Prince Lu Ten wasn't sure that a war meeting would be the best way to spend his afternoon; he would have preferred to go and spend time with his friends after school, but he wasn't going to complain, not with his father and grandfather both looming over him. The Prince had been to a few before, but only briefly, on his father's suggestion, since he had grown interested in following his father's career path. It had been unspoken for a long time, but by his twelfth birthday, it was clear that Lu Ten was set for that path, and he knew he could help in the war, and use his own ideas to try and bring it to a swift end.
He'd heard about all the new inventions that were being introduced on the battlefield, not to mention others that had yet to be given military applications; the Fire Nation's advantage had only grown since the passing of Sozin's Comet, and over the decades, despite failing to defeat the Earth Kingdom or conquer the Northern Water Tribe, he could feel that their victory was close. It was more clear to see in the map that lay before him, showing the campaigns that were currently in progress. Their forces were moving ever closer to Ba Sing Se, now controlling much of the land around the West and East Lakes, though they had yet to cross into the deserts and badlands that surrounded the city. His father was home for one of his now rare visits, in between campaigns, ready to help his own father, the Fire Lord, plan out the next.
At that very moment, a general was pointing out some forces in the south of the Earth Kingdom, which wasn't exactly the most interesting area of the war. He knew the war was focused in the north, where the colonies and Ba Sing Se were both located, and where each side had the most to gain and lose. The General was some man whose name Lu Ten couldn't recall, but he was clearly experienced, and the relaxed way he spoke about the campaign told the room of his confidence.
"As you all know, our forces have no need to secure the Great Swamp, as the Foggy Swamp Tribe poses no threat to our nation. However, the various port towns in the region mean that the Earth Kingdom's dwindling navy can still resupply their forces." the General explained, "I propose that we remove that possibility."
"We can't find their naval bases." another officer spoke up, "They're hidden far from civilisation, in the islands of the Southern Sea, or in the rocky coves that dot the southern coastline; how do you propose we even find their bases, let alone destroy them?"
"Oh it's far simpler than that." the General assured him, "The Fire Navy has far greater facilities than the enemy could ever dream of, but the simple construction of their vessels poses an issue, and an opportunity. The shipyards that build the merchant ships of the Earth Kingdom's richest merchants must also be behind what remains of their navy. We have previously refused to attack them, given the financial benefits of the trade we have with those merchants."
"And you propose we attack the shipyards?" the Fire Lord, who had been quiet for the past few minutes while the officers were discussing the southern campaigns, spoke up, earning the table's attention, "What forces do you say are needed, General Tiexin?"
"Only a few raiding parties would suffice. The navy may provide assistance if it is necessary, but what is required is the utter destruction of those shipyards. Once they are gone, the Earth Kingdom's remaining ships need only to be sunk, and we will have our victory in the south, and soon enough, the rest of the nation will fall to your hands, your majesty."
"Good." the Fire Lord seemingly agreed to his proposal; Lu Ten was ambivalent to such a plan- it seemed to dishonour whatever prior deals existed with the merchants who would have owned the shipyards, but clearly, it was necessary to stop the Earth Kingdom from fielding any more ships, "Now, what of the so called Sons of Chin?"
"Yes, they are a thorn in our side in the region." Tiexin acknowledged, "Their forces rebelled from the Earth King over a decade ago, after the local nobles were abandoned by the Earth Kingdom army."
"And thus, came our rule over the region." Iroh, his father, spoke up, "I was there."
"Of course, your highness, but with any occupation comes resistance, and in this case, it comes in the form of a surprisingly rabid nationalism. Many in the Earth Kingdom still long for the return of Chin the Conqueror, or someone of his calibre." Tiexin explained, before raising a hand to his lips, "I believe it would be in our best interest to deal with them before their ideas spread any further."
"Well, perhaps we could turn the locals against each other." General Bujing spoke up, and Iroh's gaze turned to meet his own.
"How so? The Sons of Chin have popular support, from what I've heard."
"But there's one group who certainly doesn't support them."
"The Kyoshi Warriors." Lu Ten uttered the name of who Bujing was referring to.
"Ha, I'm glad your son has done his readings." the General commended him with a sly smirk, "The Kyoshi Warriors could be our tool to bludgeon the Sons of Chin."
"How so?" the Fire Lord asked him, clearly intrigued by his idea.
"They are the followers of Avatar Kyoshi, after all. If we send spies to their villages, claiming to be refugees from the terror of the Sons, they will be forced to act. Now, it is true that they have been double dipping in taxes from the commoners, and forcing them to fight for them, but that doesn't mean the Kyoshi Warriors would otherwise get involved." Bujing laid out his plan, and Lu Ten just scoffed, finding his idea to be both dishonourable, and foolish; if the Kyoshi Warriors found out the truth, they might as well align with the Sons to expel the Fire Nation from their environs.
"Is there something you have to say, Grandson?" Azulon addressed him, and the Prince's eyes widened as he realised he had just vocalised his displeasure; he didn't want to have to justify himself, but he couldn't lie to his grandfather, especially in such a formal context.
"I apologise for being uncouth, your majesty." he formally apologised to his grandfather, before rising to his feet, "But I can't see how that's a good idea in the slightest."
"Excuse me?" General Bujing asked him, clearly shocked to be questioned by an adolescent boy.
"The Kyoshi Warriors are not going to leave that island. They only serve to protect it; unlike other Earth Kingdom forces, they didn't intervene after Sozin's Comet. And even if they played into your trap, what's to say they'd stop with the Sons of Chin. They are a committed, well-trained fighting force. If you really wanted to ensure they'd do your bidding, then why don't we try to hire them?"
"Well... my Prince, they're followers of Avatar Kyoshi-"
"Who would have killed my great-grandfather without a second thought if she was alive to see his actions." he acknowledged something that wasn't commonly stated, but was clear as day; Fire Lord Sozin was awfully lucky that Roku was a merciful Avatar, and that he wasn't dealing with his predecessor, "They will never help us, not while we invade their country. And as soon as they see through your little trick, I'm sure they will break their past neutrality."
"That would just add another enemy to our long list." Bujing scoffed, "What difference would it make?"
"The Prince has made a fine point." the Fire Lord agreed with him, surprising both the General and the Prince, "General Bujing, what, might I ask, do you think I have entrusted you to do?"
"Destroy the enemies of our nation, your majesty."
"Yes, and you, a powerful, experienced general, are meant to destroy them. If the Sons of Chin are such a thorn in our side, then we will send more men after them. The Rough Rhinos would make quick work and terror of such fools." he decided another course of action, "We need not to stoop to using some devotees of a long-dead woman to destroy our enemies, even if they may be mutual."
"But, it would save manpower. We do not need to waste our strength dealing with such rebels." Bujing suggested a reason for following his own plan.
"Yes, you are right... but General, have I ever struck you as a liar?"
"N-no... of course not, your majesty." he assured him, and Azulon raised his chin.
"I am not... and this war is won by men, not by cowardly tricks. Strategy can be appreciated, but charlatans are for the market, not for the battlefield." the Fire Lord uttered a proverb, which Lu Ten hadn't heard before; he guessed his father didn't agree with it, seeing he hadn't repeated it to him.
"Your words are as wise as ever, your majesty." Bujing acknowledged, notably not giving any kind of direct apology; if he were any more prideful, Lu Ten wouldn't be surprised to see him publicly executed for insubordination.
The thought of that made him smile for a moment, but he hardened his lips, knowing that such thoughts were indecent and malicious; he never wanted to wish ill will on his fellow countrymen, no matter how much they might have deserved the spirits' damnation for the mere dishonour they dealt out by breathing.
"We thank you for your analysis, Prince Lu Ten." his grandfather addressed him, instead of the General, presumably because of his arrogant refusal to apologise, "The Fire Nation has enough might to win this war with our strength alone... without such a truth, how could we justify our right to determine the future of all the nations?" he asked rhetorically, and the table nodded along.
It was obvious that if the Fire Nation hadn't been as well-prepared and industrialised as it was when the war began, that they would have failed miserably against the united forces of Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes.
"Now, General Tiexin, you heard what I said." Azulon addressed the man who had brought up the issue in the first place, and he rose up to his feet to hear the Fire Lord's decision, "The Sons of Chin will be dealt with hastily. There is no need to waste ships starving them out and surrounding them. Destroy them, and remind those savages of their place... in the dirt, just like the badgermoles they so aspire to imitate."
"It will be done, my lord. Just as your father laid waste to the Air Nomads, these fools will last no longer against the full might of our nation." the General explained his intentions, before bowing to him, and taking his seat.
"What else is of concern?" the Fire Lord asked the table, "Nothing else in the south, I presume?"
"There is the issue of the Southern Islanders, your majesty." one of the navy Commanders spoke up, "They have been sabotaging the resupply of Southern Raider ships on their way back to Whaletail Island."
"Sabotaging resupply?" Iroh asked the Commander, "How so?"
"Food is being poisoned, and there have been more than a few accidents down in the ports. I believe that somebody, or some group, is organising these acts of sabotage." the Commander clarified, "I believe we should send the locals a message, to try and force them to comply. Without those resupply ports, it makes it far harder to track down the Southern Water Tribes boats; they might be working together."
"Might." Azulon spoke up, "The spirit of the Southern Water Tribe has been shattered for many years... we haven't seen one of their boats outside the Southern Sea for a decade." he argued, "What do suppose would make them change tack now?"
"I... uh, well, I'm unsure, your majesty."
"The waterbenders might be but a memory, but their population must have recovered since then." Iroh acknowledged, "It is only a matter of time before they come north and try to avenge their kin."
"They will not stand against our forces." the Commander assured him, "The Southern Raiders sail in puny ships that wouldn't even fit in Sozin's old invasion fleet of the Northern Water Tribe; my ships are far larger and better armed. If they dared to sail north, I would annihilate them."
"I do not doubt that, Commander Kyou... but I believe you're overestimating their willingness to fight us." the Dragon of the West warned him, "These islanders are probably frustrated by the price fixing of our resupplyment deals, and by the way our forces treat them. Perhaps military intelligence could spare some agents to investigate. They could surely deal with this more quietly."
"My son brings up a fine point." Azulon agreed with Iroh, "Just like with the Kyoshi Warriors... we do not need to agitate these people, so we shall go for the minute cancerous growth, not the whole body."
"If we treat the whole war like a surgery, then far less people would be hurt in the process." Lu Ten spoke up, finding such a way of viewing the war to be a little academic, but it was still fair; violence was merely a means to an end, not the end itself.
"Precisely, Grandson. This war will be won from skill and planning, not from overwhelming destruction. If there is anything to be learned from my father's destruction of the Air Nomads, it is that enraging the whole world is no way to quickly end a war."
Aang was more a little giddy with the gift he received; the Freedom Fighters were an odd bunch, but he didn't think they were all that bad. Their sense of freedom was something he felt at home with; even if the Southern Air Temple wasn't the most lenient place, his people as a whole loved to travel and do as they pleased, ensuring that nobody was forced to toil under another's yoke. That was why they didn't like to live amongst the other nations, with their laws, kings, and taxes, the kinds of things that were foreign to the Air Nomads.
The Duke had been kind enough to give him some pellets that exploded upon contact, a kind of toy, or weapon, if used correctly, that he was sure that Sokka would like, with his knack for all kinds of weapons. Aang thought that if he learned from the Kyoshi Warriors as eagerly as he had, maybe he would like to see what Jet and his friends could teach him.
"Hey, Sokka!" he called out to his friend, who was leaning up against a tree trunk, with his arms crossed; when Aang landed, jumping off the zipline, he showed the bag off, "Look what the Duke gave me." he told him, which didn't elicit any response, so he decided to show off the pellets.
He tossed one next to Momo, knowing it would frighten the lemur and show Sokka what the pellets could do; it burst and exploded in a small puff, but it was sudden enough to scare Momo, who hissed in anger before leaping right at Aang's bag. He got up onto his shoulder, and the Air Nomad realised too late that he had a few of the pellets in his hands, and began pelting them at the ground at his feet. He jumped around out of the way, not wanting to hurt his feet, and when he actually got hit, he winced.
"Ow! Quit it!" he demanded of the lemur, before cringing, realising the whole situation had been his fault.
He turned around, noticing that Sokka hadn't reacted, sitting with his arms crossed, seeming very frustrated, "Uh... did you see?"
"I don't care." he coldly retorted, before turning to face him, "Do you trust these people?"
"Um." he mumbled, unsure how to respond to that question, "I guess."
"Well, you shouldn't." he retorted, "They beat up a harmless old man and robbed him of his belongings... and I just watched."
"What?" he gasped, actually surprised to hear that; he'd been thinking that Jet and his Freedom Fighters were going off and fighting soldiers, the kinds that were threatening innocent Earth Kingdom people.
Though he knew Sokka was distrustful of Jet already, he didn't think the Water Tribe boy would lie, "Why would they do that?"
"Because... well..." he mumbled, before raising his hands to his cheeks, "I'm such an idiot."
"Uh... Sokka? Are you okay?"
"No." he responded, his tone soft, almost solemn, "These people are just like me, before I left the South Pole... except, I have actually had some decent interactions with Fire Nation people. They're not all bad."
"Wow... I didn't expect you to say that." he conceded, knowing that Sokka was rather outspoken with his distaste towards the 'ash-makers' as he called them at times; he was pleased to learn that he'd actually changed his perspective on the matter, even if it had taken time and a lot of dangerous situations Aang might have preferred to avoid in hindsight.
"After meeting Ty Lee, I don't think I can ever say it again. That girl has more heart than most people I've met." he acknowledged, "Even Azula." he added, before shaking his head, "Really, the Fire Lord's the-" he began to explain, before cutting himself off, noticing something behind Aang.
The Air Nomad turned around, and saw that Katara had arrived, with a warm smile on her face and what looked like a handmade hat in her hands, "Uh... was I interrupting something?"
"Yeah, Sokka was just telling me about what he saw happen." Aang explained.
"Oh, well, do you know where Jet is? I made him this hat." she clarified what she was doing with it, and her brother grit his teeth.
"Katara, do you realise what kind of people we've gotten ourselves messed up with?" he asked her, and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"What are you trying to say? That they're bad people?" she asked, seeming sceptical of such a claim.
"They beat up an old man, Katara." Aang told her what Sokka had already told him.
"They- I don't believe you. There has to be an explanation."
"Yeah, just like my explanation for kicking Aang out of village was that he was a Fire Nation spy." he reminded her, "Sorry about that, again." he apologised, turning to face the Air Nomad boy, who sheepishly smiled at him, awkwardly scratching his scalp.
"It's alright, you were just worried about your village." he told him, not wanting to make him feel bad about that; it felt so long ago and far from their journey, which had taken them across the Earth Kingdom.
"Jet's not-" Katara tried to defend the boy, and Sokka raised a hand, pointing at himself.
"I might not know him, but I know me!" he raised his voice, "Do you think I don't know how I acted? How I had to justify everything I did as part of 'my war'? These are scared kids, Katara. Angry kids, just like us. I'm not saying their anger and feelings aren't justified, but they're going to do even more messed up things if we help them." he explained why he was so adamant in his feelings, "If they can harm an innocent old man, then what else will they do?"
"He's... he's right, Katara. I don't like fighting... you know that. And if they're going to beat up old guys, then, how can we help them, even if they're trying to stop the Fire Nation?" Aang gave his own thoughts, hoping that she'd agree, or at the very least, question whether it was the right thing.
"And you're forgetting the bit where the Fire Lord is right now trying to end the war." Sokka added, and Katara rolled her eyes.
"They wouldn't believe any of us if we said that. If they knew about Ty Lee and Azula, then they'd-" she began, but decided against finishing that sentence, before narrowing her eyes, "They're right to hate them... and they're trying to protect the Earth Kingdom, and kick them out."
"Maybe they are right, but I don't know what the local Fire Nation commander wants to do, or who he's loyal to." Sokka conceded, before raising a finger, wanting to stress his point, "The Freedom Fighters are not going to get what they want by attacking a guy who just happened to come into the forest."
"Soldiers are in this forest, hunting Jet down... what if that old man was a spy? Then he'd have to do something." Katara argued, and he sighed.
Aang turned to face the boy, unsure what he could say to try and mediate the issue, or at the very least, try and end it amiably; he knew that Katara didn't want to think bad of Jet, who seemed like a nice, heroic guy, and that Sokka was the ultimate sceptic, always ready to question anyone's intentions.
"Katara, maybe we should go and ask him what happened." he suggested, hoping that once they had all heard what he had to say, they could come to a final decision together; he didn't want to split their group up, not after all they'd been through already.
"That's a good idea." she agreed, side-eyeing her brother before sighing, "Are you coming?"
He looked at her with the anger just boiling beneath, but he took a deep breath, seeming to leave it aside, "Yes, I will."
The Sokka and Katara grabbed onto the closest rope, which allowed them to get hoisted higher up the tree, taking them to another platform. Aang, with his glider, didn't need to worry about using the rope, and just leapt off the platform he was already on, opening his glider and soaring up. He landed down on the platform, surprising the others, who obviously weren't all too used to having an airbender around.
Jet and Smellerbee, who were speaking on the other side of the platform, waved to the airbender briefly, before continuing to converse; he noticed the Water Tribe siblings were pacing over to Jet, and Aang knew he couldn't let things get out of hand immediately. He wasn't going to have a fight, even if one side was in the wrong; nobody had died, and he understood the desire for the Freedom Fighters to keep their forest safe.
If the Fire Nation tried to burn down the massive trees, like they had done in the Hebei spirit's forest, then he couldn't even imagine the kinds of horrors that might unleash. He didn't know if the Freedom Fighters had the spirits in mind when they thought of 'protecting' the forest; the three remaining nations didn't seem all too concerned with the affairs of the spirits, no matter how much he valued the balance between their worlds.
"Hey Katara, Sokka." Jet addressed them, seeming unfazed by their angry expressions, though it was obvious Katara was more angry with her brother than Jet, "Is something wrong?"
"My brother's telling me all kinds of things about what you did today... Could you clear the air for us?" she asked him, which made him chuckle, seeming amused by both siblings.
"Well, we found a Fire Nation spy." Jet clarified, and Sokka raised a fist.
"A spy? Really?! He was an old man! He could barely walk on his own!" he shouted at him, Aang grasping his friend by the arm to stop him from doing anything foolish.
"Yes, he was a spy." Jet retorted without a shred of doubt in his voice; Aang had to admit that if he was lying, he was pretty good at it.
The Freedom Fighter pulled out a dagger from the back of his belt, showing it off, "We found this on him. He was going to try and take me out." he explained his reasoning.
Katara just crossed her arms, seeming pleased with the answer, turning to face her brother, "There it is. What do you say now?"
"That..." he mumbled, before raising a hand to his face, "You're just lucky I have a shred of dignity." he mumbled under his breath, before turning around, glancing towards the campfire, "Is this lunch?" he asked them, his mind turning to his favourite thing.
"Hmm, yeah, I'm hungry too." Aang gave his own thoughts, and Jet gestured over towards a pot.
"There's some cat-deer stew we've made..." he clarified, before pointing to a bowl with a wooden plate covering it, "I heard you're a vegetarian, so I made sure to get you some fruit and mushrooms. I hope you like them." he explained, the Air Nomad blinking a few times.
"Wow... uh, thanks." he acknowledged the act of generosity, and turned to watch Sokka going over to collect some stew, still seeming rather annoyed.
Katara tapped him on the shoulder, and he glanced back, noticing her slightly pensive expression, "Could you make sure Sokka doesn't... Well, I don't know what he might do, but just keep an eye on him, alright?" she requested, and he nodded; he was a little more inclined to side with Sokka given what he'd already said, so he had no issue making sure he didn't get into a fight with Jet.
"I will." he assured her, though before he could go get his food, Jet cleared his throat.
"Uh, Aang, Katara, I actually have a request. " he got their attention, the pair turning around to face him, "We think that the Fire Nation is planning to burn this forest down, and soon. There's a reservoir nearby, and if you could fill it up with water, then we'd be able to put out any fires they start." he explained himself, and Katara nodded, seeming intent on following his words.
"Of course, Jet. I've got a hang of waterbending, and so has Aang, so we should be able to help you."
"I mean, I don't know-" he tried to speak up, but the Water Tribe girl cut him off.
"No, you can do it, Aang. We can do it." she assured him, before turning back to the Freedom Fighter, "Where do we have to get the water from?"
"Some geysers near the reservoir. I'll show you tomorrow." he explained, and the pair nodded.
"Alright, I'm gonna get my food now." Aang explained himself, before pacing over to get the bowl.
Standing over it, it slid the plate off and took a whiff; he was pleased to see that the fruit and mushrooms were fresh, and were well cooked, "Mmm... this should be good." he mumbled to himself before turning around, deciding he needed to find some place to sit.
He strode around the assortment of teenagers, towards Sokka, who had decided to sit by the edge with a bowl of stew, gobbling it up with an impressive speed; well, it would have been impressive if Aang hadn't seen it a dozen times before. When he finished eating, the Air Nomad was already sitting beside him, and he shot the younger boy a glare, obviously still in a mood after Jet's explanation.
"You don't believe him, do you?" he asked, obviously hoping he hadn't taken his side.
He chose the truth.
"I don't know. I'm not... well, I can't read minds. That's not an Avatar thing." he conceded, making Sokka snicker.
"Y-yeah, that's right." he muttered with a grin, before his expression hardened, "I don't think we should stay here any longer. Tomorrow morning we should leave."
"Jet said he had some work for us. I remember him saying." he told Sokka, who just rolled his eyes.
"Of course he does." he grumbled, before giving his bowl a lick, "At least they know how to cook." he added, almost sounding jealous, "What did he want you to do?"
"I think it was something about water and fires... I'm pretty sure they don't want the Fire Nation burning this place down."
"Of course not." he agreed with the sentiment, before raising a finger, "But why you?"
"Well, Katara and me have been trying to figure out waterbending. We can do a bit... at least we can help some how."
"Did you miss what I was saying? I told you guys helping these people might be a bad idea." he stressed, and Aang shrugged.
"They haven't tried to hurt us... and they didn't kill that old man, did they?" he asked, and the warrior shook his head, still looking suspicious of the Freedom Fighters.
"No they didn't. Once you're done that job, we're out, hear me?" he questioned him; though Aang wasn't compelled to follow an order from the other boy, he trusted Sokka's feelings.
"We will. I'll make sure Katara knows... she- uh, well, she likes it here."
"Likes him." he grumbled under his breath, making Aang raise a brow.
"Jet?" he asked, before glancing back, noticing that Katara was eating dinner with Smellerbee and Jet.
"Nevermind." Sokka dismissed his own comment, "Just make sure she comes with us. I don't want to have to take you all the way to the North Pole myself."
"Uh, Appa's taking us." he corrected his friend, who just rolled his eyes.
"I meant I'll be keeping you on schedule. You know, instead of riding hog-monkeys or whatever." he clarified, pointing a finger at the young Avatar, "Don't you try and make us go around doing stuff like that again. This isn't a field trip."
"Y-yeah, I know that." Aang sheepishly acknowledged his point, "I'll make sure Katara comes along. She wants to learn waterbending, so she has to get to the North Pole."
"I-" he began, before shaking his head, "Well, yes, she does... but I think she'll want to go with us anyway, once she gets over this." he gave his thoughts, gesturing to the camp.
"Get over it?" he asked, and the Water Tribe warrior just let out a sigh, pensively looking back down at his bowl.
"Dreams always end, Aang. Haven't you realised that yet?"
Standing outside Mai's house flanked by Imperial Firebenders was an odd thing for Zuko to do, because he usually made his way to her place by sneaking. Not because he didn't trust the Imperial Firebenders, but mostly because he felt like many of them were in his father's pocket, back before the truth had been unleashed. Now, those Imperial Firebenders were either arrested, fled, or dead, so he had a morsel of confidence in the elite guards; the fact his father presumably still had assassins in the city made it a necessity, even if he would prefer the privacy of going without.
Michi, her mother, stepped out the door and gave him a bow, "Your highness." she addressed him formally, like he'd expect any other noble to, but he just let out a chuckle.
"You don't have to act like that with me, madam." he assured her, feeling a little odd to be deferred to by Mai's own mother.
"You are the heir of our nation, my Prince." she stressed, and Zuko almost felt compelled to clear his throat upon hearing her say that.
"I am an heir." he corrected her, before glancing behind her, "Mai is home, I assume?"
"You assume correctly. She has just gotten back from school. She was in overtime, seeing that she'd missed a few weeks after her escapades across the Fire Nation. Though, I am glad that she was in safe hands." she noted his efforts to protect Mai, which he felt was a little unfair.
"She did most of the protecting, madam." he admitted, before clearing his throat once more, "Could I speak with her? I wanted her advice on some things."
"Oh, that's what they call it these days." she mumbled, before gesturing inside, "Of course, Prince Zuko. Please, make yourself comfortable. I'll make sure our servant gets you some tea." she gave him the expected pleasantries, though he was taken aback by her first comment.
"Uh, it is not what you assume. Mai has... helped me a lot recently." he assured her, before he stepped inside, "May my guards wait in the foyer? I won't be long." he acknowledged, and Michi nodded.
"Of course." she agreed to his proposition, giving another complementary bow as he walked past her and made his way to the stairs.
He climbed up the stairs, and by the time he reached the top, his eyes laid upon Mai, who was standing by her door, waiting for him.
"You do realise I could see the guards from a mile away, right?" she asked him, feigning annoyance; it was clear she didn't really care, though perhaps, she was expecting him to jump through the window, for old times sake.
"Yeah, I figured." he conceded, before approaching, "I wanted to talk about what comes next."
"That meeting was cut short." she recalled, "Why are you asking me?"
"Because you've been giving the right answers so far." he told her the truth, "You're good at this."
"I'm not trying to become a spymaster." she argued, ever calm in her tone, before walking back into her room, "Let's just sit down."
He followed her into her room, and shut the door behind himself, where he could see that Mai had sat herself down on her bed, flicking open what looked like a textbook, "So, what do you think, Zuko?"
"I have no idea how to catch him." he admitted what he didn't want to; his father was obviously well prepared for the situation he found himself in, more so than Zuko had been when it was the other way around, "He could be hiding anywhere, pretending to be a completely different person, all while plotting to have us all killed."
"I'm sure the Intelligence Service will get some leads on his location." she gave her first thoughts, "But you need him caught, not to surround a whole district and make them your hostages."
"Yeah, I wasn't going to try anything like that. Plus, he'd probably have a way to sneak past any blockade we tried to form." he agreed with her suggestion; going loud and bold would not solve their Ozai problem when his father was very capable of sneaking around- the fact he outwitted the Imperial Firebenders and even escaped the capital to begin with proved that.
"So, why don't we try and draw him out?"
"What to try and kill us... on purpose?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"No, not kill us. That's just stupid... and we'd more likely end up captives, which just makes it easier for him to bargain for the throne with your uncle." she argued, before flicking through her textbook, obviously still trying to get some study done.
"How did you get Houken?" she asked him, though her eyes were clearly focused on the book in front of her; the nonchalance of the question told him that she already had something in mind.
"I pretended to be his ally, and killed him as soon as I got the chance." he recalled, "I don't think we can find anyone who'd defect from my father's side. They're already losing- if they're staying with him, they're not going to give him up." he acknowledged.
"Who did you think would be on his side to begin with?" she asked, and the Prince furrowed a brow.
"Well, some of the more bellicose generals, and those industrialists who profit from the arms and naval factories." he gave some obvious answers, and she raised a finger.
"No, think closer to home." she suggested, and it only took him a few seconds to realise what she was implying; after all the actually decent conversations he'd had with his sister, he'd failed to realise one thing- she was still his preferred heir, and given how he'd tried to have Zuko killed, he could consider himself effectively disinherited.
"But... but hasn't he already sent assassins after her?" he asked, remembering that from the stories Ty Lee and Azula regaled to them.
"I think it was unclear if they were after Commander Zhao or Azula." she noted, "Your Dad... he had a clear preference towards her."
"No shit, Mai." he scoffed at that obvious claim, before straightening his expression, "But what good is Azula in drawing him out? He'd probably assume she's working for Uncle's cause." he argued, and Mai raised a finger.
"What if she's out in plain clothes, purposefully trying to seem like she isn't Azula? His people catch a whiff of her, and try to get her to Ozai. She knows how to fight unarmed and escape, so we follow, and wait for the opportunity."
"And what, have her lie through her teeth, acting like she's just been a double-agent all along?" he asked, "Azula might be good at it, but I won't have her tarnish her name for me. And what's to say he won't have assassins, or the Dai Li helping him? They could kill her... and then, what's to stop them from coming after us?"
"I think Azula should make that decision for herself. She's put herself in danger before."
"That was for Uncle." Zuko stressed, recalling the stories he'd heard; his sister hadn't provided too much details, but it sounded like she'd gotten into a number of tough fights to protect the Fire Lord from his assassins, and then she did the same for the Avatar at Crescent Island, "This fight is my fight."
"No, it isn't. This is about the whole Fire Nation, not just you and your father." she retorted, "If an Agni Kai could solve this, I'm sure it would have already happened."
The Prince cupped his hands over his jaw, unsure what to say; he wanted to beat his father, but relying on such an underhanded method, especially when they had the whole Intelligence Service at their disposal, didn't sit right with him.
"Alright." he agreed to her proposition, "I'll talk with her about it. If she agrees, then, well, we have to find Father first."
"Exactly." Mai nodded, before glancing to the window, "Do you have any news there?"
"My latest briefing didn't give much. There were other attacks just like the one on Kakouko... but, nothing that tells me exactly where my father could be."
"Not all of his supporters have been outed, have they?" she asked him, and Zuko furrowed a brow; he had given the Intelligence Service the information the White Lotus had already gathered on his father's supporters.
"No, we only got a list of officers, and all of them were either arrested or are in open rebellion." he acknowledged, "The navy is struggling to keep up with all the defections, that's what Uncle's told me."
"Defections from our side?"
"No, from Ozai's. A lot of them are like Zhong's subordinates. Once they realised their superiors were traitors, they tried to arrest them... not all of them have succeeded, from what I've heard." he admitted, feeling that though his father had a large number of hidden allies, those in the open were not faring very well.
"Well, that's... not surprising." she admitted, before sighing, "Did you just come here to talk about work?"
"Work's the thing that's on my mind." he conceded, before glancing at her desk, looking over her schoolwork, "So, how have your parents been acting? Overprotective?"
"What, are you jealous?" she poked him verbally, though the question ought to have annoyed him, given his poor relationship with his only living parent.
"No, not in the slightest." he smirked, hiding any frustrations he felt; he didn't want to act like a grumpy sod all the time, especially around her.
"Good. You shouldn't be... they listen to your commands, so I have a way around their demands." she noted, and he raised a brow.
"Yeah, your mother was acting... uh, a bit weird." he acknowledged, as he expected Michi, who he'd known for many years, to treat him more familiarly.
"Maybe it's because you're Ozai's son. That's how they'd probably act around him. Bootlicking, I expect." Mai gave her own assumptions, which only made him feel guilty.
"I don't want to be him. They shouldn't be... afraid of me." he mumbled, feeling unsure whether that was the right word for it.
"Well, now you know how Azula feels."
He narrowed his eyes, not feeling like the two of them had a comparable experience when it came to being an agent of fear, "She dug that hole herself. She wanted to be feared." he reminded her, wondering if he should have tried her strategy earlier than he had; it certainly had been working for him so far.
"Only because she-" Mai began, before cutting herself off, "Nevermind. I'm not here to argue about her."
"Me either. I just want to make sure you're okay." he clarified, before scrunching his lips up; he didn't know if saying that outloud was going a little too far.
She was as stoic as ever, and turned her eyes to meet his own, "We are no safer than we were before. I am just more comfortable." she admitted, before sighing, "Maybe it would have been safer to remain in Shu Jing."
"My father would have sent someone after us eventually. I think we're going to have a better chance finding him with the Intelligence Service at our back." he argued, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"We'll see."
Though she wasn't visibly showing any fear, her way of responding to his own words told him she wasn't certain of their ability to find and defeat his father. Her own lack of confidence was a little unnerving, but he didn't let it show.
"We will." he agreed, before softening his expression, "Did you want to get out of the house tonight?"
"And do what? We're not going to sneak around and gather information when others could do that for you, are we?" she asked him; that hit a nerve, as he realised after all the effort he'd been putting it, it wasn't really necessary.
He had a virtual army of agents to serve his will, even if he couldn't be sure of the loyalty of the institution as a whole. They were going to be a whole lot more effective than he and Mai alone.
"No, I didn't mean that."
"So, Prince Zuko wants to have a life. That's a first." she pursed her lips, seeming almost amused by the idea that he was suggesting something besides work.
"I know you're probably swamped with schoolwork, but it couldn't hurt to just relax for a bit." he suggested, and she raised a finger up.
"Are you trying to ask me on a date?" she bluntly addressed his probing, and he almost snorted out of surprise.
"Uh- well, you know- I probably wouldn't call it that." he tried to defend himself, and she rolled her eyes.
"Well, you're clearly not good at definitions." she joked in return, with her usual straight, unamused face, "I'll consider it." she gave her opinion, and he let out a smile; at the very least they might be able to enjoy themselves, even if they were doing something stupid like going up to the caldera- it would be no guards, just the two of them.
"Alright." he nodded, "I- uh, also think we should probably try and find that old guy."
"You mean the one who saved our butts?" she asked, before turning her gaze to the window, "I don't have the slightest clue where he would have gone to. If he's White Lotus, then he's probably gone to another hideout."
"Uncle would know where they are... but there could be hundreds of them." the Prince realised, letting out a sigh as he realised that was going to be a pointless venture unless the old man or one of his associates got in their way again.
He noticed that Mai furrowed her brow, as if she saw something odd, before she stepped over to the windowsill.
"Mai? You home?!" he heard the shrill voice of Ty Lee, making Zuko hold back a laugh; he wasn't expecting her to start shouting at the house.
"I'm here." she answered her friend, "Come inside." she told her.
"Zuko's guards are standing in the way!" she shouted back, and the Prince sighed.
"Let her through!" he commanded his men, and surely enough, he heard the front door open and close a moment later; it didn't take long for Ty Lee to scramble up the stairs and dash to the room, looking at the pair with a smug grin.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked them, leaning onto the doorway as if to suggest she was interested in what they had to say.
"Not what you were imagining, no." Mai retorted, almost looking amused; she gestured with her hand for Ty Lee to enter.
Her friend did, sitting herself down on the bed, beside Mai, "So... this is a 'work' related thing then? Spy stuff?"
"Plan stuff, you might call it." Zuko clarified, deciding to play along with her casual attitude.
"Yes. That is what I'd call it." she snapped a figure at the Prince, looking rather bemused, "How are we taking down Ozai?"
"It isn't decided. I think Azula could trick him." Mai gave her thoughts.
"I'd prefer to avoid using her as bait." Zuko gave his own.
"So, Azula has to sneak around instead... just like you like to." Ty Lee gave her own conclusion, making the Prince pinch his nose bridge.
"Really? And what would she do? Assassinate my father?"
"She probably could." Mai admitted, "Though, I have a feeling she won't agree to it."
"My thoughts exactly." he agreed, "I don't doubt her loyalties to Uncle, but she would be... taking a big step if she decided to try and kill Father."
"Yeah, that's a step too far." the acrobat agreed, "She could distract him though."
"From what?" he asked her.
"From the Intelligence Service storming whatever place he's hiding in. It's about time he gets a taste of his own medicine." Ty Lee argued, before smirking, "It's long overdue."
"Why couldn't we just storm it without Azula doing any 'distractions'?" he asked her, and Mai raised a finger.
"He'll pay attention to her. Azula is still his child... if he thinks he can sway her, or use her against us, then he'll take the chance."
"He didn't try that with me." Zuko contended, knowing his father wasn't really into negotiations.
"You didn't call him a traitor to his face, did you?" Ty Lee asked, and he cringed.
"That would have- I am not that stupid." he argued, and the acrobat nodded.
"Exactly. He didn't have a chance to try and make an argument... but maybe I'm wrong."
"Well, we have to find him somehow." he conceded, "I'll talk with Azula about this. Hopefully she comes up with something."
"Maybe you need to take a break." Ty Lee suggested, before scrunching her lips up, "Wait, that's it!" she exclaimed, grasping Zuko by the shoulders, "You need to go on a trip."
"A trip?" he raised a brow, "Is this a joke about us 'dying' on vacation?" he asked her, unsure what she was trying to say.
"N-no! I mean, you and Azula, if you go on a trip around the Fire Nation, you can go visit as many places as you need to, and find out where Ozai is."
"Oh, you mean a progress." he realised, before rising to his feet, "That's... that's actually brilliant. Uncle needs to secure support from the people, so there's a believable reason. We can go anywhere in the homeland. Anywhere my father might be, we can reach... and we can catch him out with the Intelligence Service." he explained what they'd have to do, before he smirked, realising that he had a plan that he could take to his sister and uncle, and one that didn't involve his sister putting her life on the line.
"Thanks Ty Lee! I need to tell Uncle and Azula about this!" he decided, dashing towards the door, before he realised he probably ought to say goodbye; he strode over to Mai, and kissed her on the forehead, "I'll be back later." he assured her, before turning to face the acrobat, "Ty Lee, you have my tea." he offered, given he wasn't going to stay long enough to drink it, before he made his way down the hallway.
"Bye Zuko!" Ty Lee shouted farewell to him, and the Prince just let himself smile.
"Finally, I've got something."
Sitting on Appa's saddle, Sokka thought if he should have gone with Katara and Aang; he was so frustrated with her attitudes and blatant ignorance of Jet's violent intentions that he didn't even say goodbye in the morning, just climbing down from the treetops to Appa, and decided to just wait for them to come to the saddle. Aang told him that they were just getting some water for the Freedom Fighters, to put out some fires; that sounded rather reasonable, given they weren't being asked to beat up some random civilians who just happened to be from the Fire Nation.
However, just sitting there, his mind quickly turned to consider if the Freedom Fighters were justified in what they were doing. He out of all people understood their mentality, after all the time he had spent training, both himself and others, to prepare for a Fire Nation attack on his village. The Freedom Fighters didn't seem to be actively going out of their way to attack Fire Nation forces, but the way they acted so braggadociously just rubbed him the wrong way.
More accurately, he was thinking about how Jet acted; the others just remained silent and nodded along, approving of his every command. That way of thinking, he thought, was how the Fire Nation must have gotten itself into a war with the rest of the world. If nobody refused the Fire Lord, he'd just do whatever he wanted, like destroying the Air Nomads, and conquering the Earth Kingdom. That comparison would get Jet quite mad, so he felt compelled to rub it in his face if he saw his face again.
He knew Aang and Katara wouldn't be long if they were just getting some water, so he decided he'd go and meet them, just to pass the time; it was either that or sitting around- he didn't have any jerky to munch on, and the waterbending scroll wasn't of much interest to him. He couldn't believe his sister had gotten away with stealing it, but the pirates were easier to dodge when they acted like such buffoons. At least they hadn't stolen it from the Fire Nation, as that would have caused even more issues when they inevitably ran into Azula again.
He got off of Appa's saddle, glancing over at Momo, who was trying to eat some hard nuts he'd found on the forest floor, "Good luck, little guy." he farewelled the flying lemur, before he paced off in the direction of the reservoir; though he hadn't seen it, he knew which way Aang and Katara had gone with Jet, so it wouldn't take him long to find them.
The forest was boring and monotonous to walk through, but something just made him feel uneasy; perhaps it was because of how he first met the Freedom Fighters, when they attacked him. As he walked back under the hideout, he could hear some distant chatter above him, but he ignored that, continuing on his way. As he felt the ground slope beneath him, he guessed he had to be getting close to the dam; he didn't see anything odd along the way, though he did notice some tracks, and kept on following them, guessing that would take him to Aang and Katara.
He heard about the threat of the Fire Nation burning down the forest, and after his experience with the Hei Bei spirit he knew that doing so would only cause the Fire Nation more pain. He didn't know whether to believe the claim, but he could at least admire Jet for having some foresight. When he got to what seemed to be a clearing he finally made sight of the valley, and with it, the dam. It was a large wooden structure that towered over the relatively narrow valley.
In the opposite direction, he could see a village, and he guessed that was where that old man had been heading before Jet jumped him. He decided to head up towards the dam, and that was when he noticed, despite their poor attempt at camouflaging themselves, some of the Freedom Fighters, who were over by the base of the dam, with a cart. He couldn't make out what was in it, but they were clearly taking it along; he guessed they planned to attack the Fire Nation, though where exactly he was unsure.
"What are they up to?" he mumbled to himself, before deciding to continue along; he couldn't get down there very easily without taking a long, winding path, so he elected to just go wherever Aang and Katara were.
He continued along the slope, making his way on a relatively level path, quickly finding himself moving past the wooden dam and over to the reservoir itself; though it took him a while to walk the distance to the end of reservoir, once there, he spotted Aang and Katara, who were all the way up a stream, bending water out from some holes into said stream. The flow they had created was rather strong, reminding him of the harsh currents he'd face in the ice floes back home. He waved to them, and quickly enough they noticed him; by the time he got over to them, they seemed to have stopped their bending, and approached with pleased, but exhausted faces.
"Hey Sokka!" Aang addressed him, "Did you come to pick us up?" he asked, and the Water Tribesman nodded.
"Yeah, that's the idea." he confirmed, "We can head back to the hideout, get Appa, and get moving. We aren't going to get to the North Pole just standing around." he gestured around them, and the Avatar chuckled, sheepishly scratching the back of his scalp.
"Yeah, you're right." he agreed, "I'm sure this will be enough water for any fires they have to deal with." he told Katara, who nodded, cracking her knuckles.
"We did a lot of waterbending... but any practice counts." she noted, before glancing behind Sokka, "Can we meet back up with Jet at the reservoir? I want to just say goodbye." she explained, and he rolled his eyes; she just wouldn't give up at it.
"Yeah, alright." he agreed to her proposition; either way, he was a little interested in whatever they had planned, given that cart had to be for something.
They walked along the edge of the gully, making their way back towards the reservoir, which he noticed was almost full; he didn't know how much water was in there to begin with, but he guessed Jet wouldn't have asked Aang and Katara to help if there was a lot. As they made their way to the reservoir, he noticed some smokestacks in the distance, wondering if they came from the fire they had been talking about.
"Do you really think the Fire Nation is going to burn down this forest?" he asked Aang, who glanced at Katara momentarily before nodding.
"I remember what they did in that other forest. The spirit got so angry that it started attacking innocent people." he acknowledged, "I don't want that to happen here."
"Neither do I." Sokka agreed, "I've been to the Spirit World, remember?"
"Oh yeah." he mumbled, realising what he was saying; the Water Tribesman didn't like to think about that odd experience; it was unlike anything he'd seen or felt before, and he didn't even have the right words to describe it, "Sorry you had to go through that."
"Hey, it's not your fault. It was just an accident really." he conceded, before glancing back ahead, "What about you, Katara?" he asked his sister, wondering what she might say.
"Jet is right. The Fire Nation wants to get rid of him and the Freedom Fighters. They're just trying to protect themselves... like how Haru and the earthbenders did." she recalled another ordeal they'd been through.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." he conceded, "They are fighting for the right thing, but... I don't know why the Fire Nation would bother burning this place down. I guess that they probably use the wood for building and heating." he acknowledged, having an understanding of the usages of wood, despite its rarity in his homeland.
"They don't have to have logic, Sokka. They just want to conquer the other nations."
"I thought it was pretty obvious that isn't really true." he retorted, "Did you not listen to a thing Bumi said?" he asked her, wanting her to think about what the White Lotus people had told them all; the Fire Nation, led by Fire Lord Iroh, was trying to come to some peace agreement with the other nations, and finally end the war, and their control over the Earth Kingdom.
"That's not the whole Fire Nation. Their soldiers have been attacking places like this for a hundred years. They destroyed our tribe." she reminded him, and Sokka just sighed; she was right, but he felt like she wasn't grasping the whole picture.
The White Lotus could have been lying, maybe for their own agenda's sake, but he doubted that, especially after meeting the Fire Lord himself. The man was a little unusual, but he seemed to be kind at heart, and that was more than what he could say for someone like Jet, who just seemed really angry, and wanted to lash out at the Fire Nation for what had happened to his family. Sokka understood that all too well, and he did want the Freedom Fighters to succeed. He did not want them to win in a way that just made them the bad guys; beating up old men wasn't the way they were going to free the valley from the Fire Nation, even if they felt good doing it.
As they drew closer to the dam wall, he got a better look of the valley, and noticed the smokestacks had just been coming from the village in the distance; when they finally got back past the dam, he expected to see the Freedom Fighters, but they hadn't returned from whatever they were doing, at least from what he could see.
"Where are they?" Katara mumbled, "Jet?!" she called out, and got no response; Sokka stepped closer to the cliff, glancing back down to where he saw the cart last, before his eyes drew over to the base of the dam.
That's when he saw it; the Freedom Fighters walking about, carrying big red barrels, which were odd; he couldn't recall what they were, but they didn't look good, just from the colour alone, "What are those?"
"Oh, those are barrels of blasting jelly." Katara told him, "Jet was saying how he got them from a camp of soldiers they ambushed." she explained, and Aang grasped Sokka by the arm.
"Y-you were right." he mumbled quietly, "They're going to blow up the dam."
"I didn't say that." he argued, and Katara narrowed her eyes at the two of them.
"Jet wouldn't do that." she argued, and Sokka, having turned to face the disconcerted Air Nomad, noticed Jet dashing towards them, right out of the forest.
"I hate sneak attacks!" he called him out, flinging his boomerang around in an arc, just missing the Freedom Fighter's head; he gasped, clearly surprised he'd noticed him, before Sokka readied his club, and Aang and Katara turned to face him, clearly surprised and concerned by his sudden appearance.
Jet grabbed Aang's glider off of his back, "I wouldn't try anything if I were you." he warned the Avatar, before turning to face Katara, "And no, I would, Katara." Jet told her the truth, before he was rudely interrupted by Sokka's boomerang arcing back into his head.
He fell forward, landing flat on the ground, and Sokka quickly grabbed the glider staff, tossing it into Aang's hands, "Stop them!" he told his friend, who immediately leapt from the cliff, opening the glider to fly himself down to the Freedom Fighters; with Aang on the case, there was at least a chance they could stop them from doing something they'd regret.
Jet got up, now clearly aggravated, "Are you stupid?!" he asked him with grit teeth, "You can't stop me. I'm getting rid of the Fire Nation."
"Why would you blow up the dam?" Katara asked him, seeming to think he could reasoned with, "That'll drown everyone in the village down there." she gestured to the village down in the valley.
"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. The Fire Nation has to be stopped." he declared, and Sokka just groaned, frustrated that he was still going on about it.
"You don't even realise it." he grumbled, pointing his club at him, "The Fire Nation is about to tear itself apart. You don't even have to do anything, and you'd win!" he exclaimed, "All of this is just pointless, killing all those people won't free the valley."
"What are you on about?" Jet asked, though he was clearly being rhetorical, and whipped out his hook swords, "If I have to fight you, then so be it."
"I never said I wanted to fight." Sokka retorted, "I want to make sure you don't do something both stupid and murderous. That's the worst combination, you know." he argued, and the Freedom Fighter just snarled, trying to flick his club out of his hands; though he could grab it with his hook swords, that just left him wide open to getting swiped at the shin.
Katara leapt up between the two of them, "Please, stop!" she pleaded, "Jet, you don't need to do this! He's not- he's not lying. We've met people... important people. The Fire Nation won't be here forever." she admitted.
"And now's the time you finally realise it, real helpful Katara." Sokka sarcastically quipped, before he slung his club back over his back, eyeing Jet with suspicion, guessing that his sister's words would only hold him off for so long.
"I don't know what you're saying, and I don't believe you. Aang might be the Avatar, but he isn't doing much from what I can see. The Fire Nation is still here!" he declared, "And that's about to change." he added with a colder tone, before swinging his blades at Sokka, who just weaved out of the way.
Jet made a few more goes at him, but Sokka was fast enough, and the other boy kept showing his moves before striking. He was clearly used to being on the offensive, but Sokka had prepared his entire life for the opposite; he never wanted to destroy the Fire Nation, but just protect his village from the monsters who had killed his mother.
"You aren't any better than them. Do you want to make more orphans?" he asked the other boy, who snarled, clearly agitated by the suggestion, "Don't get mad! I'm speaking the truth!" he pressed him harder, hoping that he'd take a misstep and allow Sokka to knock him down with ease.
He whipped out his bone dagger, and when Jet stumbled after a lunge, he took his chance, aiming the blade up against his throat; the Freedom Fighter almost let out a gasp, and just smirked, "You're pretty good at this... a shame you had to pick the wrong side."
"I'm not on their side. You think I'd side with the people who want my sister dead?" he asked him without a shred of doubt in his voice.
The other boy just smirked, "Exactly. That's why they need to be stopped." he declared confidently, before he was suddenly smacked into the ground by a blast of water; Sokka turned to see his sister in a waterbending form, with her teeth grit.
"You're not doing this for me!" she shouted at him, almost as angry as he had been before, "You're just trying to get revenge... all those innocent people will die, even if you kill some Fire Nation soldiers. How is that worth it?" she asked him, the Freedom Fighter trying to shake the water off himself, clearly not pleased to have got drenched.
Jet touched at his neck and jaw, which had been cut by the bone dagger, though not bad enough that he'd start breathing his own blood. Sokka was relieved by that, given he had no intention of killing the boy, "Victory requires sacrifices. This was one of mine." he conceded, and he lunged forward, swinging his hook sword over Sokka's leg, tripping him over.
He grunted in pain as his head struck the ground, and he glanced around, noticing that his boomerang was not far out of reach, near where Katara was standing, clearly worried as Jet had a sword pointed at him, "Now, for the last time, give up. This is pointless, I'm not even setting up the blasting jelly." he argued, and Katara narrowed her eyes at him.
"But you'll give the order." she concluded, before kicking the boomerang over to Sokka's hand, which he got ready to swing at Jet; given how close they were to each other, he wanted to use it as a blade instead of throwing it, but the other boy saw that coming, and kicked the boomerang out of his hand, which was flung over the side of the cliff.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed, "That was a present from my dad!" he told him with more frustration than true anger, and kicked the other boy in the shin once more, forcing to stumble over.
Sokka took the chance to roll out of the way, and gestured to his sister, "Freeze him!" she ordered him, and she didn't relent to throw some water over him, which instantly froze, holding him in place.
Jet just glared them both down, though Sokka felt the urge to step over to the cliff, wanting to see if he could at least retrieve his boomerang; he glanced over, noticing that Aang was flying around by the slope, probably trying to catch the Freedom Fighters. Glancing over to the blasting jelly, he realised nobody was there anymore, which told him one thing- they were ready.
"Cover his mouth!" he demanded, and Katara flicked some of the ice up to do just that.
Not too long after, he abruptly heard a bird call, and realised that had to be the signal, and he turned to face his sister, "Freeze the water."
"What?" she asked, clearly confused by his brief command.
"All of it." he clarified, hoping she'd understand.
"That's not possible." she replied, even more confused, "I can't do that."
"Please try." he pleaded, and she turned around, letting out a deep breath as she moved her hands forward, causing part of the reservoir's surface to freeze; it might not be enough, but it was better than nothing.
He could hear Jet mumbling under the ice, and decided to go over and tear the ice off, just wondering what he might say; when the ice was pulled off, he just chuckled and smirked at him, "You're too late."
Before he could say anything more, he covered his mouth, and turned around, noticing an arcing arrow, which was very noticeably on fire, "Oh crap."
"He didn't give a signal." Katara gasped out, "I- I can't do it!" she admitted defeat, struggling to freeze the water fast enough.
"No, you can!" he told her, and a moment later, the blasting jelly went off shaking the ground around them, and causing the water to erupt upwards from the force of the explosion; Sokka fell over, and the force was strong enough to break the ice holding Jet captive.
The two of them lay on the ground, while Sokka just watched his sister, teeth grit and struggling to hold back the water, "I know this is a terrible thing to say, but now would be a great time for Aang to go all glowy." he admitted, and turned to face Jet, who was rising to his feet.
He obviously thought he could break Katara's concentration, and Sokka would not let that happen, "Oh, no you don't!" he shouted, tackling the other boy back to the ground.
"I-I can't hold it for m-much longer." his sister mumbled, seeming almost pained by the effort of her bending.
"I don't even have to do anything." Jet decided, "You failed, Sokka."
"I freed the Avatar from a hundred years in ice by annoying my sister. You really want to try her patience now?" he asked him, completely serious in his words; he did not want his sister to try and make an icicle sharp enough to impale the Freedom Fighter, because he was sure she was physically capable of it.
Before the other boy could try anything, Sokka punched Jet in the chest, making him gasp out for air, "I thought that armour would actually help. You probably should get that fixed." he mocked him, before he received a counter, getting hammered in the jaw.
He stumbled back and off of Jet, allowing him to get back up; the Water Tribesman still held his dagger in hand and did not relent to aim it at him, "Don't make me do something stupid." he pleaded, genuinely afraid of what he might do if he went for Katara.
"Just give up already." he derided their efforts, picking one of his hook swords back off the ground, "You can't hold it forever."
Suddenly, Aang leapt up from the cliff beside them, and had Sokka's boomerang in hand, he tossed the weapon, actually getting Jet in the arm, which made him drop his sword once more, "Ack!" he cried out, and snarled at Aang, looking ready to pounce at him, "Don't you dare." he warned him.
The Avatar just ignored him and moved over to Katara, "Do you need help?" he asked her, obviously having noticed her holding back all the water.
"It's pointless. Just- just get the villagers out of the way. I can't hold it much longer." she mumbled under her breath, and the Avatar nodded; Jet took this as his opportunity, leaping at the Air Nomad, who weaved out of the way.
However, Jet got a hold of the end of his glider staff, and that gave Sokka reason to intervene. He kicked Jet in the side, making him stumble over, right to the edge of the cliff, "Oh man." he gasped, watching as he slipped, seeming to fall from view, but a few moments later, he rose back up, held on a piece of ice; he saw his sister holding one hand up, making the effort to save the boy who had tried his darndest to stop them.
"Go Aang!" Sokka ordered him, "You don't have much time." he warned him, and he nodded, leaping from the cliff once more, using his glider to fly down the length of the valley.
Jet, restrained in the ice, seemed rather frustrated, but just smiled at them, "You must really think so much of the Fire Nation to make all this effort." he conceded, and Sokka just spat at the ground.
"Those villagers weren't going to help the Fire Nation fight you, Jet." he argued, and watched as his sister fell to her knees, now holding the water back with both hands as the Freedom Fighter was laid back down on the cliff, still encased in ice.
"I'm sorry." Katara gasped out, falling flat on her chest, and the ice began to crumble, before shattering, allowing the water to spill down the valley.
"Katara, are you-" he asked his sister, who just squatted his hands away.
"No!" she cried out, her eyes showing a fury like none he had ever seen before.
She raised her hands up, trying once again to freeze the water, struggling to hold most of it back as it was already spilling down the valley. Her efforts helped, as much of the water became ice, which then crumbled upon itself into a kind of weird, pebbly snow. Despite her efforts, he could only watch helplessly as a wave continued down the valley, sweeping down trees. It caused a loud, deep rumble which shook the ground beneath their feet.
"No... that won't be enough." Jet realised, "I- How could you do this?! The valley would have been free."
"And everyone would be dead. How is that freedom?" Sokka retorted, "I hope you realise what you've done today was a mistake, however long it takes to drill into that thick skull of yours."
"Jet!" he heard one of the Freedom Fighters shout out, and he realised it was Smellerbee and Pipsqueak, who looked ready to attack both of the siblings.
Katara, despite her exhaustion, was still able to pull up some of the snow and ice she'd created, using it to freeze them to the trees behind them; the fighters grunted and shouted, but couldn't break the restraints she had created for them.
"Enough." she demanded, "Enough of this. You'll never be free if all you can think of is killing people." she argued before sighing, Sokka grabbing her before she would fall over; she looked up at him, almost seeming ready to sob, but her eyes retained a glimmer of hope, "Did- do you think Aang told them in time?" she asked, and her brother just cringed.
"At least he tried... this isn't your fault, Katara." he assured her, "Someone just thought they could abuse your kindness." he turned his gaze to Jet, "I hope you remember this day... because I will."
"I won't give up." he stressed, as if he had a chance of attacking the Fire Nation after what he'd just done; they'd be hot on his tail, all because of the spectacle of what he'd done, no matter the casualties.
"The war will end... and then you'll understand what I've been trying to tell you."
