So Many Plots, So Little Time

After leaving Ty Lee and sequestered inside her royal palanquin being taken back to her ship, Azula finally let go of her aloof mask and let her face contorted with the pain she'd been keeping hidden since the moment she locked eyes on Ty Lee.

The problem with having a perfect memory was that when you're forced to remember an entire new life there are far too many details for any sane person to deal with, she concluded.

Now she had a splitting migraine piercing her skull, and far too much useless information stuffed into her brain. The years' worth of schemes, paperwork, customs, and blackmail had been useful in her last life but now couldn't matter to her less and she wished she could forget it once again.

Thankfully, Ty Lee hadn't seemed to notice she was off her game during the conversation. But given the way she'd stayed bowed and quivering throughout it, she was assured she was oblivious. She knew Ty Lee too well. She would have known if her former half-brother had sensed any weakness.

Ty Lee was a terrible liar and was loyal to a fault. And Mo Xuanyu had always been too cowardly to stand against him. No matter what Jin Guangyao had done, he'd remained silent, telling no one of his crimes. Even when Jin Guangyao ruined him and cast him out he didn't say anything against him. Not that anyone would believe him if he had.

Perhaps it would have been better to just kill her, but Ty Lee might still have some use, and if Azula changed her mind, she knew right where she was. One order to the guards and it would be done. However, for now, it would be good to keep Ty Lee alive to have someone who could interact with any other reincarnations Azula became aware of so as not to give away her own former identity. It would be handy to just parade her in front of people to test their memories without revealing her own.

Because that was a fact she intended to keep close to her chest. If Zuko was really Jiang Wanyin, he would not hesitate to fill everyone in on Jin Guangyao's crimes. The man could hold a grudge like no other and would make sure everyone knew it too. But Jiang Wanyin had also been known for protecting his previous sister with every fiber of his being, and while Zuko and Azula's relationship was far from the one of Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli. Still, so long as she kept him in the dark about who she really was she could probably wrangle some of that protective instinct for herself, and then she'd be all the better for it. Another shield for her, and it meant when it came time to dispose of him, he would not see it coming.

Still, eventually, she would be rid of him one way or another. Becoming the next Fire Lord had been all she'd wanted when she was just Azula, but it was just as appealing for Jin Guangyao as well. And being the favored heir for once was lovely.

But now she had an additional goal.

Her former mother.

If people were being reincarnated, then surely Meng Shi had been too. Hopefully into a better life this time, but still…

Jin Guangyao's mother had been the one person in her last life to never betray her. To never see him as lower, as less than. The one who had built him up when the world tore him down, who had given everything to give him a chance, even though his father hadn't turned out to be worth the dirt under her toenails. If Azula could find her in this life too, surely Meng Shi would still love her.

Surely…

However, she'd thought Lan Xichen would always love her too. Then again, his face when he realized Nie Huaisang had tricked him into attacking was nothing short of devastated, and with that last bit of goodwill, she'd have gained by pushing him out of Nie Mingjue's attack. Maybe…

No. It didn't matter if she found Lan Xichen again, even if he did still hold some sentiment for her, he would never trust her again. Not like before.

But still… if she could find him… If she could keep him from realizing who she was… a new mask, a new chance… But Nie Huaisang's manipulation aside, could she ever forgive him? Because it was certain that she would never forget.

She should also consider finding Su She. For all the shallow bitterness that had fueled the man, he had been loyal to Jin Guangyao until the very end, even dying to protect him.

Azula pushed it out of her mind. It was something she would consider at a later time. Right now, she has other priorities.

Starting with finding her fuddy-duddy uncle, and her brother who she could now firmly label a threat. And if anyone else has come back with Zuko, she'd take care of them too.

And all threats to her were eliminated. One way or the other.

Do I Still Know You?

Katara watched Sokka out of the corner of her eye.

Aang was off doing whatever the over-zealous Earth Kingdom general named Fong was telling him to get him into the Avatar State, and the three Water Tribesmen had agreed they shouldn't leave them alone together. It was currently Yue's turn to watch over Aang, so that left her and Sokka alone for the first time in a while.

Honestly, even all this time later she was still reeling from the fact her brother was the reincarnation of someone who apparently came from what sounded like an entirely different world. She'd just thought that people always reincarnated into this world like the Avatar did, but it seemed instead maybe the Avatar was the one stuck here, and other souls got to cycle around to different universes instead.

(Aang had been kind of sad when he realized that since the next Avatars might miss out on meeting them, but Yue assured him that she was sure their souls would come back eventually. It would just take their future reincarnations a little longer to meet up again. Then, Sokka added that if they resumed cultivating and extended their lives, they'd probably be there to see the next several Avatars before moving on. Aang had been very on board with this idea.)

Whatever the case, Katara knew it was true. There had been a marked change in Sokka since that crazy night in the Spirit Oasis. He was, dare she say it, more mature! And yet also a bit more spoiled, as he would occasionally complain about the quality of things around him like he was used to much better, even when it was the best Katara had ever seen. He could suddenly write with perfect handwriting, he was skilled with weapons he'd never even touched before (he now carried a bow and arrows and a sword along with his boomerang), and even his drawing skills had improved, though not by much, that was apparently a constant.

"I can feel you staring," Sokka said with his back towards her, pulling Katara out of her musings.

"Sorry, just, you get how this is weird, right?" she replied, feeling sheepish.

"You think it's weird? Try living it," said Sokka jokingly, trying to give some levity.

But Katara didn't fall for it.

"It's just…" she said, trying to put her thoughts into words. "You're different. But not so different I can't tell it's you. Still, you went from having just a crush on Yue to being all but married to her. You and Zuko of all people are suddenly pals. And you talk about having a kid! It's like I blinked and suddenly missed your whole life! Like, what, are you an adult in a kid's body now?"

Sokka looked like he was about to respond right away, but a look from Katara had him stop and actually think about his answer.

"First of all, Zuko and I are not and never were pals. We just tolerate each other for Yue's sake. As for your other question, I don't feel like an adult," he admitted slowly. "I feel about the same as I was this age last time. But I still remember living up to my twenties."

"That's another thing!" Katara exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "You died! How am I supposed to get over the fact my brother died young in some kind of accident set up by his evil little brother."

"Actually, I don't really know if A-Yao was older or younger than me. We had the same birthday and my Muqin insisted nobody ask and he kept his mouth shut about it in case he was actually older than me," Sokka said. "And as for my death…"

He shuddered as he remembered the agonizing pain and the look of anger melting into horror on Wei Wuxian's face as the world faded to black around him. "... I don't want to talk about it," he concluded. Really, he'd rather forget that part.

Katara, thankfully, let it go and followed another line of questioning instead. "How do you not know if you or this Yao guy was older if you were twins?" she asked instead.

Sokka looked annoyed, but not at her, at something he was thinking about. "Because we weren't twins. My Fuqin in that life was…" he made a face and looked fed-up. "Oh, whatever, he's not my father anymore! Why am I still defending him? He was a womanizing philanderer is what he was. He betrayed Muqin more times than I can count and apparently visited a lady of the night close enough to my conception to have another son with the same birthday. Muqin was worried that if he was born earlier in the day than me, then being the real first-born son would give A-Yao an edge as heir despite his illegitimacy."

Katara made a face of disgust. She couldn't ever imagine their dad doing something like that. She said as much, and Sokka nodded. "Oh yeah," he said. "Our dad in this life is a massive upgrade."

"So, why do you call your old parents fuqin and muqin?" she asked, deciding to shift gears again. "Or your brother A-Yao?"

Sokka shrugged. "I guess everyone was more formal in the other world. Or, since it was the past, maybe it was just old-fashioned. Or maybe because we were in the gentry in that life and had to act like it. Whatever the case, everyone was a lot more formal to each other and used proper honorifics, and even now the thought of calling Muqin and Fuqin 'Mom and Dad' feels like it would make me break out in hives.

Katara nodded in understanding. She'd noticed Yue and Zuko doing the same.

"As for A-Yao, I called him that because he was my brother. I wanted to be close to him, to be friends the way I'd seen other brothers be, but I didn't know how. I guess... it's not totally sunk in that he didn't feel the same," Sokka said, and his expression shifted to one of disappointment.

Katara made a face, trying to picture how it would feel to find out that Sokka had been plotting to kill her, and just couldn't picture it. "So you'll be more polite when you're talking about people you used to know?" she asked, switching back to her previous question.

"Yeah," Sokka agreed. "I'll save the formal talk when it's about Jin Zixuan's life, and be how I usually am for Sokka-life stuff."

"Sounds good," said Katara. She didn't know what she'd do if Sokka started talking all formally to her all the time.

They were quiet for a long moment after that.

"So… you said you were in the gentry. Were you, like, rich or something?" Katara asked curiously. That would explain his occasionally conceited behavior.

Sokka snorted a laugh. "Rich? Are you kidding? I lived in a literal golden tower! Everything was gold. The steps, the decorations, the silverware, our clothes. I get that our family name was Jin, but there's such a thing as too much gold! After growing up in an igloo I now realize it was all just so pretentious. No wonder A-Li's brothers called old me a peacock. I'd call old me a peacock."

Katara tried to imagine that much gold, and just couldn't picture it. "That does sound impractical… and tacky."

"It was so tacky, I was spoiled rotten," Sokka agreed with another laugh.

They spent the rest of their time waiting for Aang with Sokka telling more light-hearted stories from his past.

A/N A peak into the thoughts of two little sisters on this whole reincarnation thing. The first chunk probably should have been tacked onto the end of the previous chapter, but that one was already long and I thought Azula's plotting was longer than it was.

As said last chapter, Azula is a little off her game with the memories coming back. She'll get better once she has a chance to sort all the information out, but Jinguangyao didn't forget anything so Azula got a lot stuffed in her head at once. Her main goal aside from becoming Fire Lord is to find her mother. Say what you will about Jin Gauangyao, but he loved his mama. Azula's also conflicted about Lan Xichen. On one hand, ow, stab! On the other, the last thing Jin Guangyao did was shove Lan Xichen away so he wouldn't die, so clearly she still cares.

Katara, meanwhile, is still reeling about the changes in her brother and the fact he has died in the past. Sokka is trying very hard not to think about the dying part but is happy to answer her other questions. I will use the honorifics for the Mo Dao Zu Shi-related stuff because as Sokka said, it feels wrong not to. Sokka is going to be mostly like Sokka, just with a little more maturity and more opportunities to put his foot in his mouth. Mostly because we don't get all that much of Jin Zixuan and what we do get is biased from Wei Wuxian's perspective. But I think he and Sokka have enough in common to make it work. A sexist and arrogant guy who often puts his foot in his mouth, but is honorable and later learns to respect women and becomes a better person.