Chapter One

She was surrounded. There was no way she could escape.

"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors, all working together. I'm done" Azula raises her hands above her head in a gesture of surrender. "I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

Azula had her back against the wall of a derelict building in an abandoned Earth Kingdom mining village. Avatar Aang, his friends Katara, Sokka and Toph stand posed to defend themselves if she didn't surrender. But in a strange twist of events, they were joined by the scared young man who chased them throughout the world, Zuko, the Prince of the Fire Nation, and his uncle, General Iroh.

Zuko scowled at his sister's remark. There was no way he would work with the Avatar. But he was not about to let his sister, someone who gave him nothing but grief since they were children, capture the Avatar herself and earn even more favor from their father, Fire Lord Ozai. He will not give up the chance to regain his honor! He will not!

In a lapse of judgement, he glances over to the Avatar, wondering what he should do. Should he attack his sister so she cannot have the chance to capture the Avatar? Or should he attack the Avatar, hoping his sister would help him for once? No, he cannot trust her. She tried to capture him and their uncle through lies and deception!

Azula always lies. Azula always lies. Azula always li…

In a flash, Azula shoots a bolt of lightning at Zuko, taking advantage of his distraction and hits him in the left side of his chest. Zuko screams out in pain, his body spinning and falling to the ground.

"ZUKO!" Iroh shouts out in shock. How could he let this happen…?

Starting with Sokka tossing his boomerang, Aang, Katara, Toph and Iroh each launch an attack at Azula with their respective elements. But Azula was too fast. She bends condensed fire to shield herself from her enemies' attacks. As the elements hit at once, an explosion occurs, causing the area to be covered in dust, giving Azula the chance to make her escape.

After the dust settles, the gang realizes that, somehow, the girl who bends blue fire had escaped. Before they could come up with ideas, tired as they are from the chase they endured, they hear the old man who helped them kneeling over the scared man. And he was crying.

Katara sees that Zuko was hit in the chest. Trying to convince herself that the prince deserved this, she was quickly overcome with the drive to help him.

I could never, ever turn my back on people who need me…

"Iroh, I can help him" Katara said before she realized.

Iroh quickly turns toward her with tears in his eyes, recognizing the Water Tribe girl from the North Pole. "Can you?!" he asks in a slight panic. He already lost his son Lu Ten at Ba Sing Sa, he cannot lose his nephew. He just could not…

"Yes, I have healing abilities, so if you…" Katara said in a hasty but compassionate voice.

"Please! Help my nephew!" Iroh said, getting more agitated. He hasn't felt such despair since he lost his son.

Katara kneels next to Zuko, noticing the small amount of smoke rising from his chest. She pulled water out of her pouch and bends it into Zuko's wound, attempting to mend the burned flesh that the firebending girl left. It did not feel like a normal burn, but more like…

"He's been hit by lighting. I can heal him, but it will take some time before he gets better" Katara said as she continues treating Zuko's wound. As much as this man she's treating has caused her pain, maybe if she helps him…

No. He would still try to capture Aang.

Iroh nods his head as he understands. Burns from fire were bad enough, but lighting burns at a much higher temperature. Zuko will have another scar no doubt.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and faces the Avatar. Aang and Sokka glace at each other, wondering what the old man will do. Would he attack? No, he helped them at the North Pole, risking his life and honor to protect the Moon Spirit.

"Thank you for helping my nephew, Avatar" Iroh said as he bowed in respect towards Aang. Aang raises an eyebrow, not sure what to say, but Sokka beats him to the response.

"Yeah consider it a thanks for all the times he tried to kill us" Sokka responded with his trademark sarcasm. Leave it him to say what is on his and everyone's minds, even if it's better not to be said.

"I understand how you must feel about my nephew, but I assure you there is good inside him" Iroh said with a gentle, genuine smile, trying to reassure Team Avatar.

"That sounds great and all, but come see us again when its outside him" Sokka retorted, not quite believing the old general. Yet Sokka had the feeling that Iroh was being genuine. He did help them at the North Pole when the Fire Nation, his nation, could have had dealt a devastating blow to the Water Tribe and the whole world. The old man can be trusted…right?

"How can we be certain you're telling the truth?" Sokka asked the old firebender. As much as Sokka wanted to give Iroh the benefit of the doubt, he was not taking any chances. It was about his nephew the jerkbender they were talking about.

"He's telling the truth. When people lie, there's a change in their heart rate and breathing, which is steady and level in the old man. And honestly I don't see what's your problem with Scarface over there" Toph said. She had talked to the old man earlier that day, and he gave Toph some good tea and even better advice. In turn, Iroh only talked about his nephew, how proud he was of Zuko for how he's changed in the past few months, and his concern over Zuko's wellbeing.

"Our problem with him is that he tried to capture Aang multiple times" Katara said while still healing Zuko. She kept telling herself to stop, but the wound was terrible. She couldn't just leave just yet…

"Even so, the old man is being truthful. And Scarface is unconscious, and when he wakes up he'll be outnumbered" Toph shrugged her shoulders carelessly.

"I assure you, I will talk with my nephew when he wakes up. I will do my best to get him to see things differently" Iroh said cautiously. He was not sure if they will give his nephew a chance.

Aang closed his eyes deep in thought. Yes, Zuko is unconscious, but what will he do when he wakes up? Attack? He did it before, after Zuko 'rescued' Aang from Admiral Zhao. But Aang also said they could be friends if they tried, and since Iroh aided them during the Siege of the North Pole at great personal risk, the least Aang can do was give Zuko a chance.

"We'll make sure he heals properly" Aang finally said. Sokka' jaw fell comically as looked at Aang in shock. Katara heard Aang too, but did not look at him busy as she was. She could not believe her friend either though.

"You can't be serious?!" Sokka yelped, shaking his head in denial.

"I am. They need our help, and we might need theirs" Aang said. With Iroh and Zuko as allies, the Avatar can start learning firebending, as much as he does not want to, given that he accidently burned Katara's hands last year. But she did forgive him, perhaps they can learn to forgive Zuko too. At least, that is what Aang hopes they can, for the sake of the world.

As she rode her mongoose dragon through the forest to regroup with her friends, Azula keeps telling herself that she should be proud to struck down a traitor. Zuko shamed himself, the Royal Family, and above all, the Fire Nation with his actions. He has been doing it for years now!

And yet, why did she feel guilty for it?

He's a traitor! He deserved it!

But he's your brother.

Doesn't matter! He's a disgrace!

But he's still your brother…

Azula grits her teeth and shoots fire aimlessly into the air, startling her mount, but she took little notice because of the frustration towards herself for not being proud, not being happy, not even satisfied in any sense. Instead she feels nothing as she buries the guilt, shame and self-loathing down deep. She is the Princess of the Fire Nation, a prodigy firebender, and now the sole heir to the throne. Father will be proud of her!

But mother won't…

Azula shakes her head to lose these distracting thoughts as she approaches the tank-train as Mai and Ty Lee waited, the former twirling a knife in her hand, the latter practicing her balancing skills. They notice the princess as she rode her mount into the rear carriage. Mai and Ty Lee glace at each other at how their friend Azula seems…off.

"Ladies, report" Azula commanded as she walked towards them.

"We had the Water Tribe boy and girl right where we wanted them" Mai said in her trademark deadpan voice. "But the Avatar's mount got the drop on us and they escaped."

"But you should know Azula, that Water Tribe boy is really cute…" Ty Lee said with a giggle. Azula rolls her eyes while Mai huffed in annoyance.

"Any good news from you Azula?" Mai asked raising any eyebrow in curiosity.

"The Avatar and his cronies had me surrounded with my brother and uncle" Azula said trying to not let her mask crumble. She could not let Mai and Ty Lee know how she felt about what happened.

"How did you get away?" Mai said as she crossed her arms. This is going to be interesting.

"When the Avatar and his friends, along with my uncle, attacked, I used condensed fire to shield myself. The combination of their attacks created an explosion to cover my escape."

Mai furrowed her brow. "What did Zuko do?" While she and Zuko didn't have much of a chance to start a relationship before his banishment, she still was very much interested in him.

Azula looked at Mai, wondering if she should not say anything. But Mai is very observant; she will know if the princess is lying or hiding something. "He couldn't attack because I shot him with lighting."

Ty Lee gasped in shock as she placed her hands in front of her mouth. Mai stares at Azula in anger and shock. "Why did you do that?" Mai asked with steel in her voice.

"Because he is a traitor to our nation. He deserved it" Azula said, trying to convince herself as much as her friends.

"But he's your brother Azula! How could you do such a thing?!" Ty Lee shouted. While she grew up with six sister who overshadowed her in one way or another, she would never dare to hurt one of them in any way.

"Like I said, he is a traitor. Now let's get going. The Avatar surely must have flown halfway across the Earth Kingdom by now" Azula said as she walked towards the tank-train, thinking about getting some sleep.

How could you do such a thing?! The words repeated in Azula's head, but now in her mother's voice instead. Azula gritted her teeth, trying to hold back the guilt.

Later that night, as the princess slept in her private quarters, Mai and Ty Lee sat in the stateroom of the tank-train; Ty Lee stunned by Azula's actions, while Mai was fuming in anger. Ty Lee was the first to break the tense silence. "Are you feeling okay Mai?"

"I'm fine" she lied. She really did not want to think about today, but she could not help it. For all she knew, the boy she liked was dead…

"Your aura is a dark shade of red. Are you... angry at Azula?"

"I don't believe in auras" Mai said in slight annoyance, trying to change the subject.

"But, you are angry, aren't you?"

Mai looked at Ty Lee with a blank stare, but she soon exhaled in resignation. Despite Ty Lee being air-headed at times, she is very observant and in tune with people's emotions.

"I'm not angry Ty Lee."

Ty Lee looks at her in surprise. "How could you not be ang…"

Mai cut her off by grunting "I'm furious."

Ty Lee still looks at her friend in surprise, but now she realizes that Mai, a girl who does not let people see her emotions, confessed to being furious at Azula. Most people, if anyone, would never confess to that kind of feeling toward the princess. Doing so would be extremely dangerous.

"Because she hurt the boy you like…"

"Partially. She hurt her brother terribly. That's the real reason why I'm furious" Mai said as she closed her eyes. How could one sibling do something like that to another? As much as her little brother Tom-Tom could annoy her, Mai would not even dare to think about hurting him.

"Well she has done that before…" Ty Lee said, remembering all the times Azula would scare Zuko with her firebending.

"That was when they were little kids. This is different. It's like Azula doesn't care she hurt her brother grievously" Mai's brow was deeply furrowed.

Ty Lee looks down at the floor with a sad look on her face. "She does care…" she said in a quiet voice, but it wasn't quite enough.

"What?" Mai said as she looked at Ty Lee. Ty Lee hoped her friend would not hear her, but turns out she did.

"When she told us she attacked Zuko… her aura was a mix of red, blue and grey. I think she's angry, sad and feels guilty about it."

Mai huffed in disbelief. "Azula feeling guilty, imagine that."

"She's still human Mai! She still feels like the rest of us."

"Perhaps. But she buries them down deep. No way she'll let those emotions get the better of her."

"If you say so…" Ty Lee said somberly.

Despite they thought the princess was asleep, Azula really could not find it; and she heard every word her friends said.

Despite what they may think, she did have feelings. And she has been feeling exactly what Ty Lee described the moment she bent lighting at Zuko.

Try as she might, Azula could not hold back the guilt and shame for what she did that day. Despite what people think, she does care for Zuzu…

How could I have done this? Why did I do this? she thought to herself over and over again as she wept herself to sleep.