I am happy that I finally got myself to get this story up. I am working relatively hard on it and hope I'll keep going on with this-I have yet to write a fanfiction and actually finish it. XP So, with that, you know that this is not my first fanfiction, so I'll be happy to take criticism, I guess. Although I have yet to really know what kind of stuff is ahead (so the genre's could be off), I have an idea of what might happen.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Avatar: the Last Airbender. I only own this story that I wrote.

A Second Chance

Prologue

During the Fall

Here she was, in the middle of falling into insanity, yet it didn't even feel like it. She felt like she was only venting out her anger and sorrow of her defeat, entangled in chains connected to the ground with no chance to escape on her own. Fire exploded from her mouth as she screamed and fell on her side. Yes, this wasn't insane at all…

Yet the terrified faces of her two worst enemies stood before her, just watching her. Was it so hard to at least get her out of her restraints? She was a Fire Lord; she shouldn't be beaten like this! It wasn't fair!

Tears splattered from her face as she fell into hysterical crying. The recognition hit. She had lost. She was not Fire Lord, nor would she ever be. She had failed- failed her father, failed her nation, failed herself.

Finally, her brother and the Water Tribe girl left together, with her brother walking more carefully with his wounds slowing him down. Wounds she caused. However, she didn't even feel triumphant over that small victory she gained. No one was listening to her cries and screams and insanity. Did anyone even care? It was a long time before she even heard footsteps come her way. By that time, she had calmed somewhat, and the skies were darkened, no longer red from the comet. She was breathing heavily but had stopped the tears from coming, and her voice was almost gone from all her yelling. Fire puffed from her mouth every other breath, but she simply ignored it.

She pulled her head up to see it wasn't her brother or even her father. If her father is here, she would have hope; she could be Fire Lord again, everything would be what they wanted, and the world would be theirs…

But no. It wasn't anything like that. Instead, she was surrounded by five ancient looking sages. One kneeled beside her, his face revealing the sympathy he held for the fallen princess. Her hair whipped against the hair and over her face, hiding the insanity and anger rising in it.

"Pr-princess Azula?" the one sage asked, wide eyed. Sure, he had seen Azula just before their interrupted coronation, obviously on the brink to losing her mind, but he hadn't anticipated for such a horrible result of the battle on her.

"No, no!" spat Azula, shifting her head onto the ground, mindlessly looking at the water churning through the holes under her. "I am Fire Lord Azula -I am not a princess anymore!"

No sages replied, afraid to do so. But the one beside her slowly reached out to her. He was nervous, like she was a cat ready to bite if he was too close. Eventually, however, he mustered enough courage to get close to her and grab the chains. At once, Azula realized what he was going, and contently let him do so. She felt her wrists be freed from the chains, which feel to the clatter against the ground.

But she was not freed; not by a long shot. Arms clasped harshly by her waist and her arms, and a bellow was released from Azula's lips. It roared through the area like a monster had awakened. Metaphorically, it had.

"Let me go! Do as I say! Now!" Azula hissed, struggling against the three sages' grasps.

"You must stay calm, Azula," the eldest sage said scornfully, glaring at the crazed and fallen princess. There was no regret, no sympathy anywhere, neither in his tone nor his face. "Or else you will end up nowhere."

Azula's hands blazed with brilliant blue fire, but the men's holds were too strong altogether, and she could barely burn the one's wrists. Her face contorted in pain as the fire only burnt her own hands. The fire evaporated in the air, and she felt everything in her-her fury, her energy-die out. Now, she was too tired, too lost in the events that had just unfolded, to feel anything. She was limp in the men's arms, still breathing heavily as she looked into the eyes of the scolding sage. She gave him the worst glower she could plaster on her face.

This didn't faze the sage at all. He nodded curtly. "Azula, by orders of Fire Lord Zuko-"

The remaining sages eyed the princess, worried that she might react viciously that her brother, the one who caused all this, was now the ruler of the nation; just like she would've ended out without him.

But she remained still, only staring with cold, evil eyes. Her teeth were gritted, but it never formed a scream or a demand. Her unkempt black hair was a shield once she bowed her head. Her stance was klutzy, knees bending, but the sages straightened her up. Even with her head down, the sage stared hard at her.

"Azula, you are being sent to Yun Ko, by orders of your brother."

Her eyes grew wide, and she pulled them to the sage's face. There was more disbelief than anger, even a bit of horror. The name was familiar, but she considered it a disgrace to anyone to say the name of the top asylum in the Fire Nation. Yet here she lay, having just been told she was being sent to it by her own brother; the bastard…

"We are not going to fight you, Azula, and we won't stay here all day. You have no choice. You will be taken there by carriage in the morning. Meanwhile, you will be watched over as we take you to the prison to sleep in for the night," the old sage continued. He turned, now with his back to Azula's face, and he walked away. By instincts, the remaining sages, including the ones holding Azula, pulled forward to follow him.

She didn't think she'd see him, but across the hallway into the palace, there he was. He was standing on the side, surrounded by several guards, for paranoid reasons against her. His reasons were obvious. She pulled against the sages, her face ablaze with rage. "You traitor! How could you do this to your own sister! I hate you!" she snarled.

Zuko didn't reply, didn't even shift his hardened expression. He watched her as the sages took her to the front of the palace and away from it.