Chapter 66: Cost of Freedom (3)

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A/N: I'm saying now, do not freak out. It is not genderbent and there is a reason why I wrote things later.

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"I hate the smell."

"Of course, ya fuckin' idiot! These are the sewers filled with shit! You expect the smell of roses, do ya?"

"Hey, keep it down."

"Nobody's gonna check this shit hole so don't worry."

"Talk about retribution. Just the smell is one of the hurdles to Freedom!"

"Don't talk of freedom so lightly. What would a newbie like you know of the costs to attain it?"

Nik could hear the hushed whispers, a few rambunctious laughter, and even the chittering mice through the sewer pipeline as he held back the nauseous feeling and walked through the gunk while covering his nose and mouth with a handkerchief.

He didn't need to get close to the group quite possibly responsible for the most recent havoc in the Chay Thang Colony above but he was still curious to understand their goals. Of course, there was a sick sensation in his stomach when he thought of the injured and corpses above but there was only sympathy in Nik's mind and not anger. Who knows, the dead may have another chance at life, too?

Although a selfish approach, Nik found that this was simply it for him. He couldn't feel angry in the civilians' stead. But he wasn't going to enter a retrospective state in the middle of a sewer. But the idle thought did give him an idea.

Slowing down, Nik began to concentrate and move his hand, and finally, the surrounding sludge began to part and was pulled from his boots and clothes, too.

"Yeah, that's right. I may be the first sludge bender," he huffed in relief as the next stretch became easier to traverse and safer, too. After all, the risk of accidentally slipping and falling into a shitty trail was now at its lowest.

Instead of pushing it outwards, Nik bent the contents of the sewer past him and walked forward at a moderate pace. He was nearby and by now many things were clear.

Finally, he reached the section lit by torches as Nik stopped bending the sludge and quickly swiped the wall and stuck next to it. Leaning a bit forward, Nik found a small group waiting by the corner. The flickering flames of the torches made it harder to make true of details but he could see a thin, lanky figure standing on a raised platform of a sort while someone began, with a grunt.

"Jet, what should we do next? Our stock of Exploding Jelly is almost out and its production has been limited after the war. And you stole the last of it from the mines of the colony. What next?"

"The war never ended," Nik finally registered a cold voice, "It only changed from the battlefields of the Earth Kingdom to their colonies."

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"How can they consider colonies and the innocent civilians as enemies? What wrong did they do?" Katara growled, her gaze landing on a yellowed poster with the image of a sharp-looking youth printed on it. The words on the paper stated— Leader of the Terrorist Group Freedom Fighter, Jet.

Currently, Katara and Suki were seated within an earthen room. Two potted plants by the circular window filled the room with a fresh scent and opposite to them was a middle-aged woman with slightly lower cheekbones and her most defining feature happened to be a scar from her left cheek to chin.

She regarded Katara and Suki calmly, brushing off Katara's anger, too, and began, "As travelers, you were not obligated to help us. But young waterbender, you did help us. Thank you for that. Because of you, the Colony was able to lower its losses... from those who could be saved.

But not everyone is saved. Jet, here, is a product of hatred. It is said that his village was burnt and destroyed by a group of firebenders, at least, one of them should be a firebender."

The woman happened to be the mayor of the colony and she explained what she knew, or what she wanted the two to know.

Katara frowned hearing this. After the first few major attacks towards all the other nations during the first four decades of the war, the Fire Nation had begun to stabilize their territories thoroughly and that had induced more pain and bloodshed than the actual war. This cleansing had caused many innocents to suffer the plight of fire and those who survived were only able to do so with a hole dug through loss and pain in their hearts.

"Is there something we can do to help? There should be some news on the leader of the Freedom Fighters," Suki inquired, "And how do they have such explosives in their hands?"

"They stole from Chay Thang," the woman replied, "We have developed a few mines but the resources from these mines are barely noteworthy. Instead, we decided against wasting the exploding jelly but it was stolen a week ago right after the Fire Lord Iroh passed by the colony. He was passing through a nearby colony and many wished to see him so the security of the colony wasn't a pleasant sight to bear."

"Why didn't you destroy those compounds?" Katara frowned and Suki looked at her.

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"Why would I knowingly act in a manner that inflicts harm to the colony's financial interest?" The Mayor retorted, a hint of annoyance flashing through her gaze, too.

"Anyway, the Colony appreciates your assistance but we won't be requiring it again. Although I have gotten old, I won't tolerate these acts and will be assembling a small team of benders to finally respond to the threat the Freedom Fighters have turned into," the woman snarled with her fingertips lighting up in flames, "and crush them!" she hissed, clenching her fists and the flames turned into smoke.

Katara looked at her hands for a moment with her weariness barely concealed and she nodded, "Thank you for letting us know about the situation and waving off the entrance fee."

Suki stood up, too. Just when the girls turned, they heard the mayor's laugh, "Young Waterbender, you think all who bend fire are evil?"

The duo's bodies stiffened up as Katara turned around and shook her head with a complicated expression.

"I used to... but now, I think, those who are capable of hurting others... are not restricted to firebenders. Anyone can be wrong... and I'm too short-sighted to understand the concept itself."

The woman narrowed her eyes at Katara's words and soon chuckled, "Looks like you really want to believe it, huh. Well, believing in something is oftentimes the first step of acceptance."

With that, the mayor didn't hold the two any longer and the duo walked out of her office and walked down the residential area of the colony to reach the marketplace again. Although the rubble had been cleared up and the structures were already repaired mostly, the signs of loss couldn't be more apparent on the faces of the civilians.

"Do you think she is trying to do the same thing as Ukano?" Suki finally stated her doubt. Ukano's revelation was simply too grave for the two women as his acts had bordered the dangerous territory of relinquishing the free will of the innocents. The Mayor of the colony, too, sheltered children without any support, and the main cause of this was none other than the Freedom Fighters. They had yet to see a village where the fire nation soldiers would forcefully take away the toddlers but this could be because of the fact that the reach of Fire Nation towards the south wasn't as prominent as the North and the west.

Omashu may as well have been a major outpost for the Phoenix King to see through his plans but the successful intervention of the 'Avatar' had stopped the schemes earlier than a point of no return.

"I don't know," Katara mumbled, "Why would the fire nation want to hurt its own civilians? They may have Earthbenders amidst them but all of them as the citizens of Fire Nation... makes me wonder what happened to the Northern Tribe and what will happen to the Southern Tribe in the future."

"Don't worry, Aang will put a stop to all of this eventually..." Suki spoke up but her expression spoke of uncertainty. It was clear that the longer they spent time in the real world and realized how 'grey' it was, the less they believed that the boy was ready to face a few harsh realities.

"It looks you're trying to believe it. Good, it's the first step to acceptance," Katara nodded and mimicked the mayor, making Suki chuckle, "Good one."

"Now," Katara took a deep breath, "Where is Nik?"

"He said he found a trail and would return shortly..." Suki grumbled, "And I'm hungry..."

"And he has our rations, and equipments... great," Katara rolled her eyes.

"Do you think he got caught?" Katara finally inquired with a frown, admitting that she indeed felt a bit worried as Suki crossed her arms, "I taught him better to be caught."

---

"Who are you?"

Nik looked at the wary crowd. The flickering light would make many feel dizzy after being present in such an ambiance and the smell didn't help at all.

In the middle and right in front of him stood a relatively petite figure. A woman, Nik realized. She was the one called Jet. Facing her inquiry, Nik could only remain silent for a moment and when she pulled out a short knife, he smiled wryly, "I wanted to join you guys. I saw the three of them rushing into the sewers before the explosion."

His words caused others to flinch.

"Don't you fool us! I saw you! You're that waterbender who almost attacked me!" A thin youth shrieked as Nik rolled his eyes, "But I didn't. I let you escape, remember? I'm a waterbender. My village was sacked by those fire nation assholes. Let me in! I can do much more with you guys!"

Nik claimed with a serious expression as he matched Jet's icy stare.

She turned her face to look at a tall man wearing a conical hat. The duo only stared at each other for a few seconds and she nodded, "Fine, you can join us... only if you bring the head of the mayor of this Colony. She's a firebender who was once a soldier under the Fire Lord Iroh's command. She caused destruction and left our people in pain. Kill her."

Nik frowned for a moment and then nodded, "I was hoping for something more... widespread," he mumbled under his breath with a reluctant expression. Instead of causing worry, his words only made the woman feel relieved under the mask but she almost felt unreal when Nik added, "Let me tell you something. I won't spare the Earthbenders, too. They took the name of Fire Nation, they must also face the consequences of betrayal."

"Good, untie him," Jet nodded.

Once Nik was untied, Jet continued, "Remember, once you kill the mayor, there will be no turning back. You will give your life to the cause. It is the cost we bear to recover our freedom!"

While Nik did nod, he felt strangely disgusted by the notion. It was as if something within him just... threw up.

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