Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Wait, what do you mean that you don't think Azula is not "really evil?"

"Exactly what I just said. Look, Azula may be a lot of things but I don't think she's a monster."

"Not a monster....Are you serious?! That psychopath tracked us down relentlessly, attacked us, and nearly permanently killed Aang! I'm not sure why you, of all people, are saying she's not a monster."

"Because she's not! I know what she's done, but I don't know, there was something different about her the last time we faced off. It was like when we defeated her, she stopped being Azula the psychopath, and instead turned into Azula: the scared little girl."

Yue couldn't help but overhear the conversation between Sokka and Katara and grew interested. "Azula." The name passed from the moon's lips and felt sharp on her tongue. Azula, princess of the Fire Nation. Zuko's younger sister, although most would consider her the more powerful of the pair. Temporary slayer of the Avatar and conqueror of Ba Sing Se. All titles Yue had come to associate Azula with. But this was the first time she had ever heard someone call Azula a "scared little girl."

Intrigued by this conversation, the moon decided to listen a little closer.

"Okay, let's just say Azula is no longer dangerous-"

"Hey! I never said she wasn't dangerous, I just said she wasn't a monster. Look, I know it's a long shot but maybe what Azula needs right now is help. Real, genuine help. Not to be locked up forever."

"Okay, even if that were true, there's nothing we can do to help her. She's locked up tight in the Conformatorium."

"But if we just talk to Zuko-"

"You and I both know that's not going to work...."

The conversation flowed on but at that point, Yue had stopped listening.

Katara, actually trying to help Azula, of all people? Why would she want to do that? Pity, genuine concern, her morals?

"There has to be something she saw in Azula that made her feel like Azula needed help....Maybe I should try and find out what that was?" Yue asked herself. There was something curious about what was going on, a girl trying to help the woman who nearly killed her and her friends multiple times. And never let it be said that Yue wasn't a curious spirit....

"Maybe it's time Azula finally had a visitor." And with that sentence, the moon was off.

Chapter Text

"Alright patients, it's time for roll call. Let's start off with you, Patient 0193. Are you present?" 

"..."

*sigh* "I said: patient 0193, are you present?" 

"..." 

"Oh Agni, not this again....Look, Azula , if you don't come out here right now, I will come in there and-" 

"Now, now, Hiro, don't get that tight jumpsuit of yours in a bunch. I'm coming out." A figure slowly stepped out of the shadows to reveal the princess of the Fire Nation, the girl who would be Fire Lord. But you couldn't tell that from looking at her. Her hands, in shackles, were dry and cracked, close to bleeding. The same could be said for her lips, the dead skin clinging on to them. Her normally beautiful jet-black hair was now dry and in clumps, and some portions of it had been clearly shaved off. She held herself in a formal posture, but her eyes revealed how tired she really was. 

"About damn time. Let's go!" Hiro roughly grabbed Azula by the arm and led her deeper into the asylum. 

And up above them, the moon was watching with narrowed eyes. 

Some time later

Azula was sitting down in the cafeteria of the Conformatorium, seemingly paying no mind to the commotion happening around her.

Some patients were acting rowdy, slapping and hitting each other. Other patients were screaming, sometimes for their mothers, sometimes for other names. Finally, there were patients that were still and quiet, but they were…a little too quiet. These were the ones being spoon fed their food by the staff. 

Azula noticed them all and found the majority of them unworthy of what she had in mind. All except for one. 'He looks strong enough. Simple minded enough to follow my orders as well. Time to put the plan into motion.' 

Azula stood up and started walking towards the cafeteria exit. Hiro noticed her walking around out of the corner of his eye and shouted to her "Hey, what are you doing Patient 0193! Sit back down!" 

"I have to go to the bathroom. What, do you want me to pee on myself and have the Warden make you clean it up?" 

"Crazy witch. Fine! Let's go 0193." 

As Azula and the guard walked away, she locked eyes with a woman who gave her a wink. The woman started whispering to the man Azula was looking at earlier. 

'Just stick to the plan, Azula. Just stick to the plan.' 

Later on, all the patients were lined up in a neat row to exit the cafeteria. All was surprisingly calm, until one man, the same man who Azula singled out earlier, "accidently" bumped into the woman right in front of him.  The bowl of soup she was holding in her hands, for her sick cellmate, tipped forward menacingly until she managed to steady it. 

"Hey, watch where you're going!" The woman yelled. 

"It was an accident, relax!" The man snapped back. 

"Well you should still watch where you're going, asshole!" 

"Hey, watch your mouth, bitch! 

"Who are you calling a bitch?!" 

The man and the woman started yelling and threatening each other. Eventually the argument got physical, and the first thing the man did was knock the bowl of soup right out of the woman's hands. 

The pot of soup was up, up in the air and soaring across a dozen heads, until finally making its way down. Towards Azula. In a split second, Azula grabbed the woman right behind her and used her as a human shield. The soup landed right in the woman's eyes. She started screaming and her whole body was flailing around like a dying fish on land.

At that point, Azula let her go and the woman immediately fell to the ground clutching her blood ridden face. The guards and staff immediately rushed forward to contain the chaos. Azula, and the man and woman still arguing, were contained. The woman on the ground, now limp and silent, was now being tended to. 

Throughout all this commotion, no one noticed a patient leave the cafeteria with something in her hands.  

Moments Later

Azula and the two patients that started the fight were lined up,  facing the Warden. "Do you three have any idea how much trouble you are in?" The Warden questioned the three patients standing in front of him, staring down Azula in particular. 

Azula returned his stare with an unimpressed look and replied, "I think I have a pretty good idea, considering the fact that we're still here instead of going straight to solitary. What's going to happen to us now? One month instead of two weeks in solitary, less portions at meal time, more turns at the paddle, and I suppose you could even- 

"Enough Azula! You know we don't do things like that here."

"Keep telling yourself that Warden. Maybe one day you'll actually believe it." Azula narrowed her eyes. 

"Hmph. And maybe one day you'll learn that you don't know everything Azula. You think I'm bad now? Please, I could be a hundred times worse. I could place you in the freezer like they do at the Boiling Rock. I could allow some of my more, let's call them "homesick" guards night time visits with each of you like they do at the Capitol Prison. You would do well to remember that your life is in my hands, Azula, and I control it as I see fit. And furthermore-" 

"Warden!" The man in question was cut off as a guard entered the cafeteria shouting. Confined in shackles, was the patient who escaped earlier.  

"I found this one writing up and down the walls with soup. " 

"Great, like we need another invalid in here." He murmured under his breath but Azula was close enough to hear it. "Alright fine, line her up with the others.” 

As the guard brought the woman across the cafeteria to line up with the others, she caught eyes with Azula, and winked at her. Azula looked away and started smirking. 

"What’s with that smug look on your face? What's so damn funny?!" Hiro barked at Azula

"Oh nothing, Hiro. I'm just debating. Debating on whether I should kill you now or leave you alive to have you tortured later." Azula smiled. 

The Warden gaped at Azula’s declaration and Hiro gulped but tried to save face by saying "That's a funny idea patient 0193 but you're never going to get that chance. You're going to be in here for the rest of your miserable life." 

"Well, we'll just have to see. In fact, I think we'll figure it out in about…3, 2, 1." Azula’s voice dropped into a guttural tone. 

And then all the lights turned off.

Chapter Text

“Hello Azula. It’s Doctor Phineas, can you hear me?” The doctor peered into the window of Azula’s cell but found only darkness and complete silence

“I’m going to turn on the light, okay? Is that alright with you, Azula?” Again, the doctor heard nothing from his ‘patient.’ He sighed and flipped the breaker switch right next to the cell door. 

The lights switched on and from there, the doctor could now see a woman huddling in the corner of the room. Her back was to the cell door and it looked like she was fidgeting with her hands. 

“Azula, I’m coming in, alright?” Without waiting for a reply this time, the doctor swung open the door and stepped inside. A guard accompanied the doctor, and waited in the doorway of the cell. 

“Hello Azula. How are we doing today?”

“....” She did not speak or turn to face him. She simply kept staring at the wall and messing with her hands. 

“Why don’t you stop staring at the wall and turn to face me? It would make this session go by a little easier than the last session.” 

“....” 

*sigh* “Listen Azula. You’re going to have to give me something to work with here. I’m running out of excuses to tell the Warden. He wants to transfer you to the Boiling Rock, and he’s half-way through to convincing your brother to do just that. Now you know and I know that you’ll be eaten alive if you end up there. The inmates don’t have any love for the crown that imprisoned them, even if you’re not the one who slapped the cuffs on. 

I’m doing everything in my power to stop him, but there’s only so much I can do on my own. That’s why I need you to help me out during our sessions here. I need you to look at me, talk to me, hell, even scream at me if you want to. Anything other than this…this silence you’ve taken to, because right now, the Warden and your brother are taking your silence as an act of defiance. They think you’re plotting your next escape and this silent act is just your way of throwing us off your tail. But I….

I know better. I know what happened during your escape. I know that it's affecting you more than you would like to admit. That’s why you’re so silent now, you don’t know what to do with yourself after what happened and–”  

“You know what ‘happened’ during my escape? What is that supposed to mean?” Azula finally spoke. The doctor looked up in surprise and watched as she turned around to face him. His look turned to one of concern as he caught a full glimpse of her. She had a black eye on the right side of her face, and on the other side, a little cut right above her eyebrow. She also had a particularly nasty cut in the middle of her chin. Her left arm was littered with bruises, although they seemed to be healing. She looked beyond tired, but still had enough energy to stare at the doctor with a suspicious look. 

“Well? I’m waiting for an answer, Doctor.” She said, emphasizing on the ‘tor’ part. 

“Azula, I’m fairly certain that you know better than me what happened during your attempted escape. After all, you were there and I was not.” Azula gave the doctor an unimpressed look and moved to face the wall again.

“Wait! I guess for convenience’s sake, we can rehash what happened. Starting from when the lights turned out."

2 weeks ago

As soon as the lights went out, all hell broke loose. "G-guards, block off the exits! Don't let anyone leave this cafeteria!" The Warden shouted. "How can we block off the exits if we can't even see?!" Hiro shouted back. Somewhere in the cafeteria, a loud scream could be heard. Suddenly, the lights kicked back on and the Warden heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Emergency generator, what a godsend." His relief didn't last too long though. Azula and the two other patients assisting her were long gone, and only one confused patient remained. 

Elsewhere

"Damn it! I expected the lights to be out a little while longer." The two patients and Azula were running around the asylum, going past rows and rows of cells and private treatment rooms. The person who spoke up was the female patient, looking up at the lights in disdain.  

"No matter Anika, this just makes it easier for us to follow the directions you gave us." Azula replied, gesturing to the walls painted with soup. It looked like the ravings of a mad woman at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there was clearly a purpose to it. 

"That may be true but what happens if we run into any guards?" The male patient asked. 

"That, my dear friend, will not be a problem. I've already come up with a solution for that, just follow my lead, Wynne." 

The three of them kept running until Azula came to a complete halt. Anika and Wynne almost tripped over themselves to do the same. 

"Why are we stopping?" Wynne asked, out of breath. 

"There’s a rusty bolt cutter in this supply closet. I saw it last week when I was being sent to the shower by Hiro. All we have to do is get in there and knock out whoever is guarding it.  That should be easy with the three of us. Here, let me just pick the lock….” Azula trailed off, focused on getting the door open.

Finally, after a few moments, the lock clicked and the door was open. "Hey, you can't be in he-" The guard tried to say but was cut off by Anika slamming her cuffs into his head. 

"Wynne, hold him down!" Wynne complied, holding the struggling guard in place. Azula and Anika looked around and soon found the bolt cutters. 

"Here, I'll do you first." Anika offered. Azula held her hands out in agreement and soon enough the cuffs were off. 

"Alright, let me just do you…" Azula used the bolt cutters on Anika and the cuffs fell away. "Let me just do you, Wynne." But as soon as she said that, the bolt cutters fell apart. 

"Ah, shit!" Wynne cursed. 

"Ha, how are you gonna get out of here now?" The guard taunted. Azula gave him a death stare and moved to burn him, but Anika stepped forward and simply kicked him in the head instead, knocking the guard out. 

"No need to waste the energy." Anika said in lieu of an explanation. "C'mon, two out of three isn't bad odds. Let's go." Azula ordered and the other two followed her out the door. 

A few moments later 

“Anika, Wynne, it’s time for us to part ways.” Azula and her two cohorts were at the exit of the prison. The guards stationed there were taken out by the three patients, and now they had finally located their prize. 

“Are you sure that’s the right call, wouldn’t it be more effective if we stayed together?” Wynne asked

"No. For one, we all have different plans and ideas for what we want to do once we get out of here. I'm sure neither one of you wants to follow me into the capitol prison to pick up Fire Lord Ozai. Second of all, I appreciate all the help you've given me but this next mission is one I have to complete, alone. I can't afford to watch anyone else's back along with my father’s." Azula replied. 

"Well if you say so, Azula. It's been an honor serving you." Anika said and stuck her hand out to shake Azula’s. 

"Well, while you guys are shaking hands, I'm getting out of here. Thanks for the opportunity, Princess. I hope things work out for you." Wynne chimed in for where he was cracking open the door. 

"Wynne is right, thank you for helping me break out, but there really is no need for us to shake hands." Azula pulled her hand away and moved closer to the door. Anika looked disappointed but moved closer to the door as well. 

The lock clicked and the door opened to reveal open air and no ground. "What the fuck?!" 

Azula, Anika, and Wynne gaped as they passed a dozen tiny little houses and buildings, all of them looking like miniature playthings from where they were. A bunch of birds fly by, sailing high above the sky, not paying the three any attention. Wynne and Azula stayed gaping at the door, but Anika stepped back and sank to the ground. 

"It's a fucking airship. They put us on an airship, they put us on an airship, they put us on an airship, they put us-" 

"Yes, we get it Anika, they put us on an airship. Let’s try and move on now, please." Azula sneered from where she was in the doorway. She looked at the open sky calmly. 

"Move on? Move onnn!!!??? What the fuck do you mean, move on?! Don't you get it? The plan failed, we are never getting out of here. You're never seeing your father again, I'm never seeing my daughter again, Wynne is never seeing…whoever he wants to see again. We are fucked! We are fuck-" 

"We are not 'fucked.' Use your brain Anika. We have different guards every week, we have different staff members every week. There can't be enough quarters to hold them all. Which means…" Azula trailed off, waiting for an answer. 

Anika just shrugged back at her, looking helpless. 

"It means that they have a way to get off this airship. There has to be a hangar or something somewhere. War balloons, or something, somewhere.” 

“Okay, but how the hell are we supposed to find a hangar? This place is a maze, we were lucky to find this door, much less a whole hangar.” 

“Maybe so, but what else do you have left to lose just by trying? We’re already possibly going to hang for this anyway, we might as well give it all we’ve got. ” Wynne chimed in. 

*sigh* “Fine, I suppose you’re right. Let’s go find that hangar. Where do we start.” Anika got up, looking more determined than before. 

“We ask the usual suspects, of course.” At Anika’s confused look, Azula gestured to a guard who was just waking up. 

A little bit later

“Finally, we found it.” Anika, Azula, and Wynne all breathed a sigh of relief as they finally came upon a door marked “Hangar.” 

“We’re almost home free.” Anika said as if she couldn’t believe it.  

“See, I told you it was worth not giving up!” Wynne couldn’t help but rub it in. 

“Alright guys, stay focused. We still have to find a war balloon and-” 

“And where do you guys think you’re going?” A voice called out from down the hall. The trio froze and then slowly turned out to see the Warden, and a dozen guards behind him. 

“Ah shit.” Anika cursed. Wynne started slowly stepping back. Azula was the only one who stood her ground and told the Warden with a growl, “We’re getting out of here and you can’t stop us.” She then turned to Wynne and ordered “Open the door, me and Anika will hold them off.” 

“Umm, we will?” 

“Nothing left to lose right?” Azula answered Anika’s question with a smirk and then returned to facing the Warden. 

“It doesn’t have to end this way. All you and your friends have to do is give up and surrender and I promise your punishment will not be harsh.” The Warden said with what he thought was a reassuring smile. To the three of them, it just looked condescending. 

“Yes it did have to end this way. It was going to end this way as soon as you forced us into this prison. Take comfort in the fact that you will die now, rather than be alive so you can be tortured later.” Azula got into a combat stance and Anika followed her lead. 

“If that’s the way you want it. Guards, attack!” The Warden shouted and then moved out of the way as his guards started shooting fire at the escapees. 

It was madness. One looking could hardly tell who was firing at who, and where anybody was. Azula and Anika were winning though, managing to hold back the tide of guards, knocking a few down. 

“Guys, it’s open, go through!” Wynne’s voice rang out in the middle of the fight. Everyone paused and Azula took this opportunity to send out a massive wave of fire that knocked near everyone back. She then grabbed Anika and pulled her through the door. 

But when Wynne tried to move through the door as well, a hand shot forward and grabbed him by the back of the neck. The guard who grabbed him then brought down his stick hard on Wynne’s head, knocking him out instantly. 

Inside the hangar 

The two women had a head start as the guards were still recovering from Azula’s fire attack. They spotted two war balloons as they ran. “ You take the one on the left, and I’ll take the one on the right.” Azula yelled over the sound of the guards shouting at them to stop. 

“Okay, good luck!” Anika yelled back and two women split up. 

They each dogged fire and threats alike, until they both managed to get onto their war balloons and cut the lines connecting the balloons to the ship. 

“GET THE HARPOONS! SHOOT THEM DOWN!” The Warden yelled at his underlings. His guards rushed to get the harpoons as they fired at the two escapees. 

As soon as Azula went to defend herself, the wood underneath her gave out and she fell through. “W-what?!” Azula breathed, struggling to free herself. 

“FIRE!” The Warden shouted and at least 7 harpoons fired into the balloon, bringing it down. 

“Warden, she’s too far away from the ship. She’s going to crash!” One guard tried to tell him. 

“Heh, well that’s too bad. I guess we just have to tell the Fire Lord there was nothing to be done to save his sister. One patient got away but at least we got to of them.” The Warden said gleefully. 

Azula struggled and struggled to free herself. “This can’t be happening, I was so close!” Azula wailed to herself. The balloon sank faster and faster. 

But as soon as she thought she was done for, she felt the weight of the balloon shift and when she looked up, Anika was above her, holding her hand out. “Grab on!” She shouted. 

“What?” Azula dumbly let out. “Grab on!” Anika shouted again. 

Hesitating for just a second, unsure if this was even real, Azula eventually took Anika’s hand. Anika pulled and pulled until she eventually got Azula free. She then jumped out of the balloon and used firebending to jet her and Azula forward back to the platform. 

They landed hard and stayed there, too shaken to do anything else.

“W-why did you?” Azula mumbled out while everything was still and no one was moving. 

“Because you’re not a monster Azula, never let anyone tell you otherwise.” Anika replied, out of breath. 

At that sentence, the guards surrounded them and took Anika away. 

Back to the present day

“Well, it looks like you know more than you let on. Did Anika tell you all that?”

“Yes, she did. Before she…died.” Phineas exhaled. Azula allowed herself to look surprised for a moment.  

”Died, w-what do you mean she died? She was alive when I last saw her." 

“Yes, but the other doctors tell me that she still resisted after they pulled you two apart, and one of the guards got too rough with her and accidentally….well, you know.” 

"No, she can’t be dead…." Azula trailed off, her face twisting up in pain. 

"Yes, I know. I'm so sorry for your loss and-"

"Y'know, I don't think you are." Azula let out, her face twisted in a grimace. 

"E-excuse me?" 

"Exactly what I said. Anika was a dangerous criminal that helped me escape and attacked a bunch of guards, many of whom are probably in the infirmary now or worse. Why would you be sorry for my 'loss?’ Don’t pretend you care.”  Azula said bitterly. 

"Oh, and there's the fact that you are blatantly lying to me." She made sure to add in. 

"What, what are you talking about? I’m not lying to you." Phineas insisted, using his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. 

"Funny, I think you are. Actually, wait, I know you are." Azula nodded. 

I'm not…*sigh* Okay, even if I were lying and she was still alive, why would you even care? She was just a pawn in your little game, wasn't she?" Phineas said, rubbing his nose again. 

"Oh, don't get me wrong: she was. But at the same time, pawns are what push the game forward. Without pawns, there would be no suspension. It would just be the kings and queens battling it out until one kills the other. If one of the pawns falls, that just sets the game back, and I can't have that. Oh, and I also like to know when people are lying to me." She shrugged. 

"Oh, and before you ask: You rubbing your nose gives you away." She added in, folding her arms in her lap. 

"I-Okay, you got me. I lied. But the only reason I did so was to test you. To see how much you really cared for Anika. Because you see, I get the sense that you’re not the monster you want everyone else to believe you are. 

“I used a woman as a human shield and she ended up with her eyes burnt out. If that doesn’t make me a monster, then what am I?” 

“A selfish person? A genius who’s willing to do anything to see her plans go through? A very determined little kid?” 

“Huh? And why do you care so much?” 

“Because you just turned 15 years old and instead of going to the beach or seeing plays with your friends, you’re stuck here. Because a grown man wants to see you dead or worse, and your brother is too blinded by his own personal history with you to realize that. Because you were groomed to believe your only value was in defending the throne, not just being a regular ordinary kid. Because I’m a father, and as a father, I don’t think any child, no matter what they’ve done, should live like this.” 

Phineas took a deep breath before continuing. 

“I know it’s going to take a lot of convincing but I really am here to help you Azula. I will do everything in my power to convince you and other people that you are not a monster, and that you deserve better than all this.” He gestured to the padded cell they were in. 

“But I can’t do it alone. My hands are tied here. I have nothing in the way of real support, and no way of convincing your brother to let you out of here. Give me something, Azula, please!” 

Silence permeated throughout the cell. Azula looked at the doctor, stunned, for once in her life speechless. 

‘First Anika and now Phineas? What is wrong with these people? I can’t be that good at manipulating people, can I? Wait, it doesn’t matter what they feel about me as long as they can get me out of here.’ She thought to herself. 

She took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking about something for a second. Phineas waited patiently for her to be done. 

Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion and gestured for him to come forward. He did, hesitantly, and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear “Talk to the Avatar. He’s the only one Zuko will listen to.” 

Phineas’ eyes widened, but after catching Azula’s focused gaze, he nodded. He leaned back and started walking out of the cell. He closed the door behind him and turned off the lights, leaving the princess alone in the dark once again. But this time, she had a glimmer of hope to keep her moving forward.

Chapter Text

Master Katara and Avatar Aang entered the throne room of the Fire Lord, ready to argue their case.

Instead of the giant wall of fire with a throne at the center, there was instead a round table. The table was decorated with the marks of all the four nations.  There was a small fire peeking out from a hole in the center of the table, but it wasn't overwhelming. Instead, it was a calm slow fire, with the intent to warm rather than burn. 

"I have to say, I prefer this over the giant wall of fire." Aang said as soon as he walked into the room. 

"Yeah, it's like everyone is welcome, instead of just one person having a voice over everyone." Katara couldn't help but agree. 

"Yeah, I figured that if I wanted to do better than Ozai, I would have to start making some changes. This is just one of the many things I'm doing differently. I’m glad you like it.” Fire Lord Zuko gave a soft smile to his friends, one that they each returned. It really had been too long since they had last seen each other. 

“Well, what brings you guys down to visit? Or is this not a visit, is something wrong?” Zuko asked, straightening up in his chair. 

Aang and Katara both took a seat and turned to look at each other, as if asking the other one to go first. This went on for a minute, until Zuko lost his patience and said “Guys, if this isn’t an emergency, I really do have a nation to run. If we could hurry this up and have someone speak.”

“Uh right. Well, I suppose I should first start off by telling you that I’ve been talking to Azula’s doctor at the Conformatorium, Doctor Phineas." 

"Doctor Phineas…yes, I remember him. But why would he be talking to you instead of me?  

"Well for one, according to him, he can't talk to you. Everytime he tries, the Fire Sages find some way to stop him. For two, given what he wants to tell you, he doubts you would listen." Aang responded. 

“What do you mean by that?” Zuko asked somewhat abrasively. 

“He means that he doubts you would even consider this option given you and Azula’s…history. He wants to release Azula from the Conformatorium.” 

“He wants to do what?!” Zuko shot up out of his chair and stared at Aang and Katara like they were crazy. Katara returned his glare with something fierce, while Aang looked at him with more understanding. 

“Zuko, I get why you’re upset but at the very least, hear us out.” Aang pleaded

“I! Fine, let’s hear what you have to say.”

“Alright, according to what Doctor Phineas said, Azula is not doing good in that place. The guards physically and verbally abuse her.. They keep her locked up tight in a dark cell and only turn on the lights when someone comes to visit. The Warden regularly threatens her and says she'll die alone in there. And Doctor Phineas says that’s just the tip of the iceberg.. He says they’re planning to do something really horrible to her, he just doesn’t know what yet. With all that being said, I think the best option would be to take Azula out of the place immediately and figure out some other place to put her.” 

“I agree, I also think the best option would be to conduct an investigation on the Warden, the doctors, and all the other staff members immediately. This can’t be allowed to happen to anybody else.” Katara added in. 

The throne room was dead silent, as Zuko seemed to ponder their words. Finally, after a minute, he spoke. 

“So, Azula finally got to you guys too?” 

“Wait, what?” Aang said, looking surprised. Katara, on the other hand, didn’t. She looked disappointed. 

“Azula has always been a master at turning people over to her side, ever since she was young. And while it disappoints me that she managed to do it to my two best friends, it doesn’t really surprise me.” Zuko said with an edge in his voice. 

 “But Zuko, we’re not being manipulated. Azula really is being abused and we just want to help stop that.” Aang said 

“Exactly what someone being manipulated by Azula would say.” Zuko shot back. 

“Are you kidding me, Zuko? After everything we’ve been through together, you really think we would be getting played so easily? Your sister needs serious help but she’s not getting it in the Conformatorium. In fact, it only seems to be making things worse. Despite that, you don’t even seem to care!” Katara shouted

“Of course I care, but I have seen no proof that she’s being abused here.” 

“So you’re just going to dismiss us out of hand, including the word of the doctor who’s personally working with Azula, AND accuse us of being manipulated?” 

“Okay, so maybe that was wrong, but my point still stands. I can’t just take her out of the Conformatorium without serious evidence that there’s something going on there.” 

“Isn’t the word of Doctor Phineas, the word of the other patients being abused there, which I can provide, and the word of your own sister enough?” Aang questioned. 

“Unfortunately not. This could just all be a part of Azula’s plan to get sent to a place with less security so she can break out and get Ozai. I’m sorry, but my hands are tied.”  

“Zuko, you saw her break down crying the same way I did. Zuko, you know that despite what she’s done, she’s not a monster and she needs real help.” Katara pleaded 

“The exact reason why she should stay in the Conformatorium. So she can get real help.” 

“But she’s not getting real help. The Warden despises her because he knows that he can’t control her. The guards are either indifferent or want revenge on her. The doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with her so they agree that locking her up forever is the best option. And-” Aang began to say before getting cut off. 

“Do you have any proof of this? Because all this sounds like words from the mouth of Azula.”

“Of course I don’t have any proof, the Warden is going to hide these facts, especially from you. And of course Azula feels this way! Anyone would feel the same if they were locked up in a place like the Conformatorium. But you wouldn’t know that given that you haven’t gone to see her once since you put her in there.”

“What are you trying to say, that I don’t care about my own sister?!” 

“No, we know you care. But what we are trying to say is that….is that you expected either both or one of you to die the last time you faced her. And I think because of that, you’re lost on what to do next and you don’t want to face the reality that you’re both alive and need to find some sort of peace.” Katara said solemnly 

“Get out.” 

“What?” Both Aang and Katara asked 

“I said get out!” Zuko screamed. 

Both of Zuko’s friends looked taken back and Katara tried to get closer to Zuko, only for him to turn away from her. 

“Get out.” This time it was said in a whisper. 

Aang and Katara looked at each other, and then looked back at Zuko. He looked back at them with a look carved from steel. 

With heavy hearts, they left without saying a word. 

…

“They’re your friends Zuko, you really should listen to them more.” Zuko's eyes widened, he recognized that voice but no…it couldn't be. 

He turned around and was met with the moon spirit herself, who calmly returned his gaze. 

“Princess Yue? W-what are you doing here?" Were the first words that came out of his mouth, not sure what else to say. 

The moon spirit hummed and drifted closer to Zuko’s throne. “Relax Zuko, this isn’t a visit to tell you someone’s life is in danger or that the Spirit World is angry at you. This is more of a….personal visit. 

Zuko relaxed a fraction but still raised an eyebrow at the phrasing. "A personal visit?" He repeated. 

"Something like that. I wanted to talk to you about your sister, Azula." 

"Azula? What's going on with Azula? She hasn't broken out, has she?" Zuko felt his heart rate rise.

"No, she's safe and sound in the Conformatorium. She hasn’t hurt anyone or broken out or done anything to be worried about." 

“Well, I find that a little hard to believe, Azula is almost always up to something. Like you probably just witnessed, she’s been trying to manipulate her way out of the Conformatorium. Even tried using the Avatar himself and his girlfriend to do it.” 

“Hmm. You say that, but despite his age I doubt the Avatar is so easily manipulated. He’s actually pretty clever and has the wisdom of all his past lives to draw from.”

“I’ll give you that he’s clever but that doesn’t mean he can’t be manipulated. Especially from someone as good at it as Azula is and-” 

“I wasn’t finished. Aang might have talked with Doctor Phineas but Katara didn’t. Her deciding to come here was of her own doing. Like she said before, you both saw Azula’s breakdown and both of you felt sympathy for her. That sympathy stayed with Katara and it brought her here. Azula didn’t have anything to do with it. ” 

“But Aang did.” Zuko shot back. 

“Maybe, but we both know that Katara can never be convinced into doing something she truly does not want to do. Katara would never do something she believes is wrong."

"I'll give you that Katara may not be being manipulated but Aang certainly is. He doesn't know what Azula is capable of and is just going off of the word of a man he barely knows. You can't tell me that doesn't concern you."

"It would if I didn't see for myself what's happening to Azula in there. And Aang does know Azula is capable of. You may not know this, but Azula actually succeeded in killing Aang back in Ba Sing Se.” 

“....What are you talking about?” 

“When Azula struck Aang with lightning, he completely died. It was only because Katara still had the spirit water from the North Pole that Aang was able to come back.” 

“Aang has more reason to hate Azula than anyone. He’s seen and fully experienced what she can be capable of, she made him lose his honor, and made the world lose its hope once again. And yet, despite all that, he doesn’t want revenge or for her to suffer. He wants to repair the damage the war left on her, the damage the war left on everyone. I can say for certain that revenge is not Aang’s intention, nor will it ever be. Can I say the same for you?” 

“.....”

“I have to ask you something. Why exactly did you send Azula to the Conformatorium instead of the Capitol Prison? Surely you must have heard the rumors surrounding that awful place.” 

This made Zuko pause, and he took a moment to answer.

“Sending her to the Conformatorium was a tough decision, but it’s one I had to make. For one, the purpose of keeping her away from the Capitol Prison was to keep her away from Ozai. I know Azula, she would have found some way to contact him, and he would have found some way to use her to do his bidding. Being around Ozai is not good for her mental state, so I had to come up with a way to keep the two of them as far away from each other as possible. 

Second of all, I did hear rumors about the Conformatorium, but they were nothing compared to the rumors surrounding the Capitol Prison. Sending her there would be like sending her to a torture chamber and she would never get better. I had to choose the lesser of two evils. 

Third of all….Azula’s breakdown after me and Katara defeated her showed me that she needed true help. Locking her up forever isn’t going to change anything and it’s not the kind of brother I want to be. I want to end this cycle of abuse Sozin started and I figured the best way to do that is to get Azula psychiatric help.

I know to you and to everyone else, this is me getting revenge on her for all the things she’s done. But believe me, it’s not. I just want….something resembling peace between me and her. On our terms, not Ozai’s.”

“But Zuko, how can it be on both your terms when you’re the only one deciding what the terms should be?

“Well, it’s a little hard to do that when your sister has declared you a traitor. Unless you agree with her assessment?”

“No! Your father scarred you for life and Azula smiled as she watched. At that point, you didn’t owe your family anything. But now that you’re Fire Lord, it’s different and you know that.” 

“I know.” Zuko put his head in hands and sagged. “It’s like Katara said. I expected either me or her, or the both of us to be dead by now. I had prepared for it, really since the day I was born. But the reality of the both of us alive, with the both of us free to choose who we want to be…I wasn’t prepared for that reality. I’m still not, I don’t know what to do with it, or how I should go about fixing things."

Yue looked sadly at him, and spoke. “I can't tell you exactly what you should do to repair what's been broken. I’m an only child, although I suppose that can’t even begin to describe what you and Azula had to go through. I think the first step would be to go to her face to face, and like you said, come to some sort of peace on both your terms. 

Yue seemed to consider something for a moment and then added, “But you can’t visit her in any official capacity. If you do, the Warden and the others will just hide the signs of what’s really happening to Azula.”  

“Meet me at the docks in one hour. I’ll have something for you there, and then, you should know what to do.” Yue paused for a moment, looking Zuko over, from the sagged form to the head still in his hands. With a sad look and a sign, she disappeared in a cloud of mist.

Chapter Text

Zuko felt the night air swirl around his shoulders, which made him suppress a shiver. The Fire Nation is typically sweltering on most days, but due to their close proximity to the sea, a sharp coldness will sneak in now and again. 

Zuko had the misfortune of arriving during the time where the cold was at its most bitter. Luckily for him, he had gotten a bit more used to the cold after being out at sea for three years. 

“Where is she? I’ve been standing out here for twenty minutes, at least. Yue, are you there!?” 

“It's not good to shout.” Zuko jumped at the voice suddenly in his ear. He quickly turned around to see the Moon Spirit hovering above him. 

“Sorry for startling you. I just didn’t think it would be a good idea to draw any attention to ourselves this late at night.” Yue sent an apologetic smile, and lowered herself to the ground. 

“Well yes, and I'm sorry for shouting. I just don’t like the thought of being stood up.” Zuko replied with a terse tone.

“I apologize, I didn’t mean to be late. A waterbender just needed my help, is all. A real mess that situation was, but it's contained now.” 

“I’m glad to hear that, but it does mean we have to speed this up. I have to get back to the Palace soon before someone notices I’m gone.” Zuko said, doing a quick scan of the docks, and finding that they were still alone. 

“Of course. The reason why we’re here is simple; I’ve asked La to bring you something, something from your past. Dip your hand in the water to retrieve it.” 

“La…you mean the Water Spirit?” Zuko’s face was blank, but he couldn’t hide the apprehension in his tone. Yue gently smiled at him in response and put her hand on his shoulder. 

“I promise you, they have no intention of carrying anyone away, not tonight at least. I know this is a little strange, but I need you to trust me on this one.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes at the moon spirit, and she held his gaze steadily.

“...Fine, I’ll retrieve whatever it is La brought.” Zuko kneeled by the pier and slowly lowered his hand into the water. 

Automatically, he felt his hand touch something solid. 

“Good, now pull it out, nice and slow.” Zuko turned around to see Yue looking down at the water in deep concentration. 

He turned back around and released a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. 

He fished the object out of the water and stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Is this really…where did you?” He clutched the mask in his hand like a lifeline, as he kneeled down and stared deep into the black eyes.

“For this mission to work, you can’t be yourself. You need to be someone else, you need to be him one more time.” 

“”The Blue Spirit..”” The two whispered at the same time. 

The Conformatorium

“Hello Azula! It's good to see you looking better and-”

“What happened with the Avatar, Phineas? Did he speak to the Fire Lord yet?” Azula cut off the good doctor to ask.

She did, in fact, look a little better. The cut on her eyebrow had completely faded, and her black eye was healing. The bruises on her arm were almost completely gone. The only thing that looked like it was there to stay, was a cut on her chin.

“I just spoke to Avatar Aang and…things didn’t go as well as we hoped. But don’t worry, I’m not giving up! I got a hold of a Fire Sage that says he can get me a meeting with the Fire Lord. 

Azula smirked as she leaned in forward. “And you genuinely think that you or this Fire Sage will have better luck than the Avatar?”

“I would say that I'm willing to take the risk if it means getting you out of here. Besides, how can he deny the truth when multiple people are telling him that he's wrong?”

Azula let out a sharp, bitter laugh. 

“Ha! Then you clearly never met my brother. When he thinks that he's right, there is very little chance you can convince him otherwise. He also really doesn't run on good logic, he runs almost purely on emotion.”

“But Azula….” 

“Forget it, Phineas. The Avatar is a dead end, I can see now that Zuko’s not letting me out until he can see me with his own eyes. And for that, we need a different plan. If you're still up for helping me, that is?” 

*knock, knock* A sharp pound at the door stopped Phineas from responding. He jumped at the sound, while Azula narrowed her eyes and moved backwards from the door. 

“Doctor Phineas, patient 1093 has another visitor. Would you like to continue your session with 1093 or postpone it for now?”

Doctor Phineas exhaled and looked towards Azula. She narrowed her eyes even further, but nodded twice to show her consent. 

“Let them in, I can pick up this session again after dinner time.” Doctor Phineas called to the guard. 

“Understood, please step back from the door.” 

The doctor complied and went to stand next to Azula. The door creaked as it was opened, which made Phineas wince. 

As the door opened, the good doctor's mouth went open in shock. Azula glanced towards the door and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Hey Princess Personality, surprised to see me?” Toph smirked from the doorway.

Chapter Text

Doctor Phineas stared at Toph like she had grown three heads. Azula’s gaze was much more piercing, and she slowly stood up from where she sat. The silence sweltered around the room, making the guard outside look nervous.

“Geez, Zuko told me that you would be a little tense, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. You can relax, Princess. I’m not here to start trouble.” Toph said to Azula.

“Hmm, Toph Beifong. To what do I owe the pleasure? Azula asked in a curious tone, with her features still carefully blank, but gaze sharp.

“Like I said, you can relax. I’m just here on business and-”

REEEE!

A sudden, shrieking sound of metal grinding cut Toph off. The sound pierced the room, and went on for about a minute, before suddenly stopping.

Doctor Phineas finally stopped staring at Toph to look around the room in confusion.

“What was that noise just now?” He cautiously asked.

“That is what I came here for. The engineers onboard have been having some trouble with the engine lately, so the Warden asked my school to use metalbending to fix the issue.”

“Okay…but that still doesn’t explain why you came to visit Azula?”

“Most of the guards are all busy keeping the patients calm, so I was asked to keep an eye on this one.” Toph said, gesturing to Azula.

“Hmm…interesting. And how exactly did you get aboard this ship?” Azula asked.

“With a hot air balloon, what else?”

"Don't you typically need a firebender to operate a hot air balloon?” Azula smirked at Toph.

“We improvised. Doesn’t matter anyway, because you're not getting close enough to use it to get out of here.” Toph shot back.

“Right…just curious. I thought you were gonna say that you brought the flying bison with you. Well anyways, can we pick this up again tomorrow Dr. Phineas?” Azula said with a wink.

“Uh, yes, of course. I'll let you finish your job here, Miss Beifong.” The doctor walked out of the cell, barely restraining himself from looking back.

Toph and Azula stared at each other for a moment, before Toph sighed and sat down. Azula followed suit.

‘You better do what you need to do fast, Zuko. But I do at least get a chance to ask this…'

“So, do you have any embarrassing childhood stories of Zuko?”

Elsewhere, on the ship

‘This ship is so big, I can barely tell where I'm going!’ Zuko thought to himself as he crawled through the rafters.

'But I still have to make this quick. If I get caught, the Warden will destroy any evidence of how Azula is being treated. I only have one shot at this.’

With that thought in mind, he kept moving.

After a couple more twists and turns, he finally found something that looked a little interesting.

'The Records Room.’ After making sure nobody was nearby, Zuko dropped down into the corridor.

He tried the doorknob but found that it was locked.

“Good thing I brought this.” Zuko took out a bobby pin and got to work. After a few tries, he finally heard:

Click!

Zuko quickly rushed inside and quietly closed the door behind him.

“Okay, where to start? I remember the Warden told me Azula’s patient number was 0193…”

Zuko moved through the rows of file cabinets, opening some of them up in hopes they would have the file.

After a few minutes, Zuko found a file cabinet labeled, ‘special patients.’

“It's worth a shot.” Zuko had to pick the lock on the cabinet too. He found Azula's file sitting right at the top. He leaned up against the cabinet, and started reading.

Patient 0193 is manipulative, powerful, and completely devoid of any conscience. In my opinion, we should throw away any chance at rehabilitation.

She’s cruel and sees herself as completely above everyone else. Nothing good will come from her being here.

Threats and intimidation don't work on her. Physical force hasn't yielded any results either. We need something else to break through to her. Something more extreme.

‘So there has been some abuse going on here. That's pretty good evidence, but what does he mean by something more extreme?’ Zuko thought to himself as he carefully placed the file back.

“Only one way to find out. I need to get into the Warden's Office.” Zuko declared as he headed out of the Record Room.

SCREE!

As soon as Zuko closed the door, he heard a loud, shrieking metal noise!

He covered his ears and held onto the doorknob as the ship swayed a little.

Eventually, the shrieking stopped and the ship steadied. A few seconds later, the intercom system turned on.

“Attention everyone! The metal benders have fixed the ship. Start heading back to your usual stations. Engineers, please escort the metalbenders back to their ship.” The Warden announced over the loud speakers.

Shoot, I have to get back to the balloon!” Zuko cursed as he climbed back into the vents.

‘Damn, I'll have to check out the Warden's office another day.’