New POV characters in this chapter and the upcoming chapters, that will be useful in our story, i hope you enjoy them as well.


Sneers

He opened his eyes finally regaining consciousness wishing he hadn't with every sore and burned part of his body.

He's been The Lord of Yu Dao's guest of honor for more than a month now, Ever since Shun ordered his men to put him in the "reforming" room and he started to know the meaning of pain, physically and mentally, it was a living hell, it was torture in the most horrible ways, and he knew that the reforming room earned its name.

First of all, the room was empty of any torture machines or tools, just an empty room with a naked Sneers tied to a wall by every end of his body, both hands and both legs, and then they would play a little game, Answer the question or get a part of your body burned, it was a fun game for sure for Shun and his men, and Sneers knew the game was created by none other than Shun himself, but it wasn't as fun for the victim, Sneers felt the pain of every burned part of his body for days, first day they burned off his pinkie finger until, the skin and flesh incinerated off and only left the bone with Sneers screaming throughout the whole ordeal, and after they burned off the flesh and skin, they broke the bare bone using their hands, and that was just the beginning.

For a whole month, they burned a different finger of his hands every three days, Shun said you have to leave the victim for three days until he feels the full pain of the ordeal and then start another pain, until this moment, they burned off the pinkie and ring fingers of both hands of Sneers, but they didn't focus on just the fingers, they burned some of his toes as well, and they burned off some flesh in various parts of his body, Every time Sneers would look down and see his naked body filthy and muddy and burned, he would turn away to look right or left to find two of his fingers burned off, every direction holds the picture of a painful sight, so he would just weep for his condition and attempt to sleep,

even though it's hardly found due to the pain, not to mention his sore muscles that's been aching for being in the same position for over a month, and the scarce food and drink they offer him, his body trimmed down and not in a good way, he looked miserable and he just wanted a way out.

Before he got a chance to shut his eyes, he heard the door to the cell being opened, and that could only mean one thing, Sneers closed his eyes for the upcoming collision of water on flesh, wait for it..

and SPLASH ! "Wakey Wakey, Sneery boy." One of Shun's men whose name is Jeri called as he gave Sneers the wake up call with the splash of water, and Sneers could only gasp for breath.

"Oh Come on, Sneers, my boy asked you to wake up." Oh No.. Sneers recognized the voice, Shun is here, and that could only mean double the pain.

"I am awake, I am awake, Please.." Sneers pleaded, and Shun just made a tsk-tsk voice.

"I'm disappointed in you, Sneers, how dare you forget what i said about the word 'Please' ?" Shun said mockingly disappointed.

"Forgive me, M'Lord. 'Saying please makes me sick, it just proves that i haven't taught you a thing.', I remember every word, M'Lord, it was just a slip up, Forgive me.." Sneers learned not to rebuttal when it comes to Shun scolding him for saying the word 'Please', the last time didn't end well.

"Alright, I'm in a celebration mood, i'll have to forgive you this time, Sneers.. Jeri, tell him the good news." Shun asked of his soldier, And Jeri smiled with the same menacing eyes that Shun has.

"We've finally taken full control over all the firenation colonies in the earth kingdom, all of them in three months, that's a record of some sort i am sure.." Jeri trailed off waiting for his teammates's approval that it's indeed a record, and they did nod with approval, so he continued.. "Also, we're closing in on your friends, we've received orders to take action against all the rebels of the countryside, not cooperating means setting your whole place on fire, and soon enough, your friends will have no where to go, Sneery boy." Jeri finished, and Sneers just gaped at them with weary sad eyes.

"So.." Shun started, as he got closer to Sneers who would have stepped back a little if not for the wall behind him, Shun realized his moves and held him down, "Relax, Sneers, i'm not going to hurt you, Relax.." Sneers was still wary of his touch but attempted to calm himself down with his gaze on the ground with a complete and utter broken spirit, but he could feel Shun smiling close to him as he said, "Sneers, i have offered you a way out, i did, but you never listened, this is what happens to bad boys when they don't respect their elders' choices, their parents put them in the naughty chair, while yours isn't necessarily a chair, but.. it is for naughty people.." Shun's soldiers laughed while he still smiled in Sneers' face, "I don't want this anymore for you, So how about you tell me everything, and i guarantee you, No more naughty boy treatment for you, just tell me everything.. Okay, Sneers ?"

Shun cupped Sneers' cheeks with both hands forcing his head up to look him in the eyes, Sneers struggled to avert his eyes but to no avail, Shun managed to bring his face close to that of Sneers, and a chill ran down Sneers' spine, he was so terrified and out of shape to say No, so he finally chose a way out of this pain. "Yes, i will tell you everything you need to know about Jet." Sneers responded with a shameful look on his face.

"Ata Boy, Sneers. Now, you started heading towards the right path." Shun responded with a sweet smile.

Aang

"I don't know why, but i have such a bad feeling today."

Was the first thing Aang said after he woke up and went out to meet with his friends at the breakfast table, he sat down beside Katara who placed a bowl of stew in front of him, for which he thanked her, and sitting across him was Sokka and Monk Tenzin.

"Of course you would have a bad feeling about today, we're moving out of the temple for the first time in three months, as much as i want to fight the firenation, but i got to admit i have gotten used to this place." Sokka contributed, as he took a sip of his own bowl of soup.

"No, it's not that, i knew that we were going to move out of the temple at some point, it's just my avatar instincts tell me that something really bad has happened." Aang has always been genuine and true about his feelings, same goes for his avatar instincts, it never gave him a hard time unless something really bad has happened.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Aang, maybe it's just your growling stomach speaking." Katara quipped, and a smile found its way to Aang's lips despite the depressing feelings, Katara always knew how to lighten a situation.

"Besides, we have important matters to focus on right now, we have to continue our discussions about the letter your rebel friend sent." Monk Tenzin said, earning him a scowl from Aang.

"He's not 'my rebel friend', his name is Jet, and he hasn't always been rebellious." Aang replied with an irritated voice.

"The point is, you shouldn't trust this letter completely, you have to be cautious about this meeting." Tenzin said.

"How many times should i say this ? I told you the writer of the letter wrote at the end, 'P.S: your dagger is still as astonishing as ever', Uncle Iroh gave me that dagger as a gift and as you all know i have no use for daggers, so i gave it to Jet as a present for his bravery during the fight against the rebels, nobody knows that Jet owns this dagger but me, Jet and his close friends of the freedom fighters." Aang replied again with the same irritated voice, it was getting harder and harder to accept the monks.

"Still, it doesn't mean you should trust them completely, what if Jet is captured and all this is a trap ?" The Monk said, and before Aang responded, it was Sokka's turn to interfere..

"As much as i love to side with you, Aang, The Monk is right. you shouldn't trust this letter completely and be cautious about it, we just want your safety, man." Sokka said in a friendly voice unlike the gruff, formal voice of the elder monk, which softened Aang a bit.

"I guess you are right, but that doesn't mean we should make Jet feel like a traitor, we need him and his men, The freedom fighters with King Bumi's soldiers, we'll have a chance against the firenation." Aang said with determination.

"You are right, Aang. But if you are going to meet with Jet, who's going to Omashu ?" Katara decided to join in the conversation, and her remark only made Aang frown.

"What do you mean ? We'll go there together of course." Aang said confusedly.

"As much as i hate to say it, Aang, but we have no time, we need every second of time if we are going to defeat the firenation and then have a chance to fight the dark spirit, so i say the best option is we split up." Katara proposed with a serious expression, and Aang only scowled and gaped holes at her.

"W-What ? What do you mean Split up ? Of course Not, we need to stick together if we're going through this, we need each other, Katara." Aang said in a rush, and Katara put her hand on his to calm him down.

"Aang, it's not forever, you have to meet with Jet and we can't wait until the negotiations are over until we meet with king Bumi, we need to do both at the same time, so someone has to go to King Bumi while you meet with Jet." Katara said with her hand squeezing harder on Aang's hand, he shut his eyes and brought his gaze down pondering the whole situation.

Sokka decided to join in the conversation, "Not to mention that i have to go to Chameleon Bay while you meet with Jet as well, we need every soldier we can get as fast as we can, Katara is right, the best option is to split up." Sokka finished, and Aang found it hard to concentrate on anything at the moment, he kept massaging his temples, thinking about the possibilities, what if something bad happens to them without him there to save them, what if something bad happened to Katara..

"Guys, I don't know.." Aang responded with uncertainty, he rose to his feet and went to the window looking outside to get some air, Katara rose to her feet as well and stood beside him.

"I know how hard this is for you, believe me it's hard for me too, it's going to be so hard spending time away from you unsure how you fare, and every passing minute will be a torture because i don't want to lose you again.." Katara stopped looking at the ground, and Aang looked at her to find that tears found their way to her eyes, he held her hand murmuring her name and she blinked her tears away and continued with much determination..

"But we need to do this, Aang. it's our best chance against the firenation and the evil spirit, to make use of every passing second and gather enough army to fight back, it's going to be hard, but then again Life has always been hard, what we do is live on, because Life is the dark spirit's greatest enemy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right ?" Katara asked rhetorically as she squeezed Aang's hand with a smile, and Aang returned it, she gives him a reason to admire her more with every passing second, he never admitted it in front of them, but being away from Katara is the only reason he disagrees with the plan, but she is right, they needed to side with life, as Life is the Dark spirit's greatest enemy, and any enemy of the dark spirit is a friend of Aang's.

"Alright..Let's do this." Aang said, and Katara only smiled wider and hugged him fiercely, Aang could only let the pleasant feeling sink in and hug her back, they hugged until they heard a cough coming from the other side of the room, they broke apart and looked at Sokka who cleared his throat obviously irritated with the show, and Monk Tenzin finding the whole situation amusing as he had a faint smile on his face.

"Uhm.. we were saying ?" Sokka asked narrowing his eyes, Aang looked at Katara and found her cheeks turning red with both embarrassment and anger, and he felt the same if truth be told, but he let go of her and trailed back to the table,

before they could discuss what just happened, a bird came from the window and stood on Sokka's head, Sokka shrieked again and tried to get the bird off him, until Monk Tenzin took the bird off Sokka and placed him on the ground, it turned out to be a black messenger hawk, black means trouble..

"Why does this always happen to me ?!" Sokka said angrily and gave the bird a death stare, Katara giggled lightly, but Aang looked at the monk who unfolded the letter with anticipating eyes, as if this letter is the reason for the bad feelings he has been having all day.. Aang felt even worse when he noticed that the monk's look turned into one of sadness.

"What is it ?" Aang asked weakly not sure that he wanted to know, Monk Tenzin looked at him with compassion in his eyes.

"It's Master Iroh..." Aang took a sharp intake of breath, his eyes widening already knowing what this is about, he turned his gaze to the ground and let the tears fall freely.

Azula

Azula opened her eyes slowly, she wasn't aware where she was, or how long she has been sleeping, but the throbbing pain inside her head was enough to convince her that she isn't fine.

She sat on the bed holding her head as she kept rubbing her temples, but to no avail, she remembered the cause of this gruesome pain seconds later, as she remembered that she's been crying for two days, ever since the execution, she lost track of time, and she hasn't been to work ever since, she has just been crying with bottles of wine in her room, the last time she saw anyone was when she ordered the servants to bring as much wine as they can to her room, and she kept on drinking ever since, she can't believe she forced her uncle to do that..

She felt fresh tears gathering in her eyes once again as she remembered before the conversation she had with Iroh before the execution..

DAMN YOU, FATHER ! Azula screamed internally, she then held her head again from the devastating pain that followed, she stood up from the bed and went to the window completely naked, she didn't care that someone could see her through the glass, she didn't care for the scandal that might follow something like that, she just didn't care anymore, her uncle died a traitor, and it was all because of her, the tears fell freely from her eyes and she fell to the floor sobbing loudly and pulling at her hair, she then managed to calm herself down as she slumped back against the wall, she grabbed a bottle of wine and began sipping at it, she then started to remember the conversation she had with her father after her uncle's execution.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE ?! I THOUGHT WE AGREED THAT YOU WILL SPARE HIS LIFE HAD HE LEGITIMIZED YOUR CLAIM ?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT ?!" Azula shouted as she entered the firelord's office following the execution.

"Because i can.." The Firelord responded calmly, and Azula could only gape at him in surprise, The Firelord decided to continue, "Your uncle was a menace to the people and to us, you think he would have stopped opposing me had i spared his life and banished him ? No, he would have gone to his little organization of grumpy old men and together they would have formed a bigger threat than any of us has the stomach to deal with, would that have made you feel better, Azula ?" Ozai asked his eyes narrowing, but Azula didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

"What in Agni's name are you talking about ? What organization ?" Azula asked impatiently, and Ozai could only smirk at his daughter.

"Oh, you mean to tell me your uncle didn't tell you during your little chit-chat in prison ? A real friend of yours he was, wasn't he ?" Ozai asked sarcastically.

"JUST GET TO THE DAMN POINT !" Azula shouted.

Ozai grabbed the cup of tea on his desk, took a sip and responded, "Your uncle has a secret organization that he told no one about but me and father and i think he told your lecherous wimp of a brother as well, it's called the order of the white lotus, a stupid name for a stupid organization of old men who could do nothing but play Pai Sho and know some ways of tea and failure, but together.. now that's the real problem, Azula, together they form a legit threat, a threat none of us want to deal with at the moment, i discussed this with Zhao, and he agreed that your uncle had to be terminated." Ozai finished, taking another sip of his tea while Azula was fuming with anger.

"ZHAO ?! you discussed this with a fucking piece of shit like Zhao, and not me your own daughter who has been the most help to you during your reign ?!" Azula shouted again, not caring for the moment that she was conversing with the firelord, nonetheless the firelord smiled.

"And you still are.." The firelord got closer to Azula and he put a hand on her cheek, surprisingly enough she couldn't resist, "You are my daughter, my heir, Zuko was never meant to rule this nation, even if he wasn't a traitor to our cause, i would have still made you my heir, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me, even the throne i wouldn't choose it over you.." Azula felt tears gathering in her eyes as her father gazed into them, he finally slipped his hand away from her cheek and looked the other way and Azula took a sigh of relief as she finally regained control over her senses,

The Firelord decided to continue.."But your uncle's death was a necessity, believe me i would have spared his life if it wasn't, but Iroh had always hated me, even though he kept trying to hide it, it was all rather obvious that he was jealous of me, and that jealousy cost him his life." Ozai said, and Azula was more than astonished to hear such words from her father.

"You chopped off my uncle's head because you thought he was jealous of you ? he wanted nothing in the world but to return to Ba Sing Se and restart that tea shop of his! You are a monster, you've always been and always will be!" Azula said in a fit of rage, not actually paying attention to what she was saying.

"AZULA !" The firelord roared and Azula felt real fear surge inside her, as much as she tried to hide it, her father has always terrified her, she brought her gaze to the ground sadly and couldn't mutter another word, she felt her father turn to face her again,

"I warned your uncle, during his act of bravery saving the avatar, what would happen if he kept on doing this, he refused to listen to me and instead he attacked me and kept fighting until Zuko fell, you think someone like that cares for you ? or for Zuko ? he just cares for himself and for his so called claim that he never earned, he was the true monster not me, i am trying to save what's rightfully mine and will be what's rightfully yours when i am gone, he would have lost the throne probably two months after his ascension to it and brought our name to the dirt, because he was weak and fat and lazy and all the bad traits that you wouldn't find in a true leader.." Ozai said angrily and Azula kept listening with her gaze to the ground,

Ozai continued, "Please, don't make me regret choosing you as my heir, Azula, you have so much potential and it would be hard for me if you turned out otherwise, are you otherwise, Azula ?" The Firelord asked, and Azula realized it was a real question and was waiting for an answer, finally her mind took over once more and she decided to save her position, there was no time for empathy.

"Of course not, Father, i am what you have always thought of me and more." Azula responded confidently, masking her anger and hurt towards her father with her usual smug face that her father loved, and apparently still loves as she saw the smirk return to his face as soon as she did so.

"You've always made me proud, Azula, and i am sure you will always do so."

Guess what, Father, you were wrong. thought Azula as she stood up after her two days of locking herself in her room, she put on her clothes and her battle armor, and decided to go on a stroll, she opened the door to her room for the first time in two days and walked out of the palace, she found it was night time, maybe that's why the whole palace was quiet and no one heard her loud sobs earlier, Azula kept thinking of the latest events as she kept walking towards her destination,

Maybe i have treated uncle badly, but there are still some people who i might make amends with, it's time to follow through with the plan i started that night i visited uncle with my good ol' friend Toph.