Azula

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Azula, but she's starting to get used to life in prison.

Yes, this is what happens when you think with your heart instead of your brain.. Azula thought bitterly as she rolled to her other side as she was laying on the damp cold ground of the prison cell similar to the one they broke Zuko free from a couple of weeks ago, Now Zuko is out spirits know where with his freedom and the satisfaction of murdering father, and she is here receiving the punishment of his actions for him.

I shall never trust any man ever again.. Azula mused as she remembered what happens every time she puts her trust in a man. Aang? he denied her love and then disappeared from her life. her father? he promised her to spare her uncle and then betrayed her, not to mention putting the likes of Zhao and his rebels in charge of the firenation against her will. Zuko? Well, that's complicated.. she didn't know if what happened truly made her hate Zuko, after all, spending some time in prison is some kind of punishment for her mistreating Zuko her whole life, Azula felt she deserved it.

NO! I DON'T DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED BY THE LIKES OF ZHAO! THAT SCUM! she mused with more bitterness, she wanted nothing at the moment but to strangle Zhao with her bare hands, Zhao might sing his songs to the public about imprisoning Azula for freeing her brother who murdered the firelord, he can perform ballads about how great Firelord Ozai was if he wanted to, but Azula knows all too well why he imprisoned her, and him getting closer and closer to the public proves it even more, he wants the throne for himself.

Azula groaned loudly and threw her head back on the metal floor attempting to sleep, she hasn't slept in nearly two days, she had bags under her eyes, she looked tired and famished, her hair was mussy and her prison clothes were as dirty as a sewer rat, but at least she had Mai and Ty Lee by her side..

The two women never left her side after she got to prison and have been in frequent touch with her, Mai said that after Zuko killed father he looked very stunned and unable to speak that she never told him that she will stay back at The Firenation, or maybe she told him but he never listened, but Toph assured her that she will deliver the message to Zuko once he gets better.

I have the stupidest brother in existence. Azula mused putting her hand on her forehead, her brother never used his mind to act, he's always been hot tempered and stupid, acting on instinct, never caring for the consequences of his actions, probably why Father never wanted to crown him Firelord, he probably never realized that he murdered our father until after the incident and he probably made the decision after he got out of prison without even thinking it through, Azula knew Zuko all too well to make sure that these assumptions are true, and now she was as conflicted and confused as a woman whose husband left.

Azula never knew whether to forgive Zuko for avenging her uncle and Aang, or hate him for murdering her father, after all Zhao's words still haunt her to this day "Your father never loved anybody in this world but you, i hope you are happy knowing that you are the reason behind his murder." Zhao said after imprisoning her, making Azula get the sudden feeling of tremendous guilt and rage that she never got over, she was in an emotional reck and being in that stinking prison didn't help her condition at all, her helplessness made her cry at nights, it was torture..

"Princess. Are you up?" Azula heard the low voice that called that belonged to neither Mai or Ty Lee, it belonged to a certain individual that Azula knew very well.

"General Shinu?" Azula questioned, and indeed it was Zhao's second-in-command, the man lit a small fire using his hand and he got it near his face to show Azula that it was most definitely him, he got near to the cell with his fire until he saw Azula, Azula swore she saw a look of pity pass on the general's face, which made her all the more angry.

The General then smiled and said, "I suppose you are more used to putting people in prison than knowing what being put in prison feels like." The General said with a hint of teasing that somehow annoyed Azula.

"What are you doing here? I thought being Zhao's lackey prevents you from meeting with 'traitors'" Azula responded motioning with her fingers as she said the word "traitors", Shinu chuckled lightly making sure to make his voice as low as possible.

"Don't worry, Princess. My 'Master' doesn't know of this meeting.." The General said, motioning with his figner as he said the word "Master", making Azula give a faint smile in the process, he continued, "In fact, among other things, i'm here to scold you for being the reason behind Zhao's foreseeable ascension to the throne." The General finished making a face at Azula which she didn't take mildly.

"Scold me for what? at this stage of your life i wouldn't be surprised if you truly lost your mind. how am i the reason for the coronation of a man i loathe, Old Man?" Azula asked defensively.

"You do realize that your actions may cost your family the throne, the family that has been ruling the nation for centruies, may disappear in a puff of smoke for the action of two lousy teenagers." Shinu scolded.

"I am Eighteen and Zuko is-" Azula argued, but she was immediately interrupted by an irritated Shinu.

"You threw all your family's centuries of prosperity to the dirt, Now thanks to you and your weakling of a brother, we're going to have ourselves some rebel scums ruling us for the rest of our lives!" Shinu raised his voice this time, but fortunately no one was near to hear, his words cut deeply inside Azula, General Shinu's sincerity made it even worse for her, the man looked so frustrated that this nation might descend into chaos, truly shows what kind of man General Shinu is.

But after a long pause of reconsideration, Azula still tried to defend herself, "Zuko never told me of his plans, i don't think he ever had one, this fool acted on instinct and as soon as i freed him, he went on to murder father."

"You free a youngman whose blood was still boiling over the murder of his most beloved, and you don't suppose that he might be hell-bent on vengeance?" Shinu asked, the funny thing about Shinu's arguments is that they were all true and reasonable, yet Azula still find a way to foolishly defend herself instead of admitting to her fault, Even Azula acknowledged that in her head, yet she still tried to defend herself.

"How should i know that my brother would murder my father? is that something to be foreseen too?" Azula argued back.

"Yes! It Is!" Shinu shouted, and Azula is now wondering whether that is really the man or not, she has never seen this side of the general, he looked truly desperate that he even shouted in Azula's face, it was like he was getting all the rage and anger built up inside him on her, and Azula knew all too well that she deserved every single bit of it, the general regarded the princess again after some time of silence, he visibly gathered himself and then continued the conversation,

"Do you have a plan?" The general asked calmly and suddenly.

"What?" Azula asked with confusion.

"I'm sure you formed some kind of plan to fix this mess after nearly a month in prison." Shinu clarified, and Azula was looking at the man as if he was crazy, moments ago he was accusing her of treason and now he is asking for her help.

"Didn't you just call me and Zuko lousy teenagers moments ago? Now you are asking for my help?" Azula asked bitterly.

Shinu brought his head to the ground, "I was just letting off some steam, what happened was my fault as much as it's yours, i shouldn't have delivered this message to Zhao and i shouldn't have helped this rebels rise in power as much as they did, but now i am ready to fix everything, and with your help we can bring Zhao down and put a rightful ruler on the throne.." Shinu paused for some moments clearly considering his option, finally he looked at her with determination and said, "You."

What? Azula mused, she didn't know how a person can be both confused and flattered at the same time, and yet that was the only reasonable explanation for her current state,

"M-Me?" Azula stuttered, "Y-You are not serious, are you? You want me on the throne?" Azula asked incredulously.

"I know my words might make you suspicious of me, and you might be thinking that Zhao sent me to sing these songs for you.." That's exactly what i am thinking.. Azula thought, but never voiced her musings, Shinu continued, "But i promise you, i choose you because i am concerned for this nation, at least you are of the royal family, Zhao is a rebel and a traitor, him rising in power was a mistake, and now i am asking for your help to fix that mistake. please, Help us." The general pleaded, Azula was even more confused when she saw again the sincerity in the general's eye, how can a guy whose life she threatened months ago, comes now to her and asks her to be firelord? for Azula that was completely unbelievable..

And yet, she believed him, as Azula has always been good at reading people, and General Shinu made it out of her genuineness test, "I'm all for it, General, but how are you going to break me out of this prison?" Azula asked, and finally the general allowed himself to smile faintly.

The General reached inside the cell and put his hand on Azula's unexpectant one, Azula looked at his hand on top of hers and looked at the general and saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes and his smile when he said, "I'm glad you are willing to cooperate, Thank you, Princess.." Azula couldn't help but return the smile, the general then retracted his hand, and looked at Azula with determination, "As for Breaking you out of prison, Leave that task to me."

Zuko

I wish they had more wine on this stinking ship.. He thought wistfully as he threw another bottle of wine to the corner of the room which now has more bottles than room corner has ever seen.

And still my pain has yet to be cured, does anybody in this stinking world know how to make good wine? He asked internally, completely wasted that he had to return to the bed and drop himself on it like if his body was lifeless, and that's exactly how Zuko felt at the moment, Lifeless.

Even in death, you still manage to make me feel all kinds of pain. He smiled bitterly at the thought as his father was the reason behind all his miseries, killing him was never the answer, it felt good at the moment of execution, but then it all turned into a complete mess inside his head, the worst of the whole ordeal was the nightmares, Zuko never had a good night sleep this past month, Toph tried to get to him a couple of days ago when she delivered his breakfast herself to his chamber, and the first thing she said was "You look like shit.".

Maybe i do, but have you seen the shit on the inside, Toph? it would make this shit look like a Birthday cake. He thought bitterly again, checking for more bottles of wine beside him, yet he never found one, sometimes, too much drinking makes you forget that your drink is finished, and Zuko just had five bottles of wine only this morning, just as he was about to sink in his miseries and accept his fate of no drinking until they arrive, a knock on the door disturbed his brooding.

"GO AWAY!" Zuko shouted tiredly as soon as he heard the knock, if anything would put him in more pain, it's more pep talks.

"YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ME TO GO AWAY, HOT-HEAD!" Toph yelled back, kicking the door down, Zuko surmised that she used her metal-bending trick to kick it to the ground, but he was in no mood to be threatened so he just stayed on the bed not caring whatsoever, he spared a look in Toph's direction to find her completely enraged and about to flip out, so he decided to maybe intervene this time..

"What do you want, Toph?" Zuko asked still sprawled out on the bed with a careless look.

"I just came to tell you that we are about to arrive ashore, so better get ready because the last thing i want to see is a wasted Firebender on Earth Kingdom lands." Toph replied with a ferocious look on her face.

"How do you know that would be a bad thing? i have never seen it, you have never seen it, maybe it will turn out to be fun." Zuko said, making Toph fume with rage all the more.

"Zuko, i've seen many versions of you but this by far the worst." Toph hissed.

"I completely agree." Zuko replied making Toph stop in her tracks, Zuko guessed she never expected this answer, the room went to silence for a couple of seconds, and that made Zuko grateful until Toph opened her mouth again.

"Zuko, please talk to me, remember when i was completely frustrated before the ceremonies and you told me that in such situations we need someone to confide in? Confide in me, Please." Toph pleaded, if Zuko wasn't in a depressing mood he would have questioned if that was really Toph in front of him, but instead he kept the question to himself.

"I'm completely *Hiccup* f-fine." Zuko stuttered as a poorly timed hiccup escaped his lips, and the scowl on Toph's face returned.

"Are you fucking drunk? we are about to leave the ship in minutes!" Toph scolded.

"I'm very comfortable here, do we have to leave?" Zuko said, and Toph slapped her forehead in desperation, but before she could respond, a voice called her name.

"TOPH! WE'RE HERE IT'S TIME TO LEAVE!" The voice belonged to her sister Luna.

"I KNOW THE WAY TO THE HOUSE, LUNA. WE'LL CATCH UP WITH YOU!" Toph responded, Luna didn't respond back so she must have left, Toph then turned her attention back to Zuko, "Do i have to do this the hard way?" Toph asked coldly.

Zuko hesitated trying not to fold under Toph's hard tone but he knew that was a challenge he can't win, "Can you at least tell me where we are?" Zuko responded with a question, and the look on Toph's face softened a bit, but not to the point where it became actually soft.

"We're in Gaoling, we are headed to my parents' house, settling in for a bit until we find out what to do next." Toph responded and Zuko nodded and finally got off the bed.

"Getting out of a castle to settle in another, aren't you the luckiest boy in the world, Zuko?" Zuko spoke sarcastically.

"Just for a little bit, i like this castle no more than you do, but my parents are right, we need to disappear for a bit." Toph responded as Zuko was packing up his belongings that Mai left in his chamber before leaving.

"You are going to disappear by hiding in your own house? sounds like a great plan." Zuko said sarcastically as he found something shiny in his belongings, he reached for it and grabbed it..

"This castle is highly guarded and my father has a lot of money, we are safe here-" before Toph could respond, Zuko identified the object he was reaching for in his belongings and he interrupted her by yelling loudly..

"Why the hell did Mai leave the ring i gave her behind!" "I don't know, she left that bag and told me to hand it to you, and i did so without looking inside, what ring are you talking about?" Toph asked.

Zuko sighed sadly, "After the ball at the cursed ceremonies, i gave that ring to Mai as a gesture that i am never going to marry anyone but her, she happily accepted it. why would she leave it behind? Wasn't it enough that she left me in such a situation?!" Zuko looked back at Toph who shrugged in return..

"I don't know, maybe she left it as something to remember her by?" Toph said, and Zuko couldn't help but to find her behavior weird.

"Can you please stop with the optimism? it doesn't suit you at all." Zuko responded with a hard tone.

"Can you please stop with the negative nancy attitude? it doesn't suit you at all." Toph responded calmly and only then and there Zuko decided to get all the rage he has been bottling out on Toph..

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, I DON'T NEED YOU BEING OPTIMISTIC ALL THE TIME OUT OF PITY FOR ME! IN FACT I DON'T NEED YOU AT ALL! SO NOW GET OUTTA HERE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Zuko yelled, and he couldn't help but feel bad afterwards at the hurt expression that crossed Toph's face.

"I'M NOT DOING THIS OUT OF PITY! YOU ARE MY FRIEND, AND IT'S MY DUTY AS A FRIEND TO HELP YOU IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES!" Toph yelled back, her expression now one of rage.

"WHAT IF I DON'T REGARD YOU THE SAME WAY THAT YOU DO ME?! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FRIENDSHIP! GET OUT NOW!" What? how could i say something like that? that is so untrue.. Zuko thought internally but it was too late, as Toph got the message and her face expression was now blank, unreadable, Zuko took a couple of deep breaths as the silence went on and on, what he said was unforgivable but he decided to try and soothe Toph a bit, "Toph, i-"

he was interrupted by her hand in his face and he closed his mouth immediately, "No need.." Toph said, "You know the way to our house, you can get there yourself." Toph finished and hurried back out of the room and out of the ship, Zuko then dropped to his knees, with his head to the ground he cried, his sobs very audible to hear, tears pouring down from his eyes.

I killed my father and some innocent girl sitting with him in the tub, i got Azula in trouble, Mai left me to stay in the firenation, and now i am severing my bond with Toph, why does life have to be so cruel? Zuko berated himself and his life internally, he wished his uncle was there to guide him, to tell him what to do, but that one is no longer around as well, his life has been the worst..

Why not just end right then and there..

Aang

"Why do i always windup in forests?" Aang muttered inaudibly, as he didn't want Senge who was standing right beside him at the opening of the forest to hear.

"You sure you don't want me with you?" Senge asked before Aang took any further steps inside.

"It's not that i don't Want you with me, i just don't need you in there, this is spiritual business, do you know anything about spirits?" Aang asked, a faint smile gracing his lips as Senge's eyes narrowed.

"I am an airbender too, of course we know a lot of stuff about spirits!" Senge protested.

"Of course, but this business needs experts and i don't see your tattoos." Aang taunted, his smile widening.

Senge groaned, "Ugh, why do i even bother? you can go die there all you want." Senge said looking away, making Aang laugh in the process.

"What? this talk about your tattoos hit a soft spot? you widdle airbender cutie.." Aang said mocking a baby's voice and pinching Senge's cheek, Senge pushed Aang's hand away, and Aang laughed for the first time in a while, Senge only folded his arms with an amused smile on his face, Aang could only feel more attracted to the kid, he really made him feel better after a long time of desperate thoughts, "Don't worry about me, i promise i'll be back.." Aang looked up to find the sun only inches away from disappearing, "It's almost sunset, go back to the townspeople and wait for me there." Aang said.

"Yeah, whatever.." Senge turned to leave but as he took two steps away from Aang, he looked back and said, "Please, Come back." Senge pleaded, Aang smiled and gave the kid an affirming nod, Senge then left, and Aang turned his head to regard the haunted forest once again.

Let's do this. Aang mused stepping foot inside the forest, he noticed that the sun has finally set, and now the spirit is coming out any moment, he kept walking taking careful steps as he made his way inside the forest, he remembered the last time he went to a forest to hunt an evil spirit at the northern watertribe, he met with Avatar Roku when he was first informed of the coming war, he hoped Avatar Roku was alright, but like all the other avatars, he is unable to contact him, so Aang assumed the worst, he also hoped the northern watertribe isn't in a sorry state at the moment, he has lost all connections with the city as soon as Chief Arnook was murdered, last he heard Chief Arnook's nephew Han is the current ruler of the city, and from the brief meetings between Aang and Han, Aang again assumed the worst for the city..

The land under Aang clicked and Aang assumed a fighting stance at once, only to realize that he stepped on a tree twig, Aang then breathed in a sigh of relief, this mission was getting scarier by the second, but he had to maintain his strength, he wants to let off some guilt and that was exactly the motivation that kept him going, he will have no lesser result than ridding this town of that evil spirit, and perhaps ridding that spirit of its evil as well if he could.

as Aang arrived at a place where he found a water stream running in the forest, the last water stream in a forest he looked it, it contained Avatar Roku's reflection, could it be the same right now? Aang took careful steps towards the stream, when he arrived he sneaked a careful glance at the water, and what he found was.. nothing, there was nothing in the water save for his own reflection, with his recently shaved head and shaved beard, he then sighed desperately, perhaps their spirits truly were turned by the evil spirit. Aang kept musing sadly until his musings were cut by another reflection behind Aang's that appeared in the water..

Aang screamed loudly and threw himself back only for the beast to give a scream as well, Aang took a good look at him to identify him, it was a spirit he has never seen in his life it looked like a standing animal, but with flames all over it, it looked at Aang and without warning it launched itself at him but Aang was quick enough to dodge the move, he jumped to the side and then released an air blast at the spirit but the blast went right through the spirit without any harm..

Aang stared with wide eyes, bending doesn't affect spirit as long as the portals are closed.. he realized shockingly but his musings were cut off again by another attempt from the spirit to launch itself at Aang, Aang dodged again and tried some waterbending, again the water went right through the spirit and as Aang kept staring holes at the process, The spirit took advantage of his distraction and slapped him with its hand right across the cheek launching him several feet behind, Aang dropped on his back with a thud, and he opened his eyes to find the spirit jumping on him again with a horrific roar, Aang rolled on the ground and the spirit fell on empty space, Aang then stood on his feet only to find the spirit again launching itself in his direction, Aang couldn't summon any bending so he could only put both his hands in front of him, only for the spirit's head to clash with his hands, and the magical thing happened..

After the spirit's head clashed with Aang's hand, The spirit's red glow disappeared and it went back to normal, Aang's eyes were closed when the spirit clashed with his hands and he never noticed until he opened them that the spirit turned back to normal, Aang stared holes again at it,

What the hell just happened? Aang asked internally, but he was cut off when the spirit opened its eyes as well, the spirit screamed and threw itself back as soon as it saw Aang's face, Aang did the same assuming a fighting stance.

"Stinking Humans! Ugh!" The spirit said all of a sudden as it kept wiping its head at the place it clashed with Aang's hands, Aang was shocked that the spirit could talk that he never paid attention to the insult.

"You can talk?" Aang asked mesmerized, but still assuming his fighting stance.

"Of course i can talk, you stinking human. how dare you put your filthy hands on me?" The spirit accused and finally Aang took a good look at it, Aang was astonished to find out that the spirit had an animal's body, but the face of a Lemur..

"You were turned by the evil spirit Vattu, i don't know what i did but you should thank those filthy hands for saving you." Aang said with an accusing tone.

"Saving me? I'm already dead, you dumb human." The spirit replied, and his reply did make Aang look dumb.

"Yeah, but you know.. Saving your spirit, i guess.." Aang replied with uncertainty, but there was a topic that intrigued the spirit.

"Did you say the evil spirit Vattu has been released? that explains the weird dreams i've been having.." The spirit tapped its chin in thought but then looked at Aang, "Who are you anyways?" The spirit asked.

"My name is Aang, i am the avatar." Aang replied and the spirit's Lemur ears twitched.

"The Avatar? You are the reincarnation of my friend Stinky?" The spirit asked, and Aang looked at him with confusion.

"Your friend? Stinky?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, i know they call him Wan, but i liked to call him Stinky, I was the guardian of the spirit oasis when he came by before becoming the first avatar, i didn't like him at first but then we became best friends that i supported his decision to drive us out of the physical world and into the spirit world." The spirit replied, and Aang's head was reeling at the moment, too much information.

"Are you saying you knew Avatar Wan before he became The Avatar?" Aang asked.

"Knew him? i still meet him, you fool. we're still friends." The spirit replied, and Aang's lost state worsened.

"What? Nobody has seen Avatar Wan in centuries, you are telling me that you still meet with him?" Aang asked.

The spirit raised his head, "You think i am like anyone of the other spirits? I'm his best friend, Wan cannot keep on a single day without me." The spirit folded its arms still raising his head in pride.

Aang was about to explode in excitement, "I want to know where he is, please tell me, he can help me a lot in this upcoming war." Aang pleaded.

The spirit tapped his chin again, "Hmmm, i don't know, i remember the last time i visited him, he told me to keep his place a secret as some kind of war was about to be unleashed, i wasn't listening to be honest." The spirit replied, but Aang brushed the thought of him ratting out the first avatar away.

"This war can be prevented if i met Avatar Wan and received his guidance. please, not just for the humans but for the spirits as well." Aang pleaded again and the spirit shrugged.

"You said you are his reincarnation and you did save me from that curse, i guess there is no harm in telling you." The spirit said after some thought,

and Aang couldn't contain his excitement any longer, he jumped in the air and shouted "Yes!" throwing his hand in the air, but then he contained his excitement and landed on his legs and said, "I mean, Thank you, good spirit, i appreciate your cooperation." he said with a formal voice trying to cover up for his over-excitement.