I'm sorry it took so long but I was so conflicted with what I wanted to do with this chapter! I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender!

"Were you able to locate everyone I told you to find ~ ?"

"I did." Hakoda assures his son before his brows knit in concern, "But I'm a little worried Sokka." they turn to look at the boat he'd just stepped off of, "Some of these men aren't exactly the warrior type." they watch the two swamp benders before he speaks once more, "Is it me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf hat?"

Bato walks by at that moment, "I just wish they would wear pants."

Another one of the swamp dwellers speaks up, scratching his belly, "Pants are an illusion, and so is death."

Hakoda makes a face, just then Prince Zuko and Lion-Heart walk of the ship side-by-side talking to each other, Hakoda's expression worsens when he sees Katara light up and start calling to the two boys and runs towards the unusual pair to give them a rather large and friendly hug, he can only cringe as he watches his daughter fawn over the two teenage boys.

"I'm also a little concerned about dereliction." Hakoda lowers his voice to keep Katara or the two boys from overhearing him, "I find it odd that Lion-Heart is a completely different person from the one I saw last we met."

"I'd be suspicious too." Sokka nods in understanding, "But as it turns out, he just missed his boyfriend."

Hakoda's head snaps towards Sokka, "Boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Sokka bobs his head, "I'm sure you know the guy beside them is Prince Zuko, if not then there really needs to be introductions, and they're dating. And you see those weird ornament-looking things pinned to Jet's tie, well, it's a betrothal gift, they're going to be getting married once this is all over." Hakoda blinks, Sokka oblivious to his father's bewilderment, "Aang and Katara wanted them to have the wedding earlier for some sappy reason or another, but things got in the way and well, now it looks like they'll be having their wedding at their original set time."

"Jet is - ?"

"Lion-Heart's real name."

"And your sister isn't - ?"

"Nope, they've just become her favorite couple. I think she's just living vicariously through them."

"Oh."

At that moment, Jet and Zuko walk by talking with one another and looking like the rest of the world couldn't touch them in their own little bubble. It has Hakoda seeing the two in a new light, he turns to Katara who is now walking back to them, his daughter only smiles at him.

When everyone gathers in the appointed area for them to go over the mission review, Jet and Zuko are dragged up to the front with the rest of team Avatar, both Aang and Katara claiming that they're part of the group so they're welcome to sit up front with them. This just proves to be a bad place for Jet to be for when Sokka walks out onto the earthbender made platform and trips, sending his papers scattering, everyone sees the way Jet slaps a hand over his mouth in an attempt to smother the laugh that was threatening to bubble out, they also see how Zuko elbows him to keep him quiet. It works, for a few seconds because the laughter returns and grows throughout Sokka's fumbling which in turn makes Jet's laugh louder causing Sokka's speech all the worse.

Zuko sighs and shoves Jet upward; he turns to the others and mutters, "Sorry."

The entire invasion force then watches the two leave before turning back to Sokka and tuning in to his now confusing speech – once they're a good distance away from the ragtag group of people, Zuko turns to Jet and all but scolds him on his behavior and terrible manners, of course Jet takes it all with a grain of salt before he works his magic and manages to deflect the firebender's anger elsewhere.

When the meeting concludes and people start getting ready, Hakoda dragging Zuko to the side and catching him up on the plans for the invasion, Jet is wandering amongst the soldiers when he spots Katara approaching him, her shoulders squared and jaw set, a frown tugging her lips down.

"What is wrong with you?"

Several pairs of eyes turn towards the duo.

"Plenty of things." Jet says dismissively, "Take your pick, Snowflake ~ ."

Katara lets out an annoyed growl, "You completely embarrassed Sokka."

"He didn't need my help with that." grins Jet, annoying Katara even more, "He did that to himself."

"You didn't make it any better by laughing at him like that in front of everyone!"

Jet sighs, head lolling to the side, "Zuko already lectured me on manners and why what I did was wrong, so I'd rather skip this soon-to-be reprimand." he starts to walk away, waving her off, "If you'll excuse me, I have to find a certain firebender and make sure no one tries anything, I still don't trust these people."

Katara lets out a frustrated snarl and glares petulantly at Jet's retreating form, she hears him laughing at her and oh how she wants to water whip him, but she ultimately lets the guy go as she knows nothing she could possibly say will shame Jet enough to look even the tiniest bit sorry and actually mean it.

oOo

"I ever tell you just how much I hate the ocean?"

Zuko glances at Jet, "No?"

"Well now I am." Jet says, he's staring into the blue depths as the ships carry them towards the Fire Nation capital. "We've spent so much time on the ocean that I'm genuinely getting sick of it." he leans forward, resting his arms atop the ship's topside fencing, one arm over the other, "Sure, it was fun to run around on deck when it was storming, nothing like the kick of adrenaline pumping through your blood, but now I'm just sick of it."

Sokka huffs as he passes them by, "I wonder about you sometimes."

Jet waves a flippant hand, "You wouldn't be the first."

Sokka glares at him – the time comes when they're closing in on their first hurdle, the Gates of Azulon, the waterbenders whip up the fog cover on command but it doesn't work as well as it had with the previous run-ins with the Fire Nation navy. As Hakoda herds everyone under deck and into the subs, Jet starts to feel claustrophobic, a lot like he did when they first arrived at Ba-Sing-Se's refugee ferry port.

The sub only serves to make him feel worse.

When they breath the surface for more oxygen, Jet grabs onto the back of Zuko's neck and pulls him close, pressing their foreheads together, he knows they've caught the attention of several others, but he doesn't care, not when Zuko is looking at him with those confused puppy-dog eyes of his.

"If anything happens," he starts to whisper for only Zuko's ears to hear, "If you get into a tight spot, run, leave the others and come find me, then we'll leave."

Zuko's eyes widen in surprise, "What - ?"

Jet steps closer, "You're more important to me than this invasion."

"I - ,"

"Please."

Zuko searches his face before shutting his eyes, "Okay."

Jet smiles, he knows the idea doesn't sit well with Zuko, but it was okay, he lifts Zuko's chin and presses his lips to the firebender's in an innocent kiss, one Zuko deepens when he wraps his arms around Jet and pulls him closer, holding him tight. When they pull away, Zuko looks at him with reverent eyes:

"You're the single most important person in my life, and I hate how scared you make me sometimes."

"Hey," Jet says as he watches Zuko step back, "If we actually win this, we'll be getting married."

Zuko smiles, soft and vulnerable, "Can't wait."

They're ushered back into the subs by Sokka who surprisingly doesn't make a smart comment about their little moment. In the subs, Jet watches Zuko wander off towards the group of soldiers where he is to stay in the center until the forces meet foot soldiers where he is then to move to the front, Zuko takes a deep breath to steady himself, readying himself to face his own people.

"Jet." tearing his gaze away from Zuko, he sees Sokka staring him down, "Are you sure you're up for this?"

Jet offers up a wild looking smirk, his claustrophobia returning with a vengeance, crooking one eyebrow he says, "Shouldn't you have asked this before we all set off for the Fire Nation?"

"I'm just asking." Sokka narrows his eyes, "You've proved to be flaky in the past. You're erratic at best and back-stabbing at the worst. This mission is important; it could finally end this war."

"You're thinking I'm going to sabotage this."

A torpedo fires behind them.

And Jet starts to wonder if Sokka had somehow overheard what he'd said to Zuko.

"There's a possibility of it, that's all I'm saying." he moves on, "Where do they have you?"

"At the back. I'm going to be covering the rear."

In that moment, Jet realizes exactly why they set Zuko in the center of a group of soldiers, not only to keep their only firebender from hitting any snags but so Jet doesn't get the chance to pull something funny – like taking Zuko and ditching them, after all, they won't meet any foot soldiers until they're a fairly decent distance into the thick of the battle. Biting on the tip of his own tongue, he attempts to keep his expression neutral, his right hand clenching, not that he can tell.

Sokka then grins, "Let's just hope your reputation scares off some of the soldiers."

Jet grins right back, the thought is more than enough to stop his ire from growing.

Someone shouts for them to get ready, he doesn't know who it is, but he listens and moves to the back – heart pounding harder the second the doors open and the group starts moving, Zuko attempts to keep his legs from buckling underneath him. It's nerve-wracking knowing that he was going up against his own people, his own nation. Everything becomes a kind of methodical chaos and soon Fire Nation vehicles start to roll out, fire shooting at them, their own vehicles taking the blasts for the troops. It isn't exactly the foot soldiers they were expecting, but it's still fire they're dealing with, so when their own tank gets halted he pushes to the front of the group and diverts a fire blast away from them, Jet runs past him, dodging a blast or two and hops on to one of the vehicles, Zuko swears he's going to kill Jet himself – looking through the slot, he sees two Fire Nation soldiers looking at him with wide eyes, grabbing two explosives from the belt they'd equipped him with, he tosses them through the small opening and makes a quick retreat, watching as the two soldiers hurry to scramble out of the vehicle and making it out just as it explodes, sending them flying and landing ungracefully, none the worse for wear it seems.

His lip curls in distaste, lucky, he turns just as a ball of fire is sent his way, before it can connect with the target, namely himself, the fire is split down the middle and in front of him is Zuko, the firebender sending a returning fire blast.

Zuko snaps, "Pay attention!"

"I wanted to watch the fireworks."

Zuko whirls on him, "Jet!"

Jet rolls his eyes, "Fine."

Seeing an incoming torrent of fire, he tackles Zuko out of the way, both falling to the ground then stumbling to right themselves – he finishes blowing up another vehicle and jumps away from the wreckage, turning, he comes face to face with a group of foot soldiers, both parties pause upon seeing the other.

"L-L - ,"

"It's Lion-Heart!" a soldier finishes for his comrade.

Jet watches wide-eyed as the soldiers throw their weapons down and clasp their hands together, holding them out for Jet, the small group giving up. He looks towards Zuko, wondering if he's seeing this too, when he meets the Fire Prince's eyes, he sees the other shrug.

oOo

Climbing on to Appa and heading back in to the fray, Sokka flies over the forces and lands in front of them, Appa knocking over a nearby Fire Nation war vehicle. Jumping up, he moves to the back of Appa's saddle and cups his hands around his mouth:

"Listen up everyone, I want the tanks in wedge formation!" he even gestures the formation with his arms, "Warriors and benders in the middle! We're taking that tower and heading for the palace!"

As Sokka heads back towards the front, he pauses a short second when he spots both Zuko and Jet, not only had Jet given up all pretenses of following their desires of having him at the back, but he is literally laughing as he makes short work of the Fire Nation soldiers, covered in what looks to be spots and splashes of blood – he shakes his head and continues, he definitely wonders about the guy now.

Pulling back with Jet following, the two fall in line with the rest of the soldiers and follow the path forward with the Fire Nation losing ground. Rapidly approaching the wall to the guard tower, some of the men pile barrels of explosive jellies on to one of their vehicles and sends it straight for the wall, the resulting explosion creating a hole in the barrier that they use to get through. The Fire Nation's losing ground now more noticeable to the forces.

A handful of moments finds Zuko throwing bursts of fire at the firebenders across the way, most of which are dissolved before they can actually do any real damage, just like the fire they throw at him – it was a stalemate, one Jet wasn't too happy about if his griping was anything to go by. After another one of his fire attacks are batted to the side and vice versa, he lets out a frustrated shout and sits with a heavy thump beside Jet, the fire sent their way dissolves against the metal of the tanks.

"This is ridiculous!" Zuko snaps, "We're getting nowhere!" he throws his arms out in a frustrated motion, "They keep deflecting my fire! We might as well be playing catch!"

Jet snorts, "I'd pay to see that."

"Is that Aang?!"

Both boys look up towards the skies at the mention of the Avatar, the duo getting to their feet and approaching the others just as Aang lands:

"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down."

"He wasn't home."

Zuko feels his heart stop, his entire body tensing, he'd forgotten all about the safe-house – Jet notices Zuko's sudden demeanor, but he isn't the only one for Toph speaks calls attention to it.

"You're hiding something."

The others blink at her sudden interruption of Aang, confused and wondering who she's talking to until their wandering eyes fall on Zuko who tenses even more, Sokka gets to his feet, eyes pinned on Zuko.

"Zuko?"

The firebender flinches, now Katara rises to her feet as well and Toph takes a step forward, Jet steps in between them, weapons already drawn. The small area surrounding the group soon falls victim to a stress filled air; all eyes pinned on their Fire Nation companion.

"Zuko," Aang starts, he and Hakoda are the only ones still sitting, "What do you know?"

"I – Azula, might have known about the invasion."

Silence.

Sokka breaks it rudely, "And you didn't say anything!?"

When they see Zuko look away, he loses it and shoves past Aang, starting to storm towards Zuko until a Jet-shaped force rams into him, sending him falling to the hard ground, the air knocked from his lungs as Jet had jammed his elbow just below Sokka's sternum. Sokka is aware of his sister at his side, but all his attention is on Jet and vice versa.

"That's your only warning." Jet snarls, he takes a step back crossing his swords, his eyes flitting from Sokka to the others, "One wrong move and all bets are off."

Zuko reaches out to stop Jet, "Jet - ,"

"He willingly withheld important information and you're protecting – what am I saying, of course you're protecting him!" Sokka snaps as soon as he gets air back into his lungs, he starts to get to his feet, "I bet you knew something too! You guys could have said something this entire time, but you didn't!"

Jet snarls, "Like you would have believed anything I could have said!"

"I - !"

"Enough!" Hakoda shouts, he watches the children turn towards him, he meets Zuko's gaze, "I'm sure you had a good reason for keeping this from us, but now is the time to tell us because if we go down, we all go."

Zuko sighs, hunching in on himself, "I know what we're doing to the world is wrong, but this is my home and these are my people. I wasn't even planning to help at all, but I knew it was expected." Hakoda nods in understanding, "And I thought – I thought it wouldn't matter if Azula knew or not since everything was already planned, I thought it would all work out."

Sokka growls, "So you decided to not tell us a single thing?"

"I didn't even know what any of you had planned!" Zuko snaps, he's glaring now, "I was just told when it was going to happen and that it was already planned, that was it! I didn't even know the details of the invasion until earlier today!"

Sokka hisses, but Aang interrupts, "Do you know where Fire Lord Ozai could have gone?"

"Yes." Zuko takes a deep breath, "There's an underground bunker where he and everyone else will have gone, it was made for times like these. There's an entrance in the palace, but Azula must have already set something up in case you guys do get there."

"We'll deal with that when we get to it." Aang says as he stands, opening his glider as he does so, "We'll need to know where that entrance is."

Zuko opens his mouth but Jet steps in, "I'll go with them."

Zuko startles, "Jet, no."

Jet smiles a lopsided smile, "It'll be fine."

Sokka glares at the two of them before he lets out an annoyed groan, "As much as I hate you two right now, it would be easier to have Jet with us."

"Then I'll come too." Zuko insists.

"No." Sokka says, "We'll need you here with the rest of the troops for when the solar eclipse ends."

Hakoda approaches Zuko and sets a hand on his shoulder, "I know it's difficult letting your loved ones go, but you have to trust in them to come back."

Zuko stares at the man before he shuts his eyes, "Okay."

Jet grabs Zuko's hands and presses their foreheads together, "I promise I'll be back."

Zuko can only nod, watching with a heavy heart as Jet climbs Appa with both Toph and Sokka, at the Prince's side is Katara, the waterbender placing a hand on his upper back. The two watching the flying bison lift in to the air when Zuko asks:

"Why weren't you at my throat?"

"Because Jet's with us and I know you wouldn't put him in danger."

Zuko thinks of all the times in the past he'd done exactly that and feels his heart break, Jet truly was his most important person and he really did hate how much Jet scared him when he did things like this – Aang lands at the entrance of the palace and looks up in time to see Appa landing not too far away. Approaching his long time friend, the monk pets Appa's muzzle as the others jump off, Jet immediately running into the palace with Sokka and Toph close on his heels.

"Be careful buddy."

Appa roars and Aang turns to follow the others.

"You better not leave us like you did in Ba-Sing-Se." Sokka hisses as they run through the halls of the abandoned palace.

"Yeah," Toph huffs, "Not one of your best moments, and I barely knew you then."

"What can I say?" Jet says, he starts to slow when he recognizes the hallway, "I'm a selfish person. Here."

Toph breaks through the passage entry with ease, Sokka telling her how much he loved that they added her to the group. Leading the group into the dark and deeper underground where lights start to fill the tunnels with an eerie orange glow, they pass a Fire Nation man who practically glues himself to the wall when he sees them run by.

"The Fire Lord's chamber should be up ahead."

Coming across the door, they stop outside for a short moment.

Aang takes a deep, steadying breath, "I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

They watch him burst the doors open with a powerful gust of air, but inside the chamber isn't who they expected or wanted. Azula is sitting on the makeshift throne, checking her nails.

"So, you are alive after all."

Outside the palace, Zuko trundles up the mountainside beside Katara and Hakoda, his eyes glued ahead and waiting for the palace to come in to sight – he starts to feel a subtle cold sensation start to creep up over him, a little alarmed at the odd sensation, he looks up in time to hear the Mechanist telling everyone to put on their special eclipse glass, and when he does so, he looks to the skies and sees the sun beginning to disappear behind the moon, he starts to feel empty and it's unsettling.

"Wait guys, stop attacking! Don't you see what she's doing? She's playing with us, she's not even trying to win this fight!"

"Not true." counters Azula, "I'm giving it my all."

"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph exclaims, point a finger at Azula.

"Um, right. I think your friend just said that genius." Azula jeers derisively, "And since you can't see, I should tell you," she rolls her eyes as she says, "I'm rolling my eyes."

Toph growls and takes a step forward, "I'll roll your whole head!"

But Sokka stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder, "She's just baiting you again."

"Okay," Aang murmurs, glancing at each of them respectively, "So what do we do? Just ignore her?"

"We don't have a choice, we just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow."

"If I remember right there should be - ,"

"Are you sure about that, Lion-Heart?" Azula interrupts smoothly, "For all you know, my father could be at the other end, or even the other side entirely."

Jet's mouth twitches, teeth clenching, Sokka herds them away. "Come on."

"It's a trap." Azula sing-songs, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Ignore!"

"So, Sokka's your name right?" Azula starts again, "My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time; she was convinced you were going to come rescue her, but of course, you never came and she gave up on you."

Sokka attempts to charge past them but Jet catches him by the arm and pulls him back, "Ignore her!"

Sokka only growls, glaring at Azula, "Where is she!?"

"We don't have time for this." Jet snarls, he shoves Sokka ahead of the group, "We've got to find Ozai."

Sokka pauses, a retort heavy on the tip of his tongue, but he swallows it down and starts leading them back on track, behind them, Azula narrows her eyes and throws her blade at Jet's turned back, the weapon is batted out of the air by a piece of earth with Toph following it up by cuffing Azula's wrists to the wall, the three boys stare wide-eyed at this.

"She can't hurt anyone now." Toph says, "Let's go find that Fire Lord."

Running from the bound Princess, they start searching through several of the rooms Jet thought Ozai would be, but each one ends with the same result – as they're exiting one of the rooms; a blast of blue fire stops them in their tracks. Falling in to defensive positions, they see Azula smirking at them from down the rocky hallway.

"We've got unfinished business, Lion-Heart."

Aang sends a blast of air for Azula, the firebending Princess dodging in time and sending another wave of fire their way, Toph blocks it with a wall of earth, Sokka lets out a frustrated growl:

"The eclipse is over."

"I could still face the Fire Lord - ,"

"No." Sokka meets Aang's stare, "It's too risky, we need to get out of here."

"I know a way," Jet says as he starts heading down a nearby hall, "Follow me."

A blast of flames nip at their heels, behind them is Azula, Sokka looks in time to see blue fire heading straight for his head, yelping, he ducks and covers his head with his arms, keeping them there when another torrent of fire flies over his head. Toph builds a wall of earth to separate them from their pursuer, but it crumbles seconds later, the two Dai-Li agents are back and at the Princess's side, Toph lets out an annoyed growl and continues running with the others. The earth before them rumbles and a wall cuts them off from their escape, this time Aang creates the earthen barrier as Toph breaks a sizeable hole in the wall before them, they manage to slip through just fine, but both walls fall and more fire is shot their way – Jet shuts his eyes, maybe they should have brought Zuko along. Stopping in his tracks, he spins on his heel, throwing one of his daggers towards the enemies. It's dodged.

"Jet!"

"Go! I'll hold them off!"

"What?" Aang stops, "But what about - ?"

Azula looks amused and it irks Jet, "So Jet is your name, is it?"

Jet bares his teeth at the Princess, "I said go."

"But Zuko - ,"

"Zuzu's here as well?" Azula hums, "I'll have to pay him a visit after I'm done with you four."

Jet sends another dagger flying through the air, it's blocked by a wall of earth this time, Jet turns around and shoves the three forward, "I said go!"

Aang searches Jet's face and sees two different things warring within him, air leaving his chest; he creates a wall of earth between them. They're still conflicted but they start to move when they hear the clang of metal on earth. Returning the way Jet had led them through, they manage to reach the surface and run for the outside of the palace where Appa spots them and lands, Sokka and Toph immediately climbing up on to the saddle. Aang looks back towards the palace entrance – should they wait?

Shouts from Fire Nation soldiers decide their course and they take to the skies.

Drawing closer to the invasion forces, they see Fire Nation airships rising over the palace.

Sokka lets out a shaken, "Oh no."

But in that moment, Aang can't find their sudden arrival all that threatening when his mind was plagued with Zuko's reaction, his thoughts preoccupied with what he was going to tell Zuko – Zuko who was standing beside Katara and looking up at them with relief, relief that was going to be crushed. Hopping off Appa, Sokka starts to tell them that Zuko was right and Azula did know and that she did have something set up, ready for them, during this, Aang keeps his gaze on Zuko who is looking between them and back to Appa's saddle like he were hoping he could see Jet.

It hurts.

"Where's Jet?" Zuko finally asks, Aang flinches and the other two look away, he hears Zuko choke on his own breath, he hears the pain in his voice as he says, "He's still in there?"

"Azula was after us." Aang starts, each word constricting his own airway, "She had a couple of Dai-Li agents with her. They were starting to corner us when Jet forced us to leave."

Zuko sounds near hysterical when he repeats, "Forced?"

Sokka takes this as his turn, "He saved us, Zuko."

"Saved? I don't - ?" Zuko turns away from them and starts walking towards the palace, "I have to get him."

"Zuko," Katara grabs his wrist, "You can't."

Zuko rips his arm away from Katara, "I can't just leave him there! Azula is - ! She's going to - !"

The pain he feels within his chest worsens when he sees the misty look in Katara's eyes, it just makes everything all too real, she takes a step forward, looking like she were going to hug him, but he steps back, not wanting her touch because he feels as if he'll break if she does.

"We'll find a way to get him back." Aang says, "I promise you that."

oOo

Carried in to a cell by the two Dai-Li agents, Jet is forced to sit in a stone chair where his wrists and ankles are restrained by rock cuffs, his head held back by a pair of stone hands. Azula is there suddenly, standing before him with her hands behind her back.

"Do you think Zuzu will come for you?"

Jet narrows his eyes, relaxing his body.

"Does he know that you're a deviant?"

Jet keeps silent.

"It doesn't matter now, I suppose." a light starts to spin around them in a large circle, "You're going to forget soon enough."

Yup - I went that route, oh it's going to be so troublesome - I need help with Azula, any song recommendations, please?