Several days later...
Zuko stretched out on the grass, staring at the sky. His uncle, instead of teaching firebender, was showing Aang how to play the game of Pai-Sho and just listening to their ridiculous babble made Zuko's head ache. The others were all sitting in a circle drinking tea. Zuko groaned at the thought of having five more Uncle Irohs in his life. Even that stupid flying lemur was watching Zuko's uncle intently, his wide emerald orbs absorbed and curious.
"This is a disaster," Zuko mumbled crossly to himself, covering his eyes with his bare arm. I should have just let Father kill me, he thought grimly. It would have been quick and nearly painless. This, however, is pure torture.
"Prince Zuko!" his uncle called cheerfully. "Come and play! You'll get a kick out of this, trust me. You won't believe what this lemur is doing!"
"I don't want to play," Zuko snapped, rolling on his side to turn his back on the group.
"He's just grumpy because he doesn't have a lemur," Iroh whispered, loud enough for Zuko to hear. Zuko sat up to give them a hostile glare. He stood up and walked away, cursing under his breath.
--------------------------------------------------------
"He needs to loosen up a bit," Toph said to Iroh. "I'm going to try and help him out." A malicious smile flickered across her face. Katara and Sokka glanced to each other nervously.
"I don't know if that's a good idea...," said Iroh uneasily. "My nephew has been known to carry quite a grudge."
"I know," said Toph, still smiling. She stood up. "That will make it all the more fun."
"Uh, Toph?" said Aang. "Maybe you shouldn-" It was too late. Toph had raised her foot and kicked the ground with all of her might. The earth seemed to ripple like water as a slab shot through the soil in the direction Zuko had disappeared. Toph curled her left hand around her ear to listen intently. There was a loud thump.
"ARRGH!"
Toph gave a satisfied smile. Zuko came hopping out of the trees, clutching his left foot. He was cursing bitterly, falling over to land on his side. His face was twisted into a livid snarl, his eyes bulging with fury.
"Girl!" he hissed, jumping to his feet. He advanced on the blind earthbender, his hands balled into fists. Steam poured through his open mouth. He snatched her up by the collar of her shirt. "I will not hesitate to kill you," he spat.
"How was I supposed to know that you would be there?" she asked innocently. She waved a hand in front of her faded blue-green eyes. "I'm blind, remember?"
Zuko shook her, making her head bob on her neck. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Yes," said Sokka, from where he sat drinking tea.
Zuko threw him an aggressive look. "You're next."
"Now, now," said Katara, standing up and brushing dirt off of her azure robes. She pushed Zuko and Toph apart. "Let's play nice children."
"Yeah!" Aang agreed. "Who's up for another game of Pai-Sho?"
Zuko gripped his hair with both hands and yelled, "SOMEBODY KILL ME NOW!" He stalked away.
Sokka stood up, snatching up his machete. Katara laid a cautioning hand on his shoulder. "What?" asked Sokka harmlessly. "I can't let the poor guy suffer!"
"Yeah, keep walking Princess!" Toph called after the exasperated prince. Sokka relished the image of Zuko throwing his hands down in frustration, igniting the fresh, green grass.
"Well," said Sokka pleasantly, as Katara bended some water to put out the small flames, "I think that went well."
--------------------------------------------------------
"I hate them, I hate them, I hate them," Zuko chanted to himself, growing angrier and angrier with every step. He found himself hating them even more than he ever recalled hating Azula. He especially loathed the smelly, little earthbending girl. It seemed as if she only lived to get under people's skin. The Water Tribe peasants weren't much better.
Through his anger and hate, Zuko was blind of his surroundings. When he took the time to stop, he realized that he had no earthly idea of where he was. The trees were dark and knobby, twisted and gnarled as they reached their scabby fingers out to snag at his clothes. Zuko pushed away the bramble and branches, spinning around to try and get his bearings. It all looked the same, everywhere he turned.
He heard a whistle up above. It almost sounded like a chirp of a bird, but it was far too human. Just as Zuko raised his head to listen, dark figures fell from the treetops, sliding down the trunks of surrounding trees. Zuko suddenly found himself on his back, two oddly familiar swords pressing at his throat.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here. I never thought I would see your ugly face again."
--------------------------------------------------------
"He's been gone an awfully long time," said Katara with a small frown. "Do you think he's okay?"
"Oh, he's fine," Iroh replied, not looking up from his game of Pai-Sho. He had found the game board and tiles on the ship he had taken to find the Avatar's friends. Although it was an expensive edition, it was missing his greatly prized Lotus Tile. He had just been thinking about how he might convince the Avatar to allow him into a nearby town to search for a new piece. All of his previous possessions had been seized from him when he was captured by the Fire Nation.
"Are you sure? Perhaps he got lost or something...," Katara pressed almost anxiously.
"Who cares?" Sokka chirped lazily from where he was draped over Appa.
"He needs some time to cool off," Iroh told her. "Not to worry, my dear."
"I'm not worrying," Katara snapped, "but if he doesn't come back in an hour, I'm going to look for him."
Sokka shrugged. "Don't come crying to us when he burns you to a crisp."
Katara ignored him but turned to look at the woods, expecting the ex-Fire Nation Prince to come strolling up any moment.
--------------------------------------------------------
An hour later...
"Okay, that's it," said Katara, standing up. "Zuko's in trouble."
"Like I said," said Sokka. "Who cares? It isn't like he would ever come looking for us if we were in trouble. Besides, I'm sure Angry Boy can fend for himself."
"Fine, you can stay here. I'm going," said Katara. She gathered the skirts of her robes and trekked off in the direction that Zuko had gone. The sky was growing darker and darker, and soon Yue would be out with her twinkling companions. Katara fought her way through the gloom, resisting the temptation to turn back the way she had come to sit next to the safe and warm campfire.
"Zuko!" she called after a few minutes of silence. "Zuko, can you hear me?" There was no reply. The forest was getting darker. Soon, she wouldn't be able to see her hand in front of her face. She called out his name again, ready to give up and go back. Perhaps the firebender had already returned and she was out looking for no reason. Convinced, she turned back around. That was when she heard it...A shrill sound high above her. She froze. She could hear a soft scuffling. Something was coming towards her. She blindly felt for the skin of water at her hip, uncorking it and raising her hands defensively.
A foot shot out in front of her and a fist clunked her on the back of her head. She stumbled forward and tripped. Her arms were wound behind her back, someone's knee pressed to her neck. "Looks like we got another one," an amused voice said in her ear. Katara struggled in his grip as she was pulled to her feet. Whoever held her captive wasn't very gentle. She was shoved forward into the dark, narrowly avoiding crashing into a tree. After a view moments of attempted escapes, she was roughly jolted out into a lighted clearing. Torches were stuck into the ground in a circle around a low wooden table. Something seemed terribly familiar about this place.
"Katara?"
She was instantly released. She turned around to see who had spoken. Jet stood, looking perplexed, with his hands in his pockets and his usual piece of straw protruding from his mouth. His dark eyes widened as he broke into a dazzling smile.
"Why, it is you!" he exclaimed.
"I thought you were dead," said Katara flatly.
He frowned. "Now, that's no way to greet an old friend."
"An old friend," Katara repeated, not believing it for a second. She still hadn't forgiven him for almost completely demolishing an entire town. "What do you want Jet?"
He shrugged innocently. "What makes you think I want anything? To tell the truth, I am surprised as you are. We've had the occasional firebender wander in recently."
"So you've joined the Freedom Fighters again," said Katara accusingly, crossing her arms.
"What can I say? Old habits die hard," he said, shrugging once more. "Since you let Ba Sing Se crumble, we need more and more people to fight in the resistance. The Fire Nation has already taken the Earth Kingdom and it is up to us to take it back."
"I see you've made it into our fault for the overthrowing of the Earth King," said Katara icily.
"Isn't it though?" he said with a puzzled smile. "I still hold all of you in the highest respects, trust me; but I don't deny that you could have done better."
Katara glared at him, a scowl plaguing her face. "We might have been able to if we had more people." She gave him a meaningful look.
"Oh ho!" he laughed. "So you're blaming me! I'm sorry I wasn't there. Forgive me for being too busy nursing the rock in my gut. One thousand apologies, m'lady." He bowed mockingly, his face raised to give her a sardonic smile.
"How did you survive anyway?" Katara demanded, irritated.
"It sounds like someone isn't too enthralled at the idea," said Jet, pretending to be hurt. "After you left me-" he started.
"I left you?" she cried. "You told me to!"
He held up a hand. "As I was saying," he continued, "after you left me, more Dai Li agents showed up. Long Shot took them all down, of course, while Smeller Bee dragged me to the exit. Once we all made it out of there, alive mind you, I was taken to a real healer."
"I'm a real healer!" Katara protested.
"Uh huh," he said, not sounding convinced. "After a few days, I was back on my feet. Though," he added, touching his stomach and wincing, "I can't say it is completely healed. It still pains when I get all worked up."
"You should be dead," Katara told him honestly.
He grinned at her before turning away. "So," he said, not looking at her, "where's your friends?"
"Back at camp," she told him.
"Uh huh," Jet said. "So what are you doing here?"
Katara hesitated. "I was...looking for someone."
"Not yours truly?" he asked, gesturing to himself.
"No, I was looking for a new friend. Well, not exactly a friend...more like a...Oh I don't know. I'm just looking for someone."
Jet scratched his chin thoughtfully. "What does he look like? I caught a young man wandering through here not too long ago..."
"That was Zuko!" Katara gasped.
"Who?" asked Jet, confused.
"Where is he?" Katara demanded fiercely.
Jet raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He reached out his hand and beckoned her closer, gesturing to the trees above him. Katara stepped forward and wound her arms around his shoulders. "Hold tight," he whispered before he pulled on a loop of rope that hung from a branch high up on a nearby tree. Katara did as she was told and they were quickly launched up into the cool night air.
It was all like Katara had remembered; the small wooden dwellings safe in the cover of the branches. Only, she hadn't realized how close their campsite had been to the Freedom Fighter's hideout.
They walked in silence along the creaking wooden planks hanging in the sky. Jet motioned for her to walk ahead of him into a hut guarded by several Freedom Fighter recruits. Katara cautiously stepped forward, after giving Jet an uneasy glance. Zuko kneeled before them; his hands and feet bound in such a way that even he couldn't get out of. His mouth was gagged with a dirty strip of cloth. Katara never saw him looking so pitiful. He looked up at them with baleful eyes.
"Release him," Katara snapped.
Jet chuckled softly behind her.
"What's so funny?" she inquired curtly. "Release him!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Jet said, rolling his strand of straw between his fingers. "I haven't interrogated him yet."
"Why are you going to interrogate him?" she asked, puzzled. "He's with us, helping the Avatar." Zuko glared up at her as if to say otherwise.
Jet laughed roughly. "He's a firebender," he said simply.
Katara stared at him. How could he know that? Unless the two of them had gotten into a brawl of some sort, there would have been no reason for Jet to suspect Zuko as such. "Don't be ridiculous," said Katara with a shaky laugh.
"I saw his uncle firebend some tea!" Jet exclaimed defensively.
Katara frowned and glanced between the two of them. "Do...do you two know each other?"
"I once knew him by the name of Lee," said Jet, "back when he was a refugee in Ba Sing Se. He was the reason I was captured by the Dai Li. No one believed me..." Jet gazed at Zuko frostily. "You say his name is Zuko? Say, where have I heard that name before...?" His face became slack as he looked down at Zuko. "Oh, you're a liar," he breathed, suddenly looking amused. He laughed as if it were the most hilarious thing in the world. Humor gone, he brought his foot back and mercilessly kicked Zuko in the stomach. The prince moaned and hunched forward, wincing in pain. Jet brought his foot back for another blow.
"Stop! You'll kill him!" Katara cried.
Jet ignored her at first. He kept his dark eyes fixed on those of Zuko. "You're that banished prince from the Fire Nation, aren't you? I wonder why I didn't notice it before. Your scar is practically legendary." Zuko lowered his eyes in what looked like shame. Jet gave him a twisted smile. "Why, you're the son of the Devil himself." Jet then looked to Katara. "Seeing as he is the son of the Fire Lord..." He gave an exaggerated shrug, his palms facing the ceiling. "I suppose I'll have to do something about that."
"Jet, no! You're right, he was banished. Meaning he is no longer with the Fire Nation. Can't you see? He is a victim of the Fire Lord's wrath just like the rest of us! His 'legendary' scar should be enough to prove that." Katara was desperate to convince Jet. Zuko might have been a royal pain in the neck, but he could prove lucky to keep around. Besides, Katara and her friends had traveled such a long way to rescue him and if he should die now, it all would have been for nothing.
"One would think that after someone lost their mother to the Fire Nation, she wouldn't be so compassionate to firebenders," Jet said quietly.
Katara bowed her head, defeated.
"Yes, that's what I thought," said Jet solemnly as he turned away.
"So you're going to kill him? Jet, what good is it to murder a single firebender? You know and I know that Zuko wasn't the cause of you becoming an orphan. Most of the men that you kill had nothing to do with it. You're slaughtering innocent people. That's no better than the Fire Lord." She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Let him go."
Jet paused, as if he was contemplating this. Before he had a chance to reply, a loud call ripped through the night.
"KATARA!" An orange and yellow blur streaked into the hut, nearly crashing into the opposite wall. Aang stopped himself just in time and whirled around to land between Jet and Katara. He took a deep breath and glanced between the three of them, finally resting his grey-blue gaze on Jet. "You're not dead."
Jet threw his hands up into the air. "What's with the way people greet each other these days? It's practically uncivilized!"
Aang frowned and looked at Katara, then at Zuko. "What's going on?"
"Jet's being a hog-sheep," said Katara dryly.
"Why is he tied up?" asked Aang, poking Zuko in the head.
"Like I said," she sighed, "Jet's being a hog-sheep. He won't let Zuko go because he's a firebender and the Fire Lord's son at that. Apparently, they met previously in Ba Sing Se and didn't get along too well."
"So?" Aang turned to Jet. "I, the Avatar, hereby command you to release him!" He thrust out his staff menacingly.
Jet laughed. "You're just a goofy kid with an arrow on his head. That's not very impressive."
"Hey!" Aang protested stubbornly. "I can be impressive. Check this out." Katara rolled her eyes as he performed his classic marble trick for the thousandth time.
"You're right," said Jet sarcastically, "that is impressive."
Zuko said something that was muffled and hard to make out; but Katara imagined he had said, "Hey, I'm still here you know."
"Jet," said Aang suddenly. "Zuko is my firebending teacher. I need him if I ever want to defeat the Fire Lord and stop the Fire Nation from using a comet to dominate the world. For our sakes and for everyone else's...let him go."
Jet sighed. He slid one of his swords from his back and sliced the ropes that bound Zuko's hands and feet. Zuko pulled the gag from his mouth and rose to his feet. He pushed aside Aang and Katara and stalked out into the night. "Damn peasants," he muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What was that?" Jet roared. "I didn't have to let you go!" Zuko ignored him.
"Thank you, Jet," said Katara sincerely. "We owe you one."
"I know" was all he replied.
Katara took Aang's hand and pulled him along to catch up with Zuko. "Firebending teacher?" she hissed. "You're such a liar."
Aang shrugged. "I had to say something!"
After a few minutes of walking in silence, Katara slapped Zuko on the back and said, "Come on! Let me hear it!"
Zuko said nothing.
"What, no thank you?" Katara demanded, pretending to be shocked.
"I could have gotten out of there myself," Zuko grumbled.
"Oh really? It sure didn't look like it, the way you were tied up back there."
"Shut up," said Zuko furiously.
"We can never win with you! I'm sorry that you hate us so much to the point that you can't stand us; but the least you can do is be grateful. This isn't the first time we've saved your life." Katara glared at Zuko, making Aang feel nervous enough to fall back a safe distance behind them.
"You would never have to put up with me if you hadn't intervened in my Agni Kai with my father," he shot back. "This is your own doing."
"Oh, I see how it is. You resent us for not letting you die!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Well, that's just perfect!"
"No!" he shouted. "I resent you for ever saving me. I hate it that a peasant such as yourself has something to hold over my head. A puny, insignificant girl. The only reason why I saved you back in the Fire Nation is so I wouldn't be indebted to you anymore. Oh, but look...you have to come over here and do it again! You were the one that made me the laughing stock of the Fire Nation. If it weren't for you, I would have captured the Avatar and turned him in to my father."
"If it weren't for me," said Katara heatedly, "Aang never would have gotten out of the iceberg. Besides, even if you had somehow managed to capture him, what good would it have done? It wouldn't have changed the way your father felt about you. Can't you see how cruel he is? Why do you keep regretting what you've done? You've stood up to you're father; you've done something wonderful! Most of all, you've changed your view on the Avatar. It might have been mostly the influence of your uncle, but you changed nonetheless. Don't you dare regret that." Her gaze suddenly softened as she glanced back at him.
Zuko turned away from her, unable to bear her pity. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you're better than me," he replied angrily.
"'Like'?" Katara questioned. She only received a stony glare. She smiled.
"You're lucky if I don't kill you now, stupid water peasant," he finally told her.
"Whoa, what's with the threat? And the insults? I thought I would like to remind you that being as you're once more an exiled prince, you are as peasant as the rest of us."
He didn't answer her, though he burned with the realization of knowing she was right.
--------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you liked it. Sorry that there wasn't much action; but I refuse to accept that Jet's dead. You know the drill: review please. Suggestions are welcome.