"My regeneration shouldn't take this long to start working…", Zhao touched the wound on his chest and clicked his teeth in annoyance. Whatever he had been stabbed with was something he had never felt before and was severely hindering his healing process.

He turned his head as he could hear the trees bristle around him as Piandao was hiding within them, gauging him and watching his every move. Zhao was no fool, under normal circumstances someone like Piandao would be no threat to him as his demon abilities far exceeded that of normal humans, but his injury combined with whatever the hell Piandao was wielding didn't favor him in the slightest.

"So old friend, it's been a while," Zhao stated knowing the man would be listening. "I understand that you have been...displeased by the methods in which I've gotten stronger, but please you misunderstand, there is a natural order to these things and the only thing I've done is embrace my own potential to the fullest."

"Is this what you call reaching your potential?" Zhao could hear the voice still scurrying through the trees, but made no attempts to stop his movement, his regeneration was still moving as slow as can be which made him much more cautious than normally.

"You have slaughtered thousands in pursuit of your own selfish goals and you mean to sit here with a straight face and spew lies!" Piandao was seething from watching this...monster he once called a student try and justify all the horrifying acts he had taken part in.

Zhao grinned knowing he'd gotten just the result he wanted, "Well I guess you're only partially right. I always did like it when they squirmed."

"Enough!" Piandao threw a shuriken like object from the tree tops which was easily caught by Zhao who smirked as he looked at the object.

"Is this supposed to hurt me? Ha! This is barely big enough to leave a scar-", Cut off from his own monologue, he felt his hand go numb as the same sensation that rippled through the wound in his chest now rippled through his hand as he dropped down in pain once again.

"What on earth is that!?", Zhao barely had time to think as more shurikens made their way to his location and he threw his body across the ground in an attempt to dodge them. Unfortunately for him a few managed to catch him and the pain that hit him was otherworldly. It wasn't pissing off the master level, but it was definitely up there.

The scratches covering his body were regenerating much faster than his stab wound, but still much slower than normal. For the first time since the incident in the South Pole two years ago, Zhao's heartbeat began to race and he realized what he was feeling since it'd been so long since he felt this toward a normal human.

Fear.

Whatever his former master was using against him, slowed his healing and unless dealt with, could severely put a damper in their coming plans for the North.

"Master, can you hear me!? This fool is using something that slows our healing! What am I supposed to do about this?"

"Calm yourself, Zhao, I have watched the entire affair and to be honest, I'm displeased with how things have turned out. Something so simple turned into such a messy incident, I doubt our ability to remain in secret if either of these two escape the island."

"But my healing is barely working! How am I supposed to fight against someone who can stop my healing?"

"I understand this is something that stops our healing, but even so we are still much more powerful than them. We shouldn't cower in fear just because they have something that can hurt us. Instead we should rise up even higher and stomp this little rebellion they are trying to hold before it grows larger than it already is."

"That...makes sense. I overreacted, master. I deeply apologize for my outburst."

"If you are truly sorry, then make sure you kill this man and ensure he doesn't escape. If word gets out that people like us exist, it won't be long before an even greater threat decides to hunt us down. As strong as we are, I doubt we can take on the world as we are currently. Don't you agree?"

"You're right about that," Standing up off the ground, Zhao felt a fire light itself from within and his determination skyrocketed. His master wanted this man dead, so he'd die.

"You have my word, this man will not escape my grasp."

"I have no doubt you'll be successful. After all you are my most trusted demon…"

"Do not expect me to hold back just because you once taught me how to wield a sword!" Zhao spat while looking around at the trees. He could still hear movement, but moving through the treetops made it extremely difficult to pinpoint his current location.

"If that's the way it's going to be then fine. If he won't come out of hiding, then I guess I'll just have to force the issue," he grinned.

"Cmon, Grandpa, is this the best you got!" Jet swung his swords wildly at the man who was using his firebending to propel himself around the environment, seemingly content with dodging his wild attacks without much issue. Jet followed him around the environment like a moth to a flame, but alas it proved futile. He hadn't so much as even hit the man since their fight began.

The silent look on Jeong Jeong's face still pissed Jet off, but the boy was having a hard time getting close to him in order to change it into one of misery and despair.

"Stop running away and fight me!" Jet leaped forward with another wild strike and Jeong Jeong maneuvered his body to deliver a fire infused kick to the jaw which sent the boy flying. Crashing into a tree, Jet smiled as the wound he gained began to regenerate.

"That's more like it! Get serious or I'll rip you to shreds!" He got up and burst forward again, still bloodlusted while Jeong Jeong still looked as calm as ever.

"What a fool," was all that came from his mouth as he shot a fire blast at Jet burning him, but not enough to stop his movement and he sliced at him once again hoping to finally cut him down to size. He then received a much larger blast of fire which pushed him back causing him to pause as his regeneration took effect.

"If that's the best you got then it looks like this fight's already over. These flames won't do shit to me!" Jet smiled savagely before letting it dissipate at seeing the man's calm expression unchanging. Why was he unaffected by what he was saying? In a war of attrition, he'd surely come out on top, he must know this. So why can't he feel any fear from him?

"A creature such as yourself must not have the highest intelligence so allow me to educate you. You haven't so much as touched me while I continue to land my attacks on you at will," Jeong Jeong rushed forward using his flames and grabbed hold of Jet faster than he could react to and threw him backwards deeper into the forest.

"You have all that power and aggression and yet are unable to channel it properly. You could have done so much good in this world, but instead threw it all away for a cursed power you don't truly understand," Jeong Jeong saw Jet try and catch himself on the ground so he shot condensed fire blasts at his feet which incinerated his toes off, hindering his movement.

"Do you understand how much you sacrificed to gain such power?" He began punching the boy as he was still trying to recover his toes, "Power is always gained through sacrifice and even one as cursed as yours applies to the same principles!"

Jet tried to slice at him again, but Jeong Jeong swiftly grabbed hold of his blades, yanked them out of his hands and threw them away from him which left Jet awestruck. He was trying his hardest and yet this old fart was trying to lecture him for some reason. He grinned knowing it'd make his eventual death all the more sweeter.

"I don't really get what you're going on about, but I'm glad you're taking me seriously-" Jet was cut off as Jeong Jeong placed his hand inches from his face and released an enormous amount of flames from his body, severely burning the boy.

"Damn you couldn't even let me finish talking-" Feeling the burns covering his body did nothing to stop him as he attempted to make a dash for him again only to drop forward barely catching himself on his knees. "What the hell?" Trying to move again proved to be a mistake as this time his body didn't even try to respond to him. He was regenerating, but at a much slower rate than normal.

He closed his eyes and tried to determine this sensation he was feeling, but came up short. Jeong Jeong looked down at him with such disgust covering his eyes, Jet could only growl to show his contempt for it as his body barely responded to him.

"What's wrong boy? I thought you said you were going to kill me?"

"I still am, gramps! Just gimme a minute to heal up and we can go for the next round!"

Jeong Jeong burst forward with a fire infused kick and punted Jet hard enough that he flew through a few trees surrounding him.

"Do you take me for some kind of fool? I told you that you would not leave this forest alive, did I not?"

Lying on the ground in front of him, Jet could no longer move after the prolonged beating he was taking and his regeneration was moving at a snail's pace.

Jet looked at the man who slowly walked over to him with flames lighting his hands, "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" He tried to force his body to speed up the process, but nothing happened.

"I can't die here! Hell, I didn't even do anything yet! All he did was beat on me and I couldn't even land a hit!"

Trying to move his body did little to help as because of his rather brutish nature, he had naturally exhausted his body's regeneration capabilities.

"Can you hear me?"

"Huh? Who the heck is in my head?"

"Calm yourself and think carefully about that tone you're using when speaking to me."

"Oh...it's just you."

Since he was rather new to their ranks, Jet still had a hard time adjusting to the man literally being able to see in his head and talk to him telepathically.

"I assume Zhao didn't inform you of what would happen if you reached your limit in your new body?"

"He said something about I'll be in trouble or something like that. The way he talks pisses me off so I tuned him out."

"Of course you did…" Jet could see Jeong Jeong now standing over him with a certain fury hidden behind his calm expression. The man held his hand out as flames danced around it as he charged it to unleash a devastating attack.

"Listen your body is currently running on empty due to your failure to wisely protect yourself during his attacks and now you are currently unable to regenerate properly. Until you consume flesh of some kind, this glaring weakness may spell your untimely demise."

"Bullshit! Even if I can't regenerate, I'll still kick his-"

Jeong Jeong releashed a massive burst of flames completely covering Jet's body, it didn't hurt him, but more so caused his body to grow even weaker as his flesh and bones began to grow weaker and weaker under the intense amount of flames he was being seared in.

Eventually the attack stopped and Jet's body was almost completely covered in burn and char marks and his vision began to grow hazy.

"Damn...what's going on now?" His vision grew even more distorted as he could feel his left arm dissipate into ash and his body probably wasn't that far behind. It pissed him off that this man could still look down on him while he was barely exerting any effort into their fight. He's strong and he should be respected as such.

Jet stopped struggling at this point with his body growing still as well. The damage he'd accumulated had caught up to him and that last attack, more or less, had completely drained him of the rest of his energy as well.

"I can't die here...I...I…"

"I never even figured out why I wanted to become strong…"

Emotions slowly swirled around his head as visions of blurred faces pushed themselves into his mind causing confusion and a certain sadness he didn't understand.

"Who are these people and why are they in my head?", He could see...memories of some kind played out before him and it seemed like they were happy. Someone who looked like him stood in the center of most of these memories and it made his heart ache for yet another reason he no longer understood.

"Why? Why am I seeing useless shit like this before I die? I don't have time for this! I need to get up and kill him to prove my worth!" But alas, his body had far exceeded its limits and now the only thing he could do is wait for his inevitable demise.

Something deep within himself began to snap and sent his mind into a frenzy. As the light faded from his eyes and his body started to crumble, anger and determination rushed through his very being in a last ditch attempt to beat fate and rise again.

"All this power and here I am groveling at this man's feet. I'm supposed to be powerful! So powerful that no one can stand against me! But-"

"But…" His eyes began to water as his rage and frustration boiled over, "I can't do anything!"

And at the same time, another question popped into his head. "Why did I want to become strong and go through this in the first place?" The memories surrounding him continued to play on repeat as sadness, determination, rage and a whole plethora of emotions battled within him for dominance.

The reason behind his quest for strength had always been in the back of his mind ever since he had "reawakened", but ever since that old hag brought it back up along with his latent potential she babbled on about, he desperately wanted to know the answer to his question.

It was like an invisible force was driving him to find the answer and yet it continued to elude him.

Eventually all other emotions beside sadness had driven themselves away as he could feel his consciousness slowly fade away, "I guess…"

"It was an answer I was never really meant to reach." He finally closed his eyes realizing it would be the last time they would ever close again and resigned himself to his fate before hearing a voice call out to him.

Stop.

His eyes popped open and he sat up in a forest covered in autumn leaves. He looked around as the sun slowly peaked through the treetops and it all felt so eerily familiar to him.

"Where am I?" Before Jet could do anything, several children started to surround him as they brightly glowed around him.

Stop. Please just come with us.

The voice sounded female, but he couldn't be sure as the person was dressed weird even though he wasn't one to talk. They reached out to touch him which caused Jet to stand up and take his stance in anticipation.

"So you wanna fight? Is that it? Fine, I'll take you all on!" His eyes widened in excitement, but instead of rushing them, the children only looked at him with sadness that confused him.

"Why aren't you fighting? Are you scared, because fear isn't something that the strong possess! Come at me or I'll kill you!"

Please, Just come back to us. The voice pleaded even more as tears fell from the children's faces and Jet slowly felt himself waiver for yet another reason he didn't understand.

They took you from us and made you hurt us, don't you remember?

"What the heck are you talking about? I don't even know any of you freaks!"

The female looked over at the boy with the hat as her expression turned into one of anguish, He really doesn't remember us.

The boy with the hat looked back at her and nodded before speaking. You don't remember us and probably don't have any intention of caring, but you shouldn't be like this. That man...no...that monster took you from us and turned you into this.

"If you're talking about Zhao then you couldn't be more wrong. I chose this power for myself and because of it, I'm stronger than I was before. If I knew you in my previous life and don't remember you then you weren't important enough for me to remember!"

The boy with the hat looked at the female with a somber expression covering his face now too. Why did this make Jet so uneasy? It didn't make any sense. These people are supposed to be strangers and yet somehow they feel familiar. His eyes made contact with a small child off to the side of everyone else, sobbing his eyes out and instinctively, Jet reached his hand out to try and calm him.

"What the fuck!" He quickly snatched it back and stepped backwards in shock as he was now freaking the fuck out. "Why did I just do that?"

He does remember. A large child with a much deeper voice than the rest stepped forward with a hopeful expression on his face.

It may be buried deep down under all that hate and darkness, but our leader is still in there somewhere. He can still be saved.

"Saved? The only thing I need is to get back to killing that asshole from earlier."

You still remember! You know us and we know you. Please just come back to us...even with everything that's happened, you're still our leader, Jet.

"Jet."

"You people know my name…"

Of course we do! The girl cried out again. You found and took us in when nobody else did. When the world turned their backs on us, you were the only one who showed us warmth and kindness.

"So...I really do know you? Then why can't I remember you like you remember me?"

That's...it's not something you'd be able to handle if we told you what really happened and you probably wouldn't take it well either, She answered with sadness causing her answer to waiver.

If only we'd known...maybe we could've stopped that man from hurting you and turning you into...whatever this is supposed to be. You aren't free from guilt, but we should've talked you out of it...we...we…

Unable to speak anymore she freely let the tears fall from her face while everyone else slowly did the same. Their leader was hurting and even if he no longer remembered them, the small bit of humanity buried deep down from within him caused him to do something he never thought he'd do to mere humans who were beneath him.

Placing a hand atop of the girl's head, Jet knew that in order for him to get stronger, he had to truly understand his past and how his supposed choices led him to this point.

"Don't ya worry one hair on that pretty little head of yours. Until I remember who you guys are and why you're all connected to me, there's no way in hell I'm gonna die here! Sure that prick is kicking my ass right now, but it doesn't matter!"

He smiled a genuine one with a hint of cockiness that reminded them all of the Jet they knew, "I promise I won't die until I figure out why I wanted to get stronger in the first place."

While they desperately wanted him to let go of his earthly tethers and follow them back to the spirit world to rest, each of them understood that Jet was a stubborn man who never yielded that easily. Sensing their time was close to being up, they all ran towards the boy and dove at him in a group hug which caught him off guard.

"All of you…" Tears welled up in his eyes before falling as he slowly returned the hug, still not even really understanding why.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

Why was he saying this? Why was he apologizing? It's not like he remembers these people so why is his body reacting like this? Not having any more time to speak with each other, the people he was supposed to know faded away into a blinding light, leaving Jet by himself once again.

He dried his eyes, readying himself for round two of their fight to the death when he reawakened. As he felt himself being pulled back to consciousness, for the first time since joining Zhao and becoming a demon, a certain power within him began to rumble, finally ready to break free from its chains and show the world what they could really do when left to run rampant.

Standing over his opponent, Jeong Jeong steadied his breathing as he prepared to finish off this monstrosity and move on towards the much larger goal of stopping their master along with ending this wretched war that has ravaged their world. As the boy laid along the ground beneath him, still falling apart, he said a silent prayer for who he used to be as in his current state, he was no longer human.

Even if this was nothing more than a child being exploited by dark forces, he still had a duty to uphold and people to protect. He raised his hand once again as he charged up another massive amount of flames to completely destroy his body.

Releasing them, Jet's body completely vanished from his sight causing the attack to miss and throwing Jeong Jeong for a loop.

He looked around the area as quickly as his attack missed, already realizing something was wrong. "His body was badly burned and his limbs were crumbling away. How did his body just vanish like that?" Unable to fully process his thoughts, Jeong Jeong could hear small animal cries and munching sounds coming from all around the forest.

Footsteps bouncing around from his left to right, front to back, all surrounded him and using his instincts, he didn't need this battle going on longer than it needed to. Whatever this boy was trying to do was nothing more than a feeble attempt at prolonging a battle that had already reached its conclusion. Using his mastery of flames, he began spreading his fire onto the ground, then the trees which then spread to the area they were fighting in.

What he was doing was an extremely high level firebending technique that allowed one to use the flames surrounding them to their liking. If left unchecked, the flames themselves could grow out of control and burn the user to death, but if kept at a safe enough temperature, one who is able to control them such as Jeong Jeong had no problems turning up the heat in order to kill their foe. It'd been decades since he'd used this technique.

"I wonder if Piandao can see the flames from here…"

"Monster, if you can hear me, show yourself! Weren't you the one prattling on about fighting to the death? Don't tell me you've gotten cold feet!" He'd be lying if he said he wasn't slightly worried about the prospect of Jet running away and taking that other demon with him. That would mean Wu's sacrifice would be in vain and would make him sick to his stomach.

He turned behind him as another animal cry broke through the raging inferno blazing around them and he saw Jet walking through it eating the poor creature alive before smiling at him.

"How are you still in one piece? My attacks should've whittled you down to nothing by now!"

Taking a moment to wipe the blood from his mouth, Jet no longer had any witty comebacks for him. The look he gave Jeong Jeong was something the man hadn't seen on his face since the battle began, "Wouldn't you like to know," He pulled out a small knife-like object and focused back on the man with his eyes locked on him like a hawk.

This Uneasiness.

Even though he was a firebending prodigy, a master of his bending art and levels above this boy skill wise, something in the deep crevices of Jeong Jeong's mind was telling him to run. Get Piandao and leave this place before something unexpected happens, but…

"As if I'd run away when there's so much on the line here!"

He used the flames surrounding the forest and channeled them towards Jet's location knowing the boy wouldn't be able to avoid an entire area of flames attacking him all at once. Before the flames could make contact, Jet vanished from sight once again, leaving Jeong Jeong stunned.

"How the hell is he doing that? Is he disappearing or is he-"

Jet reappeared in front of the man while taking a swipe at him in the leg before dashing away again faster than Jeong Jeong could respond too. Jeong Jeong used the flames to try and defend against it, but he was nicked slightly from the attack, but thought nothing of it.

"A small wound like this won't stop me. If this is the best he can do then I'll simply wait for him to come to me. Although…"

As his battle instincts went into overdrive trying to keep him sharp and alert to his surroundings, a cold hard fact that he'd learned seeped into his head making him pale ever so slightly.

"The boy is fast. Much faster than before," When he thought back to how his body vanished from the ground earlier, he didn't take into account the small amount of dirt that was kicked up after it happened. The footsteps bouncing around the forest was most likely him running fast enough that his echoes hadn't had time to reverberate yet.

"Hmph. So what if he's fast? He will not be leaving this forest alive!"

Jeong Jeong heard footsteps speeding around again and tried to summon a wall of flames to block him from getting close, but the flames around him failed to respond.

"Why can't I-"

Stab*

Jeong Jeong looked down at his chest as he could see the blade the boy had from earlier poking out where his heart was located. He tried to summon any flames at all and again couldn't feel the spark he needed. Struggling did nothing as his body was already failing him and blood began to trickle out of his mouth before violently coughing up a large amount of it.

"You let your guard down, old man," Jet said without much malice behind it. "Had you started the battle with this giant attack, I probably would've been dead ten times over, but you let your arrogance and anger cloud your judgement.

He removed the blade and watched as Jeong Jeong dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks.

"Why...how did you get so strong instantly?" Jeong Jeong could feel himself fading and fast. His heart had been punctured by that knife of his.

Jet walked over to his front and kneeled down, "Since you don't have much time left I guess it wouldn't hurt to enlighten you since it was your tenacity that caused me to awaken my power."

"There are two things that you failed to factor in that caused your defeat here today. The first being my growth."

"What madness do you speak of, boy?" Jeong Jeong scoffed.

"You see, every demon such as myself possesses their very own ability that awakens within them after becoming one, but it was different for me. I wasn't born a bender, so it seems like my blood demon art manifested differently than everyone else," He opened and closed his hands before grinning.

"My Blood Demon art has pushed my physical abilities to their peak. Strength, speed, stamina, durability, senses, you name it! It's all been pushed to their very limits and even by demon standards, I'm probably super hard to kill now. I don't really understand that whole deal with those kids though…" That would be a whole other can of worms that Jet would deal with later down the line when he had time.

"The second and arguably most important thing was this," He pulled the blade in front of him and stared at it in amusement. "I don't really understand everything she told me, but Upper Moon One created this blade with her Blood Demon Art in order to create a weapon that's strong enough to beat that flaming haired swordsman. She mentioned something about it being extremely potent when used against benders and I finally got what she meant."

"When I sliced you from earlier, the blade somehow was able to seal your bending."

"That's impossible! No weapon should be able to do that!"

"Hey, don't get mad at me," Jet shrugged and put the blade away, "I'm just letting you know everything I do before you croak."

Jeong Jeong hacked up more blood as his breathing began to slow. As much as he hated to admit it, the boy was right. His own arrogance and reluctance to use his strongest moves backfired and caused his downfall. He always hated fire and the danger it posed to others and now when given the chance to do some good in the world, he wasted his golden opportunity and will pay for his mistake with his life.

"Ha...hahaha...hahahaha," Jeong Jeong started weakly laughing which made Jet look at him oddly.

"What? Are you going insane before you kick the bucket?" Jet teased.

"Boy, you have a lot to learn if you truly are serious about this getting stronger nonsense. I may have...lost here today, but make no mistake about this…" His breath and heartbeat slowed and he knew he had maybe a few seconds left to give his last words to the boy.

"Whatever it is you think you're after...it will end up being nothing more...than a curse...to you...in the end…" And with his final words, Jeong Jeong's heart stopped completely and his spirit passed onto the next world.

Taking a few moments to look at his fallen enemy, Jet felt a silent spark of respect for the man who helped him evolve as a demon.

"Retrieve his body."

Oh...he forgot the master could do that.

"This old dude? Why do you want his body?" Jet asked.

"It's not for my own use, but Upper Moon One has wanted his body for such a long time. One as powerful as him will definitely come in handy when we prepare to move for the North."

"Fine. Sure. It's not like it really concerns me," Jet shrugged and picked up Jeong Jeong's corpse as he slung it over his shoulder. He decided it was time to leave this blazing inferno and head over to Zhao's location and see how his superior was handling things.

Ever since their battle had begun, Zhao slowly and methodically kept tabs on the angles and locations Piandao was coming from. Small potshots here and there with shurikens laced with that damn aftereffect causing his regeneration to malfunction. His Blood Demon art while not as fancy as others was more or less a one hit kill. All he needed was to touch him and this little scuffle would be over, but the wounds he was accumulating along with Piandao not showing himself was proving to be a massive hindrance.

"Curses! If only he'd stop his incesistant moving!" Zhao snarled.

"Keep weakening him and eventually your opportunity to strike will arise," Piandao thought. Even as a world class swordsman, he was no fool in regards to their power difference. If he miscalculated and got the timing wrong on the final attack, he'd easily be caught and overpowered coming in which would most likely spell his demise.

Sniffing the air around him, Piandao could smell smoke and burning bark as flames started to rise around him.

"What the heck is Jeong Jeong doing?" The only time he could even imagine the man making flames this big was if his life were on the line…

His eyes grew wide as they grew larger and larger causing him to leave his now burning hiding spot in favor of the ground below. He still had his distance from Zhao, but he no longer had a spot to hide in. However from the intel he was given along with the shurikens and modified sword, the material used to soak them was more or less poison to the demons. Unless a situation arises that he can't foresee, then all he needs to do is wear him down with a few more and this battle will be over.

Zhao quickly grabbed and threw a shuriken that had been scattered alongside the ground at Piandao as he just barely had time to dodge it. He deflected the shuriken with his blade as it bounced off of his sword and fell to the ground below.

"We both know that these attempts of yours will continue to prove to be futile. Just accept your fate quietly and pray for Agni's forgiveness when you see her in the next world," Piandao said while monitoring Zhao, who was still extremely weak on the ground.

Zhao smiled as the man had finally walked right into his trap. He didn't know why this fire drew him out as easily as he did, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. This opportunity would not elude him.

"Funny you speak of the afterlife when you are going to be meeting with Agni far quicker than I will…" He smiled to himself sensing the condition to finally use his Blood Demon Art to be met.

"That shuriken just now...when I threw it at you and you deflected it with your sword, you more or less sealed your fate here today."

Saying nothing, Piandao could only watch as Zhao slowly stood up off the ground, determination crossing his eyes with a hint of madness eclipsing it all, "My ability allows me to charge an object, inanimate or alive, into a bomb, simply by touching it! When I touched that shuriken and sent it in your direction, the bomb was transferred to the blade upon being deflected and guess who's holding the sword?"

He smiled maniacally while Piandao threw his sword away as his eyes grew wide in fear and ran towards Zhao hoping what he was implying wasn't true.

"TOO LATE!" Zhao cried in delight.

He pulled his right hand forward as he pushed his right finger down on his index finger's middle phalanx, imitating the action of pressing down on a handheld detonator and an explosion ripped through Piandao causing him to ragdoll backwards as smoke and fire began emanating from his body. He landed on the ground with a sickening thud as Zhao waited a moment as he sighed in disbelief.

"Whatever it is you were hitting me with did far more damage than I expected. Because of that, I wasn't able to use one hundred percent of my full power and I wasn't able to completely erase you."

"Although, some of your brain is probably mushed into your head so you probably can't even hear me right now let alone talk back."

Chuckling to himself, he saw Jet coming through the blazing Inferno with his old master in tow and understood he'd been successful in killing him.

"How the hell did you manage to pull that off?" Zhao asked.

"Dunno. Guess I just got lucky," Jet quipped with a teasing smirk. "The master said Upper Moon One wanted his body for the raid, but you wouldn't happen to know why would you?"

Clicking his teeth in annoyance, "That woman was always an elusive one even by my standards."

They both heard a voice breaking through their heads, "She may be much different than us, but she's still a valuable asset to possess. Her strength is comparable to myself, of course not at my peak mind you, but the fact that she can reach similar heights as me is astounding."

"So when can I meet this chick? If she's as mysterious as you guys are saying then I'm sure she's probably cute too" Jet asked.

"It's much too early for that. The Master allows her to do as she pleases since she's the strongest out of every other ranked demon, including myself. More than likely you won't actually come into contact with her until the raid begins," Zhao answered.

"Correct. I don't believe this is a secret so allow me to enlighten you. Part of the reason why I give her so much leeway to do as she pleases is because even amongst all of you, she is the only one I hold no psychic link towards. It's not like I do not wish to form that connection, but no matter how hard I've tried, I've never been able to do it. Maybe it's because of her unique origins, but I've never been able to see inside her head, although she's been fiercely loyal to me, so I let her come and go as she pleases."

"So she's even more interesting! Now there's no doubt about it, I've gotta meet this woman!" Jet responded.

"Don't get cocky brat! Even if you did meet her, she'd belittle you the same way she did to me when I challenged her for her rank," Zhao really hated this woman since no matter how hard he wanted it, he would most likely never be able to beat her as he currently was.

"Maybe that's just because you're an assole," Jet said casually.

"It seems like you don't know when to mind your manners, boy."

"Ha! I'd like to see you take me now…" His eyes flashed in excitement sending a small chill down Zhao's spine, "Who knows? Maybe I'm strong enough now to take your rank."

"Enough!" Both men froze as a surging anger reverberated from within their heads signifying they'd angered their master.

"If you wish to challenge for a rank, you must wait until we are all gathered as one. Until then, keep your head cool and focused on the task at hand."

"Jeong Jeong has eluded the fire nation for years and now he can finally be put to good use after eluding us for so long. Piandao however is a non bender, therefore completely worthless in my eyes. Dispose of his body along with that Wu woman and get off this island before they send any more of their men to investigate."

Nonbenders are worthless? If that was the case then what did that make him? Jet wanted to ask the question, but didn't dare let those words leave his lips for fear of punishment from his master. He was strong, but the master was the boss for a reason.

"With pleasure," Click*

As if pushing a button, Zhao triggered the explosion he'd set upon Wu's body, blowing her along with her house to bits. The flames that the explosion caused soon spread to other neighboring houses and continued like that until the flames were devouring the entire town.

Looking at Piandao struggling to breathe brought a smile to Zhao's face as he motioned to push the trigger once again, ready to end the man once and for all.

Before he could however, a small ice disk came from the side of him, severing his hand as he cried out in pain. Whatever was in that ice had the same properties of those damned shurikens and sword.

Piandao was swept through the ground using earthbending and as he could no longer use his right hand along with the problems that poison brought, he couldn't efficiently kill the man anymore.

"Look alive, Zhao! We aren't alone!" Jet cried in excitement, still itching to fight. Before he could get fully riled up he quickly toned back down and completely gave up trying to fight which confused Zhao.

"What are you doing, fool? We need to catch and kill whoever is trying to rescue him!"

"No use in chasing them when we can't travel underwater. Whoever attacked you and took Piandao is already moving away from this island and they're fast too. We can't hope to catch them at this rate, so it'd be best to cut our losses and get outta here."

"How on earth could you possibly know that?" Zhao grabbed Jet by his hair in anger as the boy simply looked at him with a mildly annoyed look.

"My Blood Demon Art has pushed my physical abilities to their peak. This also includes my five senses which are probably levels above yours right now and I can tell you for a fact, a skilled earthbender pulled him downwards and carried him to the edges of the island where multiple waterbenders were waiting to carry him away using their bending. I could've caught some of them, but because of where they were located, he still would've gotten away."

"That's...plausible." Zhao admitted while releasing his hair.

"Right and combine that with us having completed our mission here today, I feel it'd be best if we left as well. Who knows who else may be on the way to this island. What we did here most likely won't stay quiet and that Wu hag probably let a lot more people know about us than we originally thought," Jet reasoned.

"The boy is right, Zhao. Both of you need to leave the island and head over to my location. It seems like we need to have an emergency meeting regarding this situation."

Seeing the ship she'd been waiting for finally pull up to their location brought Azula some joy as it'd been a long few weeks awaiting their arrival.

"Azula, would you mind telling an old man who is pulling up next to us?" Iroh asked.

She completely ignored his question while rolling her eyes as she continued to eye the boat in question, "If I told you before they got on, it'd spoil the surprise now wouldn't it, Uncle."

"If you say so…" Iroh decided to wait and watch as the boat docked itself close enough to them and let a small metal walkway bridge the gap between the two boats.

Two women who were somewhat known to Iroh stepped forward as soldiers saluted both of them with the utmost respect. He knew that Azula most likely ordered them to be on their best behavior while her guests were here, but this was a bit much for non royalty.

"AZULA!" The much smaller one shouted before rushing over to Azula who greeted her with a hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Ty Lee," Azula returned the hug as the other woman walked over to them with a plain expression covering her face.

"It's been a while, princess."

Azula took a moment before smirking, "It's good to see you too, Mai."

Letting the girl go from the hug, Azula decided it best to be as blunt as possible in regards to her request she had put in to her friends, "So did you think about the proposition I tolf you about in the letter?"

"Yeah, we did and even though it'll be a pain, it beats sitting at home listening to my parents moan on and on over my little brother," Mai answered.

Ty Lee looked over at Mai with a teasing smirk, "You sure it wasn't because of Zuko being kidnapped? You should've seen her Azula! I've never seen her move so fast-"

Mai put a hand over the energetic girl's mouth sending a glare at her which stopped her from continuing, "What Ty Lee meant to say was that the proposition of helping bring your brother home was far too interesting to pass up."

"It's definitely not because of her crush on him!" Ty Lee tried to lie, causing Mai to slap her own face in annoyance.

"My brother being kidnapped has been a horrible incident for us and we want nothing more than for him to be found safely." Azula in all honesty could care less about Zuko right now, but if her goals of finding her brother, eliminating the Avatar and getting even closer to her father's good graces were to be accomplished, she needed these two who would stand by her side and be useful to her.

"Ah, Azula, you didn't tell me you were inviting your friends. If I had known earlier, I would've been a nice, hot cup of jasmine tea."

"It wasn't that big of a deal, so I didn't bother mentioning it," Azula retorted. "Also prepare the other empty cabins down the hall. Starting today, these two shall be honored guests aboard this ship and shall be treated as such. Treat them as if you were talking to me."

The soldiers aboard the ship hurried down the hall to the empty cabins Azula always left open and prepared getting them ready for Mai and Ty Lee to rest in.

"So you two will be joining us in our quest to find my nephew?" Iroh asked the two women.

"Yeah, beats sitting at home," Mai deadpanned.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" Ty Lee beamed.

It took a moment for Iroh to understand the initial meaning behind their first interaction he'd witnessed and smilied, "I'm sure my nephew would also be very happy to see you again, Mai."

She turned her head as her blush grew and grunted, signifying her reluctance to agree with him.

Azula watched as the soldiers began moving their belongings from one ship to the other and smirked. Sure, Ty Lee was a handful with all of her boundless energy and Mai with her dark and brooding personality was sure to irk her nerves, but these two were invaluable to her if she wanted her plans to succeed.

As a princess, she was always told to suck it up and adapt to her surroundings, so adapting to her two friends' vastly different tempos and wavelengths should be no problem at all.

"What's taking so long? It's not like we have all day and night to wait on her!" Liling shouted her displeasure over the meeting which hadn't even started as waiting on Upper Moon One's arrival was proving to irk her last nerves.

"Quiet yourself, fool," Zhao barked. "She's the strongest one out of all of us, so if the master lets her do as she pleases, there isn't much we can do about it now can we?"

Silence filled the room as the weight behind Zhao's words rang true. He hadn't been the only demon to challenge her and they all ended in devastating losses. She also most likely wasn't trying her hardest either which had made the losses all the more demoralizing for them.

"Well, I haven't fought her yet so it's hard to think that I'd do worse than the rest of you," Jet teased.

"What did you say!?" Liling stirred as her anger was bubbling up at Jet's arrogance.

"He isn't even a Ranked Demon, so why is this brat here?"

"The Master wants him to be here so he's here. Any more questions?" Zhao asked.

She spit at the floor in disgust, "This monkey has no right to be here! He's a nonbender which means he's inferior to the rest of us, so why would I be okay with him being near me. It's disgusting that he can even breathe the same air as us."

Jet smirked at what the woman was saying, "I'd be careful if I were you, grandma. If you aren't careful, this little ole monkey is gonna end up knocking you down a few pegs."

"What did you say-"

Kneeling down instinctively as the door to the throne room cracked open, each and every last one of them felt their bodies lock up in fear and anticipation. Jet didn't understand why his body was reacting like this, but he followed suit.

The Master walked over to the throne as everyone else continued to kneel down in his presence. Taking a seat in his chair, the aura of malice while still there, considerably relaxed and they felt an invisible pressure leave their bodies, allowing them to faintly relax.

"This impromptu meeting while annoying is absolutely necessary since Zhao allowed that man to escape his clutches. Pitiful that the man escaped, but since he's at death's door he himself will no longer be a problem, it's the fallout that his escape will cause that is the issue that cannot be ignored."

"This...White Lotus group as they're called has been subtly investigating our group for quite some time now and we haven't been able to get much information out of the spies who get caught. Torture and fear of death hasn't been able to get much out of them, so it seems like secrecy is a key factor of this group."

"So what do you wish for us to do, master?" Zhao asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"You leave these White Lotus mongrels to me. I haven't been able to gather much intel on my own, but it seems like Omashu is heavily tied to this thorn in my side. I'll be taking a small trip there a few weeks before the raid to ensure that it goes off without a hitch."

"What about Zuko and Azula? The boy has always been a failure, but the girl...she hasn't produced the results you've hoped for."

"She can still turn things around to prove herself to me. And if not…" He trailed off before smirking, "She can still be helpful to me in other ways. The boy on the other hand will only be useful once the raid begins. His Uncle always did have a soft spot for the boy and if everything falls into place, he'll play his role nicely."

Jet found the entire exchange strange as his Master was referring to them as strangers when that couldn't be farther from the truth. These two were closer to him than arguably any of them could even hope to be. After all, they were his kids.

"If you don't mind me asking, how come you talk like they aren't related to you, Oz-" Jet's question was interrupted as Zhao had rushed over, grabbed him by the face and slammed his face into the floor.

"You still have yet to learn some manners, you insolent brat!" Zhao roared.

"I say we teach him a lesson he won't soon forget," Liling joined.

Combustion Man nodded his head in agreement as well. This boy was too arrogant for his liking.

The Master put his finger over his lips causing the growing commotion to cease immediately as they all resumed their positions kneeling down at the head of his throne.

Jet's regeneration had started to kick in as he sat up with half his face still falling off.

"Do not harm the boy for his innate curiosity, Zhao. I have no qualms admitting that those two are indeed my children."

Ozai, Firelord who reigned over his nation with an iron fist, brother of Prince Iroh, father of Zuko and Azula was the one who had inherited the title of King of Demons and subsequently everything that it entailed. How this came to be along is a tale only one person knows and Upper Moon One would be hard pressed to give any details up.

"I take it the answer I gave was satisfying?" Ozai asked the boy who was finished healing.

"Yes, Master," Jet bowed his head to the floor before letting Ozai continue.

"I have a dream that this nation shall reign supreme over the other nations and in order for this to happen, the future attack on the Northern Water Tribe shall be the first step towards a conclusion in this war started by my grandfather, Sozin. Upper Rank Three is still stationed out in Ba Sing Se awaiting my signal and once I give him the green light, that cursed nation that has escaped my grasp will finally be mine."

"Upper Moon One has already set out for the Northern Water Tribe in order to infiltrate it and weaken them from the inside out. Before she left she took Jeong Jeong's body with her as she said he would prove to be a very useful asset once she was at full power. With her moving forward so quickly, it would be wise for us to do the same."

"Starting today, I'll be assigning each of you individual missions to take the necessary precautions that will be needed and I implore you that we take caution to not repeat the last failure. Liling, you and your silent companion shall continue the decimation of Earth Kingdom colonies. The weaker we make their people, the better for us it will be when the time comes to move upon Ba Sing Se. Zhao, you continue to watch over my daughter and gauge her development to see if she's capable of joining our ranks."

"And as for you," He pointed at Jet who looked at him stunned, confused as to why Ozai was signaling him out in particular when he wasn't even a ranked Demon.

"You awakened your Blood Demon Art recently, correct? From what I saw from your fight with Jeong Jeong, your skills are suited for the task I'm about to give you. Do you wish to prove your worth to me?"

"More than anything," Jet answered truthfully.

Ozai took out a list and tossed to him, "On this list are the names of traitors, potential spies, political adversaries and other maggots that aren't worth my time. I need them eliminated before we leave for the North. Think of it as a test to prove your potential. That weapon of yours should serve you well since any one who gets cut by it, temporarily loses their bending."

"So the effects of it are temporary. Interesting," Jet thought.

"Make sure you don't leave so much as a hint that a demon is responsible for these killings and if you can pull it off, I'll consider welcoming you into our ranks."

Liling opened her mouth to retort, but found herself stopping in fear of Ozai's retaliation. Sure he was kind to them now, but she'd learned that he was not a man to be interrupted nor questioned.

"Last, but not least there are two individuals that must be taken care of once the raid begins. Kyojuro Rengoku is a man whose power is unrivaled in this world besides the Avatar himself and must be dealt with if we are to be successful. His...Flame Breathing along with his fighting abilities has the potential to become a problem for us once we arrive. He's been traveling with the Avatar and since the boy must learn waterbending, it stands to reason that they are heading to the only place in the world with a conglomerate of world class waterbenders to teach him."

"Zhao can attest that if Kyojuro is left to his own devices, he could stop the raid before it even gets off the ground, especially once the ships dock and we begin invading their territory. Upper Moon One has informed me of a plan to permanently deal with him before any fighting begins, but needs everyone in place in order for it to work."

"The second and in my opinion the most important and dangerous individual in the North Pole that must be eliminated is a child who has been spirit touched by the moon. Princess Yue will take a higher priority over Kyojuro even if both are dangerous. While we know of his power, Yue is one shrouded in mystery and I'm not willing to take any chances with her."

"But...the girl is nothing more than a political figure. Why is she more dangerous than the flaming haired swordsman?" Zhao asked.

"We cannot walk under the moonlight without being burned to a crisp and it actively plays into strengthening our enemies if they become aware of this fact and decide to target us during the night. We'd be almost powerless if a multitude of master waterbenders ambushed us. With her ties to the moon spirit, she's too much of a wildcard to be left unchecked."

"The Princess of the Northern Water Tribe, Yue must not live because if she is able to awaken to her own power and abilities, she will undoubtedly become a bigger calamity for us than Kyojuro could ever hope to be."

And as the room grew even more silent than it already was, curiosity danced throughout their minds at the implications his words held. Yue having more potential and danger to them than Kyojuro himself? As if a girl as frail as her could stand against them and yet in the back of their minds, if their Master viewed her to be a bigger threat than Kyojuro himself, then just how dangerous was this girl supposed to be?

Sorry for this chapter being super super late. I wanted to be at the Northern Water Tribe before November, but it looks like that'll be pushed back until December.

Moving on.

I feel like I need to explain Jet and Zhao's Blood Demon Art for those who may be confused.

Admiral Zhao: Bomb Transmutation - He may charge any object, inanimate or not, as a bomb simply by touching it. These explosions can range from small to quite large depending on how much damage he wants to dish out to his opponent. While not as flashy as others, it is more or less a one hit kill and Zhao prides himself in its power.

Jet: Physical Enhancement - His Strength, Speed, Stamina, Reflexes, Vitality etc. are all pushed to their very limits even by Ranked Demon standards leaving him unrivaled in this department. It hasn't been tested, but catching him off guard is next to impossible as well since his 5 senses are all honed to perfection. More hidden aspects are still waiting to be discovered with his ability.

Upper Moon One has also gifted him a weapon that can temporarily cancel out others bending and render it unusable for a short time. Not even Ozai understands how this works, but as it was made to be able to deal with Kyojuro Rengoku's devastating Flame Breathing, it also proves quite capable against benders!

Azula, Mai and Ty Lee are now joining the fray which should be interesting given their dynamic. I loved their energy in the show and writing their short interactions was really really fun. All of them will play important roles in the story even if it might not seem like it at first.

Finally, Princess Yue and why she is the centerpiece of the coming raid. If you remember from earlier chapters, Agni informed Kyojuro that the shadowy figure that entered her domain had its eyes set on her for some reason, but she couldn't make any sense of it. I wonder who that figure could be...

Anyway that's all for now and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask and thanks for reading! See you hopefully sooner rather than later!

PS: I'm totally turning Jet into another Toji Fushigoro lmao.