The Madness of Princess Azula

By Churnok

Disclaimer

Batman Avatar: The Last Airbender is the brainchild of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is owned by Viacom and is used here for non-profit entertainment purposes only. The mind-healer is swiped from the TV series M.A.S.H so I can't even claim him. I just modified him to fit this reality. Permission is given to anyone who wants to archive this story as long as they let me know first and give me a link to their site. I welcome any comments, questions, and/or constructive criticisms.

The Artist and the Gamer

Zuko hated coming here, but he felt honor bound to visit her at least once every year. It was because of him that she was here after all, both directly and indirectly. True, she had been on the edge of sanity ever since her fire bending prowess emerged. Zuko blamed their father for that. Always pushing them both and never satisfied even when they excelled, but there had always been a dark stability to her. That stability was broken at the prison known as the Boiling Rock when her two only friends betrayed her. Mai betrayed her to save him and Ty Lee betrayed her to save Mai. That double betrayal started Azula's decent into madness, but it was her defeat at the hands of both Zuko and Katara on the night of Sozen's comet, the night when her powers were stronger than they would ever be for a hundred years, that finally pushed her over the edge.

"Ah, Zuko, a pleasure as always."

"Good morning honored Mind-healer," Zuko replied uneasily.

"Please, I ask you every time you visit to call me Syd-Ni," the head mind-healer of the institution said as he walked over to the young Firelord as if they were old friends and their respective positions meant nothing. It was part of what made him a good mind-healer and one of the things that Zuko both admired and envied about the man. "Formal titles just set people on edge and I've always found that healing, be it of the mind or the body, works best in a relaxed setting. You must agree or I would have to call you Firelord."

"How is she?"

"Ah yes, your sister. She's really developing into a fascinating case. As you know, she wasn't in the best of health when she came to live with us two years ago. Water benders can do wonders for the body but the mind is different and a far more difficult thing to heal." As they talked they walked from the building's main lobby to the wing of the institute reserved for Fire Nation nobility. The hall was all but empty as most of the residents were either in the recreation room of the wing, or in their rooms. "As you no doubt remember, she had been getting progressively more violent and unpredictable, finally having a complete breakdown during your last visit. Followed by a period of time where, aside from the necessities like eating, sleeping and other body functions, she was almost completely unresponsive to anything outside her own mind. Fortunately we were able to bring her out of it but her mind somehow came out segmented. Her original personality has been suppressed beneath two others. The more aggressive personality is obsessed with creating and winning games. Some of us aren't sure which is worse. Her gloating over victories or her tantrums when she loses."

Zuko surprised himself by chuckling, "that sounds like my sister."

"Fortunately her fire bending abilities are controlled entirely by her other personality, which has reverted to the state of an innocent child who likes nothing more than to draw strange creatures. In this state she's really rather sweet."

"Sweet and innocent?" Zuko looked at Syd-Ni like he was a few tiles short of a Pai-Cho game. "Even as a child my sister was never innocent and the only time she was sweet was when she was up to something unpleasant."

"Really? That could help prove my theory about her pictures."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Here, I'll show you." They had come to Azula's room. The door of which had a heavy lock and would be indistinguishable from the door of any other resident except that it was decorated with incredibly detailed paintings of strange animals. The healer pointed to two that were just below the door's window. "The one on the left she calls a Koala, the one on the right she calls an otter."

Zuko studied the two pictures. The first looked like a koala otter but with a stubby tail and without the long sleek body. The second had the correct body and tail but lacked any other feature. A more detailed examination of the door revealed that all the animals were the same way. Beautifully detailed yet strangely segmented.

"I think her pictures reflect her current mental condition. Her mind has separated into two distinct personalities. Both retain aspects of the whole, yet both express aspects that are unique to the personality. So she creates animals that are the same way." He studied the door thoughtfully before saying, "Normally we don't allow our guests to decorate the outside of their rooms but with your sister it was a choice between letting her paint her animals, or finding that she had used her fire bending to scorch them into the door the way she did to her, supposedly fireproof, walls before we gave her paint and parchment. Frankly it seems to have helped both her and other people here so much that I've asked the board of directors to let all our artistically inclined guests decorate their doors."

"If it helps any, tell them that I support the idea," said Zuko. He found the painted animals to be a relieving contrast to the stark burnt red of the institute's walls. True, most fire nation homes had the same color scheme, but there was always something different about places like this that made even something so familiar seem uncomfortable. He studied the one strange creature among those panted on the door that he recognized. It looked just like the bear the Earth King of Ba-Sing-Se had as a pet. Around the bear were animals that, if Azula kept to her pattern, represented the various types of bear. Skunk, platypus, etc.

Syd-Ni peeked in the window. "You're in luck; she seems to be in her artist persona at the moment. Fair warning though. When she's in this state she seems to only remember her life up to the day before she went to the Boiling Rock. She has no memory of anything that happened after that and even the events she does remember are viewed through the eyes of a child. For example; she remembers what she did at Ba Sing Se but she remembers it as a game of dress up. It's really quite fascinating. She thinks she's in her palace bedroom being punished by her father, who she thinks is still the Firelord. When we try to correct this perception by telling her about the events during Sozen's Comet she throws a tantrum and shuts down letting the Gamer persona takes over."

"Does the Gamer persona know what happened on the night of the comet?"

"Only in terms of a game. Every time I talk with the Gamer about it she claims that you cheated and demands a rematch. I'm not sure what would happen if she did get that rematch. Wining or losing could either snap her back to sanity or throw her deeper into her own world. It might even lead to another complete breakdown like your last visit. If that happened who knows when she'll emerge or what state she'll be in when she does." Syd-Ni sighed, "Even experts like me just don't know enough about the mind to do more than guess at what one this sick will do."

"Will she still recognize me in her current state?"

"Yes, I believe so. Whether she sees you as her brother or as Firelord Ozai is another question. She sees everyone here in terms that fit her fantasy. For example, there is no place in her fantasy for a mind-healer so I am seen as her personal tutor."

"So she'll either call me Zuzu, or father," Zuko replied. He wasn't sure how he felt about the possibility of being mistaken for their father and hoped his lack of royal robes would decrease the possibility.

"I could come in with you if you prefer."

"No, I still want this to be just between me and my sister."

"Very well, but I will send some orderlies to stand guard in case of trouble. Standard procedure when a resident is prone to violent outbursts."

"I understand," Zuko replied. Taking a breath he opened the door and walked in.

At the sound of the door opening Azula turned from her easel in the left corner of the room furthest from the door. "Hi Zuzu," she said brightly upon seeing him. "Wanna see the horsey I made?"

Relieved to hear the hated nick name rather than to be called father he reflexively said, "sure." As he walked over to her he tried to find some sign of the sister he knew. She looked like Azula, In fact she looked better than she did when he first brought her here, but there was nothing of the sadistic girl he had grown up with in her behavior. Where Azula was always controlled, smug and scheming, with a smile that never boded well for anyone but her, this person was more like Ty Lee. She wasn't as athletic, but she was bright, energetic and perky with a smile of genuine happiness. He found he preferred her this way and felt a pang of guilt for it.

To distract himself from this train of thought he studied her latest work. She had called it a horsey so he had assumed that it would bear some resemblance to an Ostrich horse, but it looked nothing like the familiar beast of burden. In fact it bore no clear resemblance to any creature he had ever seen, and yet, despite the fact that it was still incomplete, it was so detailed that he half expected it to breath.

"What do you think?" she asked with all the expectant innocence of a child showing off her work to an older sibling whose opinion she valued. Further proof that the sister he knew wasn't in control.

"I can honestly say that this is the most realistic horsey I have ever seen."

"Really?" she gave him a delighted hug. "Thank you Zuzu. He was really hard to draw and I wasn't sure he was coming out right."

"Have you ever seen a horsey before?" Zuko asked as he gently disengaged from her hug before she cracked a rib.

"Only in my dreams," she said. Then she looked sad before saying, "and when the other me is in charge."

"Other you?"

She turned away from him and started to pout. "I don't wanna talk about her. She's mean. All she wants to do is play those stupid games she makes up, she never wants to play with me and she says my pictures are stupid."

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

She turned back to face him, "I wanna know if I'm still grounded."

"What makes you think you're grounded?"

"I'm not allowed to leave the palace and Mai and Ty Lee don't come over to play. Since the last time you were home the only family I've seen is Mother. I've asked Syd-Ni when I can see Father but he keeps changing the subject so Father must be punishing me for something."

"I'll have to ask Syd-Ni who she's identified as being Mother," Zuko thought to himself uneasily. Their mother had disappeared the night their grandfather had died and their father had been named Firelord. Zuko knew she was alive and that their father knew where she might be, but despite repeated conversations with Ozai, who had been stripped of both crown and powers and now resided in a private cell, Zuko still had no idea where their mother was.

"Father has been very busy lately with government matters that Syd-Ni isn't allowed to know about." Zuko hated to lie, for one thing he still wasn't very good at it, but for her sake, he hoped he was believable. "Syd-Ni just doesn't want to upset you, but I'll talk with Father about letting you leave the palace sometime. At the very least I'll see about getting Mai to come visit." He tried to get Mai to come with him every time, but she kept refusing. She would never admit it, but the thought of seeing Azula this way, knowing that she had something to do with it, must upset her. It certainly upset him.

"Thank you Zuzu," she said solemnly. Then she perked up and said, "wanna see the other animals I made?" Without waiting for a reply she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him over to the wall. "See. I have a lion, and a turtle, and a…"

The walls of Azula's room were made of a type of stone that was supposed to be impervious to fire; in fact the entire building was made of fireproof material, but apparently Azulas blue flame was hot enough to scorch her drawings into the wall as there was a line of animals that went from the middle of the wall her bed was against, across the wall in front of them and ended on the left side of the room's only door. What's more, her wall drawings were apparently to scale judging from the bear that towered over him. Perhaps being a perfectionist was a trait that this Azula retained from before. Some of her older paintings were also decorating the wall. Any area of wall space she could reach that wasn't blocked by furniture was covered by her artwork in one form or another. Yet none of them went past the bed or the door.

"Why are all your animals on this side of the room?" Zuko asked.

"Because I'm not allowed on her side of the room," the Artist stated. Then she grinned like she had gotten away with something naughty. "She doesn't know I drew on her side of the ceiling though." She pointed up proudly. On the ceiling Zuko saw the silhouettes of several different types of birds. Some flying alone while others flew in formations.

"What do you call those birds," Zuko asked pointing to a group that was flying in a circle like the hive dwelling buzzards in the dessert. Except these creatures were clearly birds while Buzzards were more like insects.

"I call them vultures," she replied," they eat dead animals. I have a closer picture if you want to see."

"Maybe later," he said as he went back to examining the room. It did look like two people lived in that room and maintained a strict boundary line that went from the chest at the foot of the bed to the door, cutting the room in half. On the side he and his sister were on the room was strewn with books, toys, and stuffed animals that Azula hadn't played with since before her bending manifested. The other side looked like a game store that had been hit by a whirlwind. Syd-Ni was right. The tantrums Azula's other self threw were pretty bad, and yet none of the game pieces crossed the invisible line in the middle of the room. The same was true with anything that belonged on the side he was still on. Both sides were a mess and yet there was nothing on the floor between the door and the bed. Respecting other people wasn't something his sister was known for so there must be a reason why nether persona would cross that line.

As Azula was adjusting one of her paintings Zuko walked into the clear area in the middle of the room.

"Zuzu no!" Azula cried in fear when she turned and saw that he was about to enter the other side of the room. She ran to him and began to push him back.

"Why? What are you afraid of?"

"That's her side of the room!"

"Don't worry," Zuko tried to reassure her, "I'm just going over for a look. I'll be right back." The look of terror on her face brought back long forgotten childhood memories from before she could bend. They had been playing together in the palace when Zuko decided to sneak into their father's study. The look of fear on her face when she tried to stop him was the same look she had now. Was this who Azula would have become had their father not warped her to his own ends?

"You don't understand! If you go over there she'll know. She always knows. As long as everyone stays on my side I can keep her asleep, most of the time. But when ever anyone goes on her side she knows and she wakes up. I can't fight her Zuzu, I can't!" The tears that flowed from her eyes hurt him more than any attack.

"It's ok Azula I know she scares you," Zuko said as he put an arm around her. "She used to scare me too, but you must have some control over her, otherwise some of her stuff would be on your side."

"She just feels weaker on my side," Azula sniffed sadly, "she hates being weak. That's why she hates me, because I'm weak."

Zuko held her at arms length and looked her in the eyes. "Azula, you are not weak. You are a princess of the fire nation and the strongest fire bender I've ever known." He reached down and picked up one of the crude playing pieces that were closest to the boarder line. "Look at what she tries to make." He turned her around and pointed to one of the beautifully detailed pictures she had burned into the wall, an animal she called a lion. "Look what you can create. "She calls you weak because she's jealous of what you can do. She keeps you afraid of her because you are strong in ways that she can't, or wont understand." He turned her back to face him. "I want to help you, but to do that, I have to talk to her. Do you understand?"

"No," she said as she wiped away the last of her tears, "but I trust you Zuzu."

"Thank you." Zuko let go of her and entered the Gamer's territory to wait for Azula's other persona to emerge. He didn't have to wait long.

"Hello brother," Zuko heard a familiar voice say from behind him. She spoke the words as if they were an insult rather than a salutation. He turned to see a version of his sister that was closer to what he remembered. Physically, nothing had changed, but otherwise, everything about her was different. "I have waited a long time for our rematch."

"Do you plan to challenge me to an Ag-Ni-Kai?" Zuko asked knowing that this persona couldn't even light a candle. He wanted to see how she'd get out of it without admitting her lack. Cruel he knew, but he somehow knew that the Gamer would not understand kindness.

"No, the last time we played that game you cheated. With my games you can't cheat."

"It was you who cheated," he countered angrily. "It was just between us until you attacked Katara."

"No! I never cheat! Cheating is a path for weaklings like you! I am not like my pathetic other self! I am never weak!"

"Prove it then," Zuko replied evenly, though, in light of her blazing temper, he was rather glad that she couldn't use her fire bending in this persona. "Let's play one of you games. Three rounds. Whoever wins two wins the match."

"Agreed," she snarled as she went to one of several game tables and, after righting it, began to gather up the pieces. Zuko walked over and examined the playing field while she set up. It looked like a large square separated into several smaller squares. Each square was about the same size and colored in an alternating two color pattern. On the side closest to the room boarder she had set up two lines of crude pieces that were badly painted in fire nation colors. On the side furthest from the boarder she set up matching pieces painted in water tribe colors. He knew, even before she sat down on the chair behind the fire nation line, that he would be playing water tribe.

"I call this game, Chess," she said as Zuko took his place behind his pieces.

"Why do you call it chess?"

"Why is Uncle Iroh's favorite game called Pai-Cho?" Azula snapped. "It's my game and I can call it whatever I want."

She explained the rules of her game. It was really a rather interesting strategy game, simpler than pai-cho, but still promised to be a challenge. "Fire Nation goes first," she stated once the rules were explained. She then proceeded to move a front line unit, which she called a peasant, two spaces forward. As the game progressed Zuko did everything he could within the rules to prolong this first round. He knew he stood little chance of winning the first game, but by studying the way the pieces moved, and his sister's aggressive tactics, he thought he could increase his chances of winning the second round. The violent way she knocked his pieces off the board was also informative. It certainly explained why the paint on the water tribe pieces was so badly chipped in comparison to the fire nation ones. As an experiment he knocked one of her pieces off the board the same way. Only instead of knocking the piece to one side or the other he purposely sent her sage flying towards her. She dodged of course, but he hadn't intended to hit her with it. The sage landed on the boarder and bounced into the other side. Her gloating when she finally won was as bad as Zuko had expected. He ignored it, gathered up the water tribe pieces that had been knocked off, and put all of them back in place on the board. Azula's defeated pieces were all on the side of the table where Zuko had put them, with the exception of those that had fallen off during her victory rant and the sage on the Artist's side of the room. When she finally calmed down enough to gather her pieces she couldn't find that sage.

"Where is my other fire sage?" she demanded.

"Over there," Zuko replied calmly as he pointed.

"Go get it," she said as if he were a servant.

"I've gathered my forces already," he said calmly. "The sage is yours."

"You knocked it over there you get it."

"You knocked my pieces across the room," he countered calmly. It was hard for him to keep his temper, but he had learned from numerous sessions with anal retentive nobles, politicians, and generals that losing his temper at the wrong time was a good way to lose control of the situation. "Yet I gathered them and put them back on the board." He gave her a thoughtful look before saying, "I suppose I could get it for you're afraid to go over there."

"I am afraid of nothing!" To prove this she strode across the boundary to get the sage. One would thing she was walking through a swamp the way her nose wrinkled in disgust. She picked up her sage and shook it off to dislodge the imaginary filth.

When she was ready the second round began. This time Zuko knew the game and was able to win. Needles to say, the board went flying and Azula attacked him. Had this been a fight between fire benders, and if she was in her right mind, she would've been formidable. As it was he defeated her easily. Her fighting style always had depended more on bending than on hand to hand fighting.

At the sound of their fighting two orderlies came in ready to restrain Azula and protect the Firelord.

"Get out!" Zuko shouted while struggling to hold his sister.

"But my lord…" one orderly started to say.

"This is between me and her! I want no interference!"

"As you command Firelord Zuko," the second orderly said as he bowed and lead his confused companion out of the room.

"Azula," Zuko said to his sister. "The match is three rounds. We have each won one round. Do I call the orderlies back and leave the match as a stalemate, or will you calm down so we can finish it?"

The possibility of a stalemate, of neither wining nor losing, had been drilled into both Azula and Zuko as not being an option. Zuko had since learned otherwise, but Azula's gamer persona seemed even more fanatical about victory at all costs then Azula had been. As he had hoped, Zuko's words snapped her out of her homicidal tantrum and she stopped fighting his hold.

"There must be a victory," she snarled as he let her go.

"Then let's finish this," he said as he righted the table and gathered his scattered forces. Watching as she gathered her own. "Your other self said that Mother came to visit."

"I don't want to talk about her, or my weaker self," she replied as her hand tightened into a fist around her Fire Lady piece.

"Why not?" Zuko asked.

"Because she's your mother, she's her mother, not mine." Her voice rose in anger as she spoke. "She only comes to see the princess, not the monster, but I don't need her or the weak princess she coddles. When I crush you in this game it will prove that I am the strongest. I shall reclaim my crown and I'll never have to see them again!"

Zuko was defiantly going to talk with Syd-Ni. He finished setting up his side and sat down to wait while she did the same. As the third round began Zuko thought quickly about his options. Losing was out of the question but wining would just send her into another blind rage. There seemed to be only one option. He only hoped he was doing the right thing.