Chapter Text
Jimmy woke up to a whole new environment to the one he fell asleep in. They were surrounded by trees with large, looming roots and branches that were covered with overhanging vines and draping leaves. The ground below them was damp and littered with leaves, and rushing rivers flowed beside them on either side. They were riding a lot slower, no faster than a walking pace.
“Oh you’re awake.” Scott whispered. “We only just arrived at the swamp about a mile ago. Impulse plans to hide our carriages in the trees somewhere, and then I have no idea what we’re going to do next. No one has any idea where to start looking… didn’t really think about that one.”
Scott was right. Up until now, it hadn’t occurred to Jimmy that they had come here without a plan of where to look for the watchers base. I mean, it had to be hidden, right? So that alone didn’t help. Then there was the very obvious fact that they were currently in the world's densest, most confusing maze of a biome and the chances of just finding their hideout out of the blue were so slim that it wasn’t even possible. It would take days alone just to find the thing, and they didn’t have days. They had hours at best, and it wouldn’t take that short of a time. Jimmy began to panic. How had he not thought of this? He was the leader, he had to think of everything, and yet he forgot the most important part of the mission; actually finding the captives.
With all his thinking, he hadn’t noticed Impulse making his way over to him on his horse.
“I see you’ve awoken from your slumber.” He giggled at his way of wording it, before quickly switching to a more serious face. “Anyways. I’m guessing Scott had told you about our problem. No one has any idea how or where to start and nobody’s willing to start looking. Any ideas?”
Jimmy really didn’t know. How on earth could they find it?
“I think we need to talk it through as a group. Nine minds are better than one so we should stop somewhere and discuss.” Impulse nodded, approaching the other carriage to give the instructions. Gosh, it was exhausting being a leader. Jimmy understood now that he hadn’t been missing out on much his whole life. Of course, it was nice to feel respected, but it was tiring having to make decisions that could determine the course of the whole mission. Lizzie and Pearl had been quite quiet the whole time; Jimmy guessed that was because of how heavy the situation was for Lizzie, but Pearl was a mystery to him. Maybe she just didn’t want to upset Lizzie anymore or maybe she was simply tired. Jimmy had caught her giving shy smiles and waves over in Gem’s direction, which had always been reciprocated. Jimmy didn’t want his friends to feel so burdened but it was what it was; he couldn’t really blame himself could he?
The group stopped off on a small side road from the main path that grian led them to, tying their horses to one of the many branches sticking out. They took the opportunity to eat some food, being careful not to eat too much, as they didn’t know how long they would be here for. They’d only packed enough for just over a day of what they were expecting, but of course anything could go wrong.
“Right,” Grian announced, “there must be an easy way to do this. The watchers won’t make it easy, but we have to find a way. We can eliminate the fact that it’s magic because I would say that they’re not that advanced. Hmmm… that means it’s a very practical entrance, like a hidden door or trapdoor, something like that. I think it’s very unwise for us to split up, as we have no immediate way of communication and the last thing any of us wants is to get lost here and go mad from loneliness.” Everyone hummed in agreement, shivers going down their spine from that situation.
“I think I’ve got an idea that could work.” Lizzie spoke up, one of the first things she said in a while. “I noticed this on our way into the swamp. The swamp is very damp… obviously. Meaning there’s a lot of water, and there must be certain evidence within that water. Whether that’s in the trees or the ground or-”
“Um… guys? Sorry to interrupt,” it was Skizz talking, “but, uh, I think I’ve found something.” Murmurs of shock and confusion went through the group. Lizzie looked over at Jimmy, and he whispered, “I liked your idea” giving her a wink, to which she returned with a smile. They walked over to a slightly more overgrown area near where they sat.
“What is it buddy?” Impulse asked. Skizz showed him over to a suspiciously hidden door of some sorts. No… it couldn’t be that easy. Right? No way they had just found the entrance to the place where Tango was. Oh and Joel too. It wasn’t possible. How could they have happened to have settled near it and why was it so obvious? It seemed to be a hatch of some kind, hidden by the overgrowth of the swamp; clearly not very well. Perhaps the owner of this base had been in a rush when covering it. How exactly they covered it, he didn’t know for sure.
“No way…” Martyn muttered. “This can’t be it right? This is just to mess with us for sure.”
“We should at least check… I mean, what if it is the base?” Lizzie asked. Hope was beginning to fill her eyes, and she looked brighter in all her features. The rest of the group were muttering sounds of agreement. It was obvious that they should check, but something in Jimmy’s gut was telling him that something wasn’t right.
“Someone should stay out here, just in case something happens and we can’t get out.” Jimmy suggested. Everyone else exchanged glances, unsure of who to volunteer. “I know that may seem like a bad idea at first but it means we’ll have someone up here who won’t be exposed to whatever’s down there. They can also warn us of threats from up here.”
“I really don’t think-”
“Grian please. I’m the leader here. I know it was your idea to come here but you’ve done nothing to help plan up until now. Let me decide on this one please.” That shut him up, and he went off to the carriage to gather weapons.
“I’ll do it.” They all looked at the owner of the voice, only to see Skizz.
“No way, buddy, you’re staying with me.” Impulse pulled Skizz into him and Skizz huffed, shoving his big brother away.
“Isn’t it safer out here though Impulse? You always told me to do what you think is best and I think this is best. I have no fighting or bending skills to help you down there and there’s likely more of a threat waiting than there is here. Conversation done, wassup, point to Skizz.” Impulse sighed, but more because he knew Skizz was right. Jimmy could see in his eyes that there was hesitation, a moment of not fully knowing what to do. His eyebrows creased, as he locked eyes with Skizz. For a brief second, Jimmy thought he saw tears in the man’s eyes; perhaps the thought of leaving Skizz on his own, for even just a moment, was too much. His expression softened and he smiled at his brother.
“Okay. It’s the best option, like you said. Just… stay in the carriage. Please. And don’t, no matter what you hear or see, come out.” Skizz nodded, pulling his brother into a rib-crushing hug, which he very eagerly reciprocated. Jimmy looked around the group and everyone had some kind of soft expression on their face. He locked eyes with Lizzie, who smiled at him in exchange. For the first time in this mission, they both seemed to realise how this affected them and their relationship.
The duo separated, and the group began to make their way down a fairly new looking ladder in the hole. Skizz went to hide in the carriage (“unintentionally” choosing the one with more food in it), and for a brief second, Jimmy saw a hint of fear in his face as he watched his brother lead the way down the ladder. Jimmy followed last, closing the hatch behind him. The hole was dark, and the ladder was cold and damp. Sounds of water dripping echoed around the walls, Jimmy’s fellow comrades deathly quiet. Once they all reached the bottom, they were greeted with a long, dark corridor, with various sized doors leading off to other hallways on the side.
“How in the four nations are we going to work out where to go?” Scott whispered.
“I think we just need to start off by trying the main hall; maybe it leads somewhere.” Jimmy suggested. “Then we can all split up and-”
“No. Splitting up is way too dangerous.” Grian said. “We’re safer as a group than on our own. Even if it takes longer, it’ll be better to stick together.” Jimmy didn’t fully agree. They could at least split into smaller groups of three. But, the group looked like they were more on board with that plan, so he decided to not interfere. It wasn’t very “leadership-like” but Jimmy wasn’t going to force anyone to do anything in this situation.
“We need to stay quiet though. We don’t know what to expect, and there could be watchers at any bend. We should at least split onto each side of the hallway to spread out slightly.” They agreed with that, walking flat against the wall, shuffling alongside it.
They made their way down the hallway, being careful to not run into any watchers. The ground became dryer the further they went, the floor cracked beneath them. The dripping had stopped, and the walls started to become more industrialised, with wooden panels and hanging torches. Each door was the same, and it allowed the group to slot into the frames to look ahead of the tunnel unnoticed.
As they walked, Jimmy found it weird how they had been so lucky to not run into any watchers yet. Surely they’d be heavily guarded? It made Jimmy feel more worried than secure, as he didn’t really know how to prepare for something that wasn’t there. The group silently tracked through the hallway, the amount of the doors on either side decreasing with every metre. The hallway itself wasn’t that long, but they were walking so slowly, so that they wouldn’t cause any notice; it was as if the group wasn’t there.
Eventually, it came to an end, and they stood before a door. Impulse, being at the front, was the one to try to open it. It clicked and opened with ease, making barely any noise. He turned around to seek Jimmy’s reaction, to which Jimmy responded with a nod. The group entered the room, only to be encased in complete darkness.
“I don’t get it.” Ren said. “This is completely empty.”
“This must be some random abandoned hideout because there’s not a single watcher here.” Scott said.
“You’d think so but the torches out there were lit. It can’t be fully abandoned so this has to be just some random guy’s tunnel place.” Pearl suggested. Jimmy had to agree. It was too docile to be the watchers' hideout, but there were too many oddities for it to be some ancient tunnels. Jimmy sighed.
“We should get out of here.” Just as he was about to turn and leave, a voice filled the room.
“I think you should stay.” The small screams of his friends followed, and before Jimmy managed to say anything, he was being shoved to the ground by someone, his arms forcefully tied behind his back. His knees throbbed from the pain of being forced onto the solid ground, and he felt a sharp pain in his upper leg.The room then dramatically lit up with flames, which revealed a circular room filled with weaponry of all sorts, armour and general decor. The room was dim, but Jimmy could just make out a throne type seat that stood at the centre of the back wall, and on it sat a finely dressed man. He wore a deep purple robe, which had a large hood that covered his face. He sat slumped, his leg crossed over the other, as if this was an average day in his life to capture the heirs of every kingdom. No. He hadn’t thought about that. How if everything went wrong, this was the future of their kingdoms gone. “Nice to finally meet you, Your Highness,” the one on the throne said, removing his hood to reveal his face. He had sharp features and dark hair, the pinnacle objectives for a fire bender, which explained the torches being suddenly lit.
“Wh-who are you?” Jimmy asked.
“You mean to say that you haven’t worked it out?” he responded. “We’re the Watchers of course. And you, my dear prince, have fallen into our trap.” Jimmy looked around to see all his friends tied down as well, each by their own captor. Most of them were struck by fear, but Martyn, Scott and Pearl all glared angrily at the perpetrators. Impulse had a scratch on his cheek, and Gem had an even larger scar down her arm, most likely the result of them fighting back.
As he turned back around, the one on the throne started to approach him. Jimmy could only assume that he was their “leader”- why else would you sit on a throne?
“How? How did you know? You can’t have known.” The man chuckled.
“Oh but we did. We’re not called watchers for no reason. We see and know everything; nothing is a surprise to us. He was now about a couple inches away from Jimmy’s face, bent down to look him in the eyes. His hand cupped Jimmy’s chin, and whilst he tried to resist, it was pointless. “I’ve known about you for a long time, Prince James Shadow of the Water Kingdom. You’re a lot more…” The man looked him up and down, “goodlooking than you were when you were seven.” Jimmy pulled a look of disgust, which only entertained the man even more. He heard movement and muttering directly behind him, which he knew to be Scott. Jimmy glared at the man in front of him.
“You can’t have known. We made all these plans within the walls of a very highly guarded, secure palace. There was no way for you to have heard.” The man chuckled yet again; it was really starting to get on Jimmy’s nerves how lighthearted he was making this situation seem.
“I mean, it helped that we had a man on the inside.” Jimmy’s eyes grew big.
“What? Who?” The leader backed away, looking directly into the face of someone behind Jimmy. As he turned around, he saw exactly who it was, as he walked to the side of the leader.
“It was always going to end like this Jim.” No… no no no. This had to be a trick.
“Grian?” The man himself smiled down at Jimmy, eyes locked. Except now, his eyes were glowing bright purple, and his smile was nastier.