Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

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

322. Chapter 322: Old Friends-War Meeting 4

Old Friends/The War Meeting

4

No one said a word for a long moment: all eyes of the bedroom's occupants fixated on the doorway, where the heavily scowling Admiral Zhao, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, stood with a menacing posture… and that silence ended once he entered the room with heavy stomps.

"You can drop the act now. There's no point in playing the heartbroken fool with me, Princess Azula," Zhao said: his voice was charged with far more vitriol than Rei remembered ever hearing in it before.

"Act?" Azula repeated: a huff of outrage spilled from her lips as she brushed the tears from her face: Zhao's sudden appearance only threatened to cause even more chaos, certainly much more of it than she cared to handle right now. "I suppose you've convinced yourself that you see right through me, haven't you? Heh. I wonder if that's what I sounded like when I used to believe you were much smarter than you've proved to be…"

"Stop deflecting and changing the subject," Zhao growled: Azula's face was humorless now as she glowered at him.

"There is no subject to begin with: get out of my room now, you bastard," Azula blurted out, unthinking, careless about offending the man she had been forced to marry. "I have nothing to say to you, so get lost as you always do. I'm not in the mood for your bullshit."

"And I'm not in the mood for yours, Azula," Zhao snapped. "You're terribly effective at fooling your father, of course you are! But I won't stand idly by, pretending to swallow your lies and your deceit just so Ozai can delude himself in the mad hopes that you might still be a valuable asset for the Fire Nation! You are actively working against him, against our war effort! You planned this with your Gladiator all along! Don't even attempt to claim otherwise, for if there's anyone in this world who's capable of scheming something of this magnitude, it isn't that man: it's you!"

Azula froze on the spot upon hearing those words: she was the only person capable of scheming this way? So Zhao was underestimating Sokka, was he? After what had happened with Combustion Man, he still had it in him to underestimate Sokka?

"You're serious?" Azula asked. "I… I should be flattered, honestly. You genuinely believe that I could have been…? T-that, what, we drew up his entire strategy while we were on the Barge? Or do you believe it was when I first hired him, maybe? No, no doubt, I must have schemed this when I was a child, oh, that would make perfect sense…!"

"Quit patronizing me!" Zhao raised his voice even louder than before: Rei winced, and even Song shrank against it, but not Azula: her rage only seemed bolstered by the man's loss of temper.

"Oh, but that's exactly what you sound like, Zhao," Azula hissed. "Honestly… I must have done one hell of a number on you to convince you that I, somehow, could have something to gain by this blasted situation! Ah, but I'm sure you're just upset that whatever I said managed to stop my father from further humiliating me and punishing me for actions that aren't mine! No doubt that must be what you were hoping to see today, that and nothing more…!"

"Your father has ample reason to do exactly that… but he is a fool," Zhao growled. Azula scoffed.

"And you're one to talk," she said.

"Spoken by the woman who gave herself willfully to the madman on a quest to destroy her nation?! Oh, if someone's the greater fool here, it's most certainly you…!"

"Yes! That's correct!" Azula rebuffed: tears spilled down her face now, furiously dropping on her clothes, on the fabric covering her prominent womb. "I'm the greater fool! Is that what you wanted to hear? Is that what you needed to confirm?! Well, we're on the same page when it comes to that, for I have never felt as stupid as I did today! Happy now?! Satisfied?!"

She knew, even before he reacted, that his answer to those questions would be negative: he shook his head instants later and Azula rolled her eyes, dabbing at her eyes violently with her sleeve.

"Bullshit," Zhao said, shaking his head. "You're not innocent here, and no, it's not because the Gladiator deceived you, as Ozai believes: you are in on this madness, you're a traitor to your nation and you're merely biding your time, playing the tormented, grieving woman as you did for all these months… all be it so that, once he shows up, you'll destroy the Fire Lord together and steal the Throne for yourselves. The fact that Ozai is too thickheaded to see it is…!"

"Is he, now?" Azula said, with a nervous smile. "Bet if you told him so he'd be stoked by the concept, wouldn't he? Another excuse to punish me, to try to kill everyone who means anything to me, to force me to make more sacrifices than I can bear until I…!"

Until she was so lost that she didn't know who she was anymore. She had once symbolized a force of change for good, an advocate for peace, for the slaves, for the Honorary Citizens…

And today she had condemned a whole nation, as well as the entire group of refugees in the Northern Air Temple, all be it to save her worthless self. If she could birth her child right now, she would have done so and ridden herself from her miserable existence right afterwards, too. What she'd done… she didn't deserve to survive for a day longer after what she'd done. She didn't deserve to draw breath…

She was a monster. The very monster her mother had told her she was. Zhao was right in ways she hated to acknowledge: she didn't hope to gain a damn thing anymore… but she certainly had sold out people she should have been protecting, all for her own sake. Her body was wracked with unpleasant shivers, with painful lurches that almost compelled her to throw up…

"Oh, rest assured, I will do so right after you confess the truth to me," Zhao snarled. "You said what you said in that war meeting for a reason, didn't you? You can see through him, you know exactly what he'll do next, where he'll strike next…!"

Azula shuddered, covering her face with her hands: Song's eyes widened as she glanced at her in confusion. Zhao's accusatory finger pointed at the Princess, the wrath almost disfiguring his face as he glared at her fiercely.

"How utterly coincidental that his choices, according to you, would result in sending me back to the North Pole!" he roared. "What a curious situation that the first thing out of your damn mouth would be a way to send me away from the Fire Nation mainland for months, if not longer than that… just as that thing is about to be born!"

Azula shuddered: her hand moved protectively towards her womb as she glowered at Zhao in utter rage. She wouldn't confirm or deny his suspicions… but she certainly would do anything in her power to make it clear to him that he would never hurt her child.

"Do go on now, tell me the same garbage you fed your father about how that brat of yours, somehow, is mine!" Zhao exclaimed. "You've been using me as a smokescreen to the worst of your betrayals, the biggest of your lies, and your father is too much of a fool to see the truth for what it is! Oh, but once it's born? By then, you'll pay for what you've done. By then you'll see that spawn of your dalliance with that man dying within moments of drawing its first breath…"

"Shut your fucking mouth…" Azula growled: something visceral, ugly, painful seemed to take rise inside her. Something that urged her to take a few steps to the left… to pick up Wolf's Bane and run it through Zhao's gut. "Or I'll inflict whatever fate you intended for the child tenfold on you, you son of a bitch."

"Oh, now… your mother was much more of a bitch than mine, I can assure you of that much," Zhao hissed. "And hell… you resemble her more and more with every day that goes by."

"Could you please…?!" Song exclaimed, stepping forward: her face was flushed with tension and nervousness, an anxiety she hardly knew how to deal with.

She stepped between Zhao and Azula, but her body was angled protectively before the Princess… her pleas directed towards the Crown Prince.

"This is not the time or place for arguments of any nature," she said. "I have to ask you to leave this room, Prince Zhao, or…"

"I… will be wherever the hell I want to be," Zhao said, firmly. "I have no reason to obey the commands of a plain, meaningless midwife. This doesn't concern you, so if it bothers you so, leave this room yourself."

"I'm afraid I've been tasked with looking after the Princess's wellbeing. And I am speaking out now because this is… this is unacceptable," Song said: her hands trembled as she faced down a dangerous firebender, one she knew could kill her if he so much as tried…

But she couldn't take it anymore. Azula was in pain, and Zhao had somehow stormed in to make everything worse. If she couldn't even set right all that was wrong with Azula when she had returned to her room, she certainly couldn't hope to do that while also helping her sort out this new clash with Zhao.

"You're Crown Prince? Then act like it," Song said, firmly. "Understand there are boundaries you must respect: she is your…"

"She is no wife of mine!" Zhao bellowed: Rei flinched under his words, and Song shuddered as she glared at him indignantly. "Has she not told you yet, midwife, of how she seduced a Water Tribe man into becoming some mindless drone ready to die for her if she so asked it of him?! How he would murder anyone for her sake…! This madness, his attack on every city he may strike, against our armies, is entirely her doing! Not only did she pour all her resources into shaping him into a powerful gladiator, no, she also poisoned his mind entirely! All that fool wants now is to come back to her and…!"

"Ah. So that's what your problem was."

Azula's voice was much smoother now, but her rage hadn't diminished in the slightest. She scowled as she walked past Song, who glanced at her in despair: was she going to do something to stop Zhao, or would she simply make him react even more aggressively than he had so far?

"You are my problem. You!" Zhao growled, glaring at her. "You and your lies and your schemes…! You're but manipulating everyone, even these two, for they don't know better! They don't understand the Princess they serve is by far the most corrupt person in this damn Palace! They don't see the horrors you've done, they don't understand all the terrible things you're responsible for! The deaths you've left in your wake, the nightmares you've inflicted upon others…!"

Azula lowered her gaze: she honestly had no idea what he was talking about anymore… but she hated that his words would strike a painful chord in her. The only bright side was the knowledge that Zhao's accusations didn't quite faze her, didn't quite surprise her… for they weren't all that different from the ones she told herself virtually every day of her life.

"You should not be listened to! You should not be granted any seats of honor in council meetings!" Zhao roared. "You're a menace! A true menace! You and the Gladiator and… and that child. That evidence of treason you're carrying with you every single damn day…!"

"Stop. Please… stop it."

This time it was Rei's voice that rose in the room. Zhao's eyes drifted quickly towards her: there were tears in her eyes… tears that shouldn't be there. That wouldn't be there… if only Azula would admit everything. If only she'd be truthful for once. If only she'd stop pretending to be innocent, to be a victim when she was the perpetrator… it was her fault that Rei would be miserable. It was her fault, her choices: if only Ozai had punished her accordingly for her latest revealed crimes, which was what he'd planned on doing, rather than as good as rewarding her by letting her simply return to her room without consequences…!

"I… I'm sorry. I should have never brought you here," Zhao said. Rei's eyes widened, and further tears spilled down her cheeks. "Rest assured, you won't stay here for a day longer after she finally comes clean with the Fire Lord and he…"

"No!" Rei exclaimed: Zhao froze on the spot. "S-stop…! Don't…! D-don't hurt her anymore. Please…"

Where he had changed tunes moments ago when Rei first spoke, now it seemed his previous anger was about to worsen massively instead: don't hurt her? Don't hurt her?

She couldn't be hurt.

Her tears were as false as her claims that the child inside her were Zhao's.

How could someone hurt a monster like Azula?

"I'm not…" Zhao said, shaking his head. "I'm not hurting her, damn you! Nothing could possibly hurt someone like her!"

"Prince Zhao…" Song pleaded, but Zhao shook his head.

"She heard he was dead! Mere hours later, she was as good as revitalized for it!" he said. "The man she so claimed to love, and that's all he meant to her! That's all she could do to pretend to mourn him! He deserved better than you, that much is for sure, as do both of them, as does anyone who's stuck with you, Princess Azula… especially me!"

Azula let out a sound halfway between a cough and a laugh. She had lowered her head moments ago, but she raised it again and gestured towards the door.

"If so, why are you still here? Why would you waste your time with someone who doesn't deserve it?" Azula asked. "I… I used to think you were always scheming, always lying, always manipulating as well. That every word you spoke hid a different, deeper meaning, and I feared I'd never grow to truly understand whatever the hell was crossing your mind. You were dishonest… you never showed your true self to anyone. All your praises were hiding insults furtively, carefully... but I was wrong about all that, wasn't I? He… he told me I was. That you weren't as bad as I thought you were, so I… I thought I'd give you a chance. I figured… I figured you could have changed. Maybe it was I who had changed, I don't know… but I think I finally see you now."

"Oh, no, you don't. Don't you dare pretend to understand even the first thing about me…" Zhao growled threateningly, but the Princess shook her head firmly.

"You're scared."

The shouting match between them came to a surprising halt when she spoke those words. Even Rei and Song froze on their spots as they glanced at the furious Zhao… to find his eyes widening, his face contorted again with wrath… and with the very fear Azula had pinpointed in him.

"You don't truly… don't truly believe you can do it," Azula said, with a shrug. "You're scared of going to the North Pole again and losing… because you believe someone who already took Ba Sing Se would defeat your forces, your fleet, like child's play. Blame me for it all you like… but ultimately, the truth is he daunts you, doesn't he? And it's not just because you think he'll tear apart your navy… it's because you're afraid of what he'll do to you, personally."

"I… be quiet. I have no reason to fear…" Zhao started, but his certainty, his firmness, was shaken by Azula's words: just as his own accusations had struck her painfully before, even if she had been prepared to hear them, now it was his turn to be shaken by the unpleasant truths he had never wanted to accept.

"You have no reason to fear a common, non-bending man?" Azula said, with a scowl. "I'm afraid that's not an accurate description of the man we speak of."

"Don't you dare pretend now that… that you still care for him in any capacity. If you did, you would accept your part in this madness! You would admit to conspiring with him…!"

"I would never conspire with anyone who intends to destroy the nation I've damn near died to protect!" Azula roared. "I gave him up so I could come here! So I could protect the Fire Nation, so I could do whatever was in my power to keep my father from laying waste upon everything just out of fury against me! If he just unleashed it on me, and me alone, everyone else would have been safe! Everyone else would have survived! I would have protected them still, at whatever cost…! And I still intend to do so, no matter if I have to die to succeed at it!

"You, however… you're terrified of dying. You're terrified of him because you think he'll kill you. You actually think I sent you to the north… when you very well had the opportunity to hand off the responsibility to someone else if your pride had allowed it! You keep pretending that I forced your hand, forced your path: you, just like my father, could have made any damn choice and your failure to pick the right ones is always somehow my fault!

"I've done awful things! I've done a million things I'll never forgive myself for! Even I believe that this damn world would be better off if I didn't exist in it! And yet… and yet the hatred either of you bear for me isn't because of my actual mistakes, no. I could very well say, right here and now, that you're right about everything you've said… and if I did, you'd just shit your pants trying to figure out what sort of benefit I'd obtain from saying those words. You'd just find a way to twist reality into whatever you need it to be in order to feel like you're some victim to all my plotting and my manipulations! The truth is… that you're pathetic. You are. If you weren't, you'd already be on your way to your ship, determined to win that war rather than here, screaming at me and blaming me for all your future failures!"

Zhao's chest heaved: his silence seemed to be a momentary respite before he lashed out again with harsh words, with whatever insults he could come up with… for the way he glared at Azula would have daunted her if only the circumstances had been any different: right now, she cared nothing for Zhao or Ozai's wrath. She didn't want anything to do with them… she didn't want anything to do with anyone. Her only desire now was to shut herself somewhere, alone, and forget herself, her world, everything she had ever been, everything she had ever hoped to amount to. For this…

This was unbearable. She had pointed her father in the right direction… and the sole hope left for her to cling to was that Sokka would prove to be an even more brilliant leader than he had been so far, even after Azula had done something as terrible as she had in that war meeting.

She didn't deserve any leniency after a crime as heinous as that one. She didn't deserve any of the kindness she had ever received, not from Rei, not from Song, not from her friends… not from Sokka.

She had betrayed everything their love had ever stood for.

In protecting herself, her allies, her nation, she had damned everything she had ever meant to fight for by Sokka's side.

She was despicable.

What she'd done was unforgivable.

Before her, Zhao trembled, his face drawn into a snarl.

He raised a hand, and Azula's lips parted an instant before a spark danced over his palm.

"You're the one… the one who ought to be scared. And if you're not, then you will be," Zhao hissed.

"What the fuck did you just…?" Azula retorted…

The spark in his hand turned into a full-blown blaze.

Both Song and Rei gasped: instinctively, Azula stepped forward, misremembering her condition as every impulsive combat instinct kicked in. One of her arms slid before Song, pushing her back harshly to put distance between her and the fire that, of course, wasn't aimed at the midwife.

"Azula!" Song shouted, all pretenses of Wen's persona well and truly gone as the Princess raised a hand in time to stop Zhao's firebending punch with her palm.

The flames faded: the Princess's already hurt hands ached further at the violent impact against Zhao's fist, but she didn't shirk away from the aggression he impulsively unleashed upon her.

He had every possible advantage over her: Azula had almost spent nine months without training – her very last confrontation with a hostile party had been her deflection of Shaofeng over the Grand Royal Dome's balcony. Her body had changed vastly, her agility wouldn't be what it once had been, the movements she had memorized by heart wouldn't come to her as easily as they had in the past…

And none of that was a true deterrent to keep her from fighting back against the unhinged Zhao.

"S-stop…! Stop!" Rei raised her voice anew: Zhao didn't so much as glance at her before attempting a second firebending jab, this time packed with even more power.

Rage fueled his flames. It ever had, Azula knew so, and that would make him stronger than her right now…

He would burn this entire room if she didn't stop him.

She deflected the jab as best she could: even so, his fingertips grazed her womb.

He wasn't aiming for Azula herself: his attacks were meant for her child.

She'd seen red enough times that day… she had controlled her worst impulses far more times than reasonable, too. This, however, was the last straw.

She screamed, venturing an impulsive, weak attack at Zhao by jabbing similarly in his direction, all be it to force him away from her child: her two stretched fingers evoked a sputtering flame that, as weak as it was, still caused Zhao to step back and scowl at the sight of the blue among the orange. With more room to move now, Azula stepped forward…

She couldn't use her legs to fight. The mere attempt to raise one, to kick away at Zhao, saw her thigh stopping when an unpleasant, muscular tension caused her to stop moving.

Of all times… yet again, she was weak and useless when she needed strength the most. Yet again, someone would take advantage of her weaknesses to defeat her, hurt her… hurt those she loved, just as Sokka had been hurt.

She couldn't allow it anymore.

Even if it broke her, even if it killed her… she wouldn't allow that to happen ever again.

A rage not unlike that which fueled Zhao powered her next firebending attack: Zhao slapped it aside, though this time he struggled more to do so. One of his hands darted forward just in time to clasp Azula's wrist, attempting to stop her from attacking, only for her free hand to pack a potent punch that crashed into his armor.

The impact certainly hurt her more than it did him, but the armor was successfully damaged, cracked inwards thanks to the surging power of her flames. Zhao gasped, the armor constraining his breathing, and he let go of Azula a brief instant before shooting a burst of alarmingly fast fire in her direction.

Song was standing nearby. Azula gritted her teeth, spreading her arm before her friend, taking the burning flames into her body and smothering them, but not fast enough: her clothes were charred, as some of her hair was, and her skin reddened painfully upon failing to stifle the fire fast enough…

"Azula!" Song screamed: she was safe. That was what mattered. She was safe from what Zhao had done, no matter if Azula had taken far more damage than intended.

Still, Zhao hadn't attacked again. Azula winced, wary of more attacks, but she regained her composure as she gestured at Song with her wounded arm.

"Go!" Azula shouted at her. "Take Rei and…!"

Rei.

Zhao hadn't attacked again… for Rei clung to one of his arms now.

Time seemed to freeze for Azula and Song – neither one remembered themselves or each other anymore, let alone their complicated circumstances… for all they could see right now was Rei.

"Stop! Please, stop!" Rei shouted: Zhao scowled at her. Was he about to argue that Azula was giving as good as she got? Was he going to tell her not to interfere, attempting to play up his alleged authority as her biological father to make Rei step aside?

For, if that was his plan, it seemed fated to fail this time: for once, the young, fragile woman seemed determined to stand up to someone she found daunting and even terrifying, all be it to protect those she cared for.

"Don't do this, please! You don't have to…!"

In the end, Zhao said nothing.

He yanked his arm out of her grasp brusquely and shoved Rei off him, instead.

"REI!"

Song's voice rang in the room as the young woman lost her balance, tripping over the dais that led up to Azula's bed: smoke rose from the front of her servant's uniform… where Zhao's hand had gripped the fabric before shoving her aside.

He barely had an instant to turn towards Azula again before a potent blast of blue blazes struck him across the face, sending him reeling as the flash of whiteness nearly blinded him.

He didn't fully loose his footing, but he had to step back: Azula stepped forward. Her snarls, her furious roars, her entire disposition were those of a feral creature, unable to recognize her own boundaries and limitations… all be it to protect the child under her care.

"Don't you fucking dare…!" Zhao started, only to fall silent over the next fistful of potent blue flames, powered further by anger. Azula's throat burned as she launched even more fire at Zhao: it didn't matter at all if her attacks were effective, if she was landing any blows on him or not, if her body ached where he had burned her…

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!"

A furious, deep, utterly primal roar had ripped from her throat upon saying those words: no longer was there any sign of the daunting, strategic, manipulative Princess that Zhao found so terrifying. She was pure instinct and impulse…

For he had dared hurt her daughter. He meant to hurt both her children: she would never let him get away with that. She cared nothing if the price was too steep to be paid with anything short of her own death… so long as she dragged Zhao to hell too.

He sensed her killer intent. Her earlier accusations, claiming he was scared, returned to mind for a brief window… only to build Zhao's resolve anew: he had nothing to be frightened of. Whether she wielded fire of blue, orange or gold, ultimately, she was weak. However powerfully she attempted to fight, she was sure to falter against him… for the wretched child she wanted to protect, the child she was training herself for through Rei, just before tossing her aside as something meaningless, only represented a burden for Azula in combat right now.

She would lose today. He wouldn't let her get away with her deceit, with her manipulation, with her lies anymore: Zhao snarled, kicking wheels of flames powerfully at the Princess. She leapt back, fielding the flames he had launched, taking them into her control briefly before stifling them, and she attacked anew with furious blasts pouring from her fingertips.

Song gritted her teeth, rushing to Rei's side quickly, pulling her back until she rested against the bed's frame: she was conscious, tears blinking in the corners of her eyes. Perhaps the pain of the burns wasn't as bad as the utter shock of having been attacked by her own father… by the violent episode she was witnessing and was powerless to stop.

"Rei. Rei!" Song called for her cupping her face carefully. Her tears spilled as she clasped Song's hands.

"S-stop them… stop him. W-we have to…!" she whimpered. Song snarled.

"I…" she said, glancing back over her shoulder…

Every fiber of her body screamed at her to call Azula to stop… and yet she couldn't do it. Getting in the way, no matter if it was for Azula's benefit, for her child… the child. No pregnant woman should ever be in the middle of a fight of this nature, and yet…

"I'll get help," Song said, gritting her teeth as she rose to her feet. "Stay… hide if you can. Don't intervene, I'll find…"

"Go," Rei said, caring nothing for more explanations as she continued to cry with despair. "Go!"

Without another moment wasted, Song dashed to the side and made for the open door, taking advantage of Zhao's latest attacks upon Azula to do so: the Princess defended fairly well against them, but some of the flames seemed to scorch her clothes once more, and they likely burned her body as well. Zhao was in no better shape, with most his hair off its proper top-knot, as well as a bruise and burn over his face where Azula's fist had crashed earlier…

But he was stronger than her nowadays.

She had more disadvantages and restrictions in her movements than ever before.

She was out of shape, utterly out of practice…

And yet she fought. She would fight on, no matter if her body resented her for it, no matter if it failed… for she had to protect Rei. She had to protect her unborn child: she would fight until the bitter end if need be, on her final stand against the cruel, paranoid madness that Admiral Zhao had allowed himself to be consumed by.

---

"So… this is all you have to say? The Princess has done nothing suspicious or worrisome and hasn't established contact with anyone outside the limited social circle the Fire Lord has allowed her to interact with?" Shaofeng asked Renkai skeptically. The guard nodded firmly: his face was schooled into perfect neutrality, for Shaofeng had demanded that he removed his helmet during this meeting, no doubt to assess how truthful he was in everything he'd said.

"As you know, I stand by her room at most hours of the day. I choose my own breaks, therefore, she cannot predict my schedule and act out during hours in which I won't be present," Renkai said. "I have certainly eased her to my presence and she seems to trust me better than when I served alongside the former Third Squad: I understand your apprehension, but the Gladiator's choices are likely his own. He was not an unthinking, incapable man. However close they were…"

"You're trying to say that she didn't simply seduce him and earned his loyalty that way?" asked Shaofeng, with a dismissive smirk. "Was he, according to you, using her as well? It seems to be what the Fire Lord believes… but he is a fool in his own right, frankly. As outraged as he may be, some pathetic part of him still makes him believe that woman is some innocent little lamb that will return to him eventually… it's embarrassing, really. He was just as embarrassing over his wife, so it is no surprise, but…"

"Then… perhaps I could gain better insight into what she's doing if I indicate that I might be open to her seduction practices?"

Shaofeng blinked blankly before frowning at Renkai. The man had spoken the words utterly sincerely, with no display of foul play on his part. Shaofeng's distaste couldn't have been clearer as his elbows rested on his desk.

"You… would spy on her by pretending to be interested in her?" he asked. Renkai nodded.

"I certainly could attempt it. I think I understand that she, as well as other women, take advantage of their natural gifts to tempt men who don't know any better," Renkai said. "It's my job, as your soldier, to never let my emotions or my impulses control me: I am here, in this Palace, in this Imperial Guard Squad, to serve you. My last mistakes taught me as much, General, and I have learned better. I swear I shall not be swept up by whatever attempts of seduction she may make in my direction… so, if you believe it would be wise, I can grow closer to her and discover if she's scheming something darker yet than what either you or the Fire Lord suspect of her."

"Are you serious, then?" Shaofeng said. "You do understand what it would entail, attempting to spy on a woman as sleazy as her, in these circumstances?"

"I… won't let it come to that," Renkai said, gritting his teeth. "I will do my best to keep her at bay but engaged, too. She surely wouldn't be interested in me that way, but she may want to use me as a double-spy, I believe. As long as I keep her chasing after me, I'm sure this idea can work."

"You alone are certain of that," Shaofeng said, eyes wide. "It sounds like utter madness to me, but I suppose I'm simply too jaded by these matters to care. If I gain any suspicion that she has swayed you, however…"

"She most certainly won't, General," Renkai said, firmly. "I would never be interested in a woman of her qualities."

"That better be the case, but be careful all the same. I'll watch you carefully, too," Shaofeng growled. "Now then… I suppose that means you won't relinquish your position at her door at all times? I pondered letting you return to regular duties, incorporating patrols at the Princess's rooms to the Third Squad's duties…"

"That would make my new mission more complicated than necessary, I'm afraid," said Renkai, raising an eyebrow. "If I obtain no information whatsoever, perhaps it may be a good idea for us to cycle our patrols properly… but I have earned her trust by now. It will be likelier for her to open up to me than to total strangers, I suspect…"

"You may think so," Shaofeng said. "But you would do best to grow properly acquainted with your squad. You are supposed to serve as their captain, after all. I'll assign them to take turns at guarding with you, but for the sake of your mission, they will be informed that you may venture into her quarters at times. That shouldn't get in the way of your investigation, should it?"

"No, General. It sounds ideal," Renkai said, nodding firmly.

"Then so be it. Gather the available guards and instruct them regarding these new duties they'll undertake in the coming weeks," Shaofeng said. "You may take your leave, Renkai."

Renkai nodded and bowed his head: his ability to keep a blank expression under any circumstances certainly was greater than he ever realized it was. Expecting the Princess to seduce him… how on earth could the General be quite so ready to believe the most outlandish concepts as long as they presented the Princess in a bad light? It baffled him. If Renkai so much as looked at her funny, he knew Azula would slam a door, either figuratively or literally, in his face.

But the General didn't know that, and that was for the best. If he would be as foolish as to convince himself that the Princess was some manner of maneater, desperate for shallow intimacy with any eligible male that crossed her path, that was his prerogative. Renkai, however, knew all too well that, where the Princess was concerned, no one could ever hope to break her attachment to Sokka…

His heart clenched as he left the General's study, helmet still under his arm, marching to the dining area where some members of the current Third Squad waited for their shifts. The General had told Renkai about the letter the Fire Lord had received… about the chaos raging across the Fire Nation Colonies. Ozai would be sure to be outraged with the Princess because of it, no matter if she had nothing to do with it… and she would be mortified, so mortified, because it was him. The man she loved… he had recklessly joined forces with some of her worst enemies and raised an army against the Fire Nation. As deeply as she might love him, Renkai couldn't imagine her turning her back on her nation, not even if the one beckoning her to do so was the Gladiator himself.

"Captain Renkai, sir," one of the guards of the Third Squad rose to his feet, performing a quick bow and salute in his direction once he entered the dining hall. "The General had informed us that we may relieve you in your duties at guarding the Princess in…"

"He has changed his mind," Renkai answered, startling the man and the five other Third Squad guards standing with him. "I will retain my duties of guarding the Princess at all hours: one of you will accompany me at the task nowadays, however. Is this agreeable for you?"

"Uh, we don't have an opinion on it…" said one of the men, awkwardly.

Leading a group of strangers… Renkai found himself envying Rui Shi and Fei Li suddenly. As unprepared as the latter had been for his role, being among comrades and friends certainly had made the responsibilities of leadership much lighter for him. The fact that Renkai had been the leader of the Third Squad while effectively doing nothing to lead them for almost seven months was certainly an uncomfortable situation to be in… and he couldn't help but wonder if these men distrusted him. They weren't among Shaofeng's closest guards, of course, all of them had been promoted after the Princess's downfall… but Renkai could only wonder how many of them were already deep in the man's pockets. How many had actually earned their roles rather than being promoted to them just on the basis of being useful tools for Shaofeng…

Would some of them know of the darkest secrets Shaofeng hid? If just for that reason, these new shifts in pairs might aid Renkai. He'd have to be subtle about his prying, but if he was lucky, he might just make a breakthrough eventually, as long as he was careful.

"Then very well. Whichever of you wishes to join me right now, we may commence our work right away," Renkai said: he didn't want to sound like he was in a rush, but he dreaded his meeting with the General had already taken too long.

"Is it true that you're tasked with taking her food trays back to the kitchens?" asked one of the men: slowly, all five of them rose to their feet. "It sounds… somewhat demeaning, I suppose. The General appears to think very lowly of the Princess…"

"I'm aware. His reservations are not without foundation," Renkai said: how fortunate he was to have learned how to temper his anger and genuine opinions, hiding them with virtually no tells. "That being said, the Princess is constantly under suspicion and that means she must be watched: our job isn't solely about ensuring that she doesn't do anything treacherous again, but also to gain her trust so that, if any such ideas spring in her mind, we may be able to put a stop to them before they come to fruition."

"If that's the case… perhaps we're not on the wrong track already. Admittedly, we liked her guzheng performance… it's something we might be able to capitalize to lower her guard," said one of the guards. The others nodded.

"The General will be pleased if you have already begun drawing closer to her," Renkai said. "Now, then…"

"…-KAI! RENKAI!"

His pretense of perfect composure almost collapsed entirely when he heard that voice, out in the Palace gardens, calling his name.

He turned on his heels quickly and marched out of the dining room without another word to the men at his command. He didn't even pay enough attention to pick up whether any of the guards followed him or not… for he had raced out of the Barracks immediately at the utterly unfamiliar sound of Song's screams.

She had been halfway to the building when Renkai emerged from it. Tears streamed down her face as she gazed at him: he still didn't wear his helmet, having taken it off for the earlier meeting, and he kept it under his arm. Thus, Song could see the confusion and concern in his eyes when she finally came across him.

"Help! Azula is…! Zhao just…!" she couldn't even string together a proper sentence: she had rushed to the barracks with every ounce of strength she could muster…

And now Renkai did the same thing, passing her by in a blur, dropping his helmet in the process as he saw red, even when she hadn't finished conveying the gravity of the situation.

Song wouldn't have called for his aid if this wasn't important.

And Zhao was involved in it, somehow.

Had the man acted on the violent impulses Renkai had recognized in him on their very last encounter? The impulses he'd successfully put a stop to, only for the man to storm away in an even fouler mood?

His instincts led his fast footing towards the Princess's room at once: Song had been hiding there with Rei earlier, surely whatever had caused Song to come find him had transpired there. There would have been guards in the Throne Room, it didn't matter how mad Ozai might be at the Princess, he wouldn't have been so stupid as to let her face violence by the hand of her husband in front of his entire council… or would he?

The thought almost made him hesitate – truthfully, he couldn't put anything past Ozai anymore – but he kept running regardless. Song wouldn't have known what was happening if that were the case. The danger was in the Princess's room, it had to be…

He pressed himself, reaching the large hall that led into the bedroom: a shifting glare of orange light spilled out, into the corridor.

He didn't know how his footsteps sped up even further when he thought he was already running at his highest speed. His own fire pushed him to go faster by sheer instincts, pouring from his soles in reckless spurts as he took the corner, and the room, with its door wide open, entered his field of vision.

Flames spread across the room, consuming the rug, even damaging the curtains of the four-poster bed. It had spilled on some of the furniture: the resulting smoke only darkened the scene further, muddling the breathing of the firebenders fighting wildly within the room.

No one could have explained how Azula stood her ground against the increasingly furious firebending of a man well known for powering his flames through all-consuming rage. Her attacks grew sparser, she couldn't hold her own against him any better than that, constantly taking the defensive and breaking Zhao's attacks with precision. She didn't fail to lash back when his fire relented, striking his chest with flames that once again were starting to drift from blue to orange… all of which meant nothing to him.

He wouldn't stop until his rage had been quelled. He wouldn't care who else he might hurt, how many lives had to be wasted, as long as Azula lost. As long as he trampled over her and made her admit to her every deceit, to all the twisted schemes she had plotted in order to destroy them all…

A surge of flames in his right hand, a fierce snarl across his face: the flames were infused with further power, condensed… perhaps even he intended to concentrate them into an explosive attack, much like his dead gladiator's best-known skill. Azula gritted her teeth: she had to defend against it, but it would set off too quickly: her body's strain wouldn't allow her to condense a fire barrier easily, she might even black out if she invested the last of her energy into doing so…

Zhao charged his attack. Azula snarled: she'd toss a fast jab of flames at him, break his control over his fire, if she moved fast enough she might succeed…

A hand caught Zhao's wrist and misdirected it.

The charged attack exploded between him and the newly arriving Renkai, forcing the guard to let go of Zhao all over again.

Azula winced away from it, eyes widening: she wasn't alone anymore. Someone had arrived to stop the fight… someone with far more power to do so than either Song or Rei.

"You bloody…!" Zhao exclaimed, snarling as he readied himself to unleash another attack on his new assailant, who he hadn't even identified yet.

The same hand clasped his wrist once more, violently flinging him away from the Princess and towards the door.

Zhao had no time to recognize the guard – not beyond glimpsing the Imperial Guards' uniform, anyway. Azula, however, would have recognized him anywhere: bereft of his helmet, it was the first time she had seen Renkai displaying such passionate emotions over anything. His eyes burned with outrage, his composure dangerously close to crumbling as he rushed Zhao once more, tackling him and knocking him down violently, intent on restraining him at all costs.

Azula's blood still seemed to burn with need to fight back… but it eased up as Renkai put distance between her and Zhao: his last tackle had pushed the man out of the room successfully.

The room was in utter chaos: Zhao's wild fire had spilled everywhere, and Azula had barely registered it until now. She turned towards her bed quickly: the curtains were half burned by the time she finally put out their fire… and once she reduced them to smoking patches of fabric, she approached her shivering, sobbing daughter, curled up in a small ball at the foot of her bed.

"Rei… Rei!" Azula gasped as she struggled to kneel before her: what on earth had she inflicted upon her today?

It wasn't bad enough that her mood had been so foul at first, that she had said terrible, incomprehensible things for both her and Song… but then she had fought Zhao violently, directly. Her chest ached… more so when she gazed upon the charred stains upon Rei's uniform.

"Y-you're burned… Rei, are you…?" Azula trembled, reaching for the girl fearfully: did she blame her for this? For Zhao's violence? She wouldn't be entirely wrong, damn it… she'd done it again. She'd gone and antagonized a violent bastard, knowing it might come to this, knowing he had no restraint, and the ones she loved were the ones who paid the price of her arrogant choices every time…

"N-no, no, you… h-he burned you, he…" Rei sobbed: she reached her hands towards Azula's arm, touching her reddening skin as more tears spilled down her face.

"He burned you too, Rei, don't… don't worry about me," Azula said, cradling the girl in her arms quickly: she didn't hate her for it… perhaps not yet. Perhaps she'd change her mind later but for now…

Loud voices behind them compelled Azula to turn around again, to ensure Renkai was alright…

Five more guards stood behind Renkai.

The blood slowed in Azula's body.

Whatever they were doing here, they surely had come to aid Zhao and, if not aid him, to destroy her for what she'd done. They were Shaofeng's men…

Zhao attempted to wrestle his way out of Renkai's hold: an outpour of insults spilled from him, a violent punch coated with fire, kicks into the guard's stomach, and yet Renkai wouldn't let go. He held Zhao down as best he could… until gloved hands appeared in his field of vision.

The hands reached down and clasped Zhao's writhing, furious form, firmly.

"What are you…?! Let go! Let go, spineless sons of bitches, all of you…!" Zhao roared: their grip strengthened, allowing Renkai some respite as some of his fellow guards held down Zhao's legs.

"Flip… flip him over," Renkai said: one of Zhao's punches had struck him in the face, and he could taste some blood… but it didn't matter to him right now.

The threat was about to be neutered, regardless of Zhao's efforts to the opposite.

"LET GO! I COMMAND YOU, YOU BASTARDS…!" Zhao continued to shout, but the guards refused to obey him: no rank or titles seemed to register in their minds, for what they had seen only moments ago had sufficed to convince them of what was the only correct course of action right now.

He almost managed to wrestle his way out of their hold at first, as they attempted to turn him around, but the forceful, restraining hands of two guards kept him at bay while the others muffled out his fire. They joined the others in keeping him in place afterwards, and Renkai breathed heavily as he finally pulled back, standing over the screaming Crown Prince the Third Squad was restraining, his heart racing in dread: he should have been here sooner. He hadn't known what was happening… but he should have been faster. How many times had Zhao been tempted to do something terrible to Azula, only to be deterred by Renkai's presence? And he had acted on those impulses on the very moment he hadn't been there…

He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists as he turned to assess the damage in the room: some of the flames upon the fabrics, the curtains and the furniture continued to burn now. The rug was almost completely consumed, and the flames upon it hadn't spread any further solely because the floor underneath it was smooth marble.

Renkai took down each plum of fire he could reach, and one other guard aided him in the process. In the meantime, Princess Azula cradled Rei in her arms as the younger woman wept uncontrollably in her arms. She pressed her face to Rei's hair, tears spilling from her own eyes too.

"It's over now… it's over. It's okay, Rei… it's over," Azula whispered, reassuringly… only for a loud voice to dwarf hers.

"Get off me…! Get off me, NOW!" Zhao continued to roar, his face pressed in the most undignified way against the cold marble.

His struggle against the arms that restrained him eased slightly, however, as his sole open eye sought to find her: if they were taking him down, surely they'd do the same with her. She was the true threat here, not him… she had given as good as she got, fighting him fiercely, landing blows upon him…!

He finally located her… with Rei in her arms.

Rei was hugging her back.

His screams slowed then. His protests stopped… as the reality of his actions somehow rolled back into his mind. He had shoved her out of the way… he hadn't wanted Rei to involve herself in his conflict with Azula, it was really that simple. It had nothing to do with her, she didn't have to…

She thought Azula was the victim here?

Not just Rei… no, not just Rei.

All these fools had seen a defenseless pregnant woman in the place of the Princess, somehow.

"N-no… get her! GET HER!" Zhao roared. "It's not me! I'm not to blame! I didn't…! She's the one at fault! It's her! She's lying, deceiving the Fire Lord…!"

"Get him out of here," Renkai's voice rose over Zhao's with firmness: his fellow guards nodded quickly.

"What…?! NO! It's not me, you bastards! She's the true menace! She's the one to blame! Stop this now! Listen to me!" Zhao roared, to no avail.

His every shout caused Azula to grip Rei tighter: the girl's tears only seemed to spill faster with everything her father screamed at them. Azula was determined to protect her, though… to shield her with her body if need be, to ensure a day as scarring and damning as this one wouldn't take an ever greater toll on them than it already had.

Zhao continued to roar and scream as they dragged him away: the sounds of chains and the clinking of metal revealed that one of the guards had found shackles for him. The realization felt like swallowing ice for Azula: what the hell had happened today? Everything had gone downhill so fast, in so many ways… Zhao had lost his mind entirely, reacting to Azula's with no sign of self-control, unleashing violence unlike any he had wielded against her and her companions before. Azula had certainly goaded him, she had argued back against his accusations, torn down his pretenses of grandeur… but even her initial spirited defense of Rei had faltered before long, simply because her body could not keep that up forever. If Renkai hadn't arrived when he did…

Her chest ached as she buried her face in Rei's hair. They had survived this somehow. Zhao hadn't hurt Rei any further. That was what mattered most.

They trembled together as Zhao's shouting faded away, becoming more unintelligible as he was dragged away in chains. She didn't know where he'd be taken… but Azula barely cared to learn that yet. For now, all she could do was hold her daughter and hope nothing like this would ever happen again… hoping, too, that the worst of this accursed day was long behind them…

---

The Northern Water Tribe… it made perfect sense, and he almost felt utterly idiotic for not thinking of it. Ozai breathed deeply as he paced in his study, rubbing his brow with his fingertips. Somehow, Azula's insight had been spot-on… much as it often had been in the past. It stung to think of the past indeed… to acknowledge and realize that she might have been deceiving him for so much longer than he realized. Even now, when all her worst secrets were out in the open, she still made displays of her impressive intellect at times like these…

He didn't want her to misunderstand her circumstances, though. She hadn't been invited to the war meeting as much more than a punishment, and then, as a test: she remained under suspicion still… though Ozai struggled to imagine how, exactly, she hoped to do anything to aid her treacherous Gladiator now. What she'd said, the ideas she had inspired in that war meeting, would be sure to throw a wrench in the whelp's future plans. The arrogant bastard who had sent him that insolent letter would pay for his crimes… but more than that, he would face a reality he would hate to confront, too.

For the bastard had misjudged Azula. He thought she was on his side, surely… that their laughable relationship would ensure that she would be thrilled to join him on the battlefield and stand by him. And perhaps she would have… but she hadn't today. Perhaps, deep down, the Fire Nation was still what mattered the most to his daughter. Perhaps her greater loyalty still belonged… to him.

To her Fire Lord.

His heart pounded in a strange, painful way at that thought. Could it be true? Could she still feel loyalty towards him after every punishment he had inflicted upon her, after everything he had accused her of? Perhaps not… perhaps it was only fear. Surely she was only offering genuine counsel out of fear of the consequences if she failed to be of use. She was trying to save herself, that was all there was to it…

And what if it wasn't? What if, despite everything Ozai had inflicted upon her…?

The thought unsettled him enough to prompt him to consider another visit to the Agni Kai Arena, even if he had only reached his study about ten minutes ago. It wasn't healthy to spend so many hours of the day bending his frustrations away, but it might be a good idea to do so now, to distract his mind away from paths he didn't want it to take…

He marched out of his study and frowned upon realizing the usual sentries posted at the door weren't in their positions: one was halfway up the corridor while the other one was at the very end of it instead. Ozai scowled, perplexed by what seemed to be a breach in protocol…

That was when he heard the shouts. His brow furrowed.

"… LET GO OF ME! SHACKLE HER! DRAG HER AWAY, NOT ME, YOU SCUMBAGS! LET ME GO! I'M THE CROWN PRINCE! LET ME GO!"

For an instant, Ozai remained floored where he stood.

For an instant, the screams in his best friend's voice didn't translate into anything with sense in his mind.

The moment ended when Ozai sprinted down the corridor, startling the guards who hadn't even noticed he had left his study.

"My Lord…!" said the one halfway down the hall.

"What has happened? What is the meaning of this ruckus?" Ozai said: as heavy as his scowl was, a smidge of fear seemed to spill through his golden glare, but the guard endeavored to ignore it.

"I'm afraid we do not know yet, but it seems that Crown Prince Zhao has… has caused trouble, somehow," said the guard. Ozai scoffed.

He marched on, all the way to the intersection where the other guard stood. But instead of asking questions upon reaching him, Ozai glanced down the corridor.

Zhao's screams were almost inaudible now. He had been taken away… and one of the soldiers responsible for that stood visibly in that corridor, without his helmet, his face bruised and burned – a trickle of blood spilled from one of his nostrils.

"Captain Renkai!"

Renkai flinched upon hearing the Fire Lord's voice. He gritted his teeth, frowning heavily as he turned towards Ozai with a reverence… and Ozai marched up to him, eyes widening at the sight of the charred uniform underneath the captain's armor.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ozai said, scowling. "What has Zhao done and where has he been taken?"

"He has been taken to the basement's cells, my Lord," Renkai said, firmly. Ozai's eyes widened with outrage. "My Lord: he attacked Princess Azula."

"He… what?"

His intent to demand for an explanation froze over upon receiving it before he could speak. And now he was frozen on the spot, paralyzed by the Captain's declaration. Renkai scowled heavily, fists tightened firmly.

"I do not know when it began, but I broke up the fight. Lady Wen sought me, asked for my help, and I arrived as soon as I could, but…"

"Is… is Azula alright?" Ozai asked.

The question almost broke Renkai's control: his reproachful eyes rose to Ozai's, wondering if it was the first time the Fire Lord had dared ask that question as of late. Since when did it matter to him whether she was alright or not, when all her pain had been inflicted by Ozai himself, whether directly or not?

"I… do not know for sure, but she was conscious and still fighting back once I arrived," Renkai said, his voice trembling with poorly contained frustration. "I do not know what the circumstances of this violent clash were, but the Princess…"

"Is with child," Ozai said, his voice unexpectedly softer than Renkai had heard it in months. "She's with child and he…"

Renkai raised his eyebrows. Ozai didn't even see the perplexed, disbelieving expression in the guard's face before dashing down the corridor, without another word.

Zhao's screaming, writhing form had already been dragged out of the room by Renkai and the guards when Song, legs trembling, returned to the Princess's room. Her chest heaved as she stepped into the bedroom, finding it dark and terribly damaged, eerily reminiscent of her house before they repaired it as best they could…

The sight of Azula and Rei, holding each other tightly by that bed, brought the memory back tenfold: Rui Shi had held her similarly, protecting her from the worst of the pain and ensuring she wouldn't be part of the casualties on one of the most scarring nights of her life.

This one, of course, threatened to compete with it.

"Azula… Rei, Azula…" Song gasped, rushing towards them quickly.

The Princess raised her gaze towards her friend: all her anger, all her confusion and outrage had dimmed by then. At this point, she seemed desperate instead.

"S-Song…" she called her. Song shook her head and Azula understood her meaning quickly. "Wen… Wen. You got… you got the guards? You…?"

"I… I'm so sorry," Song said, snarling as she knelt beside the Princess. "I… I couldn't do anything myself. I wish I could have, b-but… Azula, are you hurt? What did he do? And you too, Rei, please…"

"I'm okay, I… t-the Princess…" Rei said, pulling back from Azula's chest as she sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with her fingers. Azula gritted her teeth.

"You were burned…" Azula said, her eyes falling upon the blackened fabric of her daughter's clothes. "Rei, you're not…"

"The baby," Rei said, looking at her through tearful eyes: Azula froze cold. "Y-you fought him… y-you protected me, you kept his fire away, s-so… you're the one who needs to be checked, y-you… the baby…"

Azula gritted her teeth: Song wouldn't hear otherwise, she knew, and Rei wasn't bound to accept being treated before her… no matter her guilt, no matter how unnerved she was by this situation, she had to accept Rei's terms for her daughter's own sake.

"He… caught a lot of your robes, damn him," Song said, gritting her teeth at the sight of the damaged fabrics upon Azula's body: most her left sleeve had been burned off, and several reddened marks gave away the places where she had been caught by fire she hadn't been able to bend back at her opponent. "It's… first degree, looks like. Not as bad as it could be, but we have to take care of it now."

"Check Rei too, it could be worse in her case…" Azula said, but Rei shook her head again as Song gritted her teeth.

"We should… we should go to the physicians' wing. They'll have ways to treat the two of you, I know you don't want to be anywhere near Fei Rou, but…"

Heavy footsteps, rushed, approached the Princess's room.

Azula's heart sank just as her anxiety spiked even further: the urge to jump to her feet almost overwhelmed her, even if it felt like her knees had lost all their strength by now.

The room was terribly damaged. Her costly curtains and rugs were mostly consumed… the place had to look like an utter disaster now… and of course, her father would have to show up exactly when she least needed him around her.

Both Song and Rei tensed up too as they glanced back at the Fire Lord: neither one seemed to know if to perform proper reverences… neither one seemed to privilege fear of the Fire Lord over their concern for the Princess. But if Ozai was here…

"Azula," he spoke her name… in a tone she had never heard of him before. It was almost inquisitive… disbelieving.

She gritted her teeth, struggling to rise to her feet by supporting herself against the bed's frame, but she had to. She couldn't simply stay here, she had to put on a front, to apologize for the mess, otherwise…

Ozai approached before she could rise at all.

Her heart clenched, and she raised her frightened gaze towards him.

He knelt.

He knelt beside her.

Her father had dropped to his knees, golden eyes wide with confusion… with fear.

"What did he do? What has he done to you?" he asked: his voice trembled. His hand rose, intending to reach for her… but he pulled it back suddenly, as though self-aware, as though knowing he had no right to touch her at all.

Azula didn't have the chance to flinch away from him, but she certainly would have done so by impulse if he had dared tried to touch her, no matter his intent.

"I… I'm sorry. I…" Azula said, gritting her teeth. "I didn't mean for you to see… I'm sorry. I…"

"He… he attacked you," Ozai said, firmly. Azula tore her eyes off him when tears threatened to overflow them: he wasn't concerned for her. He couldn't be, he didn't give a damn, he never had…

He never had truly cared, so what the hell was he trying to do now? What twisted point was he trying to prove?

"He did," Song intervened suddenly, startling Azula with her willingness to speak for what had happened in the room. "The Princess… came back to her room after the war meeting and Crown Prince Zhao stormed in after her. They… they argued, it escalated and he grew violent enough to… to attack the Princess, to shove Rei. I would've been burned too if she hadn't protected me and…"

"He…?" Ozai glanced at Song in disbelief at her words…

But he didn't quite fail to believe it, no: the room was in shambles, his daughter couldn't seem to stand up… both Azula and Rei bore the evidence of Zhao's attacks on them, too.

He had done it. Whatever excuses he may put forward once questioned didn't matter…

Zhao had attacked Azula.

Ozai gritted his teeth as he focused his attention on Azula once more. This time, he dared raise a hand to her brow: the contact startled the Princess, but she didn't pull away even if she wanted nothing but to shove her father aside at once.

"Are you in pain? Do you feel anything alarming? Any sign that the child was harmed?" Ozai asked. Azula shuddered.

"I… don't know. I don't think… he didn't land any blows on my lower body, if that's what you mean…" Azula said. Ozai pulled back his hand.

"That's… that's still not enough," he said. "You're with child. Any dangerous situation could be… you need to be inspected at once, Azula. Lady Wen…"

"Yes?" Song answered promptly.

"You were unharmed?" he asked, and she nodded. "Then… take Rei to the physicians' wing."

"But…" Rei gasped: for a moment, no fear of the Fire Lord mattered, for all she could think of was Azula's wellbeing. Her situation was so much more urgent, the Princess had to be the one to…

Ozai moved closer. Azula's eyes widened upon recognizing his intent.

Even Song seemed moments away from panicking when one of Ozai's arms moved under Azula's legs, and the other to her back. He didn't struggle to rise to his feet, carrying her full weight with him.

"I don't…! F-Father…!"

The word spilled out of her before she realized what she was saying. She winced, fearful of his reaction over her slip of tongue…

There was no reaction from him when she spoke a word he had banned her from using, though.

Ozai's arms gripped her firmly as he marched out of the room, with his confused, terrified and baffled daughter in his arms.

Song and Rei fell behind, and Azula dared glance at them, almost as though to ask them for help… when, for the first time in months, the first time since her downfall for certain, Ozai genuinely seemed to mean her no harm. Displays of kindness now, after so much cruelty, hardly should faze her… especially after the utterly thoughtless words he had spoken to her today. After his deliberate attempts to anger her, to trigger a breakdown in her – and he would have succeeded, if Zhao hadn't interrupted her tirades with his own –, it seemed so unthinkable that he would act this way now…

But she was in his arms, for the first time since her childhood, it felt like.

When had he last held her? When had he last carried her anywhere?

She didn't know.

She didn't remember.

It made no sense. The furious Fire Lord who wanted nothing but to punish her… why on earth would he do this now? Was it, too, a twisted form of punishment? Was he doing this just to show her that he could be nice when he felt like it, but that she hadn't deserved it as of late? It very well might be…

The least likely possibility, of course, was the one her stupid heart wanted to believe was happening. The possibility that he actually could care… that was pointless to even consider. It was, and yet…

"He… attacked you with his bending, did he?" Ozai asked. Azula shivered. "Did he strike you directly, Azula?"

"Only… only his fire reached me. It's only first-degree burns," Azula said: her heart raced merely by answering her father's questions. Ozai snarled.

"Let us hope so, but we cannot be sure of that. I… I will call for the Head Sage," Ozai said. Azula's eyes widened. "You… you did well to fight back for as long as you could. The guards intervened on time, did they?"

"R-Renkai… yes," Azula said, gritting her teeth. Ozai let out a deep breath… a breath of relief, it seemed, over her confirmation. "I… y-you don't have to…"

"Your condition may be more severe than you know. Pregnancies are not to be taken lightly, which I'm sure you're aware of, Azula," Ozai said, sternly: his voice still trembled, she realized…

He was emotional. Perhaps he was mad at Zhao, more than anything…

But if he were, wouldn't he have rushed to find his chosen heir first, rather than helping her?

An unwanted memory, one she hadn't expected to recall, came to mind then… a memory of being on the other side of a similar scenario. Of being the one carrying a wounded, helpless man across her shoulders, a man whose injuries were no one's responsibility but hers. She had refused to leave him to be carried by others until they reached her palanquin, and once there, tears had even left her eyes… and she hadn't understood why. She hadn't understood why…

Her father would likely face a similar conflict soon: he had no reason to do this. Nothing justified helping the shameful daughter who, according to him, had betrayed him. Zhao was the one who had grown violent, the one who had attacked her, so even if he didn't blame her, wouldn't Ozai focus his attention on him? Shouldn't he…?

Azula had carried Sokka out of a sense of duty and partnership that had kicked in fully, for the very first time, when he had needed her the most. Her father, though… what could he possibly use as an excuse for what he was doing? What the blazes could he possibly argue had guided him now…?

She didn't know. Maybe she didn't want to know. For all she knew, this was the very last time her father would show her any kindness: he was guaranteed to return to his same dreadful self as soon as he confirmed Azula was fine. He'd blame her for what had happened… he'd believe she had asked for it, even, once he checked on Zhao and learned that the Admiral suspected the baby was Sokka's.

Conditioned kindness was no kindness at all. She couldn't forget that. She couldn't let her stupid, fragile, weak heart forget that…

A few physicians had been outside their wing of the Palace when Ozai marched into their corridor: they grew alert at once, for no sight was as terrifying as that of the Fire Lord… and he carried his pregnant daughter in his arms, no less. The physician closest to the door opened it at haste, and while everyone seemed ready to ask what had befallen the Princess, nobody dared do so as Ozai crossed the threshold with firm footing and determination:

"Fei Rou!" he called: Azula winced. No, not him, anyone but him… "Fei Rou, come here at once!"

"My Lord!" Fei Rou's voice drifted out of one of the rooms within the physicians' wing, and he exited it moments later. His eyes widened at the sight of the Princess: after spending the entire trip to the physicians' wing hoping her father would set her down, unsettled by being held by him, now Azula would much rather stay where she was than come anywhere close to Fei Rou. "What is…?"

"There was an altercation. It seems… it seems Prince Zhao has lost whatever sense he has left and he attacked Azula," Ozai hissed. "See to treating my daughter's burns at once. Ensure her condition is stable, too."

"I… yes. Of course, my Lord. Here, bring her this way…"

In a matter of moments, Azula found herself in a familiar location: the very same room she had been brought to while ailed by her chi's corruption. The finest room in the physicians' wing, then…

Ozai was losing his mind, wasn't he? He'd regret all of this in no time. He had made it clear, constantly, that she didn't deserve any leniency at all… and yet he set her down carefully upon the bed, still instructing Fei Rou and letting him know that he would send for the Head Sage, too. Song and Rei entered the room next, too: Ozai instructed Fei Rou to check Rei for damage as well. Then he cast one more glance at Azula, one strangely charged glance… and then he rushed out the door.

Azula's chest heaved: it was the most messed up day she'd endured in months, that was for certain. What had looked like a perfectly placid morning now led into a dark evening full of anxiety and terror as she struggled to catch her breath, to make sense out of her circumstances…

"Azula. Azula, I'm here now," Song said, her hands cupping Azula's face. The Princess's nervous eyes found those of her friend, and that alone offered her a smidge more stability than she'd had before. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt, or…?"

"I… I don't know. I don't know…" Azula answered, truthfully: she had been overloaded with emotions, with conflicted feelings, with confusion to the point where she truly was ignoring all the physical pain, every single hint of it…

"Would you rather be the one to perform a medical check on the Princess?" Fei Rou asked. Azula winced upon hearing his voice anew. "I have no doubts you can handle it as well, Lady Wen… if you'd rather I leave for now, I will. But…"

"Stay," Song said, startling Azula. "I know you're not fond of him, but I don't know if he can be of help. He won't touch you, and I'll send him out as soon as we're done, so…"

"I… I…" Azula said, shaking her head: her breath felt short, as though she couldn't truly fill her lungs with it, not enough to say she understood Song's decisions even if she hardly wanted Fei Rou's opinion anyway…

The first thing Song did, however, was clasp her wounded arm and place two fingers upon Azula's pulse point. Her brow furrowed quickly as she glanced at the Princess with concern.

"Your… your heart rate is all over the place," she said, frowning. "No surprises there, considering what happened, but…"

"Time your breathing," Fei Rou said. "Regulating your breathing will help with your heart rate, Princess…"

"I don't… I can barely…" Azula said, shaking her head as Song clasped her shoulders gently.

"Follow my lead. I'll establish a rhythm, do your best to follow, okay?"

It seemed so absurd that she would find herself needing assistance in breathing, of all things… but Azula appreciated Song's instructions regardless. The healer even sped up her own breathing to catch up to Azula briefly before slowing her down little by little, urging her to spread out the breaths by deepening her air intake, and her firebender's breathing instincts kicked in before long. Her heart rate didn't slow considerably yet… but at least she was less lightheaded after about two minutes of breathing at the rhythm Song established for her.

"Okay… okay. We have a few more things to check, though Fei Rou, the balms for the burns…"

"I'll bring them now, Lady Wen."

Azula glanced up at Song, who stroked her hair kindly before placing a hand on her womb: it was hard to say if there was anything troubling so far, she'd need all her equipment to make sure everything was in order… but there was one quick check Azula could handle already.

"Come. Let's… go to the bathroom for a second," Song said. Azula eyed Song warily. "It's a precaution, okay? If nothing hurts…"

"I don't… don't know if nothing hurts or everything does, I…" Azula said. Song nodded.

"It's okay. Let's make sure everything's fine, that's all we need to focus on right now," she said. Azula gritted her teeth as Song stood up, helping her climb off the bed as well: even now, the Princess trembled violently as her friend escorted her carefully. "You didn't let him hurt you or the baby, right? The strain could have caused some trouble, but I don't think it could have resulted in anything serious or we'd already have witnessed obvious symptoms. Try to stay level-headed, okay?"

Azula gritted her teeth as Song escorted her into the bedroom's bathroom: in that time, Fei Rou offered some of the healing balms to Rei, who thanked him quietly before applying a small amount upon the lightly damaged skin underneath her charred uniform.

There wouldn't be much cause to be nervous around Song anymore, not when it came to anything pertaining intimacy, but even now, she had never inspected Azula quite as thoroughly as she'd likely do it this time. The Princess grimaced when the door closed behind them and Song breathed deeply.

"It's okay. Nothing to worry about. I'm not doing anything weird, alright? Just… basic check: pull down your pants, we'll look at your underwear."

"You mean…" Azula said, blinking blankly.

"Stay calm," Song said, cupping Azula's face again. "We're simply staying on the safe side here, okay?"

Azula gritted her teeth but nodded: her hands trembled as she obeyed Song's orders most unwillingly. She didn't want to look. She didn't want to know… she was terrified of something that sounded quite as stupid and simplistic as looking at her own damn underwear…

Her charred clothes hung open as she loosened her sash. Her trousers dropped to her ankles carelessly and she reeled down her underwear next, struggling slightly over the bulk of her considerable pregnancy belly…

She couldn't see it, not with her belly in the way… but Song could.

The expression that crossed the healer's face couldn't bode anything good.

"W-what is…? Song. Song…?" Azula gasped, her voice growing shrill: Song shook her head rising back to her feet.

"Calm down. Calm down," she said, her voice stern, as though that of a mother scolding a child. "It's… it's spotting. There's some blood. It doesn't have to mean…"

"Blood?" Azula's face contorted into a tormented snarl as Song shook her head. "T-there's not supposed to be… I…!"

"Listen to me: it's a stressful situation. You were in genuine danger, who knows if lethal danger… you're stressed. The war meeting didn't help matters in the slightest, either," Song said, firmly. "Your body will respond to such things: if the child were in severe danger, we'd already be seeing worse than spotting. Calm down… for that's the first thing you can do to help your baby right now, Azula. Calm down."

Azula snarled as she yanked her hair in despair: it was the last straw. Her choices, her damn stupid choices, her recklessness… how could she have done this? How could she be so stupid? Protecting the child? She had damn near killed it with her choices today, she very well could have…! Who knew if Song's assessment was wrong, and whatever horror she had dismissed was only just starting here? Who knew if this would get worse than it already was…?

"Azula…" Song gritted her teeth, trying to ease the Princess's grip upon her own hair. She shook her head before leaning down, helping her friend dress up properly again. "I'll ask Rei to bring you fresh clothes. We'll sit on the bed again afterwards, and you'll breathe. And more than anything, just… stop thinking, okay? I know that sounds insulting, but I know you… you're thinking of a million things at once, and probably blaming yourself for all that's happening… so stop doing that. It's not your fault, okay? Stop. Breathe. Stay here for a second. I'll be back quickly."

Azula didn't respond to Song's words, unsurprisingly. The healer sighed before doing as she intended: Rei nodded quickly, sprinting off back to Azula's room. The young woman was desperate to be useful, to be helpful somehow, hating her helplessness in the face of the struggles Azula was facing right now.

Song returned to the bathroom afterwards, easing Azula as best she could: she seemed to be about to hyperventilate anew, and Song guided her through breathing once more… only for Azula to shrink in her frame as she tried, and failed, to keep up with the rhythm.

Before she knew it, Song found herself holding her friend, stroking her hair reassuringly as Azula wept, helplessly, on her shoulder. She had been no better off than this, no different, when they had met again in the Palace… but her pain seemed to have increased a thousandfold today. Every single aspect of her life seemed to inflict agony upon the Princess, and there was no source of comfort, no chance of finding relief when she barely had anything to turn to. Song's medical assessments, as reasonable as they might be, only seemed to send her paranoid mind into overdrive…

Rei returned, and Song helped Azula change out of her damaged attire. The Princess was almost unresponsive through the process, but her crying slowed once she returned to the bed where she had rested for far too long, merely about ten months ago. She still struggled breathing, and she was terribly aware of anything happening in her lower body: even as Song applied the healing ointments to ease Azula's burns, the only thing that concerned the Princess was the child that she might have hurt today, through her reckless actions…

"Okay… okay. Your burns really aren't as bad as they could be," Song said, with a weak smile. Azula swallowed hard and nodded. "We'll still apply the ointments often to make sure they heal properly, okay? Everything's going to be fine. Everything's…"

The words choked up in her own throat: how could she try to reassure the Princess of something she couldn't even convince herself of? She barely knew about whatever had happened in that war meeting… she didn't understand, not truly, why Zhao had been so outraged, so violent today.

But she had to reassure Azula somehow: Fei Rou had left them to their privacy for the time being, at Song's request, while she took care of Azula's burns. It was one less factor that could make the Princess uneasy… but it wasn't enough Azula to come anywhere close to calming down yet. Song knew Azula was prone to blaming herself for just about every terrible thing that happened in her vicinity, just as she knew her mind worked in unpredictable ways. Her advice for her to stop thinking had been sound… but Azula had no apparent clue of how to clear her mind when so many thoughts rushed through it: her father, Zhao, the baby, Fei Rou, Rei, Renkai, Song…

Sokka.

Tears spilled down her face again as Song gritted her teeth, watching her burying her face in her hands. She shook her head: she needed to stop Azula, but how? How? What on earth could she possibly say or do that might…?

"M-Mom?"

Rei's voice brought Azula to sniff as she raised her gaze towards the young woman: she had taken her seat near the bed, but unlike Song, she wasn't sitting on it, outright. She had a chair… she had dressed in a fresh uniform, too, after getting a change of clothes for Azula first. She sat tensely by the bed, gazing at her with hopeful eyes that Azula couldn't return in kind. What she'd done today, what she'd caused, the pain her foolish mistakes had caused for Rei…

The young woman opened her mouth again before Azula could speak, for the Princess didn't know what to say.

Rei, however, had one idea in mind… one that would startle all three occupants of the room.

"I read in one of Song's books that some astronomical events can affect bending," she said. Azula gaped at her in surprise at first… with confusion moments later. "Is… is that true? Is it all bending, or… or just some? The waterbenders were stronger when the moon was at its perigee, because it's closer to our world? Then, well, there was something about the phases of the moon but I didn't understand that because, well, I thought that doesn't really matter much, does it? The moon's still there, physically, no matter how visible or invisible it may be…"

"Rei…?" Azula blinked blankly, and Rei breathed deeply.

"I just… was curious. If you knew about this, or… or not. Maybe… astronomical events have affected your firebending sometimes, too?"

The subject was so random, and the young woman spoke of it with such seriousness it seemed she had been waiting for a moment to bring it up, to ask Azula to enlighten her about such subjects… and she had picked this one, strange as it was.

Azula raised her eyebrows before dabbing her eyes with her hands. Song, sitting beside her, glanced between Azula and Rei anxiously, unsure if Azula would answer… until the Princess spoke again.

"There's… a couple of cosmic phenomena that affect firebenders. Starting with… with the eclipse. Wish there'd been one today, heh," Azula said, with a sad smile. "A solar eclipse… cuts off a firebender's power source."

"It… it does?" Rei asked, puzzled. "An eclipse… when the moon crosses the sky right where the sun is?"

"That's right…" Azula nodded. Rei hummed. "Whereas lunar eclipses… happen when the planet's shadow crosses the moon, I think? It's… it's something like that. I don't know if that does anything to waterbenders, but solar eclipses do turn us firebenders into non-benders for… for however long totality might last."

"Really?" Rei blinked blankly. "So… the obstacle between the sun and the world does that, huh? And… you said there's a couple of cosmic events that affect firebenders? What's the other one?"

"Sozin's Comet," Azula said. Rei bit her lip. "It's… it's a comet that crosses the sky every hundred years or so. Perhaps you noticed it? On some day when… when the sky turned red, about a decade ago?"

"Uh… I guess I was busy," Rei said, with a sad smile. Azula sighed. "I can't imagine a red sky… why does it turn red? The comet turns it red, somehow?"

"I… don't really know, I… I guess it might be the comet's effect on our world's sky? I don't know, I'm probably wrong…"

"Might be another of the layers of air in the world has an effect on how we perceive the sky? I think there's more than just the breathable one, the atmosphere?" Rei said. "I read about that in another book, but I don't know for sure. Seems that dragon flyers who went too high in the sky would, uh, start suffocating? Though, I shouldn't talk about something so grim, should I…?"

"N-no, no. That's… a good thing to know, actually. I'll make sure not to fly too high, if that's the case," Azula said, with a surprisingly weak grin. Rei smiled weakly.

"The breathable air just thins out a lot, I suppose?" she said.

"Like when… when you climb a very tall mountain," Azula said. Rei blinked blankly.

"You've climbed really tall mountains with thin air?" she asked. Azula swallowed hard.

"Well… climbing is the wrong word for it. Just… hovered our way up there in a hot-air balloon," Azula said. Rei hummed.

"That must be… well, interesting, but I don't think I'd dare do it myself," she said, with a small giggle. "Then… the comet shows up every hundred years? Has anyone studied why?"

"I… don't know. Maybe Goro has?" Azula said, with a shrug. "The nobleman I've mentioned before… he likes astronomy, so he'd be a better source of answers than me."

"Oh, well… I like talking about these things with you," Rei said, with a shy smile. "Even if you don't have all the answers…"

"You're too kind… always have been," Azula sighed, smiling too.

"I'm too curious, if anything," Rei said, biting her lip. "Did you experience those two things? The lack of power… and the bolstered power, or whatever it's called?"

"I… I did. It was odd on both occasions, made even weirder since both events happened within about a month and a half of each other. Though I'm sure I'll disappoint you by admitting that I actually didn't do anything noteworthy in either the eclipse or when the comet passed…"

"That's okay," Rei smiled shyly. "I didn't do anything interesting on those days either… not that it matters anyway, I'm not a bender after all… I just like thinking about these things, is all. It's… interesting."

"Focusing your mind on… on a bigger picture, so big you can barely understand its girth?" Azula said. Rei shrugged.

"I wonder… the Spirit World might be real, right? Maybe… maybe that's where spirits are. Out there… in space?"

"Huh," Azula smiled. "So… our spirits will just drift up there into the stars?"

"I wouldn't mind that," Rei giggled softly. "I've wondered about what's out there, after reading so many books. Maybe by understanding other worlds… we might find new ways to understand our own? I could be wrong, but…"

"I don't think you are. And floating with stars, up in the sky, might just be a better afterlife than every traditional story I've heard about what happens after death, so… I'll stick with your take," Azula decided. Rei offered her a gentle grin.

"I'm glad it doesn't sound silly… o-or, well, if it does, that you still like it…"

"It doesn't sound silly at all," Azula said, breathing deeply.

She closed her eyes: her heartbeats had slowed down. The pit of anxiety in her gut, while not gone, had receded.

Azula glanced at Song: the relieved, grateful expression upon the healer's face confirmed Azula's suspicions about what Rei had been doing… about what Rei had achieved. She let herself smile anew… a much more fragile smile than those she had let herself show her daughter as of late. Rei bit her lip, stretching a hand towards Azula's.

"Are you… are you feeling better?" she asked, softly. Azula swallowed and nodded.

"I… I am. Thank you," Azula said, clasping Rei's hand kindly. The younger woman smiled too: she struggled to contain the tears in her eyes as she impulsively stood from the chair and climbed on the Princess's temporary bed.

Once more, they engulfed each other in a comforting embrace that succeeded at its purpose far more effectively this time. Rei's fright had dwindled, and a part of her seemed as adamant about protecting Azula as the Princess was about protecting her. Song breathed deeply as she watched them, her own heart pounding with conflicted, turbulent, troubled emotions…

Rei clasped her hand next, and before she knew it, Song wound up joining their embrace as well.

They found further comfort in their group hug, barely speaking at all, simply relishing in the fact that they had endured today's ordeals somehow. The Head Sage arrived about ten minutes later, anxious about confirming the Princess was safe: his reading of her chi revealed some turbulent areas, some chaos in her chi flow… but the baby was large enough as of late to be read individually from Azula's energy now.

"The chi is flowing," the Head Sage confirmed. Azula let out a relieved breath, sinking in the mattress, in the pillows, with a heavy sigh. "You continue to channel chi to the baby at a reasonable rate. Yes, there are some complications in the area, but not enough to disrupt the flow to the child altogether…"

"How serious are the complications?" Fei Rou asked. The Head Sage grimaced.

"I can't attest to it with any degree of certainty, but I suspect the strain the Princess underwent has destabilized her chi to a fault. She still hasn't regained the same amount of chi she surely had in the past… if she had, perhaps this wouldn't be worrisome at all. But considering how delicate her condition is, in virtue of being pregnant to begin with…"

"All heavy activity is not just discouraged now: it should be prohibited, then," Fei Rou said. Song gritted her teeth, glancing at Azula.

"I'm afraid he's right," she said. Azula swallowed hard. "The birth is too close by now, even if, ideally, it should still be several months away. We've done our best to keep you in good shape, but…"

"No more… walks?" Azula asked. Song sighed and nodded.

"At most, just within the room, I'd say," she said. "I'm sorry, but…"

"It's for the child's sake. I… I'll do whatever you ask me to," Azula said, nodding.

Song swallowed hard and nodded too, squeezing Azula's hand gently. Fei Rou, it seemed, was relieved by Azula's compliance as well. The Head Sage sighed, no doubt wishing to offer Azula a much more significant display of support than he dared right now…

For Ozai stood by the door. He hadn't entered the room again… he stood there, by the open door, listening to every word that was spoken right now. The Fire Lord had raced, personally, all the way to the Temple, followed by nervous guards who had then escorted both the Fire Lord and the Head Sage back to the Palace…

The child was still alive, still growing within Azula. She wasn't in the best of shapes, she would be bedridden for who knew how long… but with any luck, her health advisors had made a decision that would see to her recovery. With any luck…

To this moment, he didn't understand what had happened. He didn't know how it had happened at all. But he didn't dare enter that room again… didn't dare ask Azula a single question. Not yet. Not now.

He'd find his answers from the man responsible for Azula's current circumstances, instead.

---

Dungeons were a necessity in any castle of a lord of any renown. The same was true for the Fire Nation Palace, albeit the cells in the basement had seldom seen use across the past years. The underground maze of tunnels proved helpful during evacuations, and whenever furtive firebenders and their companions wanted to travel the city undetected… but there were unfrequented areas within those tunnels, dark dungeons, just as well.

The guards, unwilling to subject Fire Lord Ozai or the Royal Family to further humiliation, had chosen one of the cells within the dungeon to contain Zhao rather than a public outing all the way to Prison Tower. After two hours or so of confinement, the man had seemingly calmed down… at least, Ozai supposed he had, since he heard no wild screams upon entering the area. How wishful of him to hope that Zhao would respond to his demands for explanations with honest, genuine remorse…

He stopped at the jail cell, his unyielding eyes upon the crumpled, armored figure of a man who leveled him with as fierce a glare as the one Ozai showed him.

"Took you long enough to show up," Zhao as good as spat at him. "The Third Squad is eternally cursed, I suppose. It was them, wasn't it? And Captain Renkai at their lead… demote them all at once. Enslave them too, while you're at it… better yet, send them to the frontlines so the Gladiator kills them personally. That's what you should…"

"Silence yourself," Ozai hissed. Zhao obeyed, though merely out of displeasure rather than out of genuine fear or concession to Ozai's authority. "What you've done today, Zhao… saying I'm disappointed would be too kind. Appalled, I think, might be more appropriate…"

"Ah, is that so? Just as I found you appalling over the past ten days?" Zhao asked, glaring at Ozai with undisguised irritability. "Get over it. Isn't that what you say whenever I'm cross with you? Same difference now: why should I let you guilt me into repenting when you'd never do the same?"

"I have more than enough regrets to my name as it is," Ozai hissed. "But I never anticipated that you would become one of them."

That stopped Zhao from speaking. A part of him seemed apprehensive, the other, utterly skeptical. Ozai's frown drew together all the more heavily.

"What happened? Explain yourself now, Zhao," he said. The imprisoned man scoffed in his direction.

"You'd like my explanation rather than hers?" he asked. "Or is it you want to choose whom to believe?"

"I'm choosing to ask you because she's in no condition to respond to anything I say right now," Ozai hissed. Zhao's dismissive sneer only angered him further. "And that doesn't even bother you, does it? Were you attempting to kill her?!"

"I…!"

The question only sank in a moment later: was he? He certainly wanted to be rid of this pretense of a marriage somehow… but much as it had happened when he had lost control of his grief and rage in his youth, he had lost it now, too. He had attacked Azula… convinced that she'd fight back. Certain that she'd defend herself… that she'd kill him if he offered her the opportunity to do so.

But she was the one who wanted him dead in the first place.

"I wanted… I wanted her to confess what her true intent was," Zhao said. Ozai scowled. "To admit… that she's in league with him. That this is all part of their plan…"

"If that were the case, she would have steered us wrong with her suggestions," Ozai snapped. Zhao huffed.

"And how do you know she hasn't?" he asked. "Oh, sure, it makes sense now…! But maybe it won't always. Maybe, once I'm up north, the truth will be that the Gladiator will be ready to destroy our entire fleet somehow. She could be sending me, all the navy, right into the beast's den…!"

"And you're no incompetent weakling that you might fail to overcome a challenge you seemingly can already predict in your path," Ozai rebuffed. "Or is it you don't trust yourself to defeat that bastard if you come across him? Is that it?"

"Oh, no: I wouldn't hesitate. I wouldn't!" Zhao said. "I'd kill him with my own hands if the chance arises, I said as much to you, and I meant it. But your daughter is unpredictable. She's a menace, the truest, worst threat to your rule and she's still manipulating you enough to make you believe it is me who has to be stopped rather than her!"

"Zhao…" Ozai said: his expression was unexpectedly sobered suddenly, without as much rage… but with far more confusion and disbelief instead. "You've lost your mind."

"I…! I'm telling you the truth, damn you! If you refuse to listen…!"

"You attacked your pregnant wife!"

Zhao stopped talking for a moment. Ozai's fury had returned once more… and it was almost righteous. Almost as if he were mad as a matter of principle, because…

A laugh left Zhao's lips. Then another. Then he cackled, shoulders shaking as he shook his head: Ozai's anger only seemed to worsen then.

"That's what this is? Right. You're going in circles, you know? Your weak, helpless daughter has somehow won you over, all over again… after you destroyed her and took everything from her. After you spent months trying to punish her non-stop, careless about those of us who were being punished mercilessly along with her, such as me. And now… now you're going to play the concerned father again? After everything you did? You called for that purity examination yourself, you hypocritical piece of shit! Don't come here pretending you've never hurt her, and that the mere concept is so outrageous…!"

"I made the choices I made… to punish a transgression that certainly required punishment. But you, Zhao? You were never meant to be a punishment for her beyond ensuring that all her delusions of being with that mongrel would be gone!" Ozai roared. Zhao scoffed. "You think I wanted you to beat her, to attack her, to burn her, to take advantage of her in whatever ways you have?!"

"Oh, no. Don't even start with that shit, she manipulated me and played us against each other from the very first moment…!"

"I don't care if she did!" Ozai roared: Zhao's eyes widened. "Say what you will, that she was the one insisting on bedding you, I don't care: you had no reason to do it! I didn't arrange for you to wed her so you'd do that! It was a political deal! It was never meant to be more than that!"

"And I was fine with that, but she had other plans!"

"And you were so damn foolish you let her get away with them?!" Ozai roared. "Don't… don't even try to excuse yourself. I don't care if she begged… you could have said no. You could have left the damn room! You could have ignored her pleas, for I'm sure you must have ignored them constantly today…! Oh, but you underestimated her and her deceit then, whereas the rest of us are underestimating her now, is it?"

"Yes. It is." Zhao said, pushing himself up to his feet and glaring at Ozai fiercely through the door's bars. "That was the last time I underestimated her. The last time I played into her hand. And you'd do best to follow my example."

"Zhao, you…"

"That child is not mine."

Ozai held Zhao's gaze. The Crown Prince trembled with wrath as he finally spoke the truth he had known, the truth he had believed in, for months: he wouldn't keep it from Ozai for a moment longer. He'd realize he'd been mistaken to treat Zhao as he had… to throw him in a dungeon, to dismiss his suspicions of Azula. It was about time…

"It isn't mine," Zhao repeated, firmly. "Your new, so-called heir to the throne is some half-breed that blends your glorious royal blood with that of southern savages. Everything she's done has been for the sake of delivering that aberration just in time for her Gladiator to storm our lands and so that they may take control of the Fire Nation as a whole. Whatever she said today means nothing in the end, Ozai: she is your enemy! She cannot be underestimated, she cannot be treated as a child, as a weak pregnant woman… she fought back against me! How helpless could she be, truly, if she fought back against me?! Snap out of whatever madness has taken hold of you now, Ozai: she's carrying the greatest of betrayals against your nation, your rule, inside her damn body!"

Zhao's voice seemed to echo down the deep tunnels in which they stood. The ferocious flames burning in Zhao's glare met an unexpected, cold skepticism, however, in Ozai's own:

"You… ask me not to underestimate Azula, do you?" Ozai said. Zhao snarled. "And yet… and yet you underestimate me to this extent?"

"I… what?"

"Just how utterly stupid do you think I am?" Ozai hissed, hands landing on the cell's bars just as well, as his anger surged to a new peak: "It was the first thought on my mind as soon as I heard she was with child!"

Zhao's eyes widened. For once, it was his turn to be taken by surprise… almost humiliated by his assumptions, by his mistakes… by his misjudgment of his friend, if just to a fault.

"But you…" Zhao said, shaking his head. "You didn't act like it. As soon as you heard…"

"The Head Sage said the child couldn't have been older than a month," Ozai growled. "A lie, I thought, unless you told me otherwise. I wanted to believe… I wanted to assume she had indeed orchestrated this matter somehow. And truthfully, yes, she might have done it, it may very well be what happened… but you muddled matters by being manipulated, apparently, by someone you refuse to ever trust again. Even you, as certain as you are of this possibility, can't be entirely sure because you bedded her, can you? Not until it's born. And so… and so, you complicated matters. You made it so I couldn't do anything about this pregnancy, not until the child is born with dark skin or blue eyes or any other telling signs that it is not yours. Had you been reasonable, had you held back, had you been firm in your convictions, as firm as I believed you'd be…"

"You had no reason to…!" Zhao gasped, outraged, indignant… stricken, too. "You should have bloody told me…! You should have told me immediately what you expected from me, that I wasn't supposed to…!"

"Oh, because you needed my say-so in order to hold back the mandate of your gonads, is it?!" Ozai roared. "I actually wanted my wife, and I held back! You never wanted Azula, and she would have never wanted you either… and yet you sabotaged your own circumstances by being swayed into whatever you were! Had you been able to say, point-blank, that nothing had happened…!"

"I understand that, Ozai, but…! It doesn't change the facts! It doesn't change the truth, and you… you should've told me. You should've told me from the start, not only what you wanted but what you believed about that child!" Zhao almost shrieked now. "I thought…! I thought I was the only one seeing things clearly…!"

"You did. And in believing so, you hurt my daughter and you also hurt yours," Ozai hissed. Zhao's eyes widened again. "You could have murdered your own unborn child with your actions today, if the truth isn't what you're certain it is! If you hadn't been stopped when you were, the damage you could have done to the Royal Family with your choices today is unspeakable! And that didn't stop you. That didn't give you pause, not even for an instant! I chose you as my heir, you fool, because I trusted you! Because I believed you'd understand what your role entailed! Because I was certain that you wouldn't take advantage of your circumstances, your new privileges, and yet that's all you've done ever since you've worn that hairpiece upon your head! No man could ever hope to be worthy of my daughter… but I believed you would be better than this. I trusted you would be better than this! And yet… everything you've done has proven me wrong. From the very moment you refused, I should've…"

"You should've listened," Zhao hissed, glaring at Ozai again. "I told you… I've told you for as long as we've been of age, I didn't care to take a wife! I never wanted one, I never could have…! And you did this to me regardless…!"

"It was no relationship, curses, it was a political move! Hardly a concept that should faze anyone as cynical as you!" Ozai retorted. "You knew it! You were a shield for her, Zhao, means for me to keep other leeches at bay! A way to ensure she'd learn her lessons and stop hoping for that wretch to come back! But oh, not only is he coming back unless you do deliver results and slay him in the north, but you've given her further cause to seize the first opportunity to turn against her nation if it's presented to her! How am I supposed to face her again when my choice for her husband has turned out to be… this? A wifebeater? That's what you are now, truly?"

"I'm not… you said it yourself, it was no relationship, she's not my wife," Zhao said, shaking his head. "I don't care what the papers and records say, she's not. She'd be the first to deny it if asked. So don't…"

"And what of your daughter?" Ozai said, glaring at Zhao sternly. Zhao gritted his teeth.

"She… she clung to me. I suppose she was scared, I simply pushed her off me," Zhao said.

"And that's why her robes were charred, I'm sure," Ozai said: Zhao flinched.

"I didn't… didn't burn her on purpose, if that's what…"

"Self-control was never your strong suit. As you've made clear over the last six months of self-indulgence and lack of restraint," Ozai said. "You… you could be better than this. I believe you are better than this…"

"Don't patronize me…"

"I'm not patronizing you: I'm giving you an ultimatum, you stubborn bastard," Ozai growled, glaring at Zhao intensely. "Your actions from today have been disgraceful to no end, but the urgency of our circumstances has not changed: regain my trust by securing a victory in the Northern Water Tribe. You will set out tomorrow morning… and you will be expected to triumph and kill the Gladiator as you said you would. Do this, defeat our enemies... and come back a man worthy of being my daughter's husband, regardless of it being a political role and nothing more."

"I… that's not…" Zhao shook his head: how could he possibly make such a demand from him? Worthy of Azula? It was Azula who was unworthy of her role, of her bonds, of her father's damn babying of her…

"If you're unwilling to fulfill any of these terms… you might as well not return at all."

Zhao's jaw dropped as Ozai stepped away from the cell: the Fire Lord shook his head as he regarded his best friend… perhaps his former best friend, instead, with utmost disgust.

"You're a fool. You're… you're playing into her hand, you idiot!" Zhao exclaimed, gritting his teeth. "She's a menace, damn you, Ozai! She'll steal your throne and you'll have no one to blame for it but yourself!"

"I have sufficient things to blame myself for as it is," Ozai said, with a solemn frown. "That one… might not be so disagreeable, no matter if she bleeds me dry to see it done."

"Did you just…? Ozai, are you mad?! Have you lost your mind, damn it…?!"

"I will send word to you as you progress to the warfront. I'll keep you updated about the progress of the airships and their reconditioning… Admiral Zhao."

It was the first time since the wedding that Ozai had chosen his military title over his royal one.

The first time he had put a wall between them, seemingly insurmountable, closing himself off to Zhao entirely.

The urge to call after him, to shout for the Fire Lord and demand the respect he deserved almost poured out of Zhao… but it froze over as Ozai marched away. As he turned his back on Zhao… as he abandoned him in this tunnel, trembling violently, failing to register what had happened so far…

He hadn't hurt Rei. If she had been burned, it was but an accident. The foolish girl had been swept entirely by Azula's web of lies… Zhao had allowed it to happen, idiot that he was, but he hadn't meant her harm. He had never intended to inflict any burns upon her, let alone any other damage…

But Ozai and Azula were another matter entirely.

For the first time in almost four decades, all of Zhao's direct connections and close bonds with royalty had been severed and destroyed.

He shivered as that reality sank in, as he felt bereft of the strange burdens that he had worn as shields as well. Whatever happened… he always could fall back on Ozai. Whether when they were teenagers, or once they were men fully grown… he had never once doubted that, regardless of their clashes and disagreements, regardless of how differently they saw the world, they'd be able to count on each other for anything.

But that bond was gone now. Ozai had seen to that…

The utter hypocrite. The two-faced bastard… after everything he'd done to Azula himself, somehow it was wrong to hurt her now? After what he'd done to her in that war meeting, now he presented himself as her kindly father, so very concerned for her wellbeing?

He was a laughingstock. He was a callous hypocrite… a self-absorbed one too. All sins and crimes were contemptible in others, but not in him. That was the power of a Fire Lord, wasn't it? Of course it was… of course it was.

A power Zhao could very well take for himself if he cared to.

He had never forgotten that day, when his life had been saved by a man who had been swayed into choosing to spare him for no apparent reason. When a youthful Ozai had argued to request Zhao's induction in the academy, alleging that he'd be a good addition to the army… and while he had been grateful to the young prince, Zhao had been struck by the power wielded by Azulon himself. By the man who could kill or spare on a whim… a man for whom Zhao's life was irrelevant, inconsequential, nothing to be concerned with.

Some part of him had wondered, fleetingly, what that would be like. For years, he had asked himself how curious it would be to sit on a throne and make choices over others' lives, simply because you could…

Perhaps he wouldn't need to ask himself that question for much longer.

His resolve strengthened as he let clasped the cell's door firmly. It was time… no, it was well past-time that Zhao made up his mind to cut ties with Ozai, on his own terms.

It had been yet another dark day in the Fire Nation: hours after his visit to Zhao's prison cell, the Fire Lord knelt by his bed, clasping a crimson hairpiece that hadn't belonged to him. For once, it wasn't the guidance of his forefathers he prayed for, it wasn't illumination of Fenghuang he wanted… he longed for nothing as much as he longed for his wife's voice, berating him or praising him, it made no matter. Her counsel… her wisdom. She'd know what to do. She'd tell him exactly what he'd done wrong. For once… for once, he'd listen. He'd accept it. He'd concede to everything… but she wasn't within reach. Just as no one was, no one who could soothe the complicated typhoons raging across his heart.

It was up to him to unravel the path forward by his own hand. To face the consequences of his actions… to make the right choices for Azula, after far too long of failing her constantly.

In the physicians' wing, Azula rested on her side, finally eased into sleep while Song held one of her hands and Rei held the other. While both women seemed moments away from collapsing, exhausted as well, neither one dared move. To that moment, they hadn't understood what had happened in the war meeting, why Zhao had lashed out as he had… but for now, none of that mattered: only Azula's condition did. They would continue to stand by her, much as Renkai, still with his damaged uniform, helmet nowhere in sight, did the same by standing by that bedroom's door. He would never fail to protect her again… never again.

When the next dawn arrived, the Fire Lord made sure to go about his business as he did every day. Princess Azula continued to rest, and by then, Song and Rei took turns sleeping and sitting by her side, too.

Guards were sent, however, to release Admiral Zhao from his prison cell. He was led to his room, where he packed his belongings quickly. Half an hour later, he boarded a carriage that took him to the bay. Three hours later, he would climb a transport ship that would sail out of the Fire Nation's inner waters. Once past them, he would change vessels and join the newly assigned troops on their way to the North Pole. He would travel north anew. He would sail to the Northern Water Tribe to annihilate its people, to destroy and break their warriors… to conquer their deepest, darkest secrets. Waterbending would be destroyed… and he would attain immortality, too.

Once, he had thought to share the contents of the secret oasis with Ozai. That he, too, would have deserved to live forever… so that his dreams for the Fire Nation could be fully, truly realized.

Now, the sole idea of sharing such a mighty boon with the man he had long called friend was unthinkable.

He would win… and he would lead his troops south once more, not against the Gladiator's broken forces, but against Ozai himself. Once powered with that elixir, Zhao would be indestructible… and he would make Ozai regret everything he had put him through. Azula would be next, of course… the damn lineage of the Fire Nation Royal Family was cursed, Zhao was hardly the first person to believe so. Perhaps the sole way to remedy that… was by getting rid of them all.

The guards would pay, too. He would turn the Fire Nation around… he would change everything to suit his own needs. For he was Crown Prince still, no matter if Ozai pretended otherwise… once Ozai was gone, Zhao would be first in line to rule the world.

He'd be an immortal ruler, too.

His purpose was set. His goals were the ones they should have been all along: he wouldn't bow to Ozai and his whims for one more day, nor would Azula's manipulations break him ever again. And…

And Rei would learn better. He would enlighten her… she would understand. Perhaps, out of everyone, the only one who should receive the elixir as well was Rei. He would be willing to share it with her, provided she finally broke free from the Princess's thrall, once she remembered she was no wretched royal like Ozai or Azula… and that was a good thing. She wouldn't be one anyway, once Zhao ruled… for no one else would need to be royal anymore, not if he lived forever. Not if he was an immortal Fire Lord.

The transport ship drifted into the Fire Nation mainland's bay. Standing on deck, accompanied by somber, silent soldiers not unlike himself, Zhao dared glance at the shrinking silhouette of the crater in which the Capital was hosted. His chest tightened as foolish thoughts attempted to weasel their way into his mind…

No one had seen them off.

The Crown Prince had sailed away… and neither the Fire Lord nor the Princess, not even the Crown Prince's own daughter, had said goodbye.