A/N: Hello everybody! The JerkDestroyers are back with another story! We have one major plot twist in this story: Katara's mom, Kya, is alive. And her only goal is to find Katara, but Zuko has another plan for her and her allies. R&R y'all to find out more! Enjoy the story!
*Jared's POV*
I pace around in my cell in the Fire Nation compound. Why do they have to keep us here like caged animals just because we are benders? I swipe my hand across my head, feeling the arrow shaped mohawk that sits over my air bender tattoo. I feel the air under my feet and rise up five feet until I hit the ceiling that holds me in this prison. The element-proof barriers keep us here. I miss the freedom of flying across the sky. I keep pacing the my cell, waiting for the door to open for the day like usual.
The doors start buzzing and the echo of the metal doors clinking open echo the halls. I walk out and start towards the cafeteria. I walk in and see Kya. "Jared!" she yells.
I walk over to her. "What's the haps?" I ask her.
"Looks like they are serving your favorite- pies," she says.
I feel the excitement build up in me, "Woo!"
"Katara used to love pies," Kya says sadly.
Kya's daughter Katara and son Sokka were both there the day the Fire Nation attacked. Sokka tried his best to keep up with his dad, Hakoda, while they fought, but was much too young to be involved in battle. Katara ran into their igloo just before the soldier she was talking to was able to find out who the last waterbender was. Kya said that she told Katara to leave and then lied to the guard, claiming that she was the last waterbender. He took her away before anyone could look and was gone.
Kya says that she knows her family thinks she's dead, and that Katara has probably taken her role as mother. She is resigned to the fact that her family is alive, even if she is imprisoned. I don't fully understand her logic, but I suppose it's different after someone has kids.
"I bet you miss her," I say.
Her blue eyes gleam. "I do."
After we are done eating, Jay walks over to us. Jay is an earthbender taken by the Fire Nation at the same time as Kya. He was the only earthbender in the tribe, with a water bending sister. They took him before he could find his younger sister Kat and say goodbye. He knows she thinks he's dead, but he has made it his goal to break out of here and find her. For all the goodness in the world.
"Guys!" Jay exclaims, "I heard they are bringing in new fire nation guards!"
"No more Mudfooter or Picklehead? Woo! The mean guards are leaving!" I exclaim happily.
"You got that right," Jay says.
"We have to look at the logical side. Does this mean they are loosening security by getting rid of these guards and replacing them, or making security stronger by bringing in some new, better guards?" Kya says, examining the situation.
"Well, we have had almost all the same guards since I showed up, so this is a big move for them," Jay says.
"What do you think would cause them to shift the guards around?" Kya asks.
"War," I say, "They could be preparing for another strike from the Earth Kingdom. Somone could be challenging the Fire Nation. We need to finally get outta here to help fight against the fire nation!"
"Let's check these guards out," Jay says standing up.
"Let's do it," I say following his lead. Kya stands up too.
We start walking to the rec room, passing by empty cells and down long hallways seeing the new guards. They look about the same as the old guards, but a little younger. There are fewer of them than usual. We make it to the rec room and start playing a pickup game of basketball. With my airbending I am the best.
After we are tuckered out, we start walking back towards the cafeteria for dinner. That is when I see him. My twin brother, Jose, in Fire Navy guard uniform. This may just be our ticket out, or our ride to hell.
*Lily's POV*
"Why are we stopping?! What is this, sabotage?"
I sigh. Prince Zuko is having a tantrum for the third time today. His quick temper has always been grating on the nerves of the crew. As a personal guard to him, though, I usually have to deal with his outbursts.
"Prince Zuko, we have stopped to gather supplies for the mission. Do you remember?" I ask gently.
He huffs and glares daggers in my direction. He's particularly irritable today. "Of course I remember! How could I forget?"
He looks back to the port we've just docked at. I can see his thoughts racing through his mind. He came up with a plan to capture the Avatar, finally. It's been three years at sea for us. When we first saw the light beam in the South Pole, it was a beacon of hope for all of us. Now, after tracking him and his companions, Zuko has decided to take a risky move.
Thanks to me, we learned that Katara, a girl traveling with the Avatar, lost her mother and friend in a Fire Nation raid many years ago. Zuko knew that they only took prisoners back then, and has concluded that she must be at the Boiling Rock, one of the highest security prisons in the Fire Nation. It sits inside a boiling lake in the middle of a volcano. All we have to do is sneak in, get the girl's mom, and then use her as bait to lure in the Avatar. If we're lucky, we can find this friend of hers, who I suspect is in relation to Kat, another waterbender travelling with them.
We've stopped at the closest port there to trade out our clothes and get supplies. We plan on taking a much smaller boat to get there, since Prince Zuko is banned from the Fire Nation. Once we arrive, we steal some guard's uniforms. If we're caught, we'll most likely be thrown into the boiling lake itself.
"Well then stop acting like a jerk!" Archer calls from behind me.
I turn around and give him a glare. He should not be speaking to a prince like that, banished or not. Not to mention he's the captain of the ship.
Zuko turns on his heel and shoots a flame right at Archer's chest. He easily deflects the blow and chuckles. I don't know how Zuko hasn't ended up killing him yet; they don't get along easily. Archer is sarcastic and knows how to get under the Prince's skin, and the Prince always reacts.
"How dare you speak to me that way!" Zuko spits through his teeth.
Archer chuckles lightheartedly and puts up his hands. "Hey, you know I was right! There's no need to get all strung up about this. Relax, we'll be fine!"
I nod my head. "Yeah, we'll do great! This plan is perfect and won't go wrong."
"Right, unlike all of those other plans of yours that failed," Archer quips.
This time I'm the one who sends a blaze his way. Prince Zuko huffs and orders us off of the ship to go in search of supplies. As much as he hates to admit it, he needs us. We're the only crew members close to his age, and I, at least, help keep his sanity in check. Archer and I are his personal guards, and have been since we were fourteen.
Besides his uncle, we're his only friends.
"Hey Lily," Archer calls from behind me in a street market.
"What is it?"
"You really think this plan is going to work?" For once, Archer looks serious. Or as close to serious as he can get.
I shake my head. "I don't know. If it doesn't, we're all dead."
He smirks. "Then you better kiss me now while you still have the chance."
"Zuko, sir-" I begin.
"Don't call me that! I'm Li, remember? Don't give us away!" he whispers.
I roll my eyes safely behind my guard's mask. Taking out three guards was simple enough, since most of them look like new recruits anyway. I accidently took down a male guard, thinking he was female, but the armor fits me well enough. Archer laughed at me and said that I barely filled the uniform out, so I punched him in the gut.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Archer asks.
"To the barracks. We need to scope things out if we want to have any chance of finding this woman," Zuko says.
Archer is smirking, I can see it through the hollow in his mask. "Finding the ladies should be easy with me around."
Zuko ignores him and continues down a dimly lit hallway. We are on the third floor of the prison and can see only a few other guards patrolling the area. It's past curfew for the prisoners and they're all locked away in their cells, so security isn't as high a priority.
I glance through the steel bars in each room, making sure we aren't passing her up. We've come across a few female prisoners, but none of them appeared to be Water Tribe. Zuko suddenly stops, causing me to collide into him and Archer to collide into me.
I whip my head around at him and mouth, "Not one word," knowing he has some inappropriate comment in store.
"I think this is her," Zuko rasps.
I pull up the eye cover on my mask and peer into the dark room. Sure enough, there's a woman with unnaturally tan skin for the Fire Nation, and dark hair. I search my brain for the name of her daughter. For some reason I've already forgotten what I heard the Avatar call her. Kana… no. Kassy, no.
"Katara," Archer calls, just loud enough for someone close by to hear. The woman jerks up and looks around.
"This must be her," I say.
Zuko nods and has me remember the room she's in. Archer gives me a smug look for remembering Katara's name, and I stick my tongue out at him.
We continue patrolling until we find a room where the guards all hang out. There's food being served, and my stomach whines in lust of it. Archer pokes my stomach and I elbow him into the nearest wall.
"Stop you two, would you?" Zuko commands.
I tilt my head down and apologize.
"Hey, are you the new guards?" a voice calls behind us.
"W-we sure are," Zuko stutters. I resist the urge to slap my face at his obvious guilt.
"Ah, new recruits! Just like me!" The boy has dark hair and dark eyes, from what I can see through his mask.
"How'd you know?" Archer asks him with more suspicion than curiosity. I swear it's just a matter of minutes before one of these idiots gets caught.
The man laughs, "You don't have to wear your helmets in here, no matter what rules say."
Archer relaxes beside me and nods his head. "I don't want to get in trouble with the warden, though."
A girl nearby laughs. "Who does? That man is cruel!"
Someone shushes her, but she rolls her eyes.
Zuko grabs my arm and leads me to the food table, leaving Archer with the man. I wonder how smart of a move that is, but suppose he's uncomfortable being around so many people during our mission.
"Get some food. We're leaving as soon as we can to find where the guards sleep," he orders.
I obey and grab komodo chicken and rice, then roasted duck and soup for Archer. I notice Zuko hasn't gotten anything to eat, so I grab him a bowl of rice, bread, and some sake.
Archer's conversing easily with the dark haired man and the woman now, so I sit beside him and let Zuko sit across from me. I give Archer his duck and soup, then slide Zuko's across the table to him.
"I'm not hungry," he says stubbornly.
I sigh. "Yes, you are. If you won't eat, then at least drink."
He shakes his head. "I want to keep my mind sharp."
Archer glances over and grabs the drink. "I don't mind!" he says as he gulps it down.
"Alcohol is served to the guards?" Zuko asks.
The man from before nods. "Sure, but they limit us to one drink a night. It's a shame. I'm Jose, by the way."
"I'm Li. And this is, uh…" Zuko struggles for a cover name.
"Lily. Li is my brother. And this is our friend, Archer," I say with ease. It's not like my name is widely known around the Fire Nation, and Zuko and I easily pass for siblings with our matching eyes and hair.
We are interrupted by the sound of people running outside the door. I rush over and see guards dragging a large man down the hall. In the confusion, I slip out and follow them.
I end up grabbing his sleeve to pretend I'm helping drag him away, and then move back when they all suddenly stop, open a door, and throw him in. A draft of cool air hits me.
"What is that?" I ask before I can stop myself.
"The cooler," another guard says. "It's like ice in there, and is used when prisoners use firebending to try and escape."
"Agni, you must be new recruit," says another.
"My apologies, I'm not very well informed," I say before turning on my heel and leaving.
I have to go get Zuko and tell him about my escape plan.
A/N: Thanks y'all for reading! Coming up soon will be a glance into the Gaang's life! Review and tell us how you enjoyed this chapter! More to come! The JerkDestroyers are out! Peace!