From a life as a Princess to this!

Azula was actually happy when she was finally placed in her cell. The Red Lotus members sure were thorough with the firebenders. They checked her for everything! They made her change out of her clothes, remove all jewelry and hair bands. She felt more like she was being robbed than anything else. When they made sure she didn't have anything highly flammable or explosive on her, they shoved her in a metal cell, barefoot and already severely cold.

This all seemed a bit excessive in her opinion, but it's better they fear firebenders than forget about them. She attempted a simple firebending move. No! That tiny flash was not going to be enough.

She sat down on the cold, metal floor and took a meditating pose. She was never good at meditation, but she did often benefit from taking a minute to flip through her memories. She was happy Zari wasn't in here. She really was, but she had to focus on him if she wanted to make the fire burn stronger. Just thinking about the Fire Nation stopped working a long time ago. Not even the resent she had for her parents worked as well. It was her husband who suggested she should always focus on what she was fighting for at that moment. Her drive.

Zari, of course, came to mind first, but for this occasion she tried to call to mind a memory of Zuko. Before. Before he betrayed her. Before she tried to kill him. Just plain old, scarless, clueless Zuzu.

Then she stood up to try again and managed to create a decent fire stream. But Azula had an advantage none of the guards thought about before locking her in there. Her fire was blue. It burned hotter than any other fire. It could even, as she learned over the years, melt metals. So it was enough for her to point her hand towards the door and watch as the metal dripped down instantly.

Well, that was easy...

After showing a few guards what exactly she thought about their accommodations, she found Izumi and freed her too.

"That was faster than I thought." Izumi carefully stepped out into the hallway next to her aunt.

"Since they obviously brought us to the damned Pole, it will take us long to travel back to our island. We have no time to waste."

Izumi nodded in agreement and started walking forward before Azula pulled her back. She realized the girl had blood coming from a cut on her forehead.

"What happened?" Azula moved Izumi's hair away to take a closer look at the wound.

"Nothing. It's fine." the girl said, "The Red Lotus doesn't like royalty and I'm the Crown Princess. I was pushed into a wall..."

"Well, you can be sure we're not leaving here until the person who did this is screaming in pain."

"No... We came here to get my dad. I can handle it."

Right then, a group of guards came running in their direction and Izumi immediately froze in place. Azula found herself fighting them off by herself, and while that wasn't a problem for her, she couldn't have Izumi just standing there like a statue. And to think she was so talented... All that talent wasted because she refused to use her bending to hurt another person.

Then, as the guards just kept coming, Izumi threw a couple of fireballs at them, but mostly kept to dodging while Azula knocked out the men. Nevertheless, it was working and they were making their way across the hallway, but Azula was inevitably becoming tired. The cold was making sure neither of them were at the top of their game.

Izumi just stood there, safe behind Azula and watched as she begun making mistakes, missing opportunities and missing her targets. The infamous princess was just as good as the stories said, even more so, but not even she could do everything alone. Not even Azula could face an army, but you could be damn sure she'd try.

Izumi would later describe that moment as one of the defining moments in her lifetime. The time she definitely decided to stop holding herself back. Out of the blue, she jumped forward, shoving Azula to the side and shot a lightning bolt at the remaining guards. She couldn't look, so she closed her eyes, but Azula could clearly see Izumi's lightning strike knock out a full hallway of enemies.

The sound was deafening. Azula's seen bigger blasts, but never in these conditions. Not without the sun or warmth.

"That was good. That was very good." Azula helped her niece stand up. Izumi looked up for just a moment before leaning forward to hug the older woman. Despite all her skill in prediction, Azula wasn't expecting it.

"Let us not let emotions steer us away from our mission." Azula said, but Izumi still wasn't letting go of her. After a very audible sigh, Azula returned the hug. That girl was so talented, yet so much like her father.

"Now we look for the Fire Lord." Azula stated.

"Azula?" they heard a voice from one of the cells.

"Did you miss me, Zuzu?" she immediately recognized her brother's voice.

"What are you... What is this?"

"A rescue mission. If I were you I'd get away from the door." she said and waited a few second for him to move before melting another metal door with her blue fire.

Zuko still wasn't convinced until he saw his sister's face through the raging flames. Everyone had thought her dead for years. And now she was here. As if that that wasn't strange enough, she was actually helping him.

It took the Fire Lord a few moments before he realized his daughter was standing there too. He never gave much thought to how similar Izumi looked to Azula, but now when they were both dressed in prison uniforms, with their hair straight and down, he couldn't deny it.

He stepped out of the cell carefully after which Izumi hugged him without a word.

"I'm so glad you're alright." she whispered to her father.

"I am, too, Izumi. But what's happened? Where is your mother?" he looked around hoping to spot Mai waiting somewhere.

"The Red Lotus captured her. They captured the whole Team." Izumi turned to her aunt, "But Azula found us, kids. She gave us a safe place to stay and helped us come up with a plan to free you."

"Azula," he turned to her now, "I really don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything, dum-dum... You didn't think I was going to let a couple of nobodies tear down hundreds of years of Fire Nation culture?" Azula said.

"Well... The Fire Lord thanks you. Where have you been all this time?"

"Here and there." Azula smirked.

"She has a son now, Dad." Izumi interrupted.

"I'm an uncle?" his face lit up.

"We don't have time for this. We have a full prison to liberate and I suspect many, many more guards to take out." Azula turned to check if anyone was coming for them.

"How about Kiyi? Was she captured, Izumi?" Zuko asked.

"I don't think so. She wasn't at the palace when we were attacked. She was with the troops and I think she stayed there." she explained.

"You remember Kiyi? She's our-" Zuko started.

"I know who she is. I'll admit my faculties were a bit impaired at that time, but I do remember everything I did and everywhere I went. And as you can see, I am at the top of my performance now." Azula stopped talking as she saw a new group of guards running towards them.

"Get behind me, Izumi. I'll protect you." Zuko stepped between his daughter and the attackers.

"Or you could let her handle this since you've been in the cold for far longer." Azula pulled him aside allowing Izumi to walk forward and start fighting the guards, one at a time, using all the moves she only used as demonstrations until then. She even used a few lightning strikes. And all this without realizing no one else was helping her. Azula and Zuko just watched as she took down all of the men by herself.

"What is that?" asked Zuko, seeing his daughter take down grown men like they were figurines.

"That, my brother, is your daughter. Uninhibited." Azula put a hand on his shoulder, letting herself admire for just a moment what she's accomplished in just a few days with the girl, "Now let's free the rest of the people."

Zuko wasn't happy about leaving Izumi to fight on her own, but she seemed to be doing just fine. Besides, he was curious about Azula. She seemed completely different. Changed. Reformed. Just like he sometimes daydreamed about. But it was Azula... It couldn't be that easy. He couldn't just get his sister back. There had to be a catch. Right?

It was all going almost perfectly according to Azula's plan until they climbed to the next floor of the building. Even Izumi joined them, having taken down all the guards on the ground floor. There, they spotted a single guard alone in the hallway. Zuko made a fireball in his hand and was prepared to throw it, when Azula stopped him.

She knew the man. How could she forget?

Izumi's never seen anything close to the look Azula had in her eyes at that moment. It was a side of her aunt she had yet to experience.

"You..." Azula mumbled, still not wanting to believe her eyes. Izumi tried to pull Azula back, to lead her away from whatever it was about this man that upset her so much.

"That man... He was there!" Azula fought out of Izumi's grip, "You were there! You killed him! You killed..."

She put her hands together and created a ball of fire that just kept getting hotter and less stable. In that moment she wanted nothing more than to see that man turned to ash. She fired her charge, but Zuko pulled the man aside. Azula's blast ended up making a hole in the wall on the other side of the hallway. They at least had a more convenient way out now.

"You don't understand! Zuko, you don't..." Azula mumbled and then pulled her brother closer by his shirt, "He killed him! My husband... The night they killed him, he was there!"

Tears begun pouring down Azula's face and for Zuko it was way too reminiscent of their Agni Kai. A lot had changed since then, but he could still picture his broken little sister losing her mind.

"We'll take him with us. We'll question him." Izumi suggested.

"No! He's mine!" Azula shoved Zuko away and pinned the man to a wall, "Don't deny it. You were there. Was it the Red Lotus?"

"Um... I..."

"Answer me!"

Zuko tried to stop Azula, but Izumi pulled him back. Azula needed this.

"Yes, we came for the Fire Nation Prince and Princess that night." the man confessed.

"Me?! You came for me?! Well, here I am!" she punched the wall next to his face and started burning through it, "I promise you now, I will not sleep until your whole organization is in ruins, until all of you are scurrying around like the filthy rats you are, until you are gone and the world has forgotten you ever existed!"

"Azula!" Zuko pulled her away, "We will need one of them to find out where Aang is. We need him alive."

"For now." Izumi said.

Not long after all the firebenders made their way out of the prison and into the wilds of the South Pole. They felt better, having the sun shine on them once again, but the cold was still too much. It took Azula only a few seconds and a bit of looking around to announce that she knew where they were. Then she started leading the group east.

They all trudged through the snow in silence, Azula leading and Zuko following close after with Izumi and the man they took prisoner.

After a few minutes Zuko decided to come closer to his sister who was visibly shivering even though she was trying to warm herself by rubbing up and down her arms. Since they all took their clothes back, he had his Fire Lord robe and started removing it.

"You try putting that thing on me and I'm going for the other eye. I'm not even kidding." Azula said without even turning to look at him. He just wanted to make her warmer.

"Alright." he paused not knowing what to say, "So what's the plan?"

"The plan is simply get to a ship, regroup and rescue your Avatar." she tried to hide it, but he could hear the shivering in her voice.

"And how are we getting to Aang? I mean, if the man doesn't tell us anything useful."

"Are you familiar with the Spirit World, Zuzu?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"My son, your nephew, can access it. When we meet up with him, he'll visit the Spirit World and tell the Avatar we are all safe so he can use the Avatar State to get himself out. He can save himself if he knows the Red Lotus has no leverage over him anymore."

"How old is my nephew?" Zuko asked carefully.

"Ten," Azula suddenly smiled, "Almost ten and a half."

"Well, I can't wait to meet him. And it's really good to see you. Who would have known being a mom would be so good for you..." Zuko was half-expecting to get burned after that.

"Who would have known being the Fire Lord would be so good for you..."

"You think I'm a good Fire Lord?" Zuko's face lit up.

"Oh, get over yourself." Azula rolled her eyes, "Here we are, that's one of my ships."

"Your ships?" he asked after seeing a dock on the horizon.

"I'll explain everything on the way."

"Are you sure about this, sweetie?" Katara asked, while looking over to the two men guarding the pirate hideout. She wasn't judging, of course, but the men didn't look at all reliable. They appeared scruffy and distracted.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Kya smiled and stepped out so the two pirates could see her. They both smiled at her immediately upon recognizing her face.

"Oh, Lady Kya! You are the first to arrive." one of them held the door open for them.

"I told you it was going to be her! Pay up. Waterbenders never fail." the other man said and received a coin from his friend.

"We were instructed by Mistress Azula to give you and anyone who came with you anything you might desire."

"We'll need some water." Kya looked back at her mother, "And some food. Have it delivered to the main dining room."

"So all of this belongs to Azula?" Katara looked around as they walked through the hall, getting only a slight glimpse of the many rooms in the building.

"Well, if you get a little liberal with the word belongs, then yes." Kya chuckled slightly, but her mother wasn't nearly in the joking mood. She tried hard to stay as alert as possible while moving through this unknown territory.

"And Azula... Is she, you know... Clear of mind?"

"You're wondering if she's still unstable. No. She's perfectly fine. And she's told the truth about everything so far. I think you might have allowed some stories about her to get a little exaggerated in the many retellings."

"Kya," Katara stopped the girl, so she'd get her undivided attention, "I believe in people. I believe they can change, and your dad and I want you kids to live with that belief, too. But I can tell you now that every story we told about Azula was the absolute truth. She is indeed extremely dangerous if she wants to be. Remember that."

Kya just nodded. The look in her mother's eyes was proof that she was dead serious about this.

After enjoying lunch, Katara finally managed to relax a little bit, just listening to her daughter tell her about what have her children been up to while she was gone. Then, in the middle of a story involving Bumi and a stuffed badgermole toy, Katara heard a voice she didn't think she'd ever hear again.

"... splitting into four teams. Two are here and now we have to await the others' return." Azula walked into the room first, followed by Izumi and then Zuko.

"Izumi!" Kya ran forward to give the princess a hug.

"Katara, I'm sorry we failed. But I'm sure that Aang-" Zuko started, but was interrupted by Katara hugging him. Azula fought the urge to roll her eyes and just stood there, waiting for them to wrap up this display of emotion. Judging by the look on her face she had something to say.

"It's OK, Katara. She won't hurt anyone." Zuko said after seeing the waterbender take a defensive stance.

"What my brother is clumsily trying to convey is that we are facing a common enemy, and are in need of cooperation. I am prepared to forgo any form of retribution for what transpired between us in the past if you are." Azula recited like reading of a piece of paper.

"You want to work together after everything?" Katara asked.

"I wish to leave any unpleasantness that might have happened, in the past." Azula said in a calm tone she was trying to maintain at all times.

"Unpleasantness?! You tried to kill me! You almost killed Aang!" Katara wasn't even trying to keep this a pleasant conversation.

"And you had me institutionalized!" Azula stepped forward, reaching a hand to threaten, but then quickly pulled herself back like she'd burned her hand. She promised herself she wouldn't get upset...

"She's right, Aunt Katara. About forgetting the past." Izumi placed herself between Azula and Katara.

"She's changed, Mom." Kya joined in.

"Think about when you forgave my dad. It was the right choice then." Izumi added.

"That... That was different." Katara said, seeing Zuko look over to her.

"Think about what Dad would do, Mom." Kya took her mother's hand, to calm her down. Katara sighed.

"Alright. We're working together. But you make one little mistake and I won't hesitate, trust me."

Zuko swallowed hard, remembering the time he got a warning like that form Katara.

Azula didn't even fully hear it. She was still in shock from the girls standing up to defend her. It was a strange feeling to her. Having someone on your side. This was maybe the first and only time she'd experienced it since her husband died.

Just as Katara was about to ask why Azula hasn't yet thanked her, they all felt a slight tremor of the ground.

"What?" Azula could have sworn the shaking was getting stronger.

"Oh, that's the Beifongs. They must be here." Katara said like that was a completely normal thing. About a half a minute later they could hear voices arguing through the hallway and then Lin walked into the room. Her frown disappeared as soon as she saw her friends.

"Lin, it's good to see you." Izumi hugged her first, followed by Kya. Suyin was the next through the door and was pulled into a chain of hugs and kisses as well.

"When you're all done cuddling, I'd like to hear about this plan some more." Toph came in and laid back on one of the dining chairs. She cracked the knuckles on both her hands and then suddenly turned directly to Azula.

"So, my girls tell me you wanna join Team Avatar on this one." Toph smirked, "I always thought we could use a second fire in our group."

"Hey!" Zuko whined.

"She's not joining anything." Katara snapped.

"Relax. I just meant that Twinkletoes could use a lesson or two in making lightning."

Zuko just huffed and mumbled something under his breath, causing Azula to grin.

"The plan, Azula. We want to hear it." Katara interrupted.

"Very well." she started, "My son Zari knows how to go into the Spirit World. When he returns with the final group, he can go and contact the Avatar. He'll tell him that the Red Lotus no longer has any leverage since we've freed all prisoners."

"Tenzin can also go. Maybe he'll have more luck in contacting Aang than your son."