Chapter Text
"The Fire Nation took my mother away from me..." The Water Tribe girl said under the soft glow of Ba Sing Se's catacombs, her voice wavering in a way that told Zuko she was crying.
He couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the girl. Zuko knew what it was like to lose someone; mothers being a particularly sore subject on that front.
Which he supposed was why, against his better judgment, Zuko glanced over his shoulder to look back at her.
In the end, seeing her hunched form facing away from him was what finally pushed him to speak.
"I'm sorry..." he began, ultimately deciding to turn around and face her fully. He drew in a breath, "that's something we have in common."
To be honest, he'd half expected her to ignore him, maybe even accuse him of lying, but instead she'd paused and turned around just as he had, wiping her tears away as she did.
"Can... can I ask what happened..?" Her eyes were softer than before, more open, and for once Zuko could tell she was being sincere.
Despite this, Zuko hesitated. A few years ago he would've jumped at the chance to get to talk to someone — anyone — about his mother, but the years had gone by and after so long being forced not to acknowledge the damage she'd left in her wake, he... was not sure he even could talk about it now. He wasn't sure he wanted to. To place that sort of trust in a relative stranger, let alone someone he'd had an actively hostile relationship with up until that point, would be very unwise. Whatever he let slip here could easily be used against him later on.
'But, then again, it's not like that would be much different to being back home…' His mind promptly supplied, startling Zuko with how.. uncomfortably close to treason it sounded. Even more uncomfortable still, was that Zuko couldn't find an immediate argument against the thought.
Though, that seemed to be happening more and more recently.
He looked towards the waterbender again, half-expecting to see an annoyed look on her face with how long he'd been taking to answer, but still finds her sitting patiently, expression soft and understanding. Waiting, watching. There was still a faint tension to her shoulders that showed she'd be ready to fight should he decide to suddenly attack, but her demeanour was still kind, still sincere. Still ready to listen.
And so, for perhaps the first time in five years... Zuko took a leap of faith, and opened up to someone about his mother.
He talked very briefly about Lu Ten's death in Ba Sing Se, how Iroh had disappeared right after. He talked about the meeting between Ozai and Fire Lord Azulon, Azula's teasing, his mother dragging her out of his room and later saying goodbye that very night. He spoke of how she'd disappeared after that, how practically everything she'd owned was suddenly gone right along with her. How, no matter how much he'd asked, no one would so much as utter her name.
"It was like she'd never existed at all... I still don't know whether she's dead or alive." He lamented, making eye contact with the girl across from him for perhaps the first time since he'd begun his tale. The expression he saw staring back at him was one he belatedly recognized as empathy.
Moving to stand, the waterbender clasped her hands together, almost as if she'd been scolded.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." She said, causing Zuko to blink in surprise. He wasn't entirely certain he deserved an apology; she had every right to assume the worst... and he still hadn't fully given up on the prospect of returning home.
Still, before Zuko could respond, the girl chose to explain herself. "It's just.. for the longest time now, whenever I would think of the face of the enemy... it was your face.."
"My face..." Zuko muttered, looking at the ground and self-consciously moving to touch his scar, "I see..."
"No, no, that's- that's not what I meant.." the girl quickly moved to say, but Zuko didn't feel offended. He had heard every insult under Agni himself in regards to his scar, and he knew this wasn't one of them. The mention of his face, however, did serve to remind him of it.
"It's okay." Zuko assured her, "..I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever..." He said, staring at the far wall as he admitted his fears to a practical stranger. "But lately..? I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny... even if I'll never be free of my mark."
It's funny... just a few months ago, you wouldn't have caught him dead opening up to someone — let alone to one of the Avatar's friends — but his travels as a refugee had... changed something in him. Though, he wasn't entirely sure what.
He'd travelled the world for three years, but up until recently, he'd never had to see the war up close and personal. Not from the perspective of the other side...
He thought of Song, who had opened up to him about her own scars. He thought of Lee and how determined he'd been to fight for his family, for himself, against a system that took advantage of their hardships.
He thought of a stolen ostrich-horse, of a pearl Earth Kingdom dagger returned to him in anger, of a snarling freedom fighter unsheathing his swords...
Zuko wondered, however briefly, where he would go if he ever truly gave up on returning home. He knew he couldn't stay in Ba Sing Se forever, Zuko wanted more than that, but then again... who else would take him? To most of the world, the only thing an exiled Fire Prince could be good for was to be used as a bargaining chip. And, with his father being the man he was, Zuko would likely be put to death by his captors once they realized there was no use trying to negotiate.
So, really... if he didn't capture the Avatar, if he really never went back home… what would be left for him then?
"Maybe you could be free of it.." The waterbender offered softly, snapping Zuko out of his thoughts and shocking him to his core.
He stared, wondering if he'd heard her correctly, "What?"
"I have healing abilities." She says, and the little, impossible spark of hope he'd had in that moment quickly fizzled away.
"It's a scar. It can't be healed."
Predictably, there was a silence that followed. For a moment, he thought the conversation was over, but then he heard a shuffling noise and a soft clink. Curious, he glanced over to the girl to see her holding up some kind of vial.
"This is water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole... it has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important..." She said, walking over until she was right in front of him, "I don't know if it would work, but..."
Making a motion with her hand, Zuko knew what she wanted to do. Instead of responding outright, he decided to close his eyes. Thankfully, she got the hint and slowly brought the tips of her fingers to the edges of his scar, carefully inspecting the old wound with the hands of a healer.
Just as she was about to pull her hand away, there was a loud crack as a section of the cave wall crumbled away, revealing Uncle Iroh...
And the Avatar.
"Aang!" The Water Tribe girl exclaimed, seeming to forget Zuko as she ran up to the young monk and tackled him in an embrace. The action left Zuko feeling like he'd just been dunked in cold water.
Of course. Of course the one chance he could've had to be rid of his mark would be dangled in front of him like that just to be ripped away a second later. A perfect distraction, Azula couldn't have done better herself.
He should've known...
As if the day hadn't betrayed him enough, his uncle had come to wrap Zuko in an embrace of his own, even though he'd clearly worked with the Avatar to get there. Zuko allowed it, if only to glare at the kid, who had been eyeing him with vitriol and suspicion since they'd arrived.
"Aang, I knew you would come." The waterbender said, hugging the monk one more time before pulling away from him entirely.
Zuko could no longer be bothered with her, so he turned his attention back onto Iroh. "Uncle, I don't understand. What are you doing with the Avatar?"
"Saving you, that's what." The monk snarked, causing Zuko to growl and lunge forward at him. At both of them. However, his uncle held him back before he could do anything.
"Zuko," Iroh began, a stern look in his eyes that made Zuko freeze, "it's time we talked."
Stunned, Zuko watched his uncle turn to look at the other two with a smile. "Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you."
With a bow of respect, the Avatar and his friend turned to leave through the newly-made tunnel, but just before the girl followed him out, she turned to look back at Zuko and stopped.
Noticing the sudden lack of footfalls behind him, the Avatar stopped as well and turned back to her in confusion. "Katara..?"
Ignoring him, the girl... Katara walked a few steps toward Zuko again, that same sincere look in her eyes as before. "I can still try to heal it if you want." She says, making Zuko's good eye widen just a smidge. "We don't have a lot of time, but..."
So... she'd meant it..? She really was offering to heal his scar..? It wasn't just some lie she'd come up with to distract him?
She was really offering to help someone who'd chased her and her friends across the world...
"...no." He muttered, surprising even himself. "If that water is as special as you're making it out to be, then that means it has the potential to save lives. A gift like that would be wasted on a scar."
There was a bout of silence after that, and Zuko felt the steadying weight of Iroh's hand as it found its place on his shoulder. The Avatar looked the most shocked out of anyone, grey eyes wide as he stared at Zuko in awe.
"Are you sure..?" Katara asked one more time, seeming uncertain, but Zuko nodded.
"I'm sure."
"...okay." She smiled, then turned away for the last time. "Come on, Aang." She said as she passed by the young monk, who had seemed frozen in place up until that point.
"Uh.. okay." He said, moving to follow his friend through the tunnel once more.
Once they were gone, Iroh turned to look at Zuko with unrestrained pride shining in his eyes.
"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko." He said softly. "You are stronger, wiser, and freer than you have ever been... and now, you have come to the crossroads of your destiny."
Seeing the seriousness in his gaze, Zuko felt the need to look down. That, however, did not discourage his uncle from continuing to speak.
"It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose.. good."
Before Zuko could come up with any kind of response, the ground beneath them began to shake. Zuko gave a startled shout as a trail of green crystal sprouted out of the ground, surrounding Iroh and trapping him in place.
Spotting the outlines of Iroh's attackers, Zuko shifted into a kata and watched as his sister and two Dai Li made their way into the catacombs.
Azula looked uncharacteristically pensive.
"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," she said. "But, Zuko... Prince Zuko... you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor... are you?" She asked, the question laced with an undertone of malice as she glared in his direction.
"Release him immediately!" Zuko ignored her, giving her a hard stare of his own. If she wanted to play games, then he'd rather she leave Uncle out of it.
Though, in all likelihood, that would be exactly why Azula had trapped him to begin with.
"It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself."
"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you." Iroh cuts in, causing Azula to turn her sharp eyes on him for a moment.
"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle?" She quipped, then looked to Zuko again, her eyes going... soft. Just perfectly so, in a way that felt sincere.
She hadn't looked at him that way in years…
"I need you Zuko..." Azula said, and it almost made him angry how truthful she sounded, "I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history... and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back.. you will have fathers love... you will have everything you want."
"Zuko..." Iroh tries again, "I am begging you... look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want..."
"...You're free to choose," were Azula's parting words, flicking her hand back at the two Dai Li agents flanking her; a signal for them to leave.
With that, Azula made her way through the same tunnel the Avatar and his friend had gone through, leaving Zuko alone with Iroh. His uncle stayed silent however, seemingly deciding to let Zuko think on his own as well.
The thing was, Zuko believed Azula. He believed that, deep down, some part of her truly did want him back home. Otherwise, why make him a part of her plans at all? She could frame it like she needed him to win all she wanted, frame it like an exchange, but he knew her better than that. She would never place all of her faith into him, not with victory so close. Azula wasn't one for taking leaps of faith, not even for family.
That would be far too akin to something Zuko would do, and she had always prided herself on being better than that.
Even so, he also couldn't believe that she didn't have more practical reasons for wanting him back as well. After all, she was always five steps ahead. Just because she didn't need him now didn't mean she wouldn't need him later. Maybe she wanted to repair their relationship so that she could add him to her little group.
Or, maybe their father was starting to believe she was losing her luster, and she simply needed someone to be compared to again.
Maybe it was even both.
Whatever the reason, she was promising home. And he desperately wanted to go home. Back home to the turtleduck pond, to his old bed, to humid weather and fire flakes and festivals. Back to his life of respect and honour.
He could end the war right now. End all the suffering. As soon as Ba Sing Se was taken, the Fire Nation would win. As soon as the Avatar was taken into custody, Zuko could go home.
The thought was nearly irresistible.
And yet still, his traitorous heart couldn't help but think about what might become of his uncle.
After all, it was clear now what side of the war Iroh was truly on. And Zuko… Zuko was furious with him.
But he also stupidly, naively loved him. And so, he wasn't entirely sure what to think…
Quietly, Zuko took a breath.
"Uncle… I want you to tell me the truth…" he said, refusing to look in Iroh's direction even as he heard the man shift. "This whole time, did you.. were you just… pretending?"
Pretending to care? Pretending to be better? Was everything the man had done over the years just one big plot to try and win him over?
"Oh, Zuko... no.." Iroh tried, to no avail.
Zuko finally looked at his uncle, emotion crawling up his throat. "Were you just trying to get me to join your side?" He blinked back the water building in his eyes, "Was that your plan all along? Keep me off the Avatar's trail, manipulate me into questioning everything I was ever taught?! Why?!"
Iroh looked devastated, "Zuko, I only meant to offer you guidance. You have spent so much of your life believing that everything has been predetermined by your bloodline that you hardly ever think about what you want for yourself."
"You KNOW what I want!!"
"IS that what you want?! Or are you simply chasing the ghosts of your past?!"
Zuko threw a scathing stream of fire in Iroh's direction at that. It harmlessly hit the lower end of the crystals encasing him.
Iroh didn't so much as flinch.
"Tell me, Prince Zuko… when you think of home, what is it that you truly miss?"
Despite himself, he thought again of the turtleducks in the garden pond.
"Is it the food? The warmth? The colours?"
He thought of leading a toddling Azula by hand through the palace halls.
"Your bed? The curtains?"
He thought of their family's time on Ember Island; of when his father had saved him from drowning.
"The servants?"
He thought back to a story he'd shared with a Water Tribe girl, not long ago, about an empty bed chamber and a final goodbye.
Heart heavy in his chest, Zuko's hands began to shake as they tried to wipe away his tears.
"…Or is what you miss simply an idea of what you could have had?" Iroh said with finality, his voice gentle as Zuko struggled to breathe.
Iroh sighed. "Oh, Zuko…" he heard the older man repeat.
Then the crystals around him began to crack.
Zuko looked up again to watch as his uncle slowly freed himself using a low-level firebending technique. It was likely he'd been doing so since the moment he became trapped. Then, he made his way over to Zuko and brought his hands up to cup his face. The action only caused Zuko's lip to curl further as his chest heaved, more tears simply rolling past the man's thumbs.
Unable to hold himself up any longer, Zuko fell into Iroh's shoulder and his uncle's arms wrapped around him like he'd always belonged there.
He had taken his uncle for granted. For three years, Zuko had searched so relentlessly for the Avatar, for a miracle to bring him back home. He wanted so desperately for the family he remembered as a child to be returned to him.
For years, he'd convinced himself that if he could only prove to be worthy of his father's affection, things could finally go back to how they were. His idea of home could finally be restored.
In the end, it had caused him to become so focused on the family he lost that he ignored the family he still had.
But if Uncle Iroh had taught him anything, it was that love shouldn't have to be earned. Somewhere along the way, the home that Zuko remembered had died and gone — and it had done so since long before the Fire Lady had hugged him for the last time.
For three years, Zuko had simply been chasing a dream.
But the scar on his face served as a powerful reminder of why that dream could never come true.
"Why couldn't they have been different..?" Zuko asked, voice half-muffled into the cloth of Iroh's robes.
His uncle squeezed him tighter. "I'm afraid that is the most painful part, my nephew. They could have been." Zuko clung to Iroh like a lifeline. "They simply chose not to be."
Distantly, through the echoes of the tunnel, the sounds of battle and explosions rang out as if to remind them where they were. Zuko quickly pulled out of his uncle's embrace and attempted to wipe away his tears in response.
He hated crying. It was very hard to stop once it began.
"It sounds as though there is quite a battle going on. I am going to join them." His uncle said aloud. "Prince Zuko, whatever decision you make, know that I will always care for you and love you as my own. But I cannot stand by and allow my brother to take the world for everything it has. No longer."
With that, Iroh followed the others.
But as Zuko wiped away the last of his tears, as he heard the shuffle of his uncle's feet slowly fade further and further away, Zuko already made his decision.
"…Agni help me," he muttered. "I don't think I'm a Prince anymore."
Mere hours after he had made his choice beneath Ba Sing Se, Zuko couldn't stop staring at the fire.
That wasn't too out of the ordinary, he would think. It's not like he had anything else to stare at, unless he wanted to watch a small portion of the Avatar's friends and a sizeable mob of heavyset Water Tribesmen pitch up more tents, which he didn't.
Zuko had tried to help set everything up like the rest of them — he'd pitched tents before, the Water Tribe ones couldn't be that different — but after a while of being glared at by Katara's ridiculous brother and the other tribesmen, he ended up slumping down on the sand next to the weird guy and his bear-thing. Or, well, as close to them as was polite while keeping out of claw-swiping range.
They had safely travelled to Chameleon Bay. Ba Sing Se had long since been out of sight...
So, Zuko stared at the fire, and waited.
What exactly he was waiting for, he wasn't sure. An interrogation, most likely.
Possibly imprisonment.
On the bison, there wasn't really much time for anyone to stop and think, much less question why Zuko was there of all people. Katara had been trying to heal A— ...the Avatar, and while her brother had given him a few goofy-looking glares he had ultimately decided that getting the Avatar to safety was the top priority. Meanwhile, everyone else had still been reeling from the loss of Ba Sing Se itself, and Zuko...
Zuko would keep looking at the fire.
He would look at the fire, and breathe calmly, and he would not think about the absence of the smell of ginseng or annoying proverbs or anything of the sort.
"Fascinating." A voice abruptly chimed from nearby, causing Zuko to blink and look over, only to blink again in bewilderment.
The man with the bear — the one Zuko was sure he'd sat further away from earlier — was staring at the fire in open awe before flushing at the realization that his outburst had garnered Zuko's attention. Embarrassed, the older man coughed.
"My apologies," he said. "It's just... I've never seen firebending up close before. Or at all."
Zuko supposed that confession should have surprised him, but it didn't really. The robes on the man's back were well-made, clearly expensive and tailored to his liking — and if that weren't enough, the pair of small glasses on the bridge of his nose were a dead giveaway. This man was a noble of some kind, presumably born within Ba Sing Se's walls. And with the city's whole "no war" shtick, it's no surprise that this man would have never seen firebending. Zuko had served nobles just as ignorant, if not more, and...
Wait, firebending?
Zuko looked back down at the fire in front of him and sure enough, the flames grew and fell with each breath he took.
How did he not notice? Had he really been that deep in thought?
Realizing the strange man was still looking at him, Zuko huffed. "It's not really firebending, it's... it's more of a meditation practice."
"Really? From the way you were making everything flare up I would've thought it was more like a fire tornado." The man tried to laugh, but it came off more nervous than anything else. "So, uh... what's got you so worked up, anyway?"
"I'm not."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"...Alright." The man finally said, leaving Zuko in blissful silence. Unfortunately, that bliss was short-lived, as the man spoke again a moment later. "You're Prince Zuko."
Instinctively, Zuko's hackles wanted to rise, but he quickly reminded himself where he was. "..firebending gave it away?"
"Something like that," the man smiled. "I'm King Kuei — er.. well, at least I.. used to be king- I'm-.. not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be now..."
"Oh — Oh.. uh... yeah, I'm.. I'm sorry for... for that." Zuko stumbled his way through the apology, now more uncomfortable than ever. How in Agni's name do you apologize for your nation — namely your little sister — taking over the last section of someone else's kingdom? To that kingdom's ruler, for that matter?!
"Hey, from what I've heard, you did what you could to help, and for that I'm thankful."
"I'm.. really not the person to thank..."
"Why not?"
Zuko hesitated, "Because I'm still wondering if I made the right choice or not."
King Kuei blinked in surprise at that, eyes widening a bit, which caused Zuko to flinch as he belatedly realized how his words must have sounded.
"N- Not in the sense that I wish I had picked the other side, I just mean… I wish I had been smarter about it."
King Kuei relaxed again. "Because of the Avatar? He was in pretty rough shape back on that bison."
"No. Because of my uncle," Zuko honestly replied. "He's the entire reason I decided to join forces with you people to begin with, and now he isn't even here. Instead, he's been captured and I'm stuck in a Water Tribe camp surrounded by people who hate my guts. And I deserve it," he stopped and sighed.
The Avatar would survive, Zuko was certain of that. He had watched as Katara held the boy's limp body close and cried. He had seen her lay him down gently against bison fur and pull the vial of spirit water forth. He remembered how her eyes had met his for just the briefest moment — a silent but all-consuming thank you — before she'd pressed the water into a lightning wound and brought the Avatar back to life.
The world's symbol of hope would be presumed dead, but anyone who had borne witness to that display would know better.
The fate of Uncle Iroh, however, was a different story.
Zuko had no way of truly knowing what would become of Iroh once he reached Caldera; what the Firelord would do to his brother once he was within reach. All Zuko could do was make theories.
Thankfully, the most plausible outcome was that Iroh would simply be imprisoned underneath the palace. Despite his act of treason, The Dragon of the West, Prince General Iroh still carried a lot of political weight. To execute him would lead to outrage and borderline mutiny among their people.
Still, Zuko could not completely disregard execution as a possibility, and that alone was enough to slowly eat away at his lungs and turn them to dust.
"If I had just stopped to think things through for once in my life, maybe things could have been different," he muttered.
Next to him, King Kuei stared at the open fire in front of them, suddenly looking pensive. "You know… I think I might understand how you feel."
Zuko blinked at that, looking up at the former king.
"Well, maybe I don't understand it in full, but… for my whole life, I entrusted all of my decisions and royal duties into the hands of my Grand Secretariat. I was very young when I was forced to take the throne you see, and so allowing Long Feng to rule the kingdom for me was something I was already used to… after all, he had raised me. I trusted him." King Kuei paused for a moment; a sad, distant longing in his gaze that Zuko recognized. "I know it's no excuse. If the Avatar's group hadn't come along and opened my eyes to the truth, I never would have questioned his motives. And now, because of my childish naivety and years of inaction, my kingdom is lost. That is what I regret most. And I can't help but think that if I had only questioned Long Feng on my own, if I had acted sooner, then maybe the Earth Kingdom would still be standing."
Things were silent for a moment as Zuko absorbed the information. Then, he huffed, the smallest lick of flame and wry amusement escaping him. "I guess you do sort of get it."
"I do," Kuei smiled. "But I'm also beginning to realize that wallowing over what I could have done differently in the past is exactly what got me into this mess in the first place. So, how are you planning to move forward? I think I'm going to travel the world for a bit."
Zuko leaned back a bit to look at the stars. "I'm not sure. I know what I want to do, but whether I can achieve it or not will all depend on what happens today." He turned his head to look at Kuei once more. "Which, if I were to take a guess, will include an interrogation and the possibility of imprisonment."
"Not very optimistic, are you?" The king rhetorically asked.
"Trust me, this is as optimistic as I get."
"Jet, come on, you're supposed to be on bedrest." Smellerbee's soft rasp had cut through the quiet of the medical tent just as Jet was about to try getting up.
Caught red-handed, Jet gave her and Longshot an innocent smile. "What, a guy can't sit up?" He moved his legs back under the covers of his bedroll and leaned against the pillows as if to sell it further.
'Bee predictably rolled her eyes as she and Longshot made their way over to sit on the floor with him, each valiantly trying to hide their discomfort. If Jet didn't know them so well, he might not have noticed. Unfortunately for them however, Jet did know them, which meant he could easily pinpoint the tension in 'Bee's shoulders and the subtle frown line marring Longshot's brow.
He couldn't blame them for being uncomfortable or upset with him — not after everything that happened at Lake Laogai — but he appreciated the effort they were both making to treat him as they usually would. He knew he had scared them.
"You shouldn't be able to move at all, your ribs are broken." 'Bee snarked.
Jet prodded carefully at the bandages wrapped over his chest. She wasn't wrong, his skin was sensitive and it was a struggle to lift his arms or move, but the pain was much more tolerable than it had any right to be after only a few days. "I'm pretty sure I've got Katara to thank for that."
"Damn right—"
The flaps of the tent blew open to reveal the very waterbender they'd been talking about, flanked by Sokka and one of the tribe's few medics, who was carrying Aang.
A very injured, very unconscious Aang.
A very injured, unconscious Avatar.
At least, Jet hoped he was just unconscious. They had brought him to the medical tent for a reason, right?
Hastily, Katara instructed the medic and Sokka to lower Aang onto a bedroll, remove his tunic, and gently lay him on his stomach. As soon as they did, Smellerbee gasped. Jet understood why.
It was possibly one of the worst burn injuries Jet had ever seen; red, raw, jagged, and brutal with flakes of blackened skin towards the centre even as it bled. White, lightning-shaped lines trailed all the way down the Avatar's back, as if they were following a path. He'd never seen anything like it.
'Fire Nation,' the ugliest part of him hatefully spat as he watched Katara muster the strength to hold back tears in favour of healing her friend. She looked exhausted. It was likely that she had been healing him since before they arrived in Chameleon Bay.
As the medic went to gather supplies — likely gauze, salve, and bandages — Sokka looked over and flinched slightly when he spotted Jet. Interestingly, a small flash of panic sparked in the other boy's eyes as they nervously darted back to the tent flaps before refocusing on Jet. Jet simply raised an eyebrow at him, to which he received an awkward smile.
Sokka then promptly made his way to the exit as if his pants were on fire. Which was unfortunate, considering Jet had been hoping to get an explanation of what happened from him.
What in Koh's Lair had that been about?
Smellerbee and Longshot both looked at Jet in equal confusion. Good, at least that meant they were just as suspicious about it as he was. This time.
For the briefest moment, Jet's mind wandered back to those two firebenders in Ba Sing Se — Lee and his uncle, or whatever their names really were. He recalled how 'Bee and Longshot tried to convince him that he was wrong, that he should stop. The gaps in his memory had slowly been healing ever since Katara had used her waterbending to reverse Lake Laogai's effects, and yet he had only remembered Lee shortly after being dropped off at Chameleon Bay and settling in. He had wanted to at least notify Sokka about it, but he was already gone again by then. So was the rest of the Water Tribe as they had briefly left for battle, minus the medic who had stayed behind to take care of Jet and some other injured tribesmen, of which there had been very few.
Looking at the gruesome wound on the Avatar's back, Jet wondered if those firebenders had been the ones to do it. Had Aang discovered them too late? Loathe as Jet was to admit it, Lee was a formidable foe — though, perhaps it was actually his uncle who'd struck the final blow. There was no reason for Lee to be so proficient with dual-wielding if he were also a bender.
Or perhaps Ba Sing Se was simply not as secure as it wanted the world to believe — in which case, who knew how many firebenders had truly infiltrated the city?
Either way, Aang had more than paid the price for it.
Jet's skin wanted to crawl at just the thought alone. He was suddenly very apprehensive about what he would hear regarding what happened that day, but Oma and Shu as his witness, he would find out.
Hopefully, he would need look no further than Katara.
The moment Sokka made his way out of the medical tent, he decided to get Toph. Katara would be busy with Aang for a while yet, and with Jet there it would be hard to discuss anything with her regarding the Fire Jerk currently sitting in the middle of their camp.
Seriously, how was this Sokka's life? What could have possibly happened for Katara to suddenly up and decide that ZUKO of all people should get to tag along with their group?! Sometimes, Sokka truly wondered about his sister's sanity.
Still, there was no one in the world greater at holding a grudge than Katara, so if she was willing to give Zuko a chance, even after everything the guy had done? Sokka was just gonna have to go along with it. Try and see what she saw.
He still wasn't going to just trust the guy though, which was why Toph was needed. She was easy enough to find, her green and yellow garments a stark contrast to the Southern Water Tribe's blue, and she surprisingly hadn't wandered all that far from Appa. Momo was curled up by her feet, purring while she gently stroked his back. Sokka didn't think he'd ever seen her do that before.
"Hey, Toph? I'm gonna be asking the Angry Jerk some questions; you wanna come with? Tell me if he's lying?"
Toph was quiet for a moment. "How's Aang doing?"
…Oh.
"…He's stable. I think," Sokka replied honestly; not that lying to Toph would have done him any good. "Look, Aang's gonna be fine. Katara's doing everything she possibly can, and from what I've seen, it's working… slowly. Very slowly." He sighed, hunching a bit as he looked at the ground. "Sorry. I'll go talk to Zuko on my own."
At that, Toph stood. "Nah, I'm coming. Just making sure Twinkletoes isn't dead is all." She walked ahead of Sokka before he could say anything else — which, honestly, he should've expected. Toph was a hard person to shake, and even then she didn't stay down for long.
Still, the interaction had once again served as a painful reminder of how young she truly was. How young they all were.
As they approached the campfire, Sokka shook the feeling off.
It was quickly replaced with bewilderment.
There, sitting by the fire, was Zuko of course. And next to Zuko was none other than the Earth King. And Bosco.
And they were talking.
For La's sake, did the Earth King trust everyone?!
"Okay, enough with the chit-chat!" Sokka exclaimed, placing his machete between the two men to stop them from talking. And of course, Zuko glared at Sokka in response; nothing new there.
Oddly enough, the King seemed to understand what was happening and smiled at Zuko with something horrifyingly close to sympathy. Faintly, Sokka could feel his jaw hitting the floor. "We'll leave you three alone."
Just like that, King Kuei got up and led his weird bear to a different side of the camp.
Toph had to nudge Sokka before he could snap himself out of his stupor. Hastily, he cleared his throat. "Right. Um. We have a few questions for you." For added spontaneity, he pointed his machete in Zuko's face. "And don't even think of lying!"
Toph grinned. "Yeah, 'cuz I'll be able to tell."
At that, Zuko actually paused the death glare he was giving Sokka to look at Toph. "You can do that?" He sounded shockingly sincere in his curiosity despite the skeptical curve in his brow.
"I can feel every vibration in the earth — including your heartbeat. Lying causes a reaction in the body, so I can feel it." Toph paused, then huffed in amusement, "You've got a pretty fast heart rate in general, so this should be interesting."
Zuko stared at her for a moment, seemingly unable to decide whether to be afraid or impressed. Then he looked back at Sokka and tiredly sighed as he shoved his weapon away. "What do you want to know?"
"What did you and Katara talk about?"
"Next question."
"You don't get to make that choice. Underneath Ba Sing Se, what did you and Katara talk about? It must have been pretty important for her to suddenly decide that you were somehow trustworthy."
"Well, you're wrong. It wasn't important."
"I'm detecting a lie, Sparky." Toph piped in. Also, Sparky?
"It wasn't!" Zuko defended, throwing up his hands. "Not in the end!"
"Well, clearly it was important to her," said Sokka. "And I think it might've been important to you, too."
Once again, Zuko aimed a hard scowl Sokka's way. At least the guy was consistent. "Fine. We were talking about our mothers and somewhere along the way she offered to heal my scar."
Sokka sighed. "Of course you were talking about mothers…" he mumbled, then blinked in confusion as he absorbed the second part. "Wait, but Katara couldn't have been able to heal it on her own, and you still have your scar."
"She wanted to try using the spirit water on it. I turned her down."
Sokka shifted his weight towards Toph to confirm. She nodded.
The spirit water. Of course. If it could bring Aang back from the dead, there was no reason it couldn't have healed a scar.
But if Zuko had allowed Katara to heal him, she wouldn't have been able to heal Aang at all.
Sokka was starting to see the big picture here.
"So, what, one nice offer from Katara and suddenly you're on our side?"
Zuko bristled. "It wasn't just her, it was… it was my uncle, mostly."
Ah. That made sense too, actually.
Toph sat on the ground. "I had a conversation with him once. He makes really good tea."
And Zuko smiled. Actually smiled. It was small, and a little sad, but it was real. "Yeah, that sounds like him." Unfortunately, the smile faded away almost as soon as it appeared. "I'm not here to fight. Not anymore- I just… please. Let me join your group — just long enough so that I can get my uncle back — and then none of you will ever have to see me again."
"Hmm. I dunno. Do you swear on your honor?" Sokka couldn't help but jab.
For once, Zuko didn't take the bait, instead choosing to make eye contact. "Yes. I do."
Sokka quietly squinted at him for a long time, quietly debating the offer. On one hand, Katara seemed to trust him now and Toph was certain he was being sincere. La, even Sokka believed him at this point. Still, there was the issue of Jet, and Sokka didn't want to have to deal with him without getting anything in return.
"If we're gonna let you tag along, you're gonna have to do something for us, too," Sokka decided. "When Aang gets better, you teach him firebending."
"What?"
"It's that or no deal, Ponytail Freak. You'll be supervised, of course. And they have to be real lessons." Sokka put his hand out between them.
Zuko groaned and rolled his eyes, but ultimately returned the gesture. "I don't even have a 'ponytail' anymore..."
Sokka smiled wide and took Zuko's forearm, shaking it once before letting go. "Pleasure doin' business with ya."
"Ba Sing Se was taken?!"
Jet had successfully managed to get Katara to talk after a half-hour of watching her tend to the Avatar — which she was still doing, just at a more measured pace. Unfortunately, the news she had to give was even worse than Jet could have imagined.
Katara sighed. "Yes, Jet, the Fire Princess orchestrated a coup and she struck Aang with lightning right as he was going into the Avatar State. There was nothing left to do but retreat."
Jet was going to be sick. "Was… was there an old man and a guy with a scar there..?"
At that, Katara's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Jet for the first time since the conversation began. Jet's heart lurched in his chest at the horrid implications. "So, they were involved! I knew it!!"
"Shit.." Smellerbee softly cursed from beside him, drawing Jet's attention to her and Longshot.
"I told you!! I told both of you they were Fire Nation!!"
"Jet, how do you know Zuko?" Katara asked, reminding them of her presence.
"Zuko? The one with the scar? Is that his real name?!"
"I-…" She hesitated, "yes."
Things went quiet for a small moment as Jet committed the name to memory.
"We met him and the old man on the ferry going into Ba Sing Se. Told me his name was Lee," Jet explained. "The captain was a selfish hogmonkey that kept all the good food to himself while us refugees ate slop, so I invited Lee — Zuko — to help us liberate the food for everyone. I admit, we worked well together…" He could feel 'Bee side-eyeing him at the admission. "Until we all landed behind the city walls, and I saw the old man heating his tea."
Katara raised an eyebrow. "Weren't they working in a teashop?"
"THIS WAS BEFORE THE TEASHOP!!!" Jet yelled, coughing a little at the sharp sting in his chest from the exertion. "And besides, I was right! You said so! Right?!"
"Technically, I didn't say anything," Katara corrected. "But yes, you're right, they're firebenders."
"Buh-.. Both of them.?" He panted softly. His ribs ached. He really shouldn't have yelled.
"Both of them," She confirmed.
'Bee nudged him softly, "Jet, you should lie back down."
"I'm fine."
"I can try to soothe the ache a little if you want." Katara said, her eyebags very prominent.
"No, guys, I'm okay. Really," Jet assured. "Thank you Katara, but you should save your strength."
Katara nodded. "If you're sure.."
Finally, the girl deemed her work for the night finished as she refilled her waterskin, corked it, and allowed the medic to wrap Aang's bandages. Instantly, her body relaxed like a puppet with cut strings as she let out an exhausted breath.
If only Jet had managed to convince everyone of Lee — Zuko's lies. Maybe all of this could have been avoided.
"They weren't, by the way." Katara spoke up again. "Part of the coup, I mean. They could have been, but they chose not to be." She stood. "They fought with us, instead."
Those had been her parting words as both she and the medic made their way towards the exit and left.
After a moment, Smellerbee hummed. "Well. I guess you were still wrong then, huh?"
"…No. It's way too convenient."
Both Longshot and 'Bee rolled their eyes, with 'Bee adding a long-suffering groan to further express her dismay. "Oma above, Jet, just let it rest!"
"I swear we're missing something!" Jet tries to defend.
"And I swear that if I hear anything else about 'Lee The Mastermind Firebender', I'm going to skin you alive!"
"We can't have the Avatar and his team trusting two firebenders!"
"Well, you certainly seemed eager to trust him back on the ferry!" Smellerbee exclaimed, shutting Jet up for the moment as he struggled to come up with a response. "Especially with how willing you were to invite him to join the Freedom Fighters — which you conveniently left out when talking to Katara."
Embarrassed, Jet looked away. "It's not like it was an important aspect to the story. And besides, I didn't know he was a firebender at that point."
"I know, I'm just saying… maybe you just keep trying to villainize them because you feel like.. I dunno, like he betrayed you or something."
"…I'm going to sleep."
"Jet-"
"I heard you," he said, carefully lying down and facing away from them. "I'll see you both tomorrow."
'Bee scoffed, but after a few minutes of silence, Jet heard their footsteps retreat from his lying form.
They still didn't believe him. No one did, and that was a problem. Jet would have to be smarter about things moving forward if he was ever gonna be taken seriously again.
Still, Zuko had better hope he and Jet never crossed paths again. Because once they did, Jet was going to expose him for everything he was.
Once and for all.