Jet stared grimly at the island as it drew nearer and nearer to the boat. He felt restless, but maintained his composure. His fellow prisoners also remained silent, with the only sounds being the water moving around the boat, and the occasional sound of chains knocking against one another as they swayed in the wind. The guards were closely watching them, almost daring the prisoners to make a move, but none of them did. Jet could tell from their expressions that most of them had already been broken.

But he hadn't. Not yet anyway.

As soon as the boat docked, the prisoners were filed out, ordered to march along a path up the steep slope of the island, and clambered onto a gondola at the top, which would take them down to the center of the island.

Jet looked out of the gondola, and could see that, apart from the mass of land in the center, the entire crater of the island was filled with water. He'd heard rumors that the water was far too hot to attempt to swim across, and from the heat that he could feel coming off of the water even as high up as he was, he knew that the rumors had not been exaggerating.

He shifted his gaze forward, and saw the rising steel walls that made up the prison, with many guard towers scattered throughout the perimeter. It didn't look any more intimidating than the prison he'd come from, but he could tell just from the location that it would be much more difficult to escape. He narrowed his eyes in distaste.

The gondola reached the bottom, and the prisoners walked out of the gondola, arranged in a row. After looking over them, the Warden walked up and began pacing back and forth.

"I'm sure you all know why you are here." The Warden said, his voice authoritative and cold. "You were all kept at the Fire Nation's Capital prison, an honor that you ought to have appreciated. If you had served your time well, you might have eventually restored your standing before the Fire Lord himself, and regained your freedom."

Jet let out a small snicker. He very much doubted that. And even if it was true, it likely only applied to Fire Nation citizens, not prisoners of war such as himself.

The Warden either didn't notice Jet's snicker, or chose to ignore it.

"But instead, you have all made repeated and foolish attempts to escape, or to otherwise avoid your rightful punishment. And so, you have all been brought here in order to learn the errors of your ways."

The Warden scanned each of the prisoners, his eyes lingering on Jet for a fraction of a second longer than the others, before continuing.

"This is the Fire Nation's most exemplary prison. Ever since it was built at the beginning of Fire Lord Ozai's reign, no one has ever escaped. I intend to keep it that way, and I would sooner throw myself into the boiling lake than let that record be broken."

Something like a smile appeared on the Warden's face.

"However, so long as you cooperate and obey the rules, there is no reason why your stay here should be too unpleasant. The Fire Nation rewards good behavior, and if you demonstrate that you are willing to reform, there will be benefits. If you disobey, however, there will be consequences, and whatever punishments you may have faced at the Capital, they are nothing compared to what we do to troublesome prisoners here."

Several of the guards grinned, and a few of them conjured small fireballs in their palms, their expressions full of malice.

Jet felt slightly sick at the implications, but forced himself to not betray any signs of fear. He glanced off to the side, tuning out the rest of the Warden's speech.

"…that is all for now. Do you understand?"

Most of the prisoners nodded or mumbled their assent, but a few, including Jet, said nothing.

Narrowing his eyes, the Warden singled out Jet, stepping in front of him.

"I said, do you understand?" He repeated, a warning in his voice.

Jet continued to look off to the side, defiantly ignoring the Warden.

"What's the matter? Do you not know how to speak?" The Warden sneered. "Don't think playing dumb will fool me. I know fully well who you are, Jet. You're the one who's been causing most of the trouble for the Capital prison these past few months. Be warned, my young friend, that I will be watching you closely, and I will immediately stamp out any signs of rebellion or attempts to circumnavigate the rules. Do I make myself clear?"

Jet continued to act as though he could not hear the Warden, and did not acknowledge his presence at all.

His temper finally getting the best of him, the Warden smacked Jet in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and let out an involuntary gasp of pain. Jet placed a hand on the left side of his face, trying to maintain his composure.

The Warden stood over him. "You will learn respect in time. One way or another." He turned to his subordinates. "Get them all out of my sight."

The Warden strode off, and the prisoners were filed down into the heart of the Boiling Rock.


His face still stung from the blow he'd received from the Warden, and though Jet didn't have a mirror available, he could tell that it was already heavily bruised. He touched his face gingerly, trying to ignore the pain.

He'd been shown to his cell, which was even smaller than the one he'd had at the Fire Nation Capital, but at least he had some privacy. The prisoners spent most of their time in their cell, and their time outside of the cell was closely monitored and regulated. At the moment, he was in line for dinner, his stomach growling with displeasure at the wait.

He'd been worried that he would have to prove that he was tough, and therefore not someone to mess with, but most of the prisoners had a weary air about them, and nobody really tried to bother him. He'd only seen one prisoner who still seemed to have some fight in him, and he had quickly been dragged away by the guards.

Jet made his way to the front of the line, and accepted the tray of food in sullen silence. It wasn't anything appealing, but it was no worse than what had been available at the Capital.

Most of the prisoners had found groups to eat with, but Jet, not feeling like socializing with Fire Nation criminals, sat at a table by himself. He hadn't seen any other prisoners of war like himself yet, and he was hoping that would change.

"I see the Warden gave you one of his tradition greetings."

Jet looked up to see who had spoken, and found himself looking at a brown haired girl who looked about his age.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Jet shook his head, and the girl sat down across from him.

"Welcome to the Boiling Rock." The girl said with an ironic smile.

Jet smiled bitterly, then looked back at the girl.

"My name is Suki." The girl continued. "What's yours?"

"Jet." Jet mumbled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Jet. There aren't too many people our age here in the prison, and it's always nice to see a fresh face who isn't from the Fire Nation."

Jet looked at her carefully. "So, you aren't from the Fire Nation?"

Suki shook her head. "No, I'm from Kyoshi island."

"Kyoshi island…would you happen to know any of the Kyoshi warriors?"

Suki looked surprised. "As a matter of fact, I would, seeing as I'm their leader."

Jet looked momentarily stunned. "Wait, you're the leader of the Kyoshi warrior's? So, are you the one that Aang and Sokka were talking about?"

It was Suki's turn to look stunned. "Wait, you know Aang and Sokka?"

"Yeah." Jet responded excitedly. "I met them when they were traveling through the Earth Kingdom, and then again in Ba Sing Se."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Suki exclaimed. "I never would have guessed we have so many friends in common."

Jet and Suki smiled for a moment, but then Suki's expression became serious, and slightly anxious.

"I've…heard rumors…about what happened in Ba Sing Se…to Aang…" Suki paused, and could tell that Jet knew what she was talking about.

"Do you know anything about it?" She asked earnestly.

Jet sighed, clenching and unclenching his fist. "Yes, I'm afraid I do know about it. I was there when it happened."

Suki's eyes widened. "So…is it true…is Aang dead? And…what about Sokka? What about the others?"

Jet looked down at his food. "Truthfully, I don't know. I believe that Katara, Sokka, and the others were able to get away, but I don't know for sure. As for Aang…he looked pretty bad last I saw him."

Noticing the sadness in Suki's face, Jet hurriedly added. "But it's not certain. I know that Katara has some Spirit Water from the North Pole, and that it can heal otherwise fatal wounds, so he might still be alive."

"But you don't know for sure." Suki stated.

"No, I don't." Jet admitted. "But there's at least a chance."

Suki let out a breath. "Well, that's something at least."

Feeling as though he should do more to reassure her, he added. "There's also an invasion of the Fire Nation that Sokka was planning."

Suki looked up sharply. "What?"

"Sometime in the near future, there's going to be a solar eclipse, and it will render the firebenders vulnerable. He was planning on striking then, as it's our best shot of catching the Fire Nation by surprise."

Suki looked serious. "But, with Ba Sing Se conquered, where would they get a big enough force to be able to invade?"

"I don't know." Jet admitted. "But if anyone could find a way, it's Sokka."

"Yeah," Suki said wistfully. "He can be amazing at times."

After a brief pause, Jet said. "Out of curiosity, are you and Sokka together?"

Her cheeks flushed slightly, but otherwise she maintained her composure. "Oh, yes, we are. Well, sort of. I mean, it's hard to be with anyone when you're locked up in here, isn't it."

Jet smiled ironically. "I suppose it is."

He sighed inwardly. Well, since she's with Sokka, I suppose it wouldn't be very nice of me to try and steal her away from him, seeing as I still owe him for opening my eyes. But damn, it's not every day you meet a girl like this, and once again I can't do anything about it. Well, I can't do much about anything, being locked up here…

"I was wondering…" Suki interrupted Jet's thoughts. "If Katara and Sokka got away okay, and you were with them, how did you get captured?"

Jet stiffened, and a rush of unpleasant memories flooded back into his mind. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to go a single day without dwelling on what had happened in Ba Sing Se. He supposed it couldn't hurt to tell her about it.

"Things might have turned out differently," he said quietly. "but everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. And the key moment…"

He paused, a white hot rage filling him as he remembered.

"It was Princess Azula and a man named Jingwei versus Aang, Katara, and myself. We had them outnumbered, and we might have won. But then…" he clenched his fist. "Prince Zuko showed up."

"Prince Zuko?" Suki said.

"Yes." He said, trying to keep his voice even. "I thought at first he might join us. He'd seemed like he was confused, and wanted to do the right thing despite his troubled past. But when the time came, he turned against us, and placed his so called honor above all else."

He still burned with anger whenever he thought of that moment. The young man he had believed to be a friend, whom he had still had hope in after learning he was Fire Nation, had reduced it all to ashes, and tossed him aside without a thought if it meant getting the Avatar.

"It was only a lucky chance that Katara and Aang were able to get away." He continued. "Iroh, Zuko's uncle, turned against his own family, and protected them, allowing them the time to get away. I wasn't able to escape with them, however, and both me and him were captured."

He'd remembered how shocked he'd been at Iroh's actions. In truth, what happened between him and Zuko might have been enough to push him back to the dark place of hatred he'd been in if it hadn't been for Iroh's intervention.

"Iroh…he seemed even more upset about what had happened than me. He had believed in Zuko, and confessed that he felt like he had failed, given that he had been unable to convince Zuko to do the right thing."

Suki looked thoughtful. "I never would have thought that a member of the Royal family would have the conviction to stand against their own people."

"I know," Jet muttered. "but he did. And…it helped me to remember that, though the Fire Nation has done evil things, there are still good people on both sides. But…it's hard, to not just hate everyone in the Fire Nation, given all that they've done to the world and to me personally."

Suki's expression softened. "I understand. It's tough to not give in to hatred. But being here, it's helped me to see the Fire Nation in another light."

Her gaze roamed around the room. "About half of the prisoners here are hardened criminals who deserve to be here. But the other half is comprised of people who had the guts to stand up against their Nation's wrongdoings. That man over there…" She said, pointing out an older man. "is Shyu, he was a Fire Sage who defied the Fire Lord and helped Aang communicate with Avatar Roku. And that man over there." She continued, pointing to another prisoner on the other side of the room. "is Chey, he was traveling with Jeong Jeong the deserter, a high ranking Fire Nation officer who abandoned their army when he couldn't take the madness of the war any longer. And that man over there," she finished, pointing to a taller prisoner. "is Chit Seng, he was part of a protest that dared to question the war in the heart of the Capital. He may not be very bright, but he's no coward."

She leaned back, a slightly hopeful smile on her face. "So you see, even the people of the Fire Nation are waking up. There's still hope."

Jet returned the smile. "I suppose there is."

They chatted for a bit longer, with Jet talking about his numerous escape attempts from the Capital prison, and Suki talking about the time she'd spent with the other Kyoshi warriors before being sent to the Boiling Rock. They reminisced about the past, and jokingly talked about ways to escape from the Boiling Rock, which were fun to talk about even if they knew they wouldn't work.

When they were escorted back to their cells, they did so feeling lighter than before. Though things still looked grim, at least they could struggle through it together.


Author's Note: I haven't rigged the review button to explode, just so you know. I can tell that there are people who are reading and enjoying this story, but from my end all I can see are numbers on a graph. Even if you don't like my story, a critique would still be better than no input at all. I'm not going to hold the story hostage for reviews or anything silly like that, but they'd be nice.

I've realized that this story has become very Jet centered, but I suppose it makes sense. Zuko's character was explored a great deal in the show, while Jet's was not, and it's been kind of nice to explore an avenue the show was foolish enough to throw away.