This is… a plot bunny, short and simple. It may last to epic proportion, or it may just be some sort drabble-like work that has SOME plot association. Mostly it's just me trying to practice more character development I suppose. Then again it may just be my fickle nature…

And an excuse to not do school work… Yeah… That work too…

Whatever strikes my fancy I suppose?

By the way, this is not an OC. He is simply… different if you can figure out who he is. It isn't hard considering the crossover.

Disclaimer: I don't not own the respective mangas/animes/cartoons. They belong to their respective creator.

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Life had a very strange way of doing things.

For instance, she had always figured that she was superior to everyone else, being born lucky and perfect as her father always said. She was perfection, and there were no flaws within her body to speak of.

This perfection was broken by a stupid water tribe girl, who was supposed to be SO below her that it wasn't even worth it to remember her name!

For instance, she had everything, be it gold, power, influence, charisma; everything! People feared her. They whispered her name as if she was nightmare incarnate. She had their respect as well as their fear.

Yet the one thing she craved the most, she lacked. They never loved her. Her own father never loved her. Her uncle disliked her. Her mother despised her. Her brother hated her.

For instance, she was always surrounded by people, rushing to service the princess. She was always the center of attention, and if she wasn't, she will get that attention through her action. She will get what she wanted. According to her father, she deserved every last bit of it.

Now, she was alone. There was nobody here exclusively for her. There were people here, but they weren't here for her, she was convinced of that. Her brother wanted them here, but they didn't want to be here.

For instance, she was a genius. Her mind was sharp and precise. She was controlled and devious. She planned and she schemed. She planned. Oh how she planned. She accomplished what could not be done by many great generals and commanders. It proved her brilliance and her intelligence.

She lost her sanity, and even till this day, six months after the whole deal with Sozin's Comet, she still wasn't sure her sanity was there. She may never have regained it, only convinced that she was sane when she was in essence raving mad. People said if you know you were mad, you obviously weren't.

Life was a very strange thing, because despite everything she'd done, everything she went through, she lost it all in the end. She lost her family. She lost her crown. She lost her friends. She lost her mind.

She probably lost her pride too. That was up for debate though. She'll be the first to know when she found out the answer.

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There was this tiny little voice in the back of her head that kept on telling her, "You deserved every last drop of this, just like father told you."

She would ask herself, "Why do I deserve this? I did nothing wrong."

And then a voice that sounded like her brother's would replied, "You lied. Azula always lied."

It shouldn't matter if she lied. She had done it a lot throughout her entire life. Yet that comment from her brother hurt.

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People questioned her sanity; they wonder if she lost her mind.

Sometimes she believed them. At those times, she got angry, and lashed out at any one either stupid enough or courageous enough to get close to her. Sometimes she didn't, and at those times, she too got angry, and her room will burn in the azure flame that always separated her from other fire benders. If she remembered correctly, she had changed room almost close to a fifty times by now. Oddly enough, she was always transferred to a room equipped with the softest silk and the fluffiest pillow as well as the warmest blanket. She wondered if this was some strange sentimental feeling from her weak brother.

Sometimes, she simply stared into space wondering if perhaps there is a middle ground between madness and clarity. It was during those times that she questioned her sanity the most, for it was during those times that she saw a transparent dragon standing by her bed. Its eyes always lingered on her for however long she can see it. It had always and will probably always wait there patiently, its long, serpentine body coiled around the bed in a strange way that forever escape her.

What was it waiting for? She always asked herself, and of course, she always scolded herself immediately after for even recognizing it.

Instead, she only stared right back, her golden eyes lazy and half-lid.

It saddened and angered her to notice that she believed them more than she doubted them.

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…Her hair had grown longer. She had grown thinner. Her fire burned lower. Her curves were more noticeable now. Her nails grew out of proportion, only to be cut down every once in a while. She seemed to have grown a little taller. Someone once commented that she looked a little more like her mother…

Of course, she always asked herself.

So what?

With each passing day, with each passing moment, she wondered to herself if she will ever leave this cage. A cage made out of jade, not iron. It was a gilded cage, a fine cage. It was a cage that resembled nirvana, the land without worries or conflict.

It was still a cage nonetheless.

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She can walk, she can run, she can write a poem, or she can read a book. She can even fire bend within these walls, guarded always by the best of the best, most definitely by her brother's command. She can paint or write calligraphy. She can even sing to her heart's content if it strikes her fancy.

But she can never be free.

Yet she never felt freer.

She had lost her determination; her drive. Her father no longer mattered, having lost his fire bending from what she heard. His approval no longer mattered to her, having learned that it never really mattered from the beginning.

It made her empty to know that she was always a pawn to him.

Yet it gave her a sense of freedom.

…Yes, freedom.

How ironic that it was when she was locked up due to her father's down fall, that she felt the most free.

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Nobody ever came to visit her.

They were never here just to see her.

The doctors were here to exam her mind. The healers were here to ensure her health. The servants and maids were here to ensure her comforts. The guards were here to ensure her obedience.

They were here for her, but no one was here for her.

Her brother was probably too busy anyway, trying to clean up the mess Sozin started. That was fine. After some pondering, she believed it better that he was left with the works, because she would probably burn them all down despite her being better at politics.

The Avatar and his companions probably never wanted to see her face ever again, having washed their hands of her. Well, she said good riddance to them too. Especially that water girl…

Last she heard, Ty Lee joined the Kyoshi warriors. She probably fitted right in, and probably will not have any time to visit her. That was fine too. She probably couldn't take her cheerfulness.

Her uncle opened a tea shop somewhere. Not sure where, and can't remember where. It didn't matter anyway. They never got along well.

Mai… Mai was by her brother's side. There wasn't much else to say about her…

Nobody ever came… Well, people came; they come and go every day: to restock, to change shift, to report, to evaluate, to guard, to feed, to do whatever they need to do here in her gilded cage.

But they were never here for visiting.

It never was for visiting.

They didn't even come here to gloat…

…It was awfully lonely.

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On the mid of the seventh month of her… indoctrination into this gilded cage, she dreamt of a very strange dream.

Instead of the dragon that was always there, there was instead a man in a heavy, black cloak, worn from over usage. It covered everything from his shoulder to his ankle, leaving only his equally worn, black boots visible.

His figure was imposing, his frame large and frightening. His shoulders were broad, and she wondered briefly what it felt like to cry on them before snorting at the notion of crying at all.

A light shone from behind him, concealing his face from her, but making his wild and unkempt hair the most peculiar silver. It made him divine, and she was slowly being convinced that it was just another one of her fit of insanity.

His voice was deep, and his tone gentle. Yet his authority is undeniable. It made his already impressive figure even more so.

He said to her at first, "You are one peculiar girl; a very interesting girl."

She only raised one finely kept eyebrow at this. He chuckled in return, and he said, "Yes, I can see the resemblance." To who? Did it matter? "Remarkable really, that despite so much time… Hmm." Were they still on who she resembled? "You obviously took after your mother in look." She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult, the way he put it. "Now don't give me that look. You should feel happy. Your mother was a beautiful woman." Yes, she was a beauty, but a rather foolish one. She was also weak…

A little annoyed and getting impatient, she asked him, "To what do I owe you this pleasure, oh great specter?" The sarcasm was thick, and the venom can easily be felt as they burn like acid. However, the man just laughed at her.

His deep, belly-aching laugh annoyed her, yet it tickled her inside, but in a good way.

Then he asked, "Tell me child, do you wish to leave this place?"

Now she was truly convinced that this was just another episode of her insanity. Who would want her out of here? Aside from some small resistance or rebellion group that opposed her brother's role, who would want her? Besides, who would the guards allow in that would take her out of here?

Her confusion must have shown on her face, because he said, "You must be curious about who wanted you out of here. Don't worry; it's not for what you think. Let's just say someone wished to give you… another opportunity."

Another opportunity? For what? Revenge? But she never did what she did for revenge… alright, she did. But then that was mostly out of spite than anything. She did many things to people around her for various reasons, but never truly for revenge.

"Like I said, it is for another opportunity. What it is for, you'll just have to find out. So, what say you? Want to go for a spin?"

…What could she possibly lose to entertain this particular fantasy? Nothing. The worst she'll suffer was waking up to be disappointed when her eyes grace upon the familiar ceiling of her jade cage.

The answer was rather easy, especially since this was all a dream after all. So why not play along with it and see where it goes from there?

She answered, "Yes."

The man seemed to smile. He certainly chuckled, but not in an evil way like the devil would do when you made a deal with him. He only leaned forward, put a large hand on her shoulder, making her very aware of how skinny she'd gotten. She was flushed for a self-conscious second before she forced it down to stare defiantly at the man's face.

She became acutely aware of the pair of laughing blue eyes; happy blue eyes. Eyes a shade of blue that she couldn't quite place, but they reminded her of many things: starting with the sky and ending with the ice.

Then he pulled her away.

She didn't know where he pulled her to. She didn't know her destination, or her guide, or if this was simply a really good assassination that made her feel at eased.

She didn't care. She just wanted away from this cage.

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Fire Nation, Capital, Palace…

"Err, my lord… There seems to be… a little… umm… a problem." A soldier, one of many that served both as security as well as errand boys within the massive palace said with sweats pouring down his face.

This was due to the man in front of him, behind a large desk filled to the brink with works; the Fire Lord Zuko. Said lord frowned down at him with distaste, and asked in a snipe tone cultured from many headaches due to the massive amount of works he'd done and yet to finished, "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?"

The soldier gulped down his nerve and reported one particular piece of news…

"WHAT?"

That moment was recorded as the starter of one of the largest fire to ever be witnessed within the Fire Nation. It was also the day that faceless soldier gained a footnote within the nation's history.

It wasn't everyday a soldier manage to single handedly bring down an entire wing of the palace after all.

…Though technically, it was Zuko that did it.

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Author's Corner: In the end, it might appears that this will be on an epic proportion length wise, but it'll probably still be more of a drabble element than an actual plot line. It's really just a need to do some creative writing.

Just so you know and so that I don't get some nonsense about me killing Azula, she did not die. I didn't kill her off. I liked her too much for some reason, and I never really liked character death anyway. So no, she isn't dead.

The figure will be announced next chapter. It is a promise, for there will be a next chapter. You can try guessing at it, but it probably won't be much of a challenge. I won't however answer to any guessing, so don't bother pressing me for me.

Err… what else did I miss? Perhaps looking for a beta? I seem to need a beta for just about all of my stories… except Jailer. We'll see.

Well, what do you think?

The story I mean XD.