Alright, so quick update yet again. I wanted to work on Broken Hearts or even Tease, or my personal project. But no. My muse won't STFU. It wants to write this. And we writers are but puppets in the hands of our muse. So, some dark stuff happens in this chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Trigger Warning: Ick, Yuck, Jet, what the fuck?

Chapter 16

Zhao took a deep breath, trying to rein in the inner fire that roared within him. His master, Jeong Jeong, had always harped on the importance of breath in Fire Bending. Zhao, for one, never understood the need. Not for lack of trying, though.

See Master, I am trying even now. Zhao thought as he walked along the ornate corridors. But how was one supposed to change breathing? He had been sort of doing that all his life, hadn't he? Until one fine day, at sixteen, he was told that he was breathing wrong. That sentence still rankled. What did that even mean? Had he lived this long by doing something as simple as breathing wrong? How did one even do that? How could anyone breathe wrong? The very thought was preposterous. Zhao huffed, letting a small spark escape his mouth.

He reached the opulent wooden door, hoping that his face did not betray the thrill he was feeling. To be summoned to the Fire Lord's personal chambers at this hour, it was an unimaginable honor. He was beside himself with joy. He did wonder what it was about, though. Had it been about a promotion, Lord Ozai would have declared it publicly. This private meeting had to mean something more. Much more. He bit the insides of his cheeks to pull back the smile that wanted to play on his lips and knocked on the door.

A bell above the door tinkled, indicating that he could enter. He pushed the door open and was surprised to find the Princess sitting on a chair with her legs crossed. She was dressed in a red sarong and a matching halter top, with her black hair left open. He was once again struck by how beautiful she was. How fierce. She would make for a wonderful Fire Lord. Zhao felt a renewed tinge of regret that he was already married and that there was an excess of twenty years of difference in their ages. But neither of them stopped him from thinking that she would make a good wife for him. His equal in skill and temperament. Beautiful and passionate. The political clout she would bring with her was a bonus. Although he would not admit it to anyone, in his solitary moments, he had imagined what she would be like in bed. Ferocious, he assumed, as opposed to his wife who lay on their marital bed like a corpse, unmoving. Often weeping afterward. It irritated him to no end. Not so with the Princess, though. He knew she would drive him to frenzy, take all he could give, and demand more. That was what Zhao wanted. Yes, they would most likely never get married. But maybe, someday, he could share her bed. Even if it was just once.

The mere sight of her gorgeous form sitting languidly on the chair made him hard. Belatedly remembering his place, Zhao bowed, greeting the Princess. After he straightened, her eyes flicked downwards, and she smirked. She knew.

"Sit, Admiral," she said in that purring voice that sent a shiver through his body. "Father would be here soon."

Zhao took a seat and crossed his legs to not embarrass himself. As such, he was feeling conscious. Azula kept her eyes fixed on him, her foot swaying slightly. She toyed with a strand of her hair, while a smile played on her lips. Finally, she said, "Father has a mission for you."

"Is that so?" The words struggled out of his mouth.

"Indeed," she said, tracing a finger along her neck, looking at him through lidded eyes. "He thinks you are the only one who can do it."

"I… I'm honored."

"I disagree though," Azula said, tossing her hair haughtily. "This mission is tough. I don't think you have it in you to do it."

"I can, Princess."

Azula snickered. "You haven't even heard what the mission is."

"Whatever it is, I shall succeed. I promise."

"Really? How about we make a wager out of it. You win, you get what you really want. You lose, I'll kill you."

Zhao sat in stunned silence, as his mind tried to comprehend what he heard.

"Offer closes in three… two…"

"I accept," Zhao all but shouted. "I accept."

"Fantastic."

Zhao sat there, his mind buzzing with possibilities. What could the mission be? What was so important for the Princess that she would make a wager like that? Failure was not an option. Not anymore. After what felt like mere moments, Lord Ozai came into the chamber.

"Zhao."

"Milord," he said, shooting to his feet and giving a hasty bow. If the Fire Lord noticed his lapse in etiquette, he ignored it. Instead, he perched on the chair that was reserved for him. Azula sat next to him, while Zhao remained standing.

"Sit, Zhao," Ozai said, his face betraying nothing.

Mechanically, Zhao obeyed. He forced his eyes to stay on the Fire Lord and not look at Azula. The minutes stretched on and his nerves became progressively taut.

"As you must be aware, Prince Zuko has made a complete mess of the siege of Ba Sing Se," Ozai said after a while.

"Yes, Milord."

"On top of it, he has absconded," Ozai said with disgust. "A coward and a traitor. Ideally, I should have him brought in and executed. But it's not possible. He is too skilled of a fighter, even when not using his bending, to simply be brought in. The average soldier cannot contain him."

Zhao nodded, frowning.

"That's why I am entrusting you with a top-secret mission, Zhao."

"Your wish is my command, Milord."

"Find him and bring his severed head to me."

Unknown to the occupants of the room, someone had heard every word that had been said. The words would make it to the ears of Fire Lord Ozai's older brother, General Iroh.

Sokka stepped on the docks, feeling slightly dizzy. As a Water Tribe man, he had never really faced this issue before. People in Water Tribe learned to sail almost as soon as they could walk. But sleep deprivation, coupled with crippling grief, meant that Sokka was not himself. The result was that he was groggy, had a monster of a headache, his stomach churned, and the world spun in front of his eyes. Wearily, he stumbled over to the tiny kiosk to get his entry pass stamped. The bored-looking man behind the window barely cast a look at him as he scanned the pass and stamped it.

"Next," he drawled, handing the piece of paper to Sokka. The warrior took the paper and turned around, only to realize that every single piece of baggage he owned was gone. He had dropped his two bags next to his feet when he went to hand the pass over. And now, they were gone. Sokka turned a full circle, confused.

"Did you see my bags?" He asked the man behind the counter.

The man gave him a look and said, "Do I look like a porter to you?"
Sokka grimaced, "It's gone."

"Not my problem," the man said, "Next!"

"But… my bags…"

"NEXT!"

Sokka huffed and moved to the side, annoyed. He knew it was his fault. He should have watched his bags and he had not. He walked around the dock, not sure of what to do for his mind completely blank. He looked around, hoping to see someone, anyone, with his luggage. At that moment, he had a handful of things in his possession. Namely, his sword, his boomerang, a coin purse (most of his money was stowed away in the luggage, this purse had some loose change), and his pass. Essentially, he had nothing.

For the next hour, Sokka went from one end of the dock to the other, asking every person if they had seen his luggage, but to no avail. Exhausted and defeated, he dropped on his haunches, at a total loss as to what to do. He grabbed his head in his hands, loss, and hopelessness threatening to engulf him. A lone tear of desperation dropped from his eyes. He almost jumped out of his skin when someone touched his shoulder. Squinting against the sun, he found himself looking at a man dressed in the most outlandish clothes. The man hung a dramyin around his neck and wore a garland of flowers. A strange red hat, a mismatched purple shawl, and white loose pants completed his outfit.

"You seem worried, brother," the man said with a drawl.

"I lost my luggage. I don't know what to do."

"Worry not when Chong's here," the man said strumming the dramyin. "That's my wife Lily and my friend Moku."

Sokka stood up and nodded, not sure of what to make of these strangers. Then, to his intense surprise and not so small amount of shock, the man began to sing a horrible song.

"Life is funny,

Life is strange.

But brother, you should never fret.

For here or there, you will find friends.

Why are you so stressed?"

Sokka gaped at the man, not sure of what to say or how to react. "Umm… my luggage is stolen. All my money is gone."

"No worries brother! Life is meant to be fun."

"He seems stressed, don't he, Chong?" Lily said.

"Yes, because my luggage is stolen," Sokka replied through gritted teeth, his patience wearing thin.

"We are goin' to Omashu," Moku said. "If you be troubled, you can come with,"

"Really? I don't have any money. It was in my luggage, which was stolen," Sokka reiterated. He had a feeling they did not understand what he had been saying.

"Sounds like his luggage got stoled," Chong said.

Sokka's hand met his head in a resounding clap.

"Katara," he said, "I'll be heading to the Eastern Air Temple soon."

"Oh yes, you're meeting with that Guru, right? The one who is going to teach you how to master the Avatar State?"

"Yes, Guru Pathik."

Katara smiled and gave him a quick hug, "I'm so happy. Once you master the Avatar State, you will be a fully realized Avatar. Do you know what that means?"

"It means that I can finally do what I was meant to do," Aang said, grinning.

"Indeed. The war will be finally over."

"You were talking about the war?"

Katara stared at him, "Of course. What were you talking about?"

"I… I thought… I…" Aang sighed and shook his head. He leaned over and put his lips on Katara's, kissing her. To his surprise, Katara stepped back, looking at him with a frown.

"Aang, what are you doing?"

Aang smiled and said, "What my heart has been telling me from the beginning."

Katara's lips thinned and her brows tightened. "Aang," she said in a tight voice. "Please. Don't do this."

"Why?"

"Because this is not right!"

"I know, I know," Aang said, holding his hands up placatingly. "We're not married, and you don't think that's right."

"That's not it, Aang," she replied. "It's just that –"

"I'm sorry," Aang cut her explanation off. "I will not repeat this. The next time I touch you, we will be married."

Saying so, he flipped his glider and flew off, without waiting to hear her explanation.

"Don't underestimate them, Uncle," Toph said, holding on to the handlebar of the carriage.

"You seem too impressed by them," Utakata Beifong answered.

"You know me, flashy benders don't impress me," Toph said, rubbing her nose. "But those two… what I saw in those tunnels… I realized that something is different about them."

Utakata lay a hand on her head, ruffling her hair fondly. "Hearing you speak so highly about them makes me a tad jealous. I thought you only held me in that high regard."

"Pssh, I'm a better Earth Bender than you," Toph retorted, grinning.

"There's no one like you, my dear niece. Too bad my brother doesn't see it."

"Uncle, do I have to go back?" Toph whined. "My parents don't give a fuck about me."

"No, no, my dear child, you're mistaken," he said, shaking his head. "Lao and Poppy do love you. Unfortunately, they can't see past your blindness. They have focused all their attention on that one thing and want to protect you."

"But I don't need protection," Toph protested.

"I know, dear niece, I know. But I was there when you were born," he said, "Your mother miscarried three times before you. When she finally held on to a pregnancy, it was tough on her. She could not eat without throwing up. She was bedridden and in so much pain. Even after all the precautions, you were born in the eighth month and you were blind. We were all so scared. We thought we would lose you. I remember, all three of us stayed up for nights together, trying to keep you alive. The protectiveness that comes from there, it can't be compared. I see you for the great Earth Bender that you are, yes. But to me, you are also still that tiny baby whom I held for hours. The difference between them and me is that I acknowledge that the little baby has grown up to be a scary bender."

Toph blew her bangs, "If I'm that scary, why is that asshole Jet your second in command and not me?"

"Toph," Utakata said with a hint of sternness. "We've had this conversation before. You are not officially a member of the rebellion. What you did with those two, it was just a one-time thing. I needed the best Earth Bender. And your blindness provided the best cover for you to get into the camp and not arouse suspicion."

Toph chuckled, "Yeah, no. That didn't work as well as we thought. Zuko didn't buy a word of my cock-and-bull story."

Utakata nodded, "Yes, he is inconveniently intelligent."

"And the Water Bender is not a delicate flower either. She was bitten by a Canyon Muncher, and she was conscious until Zuko cauterized the wound."

"Wait, when was this?"

"In the tunnels."

"You mean she was walking around, threatening Jet, just two days after being bitten by one of those?"

"Yup. As I said, don't underestimate them."

"Don't do this!" Katara screamed through the tiny window, but her voice fell on deaf ears. In front of her terrified eyes, Zuko had curled into a ball as ten of them rained blows on him. "Stop it!" Katara yelled, unaware of the tears that were streaming from her eyes. Why wasn't Zuko moving? Why was he simply taking it? Apart from that one scream that had alerted her to what was happening, which Katara thought was both from pain and surprise, Zuko was silent. His legs and hands were bound by stone and the men rained on him mercilessly.

"Stop it! Please! He'll die! Don't do this!" Katara hit the stone wall ineffectually. "Toph! Utakata! Please, help him!"

Eventually, the men stopped. A tall, burly man yanked him by his collar and dragged him along. The Earth wall to the prison dropped and the gigantic man threw Zuko's body in. Katara dropped to her knees next to him, uncaring of the bruise she felt developing on them. Terrified of what she would find, Katara lay a hand on his neck. A wave of relief coursed through her when she found a beady thread of pulse.

"Your boyfriend's alive," Jet's voice raised her heckles and Katara shot to her feet.

"What kind of hostage situation is this?" She screamed. "Utakata promised that we would not be harmed."

"Correction. Utakata promised you would not be harmed. Him? No such amnesty was granted to him."

"Where is Utakata? I want to talk to him!"

"No can do," Jet answered. "Utakata is not in the camp."

"Toph then, get her."

"She's not here either," Jet answered with a grin. "They're both gone and I'm in charge. But you're a Water Bending healer, right? You can heal your boyfriend, can't you?"

Katara ground her teeth and said, "Yes."

"And you need water to do that, right?"

"Yes."

Jet smiled, "I can bring it for you, but… what's in it for me?"

Katara frowned, "What? I thought you wanted to end the war."

"That's the long-term goal, yes," he said smiling in a way that made her extremely uncomfortable. "But I am looking for a short-term benefit."

Katara had a sneaking suspicion of what he wanted to say, "What do you want?"

Jet grabbed her cheeks, forcing her to pucker her lips. "Kiss me."

With a growl, Katara pushed him away. "Get lost."

"Fine, I'll go. But you don't get the water. So, he stays in pain. Possibly dies even."

Katara cast a look at the unconscious Fire Bender and something inside her twisted painfully. She could not let him stay like that. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face Jet who was looking at her with an expression that clearly told her that he was certain of his victory. Katara took a step closer to him and said, "Fine."

He grinned and pulled the blade of grass out of his mouth. Katara scrunched her eyes close and held her breath. Jet's lips closed over hers and he pushed his tongue inside her mouth. Every pore of her protested, screaming against the onslaught. Then, to make matters worse, his hands went around her and he cupped her ass, squeezing it tightly. It took all of Katara's willpower to not bite down on the tongue that was invading her mouth. After what felt like an eon, he pulled back.

"Fantastic," he said. "Pipsqueak, bring the water in."

The huge man that had thrown Zuko in, brought in a big metal container that Katara could sense contained water.

"Go, heal your boyfriend," Jet said.

"He's not my boyfriend," she said walking over to the metal container.

"Right," Jet chuckled, clearly disbelieving. "If he's not, he will be. Soon."

Katara paused halfway through opening the container and turned to look at him, "What does that mean?"

Jet simply laughed and walked away, with Pipsqueak following him, the wall raising to a close after them. Katara wiped her mouth fiercely and unlocked the canister, to glove her hand with her element. She crouched down next to Zuko and began her healing.