AN:
Warnings: Okay. So this has been rated M for like... ever, just in case, but this one is mainly for Jet's foul mouth. Really foul mouth. [You know, in case anyone is offended by the word, "dick."]
It's also really [really] short, which sucks, I know. It's also really rushed and kind of craptastic, but I just really [really] needed to post something before I lost whatever plot thingies for this that I had drifting around my noggin. Noggin? Does anyone still say that? Regardless, here's the next bit, and hopefully the next-next bit won't take such an ungodly amount of time to post.
Pray for me.
A roaring burst of flame scored the hillside where he had been hovering seconds earlier. Long wheatgrass caught flame and immolated in a whirl of heat and orange-red that nearly matched that of the sun hanging low in the sky. Aang chanced a backwards glance to the quickly receding temple, ducking several feet as another jet of deadly flame shot directly at him. While Azula's cronies took fierce control over the Sun Warrior people, Azula herself took after him, firing red jets along her feet and sending her into flight.
Aang urged the wind faster, propelling himself towards the approaching hillside at a speed that would be considered foolish for anyone other than the master of all aimed himself dead for it, relying on an adapted version of Toph's training to dodge the fired blasts. He was just peaking the hill when something viciously hot struck the glider, knocking him off it and sent him flying through the air. Azula cackled behind him, the great whoosh sound of her fire jets expelling as she landed more lightly at the top of the hill.
"This is the great power of the Avatar?" The girl sneered. She stood her ground at the top of the hill, arms crossed in an intimidating gesture, which Aang recognized was working. Working very well, actually. "You outmatched my idiotic brother for this long? I suppose it shouldn't surprise me, though – Zuzu always had been a weakling."
If he hadn't been less than twenty feet from a psychopath intent on displaying his head on her wall, Aang might've argued that she didn't look so good herself. The older teen's cheeks were reddened slightly from the exertion and it had been red, not her signature blue fire that had jettisoned her after him only moments before. Azula looked tired but determined... much like how Zuko had been looking more and more over the last month.
"Zuko's better than you'll ever be!"
From his seat, Aang could see the long grass under her feet sizzle and little tendrils of smoke curl up around the edges of her steel-pointed boots. An eyebrow lowered slightly in fury, but other than that she showed no outward signs of how much the comment had riled her. Both the Fire Children had an equally fiery temper, that Aang knew personally. And, while it was also very threatening, that temper could help him get out of this (hopefully) unharmed.
Trying not to alert her of his intentions, he slowly slid his hand into the small pocket in the side of his pants. His fingertip had just ran over the smooth ivory of the Sky Bison whistle when she had recovered enough to step forward, calling an orange ball of flame in her right hand.
"That pathetic piece of filth doesn't deserve the air he breathes. I'll cut out his eyes before I kill him, just for you, so you can see just how blind the traitor really is." The flame grew and swirled as she spoke, seemingly feeding off her anger. Her eyes were almost glossy, however, and Aang wondered for the first time just how much of that she really meant.
What if, under all that frustration and anger, was a little sister who just missed her big brother?
Then she flung the fire ball at him, and that thought was dashed as he rolled over to narrowly avoid being singed. He yanked the whistle out of his pocket and blew hard.
Azula armed herself with two more fire balls, almost cackling as the little flames flickered blue at the edges overy couple seconds. "Sounds like your little whistle's broken, Avatar."
A large white beast reared its head behind him and he grinned weakly, dodging the two flames as he leapt onto Appa's wide head. Below him Azula screamed in frustration as he flew off out of sight.
Zuko ducked his head down low, jerking his body in the other direction as he dodged the third punch to his head. His foot swung out wildly and just managed to catch on the back of Jet's heel, sending the irate teen to the ground with a thump alongside him. This did little to hinder him though, as Jet launched himself at the smaller teen, apparently assuming that if he couldn't lay a punch, he could at least suffocate the ex-prince with brute force alone. Zuko twisted his shoulders from side to side harshly, the sharp motion being the only thing keeping the tan teen's fingers from closing around his throat and not letting go.
He didn't think suffocating would help the Avatar defeat his father any...
"Get off me!" He barked, punctuating it with a headbutt that had Jet's hands slip from his shoulders to protect his own face. "You may hate me," the definitely part going unsaid in favor of gaining some ground, "but surely you're an honorable man. How is this even near a fair fight?!"
Jet just scoffed, crouching on his haunches just out of range of Zuko's ready legs. "Funny. Fire Nation scum, preaching honor? To you, honor is nothing more than sucking your superior's dick until you have the chance to overthrow him."
Zuko bristled, if not at the implication then at the audacity of the other teen. "Listen here, Dirt Kingdom – I know more about honor than you ever will!" The thick chains rattled as he clenched his fists by his sides, jerking his head at the wanted poster still curling slightly on the bed. "You can't just look at that and think you know my life's story.
"I don't need to see that. You're the fucking prince! Everyone knows who you are..."
Armed with a renewed sense of justice, Jet threw himself at the smaller teen again, fists and spit flying.
Zuko shoved the dead weight-arm off his side irritably, noting with some satisfaction the frown that peeked out from behind the black eye and split lip. But then he winced as the smirk pulled on the darkening patch of skin along his own jaw. So maybe he didn't escape their scuffle completely unscathed...
Jet's half-curled fist smacked against the only part of Zuko he could really see from his angle – a prison garb'd upper thigh. He grumbled into the arm thrown across his face(not necessarily his own), and let his other arm flop back to the floor.
"This isn't helping either of us."
It was obvious that Jet hated to agree, but he nodded anyways. He struggled to a sitting position against the cement wall at the back of the small cell. Zuko sat up as well, leaning as far forward as he could with his restraints to press his burning forehead against the cool cement, past the point of caring about the dirt and dust that settled across every visible inch of his body. The pounding that had been a pernament fixture in his head the last couple days returned with a vengeance and he swallowed thickly around the nauseous feeling crawling up the back of his throat.
Jet traced the outline of a scar across his palm distractedly. "We need to get out of here. This... fricken' scum-infested hellhole. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to sit on my ass and wait for the fucking higher-ups to decide we deserve even worse."
Zuko thought of his sister, his father and the heavy bounty hanging over him – particularily over his severed head. "We won't make it out if we go at it separately—"
"I don't need help from you, Fire Nation!"
"Then wait for the executioner's block, you fool," he snarled back. Immediantly he chastised himself – Jet wasn't one to listen to threats – and schooled his expression towards something resembling thoughtfulness. "Look, you wouldn't be needing help from me. It's just... a temporary stand-still, alright? If – when – we get out of here, you can go right back to trying to kill me. This way you can save your energy for when it really matters."
The tanned teen glared unseeingly towards the door. He didn't seem to like the idea – Zuko doubted he'd ever like what a firebender had to say – but at least he was considering it. He had half expected another round of sloppy punches. Thank Agni he still looked tired; he didn't think either of them would make it through another scuffle.
"It's gonna' be hard," he said finally, letting his fists drop to hang loosely between his knees. "Security's doubled since last week. I don't think even these Fire Nation shitheads are dumb enough to leave their keys laying around anymore. Not that I can't still break out," he denied with a snarl, shooting a heated look at Zuko as though the boy had even suggested it, " but it's gonna' be that much harder."
Zuko had always been detail-oriented – chasing after the Avatar required lots of inginuity and the abliity to pick out the tiniest hints from his informants – so of course he was immediantly derailed by something in the other teen's speech. "What happened last week?"
"A breakout. A team of fighters snuck in and took about ten people with them. Threw twice that in guards into the lake – damn I wish I would've been part of that!" Jet seethed, slamming his palms flat on the cement floor in agitation. "Fucking guards had me in lockdown for 'insubordination'. I'll show them insubordination..."
He didn't doubt it.
"Right..." He trailed off, sitting back to a cross-legged position as the cold cement leeched away the feeling from his forehead and nose. "So. Where exactly are we, anyway?"
The question had been in the back of mind for a while. Of course, self-preservation tended to blur the seemingly insignificant when someone was trying to beat you to a pulp, but now that he wasn't in any immediate danger, he studied the steel chains around his wrists and the small flame symbol etched into the center of every link. How typical. Only the Fire Nation would be egotistical enough to carve their symbol into even their torture devices... He knew he was in some sort of prison, Fire Nation naturally, but there were hundreds of prisons in his native country. Dozens more if one were to count internment camps.
"Boiling Rock," Jet said. "Or as the Warden proclaims: 'your personal hell'. The guy's got this delusion in his head that he's better than me because he's Fire Nation." Personally, he thought it was because Jet was a criminal, but wisely kept that to himself. "Remind me to carve him up good on my way out."
Zuko nearly slapped himself for his obliviousness. He knew of the Boiling Rock, if only because his sister had used to have this fascination with war prisoners and what Father did with them. Actually, she probably still had that interest, knowing her. Still, it seemed only fitting that she send her own personal war prisoner to her favorite prison – one known for its brutal treatment and eventual execution of its prisoners. Then he noticed (with another moment of clarity) that of course Jet's signature hooked swords were gone, and that his own dual blades weren't anywhere in sight either.
What was I expecting, the guards to leave me a weapon to escape? Get real...
Suddenly, a loud buzzer went off, followed by a series of clicks and the heavy door groaned as it shifted in its cradle. He looke over his shoulder to see it slowly slide away to reveal that across the hallway, the doors of other prisoners' cells were opening as well. He glanced around quickly to Jet, who was getting to his feet with a groan as the light overhead flickered and died. The other teen crossed the short distance to the doorway and turned back to him, sneering.
"Lunch. Looks like the guards forgot to unlock you... guess you'll have to go without. I'll be back in a couple hours." He turned back around again, grabbing onto what Zuko assumed was a handle on the other side of the door. "Have fun."
With that Jet slammed the door, and Zuko was alone in the dark.
It was after nightfall when Aang finally spotted the hanging temples of the western airbenders, the large centered one glowing dimly with the flickering light of the dying campfire within. The sun had gone down hours ago while Appa had just breached the western region, so he doubted that anyone was still awake despite the light. The Duke had a slight fear of the dark and Katara had taken to letting the fire die out naturally to give the boy a chance to fall asleep before surrounded in total darkness.
Aang didn't care that everyone was asleep, though.
One temple a little ways away had a faint orange glow emitting from one of the upper windows, and he knew he had found his man. He coaxed Appa into a gentle landing on a dark platform a ways beyond even the lone temple, and crept towards the room.
Sokka, Aang knew, would be the one in Zuko's room after everyone else had gone to bed. The ritual had begun since practically the day the golden-eyed teen had come – tired, sick and injured – pleading for them to allow him to do his part in ending the war. Every night Sokka would sneak off to Zuko's room where they'd sit and talk about who-knows-what for hours, until one of them would yawn, and they'd laugh about it a bit before Sokka would head back to the center temple to sleep in his own bedroll. This Aang knew because Toph had told him. And Toph knew everything that happened around here.
It didn't surprise Aang that Sokka wouldn't quit his ritual even with Zuko gone, though. For all his spontaneity, Sokka was awfully fond of his familiarities.
The stairs didn't so much as whisper under his weight as he flit up them, taking them nearly two at a time in his rush to get to Sokka and save their mutual friend. He wouldn't have even come back for the Water Tribe teen if he had known where Boiling Rock Prison was, but he didn't, so he went to the first person he felt would have any idea. They needed to leave now though, or something really bad could happen to Zuko...
'I'll cut out his eyes before I kill him, just for you...'
Aang shivered at the thought and hovered just outside the older teen's door. Soft voices whispered to eachother on the other side, and he pressed his ear to the door to better hear. It sounded like Toph had joined Sokka, and was chastising him about something.
"I mean, it's obvious. Why else would you be sitting in here every night by yourself, sleeping in his bed? C'mon..."
There was a slight rustling sound, and Aang could picture Sokka crossing his arms defiantly. "He's become sort of my best friend... and I miss him. That's it. Don't go making things more sentimental than they are."
"Sentimental?" Toph laughed, a light and sarcastic sound. "He's my friend too. Also, you're the one cuddling and sniffing his pillow, don't forget." The girl sighed softly, and Aang leant forward a bit more to hear the voices on the other side of the door. "Just face it. You're in love with Zuko."
Aang jerked back, face suddenly aflame. In love? Sokka was in love with Zuko? The more he thought about it though, it kind of made sense. Sokka had been spending a lot of time with Zuko lately, more than he had ever spent with any of them, and he always lit up whenever Zuko was around. But did their resident ex-Fire Nation prince feel the same way? He certainly tolerated Sokka well enough, and he had seen them sitting side-by-side almost a little too close on more than one occasion, but it had never struck him as anything more than friendly before. Aang pressed his ear to the door to hear what Sokka had to say in response to that, but it was silent on the other side.
Suddenly the door was pulled out from before him, and he would've fell flat on his face if it weren't for the palm planted flat against his forehead.
"I figured that was enough eavesdropping for one day," Toph said dryly. "Besides, I think Sokka's got enough to think about as it is."
Aang looked up at said teen, who was sitting rather rigidly on the edge of Zuko's bed, red in the face and not meeting his eyes. He figured he wuold feel the same way if someone confronted him about his feelings for Katara. Sokka's face grew even darker red, and Aang realized he was probably expecting Zuko to come out behind him, having eavesdropped as well. And that was the issue.
"Guys, we've got a problem."
With the far off sounds of the other inmates muffled by the door, it was impossible to tell how long he had been sitting there. Staring holes into the darkness. Straining his ears for the faint sound of approaching footsteps. There was nothing.
He understood, on some level, that Jet had shut the door to dissuade any potentially merciful guards from coming to free him, to give him his lunch and couple hours of disguised freedom. He knew he should have been furious with the Earth Kingdom mutt... but he couldn't bring himself to be. While he could've enjoyed a brief stint without sharp metal cutting into his wrists, he was sure that there were prisoners out there who wanted him dead far more than the comparitively harmless psychopath.
Also, he still wasn't hungry.
Whatever had been viciously attacking his strength and appetite for the last month or longer obviously hadn't decided to take a break dispite his capture. For once he was thankful. He hadn't been able to eat much within the last few days – he knew it would just come up, along with a fair amount of blood, anyway. Silently he promised himself that if he got out of this, he would ask Katara if she could heal him. Or, at the very least, if she knew what was wrong.
As though proving his point, the queasy feeling stole his breath away sharply, leaving him gasping for air and leaning forward against his wall once again for something solid and real to keep him steady. Earth seemed to be spinning all that faster. He tried to blink away the darkness, tell his brain that the world wasn't moving, but it didn't listen. Instead the darkness pressed against his eyeballs like a literal weight, and no amount of shaking his head could force away the pounding. Was that his heartbeat? He reached up desperately towards his chest. He had to find out if he was hearing his own life pound faster, or if there was something else in his ink-black prison. His wrist was jerked to a stop by the cuff, and Zuko whimpered despite himself. The pounding got louder, and he could've sworn he heard something shift behind him. Jerking his head around towards the door, he was met again with solid blackness.
Calm down, Zuko, he thought to himself, sucking in a deep breath through his nostrils. The air came out through his mouth, cold, and the sensation didn't help his frazzled nerves. No one is in here besides yourself. His neck was starting to hurt from it's turned position, but he still couldn't force himself to look away from where he knew the door was.
How else would he know if someone snuck in there with him?
Zuko shook his head sharply to deny the thought. He was stronger than this. Hell, he was the ex-prince of the Fire Nation – born and bred to rule. What was it about the all-enclosing blackness that had his heart beating so much harder?
Muffled footsteps marched from outside the door, and his head whipped back around towards the door, staring intently as though the extra attention would allow him to see through the darkness. In a way it did, although not where he was expecting it to. The steps stopped before his door, and with a series of clicks a crack of light lit up the floor several feet to the left of where he had been looking. With the new light, he quickly glanced around the room, golden eyes darting from the stone slab of a bed to the far cement wall for some dark creature that could've snuck in while he was busy looking in the wrong direction. Nothing was there.
"And you," the guard continued at Zuko, who was only now joining the conversation, "might want to get used to the dark. They're not letting you out anytime soon." With that he shoved Jet back inside the dim cell, the lights flickering on seconds after the door slammed shut behind the both of them.
Okay!
It's short, it sucks, and it may seem at first glance that nothing really productive happens. However, there's a lot of little hints in here that will be kind of a big deal in later chapters, so I hope you paid attention to it's suckiness [also: the next chapter should be out in two weeks or less. Already getting started!].
Now review... it makes me happy, and prompts me to write more. Besides, I like to hear your guys' ideas. :D