Chapter Thirteen: The Beginning of the End
The wind grappled and wrestled with Jet's wild hair as he refused again to wear the Fire Nation's helmet as Zhao left the ship to go on a nearby man-o-war. I will not sink lower than I already am. The sky was a soft shade of blue with black specks dotting the sky in a mad frenzy. In a way it seemed to symbolize the Fire Nation…they were all mad and consumed with power. Reaching up he rubbed the back of his head as he allowed the black soot to land on his cheeks.
A part of him forced himself to believe this was all a silly and cruel dream that the spirits placed on him. While the other part basked in the power he now held…armies under his command. Lives waiting to be destroyed…cities ready to fall under his hand. Shaking the thought out of his mind for a brief moment, he finally noticed the sound of loud footsteps marching on the deck.
Jet's eyes grew cold and heartless as the footsteps stopped beside him. The former rebel refused to meet the other soldier's eyes as Jet focused on the crystal city before him. "I'm glad you're alive." the soldier's voice from beside him entered Jet's ears like a taunting snake. Jet clenched his fists and glanced quickly at the masked soldier…he knew very well a certain traitor stood inside.
Bastard.
"I'm glad to see you are still walking. Or are you now the walking dead?" Jet shot back with venom weaving around his voice wickedly. Snorting in disgust afterward, Jet crossed his arms across his chest. Glaring at the city for no apparent reason he allowed his anger to crawl up his veins like how a woman would seductively crawl to her lover. Allowing his rage to embrace him with selfishness he grinded his teeth as a warm shiver ran through his body.
"Shut the fuck up." the soldier replied in a seething tone, leaving Jet with a shocked expression plastered on his soot-covered face. "I risked my ass getting you that fucking medicine. I came back and I thought you were dead. So I left, you prick! What do you want me to do? Throw a farewell party and alert every soldier near the area? Well to bad, you fuck. That won't happen today nor tomorrow." the soldier countinued as he took off the cover to his helmet.
Jet growled and faced the prince; he took the time to scan his scratches and bruises on his face. A small grin crept on Jet's face as he felt revenge lick his lips. "You look like a piece of shit. But here you are calling me a prick when you look like one yourself. I would be careful of what you say around me…you prick." Jet laughed darkly as he watched the prince's face twists with anger. Before he could continue on he felt himself crash on to the floor. His frame seemed to clatter like his armor as he met the cold, unfeeling ground. "You son of a-" Jet cursed but was cut off when Zuko's boot rested heavily on his chest.
"-Fire Nation ruler?" Zuko smirked as he pressed down slightly on Jet's chest. Leaning down the prince chucked with his gruesome smirk on his face. "Why do you always want to pick fights with someone stronger than yourself? You're a low sickening bastard to have sunk into Zhao's hands. But then again you already where when you allowed him to take your armor off in the dead of night." the prince spat at Jet and found contempt when Jet flinched.
"I always knew you couldn't keep your hands off trouble…right from the start I saw it in your eyes. There you were pinned to the tree…yelling threats at me when I had the upper hand. You're an idiot…a moron…a Fire Nation rat!" Zuko yelled in frustration as he watched Jet's face turn red as Zuko pressed even harder against his chest.
A whimper found it's way out of Jet's lips by mistake as the former rebel gasped for air hungrily. "Zuko…get…off…air…now." Jet whispered in agony as he watched his vision turn black with purple spots lingering everywhere he turned his head. Reluctantly, Zuko stepped off and watched with narrowed eyes as Jet stood up shakily.
Brushing the soot off the front of his armor, Jet returned the glare Zuko shot at him. They stood there, staring at each other with malice and hate in their eyes until Zuko averted his gaze. Turning away and placing the cover to his helmet back on he sighed heavily. His shoulders sagged as he lost his composure, "I came here in the first place to tell you that you have a chance to escape."
Jet stared at Zuko silently as the black soot countinued to float lazily through the sky. "When Zhao's men go out to fight on foot…the river boats will be left unattended. Just head south and you'll reach the Earth Kingdom in a couple of weeks." Zuko whispered harshly as he felt his voice clog his throat.
Jet grunted in response as he closed his eyes and allowed the wind to brush against his skin. When he opened his eyes he found himself alone and a part of him knew he would never see Zuko again. "I'll see you around the corner." he murmured as he leaned against the railing.
Zuko was already gone and heading toward the Avatar. Little did he know that the Water Nation tribe sent spies on board and were freezing the ship's engine. Weaving through the glaciers Zuko spotted the playful sea-creatures disappearing into a medium-sized tunnel. Diving in, he missed the loud ferocious rumble of the ship that seemed to shake the hearts of all the Fire Nation soldiers'.
Flames bursted wildly as the ship's engine exploded with the stress and pressure of thawing the ice to keep on working. Jet looked behind him with a bored expression on his face as he felt the ship quake with anger. Fire licked out of the ship and before Jet could jump out of, the massive ship bursted into a million pieces of rubble and small breaths of flames.
Jet looked up and watched the sun shimmer through the water. The sun became smaller and smaller as he sank lower and lower. Cold gripped him roughly by the heart and struggled to rip it out. Brown eyes widened as a sharp piece of the hull sank toward him in a fury. A sickening crunch reverberated throughout the freezing sea. Gasping in pain he looked down at his stomach to see the razor-like edge point stabbed through his body with ease.
Wisps of blood curled upward through the water as is turned the sun red through his dying eyes. Closing his eyes he relaxed his tense muscles as the darkness covered him as strings of crimson blood countinued to travel upward toward the light…which Jet would never see again.
I felt the last part was a bit rushed...or maybe that is just me. I want to thank all the reviewers and also the ones who gave me detailed advice. Much love and thanks. I'm glad I have a reviewer helping me out along the way. So don't forget to review!