Author's note : Here comes the conclusion of our cliffhanger, I hope you all like it and don't hesitate to give me your opinions by leaving a review, positive or negative ^^

Azula had been having a weird day, said weirdness began the very moment she was awoken by her dum-dum giving permission to some idiot knocking at her bedchamber door. She had not been surprised at how unusually welcome Zuzu's presence had been, not after what they went through during the night, even if she pointedly avoided remembering any of it save for the very comforting feeling that came to her whenever she thought about it.

What had surprised her was her own reaction, she was just too comfortable, Zuko's heartbeat was just too soothing to listen to, even as it's rhythms had been disturbed by the unwanted intruder, which was a crime unto itself according to her morning self. The princess knew this intruder would bring an end to her comfort and so she did the only thing she could think of, she opened an eye and try to light what she vaguely recognized as a guard on fire with her mind.

After all, if that undesired spontaneously combusted, Zuzu would have no choice but to stay where he was and she would get to feel whatever this strange emotion was a bit longer. Sadly her plan had failed and the guard had even twisted the knife by addressing her directly, making Zuko notice she was awake, ruining the moment completely since he'd never stay now.

And that was where the weirdest part happened, just as she was about to switch to a more direct means to light this traitorous guard who had dared to go against her wishes, on fire, Zuzu dared to mess with her hair leaving her with her face covered in hair, and instead of being rightfully angry, she could not stop herself from being amused, a giggle even managed to escape her lips.

That had been just enough to let the traitor escape, but Azula could not bring herself to care as she pushed her brother off the bed. Amused or not, a challenge could not go unanswered, and seeing as how her groggy brother did not seem to want to continue their spat as he tried to get up, you could say that her response to his assault on her person had been adequate enough to count as her victory. The last thing she needed was Zuko questioning the hierarchy in the palace right as she was finally finding a use for him.

Once out of bed, they fell back on their usual bickering with a side dish of more weirdness when Zuko not only pulled off one of his very rare wins, but also because she did not feel like any of it was an attack like normal. She knew that she was partly to blame, as she had chosen a very foolish fight without realizing that she did, in fact 'purr'. Azula just could not muster her usual defensiveness and spite that such a tiff usually involved, and instead found herself just appreciating the feeling of Zuzu brushing her hair. Even the embarrassment she felt hearing herself purr was balanced by seeing what she was sure Zuko thought was a smug smile on his face that she found ...amusing.

That was probably why she could not stop herself from smiling as he left her room, the lingering feeling of him holding her hand as he lulled her to sleep still present as she did so.

The next bout of weirdness happened while they were waiting on their father's training after his meeting, not only were the servants unusually noisy and annoying, but Zuzu was also strangely playful so it kind of canceled itself out ...or so she felt at the time. Her own 'weirdness' as they waited might have also been partly to blame. Her and Zuko had always kept some distance between tehm when physical contact was not required, a clear consequence of their old lessons on security and being careful of being too close in case of potential assassins as members of the royal family, and a clear acknowledgement of their opposition to each other in Azula's mind, after all, only one of them could be the favorite.

However today, she could not bring herself to care, being close to Zuko was making her feel ...something, she didn't know what or why, but she knew she wanted more, and between being careful and getting what she wanted, Azula easily made her choice and clung to Zuko all day ...as was her right anyway.

Sometimes she thought that her brother might have copied her new manipulation technique and was using it on her, but it was really hard to justify as A: He was Zuzu and B: His face still lit up as he jumped for attention like a well trained Eel-Hound whenever she used it. Surely if he was aware of it enough to turn it against her, he would know enough to ignore it.

And then came time for their training to start, and if Azula had to be honest, she would admit that she was not all that happy about it despite her usual disposition toward training. She had been kind of freaked out to see their Father ripping off a piece of paper from one of the training dummies when they arrived, she thought it might have been Zuko's picture for a second but it was silly, she just meant it as a joke to tease her brother a bit, their Father could not really be doing that ...could he?

Thankfully, that incident notwithstanding, training with Zuko had turned out to be a lot more fun than she remembered, and while she could not quite get the same feeling as that morning, the feeling of stealing each other's fire was very satisfying in its own way.

Sadly, it had to come to an end when their father declared it was time to demonstrate their progress and judging by the look on Zuko's face, he was perfectly aware of what that meant. Thankfully, Father did not seem to hold that look against him, in fact, Father was particularly expressionless today, so maybe he would be fine.

At first she had hope after seeing his first few moves, watching Zuko manage such difficult maneuvers after seeing him fail and stumble so many times in the past ...on those occasions when she could be bothered to check on the flailing he called fire bending, it really had an hypnotic quality to it that fascinated Azula for a moment.

But then he looked at them, Agni knows why, and while he only seemed to get fired up while looking at her, when his eyes went to Father, something happened. She did not know what, but she could already tell that he was doomed as usual. She was right, even as if she would rather have been wrong for a change, that just drove her Father's point home that nothing would go her way if she did not make it go her way, maybe that was even the whole point of bringing Zuko here today.

One mistake created two other mistakes which created four and she could see him falling before his feet had even left the ground.

That brought her back to the present with Azula left in a position that she never thought could even exist. For the first time in her life, Zuko's failure would not be her success, it would not bring her any benefit, and if anything ...it would be more of a hindrance.

If Zuko failed now, especially in such a fashion, she could say good bye to their fun training sessions and would have to deal with weeks, if not months, of him moping around, not to mention Father drastically reducing the time she would be allowed to 'waste' with her brother. Azula really could not see an upside to this particular failure, which really felt wrong to her. Everything she knew was telling her that everything would be fine if Zuko just failed now and kept on failing. Every instinct she had told her to just smile as he fell, everything told her Zuko had to fail.

Everything except for her head, and something in chest sending her a message that she could not really decipher, no matter how she looked at it, her head always came to the same conclusion: her instincts were wrong, and Zuko failing right now was in direct opposition to getting what she wanted.

It was in moments like this that Azula was thankful for her Father's lessons, without them, she might have been weak like Mother and Zuko and would have probably listened to her dumb feelings instead of thinking about it logically. Azula knew exactly what she needed to do to get her way, what Zuko had to do to avoid failing.

Sure, it was an ungraceful move devoid of any dignity to counter a situation a prince should never be in to begin with but it was an objectively good fire bending move and its demonstration would only put Zuko's judgment and dignity as a prince into question, two things Father had long since given up on when it came to her brother and were unimportant as he was judged on his fire bending today.

Azula wanted something and since the world was not going to go her way if she did nothing, she made her decision and spoke...

(X)

"I can't believe all this was just a set up to show off your stupid move, Dum-dum." Azula's voice echoed in Zuko's ears.

He immediately knew exactly what his Lala was talking about, he had improvised that move after one of their old tutors had started focusing his training on balance, leading to a lot of failed exercises that had ended with him falling on his back, and further falls courtesy of Lala who had found the situation hilarious, and had taken every opportunity to 'assist' with his training.

Which had given Zuko a lot of experience when it came to avoiding falls and getting up in combat situations, to the point that he had even developed his own move in which he could simultaneously attack as he got to his feet, he was very proud of it ...until he actually showed it off and got a lecture about how it was an inappropriate move for a prince as he should never allow himself to fall in battle, despite said move having easily knocked down the tutor who had lectured him.

Inappropriate or not, it was currently his only chance of getting out of this situation with any hope of Father ever training him again, so he had to use it. In one moment, his back had touched the ground, with the next, he was using the momentum of the fall to roll a bit and support himself on his hands before swinging his legs in a circle, with his flames following his movements all the while and using the momentum to rise back with a flaming knee kick.

It was done, he had escaped the worst thanks to his adorable sister, even if he was a bit wobbly on his legs, he just needed a decent finale, a few more traditional katas that he could do easily were more than enough. Sure, he had to switch a few of the usual moves since his starting position would make doing any of them in the proper order very hard, and getting them in order was not really a part of a demonstration of skill anyway. It was not as if he was being tested on any particular form.

Now all that was left was bowing in his father's direction and to wait for his verdict. Said verdict came much quicker than Zuko expected.

"You may rise, Zuko." Ozai spoke quickly, his tone was surprisingly indifferent. "Azula, go and take your position, it is your turn."

As they exchanged positions, Zuko gave Azula a quick smile before settling down near to where she had just been, next to their Father. He was actually grateful that he was a bit too physically and emotionally exhausted to really pay attention to what he was sure was Azula blowing his demonstration out of the water.

While he felt his performance had gone on for hours, Azula's turn was finished in a matter of minutes but even then he could not resist admiring his sister's flames as she snuffed them out to bow toward their father as he had done a few moments prior.

"You may rise, Azula." Ozai repeated his previous instructions, using just as indifferent a tone as before while Azula rose and came to stand next to Zuko. "Both of your demonstrations were satisfactory, but I can already tell that your last tutor definitely deserved his relocation. As for you Azula, I will have a word with Li and Lo for a more permanent arrangement, since those hours spent with the more traditional tutors clearly could have been replaced with self study, and your brother might benefit from sharing a few of their lessons..."

Zuko held his breath, as did Azula if he heard correctly as he listened to his Father. He had never trained with Li and Lo before, he did not even know why, it was not as if the twins ever were particularly disdainful toward him or had more respect for his sister, those two pretty much always treated him and Azula the equally.

It may have been a good sign, but it did not mean that he was saved. He knew that the only thing that would truly determinate if his performance had been up to par or not: If he would be allowed to participate in the next training session led by their Father. He had barely finished that thought when his father finally gave them the answer he was waiting for.

"You may go do your cool down exercises now, and I will have you both informed the next time that I am ready to personally supervise your training." The finality in Ozai's tone which normally set Zuko off on a bout of depression had felt as though the world had been lifted from his shoulders! Already turning to leave, their father left them with one last command. "The rest of the day is yours to do as you please."

''Thank you, Father." Zuko and Azula spoke in unison, giving a quick bow before running off toward the training ground that was dedicated to post training cool down exercises, it was even near the training ground's bathing facilities.

As soon as they were out of sight, Zuko could not contain himself anymore and grabbed his sister in a tight hug, he had expected her to go rigid or light his clothes on fire but instead, she immediately melted into it and he could feel her smile against him, as if she had been expecting it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Zuko excitedly exclaimed, not letting go of his sister. "I don't know how or why you did it but thanks."

"Obviously, you have no idea, that's why I'm me and you're just Zuzu." Lala's smug response was expected, and for once, Zuko would admit it was deserved. "But I suppose you deserve some credit too, who knew such a specific and foolish move could actually save you?"

'We both know I would have never thought of it if not for you' continued Zuko, for once noticing she was fishing for compliment and more than happy to indulge her today 'I would have just hit the ground like a clumsy Earthbender and sulked in a corner'

"Sure, you needed my directions but who doesn't really?" countered Azula, clearly enjoying this even if Zuko didn't really get the point 'You're still the one who actually did it after all'

"I ...I honestly would have probably given up then if it wasn't for you." Zuko sputtered, having run out of compliments and deciding he could bear with a bit of embarrassment after such a good day "When I was still doing well, I looked at you and Father and, well, I kind of felt like it was pointless to even try. But then I saw how you were looking at me fire bending and you looked so happy, I told myself it was worth continuing if even just for that. I still messed it up at the end anyway and you helped me out again so...Yeah, I do think you deserve all the credit this time, Lala."

By the time Zuko had finished speaking, he could feel himself losing to a very embarrassed blush, and from the little he could see of his sister's face, she was beet red. At least he thought it was beet red because the next thing he knew, Azula had pushed him and he was on the ground.

"That is very nice of you to say, Dum-Dum, but you stink so let's cool down..." Azula spoke quickly, wrinkling her nose in mock disgust. "And put your big realization that I'm always right on hold until we're finished with that and more importantly, cleaned up."

She did not even wait for him to get to his feet before starting to walk and Zuko still wondered if he had hallucinated her blush if it was not for the fact that he could clearly see her reddened ears from where he was sitting.

"Agni, Lala..." Zuko whined out loud as he got to his feet. "That's the third time today I ended up on the ground!"

The only response he recieved was a small giggle, not that he was complaining, three giggles in a row was truly noteworthy, he was really on a roll today. Or maybe it was just a good day.

(X)

Ozai was having a strange day, first he get news of his brother and rather than some rebellion in his name or a challenge to an Agni Kai, it was about some kind of quest to bring back Lu Ten or something like that. Having definite proof that his brother had lost his mind after the death of his son lifted a weight Ozai had not even known existed.

Then he called his children to a meeting and not only did the guard come back after visiting only one bedchamber, but both of them showed up at the same time, and Azula did not seem to be paying any attention, while every guard in the room looked at Zuko with admiration of all things. Ozai had no idea what any of it implied, nor did he care, but it definitely counted as 'strange'.

Finally, his overly sentimental and weak son, started a very complex kata only to fail it apparently on purpose, just to demonstrate a strange, but definitely lethal move, and Azula had apparently either seen through it faster than Ozai, or perhaps ordered Zuko to demonstrate said move...he was not certain if Azula was really calling out Zuko or just disguising her command, both of which had implications he did not really like.

It was a strange day, yes, and yet clearly, this strange news was a net positive. If Zuko had a killing instinct, or at least was making moves without considering their lethality and effect then, that was even better. If Iroh had really turned into a loon, it was a boon, and if Azula either had her brother well trained enough to give him commands that he can respond to in seconds, or was capable of seeing through things even more clearly than Ozai himself, all the better again.

One less threat to worry about, a tool even better than he had thought, and a tool he had discarded being discovered to actually have a use. Truly, the strange was on his side lately.

Zuko might even turn out to be a decent enforcer one day, going by what he saw today. Ozai had long dismissed Piandao's praise about his son's stealth and skill with swords, hiding in the shadows and wielding weapons was below what was expected of a crown prince of the fire nation after all, so all it amounted to was Zuko being good at something useless yet again.

But now that he had given up on his son as a prince, and Zuko had seemingly started deferring to Azula, his preferred heir, that very same embarrassment could make him an extremely useful enforcer of the firelord's will, especially if Zuko had the killer instinct his technique suggested.

Unforeseen, Unforgiving, and Deadly, Ozai truly liked the idea of giving birth to such an enforcer.

He also had confirmed that whatever his children were doing did not seem to weaken Azula, or make her any less useful or loyal, and even made Zuko worth something. He was still not exactly certain which one led the other, but Azula seemed to be in charge, even if Zuko showing off was indeed his own initiative and not an order.

The only problem now would be Li and Lo, convincing them to take a more definitive role as Azula's advisors in fire bending would certainly take some effort, but that was not really the problem. The two non-benders loved their peace and quiet, two things the capital was definitely not, but the palace was a pretty quiet place now that he cleaned out the riffraff.

No, the only problem would be to let Zuko attend their lessons as a test, for some reason his former wife had always been against them training Zuko, but he never understood her problem. On the other hand, for all their talents and experience as fire bending instructors, made all the more impressive by their own non-bender status, they had weird ideas and beliefs about pairs and siblings when it related to firebending. No doubt their beliefs were owed to their status as twins. He had no doubt they would even make Zuko a worthwhile firebender, but they would also make his son and daughter dependent on each other ...in battle at the very least.

Needless to say, it was nothing but folly in Ozai's mind, his son and daughter were better off as they were, as useless as Zuko currently is, rather than being trained with such dependence upon each other, that was the worst weakness he could imagine.

Thus far, he had managed to get the best of both worlds, since he had all but discarded anything beyond the traditional tutors for Zuko and simply dismissed Li and Lo's demands to train his son as unnecessary, but now... Ozai was starting to feel that he was not using Zuko to the best of his ability, and the best way to confirm that would be to let Li and Lo have their way with him while having a way to pull Zuko back if he proved unworthy again, or if he noticed Li and Lo's nonsense seeping in too deeply and weakening his children without also losing Li and Lo's training for Azula.

A little voice told him that he was the firelord, and thus it did not matter, worst case scenario, he could throw Zuko back to mediocrity, and simply order the twins to cease their nonsense and train Azula correctly. While his years as a scheming prince told him it was folly, he would just be alienating two very revered figures of his father's reign while tasking them with molding his favored child. ...He found himself agreeing with the voice.

With his mind made up, Ozai decided Zuko would simply join them for a few lessons, and if he saw no adverse effects on Azula's capacity and Zuko does not disappoint him again, he will simply let Li and Lo do as they wish ...and frankly if Azula was foolish enough to fall for their drivel, Ozai did not need her either, she could easily find herself in the same pile of mediocrity as her brother.

(X)

Iroh was a changed man, at least according to most of those who heard the news about his son and travel to the spirit world. Well, if you actually asked any of them, they would use the word 'broken' instead of changed, but Iroh would not begrudge them for that. He had indeed been broken for a long time, but he was finally started piecing himself back together.

Yes, being broken was behind him, far behind him, and it was now the time to look forward. He had more than enough introspective discussions with that spirit under a giant tree stump. The spirit was a real gentleman and a good host, no doubt about that, but was sadly obsessed with the past, useful for reflection, but it become kind of unhealthy once the time came to move forward.

But Iroh guessed that was the point, each of the spirits he had met were the perfect companions for the particular phase he had met them in, but ultimately needed to be left in the past.

Now, Iroh was finally ready progress and look forward, which ironically enough, will led him back to a place he left a long time ago: The palace of the fire nation, the very same place he had been born, and the same place his own son, Lu Ten, took his first breath.

Iroh was marching home.