From Mortal To Divinity

The trip to Zuko's location took about two weeks at sea. Azula spent the majority of the time sparring with Kagutsuchi and practicing energybending. After she'd managed to learn lightning generation and all its variants from Kagutsuchi in five days, he transferred everything he knew about energybending to her mind using said form. Admittedly most of the information is theoretical, with spirit energy manipulation and astral projection being the only abilities he managed to accomplish.

The problem with energybending, is the lack of references on how to achieve the abilities they know they can do. It's like knowing for a fact that you can firebend and the katas to firebending without knowing how to properly breath and manipulate your chi.

Ridding her mind of those thoughts, Azula set about exploring her brother's lodging. The location is situated at the northern post of the Earth Kingdom in a small port town under Fire Nation control. The only notable feature of the town are the trees, in full bloom with gorgeous petals of pink and red. The house itself is located up the hill from the port. It's small with two bedrooms, one dining area and one bathroom.

Sitting on a table in the dining area with her legs crossed, Azula prepares to wait for her brother's return when her guard speaks.

"You're such a drama queen," he says in exasperation.

She turns her head to face him and narrows her eyes dangerously at him before asking "Excuse me?"

Leaning on the wall behind them with his arms crossed and his eyes close, he answers "A drama queen is ---

"I know what a drama queen is," she interrupts. "Ever since you got rid of Koh, you've been talking back, almost to the point of insubordination. Is there a reason for this?"

"I'm just glad that I can be myself once again. Aren't you glad that you can finally read my face. I know you hated not being able to tell what I felt when Koh was around." he answers with a smirk on his face.

This is infuriating, she can't tell whether he's joking or is actually serious.That's something she started to notice recently, her inability to tell jokes apart from slights. Usually people don't make jokes around her, however ever since he freed himself from Koh he has taken to making jokes at her expense, and it irks her that unless a conversation involves war, bending or politics, she has absolutely no idea how social interactions work.

Before she can answer, Kagutsuchi opens his eyes and looks towards the door saying "They're here."

As soon as he finishes speaking Azula senses two chis, one big and yet calm while the other is smaller and raging like an inferno, entering her range of detection. It's a skill he taught her when they were brainstorming new possible firebending techniques. The skill itself has nothing to do with firebending, it is based on the user's knowledge and the ability to sense all chi, starting with the user familiarizing themselves with their own chi.

Half a minute later the door opens, admitting in her brother and uncle. Looking at them, Azula can't help but notice how far Iroh let himself go. While her uncle had always been short, he was also fit with good senses developed from years on the battlefield. Now instead of being fit he is fat with senses so dull that he completely misses her and her guard and continues his conversation with Zuko.

"Look at these magnificent shells" says Iroh as he empties out his bag of shells on a table near the entrance.

"I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come"

Zuko following him answers "We don't need anymore useless things. You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now."

Zuko himself hasn't really changed much physically other than getting taller and packing a bit more muscle. However, he no longer carries himself like the proud prince he used to be. He looks, not tired per say, but weary.

Having seen enough, Azula makes her presence known "Hello brother. Uncle."

Immediately they face her, and as soon as they realize that it is her, their faces harden and they take a step towards her.

"What are you doing here?" questions Zuko

Not bothering to answer the question, Azula says "In my country we exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions."

Getting up she walks towards him and mockingly asks "Have you become so uncivilized Zuzu?"

Rage covers his face as he screams "Don't call me that."

Iroh, knowing that responding to her taunts will only encourage her, interrupts "To what do we owe this honor."

"Hmmm" hums Azula, a mocking smile still on her lips. "It must be a family trait, both of you so quick to get to the point."

Before they can answer, Azula continues, her voice and face now completely serious "We need to talk."

"Ozai wants you dead uncle, and Zuko, he wants to put you in a cage where you can no longer disgrace him. Your recent failure to capture the avatar was the last straw." she says.

Zuko, who didn't know what to expect, can only stare at her while trying to process the information, his face cycling between disbelief, rage, and horror. Iroh on the other looks pensive and somber, as if knowing that it is in fact something his brother would do, but struggling to decipher whether it's the truth or another one of Azula's lies.

Deciding to get to the heart of the matter, Iroh asks "You didn't come here to play messenger. Why are you here? Why betray Ozai?"

"Don't mistake my pragmatism for compassion. He was going to betray me first" answers Azula.

"Lies!" screams Zuko. "Why would he betray you!? You're a prodigy, the perfect heir, the one he didn't scar and banish!!!"

By the end of his tirade he is full on raging, eyes glaring at her and his chest heaving up and down from running out of breath.

"Oh Zuzu" begins Azula, her face still as serious as before. "Don't you see it by now. Ozai doesn't care about anything but power. Not you, not me, and certainly not the Fire Nation. We're all a means to and end."

Iroh who had been contemplating up until now asks "What did he do to make you come to that conclusion?"

"I have been forced to reevaluate his teachings recently" she says as she turns her back to them.

"I must admit that they are...narrow, for lack of a better term." Turning back to face them again she says "While Zuko's refusal to even put up a fight during the agni kai can be seen as dishonoring himself, the punishment didn't need to be as severe as disfigurement and banishment. Sending him to serve in the military would have sufficed."

Zuko couldn't believe what he was hearing. Azula herself claiming that their father was wrong in banishing him. He didn't want to believe it, he knows that she has a history of lying. Yet, he's never seen her this sincere before.

"As for me" continues Azula. "I did some searching, and I found his plans for the future in his secret office."

"Secret office?" three voices rang out.

Immediately Zuko and Iroh, the first two voices, zeroed in on the third voice behind Azula. Standing behind Azula, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, stood a Fire Nation soldier wearing a modified version of the Southern Raiders uniform. He stands as tall as Azula who, now that Zuko is paying attention, stands just as tall as him. He has midnight black hair tied into a ponytail, dark skin reminiscent of a member of the water tribes, golden eyes, and a scar that starts from his left eyebrow, runs through his eyelid only stopping at the edge of his lips.

Iroh narrows his eyes at the soldier. Something about his looks tugs at his mind. Taking a closer look, his eyes immediately focuses on the scar as he remembers the rumors about a single soldier able to accomplish any mission.

Eyes widening he speaks "Dragon."

Zuko, never having paid attention to any rumors not pertaining to the avatar, skeptically looks at his uncle and asks "What?"

"I see you recognize my new guard uncle" says Azula.

"How can I not" responds Iroh "Rumors of a soldier with golden eyes like the sun and a scar that starts from his left eyebrow, runs through his eyelid only stopping at the edge of his lips, have been circulating between soldiers of the colonies and the mainland."

"It's said that he can accomplish any assignments and can firebend as if he were a dragon himself, hence the moniker Dragon" says Iroh.

"Him?" says Zuko skeptically. "He looks more like a pretty boy than a soldier. Can he even firebend?"

Before Kagutsuchi can answer, Azula interjects "We can discuss the validity of the rumors later. We need to get back on topic."

Walking past Zuko and turning to face the whole room, Azula speaks "Father had a set of secret passages and rooms installed in the palace. They are hidden behind specific portraits and can only be accessed by firebending at said portraits. That's how I was able to sneak around the palace when we were children."

Seeing that she has everyone's attention, she continues "In one of those rooms is an office with scrolls on information ranging from secrets on all nobles to secrets erased from history books. It's also where he keeps all of his plans."

She pauses to make sure that everyone has processed the information before continuing "I found a scroll there detailing his plans to win the war. He plans to use Sozin's upcoming comet to burn down the earth kingdom completely. A remake of the airbender's genocide. After that he planned to discard me by giving me a puppet position as the Fire Lord while he rules the rest of the world as the Phoenix King."

By the end of her explanation everyone is silent as they process the information. Evident on their faces however, including Kagatsuchi, is shock. Zuko because he knows that Azula isn't lying. Throughout their lives Azula has never made up such an outlandish lie, and how can someone even come up with a lie like that. For Iroh, he can't believe how far his brother has truly fallen. He can't help but think that if he fought Ozai for the throne, none of this would be happening.

For Kagatsuchi however, the reason is completely different. He knew that was Ozai's plan in the cartoon, however none of his jumps have been exactly like their source material. ROB specifically told him not to rely on his previous knowledge for anything other than the basics. In the Arkham universe, the events of Arkham Origins never happened. Sure the people existed, but Black Mask never set the events that would become Arkham Origins into motion. Also, Jason Todd and D.i.c.k Grayson were Robin at the same time, and Jason became Red Hood without dying. In Westeros the only reason why he was able to make a plan based on his foreknowledge was because he had an extensive spy network to confirm his suspicions. He honestly never expected Ozai to be the same crazy bastard in real life.

Seeing that everyone has processed the information, Azula extends her hand to Zuko before speaking "What do you say Zuzu, do you want to help me save the world?

Looking at her for a few seconds, Zuko grabs her hand and responds "I hope you have a plan. We'll be going up against the Fire Nation as a whole."

Smirking Azula looks at her uncle and Kagutsuchi before answering "Don't worry, the soldiers are loyal to their Dragons after all. First though, I have to hunt down the avatar to make sure that Ozai doesn't suspect anything, that means I'll have to assemble a special team. It's time to visit some old friends."