Instant update, yay-y-y ~ ! And I hadn't realized that I was almost done with season 2! Until now after the Guest had pointed it out :P – I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

Feeling sick to his stomach, Jet steps off the carriage after both firebenders are out and watches the carriage leave before turning his attention to the palace itself. It's fairly intimidating and Jet has to appreciate that.

"Here we are, at the threshold of the palace." Iroh says as they being walking, "But I had always thought that I would have been here as a conqueror. Instead, we are here as the Earth King's personal guests. Destiny is a funny thing."

Jet rolls his eyes, because if they're going to start talking about destiny, he was going to turn around and go home – entering the palace, they're met with a very becoming woman who smiles kindly and gestures for them to follow. Taking in the ornate décor and tapestries, Jet starts to wonder what kind of man the Earth King is as he's never really heard that much about him, or seen him for that matter. The woman opens a door to a fancy room where three seats are already made and a table set before them with a throne at the head of everything.

"The Earth King will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Iroh bows kindly.

Watching the woman until she disappears around a corner, Jet turns his attention back to the two firebenders as they settle into their seats with the one of the left of Zuko open. Obviously Jet's spot. Pursing his lips, Jet rubs at his sleeved wrist, beneath it is his bracer and hidden dagger. When Zuko looks at him curiously, Jet offers a small smile:

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stand."

"Come now Fan," Iroh starts, "We are guests."

"Exactly." Jet frowns, "No offence Uncle, but why would the Earth King ask for us personally just for some tea?"

"Maybe he heard about it from one of his servants," Zuko supplies, "There have been a lot of customers."

"Still." Jet knows he shouldn't be annoyed with Zuko, but this fake-cheer was really bothering him.

"We will be okay." Iroh hums, "Relax, you are no longer Lion-heart."

Frown deepening, Jet moves towards the seat beside Zuko, the feel of his armor beneath his stupid robes calming his nerves only so much. He only wished he would have been able to smuggle his shuang-gou in as well. When the second turn to minutes, his gut begins twisting, his fingers itching to grab one of his daggers. And apparently, the Earth King's absence is affecting Zuko just as much for the Fire Prince shifts in his seat and the familiar twitch of his lips gives away his annoyance – the almost scowl lightening Jet's mood oddly enough.

"What is taking so long?"

"Maybe the Earth King overslept?"

"I told you this was suspicious."

A door to their right slides open and two lines of Dai-Li enter the room, seemingly gliding across the floor as they circle around the trio, Zuko shifts even more in his seat, maneuvering himself a little closer to Jet.

"Ah, Lion-heart." a familiar voice croons, Jet tenses and Zuko jumps to his feet, "Always one step ahead of Zuzu." the girl moves to stand before the throne with her hands behind her back, she flashes a daunting smirk, "It's tea time."

"Azula!" Zuko snaps, "What are you doing here?!"

"Have you met the Dai-Li?" Azula asks instead, earning the clenching of Zuko's fists, "They're earthbenders, but they have killer instincts that are so firebender. I just love it."

Rising to his feet, Jet clenches his hidden dagger while Iroh stands with a cup of steaming tea in his hand, "Have I ever told you how I got the nickname, Dragon of the West?"

"Oh please," Azula drawls, "I don't have time to hear any of your anecdotes, Uncle."

"It's more of a demonstration really."

Before he can reveal his dagger, Jet is surprised when Zuko grabs his wrist and tugs him behind Iroh just as flames spew from the older firebender's mouth and forcing the Dai-Li men to shield themselves from the fire. Bursting a hole in the door with a ball of fire, Iroh hurries them along the hall with the Dai-Li shooting slabs of earth at them. Bits of rock exploding and littering the ground. Seeing a dead end, Jet is about to stop when he notices the crackling of electricity begin to spark around Iroh's hands shortly before he shoots the lightning at the wall, bursting yet another hole in a wall. Jumping out the hole in the wall with Iroh, both males land safely in separate hedges, Iroh's being completely destroyed underneath his weight while Jet's holds – if a little smashed.

"Come on!" Iroh shouts, Jet looks towards the entrance where he spots Zuko staring down at them,

"Zuko!" Jet shouts, his blood running cold, "Don't you dare!"

Iroh seems to catch on to what is about to happen just as Zuko speaks, "No! I'm tired of running; I'm going to face Azula head on!"

Watching the Prince turn and disappear into the building, Jet grits his teeth while Iroh slaps a hand to his forehead.

"I swear I'm going to kill him."

"Hurry." Iroh takes off with Jet following shortly after, "We must find help."

"Who's going to help us?!"

oOo

"This is ridiculous."

"They will help."

"How are you sure?"

"I'm not."

Jet frowns at the firebender knocking on the door to the fancy building, it only takes a few seconds before the door opens and that blind girl begins to speak while both Aang and Sokka are heard freaking out about something or other from inside the house. Iroh and the girl, who Jet doesn't know the name of, seem to be on good terms, so that's great. But when they start with pleasantries, Jet lets out an annoyed growl that Iroh hears and causes the Dai-Li agent to tense as Jet is the one holding a blade to his throat.

"May we come in?"

Apparently they're given the go ahead as Iroh steps into the building, Jet gives the Dai-Li agent a final glare before stepping into the fancy home, eyes falling upon the scaffolding holding the house's ceiling.

"What's going on?" Sokka instantly questions before his eyes land on Jet's bandages, Jet having discarded his stiff, fancy robes, "And what happened to you?"

"Doesn't matter." Jet frowns, "And – we need your help."

"Our help?" Sokka guffaws.

Jet scowls. Iroh takes the initiative to speak, "Princess Azula is here within Ba-Sing-Se, she has captured my Nephew."

"She must have Katara too!" Aang exclaims before sobering, "Okay, we'll help one another to take down Azula and save Katara and Zuko."

"Whoa! Hold on!" Sokka shouts, he moves to stand beside Aang, "You lost me at and Zuko!"

"I know how you must think of my Nephew," Iroh begins, "But believe me when I say that he has good within him."

Sokka frowns, "Come back when he has good on the outside as well."

"We don't have time for this." Jet snarls, he steps towards Sokka, both Aang and the little girl tensing, "Azula has Katara and who knows what she'll do to her, and as much as I hate to say it, Azula is a talented bender. None of you will stand a chance against her." he levels a look at Aang, "And unless you've mastered firebending, you might as well let her have your little friend. Who knows, maybe she'll be merciful and skip past the torture and straight to the execution."

"Lion-heart." Iroh frowns, "That's enough."

Jet casts his glare to Iroh then back to Aang who now has unshed tears in his eyes, Jet sneers, "I'm only telling you what'll happen. That's just the kind of person she is. What use could she have for a waterbender?"

"Harsh." the little girl mumbles.

"Okay – you're right." Sokka growls, glaring hard at Jet, "I don't like you or Zuko, but Katara is my sister and I'll do anything for her. Even if it means teaming up with you."

Iroh gestures for the kids to follow, "We brought along someone who can help."

Exiting the house, Iroh leads the group to their tagalong, the girl earthbending the man into standing up as Jet approaches to yank the gag from the man's mouth; Jet presses the tip of his dagger underneath the man's jaw.

"Talk."

The Dai-Li agent does so without much more prompting from Jet, "Azula and Long-Feng are planning a coup; they're going to overthrow the Earth King and take control of Ba-Sing-Se!"

"Where are they keeping my sister?!" Sokka demands.

"In the crystal catacombs of old Ba-Sing-Se, just underneath the palace."

Jet knocks the man out with the blunt end of his dagger, "Why don't you take a rest?"

"We've got our destination." Aang says, "Let's go."

oOo

"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."

"It doesn't matter."

"It's just – that for so long, whenever I imagined the face of the enemy, it was your face."

"My face," Zuko murmurs, fingers touching his scar, "I see."

"No, no. That's not what I meant."

"It's okay." Zuko lets his hand drop, "I used to think this scar marked me, the mark of the banished Prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever." he thinks of his original plans to leave Ba-Sing-Se with Jet, "But lately, I've realized that I'm free to determine my own destiny. Even if I'll never be free of my mark."

"Maybe you could be free of it."

Zuko's eyes widen in surprise, he turns to face Katara, "What?"

"I have healing abilities."

Zuko frowns, mentally berating himself for getting his hopes up, "It's a scar. It can't be healed."

The waterbender's movement captures his attention, looking in her general direction; he sees her pull out a string with some sort of blue vial attached to it. She holds it out for him to see.

"This is water from the spirit oasis in the North Pole." she starts to draw closer, "It has special properties so I've been saving it for something important. I don't know if it would work, but we can try."

Feeling something in the air shift, Zuko closes his eyes and allows the waterbender to touch his scar, the very same one he'd been ashamed of for years, the very same one he's only allowed Jet to touch without him tensing. The pads of her fingers press a little more allowing Zuko to feel the mild warmth seep into his ruined skin, her touch is soft – kind. As he begins to understand why the girl before him captured Jet's attention, the wall beyond them suddenly implodes. Creating a billowing of dust and causing the two to part. Before the air can clear, Jet bounds towards Zuko and throws his arms around a startled Zuko, burying his face against the Fire Prince's shoulder.

"Fuck Fire-Bird," Jet whispers quietly, "You scared me."

Katara watches the scene with both surprise and confusion before she turns and spots Aang, "Aang ~ !"

Looking up at the sound of the Avatar's name being called, Zuko feels his heart drop and his mind begin to race with a thousand different questions, he's about to ask Jet what's going on as the taller boy pulls back, but before he can, Iroh envelopes him in a hug, confusing Zuko even more. Both Jet and his Uncle had been with the Avatar. Casting his gaze back to the Avatar, he sees the kid send him a glare. Narrowing his eyes, Zuko pulls away from his Uncle.

"What are you guys doing with the Avatar?"

"Rescuing you." Aang emphasizes, "That's what."

Growling, Zuko attempts to go after the brat when his Uncle stops him, holding him back, Iroh turns to the two reunited friends, "Go on and rescue your other friends."

What?

Watching the Avatar bow respectfully before running off, Zuko looks away, feeling confused and – betrayed.

"We need to talk."

"Why?"

"You are at the crossroads of your destiny." Iroh begins, Zuko notices Jet roll his eyes, "You are not the man you used to be. You are stronger, wiser, and freer than you were before. And now it is time for you to choose – it is time for you to choose good."

The ground rumbles and before Jet or Zuko can react, Iroh is encased within the glowing crystal. Directing his attention towards the source, Zuko spots his sister and two Dai-Li agents, Jet immediately reaching for his shuang-gou he'd obviously equipped before finding him, but before his fingers can even brush against the leather handles of his weapons, he's soon trapped within the same crystal.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," Azula sneers, her gaze flicks to Jet, "And Lion-heart subsequently. But Zuko, Prince Zuko. You're a lot of things but you're not a traitor. Are you."

Zuko frowns, "Release them immediately."

"It's not too late for you Zuko, you can still redeem yourself."

Iroh warns, "The kind of redemption she offers is not the kind for you."

"Don't listen to her." Jet snaps when he sees Zuko's posture shift, "She lies remember!"

"Be quiet and let him decide," Azula hisses, "Before I have the Dai-Li muzzle you two as well."

Zuko immediately tenses, "Leave them alone."

Azula returns her softened gaze to Zuko, "I need you Zuko, I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day you will have your honor back. You will have Father's love. You will have everything you want."

"Zuko." Iroh starts, "I am begging you, look into your heart and see what it is you truly want."

Azula raises her hand, the two Dai-Li agents leave, "You are free to choose."

oOo

Staring the girl and the Avatar down in case either make any sudden movements, a large ball of fire explodes between them, causing both firebending siblings to back away, the Dai-Li shielding their eyes. When the dust clears and settles enough for anyone to see properly, Zuko sees his Uncle in full firebending stance with Jet standing off to the side with a look of utter confusion etched across his face. When their eyes meet, Zuko sees shock war with the confusion – as if he didn't understand why Zuko was on the other side.

Iroh shoots fire at the feet of the Dai-Li, forcing them away further, "Go!" he shouts, "Take Lion-heart and go!" Zuko feels his heart drop, "I will hold them off for as long as I can!"

Jet holds Zuko's gaze as he nods in a jerky manner before he starts to back away slowly, Zuko's blood runs cold, he holds his hand out towards Jet:

"Wait!"

Jet pauses, he sees Zuko's outstretched hand and stares a good few seconds before he takes a step towards his lover.

"No!" Iroh snaps, startling Jet, "Go with the Avatar and his friend!"

Swallowing hard, Jet turns away from Zuko and takes Aang from Katara, allowing the girl to use both hands to create a large funnel of water that lifts them towards the exit – seeing Jet leave him behind, Zuko feels tears prick his eyes before rage takes over. Fully intending to shoot them down, Zuko is stopped by his Uncle who shot a blast of fire before him, the dirt and smoke forcing him to shield his eyes. When he looks up, the water is gone and his Uncle surrenders. Glaring at his Uncle, Zuko turns away – both Jet and his Uncle betrayed him. His Uncle forcing Jet to leave, and Jet doing so without much of a fight.

I might fix this and the previous chapter at a later date.