Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

355. Chapter 355: Downtime-Defenses 6

Downtime/Building defenses

6

"Be careful. You followed the instructions exactly as Renkai recited them, didn't you?"

"I did, I did! No need to make a fuss, it's just some big, clunky cannon!"

Azula's eyebrow twitched with irritation as Chan picked up the golden device unceremoniously from the crate it had been brought in. As buff as he might be, even Chan struggled with the weight of the weapon, making faces of discomfort as he looked for the best ways to maneuver it.

"It's too big, isn't it?" Renkai mumbled, next to Azula.

"We'll have to make do, even if it is," was her response.

The first shipments with the developed weapons had arrived only a couple of days ago. After checking the resources they'd received, the main thing left for the organization of Yu Dao's defense was the distribution of said resources to the correct individuals. But as much as Azula wanted to trust Takase's clever mind to deliver exactly what had been requested, the likelihood was that testing of the weapons had not been thorough due to the haste at which they had been developed. Thus, she ensured to hold a test run of her own before beginning the organization and training of soldiers to use these new cannons properly.

Hence, the Princess had taken her two constant companions of the past weeks on an outing beyond the eastern walls of Yu Dao: the White Lotus forces would most likely arrive through the forests and mountains of the valley surrounding the city. A long plain spread past those walls, where the earthbenders under Kori Morishita's guidance had been hard at work across the last weeks, building the underground maze as well as preparing the soil for the landmines that had arrived alongside the hand cannons. So far, the mines weren't even close to the number they'd require for their purposes, but a new shipment was due soon. Azula deeply hoped they would suffice to properly protect the city… but for now, the tunnels, as well as the ditch that hugged the city's wall, would serve as strong defensive mechanisms if the mines didn't pay off.

Azula, Renkai and Chan weren't near the earthbenders right now, though, as to avoid obstructing their work: the two men had carried the cannon's crate together, surprisingly civilly, even if Azula doubted they were getting along any better these days than they typically did. Chan certainly appeared to be displeased about sharing rooms with Renkai in the Morishita home these days, every bit as much as he had been on the Barge… but while his mood hardly seemed to improve whenever Azula was the one keeping an eye on him, at least he seemed to have learned better than to annoy her without necessity.

Now, though, it appeared that he would go back to being just as annoying as he manipulated the cannon he was supposed to test: fortunately, Takase – or, most likely, Goro – had the sense to send blank shots for the hand cannons along with the real projectiles, so that the soldiers would get a sense for aiming and handling the cannons without wasting valuable ammo. Their test outside the city would be done with those blank projectiles, and Azula and Renkai were awaiting for Chan to start… provided he managed to handle the unwieldy weapon.

"I could hold it with both hands like this…" Chan mumbled, setting his hands in ornate areas of the cannon that didn't look like they were meant to be touched. "But, uh… wait a minute. What am I going to light it with? Princess…!"

"You'll have someone else with you to support you in lighting the cannon, when the battle begins," Azula explained. "A lower-ranked soldier. You'll do the heavy-duty work, aiming ad carrying it, while they'll ensure to light the cannon at your command every time."

"Couldn't there be an easier way to do this?" Renkai asked. Azula shrugged.

"Unfortunately, if there are, Takase didn't figure them out on time," she said. Chan pouted.

"Then you'll have to help me this time, because I can't hold this with one arm only to light it with… with fire I don't even have," Chan finished. Azula sighed, glancing at Renkai, whose eyebrow twitched uncontrollably.

"You want me to do it," he said. Azula didn't bother masking her smirk at his defeated reaction.

"If I were the only firebender here, I'd have no other choice, but…"

Renkai groaned, stepping forward and approaching Chan, who seemed no happier for Renkai's assistance than the firebender was to provide it. He glared at Chan through his helmet, and the soldier pouted.

"What?" he huffed.

"Just… tell me when you want me to do it," Renkai said. Chan sighed and shrugged before shifting the cannon carefully.

"Let me try to take aim at… that rock?" Chan said, eyeing a large boulder in the distance. "Let's see how far we can go. I have no idea how projectiles work with this thing, so it might go too far… or not far enough."

"I'm only here to light the fuse. It's up to you to aim or fail at it," Renkai retorted. Chan huffed, shaking his head.

"Always such a nice guy, aren't you?" he grumbled, shifting his position slightly, looking for the right angle from which the projectile might soar the furthest.

He breathed deeply before nodding at Renkai: the man beside him obeyed the wordless command, raising a finger and lighting the cannon's fuse, which would need to be replaced if they intended to use it more than once.

"Let's go…!" Chan exclaimed, clasping the cannon firmly as the sparks flew across the ignition, on its way to the powder chamber within the weapon…

A loud blasting sound nearly deafened them: the blank projectile flew, soaring across the sky, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. Azula frowned as she watched it, hands by her aching ears as the projectile soared further… past the rock Chan had been aiming at.

He would have likely rejoiced to see the range was greater than anticipated, if he hadn't dropped the hand cannon on one of his feet. Now, the soldier squirmed and cried out in pain while holding his hurt foot in one hand.

"What…?! Stay put, what's the matter with you?!" Azula asked. Chan whimpered, falling on the ground and shooting a begrudging glare at the cannon.

"It heated up! Insanely!" Chan cried out. "And then I dropped it, and it fell on my foot, right on my small toe! It's awful!"

Azula blinked blankly before sighing: she'd do best to focus on the results of the experimentation rather than on the fool doing the experiments, especially if he would act in such a fickle and foolish manner…

"I need… gloves, or something!" Chan said, before gasping and glaring at Renkai: he winced, pulling back. "Hey! Hey, you can help, can't you? Let me borrow your gloves for just a minute and…!"

"Not a chance," Renkai grimaced, withdrawing from the irritable Chan.

"You do realize this is for a big, good cause, Greedkai? Or are you just going to keep being a Cheapskatekai and not let me do my job, huh?!"

"Quit calling me stupid names!"

"Both of you…"

Azula barely raised her voice, but it was enough for the pair to fall silent as she scowled at Chan. He pouted in her direction as she leaned towards the cannon: it was indeed far hotter than any non-firebender would be able to handle. Yet another element of testing that Takase might not have worked on with sufficient finesse.

"You'd need much thicker gloves than that to handle this properly," Azula said: her hands pressed against the metal, siphoning away the heat through her bending, to Chan's surprise. "I'm thinking… we may call them hand cannons, but perhaps you'd be better served carrying it on your shoulder instead."

"My shoulder?" Chan blinked blankly, inching towards the cannon again, forgetting temporarily about his aching foot.

He hoisted it carefully, relieved to find it much cooler once more. He bit his lip, hoisting the weapon awkwardly, for he was still sitting on the ground… but after some maneuvering, he found the cannon fit surprisingly well over his right shoulder: a small crevice on the underside of the design even brought him to frown as he poked it with a fingertip.

"Hey, now… maybe the crazy guy actually designed it to be held this way?" he asked. "And then he forgot to detail that in the instructions?"

"Or maybe it's just a lucky hit in design, I don't know," Azula said, walking a circle around Chan. The man pushed himself up awkwardly, wincing over his foot's pain, but focusing on how much easier it was to hold the weapon over his shoulder that way.

"Also gives it some extra height, doesn't it? Might help with the range," he said.

"It's going to deafen you all the more," Renkai pointed out, and Chan grimaced.

"Thick gloves could help you hold it in your hands, if need be…" Azula said. "And we ought to find gear to protect the wielder's ears."

"Some manner of earplugs?" Renkai said. Azula nodded.

"Reload it and try again, if you can, Chan," she said. He smirked proudly, setting down the cannon by the crate it had been stored in, along with all the powder and projectiles they'd need to reload the weapon as many times as it took.

"On it, Princess," he said. "You know, I'm kind of flattered that you've come around to this extent. Trusting me to carry out the testing of the weapon? That's a big deal! One more highlight to add to my career report…"

"Congratulations," Azula said, her voice coated in skepticism. "If you must know? Takase's weapons and designs aren't always entirely safe to handle. That's why I chose you."

"Because… I'd make them safer?" Chan asked, perplexed. Azula raised her eyebrows sardonically, a dry grin across her face as Chan's brow drew together. "Or you thought it wouldn't be that much of a loss if I got killed by a misfire…?!"

"It didn't happen, though, so no need to be upset about that, at this stage," Azula said, with a cruel smirk.

"You're just so… rude!" Chan huffed: he had finished reloading and setting up the new fuse by then, shaking his head in her direction before hoisting the cannon over his shoulder, waiting until it locked into the right position. "I'm not some cattle you can butcher whenever it pleases you, you know?!"

"Cattle would be less trouble, yes," Azula conceded, and Chan pouted as Azula chuckled. "Fine, that's enough making fun of you, yes. Please, proceed with the new test. Though… brace yourself for the noise."

"Eh, it won't be that bad," Chan said, dismissively.

He regretted the words after launching the projectile: this time, he almost dropped the cannon over the loud blasting noise, falling to his knees and setting down the weapon while wincing, a loud shrill sound left over from the blast…

But this time, the rock he had aimed at bore the remains of the blank projectile, for it had impacted perfectly against it.

"Good… good!" Azula said, with a wild grin. "Your aim improved when you held it by your head… though we'll need to stop the noise from deafening the wielder."

"Would be nice…!" Chan exclaimed, gritting his teeth and rubbing his right ear. "That wasn't fun. But… I hit it?"

"You did," Renkai said, unable to mask the surprise in his voice. "Somehow…"

"Heh! I'm talented enough to pull it off, that's how," Chan grinned brightly – his voice was slightly louder than it needed to be.

"Can you try again?"

Chan winced, looking at Azula with uncertainty. The Princess's eyes gave away that she was ten steps ahead, glaring into the forest in the distance, leading right to the mountains hugging the valley.

"I want to know if… if a different angle could get a projectile all the way to the trees," Azula explained. Chan bit his lip.

"I mean, I can try that, but do you really need me to?" he said. "I'm not going to be aiming from out here, am I? I'll be up at the wall, and that means the aim will be different from what it is here…"

"True… but that will also provide you with further altitude. It might not be too different, maybe," Azula reasoned, glancing back at the wall. "Still, we can test that later too, if you're so keen…"

"Once we have the ear plugs…?" Chan asked, with a sad grin. Azula sighed.

"We'll do our best to find those," she said.

The true risk in developing technology at such alarming rhythm was precisely this: proper testing was impossible when Takase had been pressured to deliver results at once. She could only hope his volatile bombs would fulfill their purpose without trouble… but for now, the hand cannons, or shoulder cannons, might prove tricky to use in their favor if their heat and noise could not be countered safely.

"Couldn't these cannons be mounted on a chassis of some nature?" asked Renkai, glancing at Azula with uncertainty. "Like… some manner of battering ram, perhaps?"

"A smaller one. A cart might be a better concept," Azula said, breathing out slowly. "We have that kind of mobility in our catapults too… but if these cannons can be carried out into battle directly by the soldiers, they'll be far more mobile than if they're mounted anywhere. It's not a bad idea, no… but let's keep that as a backup plan, at best. We wouldn't have the time to develop that kind of chassis for the cannon right now."

"Very well," Renkai nodded.

Chan sighed, rubbing his aching ear again before beginning the process of preparing a third, and hopefully final round into the weapon.

"The newbie who'll light my cannon is going to help with this too, right?" Chan asked. "I don't think I should unload the cannon from my shoulders, or set it down, every single time I have to reload…"

"It wouldn't be convenient to do that, no. I'll give out orders to ensure that they do help with reloading," Azula said. Chan grinned awkwardly.

"Good to know."

This time, though, he didn't aim the cannon however he pleased: Azula chose the angle through which she believed they would be able to fire and reach the widest possible range with the weapon's projectile. Awkward as the position proved to be, Chan managed to keep the cannon in place as Renkai lit the fuse once more…

Another loud blast, and another trail of smoke followed: the blank crossed the sky, soaring in a parabolic flight all the way… to the roots of the first trees in the forest.

"Well…! It kinda made it!" Chan said, with an awkward smile, setting down the cannon again. "That's what you wanted to see, Princess?"

"It is," Azula said, releasing a sigh. "Well… that should do it. Let's hope the blanks will also reach that area if you fire them from the wall, huh? We'll have to test that later."

"You'll assemble the bombardment brigade now?" Renkai asked. Azula nodded.

"The soldiers selected for it shall be announced later today," she said. Chan winced, jumping to his feet.

"And… am I among them?" he asked, with an awkward smile. "Hey, I'm already captain! That means I should be in the group, because besides, I'm the only one with experience handling the cannons…"

"Five minutes worth of experience?" Azula said, but she sighed shortly afterwards. "More than the others have, true, but still…"

"I'll do great at it, I promise!" Chan beamed, and Azula scowled at him.

"Provided you focus on doing your job… I'll try to believe that," she said. Chan's enthusiasm receded at her harshness.

"What would you expect me to focus on instead…?" he asked, perplexed.

"Well, I'd say don't play dumb, but maybe you're not playing…"

"Hey!"

"If you can't think of why I'd be apprehensive about leaving you to your own devices with a group of soldiers under your authority, I'm not about to spell it out for you," Azula said, scowling. "You'll continue to be watched, whether you join this brigade or not. At any rate, you shouldn't test firing from the wall until we have secured the gloves and the ear plugs. Can't risk the bombardment brigade's leader being deaf, now, can I?"

"W-wait. Are you joking, or are you for real? Did you mean that?!" Chan gasped, jumping in place excitedly. Azula rolled her eyes and nudged Renkai with an elbow.

"Carry the crate back inside. I'll check on Kori now," she told him. Renkai nodded.

"As you wish, Princess."

"Hey! Answer me!" Chan whimpered still, but the Princess appeared determined to ignore him: she marched off without another word, cutting the distance between the three of them and Kori's group within less than a minute's worth of walking. "Bleh. Both of you are cheapskates, I swear…"

Renkai rolled his eyes behind his helmet, but he kept quiet as he set the cannon inside the crate, closing the lid and then raising his half of the box just as Chan did the same.

"Did you get burned, in the end?" Renkai asked. Chan scoffed at him.

"You wish I had!" he said, proudly. "Though, uh… a little, maybe. There ought to be a safe spot to hold the damn thing without the overheating affecting you, you know? Still… right now, my ears are the bigger issue."

"It was alarmingly loud. Louder than fireworks," Renkai reasoned. "Hopefully the solutions we've thought of will work out."

"Still… will I really be the commanding officer for the hand cannoneers?" Chan asked, eyes bright with wonderment. Renkai shrugged.

"You do have enough rank for it. Not saying you should be, though… but the Princess might have decided to trust you? Uh, maybe?"

"You don't think she does, now, do you?" Chan huffed.

"Do you trust her?" Renkai asked. Chan's eyebrow twitched.

"I… don't? Not really? I mean, I don't think so…"

Chan frowned: being stuck serving the Princess over the past weeks, under the pretense of being some manner of secondary bodyguard for her, had done little to change his objective opinion on the Princess. The terrible things she had done to him were no less real nowadays… but while he tried to hold back from jumping to conclusions these days, he didn't think he liked her any better than he had before. If she hadn't pointed out so many times that his ideas to take revenge on her were illogical, maybe he would feel slightly better… wanting her approval in order to feel validated, when she was the very source of his life's worst struggles, certainly sounded like an unreasonable concept even to him, these days.

Her mysteries continued to confuse him, the life she had led ever since they had last crossed paths did, too. Seeing as he was always under her watchful glare or Renkai's, he had no chance to ask anyone about anything, not unless he wanted to risk getting into trouble with either of them. So, in the end, he didn't understand Azula at all. The main difference from before was that he wanted to understand, for better or for worse… for her decisions continued to be utterly perplexing and confusing. Did she want him to be the leader of the hand cannoneers because she would have a strong grip over their group due to her strong grip over him? Did she plan to throw them to waste, sacrificing them to win the battle through some other means? That would be unreasonable… their weapons were supposed to be capable of changing the tides of the battle after all.

So, what compelled her to entrust that responsibility on him? Was this truly trust, or was she simply left with no other choice? And as for himself, was he supposed to help her in her endeavors, or try to stop her? Should he become an ally to someone he hated, if that was the way to be properly loyal to his nation… or should he accept that he would never be more than a pebble inside her boot?

The human side of Azula was the most confusing part of it all for Chan: he and Renkai caught up with her as she spoke with Kori Morishita, who had dark bags under her eyes as she reassured the Princess about her fit state.

"… I can keep directing the earthbenders, Princess. It's no trouble," Kori said.

"That's not the part that worries me," Azula responded, eyeing her compassionately. "Take a break for tonight. Don't…"

"You can't afford that," Kori said, gritting her teeth. "I'm so close to finishing, I'll rest properly after I'm done…"

"Kori, I'm serious," Azula said. "We've managed to keep things quiet across the past weeks. I haven't gotten into any trouble again. My father's missives have been strictly professional, shocking as that might be. So… take it easy if just for one night, finish the job later, get the rest you direly need. You're a valuable member of our defenses, and… and I know I've put you under a lot of pressure. I'm trying to take some of it away right now, Kori…"

"But…" Kori sighed, running a hand over her hair. Azula eyed her skeptically, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Would you demand this much work out of Sneers, if the situation ever called for it, back when the Gladiator League was at its height?" Azula asked. Kori blinked blankly.

"I… well, no," Kori swallowed hard.

"Because you needed him at his best. There was no way he would be unless you gave him respite and chances to catch his breath," Azula continued. Kori bit her lip and nodded. "You're no different in that respect. None of us are. The enemy won't arrive yet… so you have time to recover and replenish your strength. Please, do that today."

"I… I guess. I'll try," Kori sighed, bowing her head in submission. Azula smiled a little, reeling her hand back. "I'm sorry if I'm being erratic, if I'm causing you any trouble. I just… I want to do right by you."

"This is how you will," Azula said, earnestly. "Keep working for now, with the earthbenders… but once you're done with that for the day, head on home and rest, Kori."

"Alright," Kori sighed, offering Azula a sad smile.

That she would be some manner of protector, that she would look after people under her care and charge, perplexed Chan. The teenage girl who had set his house on fire had been vindictive, sure, but well before that, her attempts to flirt with him had mostly fallen flat until she had finally started talking like the girls he was used to in Ember Island. She had been a menace on a kuai ball court, playing with her two friends and devastating everyone in the opposing team through completely uncalled for aggression… that girl, somehow, had grown into a woman who had earned loyalties so strong, so fierce, that the people in her life would be willing to sacrifice themselves in countless ways for her sake: Chan didn't understand how that had happened in the slightest.

He would continue to feel that way a few hours later, after following Azula through a few more protocol checks in the city to ensure that preparations were well in hand. All willing fighters were training hard, receiving their assigned weapons and armor for the upcoming battle: the second shipment of resources arrived on that day… and it was brought to Yu Dao by yet another valuable ally to the Princess. She was startled upon entering the war command to lay eyes upon the man, who had been speaking with Mayor Morishita so far.

"Aonu?" Azula's voice interrupted their conversation: the Mayor smiled and stepped back as the War Minister turned quickly, grinning in relief at the sight of the Princess. "You came. With no warning, still, but you did…"

"I felt I had to," Aonu sighed, with an earnest smile. "I'm glad I could see you again before the battle, Princess. And… I'm also glad the armor suits you as well as it ever did. Your father will be pleased."

"I haven't quite asked in any of my letters yet, it seemed inappropriate to do so… but I'll take your words as confirmation that, naturally, this new armor was his doing," Azula said. Aonu nodded.

"I had it brought to your cabin before you set out. As he commanded," Aonu explained. "As for why I'm here, I wanted to ensure personally that everything was in order, including the other members of the council who are meant to be assisting you…"

"Yes, they've been arriving gradually. I haven't had many chances to meet up with them outside of briefings, but so far, all seems to be well in hand," Azula said. Aonu sighed and smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said, though the grin faded by then. "Though, well… I have unfortunate news regarding my search for a lightningbender."

"Ah," Azula said.

"I'm still searching, and I will continue to do so, but… some of the few known lightningbenders in the army were in the navy, actually," Aonu explained. Azula sighed and shook her head.

"With the troops that went to the North, or the ones that went to the South?" she asked.

"North, as far as I could tell. If anything had been different…" Aonu gritted his teeth. "But… anyway, I wanted to check on you. It seems you're holding up quite well? Though…"

Aonu raised an eyebrow as his green gaze fell upon the tall, bulky Chan. He eyed him with curiosity, waving and smiling in his direction, and immediately making the War Minister recoil.

"I, uh… is that Captain Chan?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed. Did you know him already?" Azula asked. Renkai sighed.

"He hasn't been exactly quiet about his great deeds ever since he was posted in Yu Dao," Aonu said. "As you may recall, this is my hometown, I lived here before you called me to the Fire Nation… why is he here, exactly?"

"He's proven himself a most competent defender of the Fire Nation's values," Azula said, with a sardonic grin. "He helped protect me from a dangerous White Lotus spy, and so, I took him into my personal service ever since."

"I… I see," Aonu said: the charged way in which Azula spoke conveyed that there was more to the story than met the eye, and he acted in consequence. "That sounds like a most impressive story. Would you like to explain it more thoroughly as you show me the progress of the preparations of Yu Dao's defenses, perhaps?"

"As you wish, War Minister," Azula said.

It was going to be difficult for them to speak privately regardless of the situation, especially in the building that only appeared to become busier by the minute, so the Princess and the War Minister took a long walk across the city instead, throughout which they supervised the preparations once more. Aonu appeared relieved to confirm that the bulk of the work was paying off smoothly, eager to offer assistance in finding the solutions for the soldiers' handling of the large hand cannons. He had only just delivered the second shipment of the weapon: he was relieved to confirm the weapon would be effective, and he hoped that the issues with the cannons might be resolved with relative ease.

After a few conversations with locals – those better suited to provide ear-protective gear, and those who could craft thick fireproof gloves – Azula and Aonu's long day was poised to end in the Morishita house anew: while Aonu's actual family resided in the city, he had no intentions of visiting them during his short stay in Yu Dao.

To the Princess's relief, Kori was resting in her bedroom once they arrived, and Mrs. Morishita appeared thrilled to cook for Aonu too. In yet another twist of fate that neither Renkai nor Chan appreciated, the Princess ordered them to aid Kori's mother with the cooking, taking advantage of that opportunity to speak clearly with Aonu… something that was quite necessary, as proven by Aonu's immediacy to ask the important questions.

"What happened that made you keep Captain Chan with you constantly?" Aonu said, once they were alone together in the sitting room. "He doesn't strike me as the kind of person you'd want to rely on, exactly…"

"He's not. The story about the spy is true, though not that it was a White Lotus one. It's… from my father's allies, I suspect," Azula said, sighing as she sank in one of the couches. Aonu grimaced, sitting by her side with a frown on his face. "And of course… his duty was to uncover whatever I'm hiding."

"Your children and the midwife," Aonu finished. Azula breathed deeply.

"What did my father do?" she asked. "How mad is he that I brought them with me to the frontlines?"

"I don't know," Aonu answered, startling Azula. "I mean… we've spoken several times, but it doesn't sound like he's angry. If anything, he might just be… disappointed?"

"Heh. Go figure," Azula said, though her apprehension didn't fade yet.

"But I don't know. I barely know your father, so… I have no basis to judge him on, I feel," Aonu sighed. "He wanted them found at first, on the day you left. Then, he called off the search. He never told me to write to you about this… and I'm guessing none of the letters he may have personally sent had any questions on the matter?"

"None," Azula said. "So… he's resigned? Biding his time and looking forward to tearing me a new one once I return home?"

"If you win this battle, I'm not sure he would be able to," Aonu said. "Our attempts to destabilize the enemy forces haven't worked out so well. We've managed to stall their acquisition of some ships, but it's not enough."

"So… the morale of the Fire Nation army hinges on my success?" Azula asked, skeptical.

"You could put it that way. A victory, any at all, would be a change of pace after the past failures," Aonu sighed. "But I won't pretend the Fire Lord is pleased with the current situation. It's likely that his mood will fluctuate… I was fortunate not to be in his immediate vicinity often these days. Where, though, are you hiding them? You said… the frontlines? Couldn't you have asked someone in the Capital to look after them while you're preparing for battle?"

"They would never be safe there," Azula answered. "Asking any of my friends or allies to protect those three would amount to nothing: my father would track them down before long."

"And this was a better alternative?" Aonu asked "Forgive my impertinence… but it feels like, unless you secure the most extraordinary victory soon and prove yourself the only worthwhile leader of his armies, the Fire Lord will never overlook what you've done. More spies are bound to appear…"

"With any luck, they won't find what they're looking for," Azula said, gritting her teeth. "We've been working on… well, building a tunnel underground so that I may check on them without alerting anyone to my activities. They're not staying in this house."

"Then… you're keeping them safe, but not safe enough just yet?" Aonu frowned. "If… if you'd like, I could bring them with me to someplace in the Fire Nation. Maybe to someone you might trust sufficiently to protect them…"

"Truthfully, the people who might be able to protect them from my father, should he come knocking, are out of my reach and there are no possibilities that they could assist me with this," Azula said. Aonu sighed. "I'm grateful for your willingness to help, Aonu, but…"

"But?" he repeated, eyeing her with confusion: the spark of an idea lit up her eyes, though.

"But… you could help at something else," Azula said. "By finishing the tunnel, or working further with it, while Kori rests. She's the one who has been doing it for us so far…"

"Is that so?" Aonu asked, raising an eyebrow. "What, exactly, would be required here? What do you need of me?"

"You'd simply continue digging the tunnel all the way to… to the port," Azula said. Aonu's eyes widened.

"Are you keeping them in your ship?" he asked. Azula shook her head.

"I mean, evidently that's how they got here, but they moved to the Morishita family's private ship on the night we arrived. Kori's gladiator keeps watch over them there. I try to check on them every day, provided matters don't grow too hectic… but I'm afraid it won't be long before any other spy looks into what I do at nights or mornings whenever I'm nowhere to be found," Azula said. "I know, Aonu, I know… it's reckless, it's probably even stupid to have them with me in such dangerous circumstances, but it was the only way to keep them safe from my father."

"I… I do understand that. I think anyone would, especially after what you've faced," Aonu said, with a sigh. "At any rate… did Captain Chan find out about what you were hiding?"

"He did, he's the embodiment of what I'm trying to avoid by building this tunnel," Azula sighed. "He found them when they were barely moving into the new ship. Chan caught the spy, then Renkai caught him afterwards… we've kept him under constant surveillance ever since. Publicly, we pretend this is some manner of reward for him, that I took notice of his great talent as a soldier… but that's not the case in the slightest."

"I knew there had to be a bigger explanation than that. You've kept to yourself constantly ever since… well, since the League shut down, at least," Aonu said, eyeing her with uncertainty. "It seemed unlikely that any soldier could have won you over that quickly or easily."

"Particularly not that one," Azula said, with a sigh. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't have anything to do with him… fortunately, he hasn't been as useless as I expected, he even helped us with the tests of the hand cannons today. Even so…"

"The less people you rely on, the better for you," Aonu concluded. Azula nodded. "Your situation is complicated enough as it is."

"Indeed. And frankly… I'm sorry for dragging you into it," Azula said, rubbing her brow with her fingertips. Aonu frowned. "It's not like I didn't know what I'd be putting on you… but I certainly failed to anticipate matters escalating as badly as they did once I was deployed to Yu Dao. If what I'm asking of you is too much, don't worry about it. I…"

"It's not at all, Princess," Aonu said, firmly. "I came here personally because… well, I was worried about you. I don't believe you should be bearing with this responsibility, this ordeal, on your own. What your father has put on you…"

"Is no real surprise, not after everything he's made me endure thus far," Azula said. Aonu gritted his teeth.

"That doesn't make it right. It's just… wrong, all of it," Aonu said, shaking his head. "I don't question your loyalties, or your potential… but you truly should be somewhere safe rather than in the frontlines. I'll continue to search for lightningbenders that can replace you, though…"

"Well, you may, but… I'm as good as resigned to my role as a leader on this battlefield already," Azula said. "Even if I didn't involve myself in the fighting directly, I'd still be expected to act as the commanding officer."

"I know… I know," Aonu sighed, shaking his head. "I just wish there were more I could do to help you."

"Doing this would be more helpful than you might realize," Azula said, earnestly. "Hotaru needs me and… she seems to be growing slightly moodier, these days. If she cries too loudly, she'll call unwanted attention to herself, and…"

"And as good as serve as a beacon for those attempting to find her," Aonu sighed. "I… I understand. Perhaps I could begin doing it after dinner?"

"You could, and… and I'd always be in your debt for it, Aonu," Azula said, bowing her head in his direction. "I suspect I make your life far more complicated every time we cross paths…"

"Well, I don't resent you for it," Aonu said, with a weak smile. "It's been… well, a whole lifetime of waiting for someone to think I'm worthwhile, I guess. I'll continue doing my best to prove as much, no matter how challenging you might make it."

"You don't need to prove anything, if you ask me… but thank you for being up to the task," Azula said. "For how long do you intend to stay in Yu Dao?"

"I'll be leaving again tomorrow," Aonu breathed deeply, glaring at the floor. "I would gladly be here to defend my hometown, once the battles begin, but… I don't know if I'll have the chance to do so. The enemy is still weeks away from reaching Pohuai Stronghold, according to the scout reports I've received…"

"Indeed," Azula said.

"Much can change in that time… I might just be able to get here to help, but I don't know if I'll have that chance," Aonu said, biting his lip.

"As for your family… you truly don't intend to pay them a visit, do you?" Azula asked. Aonu scoffed.

"I'd much rather continue working than waste a moment enduring my brother's pretentious speeches. He'll constantly seek to remind me that whatever role I may have in the Capital, he's still superior to me in every respect…" he said, rolling his eyes. "I would never choose to spend time with him willingly."

"Frankly, your stories almost make me think my relationship with my brother was healthy," Azula said. Aonu snorted, chuckling and shaking his head.

"Hard to believe any relationship could be healthy in your family, but if you say so…" he said, breathing deeply. "I'll stand by you. I'm here for you, and I'll do whatever I can to protect Yu Dao's people. I'll do my duty, both as your ally and your friend, as I've sworn to."

"I was never much good at asking for help," Azula reasoned, smiling at him. "I'm glad I learned how. And glad that I chose the right people to support me. Thank you, Aonu."

Aonu nodded, a proud smile upon his face. Her trust in him seemed to boost his confidence, and while Azula wasn't entirely sure it should have such an effect on him, she saw no harm in his demeanor, whether as they ate dinner with the Morishita family or afterwards. While Aonu could be intensely abrasive towards people, his behavior had changed a lot now that he knew he wasn't alone, either.

After yet again convincing Kori to rest while Aonu continued her work, Azula joined Aonu by the entrance of the tunnel the female earthbender had been digging so far: it was located inside a storage shed in the Morishita home, cluttered with tools for gardening and house repairs. The hole led deep underground, into a tunnel that progressed in the port's direction. Aonu breathed deeply as he stepped up to it, glancing back at Azula with certainty.

"I'll try to get as much work done as possible," he said. Azula nodded.

"Thank you, though… if you did happen to finish it, you will need to know the ship's location in order to complete the task," Azula frowned. Aonu blinked blankly.

"Well… yes. I wouldn't have trouble reaching the port, but that's true," he conceded.

"Not to mention… they don't know to expect you. Particularly, Sneers doesn't, so they might not react too nicely if you approached the ship alone," Azula frowned. Aonu grimaced.

"Then… you'd rather I didn't finish it?" he asked. Azula shook her head.

"I'd rather you do as much as you can. If you do finish, then… yes, I'd be thrilled for it. But you might need someone to help you find your bearings once you're by the port, to lead you in the right direction and reassure them that everything's alright."

"Then… do you wish to come too?" Aonu asked.

Behind Azula, standing by the shed's door, Renkai grunted with disapproval. Aonu raised an eyebrow at his reaction, as the guard folded his arms over his chest.

"You shouldn't involve yourself," he told Azula, who scowled in his direction. "Should anything go poorly, you shouldn't be caught in the middle of this ordeal."

"Even when this scenario means someone might just catch Aonu and link him to me anyway?" Azula asked, skeptical.

"I'm simply saying…" Renkai sighed, stepping forward and removing his helmet. Aonu raised an eyebrow at the gesture. "Let me change into casual clothes. I will go with him."

"You?" Aonu flinched. "Why?"

"Because I know where to go, and they know they can trust me," Renkai said, simply. He glanced at Azula earnestly. "Though that would mean…"

"That I'd have to stay with him?" Azula asked, her face a mask of distaste as her eyes shifted towards the last member of their group.

Still standing by the door, Chan smiled awkwardly and waved in their direction: Azula immediately glared at Renkai, wondering if this strange choice on his part had a different intent than what he had expressed thus far.

"You don't want to be alone with him for long periods of time if you can help it, do you?" Azula dared say: Renkai tensed up, and Azula scoffed. "I can't blame you, he's quite annoying, but still…"

"It's still better for you not to be involved directly in the building of the tunnel," Renkai said, unable to mask his fluster at Azula's spot-on accusation. "I can assist the War Minister in this endeavor. You'll need your rest as well… especially if we can bring them to you this time around. Hotaru would be better off if you're not exhausted after spending hours underground."

His argument didn't feel all that solid, but it gave Azula pause nonetheless. She sighed, unsure of what effect it would have on Hotaru to nurse on her if she had overexerted herself… with any luck, nothing would be all that different for the child, but she didn't need to risk it, in case anything was.

"Then I have to babysit Chan this time…" Azula sighed, as Aonu eyed her compassionately.

"Is that the official name of what I've been doing with him thus far?" Renkai asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Azula shrugged.

"He's the one who put it that way, back when we started out," she said, with a tight grin. "Well, then, if you're joining him, hurry up with what you need to do to be ready, Renkai. We have no time to waste."

Aonu jumped into the hole first, marching through the large territory underground without Renkai at first, as the Captain of the Third Squad sought a casual change of clothes in his room, switching into it quickly before returning to the shed. He shot Chan a warning glare before following Aonu, however:

"Don't do anything stupid. She'll make you regret it, if you try," Renkai said. Chan scoffed.

"I'm smarter than you think," he declared. "Why would I do anything stupid to begin with? You nagging jerk, you… Nagkai!"

Renkai rolled his eyes before approaching Azula: he bowed his head in her direction, though she didn't appear to appreciate his courtesy much.

"After saddling me with something like this, you'd better get that tunnel finished tonight, Renkai," she said. Renkai grimaced.

"I've been stuck with him every night for two weeks…" he reminded her. Azula huffed.

"I know, but… ugh, get in there before I change my mind about who's going," she said. Renkai smiled slightly and nodded before jumping into the tunnel.

And with that, Azula was uncomfortably alone with Chan, waiting, as ever, for the tunnel's crafting to be completed.

Chan bit his lip, eyeing Azula apprehensively: he had been alone with her on occasion, but not nearly as often, not nearly for as long as he was bound to be tonight. Usually, whenever Renkai was resting, Azula and Chan would be up to other matters, checking the progress of preparations throughout the city, or even sharing meals with the Morishita family. It was the one time he'd be around her outside of those occasions… and the thought shouldn't be so disquieting for him, but it was.

He glanced at her, finding the same menacing girl whose hands had burned with blue flames as she asked him to conquer the world with her. The same cruel girl who had rejoiced in defeating his gladiator, inflicting a shocking fate upon him that he had resented her for… and she was a total stranger. The woman in the golden armor before him was no longer that girl… she hadn't been, for years. Everything he had inferred about her, everything he thought he understood, wasn't quite as simple as he would have liked it to be.

And now she stood there, glaring at him as though challenging him to take a single step out of line, anything that could justify her in taking him down for good.

Chan swallowed hard, grinning awkwardly at her and stepping away from the door, hoping to show he wasn't merely biding his time to run away once she was distracted. Her demeanor didn't change much after that, but her threatening glare lifted away from him as he took his seat atop a crate within the storage shed.

"So…" Chan said, with an awkward smile. Azula's grimace made him flinch. "C'mon, you don't have to act like you have a stomachache just because you're around me. Or, uh, do you have a stomachache?"

"I'll have a headache, rather, if you start making small talk for no reason," Azula said. "I expect that's why Renkai is quite so eager to get away from you."

"Well, I could've been the one to go with the War Minister guy instead of him," Chan pouted. "I know where to go…"

"The people aboard that ship barely know you," Azula said. "They're more likely to trust Renkai, or me, than they'd ever trust you."

"Barely know me?" Chan repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Does that mean they… kind of know me? Did you talk to them about me?"

"Why, evidently, I had to," Azula said, rolling her eyes. "You unceremoniously inserted yourself in this mess when nobody wanted you to do so. They are aware of who you are, and of why you've been stuck with us and will continue to be, going forward."

"Going forward means… until the battle?" Chan asked, awkwardly. Azula shrugged.

"Don't know. Depending on the battle's outcome, could be longer than that," she said. Chan blinked blankly.

"So… what, if we all survive?" he asked. "Are you saying that the only way I can get out of being watched non-stop by Crankykai is if I die on the battlefield?"

"Or… if you actually prove yourself as worthy of trust as you have been trying to," Azula said, with a sardonic smile. "And what are the chances of that?"

"Well…! There's a lot of treacherous things I could've done over the past two weeks and I haven't!" Chan huffed, folding his arms over his chest. "I could have attacked Nastykai, for instance…!"

"Could you use his actual name? At the very least, while he's not around?" Azula said, rolling her eyes.

"What? You don't mind if I do that when he's around?" Chan blinked blankly. "Well, what's up with that? Do you enjoy it when I tease him?"

"I don't, but clearly you two have some manner of rivalry going on and…" Azula said, her eyes narrowing. Chan crooked an eyebrow as the Princess fell silent.

"And?" he encouraged her to talk, and Azula released a deep sigh.

"It's nothing that concerns you," she whispered. Chan pouted.

"You were talking about me… should concern me," he said, before shaking his head and looking at her pleadingly. "I know I've been a jerk in many ways, okay? And it's no fluke, I've done it on purpose…"

"Color me surprised," Azula said, rolling her eyes.

"But what I'm trying to get at is… well, I've talked to Renkai, alright? A few times. About you."

"Ah? Did he spill all my deepest darkest secrets to you already?" Azula asked, her mood worsening immediately, no matter how sardonic her words might be. "I'll have his head for it, if he did."

"Well… I doubt he did. He only said stuff I didn't know anything about but that were supposed to be public knowledge? Like that, uh, you… you did get married to someone?"

Azula scoffed… until his previous words sank in. Her head snapped back in his direction, a perplexed frown upon her face.

"Wait. You didn't know about that?" she asked. Chan shook his head slowly.

"Or that you, um… had a baby?" he said. Azula's stomach clenched upon hearing him say those words. "Who, I figure, is on that ship. I, uh, may have been jumping to conclusions about you and Renkai lost his nerve. I kind of assumed that you might have, uh… kidnapped someone's baby?"

Azula's expression finally shifted away from distrustful scowls: for a moment, her face was as good as unreadable… before she covered her mouth, bursting out with laughter. Chan grimaced, cheeks flushing.

"W-why is it so funny?!" Chan squeaked.

"Oh, you're unreal," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Me? Kidnap a child? Why, exactly, would I put myself through taking care of someone else's child when I can barely tell up from down when dealing with my own?"

"I… didn't think about it too thoroughly, I mean, well…!" Chan winced, his face redder still. "My point is I'm confused about a lot of things related to you, and I'm a little tired of jumping to conclusions only to be told that I'm an idiot! That's fair, right? I'm allowed to want to learn something or another! And besides, if I'm already resigned to being stuck with you guys, isn't it fine to, well, tell me things? Sometimes?"

"Tell you things like… what?" Azula asked, puzzled. "It sounds like you already know all you needed to know: I got married, I had a baby. What more do you need?"

"I… I guess hearing you say it outright makes it surprisingly real now," Chan said, blinking blankly. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"And this bothers you why, exactly? Are you worried that I'll raise my daughter to be the terror of mankind, by any chance?" Azula asked. Chan's lips tightened into a line.

"Well… now I am!" he exclaimed. Azula laughed, shaking her head and folding her arms over her chest. "I mean, it's just…! Hell, I can't imagine having a kid. I don't really think I'd be ready for anything like that just yet. Feels like I have so many more things to do still, you know?"

"Believe it or not, I do know," Azula said, her humor diminishing quickly. "I never really envisioned myself having children, altogether. It felt like something I'd never want for myself… like something to endure years down the line, maybe, once I felt ready, or once I had no choice."

"Did you have a choice?" Chan asked, puzzled. "I thought… well, being married to that guy, he probably, uh… oh. Uh… shit, damn, that's… that's ugly."

"You thought… what, exactly?" Azula asked. Chan was making a rather odd face of disgust, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes and shake her head. "Are you only just processing the implications of me being married right now?"

"No wonder you're in such a bad mood all the time," Chan said, shuddering. "I'm sorry. Must have been awful."

"It was," Azula acknowledged. Chan sighed, her words a confirmation of his expectations. "Though I don't know if you might be imagining more to it than you need to…"

"I might be. Apparently, as far as Renkai's concerned, my imagination is wild but weak," Chan pouted. Azula smiled. "You seem so fond of him… but he says you weren't always. I don't know what his deal is, it's like he's constantly protecting you? Maybe… maybe he has feelings for you!"

"That… is unlikely," Azula said, her amusement shifting into a grimace. "Renkai has better sense than that, and… since when, exactly, do you think it's conceivable for someone to have feelings for me?"

"Uh… I don't know," Chan said, with a half-hearted shrug. "Probably since, w-well… since Renkai kind of implied you had someone in your life, and I mean, for the past few days I've wondered if he was just being vague and mysterious because it was him! But, uh, it isn't?"

"Oh, of course it is," Azula said, with a crooked smirk. Chan scowled. "Our undying love is oh, so powerful that it's why we've been sharing custody of you, remember? Divorced parents dealing with an unruly child…"

"That doesn't feel right…" Chan huffed, cheeks flushing. "You're just teasing me again. Why can't you just tell me the truth, outright?"

"The truth? Because I'm not sure you'd believe it if I did," Azula said, with a careless shrug, taking her seat at a different crate from Chan's, across the room from his.

"Try me," Chan pouted. Azula eyed him skeptically.

"Renkai and I… hated each other profoundly," Azula said. Chan's eyes widened. "He was tasked to spy on me and inform on my every move to someone I despise. I recognized his intent and purpose all along, and I endeavored to make his life miserable at every step of the way. But apparently, the person Renkai worked for eventually proved to be the true menace in this equation, and Renkai turned on him to join forces with me. I didn't trust him at all at first, but as time went by, he proved to me that he was reliable and the rest is history. There. That's the truth."

"Then he… proved himself to you?" Chan blinked blankly. "That's what I want to do, too! No wonder he hates me, he's just jealous of…! But wait. He spied on you and you let him get away with it? You even took him into your service? You can't be serious…"

"And if I am?" Azula asked, with a slight smirk. Chan scoffed. "What would you rather believe, Chan? That I flirted with Renkai, he shat himself for it, and so I threatened him to be my guard or else I would torment him for the rest of his life?"

"W-well, no. I believe he'd be a little less eager to protect you if that were the case," Chan said. "But then, going by the information I have…! If not him, who is the other person who was part of your life?"

"It's impressive that you've managed to elude gossip to this extent, I'll admit that much," Azula said, drawing her gaze away from him.

"And also… I don't get why you brought the kid with you to a battlefield," Chan said. Azula laughed and clapped, startling Chan. "Hey! What's that for?"

"Finally, a sensible thing to question! I'm genuinely impressed now," she said, beaming with deviousness. Chan scoffed.

"Glad I impressed you! Was about time I did, I'll say! But… what's the story?" he growled. Azula shook her head.

"The story is… that I had a child. And she's so extraordinarily powerful that I have brought her here because she alone can conquer the enemy forces and win the whole war for us…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, how about the truth now?"

"Hmm, the baby was born when I was on my way here, so I didn't have much of a choice…"

"You wouldn't be moving around as much and getting things done if you had only just given birth!"

"You know, the aftereffects of giving birth are so strange that sometimes it does feel like it happened only a few days or weeks ago," Azula confessed, shifting in her seat: again, the reminder of Azula's motherhood unsettled Chan. "Some parts of my body just hurt wildly at random… maybe I'm just not fit for being a mother."

"Heh, well…"

"Ah, so that you do believe?" Azula asked, with a deadpan tone: Chan winced.

"Wait, were you lying about all those things?!" he exclaimed. Azula shrugged. "Hey! This isn't funny!"

"Not for you, it's not," Azula admitted, chuckling as she folded her arms over her chest. Chan huffed.

"You're impossible. I'm being honest here, okay?! And I'm making an effort to see your side," he said: Azula's smile faded at the unusual earnest emotion in his voice and eyes. "I… I want to understand. And it's not because I want to ruin your life or mess you up, I…! I realize I've jumped to conclusions and I shouldn't have. I…"

"Chan… I ruined your life," Azula said, bluntly. Chan's eyebrow twitched as he glared at her.

"You did. Twice," he added. Azula nodded.

"You're under no obligation to understand or empathize with my plights," she said. "Frankly, I don't understand why you're even trying. It's not that it's wrong of you to do so, but… what exactly are you hoping to achieve by doing this?"

"I just… I don't know," Chan said, running a hand over his hair. "I guess the more time I've spent here, and the more mysteries about you turn up, the more I realize that I don't know you as I thought I did. In fact, I don't know you at all. So… I'm tired of being in the dark. And I'm also tired of Renkai insulting me for it. That too."

"Understandable, I guess," Azula said, glancing towards the tunnel's entrance. Chan's eyes flickered towards the hole. "But as you may realize, I'm not exactly in the habit of trusting everyone in my vicinity, even if they have no ill intent. Even the Morishita family… even they are better off not knowing everything going on in my life. The struggles I'm facing aren't joking matters."

"But you still trusted Renkai. And you trusted that War Minister," Chan pointed out. Azula sighed.

"I have my own reasons to trust Aonu. Wrapping my head around trusting Renkai did take time," Azula acknowledged.

Chan blinked blankly before raising an eyebrow.

"Is… is the War Minister the other guy?"

Azula scoffed: her reaction was so earnest that Chan smiled awkwardly and shifted back in his seat.

"Okay, okay, sorry, I just…"

"You're giving me far too much credit if you think any man I'm acquainted with might have developed feelings for me," Azula said. Chan snorted and laughed. "Yes, indeed, the very notion is laughable. Most men react exactly as you did, remember?"

"Running away?" Chan chuckled. Azula nodded. "Most, though? Some don't?"

"One didn't."

Her voice changed when she spoke those words. Chan eyed her with uncertainty upon hearing that.

"One, huh?" he repeated. "Well… who was it?"

Azula sighed, staring at him skeptically. Chan waited in his seat, patiently expecting her to finally confess the truth and continue wearing down his foolish assumptions about her: somehow, he actually looked forward to having those assumptions being torn down…

"What, exactly, do you know about the current conflict we're facing, Chan?" she asked. Chan raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… you mean, in Yu Dao?"

"I mean in general. Do you realize why Yu Dao is in danger?" Azula asked. Chan cleared his throat.

"Because Ba Sing Se fell."

"And before Ba Sing Se fell, so did Omashu," Azula said. Chan flinched and nodded.

"Right, right…" he said. "There's a huge rebel army. It's been prepared by… the Blue Lotus? And it's led by the White Wolf!"

"… The White Lotus. And the Blue Wolf."

"Oh. Haha! I mixed up the colors, sorry about that," Chan grinned, scratching the back of his head. Azula sighed heavily, arms tight around her chest.

"Chan… what do you remember about our fight in the Ember Crater?" she asked. Chan's smile turned upside down.

"That you terrified me and made me grateful that I wasn't going to marry you?" he asked.

"I must have made quite the impression if that's all you processed," Azula said, shaking her head. "Do you remember the name of the gladiator who mysteriously challenged yours on that day, at the very least?"

"What? No, I… I didn't pay much attention to that," Chan laughed. "Remember you made me think you were a small fry, I didn't recognize the gladiator's name as anything famous or important, so I figured it'd be an easy fight? And, uh… and then it wasn't."

"It certainly wasn't," Azula said, with a dry grin. "Then you didn't even look at the challenge long enough to read that your challenger was 'the Blue Wolf'?"

"No, I… no," Chan frowned. "The Blue…?"

Azula tapped her arm with her fingertip as she waited for the soldier to make the connection. Chan frowned, glanced from side to side, even scratched his head… before staring at her intently.

"Your… your gladiator is being impersonated by the rebel leader!"

Again, Azula snorted and burst out in laughter.

Chan's cheeks flushed: at the very least, the Princess's genuine laughter was somewhat nice to witness… though it was slightly terrifying, too. How could someone be intimidating even when they were at a loss over amusement…?

"Oh, that's… that's a good one," Azula chuckled, shaking her head as she composed herself. "My gladiator's being impersonated… that makes a whole lot of sense, of course."

"Well, I'd think he wouldn't be so crazy as to ditch you and join enemy forces against you!" Chan exclaimed, grimacing. "He must have known how dangerous you are, so I can't believe it really would be your gladiator!"

"And what if it is?" Azula said, with a dry grin. Chan's certainty crumbled rather quickly with that question.

"It… it is?" he said. "But… what, does he have a death wish?"

"You really think a man who was capable of reconquering the two largest Earth Kingdom cities in a war against the Fire Nation is doing this with a death wish?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Chan shrugged.

"I don't know anything about what he's achieved so far, but there's no way he could beat someone as scary as you," he said. "Or the Fire Lord. He would have to be crazy to think so."

"He's crazy, alright," Azula said, nodding. Chan frowned. "Crazy enough to achieve the unthinkable, the impossible, time after time. Defeating his first opponent with a knock-out? Do you remember that, at least, or was I so scary that you don't really recall how…?"

"How he tormented my gladiator and then caught his head between his legs and just… dunked him into the sand? You don't really think I could forget that kind of thing, do you?" Chan winced. "It was terrifying! It was…! W-wait. He… he was terrifying. Just… like you."

Azula smiled… with a fondness that startled Chan at once. His heart pounded, as though trying to send him a message… but it was one he refused to acknowledge right away.

"He defeated the Millennium Dragon every single time they crossed paths," Azula said. "Remember the Millennium Dragon? No? The second strongest gladiator in the League. No one had beaten him other than Combustion Man. And then… he defeated Combustion Man, too. No, actually: he killed him. That's… that's why he's become the most famous gladiator of all, as far as I understand. It's why people refer to him as 'the Gladiator', even though there were so many gladiators aside from him. I wonder… I wonder how he feels about that. Years ago, he would have hated it. But nowadays, well… it might even be a source of pride for him, knowing that people have bestowed this title upon him. The Gladiator…"

"Almost sounds like you're the proud one," Chan ventured a guess. Azula smiled and shrugged.

"I'm proud of him to a fault. Right up until his reckless actions might get us all killed," Azula said, her smile fading quickly. "But he was always rebellious, never did as he was told. Defied everything, challenged me on every level… that's why this is no surprise. His choice to barge into the war as he did was stupid, if you ask me… but fortunately, he's the smartest idiot this world has ever known. If someone can succeed against the odds, it's him."

"But then… he seriously betrayed you? Or was he tricking you all along while being a member of this White Lotus group?" Chan asked, frowning. Azula shook her head slowly.

"He's not part of the Order of the White Lotus," Azula said, with certainty.

"But he joined them…"

"No: they joined him. There's a difference," Azula said.

"Huh? What kind of difference?" Chan asked. Azula smiled.

"The difference that tells you he's extraordinary, and a far more capable leader than any of their bigshots," Azula said. "Jeong Jeong is under Sokka's command, not the other way around. So is the Avatar. So is my brother. Every last one of them… they know who the true leader of their forces is. He knows the Fire Nation profoundly… he's the man my father despises the most, to the point of having attempted to kill him multiple times to no avail. He's the greatest threat to the Fire Nation's war campaign, and the first person in over a hundred years who might just turn the tides of war against us. I… I don't fully understand what he did in the north, but a victorious battle for our forces was suddenly a massacre of our soldiers shortly after he entered the stage, it seems. Hence why I've warned my guards of how dangerous he is: if he shows up in Yu Dao, our chances of winning will be slim to none."

"Really? You… you wouldn't lose against him!" Chan snorted, looking at her in disbelief. "You're Princess Azula! You burn down houses, you break people's hopes and dreams…!"

"How very flattering," Azula smirked.

"How could you ever fear someone else at all?" Chan asked. "Let alone your own gladiator! That doesn't make any…!"

"I do not fear Sokka," Azula said: her voice, again, softened in a way that Chan struggled to ignore this time. "I know him better than anyone. I know what he's capable of. I chose him to be my partner… and no one in this world could have ever fulfilled the role as extraordinarily as he did. No one else could ever have hoped to match me beat by beat in every stage of life. So… if you're wondering why I'd expect to lose? It's not because I'm afraid. It's because I'm being objective: the Fire Nation has never faced an enemy as powerful as the Blue Wolf."

"But… he's a non-bender, isn't he?" Chan asked. "Wouldn't the Avatar be scarier than him?"

"As far as bending goes, he should be," Azula said, with a shrug. "I'd still prefer to fight the Avatar than Sokka, on any given day. I'd think I'd have better chances against him."

"W-what? Say what?!" Chan gasped. Azula stared at him nonchalantly. "You… you're pulling my hair again! Of course you are!"

"I most certainly am not, but suit yourself. Believe whatever you want to believe," Azula said. "It does feel like that's how it works with you, huh? You accept the things you want to accept, and the ones that push you a little too far out of your comfort zone are too much to fathom, right? I can only wonder just how many elements of my life's story would sit in the second category… if I told you about all of it, I'm sure you would refuse to believe any of it out of principle alone."

"I said I was trying to believe you, but you're not making it easy. Talking about him that way, it feels like… like he's some sort of god!" Chan exclaimed, looking at Azula in amazement. She snorted, shaking her head.

"He certainly isn't a god. He's human… far too human. And that's one of his greatest strengths, I'd dare say," Azula said.

"Well, I'm just saying, the way you describe him makes him sound unreal," Chan said, folding his arms over his chest, stretching his legs carelessly. "Maybe you're not good at telling your story believably."

"Maybe you're too predisposed to believe everything I say is a lie," Azula said, with a dry grin.

"Well, it's hardly my fault that you're not making sense!" Chan complained. "You're saying your gladiator's the guy leading the enemy forces but that he didn't betray you, that the Fire Lord wanted him dead and hates him more than anything, and none of it explains why you're hiding your baby in a ship."

"Hmm. I guess it doesn't, now, does it?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow.

"It doesn't! And I just…! I know you don't trust me, but telling me the truth shouldn't be that hard," Chan pouted. "If you didn't like Renkai one bit but you learned to trust him, then you should learn to trust me too."

"Hmm. Trust you with the truth, huh. I'm not entirely sure you're ready to hear it, frankly," Azula said, shrugging. Chan's eyes narrowed.

"Try me," he said. Azula smirked and shrugged.

"Very well: the truth is that Sokka… ate too much."

"He… what?"

"Cleaned out the Palace kitchens too many times. The displays of absolute crass manners he would do, oh my, it was a thing of legends. And I was very weak-willed to tell him to stop, so my father was outraged by my failure to get him in line and decided that the only way to stop him was…"

"To kill him," Chan finished. Azula nodded sagely. "And he failed."

"That's why Sokka ate too much food. Made him indestructible," Azula said, with a shrug. Chan's eyebrow twitched. "And now he takes revenge by eating food all across the world to strengthen himself further and then…"

"You really do enjoy making up these ridiculous stories, don't you?" he asked, with a dry grin. Azula chuckled.

"You're being terribly boring if you don't enjoy them, yourself. Not like we needed more reasons to be certain of how different you and I are, but still…" Azula sighed dramatically. "The truth, then… is that my father took to gambling. Put so much money on us in the Gladiator League and then we lost one day. He was upset, tried to kill Sokka in retaliation…"

"No," Chan said, bluntly.

"Fine, then: a spirit owl in a library…"

"Just tell me the truth!" Chan squealed, glaring at her.

"I fell in love with him."

For once, Chan didn't say anything. Azula waited in silence, apprehension surging inside her as she tightened her folded arms. Chan swallowed hard, looking at her in disbelief.

"That's… that's not the full story you made up this time, now, is it?" he asked. "That ended way too quickly. Come on! Try harder… if you really want to sell it."

"Try harder, must I?" Azula said: Chan knew there was someone in her life, but he had no idea it was her own gladiator. She had thought he might fail to recognize that she was telling the truth… but he did seem to believe her this time. This was the story he had been fishing for… and she hardly knew why she was giving it to him, but she dared try, regardless. "I didn't intend for it to happen, neither did he. Before we knew it, our partnership resulted in something far deeper and stronger than we ever thought possible. But of course, when someone betrayed the truth to my father, he lost his temper quite badly. Destroyed the Gladiator League, staged Sokka's execution by Combustion Man's hand. He was ready to die as the Grand Royal Dome went up in flames, I got him out of there at the last moment, nearly got myself killed doing it too. I took him back home, he didn't stay put even though I begged him to… and the next thing I knew, he was charging into battle against the Fire Nation. There. How believable was that one?"

Chan frowned, tapping his chin before making a face of disapproval and extending a hand towards her, making a gesture of lukewarm interest by twisting his hand from side to side.

"I mean, could use more finesse," he said. Azula smiled. "Still no explanation about the baby on the ship, so there you go. You need to think these tales through, Princess, really…!"

"The baby… is not safe in the Fire Nation," Azula said. Chan frowned. "The baby needs me. She was born merely a few months ago, and spies are already after her. I had no one I could trust to protect her from genuine physical threats if I left her behind, no one who could promise to preserve her life safely, no one who could guarantee success against the spies in question. I had no choice if I wanted to ensure she survived. And that's the main reason why I've done anything I've done over the past year."

"To ensure your daughter survives?" Chan asked, skeptical. Azula nodded.

"Even… even my presence here is merely a choice for her sake," she said, averting her gaze from his. "Why is she unsafe, you wonder? Is it really that hard to guess? Must I spell it out?"

"I… mean, maybe you should," Chan said. "Then I won't jump to conclusions, I'd know for sure if your story makes no sense this time, right?"

"Right. Makes no sense," Azula sighed, throwing her head back against the wall. "My father suspects that my daughter's father is the man he wants dead more than anything in this world. He hasn't seen my child yet. He didn't dare, thus far. But things were beginning to look too dangerous for us. I wouldn't have left her in the Fire Nation, not if I had to go elsewhere… but he made the choice easier yet when people under his command started trying to confirm her parentage. I'm here now, I'm part of this war effort, not simply because I intend to defend my people… it's because I have no choice if I hope to protect my daughter. A single step out of line, and she'll be gone for good well before I can do anything to prevent it."

"That's… that sounds insane," Chan said, eyes wide. Azula narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

"Built a believable story now, did I?" she asked. Chan winced, reeling back and averting his gaze.

"I-I mean, uh, this was better but uh, still has weird holes in it! Like, uh… wait. Is the child… his? Not Zhao's… but his?"

Azula stayed silent this time: a part of her stirred with uncertainty, regret, fear. Was this information Chan should be able to unravel?

"And if the child's his, then… wait. Does that mean he's coming here to find her?!"

"Unlikely," Azula said, curtly. Chan blinked blankly.

"But, I mean… he's bound to want his kid back or something. If he's fighting against you…"

"He wants more than that. You can't even begin to fathom the scope of what he's trying to achieve," Azula said. "Whether he's right or wrong to do so remains anyone's guess, but…"

"It can't be right. He's attacking and destroying Fire Nation people!" Chan exclaimed.

"He's attacking and destroying Fire Nation soldiers who have spent a hundred years doing the exact same thing to their enemies," Azula clarified: Chan's eyes widened. "What makes you think that our war effort is justified while theirs isn't?"

"W-well…" Chan bumbled, unsure.

"I want to keep Fire Nation people safe," Azula said. "He and I swore not to get in each other's way when it came to protecting our respective nations…"

"W-wait. Respective? Wait a minute, does that mean he's not Fire Nation? What, is he Earth Kingdom?"

"You don't even know that much?" Azula sighed, jaded. "He's from the Southern Water Tribe."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Chan gasped, sitting upright, eyes wide. "Hey! That's… that's unreal. Isn't the Southern Water Tribe the one that was in worst shape and…?"

"And even so, it could not be conquered? Indeed," Azula said, with a smile. "It's a stubborn, resilient, strong nation and culture. So much stronger than any of us Fire Nation fools could fathom. Only people like them could have ever raised a man like him."

"Well, that's a new hole in this story, then. You, with a non-Fire Nation guy?" Chan asked, amused. "That doesn't make sense. You're the Fire Nation Princess! You can't even marry a commoner, let alone a guy who's not even from…"

"How long before it sinks in that my father wanted him dead for the exact reasons you're reciting right now?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow. Chan opened his mouth again… but this time, he said nothing. "Hmm. Faster than I expected, looks like. You're improving."

"Wait… wait," Chan said, eyes widening. "Your… Southern Water Tribe gladiator. You… have a child that's… his? And… and he's gone to war against the Fire Lord. He's less than a nobody, as far as the Fire Nation is concerned…"

"Oh, that's certainly never been the case. He was quite famous as a gladiator, not that you'd know, since you dropped out of the League due to my meddling," Azula said, tapping her elbow with a finger. "So, he was never a nobody, no. A slave? Yes. And one that lived like a nobleman, on the most part. One that earned the Fire Lord's respect and even proved worthy of boons and gifts from him… right until he became a threat instead. Right until the sacred purity of the Fire Nation's Royal Family bloodline was endangered with his heritage. In any case, he's certainly made a name for himself and proven to be much more noteworthy than any other suitor I've ever had. Impressive, isn't it?"

"Wait. But so far… you said you fell for him. But he… you didn't really say he fell for you," Chan pointed out. Azula snorted and shook her head at the utter perplexity upon his face.

"What a concept, isn't it?" she said. "That there could ever be a man out there who might actually want me…"

"I… I don't really think that's entirely right? Some would, of course!" Chan said, nervously. "I wasn't saying anything like that, I just was wondering… well, I ran away when you tried to flirt with me, but this guy is the guy that didn't?"

"If only finding your soulmate were that easy: the one who doesn't run away when you're being weird," Azula said, with a dry grin. Chan laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "But indeed, he didn't run from me. He faced me, head-on, every time. He believed in me more than anyone ever has. He supported me, comforted me, took care of me and made me realize that I could amount to so much more in this world than I ever imagined possible. So… yes. I loved him… and he loved me, just as well."

Chan remained apprehensively silent now. Azula sighed, offering him a sardonic smile.

"New gap in my story, huh? How could anyone grow to love a monster?" she asked. Chan flinched. "It's quite alright if that's what you thought. He, however, was convinced that I wasn't one. Or that, if I was, he was as bad as me and that was why we were such a good match."

"He… he really felt that way about you?" Chan asked, perplexed. "Did you, uh, ask him to conquer the world for you? And… hell, now I get it! That's what he's doing! Wait, this story does make sense!"

Azula chuckled, shaking her head and averting her gaze from him. Chan's jaw dropped at the link he had drawn between two ideas, shaken by how much sense they made in his head.

"I told him about that, actually," Azula admitted, startling Chan.

"Wait. He knew about me?" he asked.

"Naturally. At first, only as that unwanted suitor I needed his help in getting rid of… eventually, I told him about our first meeting and about my clever proposal to you. He wasn't exactly keen on world domination himself… but he tried to find a way around it to still persuade me that we belonged together."

"And now he persuades you by doing this," Chan pointed out, with a grimace. Azula snorted.

"He didn't need to persuade me of anything anymore. He didn't need to do it back then either, to begin with."

"It's messed up, though… if he loved you, like you think he did, why would he put you through this mess?" Chan asked, running a hand over his hair. "And if the baby is his… yeah, that's even more messed up. Do you think maybe he just wants to get you and the baby back and…?"

"That's a much more common and widespread theory than you might have thought," Azula said. Chan raised his eyebrows. "I certainly hope not. If he's not doing this out of genuine conviction of doing the right thing… then he's not the man I thought he was."

"Uh, I… don't follow," Chan blinked blankly.

"You don't need to," Azula concluded, closing her eyes and crossing her legs. "If you can't keep up with this storyline, guess you'll think it's a lie too, right?"

"I… I guess. Though you don't make it sound like one this time," Chan said, eyeing her with uncertainty. Azula scoffed.

"Just my luck that you'd start believing me when it's least convenient, huh? Aren't I the most unlovable person you've ever known?"

"Well, don't get me wrong, I thought you were!" Chan said, tapping his chin. "But… it's not just this weird story about your gladiator. It's Renkai, and Kori Morishita, and the War Minister, and… and that girl who sends you off from the ship, too. The way this city treats you, how people take your every word seriously, it's almost like they revere you or something. And it doesn't make a ton of sense to me considering what I knew about you… but I thought I just don't really know anything about you. Maybe… maybe you're not as bad as I thought."

"That's no fun. Go back to thinking I'm the worst, you're more entertaining that way," Azula grimaced, waving a hand in his direction. Chan chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're the worst in enough ways," he said. "I don't think I'll ever forgive you for burning down my house…"

"Perfectly valid."

"Or for ruining my life…"

"Also valid, though I certainly hope you blame your father enough for that one, too. I would've never crossed paths with you again if it weren't for his greed," Azula said, simply. Chan sighed.

"As far as disappointing parents are concerned, I certainly got lucky with my dad, didn't I?" he said. "I don't even know why he set up that marriage…"

"For power. For convenience. He wanted to be closer to the Royal Family and found an opening to do so, by pretending he had been the one to save my life in the South Pole, rather than the other way around," Azula said. Chan raised an eyebrow.

"The… South Pole. Again," Chan frowned. Azula smiled.

"I saved your father, and all the other people who had been sent by my father… from him. The man who became my gladiator, Sokka, and his southern rebels."

"You… wait, really?!"

"And after defeating him, I turned him into a slave," Azula said. Chan's jaw dropped. "Let's see… Renkai disliked me, and I hated him right back. I treated him terribly even after he started changing his mind about me, because I always believed he was out to get me. It took forever for me to change my mind about him, too. Aonu? He was the Millennium Dragon's sponsor. The one Sokka defeated constantly. Sokka almost killed him, once. Aonu positively reviled me."

"Then… wait, all the people who think you're awesome actually had way worse starting points with you than I did!" Chan exclaimed, jaw dropping. Azula smiled and nodded.

"I'm a proud collector of bad decisions, Chan. You ought to have noticed that by now," she said, teasingly. "I've done things people shouldn't forgive me for, and for whatever reason, they choose to do it more often than not. Save for my father, of course, but still…"

"He… won't forgive you for your relationship with the Gladiator?" Chan said. Azula shook her head. "Huh. W-why did you do it, though? You had to know he would react like that, if he found out…"

"I never intended for him to find out," Azula said, simply. "Just as I didn't intend for you to learn anything at all, but boredom certainly can compel me into making bad decisions. Our relationship was given away by someone. I would have been perfectly content to keep the truth hidden for as long as possible, but…"

"Didn't work out that way, huh?" Chan said, with a sigh. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like… like you've really had an eventful life ever since we last crossed paths, huh? Kinda makes me wonder what might have happened if only… if only we had never met, back in Ember Island."

"What?" Azula blinked blankly. Chan smiled and shrugged.

"Or if my gladiator had defeated yours," he said. "If… if you had no reason to hate me, none of that would have happened. You'd be married to me rather than to Zhao, and… well, maybe you wouldn't have been through the kinds of pain you did. Just saying, just saying…"

"You're saying that I missed out on a golden chance, now, are you?" Azula asked. Chan smirked, sitting upright properly.

"I'm a real catch, whether you admit it or not," he said. "For what it's worth, though, I… I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions about you when I did. And I'm sorry for the things you went through. I guess I was just thinking that there's many choices we could've made that might have kept you from… from needing to sit in this shed with me now, waiting for this tunnel thing to be built, right?"

"Right," Azula said, staring at him with a slight frown. "Looking at it this way, you… you had a lot more influence in everything that happened in my life than I gave you credit for, far more than either of us ever realized."

"You mean… because I messed things up between us?" Chan asked, with a slight smile. Azula shook her head.

"You… you didn't mess up," she said, surprising him. "I overreacted… you rejected me. It hurt, yes, but… right now? It amounts to nothing. It… it's a given, a part of my life I well and truly accepted long before I even crossed paths with Sokka for the first time."

"So… you're saying you wouldn't change anything?" Chan asked, surprised. "Even if it might mean… that you wouldn't have to be in this situation right now?"

"If you hadn't rejected me… I wouldn't have Hotaru," Azula whispered. Chan's eyes widened. "I wouldn't have… wouldn't have founded the Enforcers. Wouldn't have adopted Rei, wouldn't have built bridges with unexpected people, discovered gold fire, learned more about this world than I ever thought I would. I would have never been able to save the Fire Nation the numerous times I did, I… I would have never made the friends I did, across the years of my participation in the Gladiator League. I never would have proven myself to the Fire Nation, to my father…

"I would have never met him."

The way she spoke now startled Chan: it was as though she were witnessing a revelation of some sort, even if he wasn't sure he grasped it. He could tell, however, that whatever she was realizing now wasn't bound to be anything flattering for him.

Suddenly, Azula smiled. She had never looked at him with eyes as earnest as she did right then.

"It's messed up to say this now… so many years down the line. After so much time, so much hostility between us, but Chan, I…" Azula said, with a fragile grin. "I can't believe how much I owe to you for rejecting me."

Chan's eyes widened. He trembled in place as Azula covered her face with a hand: tears seemed to bloom in the corners of her eyes, but she was smiling still as she wiped them. She even laughed, resting her head on her hand, fingers slipping through her dark locks.

"I don't know why I never thought about it. Why it never even crossed my mind that… that you'd done something remarkable for me when you turned me down back then," Azula said, shaking her head. "My life would have been so different… I would have been so different if I'd just stayed with you, had you wanted me. And after the hardships I've been through, that's supposed to sound like… like a dream, right? But a life without Sokka… a life without any of the people I grew to cherish, the people who were part of my journey, I… the more I think on it, the worse it sounds. The more I cherish where I am now, and everything I've been through, even if I hate some parts of it as much as I do. It… it's hard, at times, to really remember how bright and grand my best years were. Everything felt so… so dim, so dark, so lost across the past year… but somehow, you just said that and now…"

She laughed again, covering her mouth with a hand as her eyes drifted to the floor between them. Chan's stomach sank, even if he hardly understood why it would do so: had his choice to run away from her truly changed so much in the path of Azula's life? Had he genuinely changed her fate by being too scared, too confused by her behavior to respond to it in a different way?

She wasn't simply being vindictive. She wasn't saying these words to hurt him: she was genuinely rethinking her life through the unexpected lens Chan had offered her… and she smiled at him, regret and gratitude mixed in a strange, unsettling concoction:

"Thank you, Chan. Both for turning me down when you did, and for making me realize that I'm actually grateful for it now. I'm really sorry that I… that I messed up your life as badly as I did when you actually set mine in motion, in ways I never realized you had."

"Uh… heh. Well… you're welcome?" Chan said, with an awkward smile. "But, uh, hey! You finally apologized now, so that's good. That's… that's great! You feel bad for making me feel bad!"

"You didn't deserve that kind of punishment for something as childish as what happened between us, yes," Azula said, nodding. "Your opportunistic father, however…"

"Eh, yeah, never mind him," Chan sighed, shaking his head. "I'm the one who ought to apologize for that one, if just a bit. He never asked me if I wanted to get married. Just went off and set it up. I didn't have strong feelings about it either way, but… I think I would have preferred getting to know someone and choosing to marry them rather than just getting hurled into the life of arranged marriages out of the blue. So, uh… thank you for stopping it? I think? Even if it meant I wound up in the army, but…"

It was his turn to smile, arms folded over his chest.

"But you know what? I… I'm grateful for it, too. Until then, I'd never been challenged properly. I mean, I had my big bulky muscular arms and all! But even if it meant I'd always beat Ruon Jian at arm wrestling, that's all I really used them for…"

"That and flirting with girls?" Azula asked, amused. Chan chuckled and shrugged.

"That too," he said. "But I mean… I was terrified on the first days at the academy. But… once the physical training started? I was doing better than everyone else. Before I knew it, I was at the top of my class! I'd never done that in school before, you know, I was just… the average guy who hardly ever knew what he was doing. But this time, being physically strong actually was valuable! And… and I was good at something. I wasn't just riding on my father's wings, I was flying on my own and it… it felt good. I wanted to prove myself to you precisely because… because I believed that you thought I'd never amount to anything. That you had gotten your revenge by annulling me as you had, by taking away my family's standing… and so, if I reclaimed it myself, I would avenge my family as I wanted to, and you'd regret what you'd missed out on once you saw what a great catch I was. But… but I guess making you seethe and rage about not marrying me isn't exactly going to work out if things are like this, huh?"

He chuckled, smiling sadly at Azula, who smiled too.

"It was easier to think of you as the same girl I met in Ember Island," he admitted. Azula shrugged.

"It's easier to think of you as the same boy I met in Ember Island, too… but we've both changed a lot. It's been over ten years now, since then," she said. Chan chuckled.

"And we've changed so much that now we're grateful to each other for being assholes to each other?" he asked. Azula's smile gained strength.

"Seems that way," she said.

Chan looked at her apprehensively, and Azula breathed out slowly, arms and legs tightly crossed. It seemed he might have given her much more to think about than he intended to… but he hoped not to be done with doing that quite just yet.

"Say…" he called her attention anew, and Azula hummed in acknowledgement. "If… if I don't want revenge on you anymore, if I don't really think that it's worth it… would you be open to trusting me a bit more, going forward?"

"Eh… I wouldn't be sure," Azula said, eyeing him skeptically. Chan pouted as she smiled. "You're annoying, Chan. You were supposed to keep second-guessing my every word and yet you stop doing that precisely when I start telling you the truth. It's very inconvenient for me, as you may have noticed…"

"Now I know too much, do I?" Chan asked, with an awkward grin.

"Which is, in turn, inconvenient for you because now I have all the more reason to keep constant vigilance over you," Azula shrugged. Chan laughed.

"Well… for what it's worth, I don't think I'll mind it that much anymore," he said. "I guess… I really did want to talk to you and clear the air, but I never imagined it'd go like this. So, uh… thank you for explaining things, even if you didn't mean to."

"Thank you for listening… and for not judging me that much, I suppose," Azula said, eyeing him skeptically. "Not entirely sure why you didn't, though…"

"Judge you about…?" Chan asked, raising an eyebrow. Azula's own twitched slightly.

"Whatever I did out of wedlock with someone who wasn't supposed to be with me…?" Azula clued him in, and Chan gasped.

"Oh, right, right… right. Woah! You totally banged that guy out of wedlock?!"

"You're only making the connection now?" Azula grimaced, looking at him in disbelief. Chan's cheeks flushed as he stared at her with all the judgment he hadn't shown so far. "I shouldn't have said anything…"

"I-I just…! Damn, I can't really…!" Chan shivered, a hand on the top of his head, eyes shifting back and forth in confusion. "F-for how long were you two…?"

"Why does that even matter to you?" Azula scoffed.

"Because…! W-well, I don't know, it just does!" Chan winced, staring at her in confusion. "W-wasn't before your fight against me, though, was it…?"

"Oh, of course it was. I climbed him like a tree the first time I saw him in the South Pole, you see, instead of sending him to Hui Yi I kept him to myself and fucked him senseless for two years until it suddenly seemed necessary for me to turn him into my gladiator," Azula said, with a dry grin. "Then he started fighting for me in the ring too, but outside of that…"

"You're crazy! You barely knew the guy! How could you…?!"

"Oh, so that you do believe, but not that my father had a gambling conflict with him, huh?" Azula laughed, shaking her head. "You're a moron."

"Am not! You… you were lying this time? You lied again?!" Chan squeaked. "That's not fair! I thought you weren't going to lie to me about this anymore…!"

"I did, though. And you know why? Because… it's none of your business," Azula said, with a wide, sarcastic grin. Chan pouted. "You don't need to know when anything started. Unless, of course, your entire deal is comparing conquests and experience in bed with me, which is an entirely stupid and childish thing to…"

"Stupid? The guys in the academy did it all the time! It happens in the barracks too…!"

"… Huh. So, all soldiers are all childish and stupid. Good to know."

"Hey!"

Their momentary, deep connection had truly been more ephemeral than Azula had anticipated, but to her surprise, it still had a strong effect upon how she felt about Chan: he hadn't fled from her this time around… he hadn't treated her quite as poorly as she would have anticipated. The fact that he, too, found his life had turned out to be far more bearable, far more worth living because of the choices they'd made in their younger years, proved to be a comforting common ground between them, one that might give way to genuine trust before long. Nevertheless, Chan remained as determined to be ridiculous as he ever had been, seemingly backtracking on elements of her explanations to reach conclusions that Azula had expected him to already infer earlier, such as, twenty minutes later…

"Wait… it was him!" Chan exclaimed. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"What was?" she asked, blinking blankly.

"The guy with better muscles than me," Chan gasped, looking at her in chagrin. Azula's jaw dropped.

"The… what?"

"You said, when we met again in the war command's meeting room? That you'd seen better than my muscles!" he squeaked. Azula raised her eyebrows. "You were referring to… to your boyfriend!"

"You… ugh. Don't call him that," Azula grimaced, rolling her eyes.

"But, uh, he was that, wasn't he?"

"He was a lot more than just… a boyfriend," Azula repeated, disdainfully. "That word sounds ridiculous and it's never going to suit what he meant to me, so just… don't use it. Please."

"Well, fine, but the point is it was him! That's who you were talking about when you said that!" Chan pouted. Azula shrugged.

"I mean, yes, but… there are other men who are bulkier than you out there too, just so you know," Azula said: Chan's yelp of horror actually brought Azula to laugh, looking at him in disbelief. "Are you seriously this prideful about having the best muscles in the world?"

"W-well… yes! I mean, I should be," Chan pouted. "Who else are you talking about, then? I have to gauge the competition…"

"My father," Azula smiled. Chan froze, looking at her in horror. "The Millennium Dragon, that one beat you too, by miles, I'd dare say. Hell, I don't know if Haiyan might have thicker muscles than you as well… maybe Mei Xun, heh."

"Who? Why do they sound like women…?" Chan asked, with an awkward grin.

"Because they are," Azula laughed, and Chan pouted. "I don't know if they really have bigger muscles than you but… maybe they would beat you in a fight even if they don't, come to think of it."

"If I wanted a girl to beat me in a fight, I probably don't have to go too far to find one to do it. A perfect candidate is sitting right across me, right now," Chan pouted. Azula chuckled.

"Well, if you ever do want me to hand your ass to you, let me know. Wouldn't be all that terrible to have a sparring partner. Maybe we could rope Renkai into joining us too…"

"What? Oh, no! Definitely not! He'll actually try to kill me, I don't want to spar with him!" Chan winced, and Azula laughed at his reaction… until her amusement faded upon hearing footsteps echoing from the depths of the tunnel.

She stopped talking at once, jumping to her feet and staring into the dark depths of that tunnel: she had been in that shed, talking with Chan for far longer than she had realized… was it dawn yet? It didn't feel like it was. Kori usually worked all through the night, had Aonu done the same thing? Or was this…?

The first silhouette that took shape within the depths of the tunnel caught Azula by surprise:

"We… we made it. Azula…!" Song gasped, smiling in relief as the Princess rushed into the tunnel, clasping her shoulders with her hands.

"The tunnel is done? It is?!" she exclaimed, as Song offered her a quick, reassuring hug…

One that soon expanded further, once Azula glanced over Song's shoulder to find Rei, holding a quiet Hotaru in her arms.

"Mom…" Rei smiled: Azula's lips broke into a full smile as she wrapped her arms around both Rei and Song, letting Hotaru rest in the space between them.

"You're here… you're here. Oh, curses, I didn't think it'd be so fast, I…!" Azula gasped: behind Rei, Aonu chuckled softly, the light from the shed hardly falling upon his features, for he was deeper in the tunnel still.

"Lady Morishita probably worked herself too hard," he explained. "The tunnel was almost at its destination once I reached its depths."

"Then…" Azula said, smiling as she pulled back: her arms wrapped around Hotaru now, and tears blinked in her eyes as she hugged the child, safely, pressing a light kiss upon the top of her head. "Thank you. Thank you, Aonu… thank you."

"No need, I… it was all Lady Morishita, I barely did anything," Aonu smiled: Azula held her daughter closely as she stepped out of the way, allowing everyone to leave the tunnel safely.

Chan's eyes widened as Azula held the child to her chest: he could barely see her, but in the excitement of the situation, the Princess certainly hadn't been as careful about concealing her baby as she usually would be. Her skin was far darker than that of any of the members of the Royal Family…

But she was real. That, above all else, registered in Chan's mind as he gaped at the baby from his seat: Azula's happiness was so genuine, so tender, holding her daughter as though she were the greatest treasure upon the entire world… for she was, in her eyes and in her heart. Her companions were used to this, Chan supposed… they knew just how deep her connection with her daughter had been. He, however, had only just glimpsed it for the first time…

He had only truly known Azula, for the very first time, on that night.

"Hey."

Chan winced as his ruminations were interrupted by a scowling Renkai.

"Did you behave yourself?" he asked. Chan pouted.

"Fairly well, Worrywartkai," he said, snobbishly. "The Princess and I have reached, uh, many understandings now. I think. I hope."

"Indeed… and one such understanding is that you, Aonu and Renkai need to step outside this shed right now," Azula said, smiling matter-of-factly at him from over her shoulder. Chan winced.

"Oh. Guess she's got to eat now, huh? Haha, yeah, I, uh… I bet none of us are allowed to see that!" Chan exclaimed, jumping up and wrapping an arm around Renkai's shoulders, the next around Aonu's.

"W-what are you…?" Aonu gasped, perplexed by the man's careless closeness, much as Renkai grunted, trying to recoil from the gesture.

"You two worked very hard! Let's go find some water, or even a drink to help you refresh yourselves! Come on, come on, give the girls some privacy!"

Azula laughed as they left, watching as Song closed the door behind the other three: her friend glanced at her in confusion, and Azula shrugged.

"Is everything alright with that guy now?" Song asked. "I didn't really know for sure if we should have stepped out into the open with Hotaru, but…"

"Strange as it might seem… I think Chan won't be that much of a problem, going forward," Azula said, cupping Hotaru's face delicately. "He might be right to say we've reached an understanding."

"That's good. Right?" Rei said, smiling at Song, who raised an eyebrow before smiling too.

"I'm glad you did. Surprised, but glad," she said. "So… we have a new ally?"

"Well… hopefully. I don't know if I fully trust him yet… but he's probably made of better material than I thought he was," Azula conceded, breathing out slowly as she took her seat on her crate again, preparing to feed Hotaru.

"Going forward… we'll spend most the day on the ship, then we'll come through the tunnels by night, so you can spend the full night with Hotaru," Rei said, smiling at Azula as she aided her mother in removing her armor for her purposes. "You can feed her in the morning too, before you have to go work…"

"That sounds like a good plan," Azula said, smiling at her older daughter as she finally shifted her clothes properly to feed Hotaru: the baby whimpered before latching onto her breast, soothed by her mother's presence, as ever. "See? You won't be rid of your annoying mother quite so easily anymore, dear. How do you feel about that?"

"I'm sure she's happy," Rei giggled.

"We could just sleep during the day, then stay in this shed until morning," Song said, folding her arms over her chest as she glanced about herself. "Sneers will probably be happy to come along the next time we do. We told him he could do it this time, but…"

"He said he wanted to keep watch on the ship anyway," Rei said. Azula nodded.

"It's up to him where he prefers to be. We do have a lot of valuable, incriminating luggage of Hotaru's aboard that ship, don't we?" Azula said. "Might be better to make sure no one sneaks into it to find evidence of what we're doing. At any rate… yes, stay there during the days, come here during the nights. We'll stick with that procedure until…"

"Until the army arrives?" Song finished. Azula swallowed hard.

"By then… I guess we'll figure out what feels safer. Hopefully, no location you could be hiding in will be in danger in the end, but that hinges on… on Sokka being there. But I don't know if he will be. In fact, I… I fear he won't be, at all."

Song gritted her teeth, lowering her gaze as Azula breathed deeply: were her presence known to the enemy already, she had no doubts Sokka would rush to see her. Until he found out she was in Yu Dao, though, he was bound to continue with his strategic pursuits, trusting that Jeong Jeong would have everything under control, with the resources he'd have at his disposal.

"Do what you need to do, Azula," Song said, stepping up to her and wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders. Azula dropped her head against her flank. "We know this isn't easy… but you're doing everything in your power to keep people safe. That's what matters most."

It certainly had to be what mattered most… for, if it wasn't, the likely horrors Azula would inflict upon the enemy in the coming battle would be unforgivable. Would she even want forgiveness, at that stage? Would she care to earn any, when she knew she would never forgive herself?

The innocent people who counted on her, though, whether within this room or outside it, needed to be saved. If the enemy understood that too, then all the better: the Fire Nation's ultimate defeat was as good as a certainty, but Azula had no intentions of sitting back and waiting for a merciless enemy like Jeong Jeong to destroy everything by poorly masquerading vengeance as justice.

An hour later, Song and Rei had dozed off together, on the crate Azula had been sitting on earlier, with Song's head resting atop of Rei's. Azula held a sleepy Hotaru in her arms, daring open the door of the shed to glance out at the night sky. Everything was so placid, so simple… so peaceful, for the first time since she had first arrived in Yu Dao. It was false peace, quickly obliterated by chaos and war… but for now, she found comfort in an intangible embrace, that of the mirage of the man she loved, wrapped snugly around her and their daughter.

"You asked me to change the stars with you," Azula whispered. Sokka, behind her, chuckled. "I… I don't know if I can do it. I'm not sure I'll be strong enough to pull it off without you. So… make it easier on me. Come to me… and help me change them. Come… and put a stop to the violence, to the warfare, with me. Is it too much to ask…?"

"There's nothing in this world that would keep me from reaching you," Sokka whispered. Azula shivered, closing her eyes. "I… I want to be here. I want to stand with you, no matter what. Just… just give me a chance. Just give me some time and I'll be where you are, ready to return to what we always were meant to be. What we always have been. Give me some time and I…"

Azula sighed, glancing over her shoulder: the mirage of Sokka's figure gazed back at her, for just an instant, before offering her a gentle kiss.

Her heart clenched: she would wait a little. She would be patient, if she could afford it. But as peaceful as that night might be, as many of those that followed might also prove less chaotic than expected… the truth was that she feared she might not be able to exert it for long enough to await Sokka's arrival.

"If I fail to…" Azula whispered. "If I can't help but become the monster you believed I could never be… then please know that everything good about me, anything you valued in me, all the potential you thought you saw in my heart… all of it has been passed on to our daughter. Please… protect Hotaru. Fight for her. Even if I'm not worth it… she is."

"You are, though…"

"You don't know what I will have to do in the coming days," Azula said, heart clenched. "I don't know, either. It may just be worse than everything you did in the Earth Kingdom, or even in the Water Tribes. That's why…"

"It won't matter to me," Sokka said. Azula sighed. "I've done terrible things myself, you know I have…"

"You're so stubborn even when you're not even you," Azula said, laughing and shaking her head. "But I suppose… if someone truly can move the stars, it would be you. Perhaps you'll also be able to move the hearts of those who will have every right to despise me. Including you, of course, but…"

"Nothing in this world could ever make me stop loving you."

The words struck her in her depths: she knew them to be true. She knew that was Sokka's genuine sentiment, echoed and translated by the connection of their souls. Perhaps it was true… perhaps she should cling to that truth, just as she held onto Hotaru so tightly. Perhaps she had been right to sing to their daughter, asking her to hold out hope… for her father would bring a new dawn in which their world would finally be free again.

Humming a comforting melody, cradled in the arms of her Gladiator's mirage, Azula soothed Hotaru into a gentle, quiet sleep.

The days that followed saw more preparations in Yu Dao after Aonu returned to the Fire Nation. Little by little, the land all around the city was laced with the strategically disposed incendiary bombs, as the earthbenders carved their underground maze carefully, ensuring to prevent the enemy from accessing the city through those means. Chan's new position at the head of the bombardment brigade certainly boosted his spirits, and while he continued to say insensitive, careless words – as well as picking fights with Renkai whenever it suited him –, his behavior towards the Princess shifted positively. He listened to what she might say, his defenses lowered as he fulfilled the promise Azula had made him upon breaking him out of her Barge's prison cells: he received the same respect he offered, and it showed in the Princess's willingness to trust him further and further with each passing day.

Kori had been thrilled and relieved to learn that her work had paid off, and Azula had urged her to spend a day recovering, even enjoying some leisure time with Sneers aboard the Morishita family ship, in exchange for everything she had done for Azula and her loved ones. Hotaru, Rei and Song spent most nights in the Morishita household, even going so far as to enter the house itself without the Mayor and his wife's awareness, and rest inside Azula's room, as she nuzzled Hotaru while regaining her energies, too. There was no denying that the stress and strain the Princess faced took its toll on her, but she continued to ignore it, covering up with sufficient makeup to mask the signs of exhaustion across her visage every day.

Her promise to train with Chan and Renkai came through, too: having partners to spar with certainly helped… though at times, after they were entirely beat, Azula would continue bending alone, fighting an invisible opponent whose identity both her companions could guess easily. Her gradual return to an active lifestyle, to battlefields and combat, progressed smoothly. Her body seemed to adjust to the training rhythm, to her push of boundaries, to her need to ensure she could calm down sufficiently to invoke lightning, should the need arise. If the Avatar stayed in the North, she might not need to resort to any such extreme measures to take him down… but if he didn't, she would have to be ready to face him and cut him down in the only way he might just be defeated.

The days passed, one after the next, turning into weeks, and Yu Dao's defenses strengthened, appearing as good as invulnerable… and just so, on one afternoon spent supervising the latest haul of installed bombs in the land, a messenger from Yu Dao's communications office rushed to the training grounds. He informed Princess Azula, and her two constant companions, of the news that had reached their tower mere moments ago:

"Princess Azula: the enemy's assault on Pohuai Stronghold has begun!"