The Freedom Fighters

-Zuko's Point of View-

It took a while before my uncle could answer my last question. "Before she went missing, was there news about her marrying someone and having kids with him?" I asked. Uncle crossed his brows and answered, "No. There was no such news. In fact, no romances occurred with her. She was known to be very strict and menacing. Fire Lord Azulon tried to look for a perfect suitor and introduced her to various noblemen in the fire nation, but she turned them all down."

I never thought in my entire life that I would get to catch my uncle lying in front of my face. I glared at him and he stared at me right in the eyes.

"So, she was lonely..." I said. "No one knew what was running inside her head, not even me," he replied. "But why did she go missing and how?" I asked. "No one knew how, she was last seen in her room going to sleep and the next morning she wasn't there. Father commanded all the greatest soldiers to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found," he answered.

It seems like Master Anika was indeed the mysterious type. But still, how can I trust that uncle is saying the whole truth? Now that I know that some of what he has told me are lies, how can I trust that he doesn't really know how she went missing?

"I think that's enough talk about Anika, and in fact, I would appreciate it if we don't talk about her ever again." Uncle suddenly said as he stood up. "But there are a lot more things I want to know," I replied. "You don't need to know who she is Prince Zuko, you can still learn lightning generation without information of the master's past. I'll help you." he continued.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Pai Sho game waiting," he added and then he left the room.

Something tells me that what I've been told are complete lies.

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-Maya's Point of View-

"WALKING STINKS! How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?" Aang suddenly complained as we were walking.

It has been three hours since we started the journey on foot and to be honest, it is not quite fun and enjoying and relaxing compared to when we're flying.

"Well, I don't know Aang... Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts? They seem to know everything." Katara teased. "Ha-Ha very funny," Sokka replied sarcastically.

Ugh... whatever I'm too tired to even try and stop them

"I'm tired of carrying this pack," Aang complained once more. "You know who you should ask to carry it for a while? Sokka's instincts!" Katara teased once more. "Katara stop--" I tried to stop her from teasing Sokka any further but Aang cut me off.

"That's a great idea! Hey! Sokka's instincts, would you mind--" Aang said trying to tease Sokka as well. "OKAY! OKAY! I get it!" Sokka cuts him off whilst sounding irritated. He looked back at us while walking and said, "Look guys, I'm tired too." then he parted a big bush that was in the way and continued, "But the important thing is that we're safe from the... fire... nation..." Sokka's voice suddenly went down as he looked forward and realized that we stepped into a fire nation soldier's camp.

All of us were astounded and frozen in place as we saw all the fire nation soldiers staring back at us. Suddenly, Sokka shouted, "RUN!" and dropped all of the things he was carrying to the ground. We hurriedly copied what he did and follow after him. We were about to escape behind another tall bush but one fire nation soldier lit it on fire.

"We're cut off!" Sokka shouted. I looked at him and I noticed that his left sleeve was on fire. "Sokka your shirt!" I yelled and as I was about to use my hands to put the fire out, Katara waterbends the water inside our drinking jug and used it to put the fire out of Sokka's sleeve.

I suddenly noticed that we were surrounded by fire nation soldiers and there was no where to run. All four of us formed a circle and tried to get as far away as we can from them. One soldier, which I think is the chief, took a step forward.

"If you let us pass we promise not to hurt you." Sokka suddenly said while shielding us with his arms. "What are you doing?" Katara asked in a whisper. "Bluffing??" Sokka replied nervously.

"You—promise not to hurt us?" the chief bluffingly asked before suddenly falling down to the ground out of nowhere. All of us looked at it shockingly while Aang said, "Nice work Sokka! How'd you do that?" to which Sokka replied, "Uhh... Instinct?"

"Look!" Katara suddenly shouted while pointing up at the trees. We all looked to where she was pointing and there we saw a guy who drew out two tiger hook swords from his back and used those to jump down from the tall tree.

He landed on top of two fire nation soldiers and threw down two more as he was getting closer to us. "Down you go," he said arrogantly.

I've got to admit he is kinda cool looking, as well as the vibes he gives off—and he sure does know how to fight.

Just then another fire nation soldier tried to attack him from behind but he was quick to dodge and strike back.

"They're on the trees!" one fire nation soldier shouted. Suddenly a small-looking fella dropped down on his head and covered his eyes with his fire nation helmet. Followed by that was a rain of arrows from another guy who was clinging upside down on the trees. Then one by one many people started coming down from the trees and started attacking the soldiers. Before I knew it, the whole place was already a battlefield.

"C'mon, guys! We've got to help!" Katara shouted and then she and Aang went to help fight the soldiers. Sokka drew out his sword and just as I was about to attack alongside him— he suddenly turned around and said, "You stay here Maya." and then he ran off.

"But I want to help!" I shouted but he didn't hear me. I was left alone near the burning bush and just as I was about to go somewhere safe a fire nation soldier came running towards me. He was about to swing his sword at me when an arrow hit him on the helmet and then he fell to the ground.

I looked up at the tree that was in front of me and there I saw a tall guy with a wide cone-shaped hat—he was looking down on me. "Can you climb?" he asked. "Yes!" I hurriedly replied and then went on to climb the tree he was sitting on. He helped me climb up and now we're both on top of a branch.

After that, he just kept on shooting his arrows and targeting fire nation soldiers. I just watched him and everyone else fights while I'm here... sitting on a tree... doing absolutely nothing.

"Here." he suddenly said and handed me a bow and arrow. I looked at him and said, "But I don't know how to—" I tried to tell him that I have no idea how to use it but then he suddenly left and jumped onto another tree branch.

I tried to figure out how to use it by watching him from a distance. "Seems easy enough," I said to myself as he shoot the arrow towards a soldier. I tried to copy what he did.

I positioned the arrow on the bow and tried to look for a target. From a distance, I saw that a soldier was about to hit Aang so I hurriedly point the arrow at him and shoot my shot while my eyes are closed.

Luckily it hit the soldier on the helmet and he fell down to the ground just at the right time Aang turned back to look.

"Nice shot Maya!" Aang shouted. "Look out!" a girl's voice said and when I turned to my left I saw a spear from one of the fire nation soldiers spinning towards where I was. I tried to dodge it but in the process, I lost my balance and fell from the tree branch. Luckily, a small petite girl was there to catch me and helped me down safely. "Thanks!" I said to her. She just glared at me in return and walked away.

She doesn't seem to be friendly I guess...

Little by little all the fire nation soldiers started fleeing in fear that they'll be hurt until one soldier was left and it was facing off with the arrogant guy. We all stood by to watch him fight.

He managed to defeat the last soldier and as he was about to be thrown to the ground, he quickly ran to keep his balance and stopped just right in front of Katara.

"Hey..." he said. "Hi..." Katara replied with a faint blush on her cheeks. With the last soldier fleeing the place, we looked at the now empty camp that used to be filled with fire nation jocks just a few minutes ago.

Aang, Sokka, and I walked toward Katara and the guy and stood beside them. "You just took out a whole army almost single-handed!" Aang exclaimed. "Army?! Pft—there were only like... 20 guys!" Sokka contradicted.

The arrogant guy suddenly walked a few steps away from us and then he said, "My name is Jet and these are my freedom fighters." One by one his fellow men walked towards us as he introduced them.

"This one is Sneers and next to him is Longshot." Jet said while pointing at the chubby guy with a bob cut and the guy who handed me a bow and arrow.

Longshot huh, what a unique name. He also looks like the silent type. A man of few words.

"The one with many swords is Smellerbee—and the two here are The Duke and Pipsqueak." Jet continued the introduction. Aang suddenly walked closer to the last two introduced and said, "Pipsqueak... haha! That's a funny name," then he looked at the little fella who was smaller than him.

Suddenly the big buff guy looked down on Aang, "You think my name is funny?" he said in a very deep voice. All four of us were shocked and so was Aang, but he suddenly said, "It's hilarious!"

I was the one who was ashamed of what he said. This kid seriously doesn't have an ounce of shame in him. Pipsqueak looked at him seriously for a good 3 seconds and then he laughed loudly. Aang laughed alongside him and then suddenly he hit Aang on the nape making him fall to the ground but he was still laughing.

"My name is Katara. This is my brother Sokka, and my cousin Maya." Katara introduced us. "Hi." I timidly replied and then Sokka said, "Yeah whatever." Aang suddenly jolted up and shouted, "My name is Aang! Nice to meet you Jet!" and then Jet nodded his head while looking at Aang. "It's a pleasure to meet you too—" he said and then he looked at Katara, "all of you..." he continued.

I took a quick glance at Katara and I noticed her cheeks having a faint blush. Jet suddenly turned to his freedom fighters and shouted, "Alright guys, let's pack up this camp. Search for anything you think can be useful or can be consumed. Let's make sure that they will never even try coming back to this place."

One by one the freedom fighters roamed around the camp searching and rummaging for stuff and placed them on their wagons.

I saw Longshot sitting around the campfire pit on a log. He was polishing his arrows as well as the other weapons they found. I wanted to properly say my thanks to him so I sat down beside him with the bow in hand.

"So, you're name is Longshot huh," I said. He looked at me and then he continued with what he was doing. I was right... He is a man of few words.

"Uhm... I wanted to give this back." I said while handing over the bow. "You know, I don't really know how to use them. I just watched you do your thing, and for someone reason, I was able to hit one soldier a while ago." I continued to say with a faint laugh. He still didn't say a word. I slowly placed the bow on the log beside him. "I would also like to thank you for helping me out there. I could've been in danger if it wasn't for you." I said.

He still didn't give a reply nor even looked at me. Geez, this guy is hard to reach out to. He's really silent. "Thank you Longshot," I said and then I left.

I walked towards Katara and stood beside her. "These people sure do know what they're doing huh? As if it wasn't their first time." I said, but she wasn't looking at me so I tried getting her attention. "Katara? Hello?" I said. I was just about to wave my hand in front of her face but she suddenly walked away.

"What is wrong with that girl?" I asked myself. I looked at the direction she was going and there I saw Jet who was leaning on a tree.

Oh okay... I see what's happening here. Katara definitely has a thing for that freedom fighter. I followed behind Katara just so I can hear what they are gonna talk about. I don't trust that Jet guy.

"Uhm... Thanks for saving us Jet. We're lucky you were there." Katara shyly said. "I should be thanking you. We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning. We just needed the right distraction and you guys stumbled in." Jet replied. "We were relying on instincts..." Katara said while looking at Sokka. I looked back and saw Sokka staring at us from a distance with his brows crossed. I think he's not happy about Jet either.

"You'll get yourself killed doing that." Jet teased at Katara's reply. I saw Sokka walk away so I followed behind him. I saw him sitting down in front of a tree.

"Hey, tough guy. You seem down—what's on your mind?" I asked. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," he answered. "Oh come on. You can lie better than that." I teased. He rolled his eyes and then he said, "It's that Jet guy. I just have a gut feeling that we shouldn't trust him."

I looked at Sokka seriously and gave what he said a thought. Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this Jet guy as well. I don't know what it is but I have a feeling he and his fellas are up to no good.

"Hey, Jet! These barrels are filled with blasting jelly." I heard The Duke shout from a distance. "That's a great score," Jet replied. "And these boxes are filled with jelly candy!" Pipsqueak continued. "Also good. Let's not get those mixed up." Jet answered once again.

"We'll take these stuff back to the hideout." The Duke said as they one by one loaded the barrels and boxes on the wooden cart. "You guys have a hideout?" Aang asked. "You wanna see it?" Jet replied. "Yes! We wanna see it!" Katara exclaimed. Jet looked at him sweetly and then he said, "Alright guys, pack things up. We're heading back to the hideout."

"C'mon Sokka, Maya, let's go see the hideout!" Aang exclaimed to Sokka and me, who were sitting on the ground, as he and Katara follows behind Jet.

Before standing up I grabbed Sokka by the shoulder and whispered, "There's something I'm feeling too about that Jet guy. I don't trust him that easily, but I don't think we should be quick to judge," then I smiled at Sokka. I stood up and reached out my hand to him. "C'mon, let's go see that hideout," I said. He smiled back and then he grabbed my hand. I helped him stand up and then we followed behind everyone else.

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-Zuko's Point of View-

I kept on rereading the letter about Maya and Master Anika. Guessing from how I met Maya on the south pole, she must've probably been raised there... But there's still a lot I want to know! Why did Master Anika flee to the south pole? When and how did Master Anika die? Why were Uncle and his friends looking for her? Who is Maya's father and why is Master Anika keeping her away from the fire nation?

"UGH!!!! THERE ARE JUST SO MANY QUESTIONS AND VERY FEW ANSWERS!" I shouted while tossing and turning on top of my bed.

I calmed down after a few seconds and read through the letter once more. I suddenly remembered the necklace that Maya has, the royal emblem of the fire nation.

"That kind of necklace is only worn by those who are betrothed in the royal palace," I mumbled to myself.

I think her father is somehow a nobleman as well, but who? Who could it be? I stared blankly at the piece of paper before suddenly throwing it to the ground with a loud grunt.

"FORGET IT! WHY AM I EVEN WASTING MY TIME TRYING TO FIGURE YOU OUT?!" I shouted once more.

Finding the Avatar is what's more important! I have to keep myself focused! Enough of this nonsense about this Master Anika and Maya! It's all driving me crazy!

I should just be focusing on capturing the Avatar and bringing him back home. Anyway, Maya is not related to Mom, so that settles it. I have no interest in her anymore and she's of no use.

I calmed myself down once more and sat down on top of the bed. I slowly looked at the tossed piece of the letter in the corner of the room and said to myself, "But why is it that I somehow feel that there is something that I need to know about this girl and that there is something about her that is connected to me in a way?"

Ugh! I shouldn't be thinking of this! STOP IT ZUKO! ENOUGH! FORGET ABOUT THIS! FORGET IT!

I clenched my palms against my head trying to not think about the matter. I let out a big sigh as lift my head up and saw armor. "Maybe I should go and have some firebending workout," I said to myself. I stared at it for a few seconds before finally deciding to have a short firebending practice.

I wore my training clothes and headed out to the ship's dock, but while walking, my mind is still clouded by all the mysteries I'd discovered. I let out a big sigh and tried to just think about the next move on taking the avatar.

So far the only lead we got is that he's heading to the north pole. We might as well just keep heading north. I'm sure we are bound to bump into each other from time to time. The world isn't that big.

"Let's focus on that Zuko" I mumbled to myself. "Prince Zuko? I thought you were already having an early rest?" I suddenly bumped into my uncle on my way out to the deck. "I need to clear my mind off of something, I'm gonna have a short practice," I replied timidly. I went on ahead outside, to the deck and then I started my practice.