Azula was escorted to an area of the complex that seemed far more like empty space compared to the rest of the facility. Here there were rooms only every so often seeming to be just one long hallway that stretched on and on, but security was tighter here than anywhere else she had seen. Here Solider's dressed in Black versions of the Royal Procession Armor stood guard. This told Azula that she was getting close to where her father dwelled. The Royal Procession after all had been founded to protect the Royal Family.
It took everything she had in her not to run as she came across two large two guards on either side totaling four. The two closest to the door each grabbed a handle and pulled exposing a well lit chamber adorned with Fire Nation flags on a stage carved of stone...was Ozai. He was dressed in long flowing red robes, in his hair was a replica of the Fire Lords crown. He looked like he had lost weight from the last time she had seen him that wasn't all that changed, he looked pale from lack of sunlight. His eyes went wide as he trained them on Azula. Like he hadn't expected her.
Kurn dropped to one knee in front of the stage. "My King, your daughter has come to join us." He said keeping his head pointed to the ground. She noticed had referred to him as "King" instead of "Lord" in the same fashion that the Earthbender had when she first reached the Black Cliffs, no doubt after being rescued Ozai had insisted that Kurn and others called him " Phoenix King" Kurn most likely did it just to keep Ozai happy, keep him cooperating.
"Leave us General." Ozai said calmly. Kurn stood up and looked at Azula as he walked off, giving her a nod. No doubt he expected her to be the only one to walk out of this room alive. As the doors closed Ozai frowed at her his surprise gone. "Have you forgotten how to bow?" He asked.
Of course he had expected to bend the knee to him, why wouldn't she? She was his perfect daughter after all. She had been expecting too much from him to at least ask her how she had been after so long. She dropped to her knees and bowed her head before him. "Forgive me father." She said reluctantly. "I am...just overjoyed to see you that I forgot my place." She said in a submissive tone. The words tasting bad in her mouth.
Ozai laughed. "I see you haven't forgotten that silver tongue of yours after so long. Rise daughter." Azula did as instructed. "What are your thoughts on my complex?" He asked. What on earth was he talking about "his" complex? It wasn't anymore his than it was hers. He hadn't had a hand in the construction of this place. This was all Kurns doing.
"It is impressive." Azula said with a smile. A false smile but a smile none the less.
"It is." Ozai said with a nod. "What Kurn has done is nothing less than impressive." Ozai reached up and scratched his chin. "Though I would have expected you to free me from my prison...not him."
Azula swallowed, suddenly feeling like she had eaten a mountain of salt. When she had commanded the Fire Warriors...and when part of her had still though her father had hung the moon she had humored the thought of freeing him on an occasion or two. But in her mind the easier of the two choices had been to focus on Zuko. Take part in plots and ploys that would eventually turn him into the Fire Lord that Azula had wished herself to be. One that ruled with an iron fist. One that ruled with fear and intimidation. She would have been a terrible Fire Lord. Even with three generations worth of clinical conditioning in the population eventually they would have grown tired of her fear and rose up against her. Azula knew you can only push a person do long before they start pushing back. "I apologize father...the years have not been kind to me." That wasn't a total lie after all, it had been the truth until she settled down in Yamagishi. It was thanks to Homura that she had even been able to get back on her feet. Just then she made another promise to see her again after all this was over, and thank her for all of her kindness.
Ozai sighed. "You've certainly changed, I'd have expected you'd have spent the remainder of your days making up for your past mistakes." Oh she was but not in the way Ozai wanted her to. "You failed me Azula."
six years ago those words would have stung the same as if he had burned her like he had burned Zuko. But it wasn't six years any more and Azula knew the type of person she was now. "I'm not the only one who failed...but at least I still have my firebending."
Anger flashed across his face in that moment as he was reminded of HIS greatest failure. He had the Avatar right where he wanted him, he had Sozins comet on his side and he had still failed, and that failure had not only cost him his crown, but five long years in a damp cell while the world outside the Fire Nation had slowly started to forget his name. Suddenly that anger vanished and Ozai smiled a wicked and evil smile. "I wish I had known Kurn when I sat upon the throne. The man is an absolute genius. A man much more deserving of the title of General then..." Ozai chuckled. "What was the name of that boy you fancied?" The look in his eyes told her he already knew that answer he just wanted her to say it.
"Sung." She said dryly. He of course knew what happened when the war ended. He knew Sung had thrown down his sword and surrendered. He knew...because in her delusional state when they had last spoken to each other some four years ago when Zuko was looking for their mother...she had told him. This was her punishment for her outburst. Though it didn't feel much like a punishment, not after what they had rekindled.
"Ah yes...Sung Yang." Ozai said as if the name had slipped his mind. "He certainly did not live up to his families reputation. His father who honorably gave his life in the service of the Fire Nation must be looking down upon his son from that warriors afterlife with disgust and shame. He and I have that in common."
Now it felt like a punishment. Azula could feel rage filling her mind the longer her father spoke. How dare he talk about Sung like that, how dare he! Sung was more honorable a man than Ozai would ever be. Unlike Ozai, Sung cared deeply for those close to him, he fought hard for those he loved. She had seen it with her own eyes more times than she could count. For this washed up has-been to talk about him like he was no better than some gunk on his shoe upset her greatly. "Is something the matter Azula?" Ozai asked rather innocently.
Oh Agni the mask must have slipped, she must have shown some subtle sign...something that gave him pause. Azula mentally sighed, reconstituting herself. "Yes father...I'm just tired." She said flashing him a smile. That had been an excuse she had used many times before on her father when he did something that upset her. That would always explain her sudden mood changes. "It has been a long and uncomfortable journey for me."
Ozai gauged her response with a astute eye. He had always been good at gauging others for weaknesses, that's where Azula had learned after all. But she had also learned how to hide her own weaknesses very well, many of them she hid so well that they were hidden even to herself. She kept that smile as he looked at her, eyes securely locked on his. "Very well." He said, his face relaxing. "Get some rest...I expect you to join me for dinner tonight...so we can catch up."
"I would be honored father." Azula said with a bow. Azula then preformed and about face and walked towards the door.
"Azula." Ozai then called back, causing her to stop and look back at him. "Welcome back."
*
Azula stepped out of that chamber and attempted to keep her composure as she walked past the faceless guards that stood sentry down the corridor, her only blessing was that Kurn was nowhere to be seen. She had been right there in the room with the man who had caused her so much pain and suffering, and the thought of killing him hadn't once crossed her mind during their conversation. What was wrong with her? If anyone deserved death it was him. Could the cleansing ritual not have worked fully? Could there be some part of her that still held loyalty to Ozai, could their still be some part of her that still hungered for power?
No that couldn't be, if she still wanted power she would have killed him without a second thought, Loyalty be damned, power would have been more important. Then why hadn't the thought even humored her mind? If she had killed him and took control then maybe she could convince the others to stop all this pointless bloodshed. Surrender themselves to Zuko and beg for mercy. But she hadn't she had been a coward why? Because Ozai was her father? Ozai was a father in name only, he had never loved her unconvincingly. The only lessons he had taught her were how to kill, how to manipulate, how to control. He was no father.
The guards finally became distant and Azula found what looked like a large supply room full of crates, seemingly void of people. She stepped inside the room. Pressing her back against the wall and sliding down it. Burying her head in her knees. She felt like crying. Why had she thought coming here was a good idea? She wasn't prepared for this. Tadashi had been wrong, Mother Hakoda had been wrong, Azula had been wrong. But if she hadn't come then Kowareta could have got tired of waiting for her to come on her own and given her some encouragement in the form of explosions. Now she was trapped and she didn't know what to do.
"Princess?" She heard a male voice call, the voice sounding...oddly familiar. She looked up to see a person in the Royal Procession standing in the doorway. "By the spirits...it is you..." the person looked down both ends of the hall before reaching up and removing his helmet. Exposing his face
For a split moment she thought those tormenting hallucinations had come back to haunt her as she saw his face. Golden eyes, sharp chin, well groomed brown beard, brown hair in a topknot...Captains insignia on the collar. "Daichi?" She asked hopeful as she stood up.
He smiled. "I heard you were here Princess...I've been looking for you." It was Daichi. She rushed over to him and hugged him. "Woah." He said surprised. "Princess I'm happy to see you too but let me go, someone might see."
It was so good to see a friendly face in this nightmare she was living in. "Daichi...I'm so sorry for what I did to you." She said. On the final days of the war Azula had become so paranoid that she saw threats everywhere, even in her sleep. She trusted no one. She had banished everyone from the Palace, Daichi had been one of them. "I'm so sorry."
Daichi hesitated before gently patting her on the back. "Hey..." he said softly like he was comforting a child. "That wasn't your fault...I heard what happened. Seen plenty of soldiers go through it they break in combat, it's a damn tragedy when you can't even trust your own mind."
"Still...I'm sorry." She said taking a step back from him and smiling. "I'm happy to see you Captain. All of this is...overwhelming for me."
Daichi nodded. "Took me awhile to get use to it too...anything I can do to help?" He asked.
Her first instinct was to tell him everything...but that would have been foolish, for all she knew Daichi had gotten sucked up in the madness like everyone else around Kurn. But like in Ba Sing Se she needed people she could trust. Kurns operation was to big for her to fight on her own. "Can we talk somewhere more...private?" She asked him.
Daichi smirked soon hiding his face behind his helmet. "I've got a few places in mind."
*
Azula followed behind Daichi as they passed through the underground complex. She had gotten more bows in just the few hours of being here than she had gotten in even a few weeks time, never mind a full year. Every time a Soldier wether they be Fire Nation born or one of the less numerous Earth Kingdom collaborators saw her they stopped and bowed she ignored them as Daichi led her into what looked like another storage room though this one was more vast, crates marked "machine parts" stacked as high as the ceiling.
Daichi maneuvered his way through the boxes until the two of them reached the center where three red sitting pillows looked out of place. "So many people here it's hard to find somewhere you can be alone for even a minute." Daichi said as he sat down on one of the pillows cross legged, taking off his helmet and setting it in his lap. "Carved out this fine piece of real estate for myself, people rarely come back here."
Azula sat down across from him. Hands folded in her lap. She didn't know how she was supposed to approach the subject she had on her mind, she didn't even know if she could trust Daichi, for all she knew the second she told him the man would stand up and start screaming to get the attention of others. Her plan would fizzle out and Kurn would...she didn't know what he would do but Azula could gather that he wouldn't be to happy that she had come not to help him, but undermine him. "How did you end up...here?" Azula asked. Deciding that the best course of action would be to engage in idle small talk, gauge his responses to see how he would react IF she did tell him her true intentions.
Daichi sighed. "After...the incident." No doubt referring to his banishment. "I went back to Harbor City, told my wife what happened. We packed up what we could and took our son to live with my wife's parents on Shuhon, set up in a trading town called Gangwon...from the day we left the Capital Island I could tell she was ashamed of me...ashamed of what I did to our family." Daichi leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling, swallowing . "I got a job in a factory down that way that worked on Tundras....then when the war ended and the Army didn't need any more tanks I was let go. Bounced from job to job just trying to keep my head above water. Office clerk, farm hand, you name it I probably did it at least one."
As Daichi spoke he had sadness clear in his voice. A sadness that had been caused by Azulas actions. When she had banished Daichi she had not only punished him, but she had punished his entire family. She had made his wife and son suffer for a mistake Azula perceived to had happened. Guilt filled her now. "My wife divorced me one year later, took off with my boy and...remarried some prim and proper merchant. I fell into a deep depression after that, just wandered around for awhile. Did some mercenary work in the Earth Kingdom protecting trading caravans from bandits. Only thing I had ever been good at was being a soldier...and fighting. As luck would have it that's when the Vet Halls started popping up. I'll be honest it felt good to have that structure back in my life, that ridged military discipline. I attended all the meetings, I went to all the counseling sessions. But...I found out far too late that they weren't doing that out the kindness of their hearts....told us to pack our things and get ready to move out...and here I am." His shoulders shrunk as he finished his story. "Dad always told me to never take anything that's free, because nothing ever truly is...my old man is probably spinning in his grave."
"I'm sorry about your family..." Azula said. "I wish I could take what I did back..."
"Ain't your fault, my marriage had been on the decline long before what happened. We just stayed together for our son...not very smart in hindsight." Azula could imagine. Even as a young girl Azula could tell that her own parents marriage had not been a happy one full of love. It had been late night shouting matches and busted plates. Growing up in that type of environment did damage to children most of all, they learn from an early age to keep their mouths shut and try to drown it out. "If I could have her or my boy back, I'd pick him every time...I haven't seen him in years, I wonder if he still thinks about me."
"I think he does." Azula said, flashing a smile. " I was young when it happened but I never stopped thinking about my mother when she left. I'm sure he misses you just as much as you miss him."
Daichi considered her words for a long while in silence, letting out a half laugh. "Never thought I'd be having a heart to heart with you of all people if you don't mind me saying so, your highness. First thing they told me when I joined the Procession was not to even look you in the eye, that could get me a quick trip to the Eastern Front."
Goddesses sake had she really been that bad back then? Just having people transferred for looking at her? She didn't think so but she had done so many awful things over the years that it was possible. "I like to think I changed." She decided with a smile. "I still have a long way to go before I can say I was successful in that endeavor."
"I noticed that when you hugged me." Daichi said. He then got real quiet, leaning forward on the pillow. "You don't want to be here do you?" He asked in a voice no louder than a whisper. "When I saw you in that corner you looked upset."
Azula stared at him, she could see the concern in his eyes...concern for her. It was genuine not a ploy, she could tell that much. But that didn't mean that he didn't want to be here. He had simply made an observation through the information he had at the time. "No I don't." She said truthfully. "I've been living on." She paused clenching her fists together. "...Sun Dao for awhile."
Realization hit Daichi then, everyone in the Fire Nation knew Sun Dao was House Yang territory, and Daichi knew of her relationship with Sung. "By the spirits...did you..." she of course knew what he was about to ask her. He was about to ask her. Did she turn her back on Sung?
"Not by choice." Azula said. "Kurns son found me, told me I could either come with him...or he'd kill civilians not his exact words but the context was clear...I was in a crowd of people, my own sister and my mother were in that crowd right beside me...Sungs family wasn't to far away. I knew where he was hiding and I thought about reporting him...but he told me if he was killed or captured..." she didn't want to repeat it. "I couldn't live with myself if people died because of me..."
Daichi tisked, crossing his arms. "That just ain't right. Kurn...seems honorable enough I suppose. At least as honorable as can be expected...not like I have room to talk much, I'm here too after all."
Daichi seemed ashamed of himself in that moment. "Do you hold any loyalty to Kurn...or my father?" She asked holding her breath in preparation for his answer.
"No." Daichi said without even missing a beat. "The only reason I'm here is because I got in too deep and I didn't see a way out. In my mind the simplest choice was to ride the wave and hope I didn't go overboard...at least hope something was left standing after all this madness...I took the cowards way out, go along with the crowd and live."
She had her answer now. Azula reached across, gripping one of his hands. "Captain, when I came here I had no intention of cooperating with Kurn. I came here to undermine the Rebellion...try to fight from the inside, I can't do it on my own...I need your help. Together we can redeem ourselves of both our failures. We can help forge a Fire Nation we can be proud of." She said, the truth laid bear.
Daichi didn't so much as flinch as he stood up. Putting his helmet back on. "Wait here." He said. She couldn't see his face now and therefore she couldn't make out what his expression was, but from his body language he looked tense, his muscles had tightened, his breathing elevated...she felt like she had made a mistake.
*
For what felt like hours Azula sat alone surrounded by boxes and at any moment she had expected Kurn and his Security force to burst in and arrest her, after that who knew what would happen. Daichi hadn't seemed like he was going to rat her out, if he was he could have just shouted someone would have heard. That anxiety she felt was coming back now but even through the fog something inside her told her to trust whatever it was Daichi was doing it would benefit her in the long run. Sung had trusted Daichi with his life once upon a time and the two men had seemed close, maybe that had something to do with what they had went through together at the North Pole, they had fought side by side so they trusted each other completely.
She exhaled, once again found herself fighting to keep her composure. The feeling only got worse when finally she heard several sets of boots clicking across the floor beyond the crates, she stood up mentally preparing herself for a fight, she knew she couldn't take them all but she wouldn't go quietly. Daichi squeezed through the gap first, holding a hand up to her as he used his free hand to remove his helmet once again.
Behind him another man appeared, he was clean shaven, his hair a light black, his eyes brown, a small scar on his chin. He wore all black armor and over the armor he wore a brown leather bandolier, on his belt was a Jian, and attached to his thighs were two brown pouches. The man was a Ranger.
Behind this man a woman walked in, she wore a Fire nation chest plate over a red tunic, but her pants were a dark green, and lacked shoes signifying her as a Earthbender. Her hair was a dark brown color, pulled into a bun, a small braid on the left side of her head, her eyes a green that almost matched her pants perfectly. On the side of her nose was a small black freckle. The woman was slim but even with her clothes covering her Azula could tell she had at least a decent amount of muscle.
"Princess." Daichi said presenting the two. "This is Colonel Genji Naito, and Lieutenant Jing Shào." The two nodded but didn't speak, both looked equal amounts of uncomfortable but the Ranger, Genji was doing a better job of hiding it compared to Jing. "Tell them exactly what you told me."
Azula looked at the two. Daichi she was almost certain she could trust, but the other two were unknowns to her, red flags were waving in her mind as she looked at them. But Daichi seemed to trust them...why else would he had brought them here? She realized something, three of them...three sitting pillows. "I am Azula." She began. "Kurn wants me to kill Ozai, and take control of this organization...but I refuse. I refuse to lead the Fire Nation through a war so soon after we finished the last one, and I refuse to sit on my hands while he throws not only the Fire Nation, but the world itself into chaos. I am here to do whatever I can to slow his progress...and hopefully shorten this war...but I can't do it on my own....I need help, I need people I can trust."
Colonel Naito leaned on the crates behind him, his left wrist resting on the pommel of his sword. "Forgive my skepticism your highness...but from everything I've heard about you...if you wanted you could convince a blind man that he wasn't really blind and that he was just imagining it. Been a Solider for a long time, longer than you've been alive, Ranger School taught me to sniff out traps and this to me...smells like a trap."
"I can vouch for her Genji." Daichi said, apparently in this room Rank meant nothing. "She means every word she says."
"How do you know?" Lieutenant Shào asked. "Even in the Earth Kingdom we had stories about her, the Princess with a snakes tongue." Old her would have been flattered that a sort of "legend" had popped up around her. But now that "legend" wasn't helping her chances of getting allies.
"Because I fought side by side with her at Ba Sing Se." Daichi countered. "Any person I have been in battle with I trust without a shadow of a doubt."
Naito pointed at Daichi. "Yeah I used to believe that old Soldiers superstition too, but a lot of the men I served beside would stab you in the back quicker than you could bat an eye. You might very well have stabbed us in the back right now."
Azula didn't know what to do, but she dropped to her knees in a submissive gesture. "Please...I know neither of you have any reason to believe me, but I'm doing this to save my country from ruin. If Kurn wins...the Great War will start all over again, thousands across the globe will die."
Naito and Shào looked at each other. Shào shrugging her shoulders as if to tell Naito that whatever happened was his call. The Ranger looked back at Azula. "Just tell me one thing, why exactly are you doing this?" He asked. "Heard a lot of stories about you over the years since the war ended. Heard about how you snuck into people's homes and stole their children to use a bargaining chips, don't really strike me as someone who is a "for the good of the Nation" type of person.
Azula bit down on the inside of her mouth hard. "If it's a story about me I probably did it. I'm not a good person Colonel." She looked up at the two, her eyes red, she was fighting the urge to cry. "But...out there I have people I care about, people that are worth fighting for not fighting against. Kurn won't lead our country into a new golden age, he will lead us to ruin. I hope to...get married when all this madness has passed, start a family...try and heal some of the scars that I caused...but I will not bring children into this world only for them to go off to fight in the same war we all fought in. I'm fighting not just for my children's future...but for the future of all children. A future where they can grow up safe without the horrors of war." As she finished Nikkō and Kiyis smiling faces flashed across her mind.
Daichi dropped to one knee beside her and held his hand out. "You probably already gathered but, I'm in." He said with a smile.
Azula smiled back as she put her hand on top of his. Shào kneeled down next. Hesitating for a moment before adding her hand to the pile. Azula nodded at her and she nodded back. Now only Naito remained, he seemed to be weighing the pros and cons in his head as he pushed off the crates and sighed. "Everything about this tells me to walk away...just turn you all in and be done with it...that would be the smart thing to do." He kneeled down and added his hand completing the circle. "But I was never a smart man."
With that it seemed the pact was sealed and a conspiracy had been born. Azula was still not sure if she could trust two of the three in this room...but her options were limited and alone she could only do so much. Hope filled her once again as she looked at the faces of the three who stood in solidarity with her. She couldn't help but smile, if Sung were here he would be proud.