It had been a week since Sozin's comet blazed across the sky and sealed the fate of the Earth Kingdom. The walls of Ba Sing Se, once thought impenetrable, lay in ruin. Its king and leaders had been thrown into prison, while Fire Nation officers prowled the vast palace halls where the Earth King and his people had once lived. Outside, the great army of the Fire Nation still surrounded the city, a reminder that Ba Sing Se had fallen.
Yet to everyone's astonishment, life inside the city carried on as though nothing had changed. Under Azula's orders, the soldiers kept their distance from the people. Shops opened as usual, markets bustled, and daily life returned to the streets. The Dai Li and Earth Kingdom guards still patrolled, managing the city much as before.
In exchange for this strange freedom, however, Azula's decree was clear: the citizens were not to raise a hand against Fire Nation soldiers. To the city, and to the world beyond, Azula announced that the Fire Nation had won the war, yet she bound her victory with an unusual agreement. By the terms spoken between Tai Lung and the Avatar, once the Avatar was ready, he would face Tai Lung in single combat. Should the Avatar triumph, the Fire Nation would withdraw.
The proclamation baffled both the Fire Nation's soldiers and the Earth Kingdom's citizens alike. But in its wake came a fragile peace. Past the initial shock, the Fire Nation soldiers put their complete faith in their nation's champion, Tai Lung, and the great Fire Lord, Azula. Similarly, the people of the Earth Kingdom clung to their faith in the Avatar. Was it not his destiny to restore balance? Surely, he would not fail.
Aang remained in Ba Sing Se with his companions. True to Tai Lung's words, the Fire Nation left them undisturbed. And so the boy Avatar gained something priceless, time. Time to master firebending. Under Iroh's watchful eye, he practiced relentlessly, often sparring with Zuko, fire against fire, until sweat poured down his face. Katara, Sokka, and Toph would linger nearby, watching him with a mixture of concern and hope. There was a fierce urgency in Iroh's teaching, which everyone could see; the wise old man feared for Aang's life.
After a long day, as Aang collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, Iroh's voice came, "Rest for two hours, Avatar. Then we continue."
Katara rushed to Aang's side. "He's been training non-stop for the past week. This isn't healthy. Tai Lung hasn't even given him a deadline, why push him so hard?"
Iroh's eyes darkened. "Because every moment matters. His opponent is Tai Lung. And we don't know what Tai Lung is doing now. For all we know, he grows stronger by the day, inventing techniques or learning some strange evil art from somewhere."
His words were enough to silence Katara, recalling the Jade Masters was enough to instill terror in any of them. In their eyes, he was already a near unstoppable monster and the thought of Tai Lung developing or learning something else, growing even stronger, was a true nightmare.
Iroh's mind wandered back to the conversation he had shared with Tai Lung after the comet. The young warrior had spoken with terrifying certainty. He had not revealed his full intentions, but he had spoken of a new order. He had said, with unshakable conviction, that the current symbol of balance must fall. The Avatar must be destroyed.
Iroh had argued then, anger and sorrow in his voice. "That is chaos, not balance."
But Tai Lung had dismissed him with a cold smile. "What you call balance today was not the balance ten thousand years ago, and it will not be the balance ten thousand years from now. Balance is not eternal, it is ever changing like anything else in life."
The words haunted Iroh still. Whatever Tai Lung wanted, it would destroy the balance of the world as they know it. Even if he wanted to keep an open mind and accept change, to risk the balance of the world like this based on the intention of a single person was completely unacceptable.
More so, Iroh suspected Tai Lung's goal was truly to crown the Fire Nation as the sole keeper of order in the world. If that was the case, then Tai Lung was about to make a terrible mistake and the future would be darker than just the Fire Nation winning the war today.
And so with what little he knew the old general steeled himself for the worst possibilities, eyes falling upon the exhausted boy before him. The only hope of defeating Tai Lung and ending his madness was the Avatar.
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Azula sat lazily upon the Earth King's throne, officers knelt before her one by one, delivering reports that all carried the same message: no sign of resistance, no hint of rebellion. Even a week after the fall of the Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se remained calm.
And why wouldn't it? Azula mused, drumming her slender fingers against the arm of the throne. The city had been promised a strange kind of freedom, no interference in their daily lives, no forced occupation pressing down upon them. Their fate was left hanging on a single duel, the Avatar against Tai Lung. Why risk fighting when your supposed savior was preparing to do it in your place?
Human nature, Azula thought with a faint curl of her lip, was pathetic. When spared immediate suffering, people were quick to cling to the illusion of safety. Why bother resisting if someone else could be the shield? Why risk their own comfort when faith in another's sacrifice would suffice? It made ruling easier, yes, but there was something distasteful about it too. To surrender one's fate so helplessly, it disgusted her.
Her thoughts broke when a soldier entered, bowing low. "Fire Lord, Prince Zuko asks for an audience."
Azula took a deep breath. "Let him in," she said coolly.
The soldier bowed again and retreated. Moments later, Zuko stepped into the throne room, clad in simple Earth Kingdom garb. His scarred face pointed toward her, but his eyes flicked briefly to the row of jade masters standing like lifeless statues along the wall. There, among them, stood Ozai, his father.
Azula smiled and said mockingly. "The heartless Zuko comes at last to visit his only little sister. What took you so long?"
But Zuko did not rise to her words. His voice was low "I always knew you were cruel and twisted, Azula. But to let your own father be treated like that… you've gone too far."
Her smile slipped. "What are you here for, Zuko?" she asked, her tone suddenly flat.
Zuko's fists tightened at his sides. "I want the truth. What really happened back home? Was your mission to capture me and Uncle another one of your lies?"
"Why does it matter?" Azula replied, feigning indifference. "You've built yourself a life here, haven't you? You seem to be thriving."
Zuko's voice grew sharp. "Thriving? I was banished from my home for over two years, hunted by you, branded a traitor! Was this your plan all along?"
Azula studied him, her amber eyes cool, calculating. At last, she spoke softly, "You've already decided what to believe, haven't you?" She paused, then continued, her words surprising even herself. "After I learned what a vile man our father truly was, I thought perhaps we could put aside the past, start anew. But then Mai told me you'd settled here, that you even had the luxury of a lover. I knew then it would be difficult to go back."
She sighed, a rare crack in her composure. "You blame me for everything now that Father is gone. Perhaps it's for the best that you don't return."
Zuko glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Azula said, voice sharp as a knife, "that as Fire Lord, I order your banishment to continue. You are not permitted to come back and I strip you of your status as a prince"
For a moment, silence hung between them. Zuko's fists trembled, but he turned without a word, striding for the doors.
"I truly hope you find a fulfilling life," Azula called after him, her voice softer. "And… for what it's worth, I am sorry, Zuko."
Zuko halted, his shoulders stiffening. He did not turn back. He walked on, disappearing beyond the doors.
From the side entrance, Ty Lee slipped in, her light steps making no sound until she spoke. "You were too heartless. You could have explained yourself to him."
Azula leaned back against the throne, her gaze lingering on the empty doorway. "He's conflicted, angry, and with no one else to blame. He's placing it all on me now. Better he stay away and forget than staying nearby and let his hate fester. And he has a lover here now after all. Maybe one day, he will forget and forgive, then I can invite him back."
Ty Lee's face fell. "Poor Mai. She insisted on leaving Ba Sing Se when she heard that."
"It was unfortunate," Azula admitted, her tone steady, though something flickered in her eyes. "But she will recover."
Ty Lee nodded slowly, then sighed. "Feels lonely now. Just the two of us. Mai preparing for Tai Lung's battle, Tai Lung himself went home with his father…"
Azula's lips curved into a smile. "Yes. Thank you for staying, Ty Lee. I'll admit, I wouldn't be comfortable here alone. I'd be fearing for my life."
Ty Lee grinned brightly. "That's what friends are for. And let's be honest, Azula, no one around here can threaten your life. You'd just be bored out of your mind."
A laugh, light and genuine, escaped Azula's lips.