A/N: Haven't been getting many reviews recently, but I probably have my slow updating to blame for that. Sorry guys, I'm trying to get this story up as quick as I can because I have so much new material that I want to work on, but I have to finish this or it's going to drive me insane leaving it incomplete.
Summary: "No matter how many deaths that I die, I will never forget. No matter how many lives that I live I will never forget. There's a fire inside this heart and a riot about to explode into flames." Sequel to 'A Beautiful Lie' in which Jet survived. Goes from the Fall of Ba Sing Se up until the end of Sozin's Comet, spoiler warning.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Hurricane
Chapter 10
"Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe." Ozai said, his gaze roaming over the prisoners who had been brought before him. "And the Earth Kingdom rebel who helped my disgraced son escape from his home – well, the place that used to be his home. He's a traitor now. When my forces eventually find him he'll be killed on the spot."
Jet had been baited so many times before that this time shouldn't have been any different... but it was. This was the man who had deliberately scarred his son to teach him a lesson... the man who was responsible for the deaths of Jet's parents. He could feel his anger rising. He wanted to scream and yell and make this man suffer, but he knew it would be useless. There was no point in him getting himself killed before he even had the chance to see Zuko again.
"Fire Lord Ozai." Hakoda addressed curtly, making sure to stand tall and meet the man's gaze. He wouldn't give him any indication that he was inferior to him. "I take it you have requested to see us due to our involvement in the invasion."
"Why else would I want to see you?" Ozai asked. "I don't consider either of you to be very dangerous – neither of you are benders."
"Last time I checked, your son helped me break out of one of your prisons and I had killed a number of your soldiers." Jet snarled.
"Jet, that's enough." Hakoda hissed, nudging the Freedom Fighter with his elbow. He had seen men from both sides of the war taken prisoner before, and every single side demonstrated the same thing – never allow the enemy to get a rise out of you. It just boosted moral for the opposite side and made you look as though you had no self control, driving some men to do crazy things which acted as a catalyst to their death. "Enough."
Jet managed to contain his anger, taking deep breaths and glaring up at Ozai. I can't let him bait me. I have to be strong for Zuko.
"Earth Kingdom savage." Ozai said, shaking his head. "Your people are all the same – stubborn and dirty like the element you command."
"I'm not even an earthbender." Jet said. "So I don't know why you're comparing me to 'the element I command'."
"Are you a trained assassin?" Ozai asked. "It would explain why you were able to kill so many of my men with barely a scratch on yourself."
"I've never been trained." Jet said, shaking his head – he was going to enjoy this. He was going to enjoy telling the Fire Lord that he had killed his elite guards with the knowledge he had gained from living in a forest with a bunch of orphans. "I learnt everything by myself – I killed my first man when I was nine years old. It was a Fire Nation solider and he was going to capture us. I wasn't going to let any of them take me or my friends alive."
"I'm impressed." Ozai said, steepling his fingers. "A child soldier from the Earth Kingdom... interesting. I had heard the rumours in the reports from my Generals that there were children hiding in the forests causing problems. I never saw these rebels as a threat."
"Maybe you should've." Jet said. "I'm sure I've killed more of your men than anyone who was serving at Ba Sing Se."
"Perhaps." Ozai said, his gaze flicking to Hakoda. "Chief Hakoda, you've been awfully quiet. Don't you have anything you want to say?"
"I just want to know the purpose of this visit." Hakoda said. "We haven't been brought before you for idle chit-chat – we're war prisoners. What do you want with us, Fire Lord Ozai? Surely you want us to suffer at your hand."
"Fine." Ozai said, sitting up straight. His eyes were reflecting the fire that he could easier shoot from his fingertips – clearly he wanted to keep his authority, and being challenged by Hakoda had switched on his inferiority complex. "We can skip the niceties."
"We're not here for niceties." Hakoda growled. "We're here as war prisoners, not to be toyed with."
"Very well." Ozai said. "My war council and I have decided that both of you will be sent to the Boiling Rock prison, and once you are there you will be detained for your crimes against the Fire Nation. The Warden will make sure that both of you are punished severely and suitably. Once you have served your sentences you will either be drafted into the workforce as additional labor or you will be executed."
"How long are we sentenced for?" Hakoda asked.
Ozai smiled cruelly. "As long as I see fit."
xXx
Zuko had no problem with being alone.
The only people who seemed willing to give him a chance were Aang and Toph – Aang because he made a habit of seeing the good in people and he hadn't actually been around when the war had started, meaning he hadn't seen firsthand what the Fire Nation had done to the world, except that Fire Lord Sozin had destroyed all of the Air Nomads. Toph knew that he was being sincere about wanting to help them fight the Fire Nation and even though she was blind, Zuko was sure that she was more aware than anyone else in the group.
He had spoken to Sokka on a few occasions, but he didn't really see himself as having much in common with the Water Tribesman, only that they were both 'warriors', even though that term had to be stretched to incorporate Sokka.
Katara obviously hated him for some sort of reason – he was sure that there was a reason behind it, though it seemed best not to dwell on it. Sokka seemed to be trying to make an effort to get along with him, but he seemed a lot more relaxed than his sister. Her threat from the first night when they had accepted him into the group had stopped playing on his mind a few days ago – there was no need for it, considering he was certain that he never wanted to go back to being his old self.
The others didn't really pay him any attention – Haru, Teo and The Duke. They all seemed to be wary of Zuko, or they weren't bothered by his presence. Zuko assumed that it was wary – Haru's family had been imprisoned by Fire Nation soldiers and Teo had been left permanently disabled by a flood when he was an infant, and recently the Northern Air Temple he had lived at had been attacked. Zuko didn't know much about The Duke, except that he had lived in the woods with a group of Earth Kingdom rebels.
He was sitting on the edge of the campfire, listening to the stories that the others were telling each other. Sokka seemed to be telling the story of when he and his sister had found Aang in the iceberg – a story that Zuko didn't want to listen to, as he knew that he would soon be mentioned... and most likely humiliated.
Sokka was now saying something about a group of rebels in the woods in the Earth Kingdom, where The Duke had been. "And then their leader, Jet..."
Zuko sat bolt upright, feeling his heart stop. They must have been talking about the same Jet – his Jet. They were talking about how he had tried to blow up a dam, and how Sokka had stopped him by evacuating the village.
"We ran into Jet in Ba Sing Se." Aang said.
"Where is he?" The Duke asked. "Didn't he want to come with you?"
"He couldn't come with us." Katara replied, scooting closer to the child and putting an arm around his shoulders. "He wanted to, but..."
"But what?" The Duke asked. "Why couldn't he come with you?"
"He..." Katara sighed. "He stayed behind with Longshot and Smellerbee because... he was too badly hurt to come with us."
"He's dead, isn't he?" The Duke asked.
"Yes." Katara nodded.
Zuko stood up and left the campfire, heading back to his room – he didn't want to hear this conversation. He knew that Jet hadn't died in Ba Sing Se, but as far as he knew the Freedom Fighter was dead now. He shouldn't have let the Earth Kingdom rebel stay behind in the Fire Nation. He should've stayed with him, not left him to face whatever punishment Ozai had in store alone.
And if Jet wasn't executed, he would be sent to the Boiling Rock. It made him feel terrible, but he was praying that Jet had been killed instead of sent there. Being the Prince of the Fire Nation meant that he knew things that other people didn't, and he knew all about the reputation of the the Fire Nation prison – he knew the horrors that many prisoners faced. It was almost like its own country, with the Warden's word being law.
xXx
"Have you ever heard any of the rumours about Boiling Rock prison?" Pipsqueak asked as Jet flopped down on his bunk.
"No." Jet said. "But it's just a prison – it can't be that bad. I've been to one before. I was in this one before the invasion and I escaped."
"No-one has ever escaped from the Boiling Rock." Pipsqueak said.
"I've never been there before." Jet shrugged, a smirk plastered on his face. "Of course no-one's escaped."
"It's in the middle of a boiling lake." Pipsqueak explained. "The only way in or out of the prison is by cable car – it will be impossible, Jet. Even if you managed to get onto the cable car the Warden would order the line to be cut and you would plunge into the lake and die."
"You know a lot about this prison." Jet said. "How do I know you didn't escape once?"
"I pay attention to the drunken idiots telling stories in taverns, Jet." Pipsqueak said, wishing for once that the Freedom Fighter would take something completely seriously. "Drunken words are sober thoughts, so there is usually an element of truth."
"If no-one's escaped then where do the stories come from?"
"Fire Nation soldiers."
"Hm. Fair enough." Jet said. "But I'm serious, Pipsqueak. I'm not going to let the Fire Nation keep me there for long – I'm going to escape or I'm going to die trying. I've been fighting for too long to just... give up now."
"Well then I hope you escape, Jet." Pipsqueak said. "Because you're a good man and you're a good friend. I want to see you when this war is over."
"Same here." Jet smiled. "It's all going to be okay."
"I hope you're right."
xXx
"What was Jet like?"
"Huh?" The Duke turned around to look at Zuko. Katara had stuck them both on dish-washing duty, and for the past five minutes the ex-Prince had been scrubbing out the cooking pot in silence.
"You were talking about someone called Jet earlier." Zuko said. "And something about him blowing up a dam. What was he like?"
"Oh." The Duke fidgeted uncomfortably. "I used to think he was great – I really looked up to him. He was like an older brother to me, which I liked because the Fire Nation killed my family. He always made sure we had food and stuff and he would always join in when I was playing a game. Sometimes though..." The Duke looked incredibly uncomfortable. "Sometimes he scared me."
"What do you mean by that?" Zuko asked.
"He got angry a lot." The Duke said. "And when he was angry he wouldn't listen to anyone... he used to hurt people – people who he told us were Fire Nation and he used to come up with crazy ideas, like blowing up the dam. He just wanted to get rid of the Fire Nation, but it meant other people would get hurt."
Definitely the Jet I know. He remembered when Jet had been determined to prove that he was a firebender in Ba Sing Se – the Freedom Fighter had publicly attacked him in the tea shop where he worked and then been arrested. "He lost his parents to the Fire Nation, didn't he?"
"Yeah."
"I think... I think I met him once." Zuko said. "I met this guy called Jet in Ba Sing Se... he told me that he came from a forest and said he had done things he wasn't proud of. I think... I think he changed though."
"Like you changed?"
"Yes." Zuko nodded, returning his attention to the cooking pot. I think we changed each other.
"Why are you smiling?" The Duke asked.
"What?" Zuko asked, looking up and frowning.
"You were smiling just then."
"Oh... I didn't notice." Zuko said. "If you want to go and join the others I'll finish washing up – it's fine."
"Thanks Zuko!" The Duke said, throwing down the pan he had been scrubbing and scrabbling over to the campfire.
Zuko thought about Jet and how much they had both hated each other – Zuko had hated Jet when he met him because he was entirely different to him. Jet had been the complete opposite of how he had been brought up... Jet had shown him that there were other ways to live. Jet had also shown him what the Fire Nation had done to people. He was determined to make sure that the Freedom Fighter survived the war to hopefully get some closure.
A/N: Any comments or feedback are appreciated.