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As I strode out of the tent, Zuly in tow, I could already hear the muttering beginning. I caught Mai's voice drifting out of the flap, something to do with my psychopathic tendencies. Azula lingered by the flap, her eyes drifting aimlessly around. In my previous rage of finding her locked up, I hadn't realised just how much this episode in her world had affected her. It was like Azula was a completely different person, she looked as…well, not all of her was there. An important part missing from her personality. I figured then, that despite Azula's cunning with battle strategies, it really wasn't what she needed right then.

I allowed my war-hardened eyes to soften as I met Azula's gaze. I reached out, took the hand that wasn't clutching her cup of saffron tea, and led her carefully through the throng of tents and rubble that made up Camp Evergreen. In the end, we did reach the strategies room, but I didn't intend us to talk war. No, that would probably just make Azula worse. We were going to talk about her, and lies, and especially about the answers I wanted to hear utter from her lips.

Azula sat down on one of the hard wooden chairs with her tea, curling into the fetal position again. It was as if…afraid. But that was impossible; this was Zuly we were talking about. Azula wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. Well, as I thought that it dawned on me. She was afraid of something, she had always been afraid of something. The pressure as a princess, the perfection required…failure. The failure with the Avatar had driven my Zuly over the edge and they hadn't done ANYTHIGN to help her but lock her away where the sun would never shine. It was like they wanted her to stay crazy, and forever alone.

Whilst I came to my conclusions about Zuly's break down, she never muttered a word. I wasn't even sure I could hear her breathing, and I could normally hear everyone breathing. Sighing, I walked over, and knelt down next to Zuly's chair.

"Really, Zuly? Talk to me. You're a wreck, you're shivering and not saying a word, and you're actually drinking tea. This is wrong, and you know it." I stood up and lifted her head so as to look her in the eyes, which immediately began to fill with tears.

"Help me, Chloe…I don't know what I am anymore. I'm a failure…" Azula began to crumble again, beginning to lift her head down, and I grabbed it and yanked it up sharply.

"Shut up." Her eyes widened at my harsh words, "Just shut up, Azula. Yes, you failed. We all fail." Azula's eyes narrowed, "I don't want any of this: 'I'm such a failure' crap, because it's a LIE. Just like you lied to me about Zuko's death."

The cup of tea fell from Azula's hands as she stood quickly and had me a lock hold, my face pressed to the strategy table, "I did that to protect you," she sneered weakly, obviously out of practice, "You would have wasted valuable years pining for them if I had told you the shameful truth!"

"Shameful truth? HA!" I wriggled out of the lock hold, punched Azula and stood ready for another attack, "Zuzu stood up or what he believed in, which is more than could be said for you!"

"You find his disobeying of the Fire Nation inspirational?" Azula was in full battle mode now. "Well, that just goes to show why you aren't Fire Lord, and never will be!" She punched a blue fireball at me, sending me tumbling out of the flap in the tent. I righted myself, a look of pure, unadulterated hate for my one-time best friend.

"So, Zuly, what happened to 'failure' Azula? I guess you didn't get to be Fire Lord EITHER!" On that word, I chucked a glowing green fireball at Azula, which she barely dodged, stumbling slightly, whilst it hurtled into a near-by tent, setting it ablaze, "I, however, Zuly, have not failed, and never will!"

"Oh really?" She spat, getting to her feet, her crimson kimono and trousers singed, the flyaway hair blowing in a sudden wind, "You are despised by your Fire Lord, how ever will you win?" Azula ran at me, yelling like an animal as she did, her hands alight with blue. I met her head on, grappling, falling to the floor with her.

By this time, some of my soldiers had run over to put out the tent I had set alight, and a crowd was growing around us, whispering about their beloved Fire General and her best friend. Ji had come into my tent, I supposed, after I ran out with Azula, because there he was, running out with Zuko's friends in tow.

Azula and I had abandoned the formality of bending by now, and were basically just clawing and punching at each other's faces like cats in an alley. I could see a deep bruise begin to develop around Zuly eye, and my split lip was stinging, but that didn't stop us. Well, not at least until Ji got involved. Grabbing me under the arms, he pulled me away from Azula, and stamped, encasing mine and Azula's arms and legs in an earthen prison, whilst he let us shout insults at each other.

"You bitch!" I shrieked at Azula, struggling frantically to get free, "After all I've done for you, rescuing you from that goddamn prison and fixing you up! Maybe you would be better off in there, so they can throw away the key for you to ROT!"

"After all you've done for ME?!" Exclaimed Azula, trying to get free just as much as I, "Who taught you to fire bend? Who introduced this world to fire bending? ME! You should be grateful!"

"Grateful? Damn it, your Father taught me to Fire Bend not you and–" I stopped dead in my tracks, my adrenaline-filled mind finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than getting out of the dirt encasing me and ripping Azula's throat out. She introduced Fire Bending to the world…wait.

"What's wrong, Clo-Clo? Cat got your tongue?" Azula sneered nastily.

"No, but one poisonous little bitch who loves to ruin lives has." I glared, tears pricking my eyes, "Azula…Even you shouldn't have stooped that low. You introduced bending to the world. So, tell me, honey, how many non-bending families did you visit whilst telling me for the rest of the year you were in 'your' world? How many people's minds did you corrupt?"

Azula's face was that of someone who had been slapped around the face with a very hard, very cold truth. Which, in fact, metaphorically speaking, she had. "I…I…I was only..." She was reverting to the meek, quiet, broken Azula to before, her sentences breaking and the struggling stopping. I knew I should stop with the torment there, but the pent up exasperation and pain from the abandonment of my parents, the loss of friends, the pure sacrifice of my innocence, and I finally had someone to blame it on.

"Azula, you and youR pathetic little 'Daddy's Girl' antics ended up destroying families, starting a war, and murdering hundreds upon thousands of innocent people. Lemme guess, Daddy wanted to take part in a experiment, am I right? And I was prototype?" Azula's blank stare said it all. I growled, breaking out of the constrains of Ji's rock, and ran over to where Azula was still restrained. I leant down to her ear, and whispered menacingly: "Do you know how easily I could break your neck now, Azula? I just need a reason why not to. Can you give me one please?"

I was expecting Azula to beg for her life, but no sound came. I drew back from her ear, and stared at her, obvious she was on the edge again. I couldn't say another criticism, her eyes were so empty it was tearing up whatever I had left of a conscience. I shook my head, looked to ground, and went to leave.

Ji grabbed my arm. "Chloe," he whispered quietly, "Don't ruin Azula's chance for recovery."

I shook his arm off. "No, Ji. She ruined MY chance of recovery. It's the knowledge that my so-called best friend destroyed the only chance of normality that I ever had and plunged my world in war that makes it impossible to forgive. I'm sorry…" I pushed past Zuko's friend, to see them staring at me, and walked to my tent, my eyes pricking with tears once more.

Description
As I strode out of the tent, Zuly in tow, I could already hear the muttering beginning. I caught Mai's voice drifting out of the flap, something to do with my psychopathic tendencies. Azula lingered by the flap, her eyes drifting aimlessly around. In my previous rage of finding her locked up, I hadn't realised just how much this episode in her world had affected her. It was like Azula was a completely different person, she looked as…well, not all of her was there. An important part missing from her personality. I figured then, that despite Azula's cunning with battle strategies, it really wasn't what she needed right then.

I allowed my war-hardened eyes to soften as I met Azula's gaze. I reached out, took the hand that wasn't clutching her cup of saffron tea, and led her carefully through the throng of tents and rubble that made up Camp Evergreen. In the end, we did reach the strategies room, but I didn't intend us to talk war. No, that would probably just make Azula worse. We were going to talk about her, and lies, and especially about the answers I wanted to hear utter from her lips.

Azula sat down on one of the hard wooden chairs with her tea, curling into the fetal position again. It was as if…afraid. But that was impossible; this was Zuly we were talking about. Azula wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. Well, as I thought that it dawned on me. She was afraid of something, she had always been afraid of something. The pressure as a princess, the perfection required…failure. The failure with the Avatar had driven my Zuly over the edge and they hadn't done ANYTHIGN to help her but lock her away where the sun would never shine. It was like they wanted her to stay crazy, and forever alone.

Whilst I came to my conclusions about Zuly's break down, she never muttered a word. I wasn't even sure I could hear her breathing, and I could normally hear everyone breathing. Sighing, I walked over, and knelt down next to Zuly's chair.

"Really, Zuly? Talk to me. You're a wreck, you're shivering and not saying a word, and you're actually drinking tea. This is wrong, and you know it." I stood up and lifted her head so as to look her in the eyes, which immediately began to fill with tears.

"Help me, Chloe…I don't know what I am anymore. I'm a failure…" Azula began to crumble again, beginning to lift her head down, and I grabbed it and yanked it up sharply.

"Shut up." Her eyes widened at my harsh words, "Just shut up, Azula. Yes, you failed. We all fail." Azula's eyes narrowed, "I don't want any of this: 'I'm such a failure' crap, because it's a LIE. Just like you lied to me about Zuko's death."

The cup of tea fell from Azula's hands as she stood quickly and had me a lock hold, my face pressed to the strategy table, "I did that to protect you," she sneered weakly, obviously out of practice, "You would have wasted valuable years pining for them if I had told you the shameful truth!"

"Shameful truth? HA!" I wriggled out of the lock hold, punched Azula and stood ready for another attack, "Zuzu stood up or what he believed in, which is more than could be said for you!"

"You find his disobeying of the Fire Nation inspirational?" Azula was in full battle mode now. "Well, that just goes to show why you aren't Fire Lord, and never will be!" She punched a blue fireball at me, sending me tumbling out of the flap in the tent. I righted myself, a look of pure, unadulterated hate for my one-time best friend.

"So, Zuly, what happened to 'failure' Azula? I guess you didn't get to be Fire Lord EITHER!" On that word, I chucked a glowing green fireball at Azula, which she barely dodged, stumbling slightly, whilst it hurtled into a near-by tent, setting it ablaze, "I, however, Zuly, have not failed, and never will!"

"Oh really?" She spat, getting to her feet, her crimson kimono and trousers singed, the flyaway hair blowing in a sudden wind, "You are despised by your Fire Lord, how ever will you win?" Azula ran at me, yelling like an animal as she did, her hands alight with blue. I met her head on, grappling, falling to the floor with her.

By this time, some of my soldiers had run over to put out the tent I had set alight, and a crowd was growing around us, whispering about their beloved Fire General and her best friend. Ji had come into my tent, I supposed, after I ran out with Azula, because there he was, running out with Zuko's friends in tow.

Azula and I had abandoned the formality of bending by now, and were basically just clawing and punching at each other's faces like cats in an alley. I could see a deep bruise begin to develop around Zuly eye, and my split lip was stinging, but that didn't stop us. Well, not at least until Ji got involved. Grabbing me under the arms, he pulled me away from Azula, and stamped, encasing mine and Azula's arms and legs in an earthen prison, whilst he let us shout insults at each other.

"You bitch!" I shrieked at Azula, struggling frantically to get free, "After all I've done for you, rescuing you from that goddamn prison and fixing you up! Maybe you would be better off in there, so they can throw away the key for you to ROT!"

"After all you've done for ME?!" Exclaimed Azula, trying to get free just as much as I, "Who taught you to fire bend? Who introduced this world to fire bending? ME! You should be grateful!"

"Grateful? Damn it, your Father taught me to Fire Bend not you and–" I stopped dead in my tracks, my adrenaline-filled mind finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than getting out of the dirt encasing me and ripping Azula's throat out. She introduced Fire Bending to the world…wait.

"What's wrong, Clo-Clo? Cat got your tongue?" Azula sneered nastily.

"No, but one poisonous little bitch who loves to ruin lives has." I glared, tears pricking my eyes, "Azula…Even you shouldn't have stooped that low. You introduced bending to the world. So, tell me, honey, how many non-bending families did you visit whilst telling me for the rest of the year you were in 'your' world? How many people's minds did you corrupt?"

Azula's face was that of someone who had been slapped around the face with a very hard, very cold truth. Which, in fact, metaphorically speaking, she had. "I…I…I was only..." She was reverting to the meek, quiet, broken Azula to before, her sentences breaking and the struggling stopping. I knew I should stop with the torment there, but the pent up exasperation and pain from the abandonment of my parents, the loss of friends, the pure sacrifice of my innocence, and I finally had someone to blame it on.

"Azula, you and youR pathetic little 'Daddy's Girl' antics ended up destroying families, starting a war, and murdering hundreds upon thousands of innocent people. Lemme guess, Daddy wanted to take part in a experiment, am I right? And I was prototype?" Azula's blank stare said it all. I growled, breaking out of the constrains of Ji's rock, and ran over to where Azula was still restrained. I leant down to her ear, and whispered menacingly: "Do you know how easily I could break your neck now, Azula? I just need a reason why not to. Can you give me one please?"

I was expecting Azula to beg for her life, but no sound came. I drew back from her ear, and stared at her, obvious she was on the edge again. I couldn't say another criticism, her eyes were so empty it was tearing up whatever I had left of a conscience. I shook my head, looked to ground, and went to leave.

Ji grabbed my arm. "Chloe," he whispered quietly, "Don't ruin Azula's chance for recovery."

I shook his arm off. "No, Ji. She ruined MY chance of recovery. It's the knowledge that my so-called best friend destroyed the only chance of normality that I ever had and plunged my world in war that makes it impossible to forgive. I'm sorry…" I pushed past Zuko's friend, to see them staring at me, and walked to my tent, my eyes pricking with tears once more.