Morning broke, finding the Princes scarcely more rested than she had been over the course of the past two days. Despite intending to abide by her vow to Sokka, the frenzy that resulted in the burning of her bedding had infused her with too much fury to sleep. She had, instead, prepared a bath for herself – she hadn't taken one since just before this nightmare began, and she knew that counted as another method to look after herself, just as her secret husband wanted her to. Once she was finished cleaning up, she couldn't return to her bare bed. Instead, she pulled up a chair and perched upon it, nodding off for merely a few minutes before dawn: the servants arrived shortly afterwards, and as exhausted as her body, heart and mind might be, she was fully alert as soon as the guards opened the door to her bedroom.

"W-what is…?" asked one of the men, as the maids that intended to file into the room froze cold at the sight of the pile of ashes upon the uncarpeted section of the floor.

"Clean that up" Azula ordered: her voice was clearer, far blunter and more authoritarian than it had been the previous day. Even the guards froze upon hearing it, the ringing strength of her royal bearing blazing across her once she rose to her feet "And once that's done, bring new sheets and a blanket for the bed, if you would"

"R-right. Yes, Princess" Zhilan answered promptly. It was apparent to Azula that the woman was on edge, that all of them were: none of them knew what they'd find whenever they entered her bedroom. More than that, none of them could know what they'd find at the other end of the dark, unsettling tunnel that the latest developments had shaped into, and neither did Azula.

The guards seemed to be utterly out of place: Azula ignored them, filing towards the adjacent dining room in her quarters, where two of the maids were setting down a tray with food. She hadn't touched a single meal for the past two days, and it relieved the women profoundly once Azula took her seat and picked up her chopsticks. Usually, Azula would dress up first, she would eat once everyone else was gone… generally, she had certain loving marks on her body that she needed to cover up before her servants arrived. As she was now, she covered up for nothing. She wore no make-up, her hair was carelessly loose, and she disregarded all her usual priorities completely. No one in this room would be unaware of what her so-called crime had been. Hiding anything was futile by now. If any of them had the guts to judge her, to speak against her for being so bold by now, there would be hell to pay, and she suspected all of them knew as much.

She ate gradually, her body apparently at war over what to make of the food: her stomach started to ache after the second mouthful of rice, demanding further nourishment, and yet it also threatened to return everything she ate. Her appetite was utterly absent, and every bite tasted like ash might, no matter how well seasoned each dish might be. She forced herself to eat regardless, to drink the full jar of juice she had been brought, knowing her body required this. She would be no use at helping Sokka if her mind wasn't in the finest condition possible… and it wouldn't be unless her body was in a better one, too.

She heard footsteps as the maids returned with the new bedding, but once they were halfway through setting it up, there was another sudden arrival. Azula's eyes narrowed, immediately focusing her attention on this latest visitor, dreading already that he'd bear unwanted, unwelcome news.

"The Fire Lord demands to see her"

And there it was.

Azula huffed, her narrow eyes sharpening with further fury. His tantrum in the Agni Kai Arena was over, then: whatever her father intended by summoning her again, she would no longer hide her genuine feelings and thoughts from him. She had lied to him for years… honesty was certainly in order after everything he'd done over the past two days. If her answers to any further questions or orders were prone to send him into another such tantrum… well, she wasn't sure there would be any downsides to that, at this point.

She didn't rise to her feet immediately: she shoveled two more servings of ash-tasting food inside her mouth, and after forcing herself to down the second one, she realized her surging tension and conflicting emotions wouldn't allow her body to process more food. After one deep breath, released in a long huff, she pushed herself away from the table, crossing her room with powerful strides towards the dresser, where her clothes already awaited her.

There were three guards in the room now: the messenger had been, of course, another Imperial Guard, and once again, an unknown one. She ignored all of them, collecting her garments before making her way to the bathroom, the only location within her rooms where she still had any privacy. No one spoke to her as she moved through the room: her intimidating presence had been slightly restored if they were so apprehensive to speak at all after the insolence with which they'd addressed her the previous day.

Ten minutes later, after wrestling with her garments alone – for she would ask for no help from the maids, not even when her shoulder pained her as badly as it did – Azula stepped out of the bathroom, striding towards the dresser anew. This time, she didn't reject the maids who stepped up to help her assemble her hair… but when one of them reached for her hairpiece, Azula held up a hand to stop her.

"I won't wear that" she determined, and her words allowed no protest.

The maids stepped out of her way, allowing Azula to march towards her door. The three guards studied her quietly at first, watching as she stepped through them, again making no show of acknowledging their presences beyond her willingness to face her father for the second time since the debacle began. They fell into step behind her, though, escorting her all through the Palace corridors.

Servants and Palace workers stepped out of her way whenever she passed them by: she didn't slow down to take note of their expressions, to unravel whatever they might have known, whatever they might think of her… no, for it didn't matter anymore. If they knew the full truth already, they'd likely believe her a fool for having a secret relationship and attempting to hide it from the Fire Lord. If they didn't know it, then they surely would learn of it soon, and then they'd think that just as well, wouldn't they? Ultimately, their reactions were irrelevant. Whatever anyone would think or say of her, of what she had done, it was of no worse consequence than whatever Ozai had in mind: with any luck, he might have simply decided to give her another chance to lie to his face and spare herself the consequences of her actions – something she would never do. She highly doubted, however, that he would have reached any conclusions, or made any sort of decision, regarding how he'd punish her yet. Not if he was as unhinged as Zhao had implied he was, at any rate…

Another guard stood outside the Throne Room. He slid through the curtains, likely to announce her arrival to the Fire Lord, or to ensure Ozai was ready to receive her: Azula disregarded all protocol entirely, ignoring the guards who accompanied her as they told her to wait, and she stormed into the Throne Room by brushing the curtains open violently, her footsteps heavy and steadier than they had been for the past two days.

The guard who had entered the Throne Room to announce her arrival gasped upon hearing the flutter of the curtains, watching powerlessly as the Princess passed him by. The Throne Room's flames were unusually tame once Azula entered it, even though the Fire Lord, perched in his seat, scowling furiously at her disrespectful entrance, seemed moments away from setting the whole room ablaze.

"T-the… The Princess is…"

"I can see that plainly, fool" Ozai hissed, his eyes following his daughter's shape despite speaking to the guard "Leave us. Now"

The guard obeyed immediately, but Azula was quick to notice it wouldn't be her and Ozai alone in the Throne Room, as it had been on the previous day. She didn't intend to let her eyes drift towards him, but she still identified that, by Ozai's left, stood Zhao. Had he appeared reassuring, or proud of himself, she might have had different expectations from the upcoming meeting with her father… but she would be a fool if she hoped for anything good to come from this.

She stood in silence before her father again, but this time she didn't drop on her knees nor did she perform any manner of reverence: all she did was glare at him, defying him much as another man she had defended Ozai from had glared at his Fire Lord many years ago. She had felt guilt over what had happened to that petitioner, but she had never thought she'd find herself in his same spot in the future. The awareness of being anything like him wasn't something to be ashamed of, though: if anything, she would proudly join him in the ranks of the few people who had dared challenge her father, whether they had gotten away with it or not.

"You were summoned" Ozai said, his voice scathing, cold: eerily similar to the voice with which he'd speak about Zuko, or Iroh. Azula's entrails twisted at that thought, namely the one to do with her uncle "Yet without being authorized to enter the room, you strode in with the subtlety of a Komodo rhino. How far do you intend to take this embarrassment, Princess Azula? This tantrum does not befit you"

"I'm sure burning the Agni Kai Arena to the ground must have been a much more agreeable tantrum, yes" Azula retorted: she visibly glimpsed Zhao flinching next to Ozai, though her father's own reaction – a furious snarl and trembling, tightened fists – was far more worrisome.

"Tread lightly, girl" Ozai hissed, his voice a low, threatening, almost animalistic growl. Even then, Azula scoffed.

"Why?" she asked, as her feigned tranquility crumbled to pieces slowly before her father's very gaze "Whatever intentions you had in mind when you summoned me, you'll follow up on them no matter if I'm at my best or worst behavior…"

"Those intentions may yet be much worse if your insolence continues!" Ozai shouted, rising to his feet impulsively. Azula was no more daunted by his full height than she had been by his previous, poorly contained fury "Are you truly this unhinged, Azula?! Have you completely lost your mind?! You've already condemned yourself, and you wish to make matters even worse by acting out against me?! Do you think I take pleasure in punishing you, child?!"

"Why, I should hope you do" Azula said, raising her eyebrows "Otherwise, you're basically tormenting us both by making utterly unhinged decisions of your own, disrespecting me and everything I've ever stood for, as your daughter and heir. If you truly find no pleasure in this, pray tell, why the blazes have you done any of what you did?"

"Because a Fire Lord, a father's decisions, aren't a matter of pleasure, curse you!" Ozai bellowed "But I suppose, after all these years, that's the one thing that guided you, wasn't it?! All the discipline, all your ambitions… all of it was a front, I take it! For if you were so ready to risk everything for a chance to spread your legs to the first fool who'd take you…!"

"If that had truly been my intent…" Azula growled "It'd still be none of your damn business"

"None of my…?" Ozai said, freezing where he stood upon those words.

"You've stood by me and supported my every endeavor for as long as I can remember" Azula said, her glare no less fierce now "You've entrusted missions, important responsibilities to me, but now…!"

"Now you've betrayed me, your father, your Fire Lord!" Ozai hissed.

"I'm afraid I don't see how, for the one who's been betrayed here is me!" Azula growled. Ozai scoffed, rolling his eyes as he tore his eyes off his daughter "You've always, always encouraged me to reach for everything I dare take! You told me, didn't you? That I was a monster! And that I should take pride in that, that no one should ever hold me back, that I should embrace being whatever I was and take by my own power whatever I pleased…!"

"And this is how you've put that lesson to use?! By whoring yourself out to a slave?!" Ozai retorted "How could you possibly prove to be such a fool, Azula?! What kind of idiocy, a leave of your senses, could have ever justified you acting in such a detrimental manner?! You gained nothing by doing this! All you would do was condemn yourself in the eyes of your nation through your dishonorable actions…!"

"And it's somehow less dishonorable to demand that Fei Rou inspected me to confirm whether I was or wasn't a virgin anymore?!" Azula asked "If you had the slightest bit of concern for my wellbeing, you would have asked me directly what the truth was, you wouldn't have subjected me to…!"

"Oh, I would agree, if only you had been found untainted" Ozai rebuffed, scowling dangerously at his daughter "What difference does it make whether I ordered it or not, considering you'd allow that and worse from that scum gladiator…?"

"What… what difference does it make, you…? You seriously can't tell?" Azula asked, eyes wide. Her stomach seemed to be on fire now: she was certain she had never experienced such wrath, such utter rage, towards her father before "So you think it's fine, then, because I was no longer a virgin anyway?! You think anyone has any right to touch me, just because I gave myself to someone else?! Why, then, do tell: how have you remained such a pure, untainted man across all these years, completely faithful to your memory of my mother…!"

"Don't you dare compare my loyalty to my wife with what you've done!" Ozai shouted, but Azula wouldn't relent.

"If apparently no longer being a virgin means you should gladly welcome any damn breaches of your privacy, according to you?!" Azula exclaimed "And no, I shouldn't compare your damn loyalty to my mother with what I've done, because I CHOSE Sokka! I decided it was him I wanted, I wasn't waiting for someone to impose him upon me, to force me to take a husband I wouldn't have wanted at all! Whoever I love, it should be me who decides, not you, not anyone else! And whether I'm married to him or not, it's of no one's damn concern but ours!"

Ozai had stopped talking, his hands no longer tightened into fists… but the dangerous glint in his eyes now didn't suggest his wrath had relented in the least. It was Azula's turn to tighten her fists, to brace herself for whatever he'd throw at her next…

"Whoever you… love?" he repeated "Is that truly… is that truly what you just said, Azula?"

Azula didn't know why his words sank inside her so heavily, for she found no need to hide those feelings anymore, for she was proud of how far they had come together… for her heart burned for the man for whom she'd defy her father without hesitation. Even then, something inside her, the thrice-accursed part of her that had taken pride, too, in being the ideal daughter for her father, was somehow rearing it's damn head right now… filling her with a strange, unwanted guilt she immediately, rationally rejected, regardless of her father's judgmental scowl.

"That's truly what guided you, Azula?" Ozai asked, and his lips were actually drawn in a cynical smirk "You… love that slave. That self-important, pathetic, insolent barbarian… somehow, you came to feel love for someone like that?"

Azula gritted her teeth, glaring at him fiercely as he laughed, covering his face with a hand. Zhao, silent beside him, only lowered his gaze. The contempt in the sole voice that rang through the Throne Room proved far more demolishing and devastating than Azula anticipated it would be.

"You truly have decided to throw to waste every lesson I've taught you, haven't you?" Ozai said "Letting yourself be swayed… by love. By utterly unnecessary emotions, emotions that will only make you weak…! Oh, but if I thought it was unbefitting of you before knowing this, I certainly had no suspicions of how low you intended to sink, Azula!"

He stared at her in skeptical disbelief now, and Azula's eyes lowered to the floor. Finally, the Fire Lord thought he'd glimpse a suitable reaction in his daughter…

"Are you finally starting to understand how utterly ashamed you should be of yourself, Azula?" he asked "Are you…?"

"Shame?" she interrupted him, and his certainties of having gained the upper hand in their heated fight suddenly froze cold "You think I'm ashamed of loving him? You think someone who's ashamed of the best damn decision she ever made would stand right here, defying you as I have for the past two days? Are you truly that incapable of reading into anything at all, Father?"

"Ah, so you have actually lost every shred of dignity you had left! No doubt, you've started taking after this man you so claim to love" Ozai hissed, rolling his eyes "Then you're unashamed? You're so proud of loving him, are you? Well, that's fine and good, for that pride, you cursed, idiot child, will be both his and your undoing! Had you understood your place…!"

"I understand my place well enough!" Azula retorted, furious again.

"No one who dares shout back at me as you have knows their place!" Ozai shouted, waving a hand before himself, evoking flames that sputtered in the air threateningly "You have done nothing but disrespect me once you'd lain with him, you fool, and you don't even have the modesty to admit you should have never done such a thing! You claimed you would have spent the rest of your days giving yourself to him, wasn't it?! And yet you believe you know your place at all?! You are Crown Princess of the Fire Nation! This debauchery, this utterly undignified behavior would never be justified, never be accepted, for the likes of you!"

"Yet… that scumbag, my uncle?" Azula said, with a slow sarcastic smile of her own "Was it all just rumors, perhaps, that he'd indulge in whatever debauchery he cared to until he took a wife of his own? You'd know, wouldn't you? You were there. You must have seen it, the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation doing as he pleased with whoever he pleased…!"

"That's different! Iroh is…!"

"It's different, indeed!" Azula shouted, glaring at Ozai furiously "Because what he did was, indeed, debauchery! And if what I'd been doing was anywhere close to that, well, I can't see how it's a crime if I'm the one to do it when other Crown Princes can get away with that behavior and nobody even bats an eyelash! My own brother was seen dancing with a slave in this very Palace, in front of all your damn nobles and military leaders, and nobody thought him any lesser a Prince for that!"

"Your brother was fated to never take this Throne!" Ozai roared "He could do whatever he pleased, it makes no matter to me if his corpse is rotting in the depths of the ocean right now! You, however…!"

"Oh, you had expectations of me, is that it?!" Azula asked "Expectations much like Fire Lord Azulon must have had of his firstborn son, and yet there was no concern there regarding whatever Iroh would do with his personal life…!"

"You are my daughter!" Ozai bellowed "You are not Azulon's, you are not Iroh, you are MY daughter! And it is me who determines what is acceptable behavior from you!"

"Oh, no. No, it's not" Azula hissed, shaking her head "I'm not a child anymore. And I'm not your tool anymore either. If this is what it takes to break us, so be it! Kill me if you must to expunge your so-called honor from the stain I've inflicted upon it, it makes no matter to me! For I'd sooner be dead where I stand than endure living in a world where my own damn father believes I cannot make my own choices, where he'd only acknowledge my capacity as a leader and heir as long as I remain utterly pure and untainted when my ability to rule this damn nation has nothing to do with that and never has!"

"Don't you have the slightest bit of sense left?! How can you say it has nothing to do with your ability to rule that you'd betray my expectations, that you'd let some scum savage disgrace you as you have…?! Such lack of judgment is utterly unacceptable from the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation!"

"Lack of judgment, you say?" Azula scoffed. Her shoulder throbbed, begging for respite of some sort, for her tension was certainly doing it no favors, but she ignored it as best she could "Do tell, who was the one who was offering me the position of High Governor merely a few weeks ago?! Who thought I'd handled the crisis that struck during my days as Fire Lord as deftly as possible for anyone in my position?! Are you truly going to pretend I'm any different today than I was back then?!"

"Oh, I have no idea just how different you are from the young girl who once requested permission to sponsor an accursed gladiator, that's certainly true!" Ozai roared "How long have you been stabbing me in the back, giving out secrets of our nation to the enemy, all be it over the utterly foolish delusion of being loved?! As though scum of his kind could ever hold anything but contempt for those like us! Here I thought I had raised you to be strong, and yet you were swayed by such foolish, base feelings, by your lowest urges, over some pathetic man…?"

"Now you find him pathetic, do you?" Azula asked, her throat burning with fury as she spoke "What a hero he was, though, when he saved this damn city, when he led forces against rebels, when he was ready to sacrifice his very life to stay loyal to me! You as good as paraded him in front of your most loyal subjects as the greatest slave that ever lived…!"

"If I'd known what you'd do…!"

"You didn't! And yet you saw value in him when you never had with countless others!" Azula growled "You were more willing to acknowledge him than you were with many of your highest-ranked nobles and subjects! He defied you, and you only find that worrisome now because…!"

"Because it's his own doing that you're like this now, isn't it?!" Ozai huffed "Where you once were obedient, where you were a Princess I couldn't be prouder of…!"

"I'm afraid I can't be bought and sold with that argument, not when it's vanity what you're talking about, rather than pride…" Azula interrupted him, to Ozai's utmost outrage.

"Vanity?!" he repeated.

"You just wanted me to be exactly like you!" Azula retorted "And for a long damn time, that was all I ever wanted to be, too! You were everything that mattered, the only one who ever saw value in who I was, the only one who encouraged me to break every limit and reach my full potential! Where others held me back, you told me to go the distance! You encouraged me when I wanted to learn whatever Zuko was learning, you even requested that I be taught along with him! And if it weren't for mother, I might have actually gotten away with it! Whenever they were gone on their damn trips to Shu Jing, you would teach me firebending yourself, behind her back! Do you think I've forgotten all of that?!"

The words were heartfelt in the most painful way for the Princess who uttered them… more than anything because she realized, only too late, that her father would only interpret her current actions as even more of a betrayal, considering all he'd done for her.

"If… if you'd known that I'd do something you'd never forgive one day, would you have ever encouraged me as you did?" Azula asked, her voice trembling. She didn't want to plead, not in the least… and yet she knew that was what her words, her voice tone, would convey to her father right now "Would you really think I wasn't worth every effort you made for my sake, every opportunity you created for me, just because of one choice I make that you simply cannot accept? Is everything I've ever done for you, for the Fire Nation, utterly worthless now in your eyes?"

Ozai held his silence again, and for a fleeting moment, Azula allowed herself to hope her words would reach him. That he would regret the pain he had inflicted upon her, upon the man she loved… that he would come to his senses and realize how irrational it was to throw away a promising future for the Fire Nation over this conflict.

And just as well, the disdain and unfathomable rage in her father's glare returned in full force once more.

"You cannot truly expect, after sullying yourself as you have, that I might think you warrant further mercy than what you've already been granted" Ozai hissed. All of Azula's pleading intent took its previous form once more: utter anger, spurred on by disappointment "Were you anyone else, your transgression would already be known, far and wide. I would have disowned you, dismissed you…"

"And we both know exactly why you won't do that, don't we?" Azula said, her brow heavily furrowed "You have no other heir. The whole reason you wanted me to find a husband and give you further heirs to secure our family's continuity was so that, if I ever failed you, you would still have someone else to fall back on. Isn't that so?"

"It was your duty, as my daughter" Ozai hissed "As part of the Royal Family! And you disregarded it, all for this flight of fancy of yours, this ridiculousness of love you were so consumed by that you lost all sense because of it…!"

"Ah, a flight of fancy for which I'm accepting all responsibility, for which I've outright said I'd be willing to die for" Azula hissed "You're not listening to anything I say, are you? All you want is to shout and make your demands, to pretend it's me who's in the wrong…"

"There's no pretense to be had! This is how it has been done, for years, for centuries!" Ozai bellowed "You asked if I would regret the opportunities I afforded you? Why, I believed, firmly, that you would never be of the sorts of people who would be swayed by such mundane, lowly longings and wishful thinking! This is not how I raised you. This is not how you thank me for every effort I've made in your behalf, for all the faith I foolishly invested in you! You asked if I'd regret it? Why, Princess Azula: I already do"

She had lowered her gaze as he continued to rant… but the final words were a much harsher blow to her soul than they had any right to be. It wasn't as though she hadn't known, all along, that this was how her father would feel… but it didn't hurt any less because of it. She breathed deeply, raising her golden eyes towards her father's shape.

"Then… consider yourself most understood, for I empathize deeply with you right now" Azula said. Ozai's eyes narrowed "Never did I expect to be this disappointed in you, but I should've known better…"

"You are in no position to tell me you're disappointed!" Ozai hissed "And if this is how you feel, it makes no matter to me either way! You've always known your privileges carried countless duties, responsibilities, expectations to uphold…!"

"And I always believed you were a much smarter man than to allow any of those things to be weighed down by factors that are irrelevant to my performance as your heir" Azula said, firmly "You can't even pinpoint when I first… betrayed you, as that's what you want to call it. You don't even know for how long I've been doing something you find most unacceptable. If you couldn't tell the difference between both things, why the blazes would it even matter? You picked me yourself! You saw my potential as a leader, you overlooked my brother for me, and you can't even throw me away, and you know it, because you have no one else to take my place…!"

"Oh, no, Azula. You see, that is exactly where you're mistaken" Ozai said, and his eyes gleamed with a danger Azula hadn't glimpsed in them so far.

The gleam of an idea. A bad one.

"What do you…?" she said, frowning: had he come to a conclusion already? Had her intent to stall him with a long, miserable conversation gone to waste, if so?

For she had assumed, all along, that he would only argue back and forth with her because he couldn't yet act on his new knowledge, because he was still too shocked to make any new moves after Azula had confessed the truth the previous day… but perhaps she had misread him. And if she had…

"You are not my only option for an heir" Ozai hissed "And no, I have no intentions of finding your rotten brother and returning the birthright I took from him and gifted to you"

"Then…?" Azula started, and yet she froze.

Short of finding himself a new bride, something utterly unlikely, considering he had refused to do so for almost two decades already… Ozai had one more method to attain another heir.

The world seemed to take a tumble, and her balance was far more shaken than it would be if an earthbender had just attacked her. She nearly tripped as she stepped back, as her outrage surged and powered through her body… and yet it was easily overcome by a blend of panic and rejection she hadn't known until that day.

"No…" she said, shaking her head "I won't. I refuse, I…!"

"You are in no position, again, to bargain or make any demands" Ozai said, and now he seemed perfectly calm, just as his daughter teetered on the edge of a nervous breakdown "If anything, you should be grateful that any man might still agree to marry you after the sorry spectacle you've made of yourself…"

"Grateful?!" Azula shouted, eyeing him in disbelief "I won't EVER take another man as my husband! I don't care what you'll do to me, have your damn guards beat me to a pulp, burn me to the bone if that's what you want! But I'd sooner die than marry whoever you force upon me!"

"Oh, I have no intentions of damaging your body any further, otherwise how could I possibly expect our bloodline to be continued?" Ozai said, his voice so level, so cold, Azula shivered upon hearing it.

"You're… you're really selling me off to the highest bidder? Like I'm some sort of cattle, like I'm nothing but a resource for your damn legacy to be furthered…?" Azula said, her voice trembling. Ozai's eyes narrowed upon her.

"Why, I'm afraid you give yourself far too much credit: there is no such thing as the highest bidder" Ozai hissed "That I found anyone for you at all is enough of a miracle as it is…"

"Oh, because I'm tainted, isn't that right?" Azula asked, her fists tightening, her skepticism dripping with furious pain "Because I should be relieved to know that someone still thinks I'm acceptable despite I'm spoiled, rotten goods at this point?! As though this wasn't some golden chance for all your opportunists to jump and beg for my hand in marriage, seeing as you believe I'm worthless now…!"

"Perhaps it should be" Ozai said, through gritted teeth "But no, I don't intend to auction you off, Princess. I have already found a man who will take you, despite the obvious drawbacks in your condition. A man worthy of being my heir in your stead, for he won't ever betray my trust in the manner you have…"

Azula's panicked eyes followed Ozai's as they shifted towards his left… and her heart sank once Ozai's demand became clear over Zhao's hung head.

"No. No, no, NO!" Azula exclaimed, glaring at Ozai with utmost outrage. Zhao flinched where he stood "You're utterly, absolutely mad if you expect me to ever comply with this! This isn't happening, I am never going to marry Zhao…!"

"Admiral Zhao, you disrespectful fool, and…"

"Disrespect?!" Azula repeated, her eyes burning with tears of fury as she glared at her father with even more wrath than before "You dare talk to me about disrespect, claim that it's me who's committing any offenses against your so-called honor…! You don't even know what the damn word stands for, curse you! It's not bad enough that you've forced me to endure an invasive examination, that you've listened to nothing I've said, that you keep me under guard for every hour of the day… now you intend to sell me off in marriage to Zhao, and you still dare believe it's me who's disrespecting you?!"

"Why, raising your voice in this manner, spewing all these accusations, is certainly speaking quite ill of your respect just as well, Princess Azula!" Ozai hissed. Azula shook her head violently.

"Fuck you" she said, bluntly. Ozai actually winced "Fuck you, both of you can go rot in hell for all I care! I'll never give in to this bullshit scheme of yours, I'd never play along…!"

"I suppose you picked up all that eloquence from your toy, didn't you?" Ozai asked… and as furious as he still was, there was a hint of amusement in his voice that only furthered Azula's own rage: he thought he was winning. He thought he'd cornered her, and chances were he had… though Azula still didn't know, for sure, how he expected he'd ever get away with this wretched plan of his "Very well, then, very well! Perhaps it is time that I offer you a small gesture of mercy, one catered to your tastes, to your passions, you could say…"

"To hell with that!" Azula shouted "You and I both know there's no such thing as mercy when it comes to you! I won't have it, any of it…!"

"Is that so?" Ozai smirked "Then you do reject this golden chance I'll offer you? A chance to escape this marriage proposal by abiding by your own rules, Princess Azula?"

It took a moment for Ozai's intent to sink in. Even then, Azula's persistent, aggressive negatives didn't return to her right away. She stood in silence, feeling as though the blood was being drained from her body, as though she could barely stand on her feet, once she understood what rules he referred to…

"N-no… no, you… you can't…" Azula said, and Ozai chuckled, shaking his own head as he returned his seat.

"Consider this the last display of generosity you'll ever find from me" Ozai declared, perching himself on his throne "Isn't this the way of it, Azula? Isn't this how you always wanted it? A suitor's gladiator, against your own. It was Zhao himself, you see, who thought this would be the best way to make you comply…"

"N-no, Ozai, that's not what I…" Zhao finally spoke, glancing at Ozai pleadingly… but his attempt to defuse the situation would go to waste. For Azula's outraged, disbelieving eyes had found him instead… and that was, without a doubt, not the kind of expression anyone would wish to see on the face of their future spouse.

"Is this what you were up to?!" Azula asked, breathing heavily "That's all you were after, then?! Becoming my father's heir, by whatever means necessary?!"

"No!" Zhao exclaimed, and it was his turn to meet her eyes pleadingly "Princess, I…!"

"And what if it was?" Ozai hissed, bringing Azula's attention back to himself "If the esteemed Admiral here were anywhere near as treacherous and greedy as you seem to believe he is, it's no one's fault but yours that he'll get his wish! And yet you have the gall to be outraged, as though you hadn't brought this upon yourself…!"

"I didn't!" Azula shouted back "Nothing I've ever done, nothing I could ever do, would justify any of this! If you were in my place, you…!"

"But I'm not! Because I've never betrayed what my nation, what this family, expected from me!" Ozai hissed "That, I fear, is the true difference between you and I, and it's a difference you'll never be able to understand, clearly! All you can see is that I've finally put a stop to your whims, that I'll hold you accountable for your misdeeds…!"

"Oh, so that's the difference, then?!" Azula asked, glaring furiously at Ozai "Your problem isn't that you are set on holding women to different standards from men, you'd treat me just the same if I had been your second-born son and sullied myself as I have?!"

"What a preposterous claim…" Ozai rolled his eyes, as Azula scoffed.

"If it's truly so preposterous… then there's one way for us to settle this instead" Azula said, her eyes glowing with fierce determination.

She had never thought it would come to this. She had never expected to speak these words to her father, or to anyone else, truly… but it was time to do so. If he intended to claim his reaction was exclusively a matter of accountability… then she had one way left, by Fire Nation law, to fight back. Literally, too.

"There's nothing to settle. I am the Fire Lord and I've already determined the course of action…" Ozai hissed, but Azula shook her head.

"You're honor-bound… to accept my challenge" she said, fists tight. Ozai's narrow eyes suddenly widened, as did Zhao's "An Agni Kai. I will fight you… for my honor. To defend my beliefs, my position, to prove myself before you one more time, if that's what it takes…!"

"I refuse"

She almost staggered at his sudden, blunt, direct response. For a moment that seemed to stretch far longer than it did, silence settled in the Throne Room as the Princess's mind seemed to shut down: he had refused.

He wouldn't allow her to fight for her own honor.

Her chest hurt as though she was being clawed at viciously by an unrelenting monster. It was hard to breathe, hard to exist, in a world where her father had finalized his punitive wrath with that heartless blow. Struggling to stay on her feet, Azula could only shake her head, outraged, disappointed… betrayed.

"So that's… that's how it is, then?" she asked, her voice trembling along with her lips "You'd fight my brother when he was a child, you gave him that chance…"

"The Agni Kai against your brother was but a mercy" Ozai hissed "A chance for him to prove his worth by staying true to his words and actions, a chance he wasted because he was weak. You? Your actions don't merit that opportunity, they never would, no matter whom you dare ask. There was no honor in your transgressions, thus, there is no honor left in you. Why would you ever be allowed to fight an Agni Kai in these circumstances?"

Ozai didn't shrink away, not even upon glimpsing the furious, almost savage snarl across his daughter's face. He could see her tremble, he could see her stagger… he could see her gold eyes find his own, glowing with unforgiving fury she turned upon him, and him alone.

"After you gave out the orders you did…" she hissed "After sending someone to examine me without my consent, after your cursed guards hurt me, after you sent your men to beat Sokka and imprisoned him, after you spent a whole damn day locked away in the Agni Kai Arena, stewing in your outrage…!"

"You have no right to judge any of what I did…!"

"After all that, now you tell me that somehow, it's me who has no honor?" Azula said, her voice quieter than before. Ozai scowled "I am here, owning up to what I did, telling you the damn truth as you demanded of me, but somehow I'm the one devoid of any honor? You just want to throw that word around to justify any of your damn decisions, when the truth is you're a coward! You're scared! You don't want to fight me! You know that, if you did…!"

"If I fought you, as you are now, I'd defeat you in a heartbeat! That you so much as doubt it is frankly speaking ill of your mental faculties, you fool" Ozai snapped, shaking his head.

"And I'd fight you regardless of that!" Azula roared. Ozai's eyes widened "I'd fight until my last damn breath if that's what it takes for you to acknowledge me again! For you to understand that my value has nothing to do with who I've been with, and whatever I've done with them!"

"You have no say upon what determines your value, girl!" shouted Ozai "You intend to be perpetrator, judge and executioner of your own misdeeds, and you call it honor?!"

"What I intend is to fight for what I know is right" Azula hissed "And just as you don't even understand the meaning of the word honor, you certainly don't understand right or wrong either! All you have are old traditions, thoughtless, outdated beliefs that no longer hold up in our world, a world you even allowed me to change freely until two days ago! Traditions you used to scowl upon, that you encouraged me to defy and destroy, up until it was no longer convenient for you! I was just a tool for you, a means to an end, a vanity project to further your damn legacy…!"

"Curses, I've had enough of your utterly thoughtless rambling…!"

"I'd sooner die than have anything else to do with any legacy of yours!" Azula declared, powerfully "I will never marry Zhao! I will never give this cursed family any heirs! And I won't be your tool ever again!"

Ozai breathed heavily, as did his daughter, who glared at him defiantly, her decision seemingly final. Ozai shook his head, though, his nostrils flaring as he drew in a longer breath.

"Your life… you give to your country" he said. Azula shook her head too, far more furiously, fast enough that her shoulder's pain intensified for it "Your hands are now too weak to fight for me and your forefathers… as is your mind, clearly. You have but one duty left to you, and say what you will of death… it isn't you who will die tomorrow, or any day afterwards, for, unlike your gladiator, you will continue to draw breath, I will see to it, until you fulfill that duty as I see fit!"

"I won't ever…!"

"I will take away everything you have left!" Ozai shouted "You truly are so foolish as to believe I'm anywhere near done, Princess Azula?! Why, you are most definitely mistaken if so! The death of your accursed gladiator is but the starting point, and you'll see it with your own eyes! You will do my bidding, and you will witness his execution by my personal hand, once our esteemed Admiral's own gladiator has broken him enough until he's but hanging onto life through a measly, fraying thread! And after that? You will continue to serve your Fire Lord, as is expected and demanded of you! And you shall do so from here on out, whether you do it willingly or not, for your life is mine to do with as I see fit! All that's left for you, at this point, is to choose how far you intend to push me, how much lower you intend to sink, and how much worse you want your personal retribution to be!"

His thunderous voice boomed across the hall, echoing its way into silence. Even then, his words resounded on and on within Azula's head, burning through her mind, tearing down all the foundations of her long-gone admiration for the man upon that throne. He had been her biggest supporter in her childhood, the one who had encouraged her when her mother had tried to thwart all her ambitions, the one who taught her to strive for greatness and perfection…

But perhaps she should have seen the signs of his true thoughts and feelings much sooner. Perhaps she shouldn't have been swayed by the occasional glimpses of fatherly affection that now appeared to be nothing but pretenses, means to an end: he had wanted nothing from her but absolute, unquestionable obedience. He had wanted her strong, but not so she could reach for her own dreams, not so she would think for herself and reach her own conclusions… he had done all of it it simply to gain the perfect human weapon. Herself.

She wasn't merely a weapon for fighting, though: she was a tool through which he would perpetuate his bloodline, just as well. Her duty, as he called it… that was the whole reason any of this had begun. She had refused to take an incompetent husband, seeking a way out… and her father had seen nothing wrong with forcing her to take an incompetent husband indeed, back then. He hadn't thought, not even once, that she should have been free to choose. When he had believed she was involved with Rui Shi, he had only been willing to approve of their alleged union on the basis that he was of high enough birth, with a high enough ranking in the armed forces, to be an acceptable son-in-law for him… not because he had believed Azula had cared for him, not because he had thought Rui Shi would be an agreeable partner for her. That didn't matter: the only thing he cared about was ensuring she would bring him more heirs, and help him secure the Fire Nation Royal Family's perpetuation…

Her every request, her every project, had only been allowed because Ozai had believed they wouldn't obstruct his own ambitions. Because he had expected them to be of some benefit to him somehow… and generally, they had been. Their interests had aligned often enough, but he had only been willing to allow her to implement a certain amount of change… he had no true interest in transforming their nation into a better one. Blind as she had once been to the struggles of anyone different from herself, she had come to terms with the fact that there were countless problems across the Fire Nation, surely even more than she was aware of, even now… but to her father, this was the nation he wanted to rule. He had no interest in changing anything for the better… and all he had ever wanted from her was a perfect heir.

And now that she had failed to uphold his expectations, he would be ready to discard her as soon as her usefulness ran out.

"From all your utterly nonsensical rambling…" Ozai said, his voice grating against Azula's very soul "I gathered you would prefer it if you were allowed to make your own choices, yes? Why, I suppose I shall humor you. How utterly wrong of me to humor you indeed, considering your behavior, your actions, all of them merit no rewards of any sort… and yet I'm willing to be lenient to this extent. You should be grateful for that"

Azula trembled violently, raising her golden, furious eyes towards her father, aware that whatever he'd say next would be as unwelcome as everything he'd said so far:

"Either you accept the Admiral's pointless attempt to honor your old condition for suitors, if just to appease his conscience… or I shall execute your savage myself, without any preambles whatsoever. He will die by my hand, regardless of your choice… and you will witness his last moments, just as well. It is merely up to you to determine in which manner I'll end his miserable existence, as he won't live for a single day past tomorrow, regardless of your decision"

She had trembled with rage throughout their conversation, though his latest words threatened to make her crumble altogether, as much as she refused to falter in front of her father. Tears burned in her eyes now… tears of powerlessness, of contempt, of dismay.

"Well, then, Azula. What shall it be?"

There was no measure of how far he dared go, no extreme he wouldn't reach, no humiliation he wouldn't subject her to. All his words rang together as a single message, one that weighed heavily upon Azula, as a bomb threatening to fall upon her very head: she had lost his favor, permanently.

If only she wanted it back at all, that knowledge would bother her far more than it did.

Ozai's brow drew as Azula raised her head: tears ran down her cheeks, and yet she didn't sob, she didn't grimace. She would almost seem elegant, although the situation was anything but graceful, as she finally gave him her answer:

"Go to hell"

That he'd even seem taken aback by her answer was but the last straw for Azula: did he truly expect her to grovel, to cry at his feet and beg for mercy she knew he wouldn't grant her, let alone Sokka? Had he genuinely believed she'd make a choice between the two ghastly options he had offered her?

Whatever he'd believed, whatever he'd expected, it made no matter anymore: Azula turned around, keeping her glare upon her father for only one more moment before storming off towards the curtain again.

That he didn't shout after her, that he didn't demand for her to return, should have been strange… but Azula was utterly unconcerned with her father's reactions now. She pushed the curtains out of the way just as violently as when she had arrived, startling the guards who had been waiting outside for her – and who, she assumed, had overheard the entire argument as eagerly as possible.

They flanked her back to her room, uncertain of what they were doing, leaving behind the guard Ozai had summoned to stand outside his Throne Room. Within the room itself, however, Zhao breathed deeply after the curtain had fluttered closed behind Azula. Being alone with Ozai was ill-advised right now… and it wasn't as though he wanted to be around him, to begin with.

"Well, then… well, then" Ozai said, his voice a low, guttural, savage growl "Perhaps I should indeed forsake your pointless request, shouldn't I, Zhao? That way…"

"I have already told you, I won't play along with your plans otherwise" Zhao huffed, lowering his gaze "You will do this the right way, as will I"

"The right way, you say?" Ozai repeated, with a scoff "There is no right way, you fool, let alone at this point. You saw just how insolent, how barbaric her behavior is now… no doubt, the savage's influence. That you'd expect him to fight your gladiator is but a leave of your senses when all he deserves is to be crushed, to be blown into a thousand pieces…"

"Perhaps that's so, but this may be the best way for your daughter to comply with your designs" Zhao said, scowling "Play by her rules, and as upset as she may be, she will have no choice but to accept the outcome"

"Did that look like a compliant girl to you?" Ozai hissed "She says she'll refuse to be your wife regardless of the circumstances, but you expect her to accept whatever your petty fight's outcome might be?"

"What choice would she even have?" Zhao said, swallowing hard "My gladiator cannot be defeated"

"Indeed. And that's the only reason why I've allowed you to push forward with this utter nonsense of yours" Ozai hissed "He will leave him alive, you hear me? I need him alive, so that I may kill him myself"

"You needn't sully your hands with…"

"I will kill him myself, I said!" Ozai roared "I will be the one to destroy the man who stole my daughter's dignity!"

Zhao glared at his friend from the corner of his eyes, shaking his head as he climbed down the dais. Ozai scowled, watching his every step pointedly.

"What are you doing, Admiral?" he asked. Zhao released a breath, glancing at Ozai from over his shoulder.

"I intend to speak with your daughter, personally" Zhao said, earnestly "And straighten out what you've told her about my involvement in this mess. Perhaps I can persuade her to accept the terms of this battle, if I do so"

"There are no terms for her to accept" Ozai hissed "She is unworthy of such courtesies, curse you"

"It would make matters easier tomorrow if she goes willingly, wouldn't it?" Zhao sighed, eyeing Ozai warily "And I'll have to contact my gladiator anyway… otherwise, this battle can't even take place"

Ozai scowled, eyeing his friend with uncertainty. Even trusting him, at this point, seemed an exercise in futility: no one could be trusted. If the child he had raised into the most powerful woman in the world had turned her back on him, how could he possibly expect those who weren't even of his flesh and blood to behave any differently?

"Zhao!" he shouted, just as the Admiral reached the curtains. Zhao flinched but turned, glancing at Ozai warily "Send in the Imperial Guard standing outside the Throne Room, if you'd be so kind"

His words feigned a courtesy that did very little to hide away his festering rage. Even so, his order to Zhao had been simple enough, and the Admiral fulfilled it quickly before marching towards Azula's room. The guard crossed the threshold into the Throne Room, finding his Fire Lord standing up, glaring mercilessly at him from behind a curtain of dangerous flames.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Send word to Shaofeng for me" Ozai snarled "I want him to take as many of his men as he can afford and keep watch over Princess Azula. Inside her very room. I want absolute surveillance over her. And send word, too, to the Prison Tower: let them know there must be at least ten soldiers keeping watch over their latest criminal, at all hours. Fire Lord's orders"

"As you wish, my Lord"

Ozai breathed deeply, scowling heavily as the guard vanished past the threshold as everyone else already had. No, that conversation had not gone well… though he had known, from the get-go, that it never would. Azula herself had asked for it, though… for all of this. Proud as she was of herself and her accursed loss of sense upon giving herself to that pathetic slave, she'd do best to live up to her words and face the consequences of her most dire mistakes.

It was still surreal, all of it. Less than a week ago, life had seemed to be returning to normal all across the Fire Nation… and now Ozai found himself facing the downfall of his heir, the end of his plans and ambitions for the future, as well as the trust and hopes he'd ever held for his daughter. Her brother had been a failure all along, as far as he could tell. It wasn't even a matter of choice in Zuko's case: he couldn't be any better than he ever had been. But Azula… with a future as promising as hers, she had chosen, knowingly and deliberately, to throw her life away in this utterly foolish manner…

He snarled, shaking his head: the Azula he had believed he knew wasn't the woman he had just spoken to. That was no daughter of his. He hadn't raised the rebellious fool with whom he'd just held a volatile shouting match. She was another person entirely, as far as he could tell… and he'd do best to accept that. For he couldn't know for how long she had been betraying him… for how long she had dishonored and shamed him, while pretending to be faithful to him instead. The Azula he thought existed was, perhaps, nothing but fiction… a pretense, a mask she wore in front of him, a mask she had torn to shreds the previous day, and now he faced her true self: she was nothing but a fool, unworthy of every boon, every privilege, every opportunity he had ever granted her.

As that was the case, it should be easier to punish her, for she was a disappointment, a failure just like her brother before her. Choosing her every deserved retribution shouldn't make his grip shake, or send his heart into a wild, unhealthy race, or fill his chest with such unfathomable, uncontrollable fury it seemed to threaten to burst out of him… but against his better judgment, against every last shred of common sense left in his ever-darkening soul, it did.

He didn't intend to stop, however, not until she finally relented. Until she realized what a grave mistake she had made by crossing him… by betraying him, as she had for as long as her association with that man had lasted. If he had no choice but to shatter his own soul into shambles just to teach her the lesson she had refused to learn so far… so be it.

The maids were gone by the time Azula reached her room anew. She stormed inside with heavy footsteps, fists trembling, closed so tight the nails might be drawing blood by now: in two days, two miserable days, her entire world had fallen apart, and every time she attempted to rise adrift, to reach out for a solution, any way out, she would be thwarted again…

Her father intended to execute Sokka on the very next day.

She had stood there, shouting at him, throwing everything she could at Ozai with every ounce of strength she could muster… all of it for nothing. For, if Rui Shi and the rest of the guards weren't prepared to execute their plan by that very night…

She had managed to contain any sobs until then: one escaped her lips, miserable, hanging suspended in the air, threatening to do away with whatever control she had left. This couldn't be happening, none of it could be… because, if it was, she was certain this wasn't a world she wanted to live in at all. Especially if Sokka's warmth and strength vanished from it, starting on the next day…

No, no, no. There had to be a way to undo this, a way to stop it, to fight back against her father, to save Sokka, even if she found herself at as big a loss as she had been during the Slave Riot: but she was willing to take action herself this time, and that was a big difference already. She didn't care if she failed and wound up joining Sokka in the execution row for it: she would welcome dying beside him, just as the protagonists of every tragic Fire Nation folktale she had ever disregarded as nonsense until now. She would much sooner welcome that than live in a world without him.

Footsteps approached, down the corridor: Azula snarled, dabbing at the tears of her eyes before turning to glare at whoever was stupid enough to intrude upon her right now: glimpsing Zhao's shape through her misty vision was as unwelcome as seeing her father would be.

"Princess…"

"Get the hell out of here now, damn you" she said, breathing heavily as she glared at him. Zhao flinched: he had raised a hand, as though to reach for her, and he set it down upon her aggressive answer "I want nothing to do with you from this day onwards, you hear me?"

"It wasn't my doing!" Zhao exclaimed, desperate "I didn't ask for any of this, I intended to put a stop to your father's fury…!"

"And somehow you landed yourself the job of a lifetime with your attempts! How utterly astonishing that you'd be the only one for whom this accursed situation is convenient now!" Azula roared, waving a hand violently towards him "You've never wanted to help anyone but yourself, that's the truth, and you just keep hiding it behind your elaborate schemes…!"

"No, it's not the truth, let alone is it the truth now!" Zhao exclaimed "Princess…! You do understand your situation is utterly precarious, don't you? There was next to nothing to be done, not when your father is completely consumed by his wrath!"

"And yet somehow, when there was next to nothing to be done, you wound up becoming my father's grand choice for a new heir, at my expenses?!" Azula hissed.

"It was his damn idea, not mine!" Zhao exclaimed "I actually suspect he sees this as a punishment for us both, Azula, for I was attempting to intercede on your behalf and he twisted my words into whatever he pleased! I couldn't persuade him to change his mind, not until I found a single loophole through your test for your suitors…!"

"Ah, and what a brilliant loophole that was…" Azula growled, shaking her head in sheer disbelief.

"It's a chance for him to fight back!" Zhao exclaimed "However slim an opportunity as it may be, it's the only way your gladiator can still be acknowledged as a warrior rather than a criminal…!"

"Oh, certainly, for however long your damn gladiator toys with him, that is!" Azula shouted "Are you truly that devoid of sense, Zhao?! Your gladiator has never lost a single fight, mine has been half-beaten to death by my father's wretched goons and is facing impending execution, whether your Combustion Man goes too far or my father delivers the killing blow, it makes no matter! Are you seriously pretending there's any chance Sokka will win?! What, you're going to ask your gladiator not to fight back at all, to let Sokka win?! Then you'll just land yourself in the Boiling Rock, if you're not executed alongside Sokka directly, damn you!"

Zhao swallowed hard, lowering his gaze. Azula's chest heaved as she glared at him, knowing more tears had spilled down her face as she spoke, and caring nothing to wipe them until that moment, still snarling at her father's best friend as she did.

"Your father… is honor-bound to follow fit with the terms of this arrangement" Zhao said, though his words lacked conviction "I understand your misgivings, Princess, and I would lie if I said I didn't share them… but I have no intentions of marrying someone who clearly would never want me. Let alone someone I literally have known since she was but a child. Sokka… he won't accept this any more than you or I intend to. As wounded as he may be, he…"

"He'll never defeat your damn gladiator, curses, he wasn't even ready before this mess happened, he's even less ready now!" Azula replied "Yes, he's the strongest non-bender there ever was, to this moment I stand by that belief, but even if he were allowed to wield all his weapons against Combustion Man, there's no… t-there's no winning scenario, damn it…"

"Until your father's fury is sated, there will be no winning scenario. Not for you, not for me, not for him… not for anyone" Zhao said, breathing deeply "I did whatever I could… to arrange him as dignified a send-off as I can, as well as to open one possibility for this absurd match between us to be dissolved and dismissed. You know, as well as I do, that there was no possibility he would get out of this with his life, Princess. Loathe as you would to accept it… there was never any alternative for him"

Azula shook her head violently, unable to retort, overcome by another resurgence of tears that spilled down her face, her shoulders shaking painfully with each silent sob she did her best to stifle. The last damn thing she would have ever wanted was to show herself, her tears, in front of Zhao of all people… and yet she couldn't contain the outpouring emotions that threatened to render her utterly helpless.

"This… this is all I could do. It's all I can do, for your sake and his" Zhao said, eyeing her pleadingly "If I could offer you anything else, I gladly would, but…"

"I… I don't want anything else from you"

Zhao froze, frowning as Azula wiped her tears clumsily, unwilling to meet his eyes. Her voice, brittle as it sounded now, betrayed nothing but conviction, however.

"This is what you've always been like, isn't it? You always have a runner in every race. You're in the good graces of every side of a conflict, always weaseling your way into everyone's damn pockets, and picking the most convenient, most beneficial way out once push comes to shove…" Azula continued, shaking her head "I was stupid enough to think maybe you could be trusted now… that maybe, somehow, you did respect me when you didn't in the past…"

"I do! Princess, I may have made mistakes in my relationship with you before, but…!"

"You're doing the same damn thing now as you did that day!" Azula shouted. Zhao froze in place, as her furious eyes bore into him again "You can swear to me that you're doing whatever you can for my sake, I know it's a damn lie. Just as I knew on that day, after hearing you undermine me, condescendingly, with everyone who thought there was no place for me in my father's council!"

Zhao froze, as Azula's chest heaved. She had only decided to give the man another chance because Sokka himself had convinced her of it… because he had been, on the most part, harmless to her after his return from the North. And yet she should have seen the signs, of course she should have, for they were everywhere. She had been a fool to ever hope he would change… for a man like Zhao could never change his nature, his instincts, even if he truly wished to, and to this moment she had no reason to believe he did.

"All of it… goes right back to you in the end" Azula said, shaking her head. Zhao flinched, eyeing her with uncertainty "The main reason why… why I wanted a gladiator was because I wanted to force you to acknowledge me, at all costs. To humiliate you in front of the whole damn nation if I could. I didn't care how petty, how ignoble it might be… I just wanted to dare you to undermine me one more damn time as I proved myself above you. A rather… a rather base ambition, of course it was, one that I eventually stopped clinging to as tightly as I did when I started out…"

"You didn't need to do anything like this to earn my respect" Zhao said, hopelessly "You're the Princess, you're Ozai's daughter…!"

"And that didn't stop you that day from saying what you did" Azula whispered. Zhao gritted his teeth "It didn't stop the whole damn nation from clinging onto hopes that my brother would return home a hero to take his rightful place as my father's heir. If I'd done nothing about any of it… then nothing would have changed. But now… now it's clear nothing did. Now it's clear I misunderstood my father, just as I misunderstood you…"

"No, you didn't…"

"Say what you will now, lie to my face as many times as you care to, for it doesn't matter to me: that you ever gave my father any chance to get away with setting us up for marriage speaks for itself about your priorities, about your damn respect for me" Azula said, glaring at him scathingly "You have just as much of it as my father does"

"Azula…" Zhao said, dropping his hands at either side of his body: the Princess shook her head again "I've wronged you before, I know I have, but I swear none of this was my design. I never wanted this, not for myself, not for you, not for your gladiator, not for your father…! I apologized to you, didn't I? Over my mistake! I've helped you, or tried to, for as long as I've been back! I've done everything within my power to do right by you, Azula, even now that's all that guides me…!"

"Then your damn concepts of what's right by me are completely off-mark" Azula said, bluntly "You've done nothing but help yourself, and you're only begging me to believe otherwise to appease a conscience I frankly doubt you even have. I suppose… you're just doing damage control, for when my father does force us to marry? Because you must be truly naïve if you expect my father to abide by any promises he's made to you"

"He won't force me to marry you if your gladiator defeats mine, that's the agreement we reached, the agreement you reached with him years ago…"

"And as you said, his wrath won't be sated for hell knows how long" Azula retorted "Are you seriously going to pretend my father will honor any vows, at this point in time? That even if Sokka miraculously defeats your gladiator, he'll pardon his life and allow you to stay free from marriages, altogether? He'll still intend to kill Sokka, and he'll be even more determined to punish me by making me marry you, for by breaking his word he's only going to torment me further. He… he outright has decided I have no honor, hasn't he? That I'm not worth fighting in an Agni Kai. Why would he uphold any vows, any promises he made to me years ago when he's made it clear that all he damn wants is to torment me until I break?"

Zhao gritted his teeth, wanting to answer again, to reassure her somehow… but the sudden sounds of many footsteps, moving at a steady, strong rhythm, compelled him to fall silent. With his back towards the door, he could still guess who these new arrivals might be, especially by the utter contempt in Azula's visage, as her eyes traveled past Zhao himself and towards these sudden, unwanted visitors.

"Admiral Zhao" spoke the familiar, cold voice of General Shaofeng. Zhao tightened a fist "I'm afraid I must ask you to leave the premises at once. The Fire Lord has commanded the Princess must be guarded closely, constantly, for the next twenty-four hours"

Azula's eyes blazed again with fury, her fists trembling as she tightened them. Even a few orange sparks danced in the air briefly after she released her breath. Zhao gritted his teeth, lowering his gaze… knowing that this time there would be no intimidating the General, as had been possible with his men, into leaving him to speak with Azula privately.

"Admiral Zhao" the General repeated. Zhao huffed.

"You believe I'm conspiring with the Princess, by any chance?" he asked.

"If you give me reason to believe it, I shall" Shaofeng hissed "Get out. Now"

Zhao huffed, shaking his head as he turned on his heels: a whole squad of guards, from the looks of it, had been mobilized for this order. Zhao scowled at the sight of the ten soldiers behind Shaofeng, turning his eyes at the General in disbelief over it.

"This… is uncalled for" he said. Shaofeng shook his head.

"No measures are uncalled for. She has been deemed a flight risk by the Fire Lord himself. It's our duty to ensure she abides by the Fire Lord's orders, more so when she has proven to be as treacherous as she has"

Azula shook her head as well, tearing her eyes off the retinue of Imperial Guards poised to invade her room. She didn't even want to let herself wonder if the bastards who had held her down two nights ago were among them, and yet the thought was inevitable once again…

"Curses…" Zhao said, shaking his head before glancing at Azula apologetically "I… I never wanted any of this, Princess. I know you won't believe me, but…"

"You claimed there was no winning scenario for any of us" Azula said, folding her arms over her chest "Perhaps I'm just too blinded by my frustrations to see your plight for what it is… but from where I'm standing, stuck inside this cage with watchdogs keeping track of my every move, you certainly don't look like you're on the losing end of this battle, Admiral"

Zhao gritted his teeth as Azula turned on her heels, sending a clear message that the conversation was over, not only by Shaofeng's choice but her own. The Admiral wasted no more time in the room, storming off, knowing where he had to go next. If Ozai had decided Azula was, indeed, likely to flee, then he might have decided so was her gladiator… and while it was abundantly clear that he couldn't get through to the Princess anymore, there was a chance the other person involved in this chaotic conflict would still listen to him, with any luck.

Azula didn't watch him leave: her attention was completely taken up by the whole squad of Imperial Guards currently taking positions across her room. Ten men, led by the eleventh, the General himself: that her father would believe such extremes would be necessary meant he wasn't underestimating her, not in terms of what she could be capable of, if given free rein… but he had still determined her unworthy of being his heir, despite expecting her to attempt to break free from her current house arrest. Truthfully, as she was, she didn't know if she even wanted to be his heir anymore, but that he'd acknowledge her as a threat while refusing to acknowledge her honor… her broken heart could only resent him further with each passing moment.

She didn't want to acknowledge any of their presences. She felt all those eyes upon her, and where guards were meant to keep royals safe, she could only feel threatened by them instead. She climbed up to her bed's dais, finding it fully made, no longer bearing the sheets that had been blemished, that she had personally destroyed… even then, she was at no further peace because of it. She had no choice but to live with it, just as she had no choice but to endure these wretched sentries, who would certainly prevent any other escapades such as the one she had indulged in on the previous night…

The small window of time during which her father would be too uncontrolled to respond to this situation appeared to be ending. The end was nearing, looming closer and closer with each breath she took, with each passing second in which she stood where she did, glaring at all those immobile guards, wordlessly begging for them to turn their backs on her father and aid her…

Though upon slowing her gaze near the corner of the room, she frowned: that guard's bearing, that stance, even the tense set of his shoulders…?

Shaofeng had made Rui Shi join the surveillance group.

Azula gritted her teeth before dropping, face-down, on her mattress. He was as powerless as she was, in this situation: if he was stuck guarding her, he wouldn't be able to continue organizing and coordinating their escape plan as he had so far.

Every possible hope, every single chance for a better outcome, seemed to be dying out slowly, vanishing in thin air, whether Azula had dared grasp and cling to them or not. She couldn't let everything end this way, absolutely not, and yet every chance, every attempt to catch her breath and regain her strength, had been cut off one after the other. For, if Rui Shi failed to prepare the Barge and couldn't get it out of the mainland's waters on time, if his strategies were completely thwarted, how on earth would they ever save Sokka?

She buried her face in her pillow, struggling to breathe, to endure each heartbeat that seemed to threaten to shatter her whole soul in a thousand pieces. She would feel no respite, no peace, until she found a way out for the man she loved… and she feared she'd find no such peace at all, as she started to ponder if any of their strategies would ever pay off. The despair that tore through her body was overpowering, for if no solution came to mind, the next time she saw Sokka would be the last.

The prison's eighth floor was a dry, dusty location. It surely had seen little maintenance in anything but the prison cells themselves, which were as sturdy as could be. Sokka's cell was the only occupied one, but other, empty ones were spaced out across the large, single room of that top floor, scarcely blocked from view by unfinished brick walls. The spiral staircase's entrance led into the far end of the room, at its darkest corner. Not a lot of people had come and gone through that staircase after he had been cast into his cell… those who had were mostly unwelcome, and unwanted, except for the late-night visitor he'd received a few hours ago. He could only hope for her return, whether to break him free after successfully defeating Ozai somehow, or simply, impulsively, that she'd come to see him again, for even if his heart was lighter after their last encounter, he yearned for nothing as badly as he yearned to see her again.

But the next arrivals had been unwelcome, yet again. Sokka's eyes narrowed when he heard the numerous sets of footsteps climbing the stairs, until the whole group of Domestic Forces guards strode inside the cell block. Sokka glared at them, hiding none of his resentment, none of his bitterness: some were daunted, others ignored him, the rest glared right back at him.

They offered no explanation: they simply took positions within the room, strategic ones to subdue him if necessary, as far as Sokka could tell. As though they'd need to subdue him at all, he couldn't possibly break out of this cell if he tried, in his current shape… though their presence was profoundly distressing. If they intended to keep him under the heavy guard of twelve soldiers, no less… how would Azula and her guards ever find a way to break into the prison a second time, let alone to break him out of it?

He hadn't clung too tightly to hopes of an escape… but the possibility that his friends, that his lover, might have been caught in the middle of their schemes terrified him to his core: this increased surveillance might just be one of many consequences if their clandestine actions had been revealed. He had wanted them to be careful, to stay safe… but he couldn't know for sure that Azula would make no mistakes when she had been as fragile as she had been last night. Just her visit had been dangerous enough, he had known so from the beginning, but he had hoped she wouldn't be caught regardless. He'd give up any chance of escape in a heartbeat, as long as they could be safe… as long as she, most of all, could be safe.

About an hour after this sudden, strange guard arrangement began, however, another set of footsteps echoed through the stairs that led to Sokka's floor. He barely raised his gaze, unwilling to acknowledge whoever it was, until he noticed the guards were startled, confused by this sudden arrival.

"I would speak to the prisoner alone. Head to the next floor, all of you"

Zhao's voice struck Sokka as lightning might. He raised his head quickly, but he grew wary faster yet: why was he here? Had he come to scold him for his recklessness? For pursuing something he had warned Sokka not to look for? Sokka swallowed hard, lowering his gaze anew as the many guards, puzzled, questioned the Admiral's orders.

"We were told to stand guard here, by the Fire Lord's orders…"

"And you're being told, now, to leave for ten minutes as I speak to the prisoner. Are you truly going to disregard the word of a superior officer?" Zhao asked, bluntly.

The guards weren't highly ranked, apparent by how easy it was for Zhao to daunt them with his authority. The bulkiest of the men stepped towards him, though, with as menacing a stance as he could pull off.

"If the Fire Lord finds out you asked us to disobey his orders…" he started.

"It's all on me? Yes, yes it will be" Zhao said, with a dry grin "Though he'll be likely to take out his wrath on all of you anyways. Therefore… let's make sure he doesn't find out at all, shall we?"

The guards seemed unwilling to move at first… but the Admiral ignored them, approaching Sokka's cell without waiting for anyone's approval. No one tried to stop him, instead watching helplessly as he came to a stop before the cell's door… and then, just as they had arrived, the guards filed out down the stairs, one by one. Zhao watched them go from the corner of his eyes as Sokka swallowed hard, staring at them far more intently. This visit was unexpected… though he had yet to decide whether it was unwelcome or not.

Once the last footsteps stopped resounding across the stairs, Zhao finally breathed deeply and focused his attention on the beaten man before him: as bruised and bloodied as they'd left him, there was no doubt that the fight was far from gone from the gladiator's blue eyes.

"You're still holding your own, looks like" Zhao said, swallowing hard "That's good. You'll be better served if you do"

"Why are you here?" Sokka asked, and as much as he scowled threateningly, his tone betrayed his genuine curiosity, as well as his fear over the answer to that question "Is… i-is she alright?"

"No, she's not, but that's no surprise, is it?" Zhao breathed deeply "I'm afraid she won't be alright, not for a very long time, if she ever is again, that is"

"Did he do anything to her?" Sokka asked. Zhao huffed, lowering his gaze.

"He intends to do several things as it is" Zhao said "That's why I'm here. Because the first of them… is your execution"

Those words were no surprise, though they still shook Sokka badly enough that he closed his eyes tightly and closed his hands into fists. Yes, it was a reality, one he'd hoped he'd be ready to face… but it was nearly impossible to do so when he knew the woman he loved would be no better off after his death. Just the thought of Azula facing her father's wrath alone was enough to infuse him with excruciating, rightful anger, as well as the eagerness to shield her from anything that might do her harm.

"Has he… made up his mind about it yet?" Sokka asked "Is that what you're here for? To… to tell me how he's chosen to do away with me?"

"To warn you, if anything" Zhao said, breathing deeply "I'm afraid your execution will be… a complicated matter"

"Complicated? Why?" Sokka asked, frowning "Is it because of her, somehow? Did she do anything she shouldn't have…? Because, just a few hours ago, all these guards came pouring in and… I had no idea if something was wrong with her, if she said anything she shouldn't have…"

"She said many things she shouldn't have" Zhao admitted "Her father has decided both her and you are… well, dangerous. That you might attempt to escape, if given the opportunity. He doesn't intend to give you any chances to get away, though… and I suspect, once you hear what your execution will entail, you won't want to run at all"

"Why?" Sokka asked. Zhao breathed deeply, shaking his head "What's… what's his plan for my execution? Isn't it just… propping me up in a public place and setting me on fire?"

"No, not this time" Zhao sighed "The Princess's humiliation is… is no menial matter. It isn't something Ozai wants revealed and paraded across the Fire Nation. Therefore…"

"He wants to keep everything quiet" Sokka said, frowning.

"But he's not doing a great job of that, for sure" Zhao hissed, placing a hand on the metal bars "I only found out about this because the chairman of the Gladiator League called me to the city in a hurry, and told me the League had been abolished, out of the blue. Ozai refuses to hear any sense when it comes to that, and nobody outside the Palace appears to understand why this has happened at all. But rumors will certainly start to spread before long, especially once the Princess seems to vanish from public life completely right after her grand comeback in the last weeks. I've told him already that he should change his mind about the League, but… he listens to no reason at this point. And that's… part of why the new plan for your execution came up"

"Over… the League?" Sokka asked, puzzled "Over it being abolished? What does he plan on doing, setting me on fire in the middle of the Dome, or…?"

"That is closer to the truth than you'd expect" Zhao said, gritting his teeth. Sokka frowned "Though… it won't be him who'll do it. Not at first, though he does intend to deliver the killing blow himself, a pointless attempt to find catharsis, I guess…"

"Who'd do it, then?" Sokka asked: the obvious, quick answer that came to mind was Azula, but that made no sense. However Ozai might want to punish his daughter, he'd never attempt to send them to a fight to the death against each other, he had to know she'd never hurt him and he'd never hurt her, either…

"It would be… Combustion Man" Zhao said, closing his eyes. Sokka gasped.

"W-wait… your gladiator?" Sokka asked "But… why?"

"Well, that's… it's by my request" Zhao admitted, eyeing Sokka mournfully. The gladiator froze in place "My demand, if anything. For Ozai… he will punish the Princess by any means necessary. He intends to make her regret ever crossing him, ever rebelling against him, and you must know, as well as I do, as well as anyone does… that she rebelled more than anything when it came to arranging her marriage"

Sokka's eyes widened as Zhao gritted his teeth, breathing deeply. He knew, deep down, what Zhao was about to say… but he recoiled from the revelation, his fury frozen into utter heartbreak.

"Ozai… well, he's wrongfully assumed that Azula's rejection of every suitor was caused by you" Zhao said "And I say wrongfully because… you may have first met in the South Pole, but I highly doubt she intended to marry you already back when Chan's son was meant to marry her. Whatever her motivations were afterwards, at least back then it wasn't…"

"So, he's… going to make her marry someone" Sokka finished, cutting off Zhao's aimless rambling. The Admiral didn't dare meet his eyes, and Sokka's stomach sank so deeply he thought it'd drop out of his body altogether "He's going to make her marry you"

"I told him no" Zhao said, almost looking at Sokka pleadingly "I begged him not to, and he refused to listen to reason. He was like a madman last night, I couldn't possibly get him to…"

"Then…" Sokka said, again interrupting Zhao's unusually nervous flow of words "Y-you're saying Combustion Man will execute me because…? Because he's your gladiator?"

"Well… yes" Zhao said, gritting his teeth "I have no idea if you can defeat my gladiator, and truthfully, Azula seemed to think I was merely trying to get you killed rather than giving you a chance to fight… don't blame her, it's not that she doesn't believe in you, but…"

"She's worried about me" Sokka finished, closing his eyes "Doesn't want me to get hurt any more than I already am. I know"

"She's not alright, like I said" Zhao sighed "The argument she just had with Ozai… he forced me to be there, likely hoping I'd help him pressure her into backing down, but I… I just stood there, like a fool, doing nothing. How does someone put a stop to two storms angled to crash together? It was… it was useless. So I couldn't do anything to stop either of them and… and all I can offer you now is a chance to die a fighter, rather than just a criminal. To still stand for, and defend, your sponsor, because if you are victorious…"

"I'll spare her from having to marry anyone she doesn't want" Sokka finished, though his eyes were vacant as he spoke the words "Is… is that really what you thought?"

"It's… what I hoped" Zhao admitted, reluctantly.

"There's no way he's going to accept that" Sokka said, closing his eyes "Did he tell you he would?"

"Yes, he did" Zhao whispered "I refused countless times, I told him I couldn't possibly marry someone I'd known since she was a child, it's… it's a revolting thought. But he insisted that the marriage itself was the least of it, that this was all a lesson for Azula… basically, inflicting me as a punishment on her. I had no intentions of taking a wife to begin with… let alone am I interested in taking one whose heart will always belong to someone else"

Sokka gritted his teeth and sighed, eyeing Zhao with uncertainty. The Admiral lowered his gaze.

"This was the only condition through which I could get Ozai to accept an outcome where I might not marry her" he confessed "If you win… she will be safe"

"From you, maybe" Sokka whispered, startling Zhao "But if it's not you… he'll find someone worse, once I'm dead. Won't he?"

"I…" Zhao gasped, and Sokka sighed "I don't know, perhaps he'd intend to, but he'd be honor-bound to…"

"To abide by Azula's test for suitors?" Sokka asked "He'd only agree to it with you because… because he's taking for granted that I can't possibly beat Combustion Man. He might even be right about that, too"

"You've overcome impossible odds in the past" Zhao said, clasping the bars of the cell desperately "When I first saw you, I thought you'd amount to nothing. I outright advised the Princess to seek a better gladiator than you because you appeared to have reached your full potential, and I thought you'd never be strong enough to overcome someone like the Blind Bandit. But… but you did overcome her, if I heard correctly. And not just her, but the Millennium Dragon, countless other opponents most non-benders would be utterly helpless against. You've achieved the unthinkable, forced me to even rethink my preconceived notions about your people…!"

"I guess I really must have… because I was pretty sure you'd be pissed at me, if you knew I was actually with Azula" Sokka said, eyeing Zhao with uncertainty "I mean… you thought I was unrequited. That's why you said you were fine with it, right? But…"

"But it wasn't quite so simple" Zhao said, and Sokka hung his head "Well… for both my sake and yours, I'll pretend that you two were chaste about your connection for far longer than you probably were. Otherwise… Ozai will want to have my head for having guessed at only half the truth without telling him about my suspicions"

"Then you… you really don't hold this against me?" Sokka asked "You don't think I shouldn't have…"

"I do think you shouldn't have. Neither you nor her had the slightest bit of sense when you chose to do this" Zhao said, shaking his head "If it were up to me, you wouldn't have acted on those feelings. I told you that night, didn't I? Any other woman would do, all you needed was…"

"You're wrong" Sokka sighed.

"And you're too young, even now" Zhao said "You're about to die because of what you did…"

"And all I regret is that she'll have to pay a price of her own because I dared love her" Sokka said, firmly "There's no point… no point to living a long, bland, mediocre life with anyone else. There's no sense in ever being with anyone other than her. If death was the only outcome I'd ever get for daring love her… then so be it. But my heart is hers, and it always will be…"

"And if you do die, and your suspicions about Ozai breaking his word are true, then she will be given to another man, whether me or anyone else" Zhao said, looking at Sokka in disbelief. Sokka gritted his teeth "You knew this was the outcome that was bound to take place. You had to know, you're no fool…"

"I was ready… to see her marrying someone else" Sokka said. His words gave Zhao pause "So many years ago, I… I told her, if she found someone else who made her happy, I'd be fine with it, because that's what matters most. I didn't need her for myself, because love… that's not the point of it, Zhao. If she'd never loved me, if she'd done everything by the book, as her father wanted her to… I'd have still loved her with every fiber of my being, no matter what. I'd still have wanted her, and no one else, for as long as I lived. That she ever wanted me back may have looked like our undoing… but if you expect me to regret falling in love with her, you're out of luck. What we had… it's a bond worth fighting for. Worth dying for. It's a love I'm damn sure we'd never find with anyone but each other. Spit at me if you like… call me a fool, shout if you want to, but I won't regret loving her, no matter what"

Zhao released a breath and hung his head, shaking it lightly. Sokka, as broken as he should have been, still appeared resolved and resolute in his beliefs and certainties, even if those beliefs were, in Zhao's opinion, his very undoing.

"And the consequences of your grand love…? Don't you regret that part, at the very least?" Zhao asked, his brow furrowed "This is much bigger than your personal feelings, gladiator. You've said it yourself, she will have to pay for this in who knows how many more ways once you're dead. That doesn't concern you?"

"It does" Sokka whispered "I don't want her to pay for anything else, I would rather it was just me, but… but I know that's not possible"

"Then why would you be so reckless?" Zhao asked, frowning "Why would you act on those feelings when you understood this was a possibility?"

"Because we had no damn intentions of getting caught anyway" Sokka said, gritting his teeth "We… we were idiots, sure, and it only took one person to give us away. If we'd been more careful…"

"But you weren't" Zhao said, breathing deeply and shaking his head "Listen, your loyalty to the Princess is most heartwarming, and I have no doubts that's part of how you won her heart, but… but you had to know the risk was too great. You had to know that, if Ozai found out…"

"I did know. So did she" Sokka whispered "We took this risk regardless… and I'm sure she's saying she'll face the consequences, as will I. If… if I have to fight for her honor, then I'll do it. If this way, I can protect her one last time… then it's definitely a worthier death than anything else I can think of. Than anything else I'll be allowed to do, as far as I can tell"

"Are you truly this… this ready to discard your life?" Zhao asked. Sokka swallowed hard and nodded.

"Dying for her… truthfully, I wanted to live for her, for as long as I could. But I am ready to sacrifice my life for her, yes. I always have been, and I'll never hesitate to do so for her sake. She… she means everything to me, Zhao. Which is why I… why I have to ask something of you" Sokka finished, raising his gaze towards the Admiral. Zhao's brow furrowed.

"Something to ask of me?" he repeated, uneasy. Sokka swallowed hard and nodded.

"I… I don't know what will happen, whether I win or lose" he said "I don't know what the outcome will be or… or how it will affect Azula. But Ozai… he's not going to let me live, for sure. And if he goes back on his word to you… he'll force you to marry her regardless"

"You both seem so sure of that, but maybe…"

"Maybe he won't, and then he'll pick someone else, and it might be no better for Azula anyway" Sokka said, closing his eyes. Zhao frowned "I… I don't want to ask this of you. I don't want to ask it of anyone because… because the one she wanted beside her was me. And yet I won't be able to be there for her, I know I won't, not after all this. So…"

Sokka breathed deeply, swallowing hard afterwards, before turning an earnest, pleading gaze upon Zhao.

"If it comes to that, if he won't give either of you another choice, Zhao, please… please, be kind to her. Please… be patient. She will be in pain for a long time… she will lash out, hurt others, but it's only because she will be hurting and won't know what else to do. Give her time. Let her grieve… and then help her move forward. If I can't be the one beside her… then at least, if it's you, I can ask you to promise me you'll do right by her. That you'll protect her from Ozai's fury as best you can… promise to giveher space for as long as she needs it. To… t-to find a way to bring a smile to her face once again, even if her heart is broken. To give her reasons to live on, because… because she may lose sight of how valuable, how important she is, how much she can change the world for the better. Listen to her… respect her. Bear… bear with your own pain, as best you can, for her sake. I know I have no right to ask for anything… I know you can just refuse me, or lie and just abandon her if it becomes too difficult… but please, Zhao. I… I won't be able to be there for her anymore. If you truly ever wanted to do right by her… this is your chance to do so. This is how you can do it. I… I won't lie, it may be thankless work, but… but she deserves whatever peace, whatever happiness, she may be able to attain. And if I can't give her any of it… all I can hope is that you can find a way to do it, in my place"

Zhao gritted his teeth: a hole seemed to crack open in his gut as he heard Sokka's petition. As he watched the determined, unruly man setting aside his pride, his irreverence… all be it to as good as beg him to be the best husband possible for the woman he loved. The words, Zhao knew, had to be the most bittersweet he had ever spoken: the gladiator wanted to be the man holding her for as long as they lived, the man giving her reasons to smile, to offer her peace… for that was who he had been for her, until two days ago. Asking anyone else to take that role in Azula's life was likely one of the last things he had ever intended to do… the devastation plain across his face made it apparent. But he had requested this anyway… because he wanted, above all else, what was best for Azula. Zhao shook his head as he released a deep breath.

"I found out before this, you know?" Zhao said, closing his eyes "On the day Ozai came back. I overheard you two that night… I heard her calling you her husband"

"You…?" Sokka frowned, until realization hit him "You… you opened the door that day, didn't you?"

"I was thoughtless enough to push it open without warning, yes" Zhao admitted, sighing "I shouldn't have eavesdropped, but I did"

"And you didn't tell anyone?" Sokka asked, puzzled "You… didn't give us away to Ozai after you heard that?"

"I didn't. I had no reason to" Zhao said, eyeing him mournfully "After everything I saw between the two of you… I knew, as does Ozai, although he'd deny it, that your connection with the Princess isn't a mere whim. I've done more than enough things she'll never forgive me for, now she's even convinced I've always been out to get her, to claw my way to a throne… but truthfully, I never wanted to get in your way. Yours… wasn't a relationship I would have ever wanted to see broken. Even now, I… I don't want to have anything to do with this. That she called you her husband, though… it wasn't serious, or was it? It was just a game, of some sort? Or…?"

"It wasn't a game" Sokka said. Of all the injuries his body bore, suddenly it was his right palm that seemed to hurt the most. He tightened his fist, feeling the ridges of his scar, the physical evidence of his connection with the woman he loved.

"Then… then it wasn't legal either way, was it?" Zhao asked "It couldn't be, as far as I can tell, but if it was, then that means…"

"It wasn't" Sokka admitted, sadly "And even if it had been… there's no way Ozai would acknowledge it, is there? He'd annul our marriage immediately, I doubt he wouldn't be able to do that… well, not like he'd even bother. He'd likely kill me faster yet, just so he can clear the way for anyone else to marry Azula"

"Then… there's truly nothing else to be done" Zhao sighed, shaking his head "I… I never intended for matters to escalate this way. Truthfully, I never intended to… to respect you at all, to begin with. Had I never understood why Azula held you in such high regards, none of this would faze me in the least. If that were the case… I might even think you both deserve this, much as Ozai does. But he himself was the first whose behavior about you gave me pause… and eventually I found myself even questioning what I knew of your people because of you. Had your circumstances been any different, you would have been, without a doubt, the best match she could ever hope to make"

"Right…" Sokka whispered. Deep down, he could as good as hear Azula's voice claiming he was the best match, regardless of his birth, regardless of his belonging to another nation… he closed his eyes, letting her presence echo through him, clinging to every reminder of Azula he still carried within him.

"We're stuck with this, though" Zhao said, swallowing hard "You'll have to fight Combustion Man… but I will see to it that you may do this with your full weapons, to the best of your ability"

"You… you can do that?" Sokka asked, gazing at Zhao in disbelief.

"I intended to from the start" Zhao said "You won't have to fight barehanded if I can help it, otherwise there's no point to it being a gladiator fight, is there? You will be escorted from here to your old house… your weapons and armor are there, aren't they?"

"Yeah… yeah" Sokka nodded.

"Then you'll collect them, quietly, peacefully, alright?" Zhao said "If you do anything to so much as attempt to escape… it will be Azula who will end up paying the price. You are aware of this, of course…"

"I won't do anything… I wouldn't" Sokka said, nodding "I know what I have to do… I'll face this, head on, no matter if it's the last thing I do. For, if it is… I'll still have done it for her. And that makes everything worth it"

"It's good you see it that way. Whatever Ozai may say… the truth is it was an honor to have known you" Zhao said, closing his eyes "And if things do turn out the way you suspect they might, I… I will do everything in my power to fulfill what you've asked of me. Both… in your memory, and for her sake"

Sokka gritted his teeth and nodded, his throat burning as tears surged in his eyes again.

"This… is farewell, then" Zhao said, dropping his hand from the cell's bars.

"Thank you" Sokka whispered, his voice brittle. Zhao tightened a fist, eyeing him mournfully: he was, truly, the picture of a heartbroken husband, who wanted nothing but to protect his wife by any means necessary… despite, as he was, he lacked such means completely "F-farewell, Zhao. Thank you for… for all this. For everything"

Zhao breathed deeply, nodding before turning on his heels. He hadn't intended to make such a promise, no… for he had no intentions of taking Azula as his wife, for starters. But Sokka's sincere request, his selfless bearing, had cracked through Zhao's resolve far easier than a blunt weapon shattering glass might. Tomorrow would be a dark day, Zhao knew, probably one of the darkest their nation had ever witnessed… and he would have to be a key player in it, against his will. Otherwise, this gladiator wouldn't have a warrior's death, the only honor that Zhao might yet be able to arrange for him in his very last moments.

He took off after sending the guards upstairs again, and he filed towards the Capital's outskirts right away. He had someone to seek out for tomorrow, after all… he almost wished the man wouldn't be home, that he would have found some sort of assignment to occupy himself with rather than abiding by the Fire Lord's orders. But he knew the chances for that were slim, if not completely inexistent… and he knew, too, that every step he took away from the Prison Tower, every turn of the wheels of his carriage, every breath that filled his lungs and relieved them afterwards, would bring everyone closer to the inevitable, unfortunate end of the line for the Princess and her gladiator.

The soldiers returned to the eighth floor once again, still quiet, still somber. Sokka ignored them completely this time, pulling up his knees, hugging them even though the countless bruises and burns across his body turned any form of friction into further punishments. He knew he had done the right thing, no matter if it devastated him. He knew Azula would never accept this… that she would never want a husband forced upon her, that she would fight until her last breath over ever betraying him. But if by any chance, Ozai ever broke her… if that happened, he wouldn't be able to protect her anymore. He wouldn't be with her, to encourage her to carry on anymore. He mourned that, deeply… but if he couldn't be there for her, someone else had to be. And if there was no one but Zhao for the role… then at least Sokka could only hope that Zhao would keep true to his promise. She wouldn't be okay, not for a long time… but maybe one day, she would be. Maybe one day she'd find a new love, someone else she truly belonged with, and Zhao would step aside and let her be free to choose her own fate, once Ozai was well out of the way… hopefully.

He raised his head, gazing through his tearful eyes at his right palm. Whatever happened next… he knew his heart belonged to her. He could only hope she'd know, too, that he would always be with her, no matter if his body decayed and was destroyed completely. His soul was linked to hers, his energy as well… even if he lacked the strength to survive tomorrow – not that there were many chances he would, for starters –, he would never be apart from her. Never…

He tightened his hand into the strongest fist he could muster. He'd have a chance to fight back… a chance to defend her one last time, to fight for her when she couldn't do it herself. If this was his destiny, what his long journey would result in, then he intended to face it, head on, with the courage and determination of a man who had something to fight for. He was wounded, heartbroken, as good as hopeless… but that wouldn't stop him from fighting back, either way. Nothing would ever stop him from fighting, as long as he did it for her.

A new day would begin in just a few more hours: the sun was setting by now, he could tell through the orange light that filtered through the window well above his cell. His last day, as Ozai would have it… and Sokka intended to make every instant of his final battle count. He had lived a better life than he had ever expected to, truthfully… he had achieved more than he had thought he would, back when he had wildly attacked a settlement and found himself in the path of a woman who would become everything to him only a few years later. He had made valuable friends, he had strengthened himself, protected as many people he had been able to… and he had loved Azula. He had loved her desperately, deeply, with every breath he took, with every single beat of his heart. It was, as far as he could tell, a life well-lived… a life he wouldn't regret to dedicate to her until his dying breath departed him. Yes, he would have wanted to see his family again at least one more time… he would have wanted to continue changing the world with Azula, as they had so far. But it wasn't the time to be bitter about what he'd lose, about what he'd never witness… it was the time to be grateful for everything he had been fortunate enough to experience, instead. He had lived… and what an adventure it had been, in the end.

He released a breath, dropping his head against the wall, watching until the very last rays of sunlight faded into darkness.

The atmosphere in the mostly empty barracks hung heavily over every Imperial Guard of the third squad. They were still off-duty, for the most part, but it was apparent General Shaofeng was singling out the likeliest rebels among them to force them into the unnerving, disturbing new duty they'd received earlier that day: Rui Shi had been forced to join the first shift of constant surveillance over the Princess, and now Fei Li, seething as he was, had taken his place in a group mainly comprised by members of the first squad. Rui Shi and the second squad, save for a few who had been left to their traditional duties, had finally returned to the barracks after the dreary, unbearable mission was finished: many of his fellow third squad guards lingered in the dining room, even though they had either already finished their meals or lacked the appetite to take a single bite.

"Rui Shi… you're back" Taro said, eyeing him with uncertainty as his fellow guard removed his helmet and sank in an empty seat.

"Is she…?" asked Han, quietly. Rui Shi shook his head.

"Miserable, evidently" he said, breathing deeply "I… couldn't even communicate with her. There was nothing to be done, she knew it too. I think that's why she simply climbed onto her bed and laid there for our whole shift. She must have hoped Shaofeng would get bored eventually, but…"

"But that's not going to happen" Haoren sighed "He called for Fei Li next. He's probably sure that any attempts to sabotage the Fire Lord's plans will be led by either of you"

"Yes, he does suspect that" Rui Shi said, his eyes raking the table "Shuren, Wuhan… is everything going well?"

"Tai Wei… is almost ready" Wuhan confirmed, his deep voice as silent as he could make it: there were members of the second squad about, even if they didn't appear to be listening to anything they said "But with the circumstances being what they are…"

"We can't set anything in motion like this" Haoren mumbled, eyeing Rui Shi with uncertainty "The execution is… tomorrow. If he's guarded heavily at every point in time…"

"But I told you, Haoren, it's… it's a chance" Qiang whispered, leaning closer to the table "Didn't you hear, Rui Shi? He's… he's to be executed at the Royal Dome. It's going to be empty, right? So… if we could maybe interrupt the execution right on time…"

"And escape how?" asked Taro, wary "I respect your idea, and if you can find a way to pull it off, where all of us get out of it safely, as well as those two… I'd choose it in a heartbeat, Qiang. But like this…"

"What's your idea?" Rui Shi asked Qiang, eyeing his comrade with uncertainty. Qiang sighed.

"Well… I thought maybe we could sneak in, sabotage the fight somehow, then help them escape" he said "I know, it's likely it won't go over well…"

"We can't secure the Princess in those circumstances" said Haoren, shaking his head "She will surely be under heavy guard, two floors above ground level. If we managed to break in, and I don't even know if the underground tunnels connect directly with the Arena's ground floor, we would still have to fight heaps of guards in order to reach her, whether before or after securing the gladiator"

"I know that, but… curses, what else can we do?" Qiang asked, desperate "It's likely we can make something work while he's fighting, don't you think? Because it will be a fight, that's what I've heard. If we sabotage the fight somehow…"

"We need to get the Princess out of the Fire Lord's reach" Rui Shi said, simply. Qiang fell silent "Ideally, with the least bloodshed and sacrifices. It's possible that, if we obstruct the fight, we might hinder Sokka, though it's also possible that it could pay off. But escaping through land is… probably not the wisest idea"

"Then… the dragon?" asked Taro, confused "I don't think he can help all of us, can he?"

"He can't, and I didn't mean we'd use him. He's supposed to be at the ready, though, for any emergency situations where he may be needed to help the Princess…" Rui Shi said "But that's not the only way to fly these days"

"Wait… y-you mean, a hot-air balloon? Or an airship? Where can we find either thing?" Taro asked, puzzled.

"I know of one available hot-air balloon. It'll just be a matter of finding it, preparing it on time, and taking off on it before the General notices we're gone. Which… would have to happen after he escorts the Princess out for the execution" Rui Shi said, rubbing his brow with his fingertips "Our window of time is… well, not very good. But if we use it, we may be able to help Sokka. If two of us ride it, we can use it to hoist the Princess and the gladiator out of danger, once the fight begins"

"But it all hinges… on whether Sokka will be able to survive long enough for us to barge into the Arena" said Taro, rubbing his brow.

"You said two people only?" Haoren asked "What of the others? You don't mean for eight of us to go to the Barge tonight and set that plan in motion already, do you?"

"No… but I do expect half of us to be on the Barge tonight, yes" Rui Shi sighed "Tai Wei won't be able to get the Barge out on his own. We need to help him navigate past the bay's barrier and ensure he can make it through the Great Gates without obstruction. Five of us will stay on land, of which three should linger in the Palace, in case Shaofeng comes checking… though he's enjoying tormenting the Princess so much I doubt he'll bother. One of those three will have to be Fei Li, naturally. The other two will stay here. Two more will have to strike at the barrier's towers' control room, just as we intended…"

"Beyond locking the soldiers inside the towers, we can send out all their messenger hawks to Ba Sing Se with urgent, irrelevant messages" suggested Haoren. His idea brought the others to smile "They'll have no way to communicate at all if we do that"

"Good idea" Rui Shi said, breathing deeply "It'll gain us some time, at least. Afterwards, the Barge will get out, and the ones attacking the towers will return to the Palace. From there… we'll head to the gladiator's house by the time the Princess is on her way to the execution. And then, with any luck, we'll be able to help before it's too late"

"All five who stay won't be able to fly out, though" said Haoren "Two, at best, would be the better plan, maybe three if we can afford it… otherwise, the balloon might be too heavy once we collect the Princess and the gladiator and then everything will fail, wouldn't it?"

"Right" Rui Shi said, breathing out and rubbing his brow with his fingertips "Then… two more will have to stay behind. Maybe leave the Capital by other means… through the rougher paths and crevices of the crater. Once the Princess and the gladiator are safe aboard the Barge, the balloon can come back to collect the last ones left. Hopefully, anyway"

"T-then… who's going? And who's staying?" asked Han, softly.

Rui Shi breathed deeply, eyeing the rest of the group. At this moment, Fei Li, Tai Wei and Jianghuo were absent, as the latter two were both busy preparing the ship. Three more guards would be expected to join Tai Wei on the Barge…

"Jianghuo will be needed at the Barge" Rui Shi said "So he'll have to stay there, he's the better one at first-aid and medical care among us. Shuren, Wuhan… the two of you have always been the ones to stand out the least. Shaofeng isn't likely to look for you, so you'll be better off helping set the Barge in motion. And… Taro"

"B-but I can help the Princess…" Taro said, eyeing Rui Shi hopelessly. Rui Shi breathed deeply and shook his head.

"I know. That's what all of us want to do" he said "But you'll still be of help if you stay in the Barge and give Tai Wei a hand there. It's not that I don't think you should be with us, but…"

"But my condition makes it dangerous?" Taro asked, before sighing "Fine, then… fine. I'll do as you say, Captain"

"I'm not a captain anymore, haven't been for a long time" Rui Shi said, gritting his teeth as he eyed the rest of the group "Haoren, Qiang, Han… you three, me and Fei Li will handle everything else here"

"Haoren and I can handle the bay" Qiang said, reassuringly "In all likelihood, if Shaofeng comes check on our group, he'll be looking for you, first of all…"

"And it wouldn't do if he finds out you lot are plotting something, would it?"

Two guards from the second squad. Two of the men Rui Shi had been watching Azula with, mere moments ago.

The two of them stood not far from their table, close enough to overhear parts of their conversation, and to evidently read the conspiracy being brewed by their group.

Qiang was the first to rise to his feet, a fist tightened, but Rui Shi stood with him, reaching out with a hand to calm him. His eyes fell upon the guard of the second squad, who gazed at him with an undecipherable stare.

"If you intended to tell him we're plotting something at all… you wouldn't have given us this warning" Rui Shi said, breathing deeply, feeling his stomach twist with nerves.

He didn't want to take a violent approach to this intrusion, but if need be, he'd do so without hesitating. They could have convened elsewhere, but if they had been gone from sight frequently, Shaofeng was more likely to suspect they were up to something… nothing was safe, ever. If something was clear after all these days, it was certainly that.

"What are you after? Will you give us means to buy your silence, perhaps?" Rui Shi asked, keeping his composure as best he could.

"No, I'm not after anything quite that corrupt…" said the same guard who had spoken just now. He was a few inches taller than Rui Shi, and he stepped closer to him in what could have seemed to be a menacing gesture "I do intend to offer something, however…"

"What is it?" Rui Shi asked: he felt every set of eyes in the dining room upon him, and he scowled dangerously…

Until the second squad's guard placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Our silence, free of charge" he said, simply. Rui Shi, and the present members of the third squad, stared at him in disbelief.

"Wait, what?" Haoren gasped.

"You… saved us" the guard said, squeezing Rui Shi's shoulder "Me, my friends… the captain is still convalescing, but you saved him too. You're the Princess's men, we all get that… but you still fought with your very life to save us all, Rui Shi. For that… we'll turn a blind eye, for tonight. Give you an alibi, maybe, if that's what you need. If the General shows up… we'll let him know you're praying at the temple, begging for mercy for the Princess's soul"

"I could pretend I escorted you all" said the other guard "Then… then we'll be even, right, Rui Shi?"

Rui Shi breathed deeply, gazing at them with uncertainty. The two guards appeared sincere… and as things stood, he had no choice but to trust them. Attacking them in a wild, paranoid frenzy would only cause further trouble, after all.

"You're sure about this?" Rui Shi asked "You swear, too, that this is your way to pay me back for helping you at the factory…?"

"We swear" the two guards said.

"On our honor as Imperial Guards…" said the first of them "You are free to do what you must. We will overlook everything, though we'll claim ignorance if asked about any of your activities… not that we understood even half of it anyway. So… go, Rui Shi. Go"

Rui Shi released his breath and nodded, as the guard dropped his hand from his shoulder. It was an unexpected display of loyalty he hadn't even known he had earned… but by the tone of his voice, he had the feeling this very guard was the one who had saved him, catching just before he had fallen into the massive rift in the ground due to the backlash of Rui Shi's attack against the Stingray. It wasn't quite surprising for him that there would be dissent within Shaofeng's ranks… but finding more of it, at the right moment, was a true blessing to be grateful for.

"Thank you" he said, before turning to his men. All of them rose to their feet, and Rui Shi nodded, knowing the most dangerous, difficult part of their journey would begin now "Let's go"

Dinner came and went: Ozai had scarcely downed three mouthfuls of food before discarding the meal altogether. Food wouldn't placate him, nor would drinks… none of that would quench the fire that burned inside his chest, urging him to destroy, to annihilate that which he most wished to reduce to cinders, so that each shred of his own humanity would wither under the power of those flames until there was nothing left underneath…

A knock on his chambers' door interrupted his destructive thoughts. Ozai turned, to find the visitor had already pulled the door open. And he wasn't alone.

The unnaturally tall man stood further down the corridor, knowing better than to intrude on the Fire Lord's private quarters. He was still as menacing as ever in the darkness of the dimly lit Palace, which cast unsettling shadows across his bearded face, playing with the light to a point where his forehead's eye appeared to be real, rather than a tattoo.

His appearance was as sober as ever, with a simple outfit meant to allow him ease of movement. With the two heavy metallic prosthetics that took the place of his right arm and leg, it was only natural that he would prefer simplicity over cumbersome protection.

But even now, hours before dawn, the man's indifferent demeanor spoke for itself: he was ready. Even if his sponsor, who stood at the threshold, appeared most distraught, Combustion Man himself appeared perfectly serene. This was but another job for him… one Ozai would gladly pay him for, if he demanded for payment at all. Where everyone else was emotionally compromised, one way or another, this was but another chance for the combustion bender to wage destruction upon the latest soul to earn Ozai's wrath.

And because he recognized his same destructive need, albeit not with the same passionate nature, in Combustion Man's eyes, Ozai's lips curved into a wild, unsettling smile: within the space of the next twelve hours, he would be witnessing the deserved, awaited, brutal execution of the Blue Wolf.