We're down to the last chapter of the week, which is a shame since I enjoyed writing these random one-shots about our great Fire Lord Azula. This one is a bit AU, given the theme and since it takes place in a zombie apocalyptic world. Hope you guys enjoy it :).

Keep Hope Alive

This wasn't what they had asked. This isn't what they had expected their lives to turn into. Granted, who would ever expect that they'd be some of the last few survivors left in a world overtaken by flesh-eating zombies?

At the age of fourteen, Princess Azula was one of the last remaining people of the world who hadn't caught the zombie-curse that had unwittingly been brought into their world. It was kind of ironic how the whole thing started, since the world was at war with one another and now they were fighting together to put an end to things before they got worse. From fighting against her enemies to now working alongside them, Azula's world had certainly been turned upside down.

Azula could still remember the first time she ever came into contact with one of the diseased, since that moment would forever be a part of her nightmares. It was during one of her trips in the Earth Kingdom with Mai and Ty Lee where they came across a group of zombies. Thankfully, Azula had managed to get away unscathed but her friends had not been so lucky. After that, Azula was at a lost as she had no idea what to do without her friends. That was, until she crossed paths with the Avatar and his group, who reluctantly agreed to take her with them.

Now, the last few people that were left in the world resided in a safe zone which was designed to be protected against any zombie entry. Against Azula's thoughts, they were waiting until they had found a cure before they made any movement against the zombies. The former princess would much rather be out there defending their survival, but everyone was against making any unnecessary combat.

Currently, Azula was practicing her firebending away from everyone else. That was the last bit of normalcy that Azula had left with her, since everything now was anything but normal. After performing a swift kick and unleashing a powerful blast of fire Azula got into her finishing pose, signifying that her movements were done.

"You certainly haven't lost your touch," somebody commented from behind her.

Turning around, Azula saw Zuko standing there opposite to her. When Azula arrived at the resistance headquarters, she had been surprised to find Zuko and her uncle amongst some of the few civilians. Despite being sent to capture them, Azula wasn't in any position to do that for obvious reasons. Since they'd arrived, the two siblings had put the past behind them and made a promise to stick together, especially since they needed each other now more than ever.

"Hello, Zuzu," Azula greeted her brother. "What brings you out here?"

"Nobody had seen you for a while, so they sent me out to go look for you," Zuko replied.

Azula scoffed, "I doubt that they were worried about me. I'm sure that if they had it their way I would already be a flesh-eating zombie."

"Yeah, I don't really know how to respond to that," Zuko admitted.

"That's because it's the truth," Azula stated, sighing as she took a seat on a nearby rock. "I'm okay, so you don't have to check up on me anymore."

"I know, but I still wanna talk," Zuko said as he took a seat next to his sister.

"About what?" Azula asked.

"Listen, I know that things have been difficult for us. We've had to unite with our enemies to even stand a chance against the outbreak. But it'll all be over eventually, we just have to stick together," Zuko said.

"Sticking together has gotten us nowhere so far. Sure, they're trying to make a cure but they don't even know how they're going to do that. For the most part, we're practically sitting turtle-ducks while we wait for whatever to come," Azula snapped.

"I understand, but we're not exactly in any position to launch any attack. There are more of them than there is of us," Zuko pointed out.

"At least by doing something we'd actually be making a difference. By waiting we're just allowing more of them to grow, which makes it even more difficult for us. I'm sick of waiting around for nothing," Azula ranted.

Zuko sighed, "So what are you gonna do, just leave and take on everything by yourself?"

"I wish I could," Azula muttered.

"Come on, Azula. Be reasonable. Sure, you're a powerful firebender and under any other circumstances I'd never bet against you. But in these circumstances, you wouldn't exactly stand a chance against an army of zombies," Zuko said.

Azula narrowed her eyes, "You dare doubt my abilities?"

Zuko held up his hands in defence, "I'm just saying. It's too risky for you to do anything like that, especially on your own."

"I'd much rather be out there than stuck in here with a bunch of morons," Azula snapped.

"There's nothing I can do to change your mind about this, isn't there?" Zuko asked.

"Nope. I know what needs to be done and deep down, you know I'm right too, Zuzu," Azula said.

With nothing else to say, Azula got up onto her feet and headed back to their main base with plans of her own in motion. If everyone else was too stupid to admit what needed to be done, then Azula would just have to do it on her own whether anybody agreed with her or not.

~*•°•*~

After her talk with Zuko, Azula had never been more convinced that the right move to make was to leave the resistance and fight on her own. Azula had been waiting patiently for too long, and she wasn't going to sit back and let the world as she knew it be destroyed if there was something she could do to stop it.

Upon gathering enough supplies that she would need, Azula headed towards the main gate with the intention of leaving and never returning. However, when she reached the gate Azula groaned as she saw the Avatar and his friends there. They were about to make her leaving much more difficult than what it needed to be, but she was still going to leave and there was nothing they could do to change that.

"You're leaving," Katara observed as Azula walked towards them.

"Yes, I am," Azula replied.

"You're crazier than I thought," Sokka muttered.

Azula rolled her eyes, "Maybe I am crazy but going out there and doing something would be far more productive than just sitting here and being useless."

"We have a better chance at succeeding if we stick together, Azula. You can't go out there on your own," Aang argued.

"Don't try and stop me, Avatar. I'm going and there's nothing any of you can do about it," Azula said.

"In that case, good luck Zappy," Toph offered, not even bothering to convince Azula otherwise.

Azula nodded, "I won't be needing it but thank you."

Ready to leave everyone behind, Azula simply walked towards the gate that had stopped her from doing what she wanted until now. Without looking back, Azula walked through the gate and out into the open world. Although Azula knew that she would be facing a mountain of trouble, Azula was more determined than ever to put a stop to the zombie outbreak. If not for her, than for everyone that she had lost in these dark times.

And with that, Azula Week 2018 is officially over. Since actually enjoyed writing these pieces, I might come back to this story with other one-shots for Azula. So, if you guys have an requests on that feel free to leave them below.