Denial. Then anger, and so forth. Those were the stages that Naum knew he should have been experiencing after hearing that his life was on the line, but he did not have the time for such luxuries. He could skip some phases of grief and go straight to bartering. He would trade the royals' lives for his. It was as simple as that. If the jester ever needed convincing that they had to die, this was that. First, he wanted to see the king and queen for himself. If they were in a foul mood, he could adjust his plan accordingly. The airbender needed to know if they had his death at the forefront of their minds or if it would just be another form of entertainment for them. Naum entered the throne room, finding the royal couple talking. They turned to him with suspicion when they sensed his entry.

"Why are you here?" Vadim questioned.

"I was curious if there was something I could do to assist in any way."

The royals looked at one another.

"No, there's not," the king said.

Naum waited to be dismissed before he left. He did not get that dismissal immediately.

"Did you know what they were planning?" Tatia asked.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"The toys. Did you know that they planned to disrespect us in our own palace? That little bug queen that you brought was the worst of them."

"No, I wasn't aware of that. You have my sincerest apologies for bringing her to you," Naum said, bowing his head.

The rulers could be as vile as they wanted, but he still knew how to survive in that castle. They believed his loyal servant act. Either that or they were too annoyed with the small people to pay much attention to anyone else. Vadim flicked his wrist.

"Useless as always," he commented. "You're free to leave, Naum. I don't think we'll be calling on you anymore today."

Naum considered that to be a good sign. He knew the royals' tones enough to tell when they wanted blood and when they wanted to be left alone. He bowed his head again, leaving them. They would not be the ones to kill him. Instead, they would be the ones to die, if not by his hand, but by his plan. The jester went to the servants' quarters, finding more subjects. Some of them, he knew personally. He went over to one.

"If the king and queen's food needed to be prepared…differently, could I count on you?"

The chef looked up, shock visible in his eyes. "Are you…"

"Soon," Naum stated. "It's time that they stop playing with our lives like we're nothing."

The other man glanced around. Neither of them knew how many servants they could trust. Despite that, it was a risk that they would have to take.

"I've always hated those two," the cook admitted. "How many servants do you want to know about this?"

"Let's just keep this between us for now. I'll let you know if that changes. I only wanted to know if I could trust you to do this."

"You can."

With a silent nod of his head, Naum left the quarters to carry out more of his work. While he did, he kept an eye out for anyone else he wanted to share this with. The royals might not go down without a fight. A little poison was not a guaranteed way to stop them. Naum required a fool-proof plan to kill those dictators. The only problem was formulating that scheme. As the jester dealt with this issue, Yeva was finishing his work with setting up a shelter for the soldiers. The new recruits were happy to help him. Subtly, the news of his bloodline spread through the crowd. It was no longer such a secret that Prince Yeva was among them. It caused them to be surprised that he was not only there, but working with the determination of a commoner. That night, no one said much of anything about this. They slept with thoughts of the newcomer heavily on their minds. The group still had a far trek ahead of them, but that kept the prince awake.

Before the sun rose, Yeva crept out of the camp. Under the seasoned soldiers' noses, he did some hunting. The prince caught a few fowl before returning to the camp. He began to cook them near the other new recruits, some of whom started to awaken with the smell of roasted poultry. Sleepily, they approached the prince. Their expressions showed their confusion and distrust. Yeva gestured to the food with a warm look in his eyes.

"I hope there's enough for everyone," he said. "You won't be able to eat a large portion, but I thought that it would be better than nothing."

"When are you eating with the other soldiers?"

"I won't be."

Cautiously, the recruits went closer. Their gazes shifted to some large tents that held the commanding officers.

"You aren't going to be in there with them?"

"No, I'll stay here with you."

Despite their uneasiness, the group began to eat. More of them woke up, partaking in the meal. Levka went to sit beside the prince.

"You must have gotten up early to do this."

"It wasn't so bad. I've always been an early riser. Besides," the prince added, a knowing look in his eyes, "there's a lot that I wanted to talk to all of you before the others got up."

When he said this, some of the group sighed.

"I knew there had to be a catch," one man commented.

"No catch," Yeva assured him.

"Of course there is. You wouldn't do all this for us if you wanted nothing."

"Fine. I'll admit it, I want something," Yeva conceded.

Levka saw that the others were getting annoyed, but she spoke up.

"Let's not forget that our crowned prince just took the time to make us all breakfast after he made sure we got to rest for the night. I think the least we can do is hear him out."

Reluctantly, the other recruits' frowns softened. Yeva sent an appreciative smile to Levka, then addressed the others. He kept his voice only loud enough for them to hear.

"I want to turn back around and return to Krozhny. If we go through with this invasion, we'll be subjecting more people to the same horrors we know. They don't deserve that. I wouldn't ask if I thought it would mean that we'd return and be punished. There are rebels back in the kingdom. We've been growing our numbers, but we have to focus on protecting each other. If we expand Krozhny, the problem will only become bigger until the very idea of removing it becomes inconceivable."

The camp was silent. Levka was the first to speak.

"The soldiers have more training than we do."

"I agree," Yeva admitted, "but they don't have the numbers. We outnumber them ten to one. These commanders are loyal to the king and queen. We'd only risk our lives if we relied on swaying them to our side. Right now, this is a chance we might never get again. We have an actual advantage over them. With these leaders gone, we can bring more of the soldiers to our side."

Again, the others were quiet. It concerned Yeva, but he did not let it discourage him.

"I'm in," Levka said, causing the prince's eyes to widen hopefully. She turned to the others. "He's right. When are we getting another chance like this? Let's say that we invade the other kingdoms. What then? We enslave more people so that we can share our misery with them? Or better yet, we get new dictators because some of the strangers learned that the royals love cruelty, so they promise to treat commoners that way to be spared from death." Levka shook her head, standing up. "I'm tired of living in fear—tired of accepting that my life is in the hands of people who think I'm worthless. Aren't you?"

The recruits muttered to one another. Slowly, they began to stand. They could not waste this opportunity. A bright smile spread over Yeva's face as he regarded the group. They were with him. Another sound drew their attention, showing them that the experienced soldiers were waking up. Therefore, the group would wait until they fell asleep again. Any advantage they could have would be used. All they had to do was wait for a few hours. As the group waited, Team Avatar was still in the process of trying to decide what they could do. They felt so limited in the palace, but most of the servants were watching them more closely. Leaving was not much of an option. The most any of them could do was leave their room, and Toph sensed someone approaching. Her friends had been in the middle of discussing ways to get Yeva back into the kingdom when she chimed in.

"Azula's on her way here."

The friends went quiet, then they turned to Zuko.

"What do you want to do?" Aang asked him.

After a moment, the firebender responded, "Let her in."

Despite the concern that the others felt, they did not argue. They wished that Toph could also read Azula's mind as easily as she sensed her movements. Within the next few moments, the princess knocked on the door. It was not fully closed. Team Avatar assumed that it was this way so that the servants could hear if it sounded like they were trying to escape. The fact that Azula had knocked at all was surprising.

"Come in," Zuko said.

The princess entered the room, expression unreadable as she looked at Zuko. Once her gaze landed on the others, her face took on an arrogant expression. Zuko gestured to another part of the room.

"We can talk privately over here," he informed her.

Azula suspiciously looked at the area, then the team. She could see in their faces that this was the only real option. They would not agree to let her go somewhere secluded with their friend. Begrudgingly, Azula nodded and began walking off with Zuko. They got to a further part of the room that successfully put them out of range of the others' ears. When they stopped, a tense silence surrounded the siblings.

"If we were to escape this place…together," Azula said, sounding a little pained at the thought, "what would happen when we returned to our dimension?"

"I've been thinking about how terrible you said the asylum was," Zuko admitted. "I wouldn't want you to go there."

The princess's brow raised doubtfully. Zuko could tell that she did not believe him yet.

"I wanted that place to be somewhere to help people," the fire lord divulged. "When we get back, I'm going to do a thorough look through the actual procedures being done. It's not meant to just hold prisoners."

"And when it's operating the way you want, I'll go back?"

Azula regarded him curiously. There was a sort of defeat hidden behind her eyes. She did not know how to leave that dimension without the others, and she was at their mercy upon reentering their world.

"No."

Hearing this, the princess's eyes widened. "No? You plan on having me go around the Fire Nation like nothing ever happened?"

"I'm also not doing that."

Zuko paused, thinking over how he wanted to say this. With his sister, he knew he would have to be careful or he would only cause her to be angrier.

"It would be easier to check on how everything's going if you're in the palace," he stated. "I could find some specialists."

Immediately, Azula latched onto that last word. "Specialists? I don't need any of those."

Zuko's expression showed his doubt. Azula snarled at him.

"You think I've lost my mind. I haven't."

"I think you've been through a lot and it took its toll on you. When that was happening to me, I at least had Uncle to lean on."

Azula scoffed, turning away. "I had Dad."

"When is he ever comforting?"

Terribly, the other firebender wanted to list off several cases when he was. This was challenging to do. She knew that her silence was only proving Zuko's point. It was irritating.

"You didn't see it. You were too busy following Mother around."

Zuko heard a note of pain in her voice. "She loved you too, Azula."

Anger flashed in the princess's eyes. "She loved you."

"She loved us both."

"If that was true, she would've thought about us both. She did what she did to save you. She never thought about what it would do to me."

Zuko got quiet. Azula was glaring at him, but her expression turned into a sadder one.

"She never loved me," she said. "Uncle never did, and you didn't either. Only Dad did."

"That's not true. I was jealous," Zuko admitted, "but there's never been a time when I didn't love you."

"You wanted me to fail."

"I wanted to do better," the boy corrected. "I didn't want you to fail. I just wanted to do something right for once without it always being thrown back in my face that you were amazing and I was the family disappointment."

"How could you hear that without hating me?" Azula asked suspiciously. "If you stole my glory, I would have hated you."

"Maybe you would have, but I didn't even hate Father for saying those things. I…" Zuko trailed off, wondering if he would say this or not. "I hated the fact that I couldn't make him proud like you did. The only person I really blamed for that was me."

Zuko's eyes lowered. Azula regarded him curiously. She did not know how to feel.

"I smiled, you know," she commented. "When Dad burned you, I smiled."

"I'm not shocked."

Azula began to frown. "Then why don't you hate me back?"

"Because you're still my sister, and if Uncle could show me what Father did to mess with my mind, it makes me wonder what he did to yours. Who knows where either of us would be right now if it wasn't for him."

"He didn't mess with my mind."

"Then why were you smiling?"

"Because you'd disrespected him."

"I spoke out of turn, but the plan was to sacrifice the lives of our people when a better plan could have been made. Treating our own people like they didn't matter is why some of them joined the White Lotus and the fight against the Fire Nation." Zuko gestured to the door. "It's the same thing here, Azula. You can't treat the world like no one else is worth anything, but still expect to have allies."

Azula's frown deepened. It made sense. How could it not? She had lived that very lesson more than once. She just wished that she had learned from it.

"I think you smiled because Father wanted us to hate each other."

"I didn't need him to tell me what to think."

"Then why did you start hating me?" Zuko's expression showed his hurt. "You're the one who heard Grandfather tell him to kill me. You were actually glad. We were just kids. The most fighting we ever did was spar here and there. What did I do that would've made you want me to get killed if it wasn't because of him influencing you?"

Azula looked away from her brother. She did not have a proper answer for him.

"It was terrifying," Zuko revealed quietly. "The only comfort I had was hoping that you were lying again, but you didn't seem like you were. Waking up and finding out that Mom was gone made it worse because then, I knew something had to have been wrong that night. You were telling the truth. He really was going to kill me, and without Uncle or Mom there, I was on my own."

"What do you want me to say?" the princess suddenly asked. "Do you want me to apologize? It wouldn't change anything from our pasts."

"I don't want to fix what happened. I want to focus on what we can do from now on."

"We can leave this place, then you'll find some doctor to confirm your suspicions about me."

"That's not why I want to talk with them."

"No," Azula claimed, chuckling scornfully. "You want to be like those two peasants over there. Well, Zuzu, I have bad news for you. We're never going to have a family like theirs."

"I know that. I don't want to be them—just to be like them enough so that we can have a civil conversation."

"I haven't shot fire or lightning at you. That's a record for our recent talks at least."

Her tone had a morbid sort of joking sound to it, but Zuko did not smile.

"I'm being serious. What helped me the most was realizing that I'm my own person and Father is his. I didn't have to become like him or let him control me."

"No one controls me."

"Then why did you hate me, Azula?"

"I'm entitled to hate whoever I want."

"That's not a real answer."

"I don't owe you one."

"If it was something that would shut me up, you'd tell me. You're only not saying it because you know I'm right. You hated me because of what he'd say."

"What if I did?" Azula asked in frustration. "You gave me enough reasons to hate you on my own soon enough. You're the insane one for not feeling the same about me. You're weak. You've never gone for the kill. I gave you the perfect chance to kill me and you didn't take it." She gestured to her heart. "All you had to do was shoot me with my own lightning. Why didn't you?"

"I've been trying to tell you," Zuko said, annoyed.

"Because you 'care.' I don't believe you."

"You won't even give me a chance."

"I don't need to. I never needed you. Dad and I could have ruled over the entire world, but you ruined everything."

"He was never going to lead with you. That's why Aang was fighting him while he was planning to become the Phoenix King. You were going to be the new fire lord."

"Yes! Fire Lord Azula would have been my legacy. If Dad didn't care, he wouldn't have given me that title."

"It would have been the same as it was with you being the princess!"

Azula's eyes widened slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"He didn't give you anything special. In the Fire Nation, he was in charge and you had the next highest title. If he took over the world, that would have been the same. He wasn't giving you a partnership. He was keeping your roles the exact same. The only thing that changed was the scale. He didn't need the Fire Nation anymore. If he was going to actually share the world with you, he would've brought you with him."

The princess blinked, shocked. "No," she muttered. "That's not what he was doing. H-he wanted me to lead with him."

"Then why'd he leave you behind?"

"Be quiet," Azula hissed quietly.

"Why did he send you into Ba Sing Se as spies when we've been taught about that city being dangerous and impenetrable?"

"Because he knew I could handle it."

"And if you couldn't? You could've been killed by the Dai Li."

"I never would've let them kill me. Dad knew he could trust me."

"He couldn't trust them, though. One of the agents could've gained the advantage. You were outnumbered. They could have attacked and killed you, but he still sent you."

"He did because it's obvious that I'm skilled in ways that no one else is."

"If you actually died, what do you think he would have done? He wouldn't even have taken time off to grieve. He would have kept looking for new ways to invade."

Azula glared at him hatefully. "The only reason you wanted to talk was so that you could insult him," she accused.

"It's not about him," Zuko insisted. "This is about you—us. We don't know if we've got a lot of years ahead of us or if one of the royals is about to barge in here and kill us. We don't know anything about the future, but if we can make it back, I want things to change. I don't want you to rot away in a cell. Honestly, I don't want you roaming the Fire Nation right now either since I don't trust you yet, but I want that to be something that you could do eventually."

This time, it was that final word which Azula latched onto. "I wouldn't be trapped in the palace indefinitely?"

"No, as long as I was sure you wouldn't hurt yourself or anyone else." Zuko sighed, calming down. "I don't expect us to ever become a 'normal' set of siblings. I'm not asking for that. I'm asking for you to be willing to start fresh. Right now, we need each other. When we get back home, things can change. You do know a lot about our military. You wouldn't have to wander around the cities aimlessly. There are positions you could fill."

"So, you'd use my skills for your own gain?"

"No, that's what our father did. I'd give you the chance to help me make the Fire Nation a place we can be proud of."

"That sounds too easy."

"None of this seems easy to me."

Azula crossed her arms, thinking over what he was saying. "I'd still be a princess? I wouldn't be turned into some slave?"

"You'd still be a princess."

"But I'd have to serve you."

"You'd have to work with me."

"How nice for you."

"I'm not splitting this evenly, Azula. This offer is the best it's going to get," Zuko said, sounding serious. "Work with us to escape and I'll work with you, then we can see how you can stay active in the nation's development."

"All that in return for becoming docile?" she asked sarcastically.

"In return for not trying to kill or maim anyone."

"How would I prove I wouldn't do that?"

"I guess you'd have to earn my trust."

"And how would I know that you'd keep your word?"

Zuko was momentarily quiet, then extended his hand. "I'd have to earn yours too."

Azula's eyes narrowed skeptically at him. Maybe her brother was right. Maybe everyone was and she was losing her sanity. There was only one explanation Azula could think of for why she shook Zuko's hand: Madness.