Resentment
Jet moved swiftly down the path in the forest, not sure of where he was going or where he'd come from. He squinted towards the path's end, but the weakness of the moonlight prevented any attempts to make out the definite features of the forest. Jet knew this land, though. It felt familiar beneath his feet, as if he'd traveled it many times before.
His reminiscence broke, then, for the stench of ash overwhelmed his senses. Firebenders.
Had they found him? Some rebel force, sent by the Firelord himself, must have been after him. Jet's jaw tightened at the thought, and he grabbed for his swords—
No. No. They must have gotten to him already, poisoned him just enough to erase his memory and steal his swords before letting him escape into the night.
Finally, only about ten feet stood between Jet and the flames. He saw no firebenders, only a single figure, sitting in front of a small fire. The figure reached out towards it, towards the comfort and warmth so many thought it could provide.
How ignorant they were. Jet shook his head, and began to approach the figure, then stopped dead in his tracks. The harsh radiance of the flames illuminated the figure, but all Jet could discern was its thin, crimson cloak.
As he stared at the flames, visions of his parents' death rose to the surface in his mind: their dark eyes reflecting that most destructive force of nature, that element that killed mercilessly; their bodies, lying on the ground as they struggled to breathe despite the smoke that coated their lungs.
And then that fateful burst came forth from Colonel Mongke's hands, engulfing Jet's parents in the deepest, most hellish blaze he'd ever seen.
An indistinct cackle erupted from the throat of the cloaked figure, as if it had read Jet's thoughts; as if it had experienced the memory; as if it had felt the intense heat come from the conflagration that turned his entire village into mere ashes.
Pent-up rage took hold of him, and he rushed towards the figure, but almost immediately, a twig pierced through the flesh on the bottom of his left foot.
The wound bled, but nothing deterred Jet when he came into contact with one of these fiends. He continued towards the figure, and it doused the fire quickly, then came to meet him.
"Who are you?" Jet demanded. "I'll end you right now, you—"
"You are truly a fool," the figure spat as it shoved Jet to the ground. Jet gripped at the dirt beneath his hands, struggling to find anything he could use as a weapon.
"Don't even think about it."
Jet winced as a sharp blade cut through his thigh. The figure removed the blade quickly and a deep snarl broke from its mouth. The voice was unrecognizable, and the darkness masked the identity of his attacker.
The sole fact that Jet knew was that this person, however powerful they may be, was using his own twin swords to torture him.
"This shield belonged to Avatar Kyoshi! It is one of a kind! I assure you, you won't find a better price—"
But before the vendor could finish, Zuko swatted the shield out of his face and walked on. The aroma of steaming cabbages percolated through the thick, humid air, and Zuko cocked his head to the side at the cart of cabbages right before a wheelbarrow full of hay crushed the entire cart. Pieces of cracked wood and large cabbages rebounded off the houses that lined the streets of Ba Sing Se, and Zuko ran ahead to get out of the way of the debris.
He scanned the streets, and saw The Jasmine Dragon in the distance. Thoughts of his last moments with Mai danced through his mind, but he couldn't go back there. Soon enough, he'd embark on the most important journey of his life, and if Mai wanted to hold him back from the happiness that that trip would bring, he couldn't see her again.
"Come on. If you want to see her before we go hunting, you've got to go now," a familiar, scratchy female voice muttered to his right. He turned and saw a large fountain—one surrounded by tall, beautiful lights. The exact spot that he and Jin had first kissed.
And there, with his head submerged in the fountain's shallow water, was the man he'd been looking for. Smellerbee and Longshot stood near him, fully donned in their Freedom Fighter gear. Sighing heavily, he approached them, searching their expressions. An exchanged glance and slight nod from Longshot told Smellerbee to back up.
Zuko gripped the long brown hairs in his fingers and yanked the head out of the water aggressively.
Droplets fell off of the tanned face, and the dark eyes blinked a few times until they recognized his face. They widened for a moment and then narrowed, and suddenly a fist smacked Zuko's cheek, causing the Firelord to stagger backward onto the ground.
The sound of twin blades scraping against each other filled him with a newfound energy. Zuko leaped from off the ground and removed his own swords from their sheath.
"I heard what you did with Azula at the Earth King's palace," Jet muttered. "You're a monster."
"I thought that I had to—I wanted to regain my honor. I wanted to… be respected."
Jet chuckled. "You're Fire Nation. You have no honor, and you never will."
"My uncle has taught me a lot… and I know that I need to make all of my wrongs right. I shouldn't have lied to you, and I'm sorry."
Jet blinked at Zuko, then turned to Smellerbee and Longshot. "See? This is what they do. They try to make you trust them. It's just like before the war. These people will never change."
"Jet, I—" Jet turned slightly.
"I trusted you," he shook his head, not looking Zuko in the eye. "But you're Fire Nation."
"All I want is your forgiveness."
Jet searched the Firelord's face for a few moments, but rolled his eyes. "You think that I'm going to believe you, after all you've done? I don't care that you say you've changed, and that you want me to forgive you. I will never forgive you, and I'll definitely never have any respect for people like you, no matter how good you claim to have become! In fact, I'd like to see you try to earn my respect," he challenged, readying himself with his swords.
"I don't want to fight," Zuko said calmly, lowering his swords to his sides. "I'm the Firelord now, and peace has finally been restored in the four nations. There's not going to be any fighting under my reign. I made that promise the day I decided to become Firelord."
Jet's eyes widened, and for a moment he looked deranged. He swiped at Zuko's feet, but Zuko sidestepped.
"What do you really want?" Jet mocked. "To make your daddy proud? To show up your sister? You're nothing. You think they're great? You're all the same. But today, I swear that I will end the lies and betrayal of your family once and for all. We're the Freedom Fighters, and we'll never stop fighting people like you."
Smellerbee shook her head. "Jet, we're not—"
"I'm not trying to make them proud or show them up. I hate them," Zuko explained. Jet went for Zuko's throat, but Zuko moved out of the way again.
"You don't think I've known people like you? You all think that your nation is the best, and that you have to take all of our lives to prove it! Your dad ruined people's lives! Because of him, I don't even have any family. He killed them. And you have had everything given to you on a silver platter. He took away my parents!"
Zuko's eyes flared and he gripped his swords tighter, lifting them up. He and Jet circled each other as their swords met in the air, sliding against one another. "The Fire Nation took my mother, too."
"You're insane! You think I believe that?"
Tears fell from Zuko's eyes. He swung at Jet's head but missed.
"Stop putting on an act. I know what you people are like."
"Do you? I know you've suffered, but I have, too. I know I'm a monster. I know it better than you do. And that's why I need you to forgive me."
"Come on. What do you really want?"
Zuko dropped his swords. "I want to find my mother."
"Then why come to me? Why come to the one person who will probably just end your journey right here?"
"You're supposed to help me."
"Help you?" Jet shrieked, his fury peaking. He crossed his swords so that they met inches from Zuko's neck.
"So you two have met," Jin's voice came from behind Zuko. She walked around to stand beside Jet. As she whispered into his ear and touched his shoulder gently, he calmed down and lowered his swords. Jin's penetrating dark eyes scrutinized Zuko and she gave him a small smile.
"I missed you at the Jasmine Dragon this morning," she told Zuko. "I was hoping to introduce you to my boyfriend…" Her voice trailed off as Jet put a protective arm around her waist.
"Jet? You're dating Jet?"
"She nursed me back to health," Jet said nonchalantly as Zuko stiffened at the thought of Jin falling for this… this child. Jet's help was the only thing that could reunite Zuko with his mother, but that didn't change the fact that Jet would never be able to move on from his childish hatred for the Fire Nation and become a real man.
"We all thought you were dead," Zuko muttered, lifting his swords from the ground and putting them back in his sheath. When he looked back up, Jin's eyes were filled with tears.
"Nearly," she managed to choke. "He almost died… but he'll always fight."
Zuko shook his head; he'd never seen the ever-peaceful girl so upset about something.
Jet glared at him. "She's right. I'll never stop fighting for my life—because it's all I have left! I don't have any family left to fight for, but I'll fight to keep their memory alive. I'll fight to make the monsters that killed my family pay!"
"Jet," Jin warned, squeezing his hand. "Please."
"No," he growled, ripping his hand from her grasp and grabbing Zuko by his cape to bring him to his face. "I'm going to make this monster pay for what his father did to my parents!"
"My mother was just as much of a victim to that war as your parents were, Jet," Zuko wept. "But now I have the chance to find her, and you have the chance to move on."
"Move on?" Jet screamed. "I have no intention of moving on. I'm on a mission."
Longshot gave Jet a serious look, and Jet backed up slightly. The two of them began to speak in hushed tones, and Jin approached Zuko, putting her hand on the left side of his face. Her touch on his scar soothed him, at least for a moment. They'd always have that day she came to the Fire Nation to visit him… but her touch reminded him that she was no longer his, and that he wasn't hers. She was so close to him… but they were worlds apart.
"He'll help you find her," she whispered. "And so will I."
Zuko felt hot tears come in the corner of his eyes. "It might not be safe."
"I'm not asking you if I can come."
"No?" he raised an eyebrow.
"I…" Jet started, approaching Zuko carefully. "I won't say that I trust you. I've never trusted anyone that's Fire Nation, and I made a vow that I never will. But as Longshot reminded me, I can't exactly exact my revenge on the Firelord, especially in public like this."
"Revenge?" Jin inquired, her voice biting. "Whatever you think he did, he didn't do it. I know Zuko, in ways you can't even understand. He's not the person you think he was… he used to be that person, but deep down, he's always been the great guy he is now. So give this a chance. Help him."
"Help him? Help the guy whose father is responsible for the death of my only family? I don't know what he told you, but you can't fall into the trap of believing some—"
"Shut up," Jin shook her head. "You don't know the first thing about him, do you?"
"And you do? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Did he threaten you?"
"He—we—look, Jet. He didn't hurt me, or threaten me, or anything like that. He's never been anything but nice to me."
"That's what they want you to think—that they're nice, and good, and that they won't ever hurt you—and then they turn on you, and you get burned. You can't let yourself trust these people!"
"We've all done things we're not proud of," Longshot said suddenly. "But redemption cleanses us of our transgressions."
"You think that I need redemption? Whose side are you on, Longshot? If anyone needs redemption—"
"I have been seeking redemption ever since I realized that what I did here in Ba Sing Se was wrong. I don't claim to be perfect now," Zuko sighed. "My uncle has taught me a lot, and I know that redemption and forgiveness go hand in hand. I can only fully redeem myself once you and I forgive one another."
"You want that? Don't act like you like me, Zuko. I think our hatred for each other is pretty clear. Come on, Jin, Longshot, Smellerbee. Let's get out of here. I'll fight you another day, your Majesty," Jet snarled mockingly, spinning on his heels to leave. After a few moments of walking, he turned back around to see that none of them had moved.
"We're not going anywhere, Jet," Smellerbee spoke up. "You need to accept the fact that Zuko is good now."
"We need to help him find his mother," Jin added.
"Fine. You can all go do that—it's stupid, and you'll probably get yourselves killed doing it, but go ahead! If you fall for the lies of this Fire Nation scumbag, then you don't deserve to be a part of my life. You don't even deserve to be Freedom Fighters!" Then his eyes met Jin's, and he frowned deeply and turned away. The rest of them stood there for a few seconds, listening as Jet's footsteps disappeared into the noises of the crowd.