Title: Bad at Good

Working Title: Fire Hazard.

Summary:

Even the best laid plans go awry. What about the worst? Au diverging after season 2. Of destiny, dragons… and big-ass water snakes.

Credit where the credit is due.

Special thanks to VickyVicarious for planning help.

Special thanks to Gift Of the Dragons for beta help

Premises:

Ba Sing Se has fallen as in canon and the Avatar is in retreat. The small change is that Aang did not appear all that dead, and so the hunt for him continues. Iroh has been arrested and sent home. When Zuko finds out about this, and the fact that his sister expects him to aid her chase for Aang, he disappears on her. Yet a little more than a week later, on a small road in an Earth-Kingdom forest, the following events take place…

.

~.

~~Az~~

The boy in green stood facing down Azula's tank with only an ostrich-horse at his side.

He had stepped into their way, out from the surrounding shrubbery and into the middle of that dirt-packed earthen road. For a moment too long, Azula had looked down, fascinated; wondering if without direction her driver would simply plow on and run down boy and mount.

The driver did not, and her vehicle came to an abrupt screeching stop. Atop her perch halfway out the tank the princess had to brace herself. Someone cursed below -likely Mai, sour about the jostling. Another beat later, there was the loud clanging of metal-on-metal from behind as her hundred-soldier entourage dealt poorly with the sudden uncalled halt.

As dust cleared, the main gun-barrel was but inches removed from this road-barring upstart's face.

The boy hardly noticed the commotion. He raised his face from under messy black bangs to glance at the machine belatedly, then momentarily farther up to the Fire Princess atop that tank... And the lighting died from Azula's hands, for this boy in green was no mere boy in green at all.

A peasant's robes and shaggy short hair might blend him with the faceless masses, but that lizard-skinned scar around his left eye was a dead give-away.

Oh, and it was a surprise to see him! For after his disappearance from Ba Sing Se only a week ago, the princess had half expected it to be another three years before she would see her dear brother again.

It seemed for once, the prodigy princess had assumed incorrectly, and her big brother had gotten no wiser with the years.

"Well, well, well, Zuzu! What rock did you crawl out from under?" Azula inquired lightly. "Don't tell me you changed your mind and decided to stop running."

Zuko's eyes snapped up—then slid sideways again. Like an old cat noticing a light dancing on the wall, only to remember the futility of chasing it. But a good sister would not miss that spark- the anger that was still there. It brought the comforting knowledge that he was still her gullible little Zuzu underneath it all.

Prince Zuko had always had too much ego for his own good: too honest to lie, too proud to run and hide. Not to mention a legendary temper…

Yet right now, that temper was reined, his voice soft.

"Found the Avatar's camp-site; this way."

Eyebrows arched in thought, Azula watched as he turned to lead her and her entourage away from the path, and up a hill.

Sputtered laughter stopped him.

"Oh, dear, dear brother! And whatever where you doing there?"

His wide-eyed profile was the last piece of the puzzle: her little Zuzu had seemed conflicted when she had found him in Ba Sing Se. When she had talked him into working with her to wound the Avatar, he had reacted with abhorrence. Short on the heels of this was Iroh's betrayal and his subsequent arrest, which likely had upset her brother even more.

As easy as one-two-three.

"You didn't actually try and join forces with the Avatar, did you?"

She only just caught his tight-lipped frown before he turned away.

"Don't be silly, little sis. The Avatar and his group are champions of justice. Why would they allow the company of a banished traitor?"

Azula laughed again, less mockingly—truly happy for once.

"That's right; nobody would want you by their side."

Nobody but her.

I missed you, brother!

Author's note, aka 'you talk too much':

I have done, and re-done the first piece of this, trying to get the feel of the later story somewhat in there.

2 april edit: I said I had 20k before. Now I am at 16 chapters up, and have about 25k laying around here now. Still, I see that the story is now 45k online. And when I am completely fair, we are only about ¼ through in the tale at best. The enormity of what I am doing is hitting me. Megalomania indeed. Still, I think there is enough for all to enjoy in this story. Humor, romance and epic battles. Introspection and character development. It's all in the works.

Zuko, as I am writing now has been called a calm!Zuko. There is a reason for that, and it will be explained in story later. Sokka, as I am writing him might be slightly cleverer then in-canon Sokka. As for Azula… she's going down the deep end fast.