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Katara felt horrible. She couldn't save him. She couldn't save him before and she couldn't save him once more. She stared at Jet's still form, trying hard not to cry too hard in front of her enemies. Aw, don't cry Katara. Toph did enough of that for me. The more she tried to hold it back, the worst she felt. She was choking on her own tears and her nose was dripping down onto her chapped lips. Katara couldn't pull her eyes from Jet's face. It was so perfect and at peace that it was unbelievable to think he was really gone. Something suddenly occurred to her. She turned her head a fraction of an inch to look at Azula who stood a few feet away with her hands clasped behind her back. The princess's eyebrows lifted slightly.
Katara wiped her nose with her sleeve before asking her, "Did you lie about not killing Suki?"
She could see Azula hesitate, as if she was weighing something in her thoughts. "No," she finally said. "I was telling the truth." Mai and Ty Lee exchanged surprised looks behind the princess, only that Katara and her brother could see.
"What are you going to do to us?" Katara asked, touching Jet's face.
"You deserve to be captured and beaten after what you did to me...," said Azula icily, "however...if you simply hand over the Avatar we will let you go. The Avatar and..." Azula glanced to Zuko, "my brother."
"Never," Toph snarled, jutting her chin out.
Azula smiled nastily. "Very well. If we can't be civilized then..." The image of Azula lighting up her hand said everything.
"You're going to kill us. Tell me something Azula," said Sokka, narrowing his eyes, "do you plan to be Fire Lord?"
Azula gave him an odd look. "Of course I do, peasant."
"Are you going to treat your people the same as you treat the rest of the world?" Sokka demanded.
"Fear is the source of obedience, boy. The sooner you learn that the better. Now, leave." Azula stared him down with her cruel, dark yellow eyes. Her face was expressionless but her eyes said it all.
"We're not letting you take Aang!" Katara bellowed, choking on a sob. She protectively dragged the Avatar closer to her, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "The sooner you learn that the better." She could see the twisted lump at the back of his head, crusted with blood. It seemed everyone was hurt in some way.
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Mai shifted uncomfortably behind Azula. Her eyes kept drifting to Zuko's body, her lips twitching. She no longer wanted to be there. She just wanted to go back to the Fire Nation and sleep and forget about everything that had just happened. The Avatar's group had been robbed of a life. They had lost a dear friend and it was difficult for anyone to bear. Mai desperately wondered what was going through Azula's head as she was given hostile glares from the three enemies that stood before them. The Avatar's friends had all lost someone they loved dearly, Mai was sure they all had and she was starting to get sick of it.
"Come on," she said suddenly. Everyone looked at her. "Let's go Azula."
Azula blinked. "What? Mai, have you lost your mind? We can't just leave!"
"I'm leaving. If you aren't coming then whatever." Mai headed for the opposite side of the clearing, stepping over Zuko's body.
"Mai, come back here," Azula snapped. "Don't be an idiot." After a moment's hesitation, Ty Lee followed her.
"Everyone's getting a little fed up with you," Sokka told her. "No wonder your father wasn't looking for you."
Azula paled and Mai could have sworn she saw the princess's hands shake. "You don't know what you're talking about. My father sent Mai and Ty Lee to get me."
"Actually," said Mai suddenly, "he didn't."
Azula looked at her in disbelief. "But you said..."
"You're not the only one who lies," said Mai, almost certain that this was the end of their friendship. "Face it Azula, you are the most hated person alive. Probably even more so than the Fire Lord."
The princess of the Fire Nation looked to Ty Lee to see if this was true. "I'm sorry Azula," said Ty Lee.
"This is impossible. Why wouldn't he have me rescued? I'm his daughter! I am now heir to the throne! He is supposed to love me!" Azula shouted. "Why doesn't he care?"
"Azula, you don't even care. I know you were going to kill your father anyway," said Mai, without a trace of sympathy.
"I DO CARE!" Azula bellowed, a vein jumping at her temple. "I did think a-about it b-but I just couldn't..."
Was Azula sobbing? This was impossible. This was just...impossible! She had gone soft under pressure. Mai suddenly felt overwhelmed with guilt. Azula was supposed to be her friend, and Mai was treating her like dirt. So what if Azula was overall an awful person? She had been good to Mai. Mai wasn't just going to walk out on her when Azula needed her most. Taking a deep breath, Mai walked up to Azula and threw her arms around her in a tight embrace. The princess seemed to shudder underneath her. They could feel everyone's eyes on them as they stood there being sappy. Ty Lee suddenly released a high-pitched giggle and cart wheeled over to join them.
"This is getting weirder and weirder," Sokka muttered.
"Why? What are they doing?" Toph demanded, tilting her head to listen.
"They're hugging," Sokka whispered, aghast.
Toph looked disgusted. "Why would they do that?"
"Ughhh, my head," a voice moaned. The three hugging saps pulled away from each other and turned to see Zuko sitting up, rubbing his head. "That hurt Mai."
Mai stared at him as he struggled to his feet, checking out all of the cuts he had received on his arms. He looked up at them, frowning. "Katara!" he exclaimed. "You're alive! And Sokka you've..." His eyes fell on Jet. "What the...?"
"He's dead, Zuko," said Katara softly, her eyes welling up once more. "Azula killed him." She spat out her name like it was a bad taste in her mouth. Zuko looked as if he had been slapped. He was dreadfully pale and his eyes were wide with disbelief.
"How...?" He looked at his sister. "You? How could...?" He then saw Aang. "Is he alright?" Zuko demanded. "Don't tell me..."
"He's alive. But they're going to take him. We're too weak to fight," Katara said, her lip quivering. "I don't know what to do."
"Leave us in peace," Zuko said suddenly, "Azula. Please."
"You know I can't, Zuko," Azula said, avoiding his eyes.
"Mai...," Zuko begged. "Mai, you don't have to do this. We've been friends, haven't we? I know for a long time I chased after the Avatar for the same reasons you stand before us now, but if you think about it...This isn't right. Aang is a good person; he's the world's last hope. You have to believe me. What the Fire Nation is doing...it's wrong."
"Zuko," she replied, her grey eyes dull, "you can't just switch sides. It doesn't work that way."
"People have died. Good people, Mai. You want to be apart of that?" Zuko demanded.
"I already am," Mai said, giving him a sad smile. "It is much too late for that. As much as I want to..." Azula flashed her a look. "I'm sorry. Even if I did help you, what difference would it make? I'm just one person."
Zuko shook his head furiously. He was getting angry. He looked to Ty Lee. "What about you?"
"I'm with them."
"So our choices are for you to take Aang and we are all let go, or we fight until one side is the only one left standing. Is that right?" Zuko crossed his arms, glaring at his sister.
She smiled nastily. "Not exactly. You're coming too."
Zuko thought for a moment. "Fine," he said.
"What?" Toph, Katara, and Sokka chorused. "What are you doing?"
"But the others go free," Zuko said sternly. "Do I have your word?"
"That's right," said Mai, surprised.
"If you're going to sacrifice yourself, that's your decision. But you can't do that to Aang!" Katara shouted angrily, holding onto Aang with a death grip.
"Shut up, Katara!" Zuko yelled. "I'm not sacrificing Aang! You know that if he was awake he would agree with me. You're going back to the others and you're going to tell them to go along with our previous plans and you are going to attack the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun. Do you understand me?"
She nodded, her lip quivering. "I understand." A tear slipped down her nose.
"Don't you cry now. Aang will be alright," Zuko assured her. "They aren't going to kill him."
"You're our friend too, Zuko. I'm worried for both of you," she replied, standing up to throw her arms around him. His eyes widened, surprised to find that she was as cold as ice. Mai shifted, her arms crossed as Ty Lee whispered something into her ear that sounded a lot like "I told you so". Sokka clapped Zuko on the shoulder and even Toph hugged him.
"Be careful," they told him. He nodded as Katara turned to kiss Aang's forehead. "You too," she whispered. "I'll see you soon."
Zuko picked Aang up and draped him over his shoulder, turning back to Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. "Don't you follow us," he called over his shoulder. Zuko gave one last glance to Jet's still form covered with blood. For a second Zuko had thought Jet had moved, but he realized that it must have just been the wind.
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Katara watched them leave, wishing she could do something...wishing she was strong enough to fight them...wishing she could kill Azula and make her pay. Mostly, Katara felt like it had been her fault that Jet had died. If only she had been quicker, she could have healed him. If only she hadn't been so scared. If only she could have been brave.
Once they disappeared, Sokka picked his way through the brush to return back to the campsite. "Where are you going?" Katara demanded. "We can't just leave him here!"
"We don't have time," Sokka called back. "Toph, you know what to do."
Toph nodded and carefully stomped a big pit in the ground, creating a slide for Jet to roll down into the dirt. Katara watched, disgusted of how barbaric it looked. "Goodbye, Jet," she whispered as Toph kicked all of the dirt back in. It had been so quick. They should have stayed to say a few words, but what more could they say? Would it even make a difference? Katara shook her head and followed Toph back to the campsite.
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What Sokka found was a bloodbath. There were bodies, everywhere. He could see them in the early dawn light, both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation troops. Most were dead, some were badly injured. It looked as if many people had fled. "What happened?" Sokka asked himself, utterly mortified. He heard twigs snap behind him. "No Katara!" he shouted, spinning around. "Go back!" It was too late. He could see the horrified look on her face, her mouth agape. Tears still clung to her eyelashes and Sokka was worried she would never be able to recover. He took his sister in his arms and she buried her face in his chest. She was still as icy cold. "Katara, you're freezing. You need to get warm." He tried to rub her arms as Toph picked her way through the bodies.
She couldn't see it, but she could smell all of the blood thick in the air. It made her dizzy and she felt as if she would likely hurl. She clamped her hand over her nose and mouth. Something furry landed on her shoulder, chattering excitedly. "Momo?" He was scared and he dug his claws into her shoulder.
"Oh no," said Sokka suddenly from over Katara's shoulder. "The Earth King." Katara spun around. The king was dead; his glasses broken and askew, a deep gash in his throat and most of his clothes had been burned away. His bear was dead beside him. It looked like he had been murdered in his sleep. "This is awful, oh terrible." They saw no sign of Long Feng or Iroh, which probably was a good thing. Katara went to a few people who were wounded. Most of them were in too much pain to talk and died soon afterwards. There were a few, however, that would survive. One Earth Kingdom man's leg had practically been burned away and there was a firebending soldier whose arms had been knocked clean off his body. They tried to help them as best as they could.
"Where's Appa?" Toph wondered as she held the squawking lemur in her hands. As if on cue the fluffy monster dipped overhead.
"Iroh!" Sokka exclaimed, waving him down. Appa landed, rather roughly, upon all of the dead bodies. Iroh, Long Feng, and two soldiers were on his back, sorrow in their eyes.
"What happened?" Toph asked. "Azula said something about soldiers in the woods."
"The Fire Lord was more prepared then we had thought. One of his scouts joined our resistance and told him everything. That's what the Fire Nation general said. We were too late for the king..." Iroh suddenly looked stricken. "Where's my nephew?"
"He's...," said Sokka uncertainly, looking to his sister.
"Azula has him," said Katara. "Aang too."
"Jet?" Iroh croaked.
"Dead."
There was a long pause. Iroh looked as if he were about to fall apart and he buried his face into his hands.
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They had just arrived to the ship when Aang began to stir. Azula ushered them down below deck and forced them into a cell. Zuko gently set him down on the cold metal floors as Aang's eyes slowly opened. He looked confused, not sure of where he was.
"We're on a Fire Nation ship," Zuko told him.
"What happened?" the Avatar asked, touching the back of his head.
Zuko didn't want to tell him. He knew the monk wouldn't be able to bear it. "I..."
"Tell me Zuko," he said, his grey-blue eyes full of grief. "Is Katara...?"
"Katara's fine," said Zuko. "She almost drowned though. It's Jet..." Zuko took a deep breath. "Azula stabbed him. Aang, he's dead."
Aang crumbled.
"I'm sorry, Aang. I'm so sorry," Zuko said, burying his face as Aang cried into his knees.
"No!" Aang wailed. "How could I have let this happen?"
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A/N: Happy President's Day to all ye Americans! Day off! Well anywho, hope you liked it. Gimme some reviews or else.