earth kingdom city of Ba Sing Se, where water tribesmen were raising victory flags. A single earth kingdom general was helping direct earth soldiers into custody, one even spit in his eye. But…. something was off, the technology was far behind what she grew up with and as far as she knew only one person who succeeded in conquering Ba Sing Se and that was herself. "My oh my, one side has beaten the other side, can't have that; the fun has just started, the war is still young, there's still a lot to watch" Jia Lisha said with a laugh "but we can fix that"

Jia Lisha looked down to an earth kingdom man giving her a thumbs up, he tossed her a piece of paper and like magic it soared right into her paw. "Everything is in place, let's get started". Jia Lisha raised her arms, not as if she were bending but definitely controlling something. A large and mysterious green cloud suddenly engulfed the land, it was faint but she could hear people screaming throughout the battlefield. And they weren't screams of fear, they were screaming out of pain. The picture zoomed out to the entire planet, the green cloud covering up everything. This scared her so much that she didn't even notice that she was seeing what the planet looked like for the first time. The picture zoomed back down to Ba Sing Se, the green cloud was starting to disappear. Not dispersing but completely vanishing. The landscape changed, there was no battle wreckage, just people doing their regular routines. The earth general was even there and she swore he was pleasantly chatting with the same earth soldier. Yet she could still hear the sounds of war happening on the horizon. Then she noticed a group of earth kingdom servants carrying a man on a palanquin, the same man who gave Jia Lisha the paper. He looked up at her and gave another thumbs up. "Now isn't that better, let the war continue. I will help you again in forty five hundred years, Bye" Jia Lisha said as the picture faded

'What, this is absurd' Azula thought. "Wait" she whispered to herself. They're claiming they did this to keep a war from ending, three years ago her brother and the Avatar had ended the biggest war in history.

A chilling idea entered her brain. A spirit that changes reality or at least people's perception of it, maybe one that could change leadership. She… she had an opportunity here, she finally had a chance to be fire lord, a chance to bring the fire nation back to glory, a chance to fix everything and no one would have to know she failed in the first place. She needed more, she needed more intel. She sprinted back to the exit, her hand was right on the door knob. But she froze in her tracks.

She peaked back at the device Eichi used, it was still sitting on the table. Why was she so interested in this thing? She approached the device and as if on impulse she entered in a specific date and time. A moment she had to see again. The moving picture started to form,

"Azula, our relationship is so messed up. It's been that way as long as I can remember, and maybe it will be that way for the rest of our lives. But one fact that never changes. No matter what, you're still my sister" Zuko's voice sounded exactly the same but different. He sounded more welcoming, like he didn't have an ounce of regret in what he said.

Azula played the memory again, scanning it for any trace or hint of a lie. She found nothing. She felt a strange feeling, her heart actually felt lower, her blood slowing down, and her mind going blank. Regret. Why was she feeling regret, her choice was the right one. Wasn't it? Whether or not it was, she regretted it. She regretted leaving her brother.

She noticed a small dial under the keypad, she twisted it to the left and the moving picture changed. It made it to a point with both her and Zuko. She was in a straight jacket and laughing like a psycho. She… she never saw herself when people said she acted like that, all the times she thought they were exaggerating they were really being generous. Three guards pushed her on a wheelchair as Zuko watched from his throne. She remembered this day, the day she first was sent to the mental health facility instead of prison. She refused to look at him that day, she never saw that his face carried…sadness.

Finally the guards pushed her away, Zuko planted his face in his hands. His girlfriend Mai and personal guard Suki were there by his side. "I still think this is wrong Zuko, she should be in prison" Suki said with a voice attempting to be persuasive

"No, she's hurting and I should help her," Zuko said, there was doubt in his voice just determination "it's not all her fault, she deserves help"

"I don't think you can help her," Suki said with pity. She clearly cared about Zuko and didn't want to see him worry.

"Maybe she'll surprise you," Mai said, fidgeting with her knife. Did… did Mai just support her. Azula thought she hated her after their fight.

"I have to try, she's still my family" Zuko said

A stray tear ran down Azula's cheek. "NO, no stop it" she said, wiping the drop off her cheek. She turned the dial more to the left and another moment appeared. She couldn't fully remember this moment, maybe that was for the best. The photograph started almost where they left off from earlier.

"AHHHH" Azula screamed as she breathed fire, her hands chained to a sewer grate. Zuko and the waterbender were waiting there. They watched her, both of their faces descending into pity. With no way out Azula resorted to merely sitting there sobbing uncontrollably. At that moment she was nothing more than a damaged little girl crying on the floor.

Zuko slowly approached her "Azula"

"Go away" she said continuing to sob

"Are… are you alright?" Zuko asked. The look on his face, he looked so sad.

"GO AWAY" she screeched breathing fire in his direction

That final moment actually made Azula herself jump back, she actually scarred herself.

Zuko lowered his head and limbed back to the waterbender

Azula tried as hard as she could but she couldn't stop tears from coming out. All her life she had the audacity to be mad at her mother for thinking her a monster, while she did nothing but prove her right. And Zuko, for some unknown reason he did care about her.

She took another look at the dial and turned it to the right as far as she could. She reached a point where she couldn't go any further, she looked at the date and time. It was right now. "So you can't show me the future, great," she said with disappointment. A moving picture appeared, from the present. This thing obviously knew what she wanted because it was showing Zuko and their mother.

Zuko was sitting down as their mother (their real one) was wrapping up a story. He lowered his chin and started to look bitter "why did she leave" Zuko asked

Their mother had a heartbroken look after hearing this "Azula has had a hard life, and I…and I played a part in it" her mother actually looked guilty, she actually missed her. "It may not have been intentional…but it may be as much my fault as Ozai's"

"What if I can't help her, what if I already messed up" Zuko said, his voice sounding of self hate.

No…nonono Zuko can't be giving up.

"You can't force her to be helped Zuko, we can only do what she lets us do," their mother said. Azula didn't like where this was going. "She…" her mother said between sobs "...she might be beyond saving"

"Maybe yo…" Zuko said before Azula shut off the machine

She nearly dropped the device. Her hand floated over the dial and she twisted it to the left slightly

"Same as always Zuzu, even when you're strong you're weak" the photo said before fading

Azula couldn't hold back anymore. She sobbed, she flat out sobbed. She plopped into one of the chairs and placed her face into her hands. Her head was spinning in circles, nothing made sense. She was clearly the monster she already knew she was. Why, whywhywhyWHYWHYWHY why did she have to be born like this.

"Azula" a familiar feminine voice sounded, the voice of her mother

"Not now" Azula said still sobbing into her hands

"It's not to late, you can go back, they will forgive you" her mother said

"No they won't" Azula said into her hands "you said yourself I'm beyond saving, a monster beyond saving" she said with a sniffle "and you were right"

"I didn't say that" Ursa said to little avail "Azula what choice do you have, your family loves you" her mother said more directly "and you love them, I see that" she said "you deserve a family Azula, you can fix this"

Azula suddenly stopped sobbing, she looked up at the hallucination. She peaked at the device and remembered Jia Lisha's message "you're right"

"Yes, YES I am" her mother said, such excitement filled her voice

"I have a chance to have a fam… to make everything right" Azula said her voice rising in excitement "I have a chance to fix everything" she said grabbing the device "To make everything perfect"

Her mother became increasingly excited "YES, YOU CAN FIX THIS"

"I know what I need to do," Azula said proudly. Her mother gave her the biggest smile, even though she was just a hallucination it was actually quite satisfying to see

"I need to find Jia Lisha, and I better hurry," Azula said, letting one more tear fall as she sprinted out of the door. She had a new opportunity, if she could beat these lunatics there then she could finally have a fresh start.

Thank you for reading, I'll have the next chapter posted in a couple days. Please Review.