Luke

I looked back behind me, where chaos still reigned, the last shots of the battle for the capital building still being fired, knowing what was inside. Who was inside.

"We have to go back," I said, immediately stepping towards the structure, and the field of war surrounding it, my mind failing to comprehend the pandemonium that still dominated all.

I had to be stopped by Zek's firm grasp. "Luke," he said. "There's no point. He's…he's gone."

"Bullshit!" I called out, driven now only by emotion, sense having long since taken its leave. "He's survived worse! He can make it!"

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Zek yelled in return. "I'm sorry," his voice cracked. "He's dead."

I couldn't believe it. I refused to do so, to even consider it as a possibility. No. No. He's not dead. He can't be. I lurched forward again, attempting to leave escape from Zek's grasp. "Fucking let go of me!" I yelled out, but his grip only strengthened, holding me tight with both arms from behind as I still tried to escape free.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I was fighting back tears, calling out, "You were with him! Why didn't either of you save him!"

"We tried!" he yelled back, his own grip growing tighter, as though he was fighting himself as he was fighting me. "More were coming and…he couldn't walk so…he told us to run!"

"So you don't eve know if he's dead!? And you expect us not to go back!? What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"He couldn't walk, Luke! I'm-I'm sorry. He's dead. So is Karnook, Kiu, they're all fucking dead!"

No. Please. I refused to allow it to be true, refused to accept it as fact, but beyond my mind, my body itself seemed to be coming to terms with the truth, the fighting spirit leaving. If my brain still held on to foolish hope, my heart no longer did, and I felt my knees grow weak beneath me. Zek's own grip had been waning as well, and when he let go, I found I could no longer stay upright, and I fell to the ground onto my knees.

My mind was finally catching up to reality. Please, I begged one last time. Please don't be gone. I didn't know who I was calling to. Boss, maybe? Raava? But, of course, there was no answer. Why would there be after all? He was gone, and that was it.

I looked back up one last time ahead of me, where the building rested in flames, and soldiers still waited gathered around. It's over, I finally realized. There's nothing more we can do.

A hand clasped onto my shoulder and Ka'lira's voice came to me as she said from behind, "We need to go."

"Go where?" Zare asked. "We're surrounded by Fire Nation, and the Earth Kingdom holds the beach."

"Then we kill the Earth Kingdom there and we take a ship," Zek answered, offering me a hand to get back up to my feet-a hand that I had no other choice but to take.

I was pulled to my feet as he continued, "We take back the Patriot, we find the others, and we get out of here."

"We don't even know if the others are alive," I sighed.

"If they are," Ka'lira spoke up, "Then we'll find them."

And that was the reality of it. It was a matter of 'ifs' now as to whether or not our friends, our family still lived. Is this what it's come to? I wondered. Is this what we've become? Been reduced to?

What other choice is there? What more is there that we can do? This was it. This was reality. Boss was dead. The others perhaps as well. Shibi was lost, and we had failed. That was the world we lived in, no two ways about it

"Alright," I nodded. What more could we do?

From there, it was a slow trek South. Shibi had come to a standstill. The streets were empty, no more soldiers remaining to fight, no more civilians remaining to be killed, no more homes remaining to be burned.

It was only ash blowing in the wind as we moved forward, the remains of those killed raining down upon us. The few fires that still burned were themselves coming to their ends, their search for kindling yet to strengthen them in vain.

Passing the streets, it was though I was reliving every horrible deed that had passed this night in only the last few hours. How so much had gone wrong, how so much evil had been done in just so little time, I still did not understand. I feared I never would.

Dead bodies littered the avenues, belonging to both soldiers and civilians alike, numbering in the hundreds. Who is left? I wondered, fearing the answer as I looked around, seeing not a living soul present save the four of us as we wandered aimlessly south towards a pipe dream that we could yet make it out of this.

It's worse than Jingping. We had come here to avenge Jingping, to make their sacrifices worth it, to stop if from ever happening again—such a needless loss of life, but we ourselves had been responsible for something far, far worse.

None of us spoke a word. There was nothing to be said. I think the lot of us feared so much as opening our mouths, knowing what might come out should we do so. So instead, we opted for the easiest course, saying nothing.

Zek led us as well as he could, steering us through the streets, opting for new courses where debris blocked one path or another. Occasionally, he checked behind himself to ensure we still followed in pursuit.

Ka'lira followed close behind him, head hung low, her crossbow dragging across the ground as she relied on Zek to pave the road ahead.

Zare, she hung near the back with me, her hand holding the string of the bow that was resting over her shoulder alongside an empty quiver, devoid of any arrows.

And we were expecting to be able to fight the Earth Kingdom there? To retake the Patriot? In this state?

What the hell are we doing?

We lacked the means, and we lacked the spirit. We were defeated already. I believed we all saw it, all knew it was true. So why are we still going forward?

The fact was, I believed, that we had nowhere left to go.

The end of the line was all that waited ahead for us. Perhaps that's why we moved so slowly, for fear of what we knew lay ahead—nothing.

We could only delay the inevitable for so long, however, and soon enough, we had arrived at the sea wall. Above it, smoke still rose. Still from the landing? I wondered.

No. No, this is difference.

Zek realized it as well, and he turned back to us, searching our eyes to see if we possessed that same recognition. Something was wrong, we all knew that much.

We ascended the sea wall, slowly, out of terror of what we would find ahead. And there it was, what rested ahead.

On the beach, bodies were scattered. Earth Kingdom bodies. Beyond them, an Earth Kingdom warship sat on the coast, lit aflame, torn in half by the strength of the artillery shells that had blown it apart, craters lining the sand behind it. The flames still raged, the smoke flying high in the sky as the coal reserves aboard were lit, thick plumes shrouding all that lay ahead. All except one thing—another fire. And there, in the bay, yet another source of raging fire. Sitting half submerged, the other Earth Kingdom warship, and behind, steaming away, 3 Fire Navy battleships.

Gone. They both are gone. And the Patriot? I looked, scanning the coast, scanning the bay. It was nowhere in sight. Zek descended the sea wall, for what reason, I didn't know, but we followed regardless.

The Fire Nation, they had come. Finally, they had chosen to come, once all in Shibi were dead, once it was too late, once no more could be done than to take lives, not save them.

That's war, Luke, I reminded myself. That's what war…has always been.

I had believed there was more to it, that it could change, but now it was clear to me, and, somehow, it was of little surprise. I think that, truth be told, a part of me had always known. Ever since Ba Sing Se, I had known what war was. I was an idiot for trying to change it, I saw as much now.

I tried, I told myself. We tried. We really did. We had believed in Boss's dream, of helping those who couldn't help themselves, and this, before us, this was what it had led to—a burning city that we had failed to save to our north, and, to our south, the way we now faced towards the sea, our only way out.

This was it. This was where it ended for us.

Zek stood by the water where it ended, and looked ahead, myself joining him by his side, the others following soon enough.

In a way, it was almost beautiful, the fire against the water, the stark contrast almost tantalizing.

My senses were dumbing, giving themselves up to the deep-sea breeze that took over us all. In that moment, I think I would have been happy ending it all there, to be honest. What more was there?

There was something in the distance, a faint noise.

Why bother? Boss is dead, the dream is dead, and soon, we will be too.

The noise came again, snapping me out of the trance-like state, turning to see a man I could have sworn I recognized, or, at the very least, his uniform. He was a Separatist. Kai?

"What the hell are you guys still doing here?! We need to go!"

Zek turned to face the man, his hand instinctually going to his side where his sword rested, but he paused there. "Go where? The fleet is gone and the Fire Nation are closing in on us."

"The Patriot," Kai answered, a number of other separatists now revealing themselves to us. Which Separatists? I found myself inclined to ask. Those who had brought this town its knees, those who had stood until the very end to defend it, or a mix of both. I found that the latter was by far the most likely option. Just as we were here now, not knowing who waited in front of us, they likely knew just as little of us and of one another. It didn't matter anymore. It was over. There was nothing that could be done, could be changed.

Zek turned to face the sea. "Where?! I sure as hell don't see it out there!"

"Bay's too occupied. It's by the forest edge! We need to get there now!"

He turned around to the gathering Separatists who assembled near the top of the sea wall and began descending, numbering at least at around a dozen. "Alright, let's go!" Kai called out. "The others are waiting for us by the Patriot!"

He turned back to us, asking Zek, "You see any of our guys out there? Any other survivors?"

The Kai who spoke now, it was hardly the same Kai I recognized from before, far more mild-mannered, less harshly spoken, and far less cruel. But no, I had seen him when it all began, seen him in the crowd right before all hell had broken loose, had seen him cut down unarmed civilians, one after another.

Now, he was whatever he needed to be to rally us together. He could be a saint with us all he wanted, but I knew. I wondered if the others did as well.

Looking to Zare at my side, however, seeing that same glare in her eyes, hidden just only enough to stop the man from suspecting anything. But I knew that she had seen it too, seen him there amidst all the chaos, much of it sewn by his own hand.

"None," Zek shook his head, his voice turning me back to the present. "You?"

"A few. We found Gordez and Jadoh. They're alright. A bit worse for wear, but, they're waiting for us there.

They're alive?

It had certainly claimed the attention of all of us present there, that was for sure.

Was it true? Were they really alive?

"You're sure?" I blurted out.

He nodded, but I still found myself wondering, questioning everything. And what if he's lying? What if this is only meant to draw us into a trap?

Why bother? If they wanted to kill us, they could just do it now. They certainly had the numbers for it, and we more than lacked the spirit and energy to put up a fight.

"There are others too. More are coming in. Some of us went out looking for Boss and Kiu. They might have come back by now."

I turned to Zek, and his eyes were wide. He hadn't seen him die. He hadn't seen them die. Was it…was it really possible?

Even if it wasn't, there was no question. We couldn't stay here. The fleet was gone, and the Fire Nation was closing in. We had to move, and we had to move fast.

We travelled now together, not having much choice as it was, sticking south near the sea wall by necessity. The Fire Nation had pierced deep into the city, and to go any deeper within, it would mean the death of us all. So we moved as quickly and quietly as we could, bisecting through the town with our heading set to the west.

We reached the fringes of the town, the concentration of structures growing all the sparser, moving as fast as we could, the Fire Nation, be them following us our just covering the area, drawing closer and closer, hot on our heels. Paths seemed to be carved through the shrubbery, and we followed Kai as best as we could, him seeming to have been here before, likely having been returning to gather more of his men. I wondered how many civilians had fled to nature upon our arrival, and I wondered how many yet lived if the Separatists had gone this way as well.

As we began to pass by bodies, I had my answer. Kai offered no explanation. We didn't need any. It certainly did help to explain why the sword at his side still dripped of blood. This…this was the man we followed, I thought with disdain. No. We get Gordez and Jadoh and…and maybe…No! Don't put yourself through this again! He's dead, Luke. I shook myself awake, casting aside the thought. He's gone, Luke. There's nothing more you can do.

I still couldn't come to terms with it. This was Boss we were talking about. Ever since Ba Sing Se, he had always been there. He'd gotten me out of there, saved my life on more than one occasion. And now…

I closed my eyes, focusing only on what was ahead.

I saw the faint outline of it through the brush—the Fire Nation destroyer where it waited for us. The Patriot, in motion, drawing ever closer to a stop, slowly maneuvering it's pathto allow us to board once it came to a stop.

And before long, we came to our stop, witnessing before us the 'others' that Kai had spoken of.

So this is it.

No more than 50 Separatists.

Just a few hours ago, it had been over 200. Just a few hours ago, Shibi's population was in the tens of thousands. Now look at it.

The other Separatists who had been accompanying Kai returned to their compatriots within the crowd where all rested in unsettling silence. None had anything to say. There was no conversation, no discussion, no levity to be had.

This was what was left of their once great family, cut down to only around four dozen, having been ten score strong just hours ago.

For as much as we had lost, they had lost their families as well. Still, it was hard to feel sympathy for them then. I recognized a number of the faces here, some fondly, but the others, most at that, quite the opposite. I knew what all those here were capable of doing. What they had done.

At the edge of the crowd, where the forest gave way to the clearing that served as our impromptu landing zone by the edge of the sea, certain not to last much longer, Zek, Ka'lira, Zare, and I stood.

Our eyes, I knew, were all searching the crowd for the briefest glimpse we could catch of those who were said to be here, and we navigated our way through, looking wherever we could for them.

A hand from the crowd clasped onto the shoulder of Zek who was directly, in front of me, and we all turned to see him there—Gordez.

Nobody said anything. Nobody needed to. They just stood there, and they embraced, holding onto each other tight, letting go only for me to be next as I felt Gordez's arm wrap around me before pulling back, being met at the same time then by both Ka'lira and Zare's embrace, a lucky man, at least in that moment.

Not far behind him was Jadoh, creeping out of where he'd been in the crowd. Of all of us who looked worse for wear, he by far looked the worst. The look in his eyes, I didn't dare ask what he had seen today. All that I could do was hold him for but a brief moment, patting his back as thought to ensure he was still in one piece and ask just that.

"Y-yeah," he answered, nodding his head. His eyes were blood red, from exhaustion, from crying, from any other range of things, I couldn't know.

"Come on," Zek whispered. "Let's-let's get some space."

The eyes of other Separatists watched us as we moved on together, and I recognized the look. Envy. We were the lucky ones. We had found our friends. Them, they hadn't been nearly so lucky. Three quarters of them dead. I doubt the majority of them even knew how their comrades had gone. More likely than not, they had been at their side one moment, and gone the next. That was how it worked. Nothing more to it.

"You guys all alright?" Gordez asked, placing a hand on Both my shoulder and Zek's, us just so happening to have been closest while he looked around at the others, ensuring that they knew they were included in his query.

Zek's smile was sad, but still, I knew he was glad to see his old friend again. As was I. For a long time, I had assumed the worst had transpired. How could I not, after everything else that had happened.

He nodded his heads, closing his eyes and looking down at the ground before raising them back to us, a smile on his face. "Thank the spirits," he said. His eyes scanned over us again, as though doing a headcount. We were one short.

He sees. Of course he does.

"Where," he started. "Where's Boss? Any of you seen him?"

A part of me wanted to look to Zek, but no, I wasn't going to put this all on him. He'd done all that he could, right? That's what he said, and I believed him. Of course I did.

None of us answered, and the silence was what had begun to drive its way into Gordez's heart as he stood by us. He seemed on the verge of saying something until a clamor erupted from behind us, hearing the words, "Jet is back!" spoken, inciting a massive shift among those stationed here as they turned to greet where the call had come from.

"He's back!" came the voice again.

Not alone, I prayed, but I knew better than to raise my hopes.

Gordez turned to face the man as he entered through the brush, then turned back to us to say with a slight smile on his face, "Don't worry. They say jet and Longshot went back to find them. I'm sure they'll be here now."

He…he actually believed. Oh no. Gordez…

He turned back around to face Zek where he emerged. Behind him was the mute archer named Longshot, bow in hand, not a noise to him. No words, no movement of shrubbery beneath him, nothing.

And we waited for who came next.

And waited.

And nobody came.

And Gordez's smile faded, and I knew the questions he was asking himself.

They're just further back, right? They were taking up the rear, guarding them from behind, right?

My eyes turned to him. Gordez, I thought. I'm so sorry.

The clamor of the crowd was interrupted then by Jet raising his voice to speak, loudly clearing his voice so as to incite silence, finally allowing the nearing of the Patriot to be heard, finally coming to a stop not far off. Any moment now, it's ramp would be descending.

But before then, it was clear Jet had something to say as he stood in front of the Patriot, gathering our attention towards it.

"Everyone," he said, his voice finally going softer, seeing as how there were not too many to hear, and the atmosphere was silent enough already. "We're all that's left."

Only a few dozen. This morning, thousands of us had invaded these shores, and of those, we were what remained.

"We came here," he continued, "By the will of the Earth Kingdom, the nation we all swore to serve, the nation we will continue to serve, but not by the orders of somebody who doesn't understand who we are, who will send us into this hell and leave without a second thoughts. The Earth Kingdom is our home, and we will continue to fight for it, but on our own terms."

There was a silence throughout the crowd. That was not what they were waiting to hear, and Jet knew it.

"I know what you're all wondering," he said. "And I'm sorry. Kiu is dead."

A tumult rose. Their leader was dead. And he's not the only one. I could see Gordez's face out of the corner of my eye. He hasn't said Boss is dead. He hasn't said his name. He's still alive. I knew what it was. Until the words were spoken, Boss was alive. He was holding onto that for as long as he possibly could.

"So are Karnook, Keerick, Shohe, Boss, Harick, and so many others…"

And there it is. I caught Gordez's face again in my sight, and I caught the shift. Hell, it wasn't hidden. In that moment, that fragile hope he'd been holding onto, it collapsed, and so did he, falling to his knees, just barely propped up by Jadoh and Zek who tried to stop his descent.

"They died," Jet continued, gulping, "They died fighting for what they believed in. They died fighting…for us. For the Earth Kingdom."

What? I watched him then, turning my attention away from Gordez, and I saw it there…saw it in his eyes. If there was one thing I still knew after so much time away from Citadel, it was how to read people, and he…he was an open book so far as I was concerned.

He knows, but he keeps it from the others

I looked around at the crowd of Separatists, the crowd that had just now been made to believe that their leaders, that those they followed to the ends of the Earth, were heroes.

"A lot has happened today. We have turned against each other, and we must never allow that to happen again. We're family, and we must stay a family."

He continued to speak, and I noticed something then, something at his side—his blade, recently bloodied. So what? I asked myself. He just probably killed a Fire Nation soldier on his way out. As I looked him and Longshot over, however, and the time in which they had gotten here, so soon after us, bearing no signs of struggle, it didn't seem right. Something…something wasn't right. There was something more to it all.

And I believed I knew.

"We cannot allow ourselves to fall apart. It's not what Kiu, it's not what…what Boss, or any of the others who gave their lives for us would have wanted. We owe it to them, to keep on standing. To keep on fighting."

Behind him, the bay door of The Patriot began grinding open, and Jet continued.

"I know that we are not the same without Kiu. We never will be."

It opened further, the fringes of the darkness within pouring out, in stark contrast to the man who stood in front.

"But I promise you all, that we will come back from this. We will honor the legacy of Kiu and the others and become who we were aways meant to be."

The darkness within the Patriot revealed itself as the boarding ramp lowered even further.

"Today, despite everything that happened back there, the Fire Nation learned something. They learned that when the harder they squeeze, they harder we push back. And we…we will continue to teach them that lesson."

A cheer in the crowd, accompanied by the contact of the boarding bay ramp against the ground where we stood, immediately behind Jet.

"We…we are all that is left, but from this, we will become stronger!"

A final cheer, and the hiss of the ship hydraulics coming to a stop.

No, I thought to myself as I watched him. You're not all that's left. You…you are the enemy. I looked back at those around me: At Gordez where he rested on his knees on the ground, at Zek and Jadoh who held him up, at Ka'lira who stood by Zek, a resting hand on his arm, and beside me, watching Jet with equally disdainful eyes, Zare. And we…we are in the Hornet's nest. Earlier, I had asked myself what was left, what more there was to fight for, and now, now I knew. I wasn't alone. Not anymore. This was it. This is why I fight for, and we…we are all that is left.

End of Book III