Author's Note: Heyyyyyyy, guess who's back? This gal! Man, it's been forever since I've written any fanfiction (most of my time is dedicated to my original work and novels these days). I really missed this story, so I figured I'd hop back on the wagon and breathe life back into this! For anyone who's still following the story, you're awesome! You have all of my love!

Also, I've decided that I'm going to start replying to people's reviews before each chapter! So if you guys wanna say anything, please do drop a comment and I'll happily reply for the next chapter! For now, let's reply to the Chapter 13 reviews, shall we?

jadeb.21: D'aww, thank you so much! I honestly cannot explain how much it means to me to hear that! Some days, I lack confidence in my work, so your encouragement is heavily appreciated hon.

NATSUxERZA 123456: Haha! Yes, yes, all the questions are brewing now. Hopefully they'll be answered for you soon! And yeah, Koda is a lot smarter than people initially think, which I believe is a quality that Azula truly adores about him. Of course, making her admit that out loud is a different story, lol! And you know what? ...Yeah. I do know what you mean haha. I may or may not titled the chapter like that on purpose. *wink wink*

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.

Now, without further ado, please enjoy the chapter!

Swamp people.

Freaking swamp people. What were the odds? As far as Koda was concerned, he'd much rather be sitting in a circle around the campfire, choking back a mouthful of roasted moose flies than tangled up in the grasp of a vine monster. Err, well, some hillbilly waterbender controlling a vine monster…

He was getting off track.

"I ain't never thought we'd run into kin!" One of the swamp men exclaimed happily, his spindly figure practically radiating with excitement. Katara, on the other hand, didn't share the same eagerness. She flashed an awkward grin, scooting a tad closer to Aang out of pure instinct.

"Y… Yeah. Kin!"

"Careful, I heard lies are hard to swallow these days," Koda whispered under his breath, hiding a mirthful grin behind his bug meal. Regardless, Katara caught word of it (along with Sokka, who was cackling freely at the jab) and she immediately whipped on Koda with a pointed glare. The ex-prisoner held up his hands in surrender. "A-anyways! So, uh, mind running this whole living forest biz by us again?"

He still couldn't bring himself to wrap his mind around it.

"Uhh, sure," the apparent leader of the swamp tribe said. He held some serious girth to him, though muscle peeked through the fat of his arms, and his eyes were drooping at the corners with perpetual exhaustion. Or was that laziness? Koda couldn't really tell. But what Koda could recall was his name-Huu. "You see, this here forest is just one giant living organism. It's alive." He swept an arm out all around them. The endlessly twining vines, the chatters and chirps and growls of mysterious creatures. All in discord, yet all strangely in sync. "I reckon it called out to you and brought you here."

"I remember," Aang piped up, "It was weird. I felt like… Like something was drawing me in and next thing I knew, we were going down. Then the tornado…"

Huu quirked an eyebrow while scratching his belly. "Tornado? I don't really know nothing 'bout that. Just know this forest wanted you for a reason, I guess."

"Guessing he can't enlighten us on that reason either," Sokka whisper-grumbled to Koda, who merely shrugged and grinned in response. Eh, he was just here for the ride… unwillingly. But that was besides the point.

"Well… what about the visions?" Katara asked, her tone wavering subtly with something morose. Troubled. Koda didn't need to wonder what was bothering her; after escaping that weird ghostly girl and bursting through the vines, she found the waterbender in a sobbing heap, cradling herself like a desperate, devastated self-hug. The sight had instantly plucked at his heartstrings and despite the lingering annoyance with Katara, despite his hostage situation… He couldn't bring himself to do nothing. It was awkward. It was a tad fruitless on his part. But he had done his best to talk her through the pain and remind her that reality had friends waiting for her. Aang. Sokka. Momo. Appa… even him.

Even now, Koda wasn't quite sure how much truth he told her, but she needed to hear it.

"Visions?" Huu's belly-scratching switched over to his beard. A long, rumbling hum escaped him. "Well, what did'ya see?"

"I…" Katara shrunk into herself, clearly struggling to formulate words. However, before she could force herself to speak, Aang intercepted.

"I-I saw some girl in a fancy dress. With a flying pig too. It was… I don't know. Just weird."

Koda perked up. "Oh, you too? Huh… What's with this wacky place and little girls? Did you ask you to come play and stuff? Or have I finally hit my head twelve-hundred times too many?" He tried to offer a chuckle, but it failed at lightening the mood; Aang grew quiet upon dearing this, his expression pinching with deep contemplation.

"No, she just… was laughing. A lot. And running. I tried to catch up to her, but then she disappeared." The airbender rubbed the arrow on his crown, a tick deeply ingrained into his nerves. "I've never even met her before."

"Well that's just the thing about the swamp," Huu said. "Here, time is but an illusion. Everything that happens before, now, or after is all intertwined by the same fate. The same roots laid down by generations to come and go." Koda felt his features gradually slacking the more Huu spoke, hanging onto the swampbender's every word. "In this world, we live like four divided nations, but we're all grown from the same tree. Spreading out more and more, and pretending as if we're not from the same origin. But that's our history. We are, always have been, and always will be one harmonious organism."

"Time is but an illusion…" Aang echoed. Then, a glimmer danced in his eyes, a spark that suddenly erupted into a gently epiphany. He slowly rose from his seat on the log. "So I never met her… but that means I'm going to meet her!"

"Is that what you got from all this guru mumbo jumbo?" Sokka muttered before ripping off a huge chunk of fried insect carcass, his cheeks bulging grumpily. Katara just shook her head, while Koda was too busy making sure his brain was still in one piece.

"Dude… Huu… You just blew my mind," Koda whispered.

Huu heaved a loud and harking laugh in response, slapping his knee all the while. "Well I'm mighty glad I could be of mind blowin' service!" The ex-prisoner just nodded in response, his mind still numb from the spiritual lesson. So if… If that were true, then what did that say about the war going in? The Fire Nation's agenda to overthrow the entire world and submerge everyone else's culture under their own. To erase their way of life just to copy and paste the Fire emblem over it. Before all of this, Koda was merely disgusted by Fire Lord Ozai's thirst for power and hatred. Absolutely loathed his inhuman treatment of Azula and his audacity to brainwash her the way he did. That was all.

But now… There was so much more to consider. So much that he needed to think about.

Starting with that strange girl who had a flower in her hair. Lime green petals, tapering off to a dusting of peach in the center. "Hey, Huu? You guys ever seen a green flower around here? Kinda pink towards the middle?" he asked. However, just as quickly as hope stirred in his gut, it was extinguished by the man's baffled expression.

"Definitely not, kid. Sorry…" he said.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Koda scratched the back of his head, only to wince as a throb throttled his head. Right, right. Burns. Still injured. Agni, how did he keep forgetting about that? Apparently, Katara noticed the reaction and was already in the process of approaching him.

"Here, let me have a look at that. I imagine you agitated it a lot from that fall," she said.

However, Koda was quick to catch her by the wrist, his grip sudden but gentle. Instinctual. Sheepishly, he immediately released her, cleared his throat, and scooted away from her a bit, giving them proper breathing room. He waved off her advanced dismissively. "N-no worries! I'm way sturdier than I look. Not like I'm bleeding or anything and I know a concussion when I feel one, so I'm all good."

Katara looked far from convinced. Expression unreadable, she pointed plainly at the bruises on his arms. "Then explain those."

Shit!

"Ahaaa, would ya look at that," Koda laughed awkwardly while folding his arms, effectively tucking them away from view. Hastily, he stood up and peered over at Aang. "H-hey Aang! You saw ghost gal. I saw ghost gal. We're like, soul twin or something! Let's talk some more about it, yeah?"

Aang blinked. "Uhhh…" Then shrugged, smiling bright and wide. "Sure! Two heads are always better than one."

Koda beamed in response, though he couldn't stop the bead of cold sweat rolling down the back of his neck. From his peripherals, he could see Katara's annoyance emitting from her like waves, pelting into his form ruthlessly. Nope. Nope, nope, nope-he would not budge. He refused. The last thing he needed was to be left alone with Katara and her prodding questions again; one interrogation was one too many already.

Gulping, he ignored her silent fuming and paced over to the Avatar, more than happy to distract himself from the awkwardness.

This had been one heck of a weird day.

-XXX-

Disgusting.

Everything about this village had the hairs on the back of Azula's neck standing to attention. Paranoid and annoyance coiled in her gut like a pit of vipers. Straggly and greased wanders filing around every corner, locking eyes with her, flashing smiles comprised of several gaps at a time, their glassy gaze snapping to delayed clarity upon landing on her regal uniform and fiery amber pupils…

Cowards. They couldn't have fled any faster.

Of course, she knew that openly waltzing into an Earth village while on the back of her lizard would garner stares. Which was fine. She could care less. The princess was raised and trained until the harshest and most judgemental pair of eyes in the world.

Their looks were nothing compared to Ozai's.

And besides, she only had one goal in mind, and worrying about the horrified whispers of commoners ranked terribly low on her list of priorities. For now, they needed to find a resting point, quickly load up on supplies, and set off on the path once more. Not a single moment could be wasted.

From Azula's right, she could pick up bits and pieces of Mai's groaning. "Why don't they just draw a picture. It'll last longer…" she muttered while slicing into the onlookers with a dull sideways glare. A few flinched away from the look, while many more remained rooted in spot with paralyzing curiosity. The knife-thrower heaved a dry sigh.

"Aww, don't be like that, Mai!" Ty Lee piped up. "I think it's nice! They're probably thinking about how pretty you are!"

Another disgusted groan from Mai.

Nearly rolling her eyes, Azula tuned out the rest of their (one-sided) conversation and soon locked her sights onto a nearby building. It was two levels and clearly in the better condition compared to the rest of the establishments around. A simple stable was set out front with a water bin, while a sign hanging over the entrance read The Mud Pit.

...Classy.

But again, Azula couldn't afford to waste time. This would have to do for tonight. "Ladies, we board here for tonight. Tie them up and set a room for us," she ordered coldly. Like a crack of the whip, Ty Lee and Mai nodded, and were following her orders before either of them could draw a breath. They were well enough of the clipped tone and the punishment it could bring; they had suspicions as to what the origin of Azula's agitation was, but they weren't exactly to shed light on the topic.

Avoiding her wraith was for the best.

But, of course, Ty Lee couldn't keep her mouth shut. "And what about you, Zula?" she asked while dismounting her lizard, watching the princess do the same. And yet, she was heading in the opposite direction of the shoddy motel. "Where're you going?"

"Ty Lee…" Mai hissed between her teeth, grabbing the acrobat's elbow while trying to urge her inside. Regardless, the carnie didn't budge and her gaze drove into the princess's back like a pair of fluffy daggers.

Azula felt it. By Agni, she felt every second of it. And that fact that it bothered her on such a deeply spiritual level was beyond irritating. Slowing to a stop with her back facing the pair, she allowed herself to breathe in. Calmly. Steadily. Balance… A long and drawn out sigh rushed from her lungs. Her voice was soft, just a few steps above a whisper. "Out. Now do what I said and secure a room."

"But-"

"Hey," Mai interrupted Ty Lee with another pull of her arm, expression harder than stone. She shook her head and with that final gesture, the acrobat's form deflated in defeat.

"Al… Alright then. Be safe, Zula."

Azula's pace quickened, pulling her further and further out of view until Mai and Ty Lee's forms disappeared into the motel.

-XXX-

She couldn't do this. She was going to break. Become dismantled. Piece by piece. Brick by carefully placed brick. Until she was nothing but a pile of withering, spiraling, pathetic ashes. There was no rebirth. No rising up like the crackling flames of a phoenix. None of that. Just pure, utter… end.

No… No, no, no. She was the Fire Nation princess. A prodigy. Father hated weakness. But she hated father. But she hated the weakness eating away at the foundations of her psyche even more. But did she? What did she truly loathe more?

Ozai.

Weakness.

Ozai's hatred.

This crippling suffocation.

Ozai's sick, twisted mind games.

The cotton swelling in her lungs and pushing against the back of her eyes.

She couldn't understand. She couldn't steady herself. "Composure… Composure… Composure…" Her voice was nothing more than a rasp, trembling ever so slightly with the precipice of… something. She couldn't quite place a term on the miasma burning away at her diaphragm, as if her own firebending was revolting against her. Was this panic? Her? Panicking? Preposterous. She was far too strong and brilliant to succumb to such… s-such a stupid… childish…

A wheeze rippled through her lungs as her forehead met the trunk of a tree. Several more surrounded her on all sides like a curtain, blocking her from the eyes of many. Of anyone who dared to witness her in this moment. She had told herself mere minutes ago that time couldn't be wasted. Time was an immovable, indifferent force that waited for no one, not even her. Not even for her mission to find Koda. She couldn't dawdle a mile off the perimeter of the village just to have a breakdown-

But Koda. She needed Koda. She didn't know what had happened to him. What was happening now. Was he hurt? Was he lost? Was he looking to the sky and wondering why she let this happen to him? Was he blaming her? Was he angry? Felt betrayed?

Did he realize that loving her was a mistake?

"Calm… d-down…" Liquid hot inhales threatened to fry her the inside out, but she continued to breathe. She continued to focus on her center, on the everlasting flame resting in her gut. This was the oldest and most basic firebending practice to exist. Fire drew power from the breath. Without mastery of the breath, one could never call themselves a proper wielder of the element. "Calm down…" Her finely sharp nails lodged into bark, digging so deeply that splinters ejected around her fingers. A caustic sting shot up her arms. "Calm down." Whisps of smoke billowed from the tree as a sharp sizzle pierced the air. The acrid scent of burning wood. An infant of a snarl pulled at the fire princess's lips. "Calm. Down. Now!"

Then she heard it.

A loud smack echoed through the forest, followed quickly by a whimper. Young. Female… But unfamiliar. No, estranged; as if she had heard the voice before.

Azula dislodged herself from the tree, glaring at the coal black craters she'd left behind.

Another yelp.

And the princess's feet moved on their own. She followed the noise, a fog rolling through her head like stormclouds. She was emotional, swimming through a sea of feelings that she'd fought desperately to keep at bay. Not a single moment of reprieve could be had, as a single moment was all it took to buckle. She couldn't buckle. A princess absolutely could not, under any circumstances, succumb to baseless actions.

So why was she still walking? What was it about these pained screams that drew her in like a mysterious magnet? Azula traveled further and further, the commotion growing closer until the whines rattled her ears with clarity. Finally, a semblance of self control fluttered to the surface, as she snagged onto it ruthlessly, forcing herself to stop just before reaching a small clearing. She remained hidden in the foliage, taking in the scene silently.

It was two men. Gruff and hair incredibly unkempt, their oil-stained robes hanging awkwardly on their boney bodies. One of them seemed to carry a tad more meat than the other, a dark curtain of shaggy hair nearly covering his eyes. He bent forward and yanked something up violently, a growl grating at the back of his throat. Another whimper. Shaky. Terrified.

"That's twice now!" the man said. He turned on his heel and marched over to a cart a little ways off, which had a tarp draped over the back. As soon as he turned, Azula had full view of what he had in his grasp.

A young girl.

She was small and the oversized clothes only emphasized how thin she was. No-emaciated. Grime covered her from top to bottom, the layer so thick that her complexion was almost mistaken for a water native. However, her amber eyes and dark hair was proof enough that she hailed from Fire Nation. But what stood out the most to Azula, the one thing that made half of organs drop into the pit of her gut, was the fist curled harshly into her hair. The man dragged her along like an armadillo dog on a leash, not even batting an eyelash as she thrashed weakly in protest.

A small cloud of steam streamed from the princess's nostrils.

"Try to run off one more time! See what the fuck happens!" With an enraged yell, the man chucked the young girl into the back of the cart, her small body making painful impact. He unsheathed a katana from his hip; the blade was short and poorly cared for it, yet the rusted blotches of crimson on it gave away his murderous track record. He swung down, letting it sink harmlessly into wood inches away from the girl's foot, and leered sickeningly at her. "Don't think you won't sell with a few toes missing, missy. Men these days?" He licked his lips, looming closer. "They know how to make do and not get too picky."

Steam now rolled from Azula's nose and mouth, her lungs straining with the furious breaths racing in and out of her chest. Calm. She needed to remain calm. This child meant nothing to her. Absolutely nothing.

This wasn't her fight.

"Haha! Good one, Toshi!" Toshi's partner laughed from behind while pointing at the young girl. He seemed a tad younger, but carried the same slimy aura as Toshi. "You better listen good too! We're nice but uh… not that nice!" His chest puffed out, apparently proud of his comment.

Toshi heaved a groan while running a hand down his face. "...Lang."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

This wasn't Azula's fight.

"N-no! No! Let me g-go!" The girl's screams went ignored as Toshi pinned her down, rummaging through the cart until he retracted some rope. He slammed her arms down by the wrist, using his weight to pin down her lower body.

"Keep still," he growled menacingly.

This wasn't Azula's fight.

"No! No, father! I'm sorry! I-I'll never make another mistake, I promise!"

A long, foreboding shadow loomed above her, blocking the ceiling from view. She curled as deeply into the mattress as her little body could. Her eyes stung. Her heart pounded. A single, rough finger caressed her tear-stricken cheek. "Hush, Ursa…"

She shook her head. Frantically. Desperately. "B-but I'm not! I'm not mother-"

"I said quiet!"

This wasn't Azula's fight.

"I said keep it down!" Toshi shoved the girl's head down, the back of skull meeting wood with a worrisome thwack. White spots exploded behind her vision, the world suddenly doubling and teetering from side to side. A gurgling whimper tumbled from her lips before darkness crept along the corners of her gaze.

"There we go…" Toshi cooed while reaching out to the unconscious and bound girl. He ran a finger down her cheek. "Good girl."

A yell of unbridled fury shook the forest.

"What the?!" Before Toshi could blink, a jet of blue flames rocketed from the brush and knocked Lang off his feet. He smacked into a tree like a lifeless ragdoll, knocked out long before his body hit the dirt. Toshi leapt off the cart while brandishing his katana, hands trembling. Blue fire. That was blue fire. And as far as he knew, there was only one person in all of the Fire Nation who could wield such power…

"Sh-show yourselves, coward! You wanna fight me? Huh?! Come and get it!"

Silence.

A moment. Then another passed.

Then, a low rustle of the leaves. Toshi immediately fell into stance with his blade raised, sweat rolling down his leathery face by the pint. He watched the wall of foliage part like an ocean first revealing a fist curled around flaming cobalt dagger. Raging. Frigid. Searing hot. Bloodthirsty. Then came the arm, the torso, the all too familiar armor of royalty, then finally the face.

Toshi's blood ran cold. "P… P-princess Azula…? I… What're you doing-"

"What a shame," Azula hissed while approaching the man like a predator. "Your final words and yet all you can do… is babble." The man's heart leapt into his throat, overwhelmed by the unfiltered fury crushing him like a boulder. It was just a look. A single, world-shattering look that threatened to rip his spirit to shreds. This was a level of hatred that he never knew was possible, let alone imaginable. Fear froze his limbs in place, helpless as the princess closed more and more distance between them.

"M… m-mercy," he stuttered.

Azula's eyes flashed dangerously and in that moment, he realized that Death was upon him.

"Never. For. The likes. Of you!" Azula extended a straight punch, a strong jet rushing towards Toshi. With a yelp, the man just barely split it down the middle with an upward swing of his sword, only for his eyes to widen when the flames dispersed to reveal Azula inches away from him. The heel of her palm rammed into the underside of his chin. He head snapped back from the impact, before the same hand palmed his face, nails piercing his skin-

Wham!

Toshi's skull crashed into the dirt. His body fell limp, completely and utterly defeated under the might of Azula's rage. But she wasn't done. She was far from done. Scum of this nature didn't deserve to live, let alone exist. Her free hand raised and she channeled flames into her fist, forming a dagger once more.

Her eyes landed on his heart. One piercing. One quick, perfect, easy jab of the fiery blade through his chest, and it would be over. Not another young girl would feel the way that she…

It was right there. She could do it. She knew she could.

This was so painfully easy. Even as a child, she could.

She could.

She could…

A growl strained in the back of her throat. The dagger expanded to twice its original size, reminiscent of a blade sent down from Agni itself. "No more… No more," she rasped. Her eyes burned and stung. Why did her vision blur? What was wrong with her? Why was she breaking so much?

She screwed her eyes shut.

"No more!"

And plunged forth.

-XXX-

Azula sat on the ground, head cradled between her hands, posture hunched and defeated.

A black crater steamed next to Toshi's unharmed body.

"You're about to kill, Azula! Take a life! That's not you! Please… Don't do anything you'll regret."

Even with him gone, Koda's words had glued themselves to her soul.

Huffing, she stood up and approached the cart, inspecting the girl with exhausted yet calculative eyes. She didn't seem terribly wounded, but judging by the blow to the skull she'd taken not too long enough and her fragile stature, she likely suffered a concussion. Or a bruise. It was uncertain to tell at the moment. The princess grew closer to loop an arm under her, only to give pause as she studied her face. Beforehand, it was impossible to recognize her from a distance and through the grime smothering her face, but now…. Azula remembered her. Finally understood why she recognized those agonized screams.

This was the same girl she'd saved from the armadillo dog and given the batch of Koda's pastries.

"Agni, you can't be serious," Azula hissed under her breath. Why in the hell was the little girl all the way out here in a pathetic little Earth hovel? Was it because of the men? Did they kidnap her and bring her here? Or was this merely one of many stops before reaching their destination? If Azula hadn't been there, breaking down in the forest, what would've happened to her?

The princess couldn't allow herself to travel down that road of thought.

With a grunt, she lifted the girl and draped her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. This was wholly and entirely illogical. Reckless. Stupid. What good would it do to take the child with her? What would she tell Mai and Ty Lee? What whispers and rumors would spread if the villages saw her hauling around an unconscious little girl?

And yet, her body moved.

Because all she could recall, all she could think about was that night.

She couldn't count how many times she prayed to forget it altogether.

Author's Note: And that concludes our chapter, ladies and gents! I apologize ahead of time for the lack of flashback, but things were a tad heavy this time around. We've caught a glimpse into just how horribly Azula was treated by Ozai, along with unveiling the sad fact that Azula is internally crumbling. She's save face the best she can, but it can only last for so long. Meanwhile, the Gaang realize that their next destination resides in finding this little girl with a flying pig... but what about Koda's vision? Is it the same little girl? Or someone else entirely?

Please give me your thoughts, feedback, and theories in the reviews! Until then?

Stay gucci!