Waking Up

At first, Jet felt nothing. There was no up nor down. There was no sound nor silence. There was just nothing.

Just.

Nothing.

Then he felt the grass sway beneath him and the wind play over his face.

Come on, Jet, get your head on straight. You're the leader of the Freedom Fighters, so let's go!

Jet opened his eyes and bolted up from his flat pose, looking around wildly. As far as he could see, there was only a great sea of grass rolling over the horizon and a bright, cloud-filled sky seeming to fill the air around him. The grass rippled lullingly as the wind caressed and curled its fingers through each blade. Jet could see little flowers speckled here and there, adding little flecks of color to the ocean of green around him. It was an idyllic scene that could have brought joy to the one viewing it, if that one were not Jet.

The only problem for him here, though, was that he could not remember how he gotten to his current residence.

Think, man, think! What was the last thing you remember?

He remembered running into Katara in Ba Sing Se. He remembered going with the Avatar and his friends to Lake Laogai. He remembered throwing off the freaky compulsion Long Feng had put on him and turning to atta-

Jet froze.

He remembered hurling his hook sword at Long Feng. He remembered the earth strike. He remembered the feeling of ribs snapping and something painfully being punctured. He remembered the rest of the Avatar's friends arriving with his Freedom Fighters. He remembered telling Katara and her friends to get out while they still could, that he would be fine. He remembered Smellerbee and Longshot standing guard over him while he lay there, waiting for everything to end. Smellerbee had cried the whole time and stroked his forehead, until...

He remembered dying.

Jet looked down at the grass in confusion. Was this what happened when you died? You got sent to some huge grassland?

Would he be out here, all alone, for eternity?

:: Eternity will last as long as you choose, little boy. ::

Jet looked up again, wondering where the words had come from. He had heard them, but not physically; it was as if someone else were thinking inside his could someone else think inside his own head?

When you're dead, I guess all sorts of freaky things happen...Like appearing in the middle of a lousy field.

In the blink of an eye, the wind started to shove up against him and the grass no longer extended for miles in every direction. Jet whirled around wildly, hoping to gain sense of where he belonged in this changing mess. He only discovered that a few yards in front of him, the grass stopped and only open sky extended outward. More clouds floated lazily by, but otherwise the emptiness stretched beyond.

Jet stood stock still, pondering his situation. For some reason, despite the fact that the landscape had just undergone a fairly drastic alteration, he wasn't afraid. He was dead, yet aware; he was conscious, yet another being was thinking inside his head. He decided that, in one of his trademark rash and ill-thought-out moves, anything was possible here, and that he was going to investigate as much as he could.

Slowly, inch by inch, Jet moved toward the edge. The wind pushed harder as he got closer, whipping at his hair and tugging at his body to the point of pain. As he reached the edge, he peered over cautiously before instantly gaining a severe case of vertigo.

There was nothing but clouds dotting the blue sky below, just as there was above him. Jet wasn't normally afraid of heights, but fear struck him now when he couldn't even see if there was ground below him. It was just blue sky and white clouds, extending forever. Jet wondered what would happen if he just let himself slip over the edge. Would he fall and never hit the ground? Would he float? Would he reappear on his own private field?

:: That would not be wise, little boy. Unless one has wings, one should not attempt to walk the sky. ::

Again, thoughts sounded inside Jet's head, and he scooted back from the edge of the grass to look around. He froze in shock as a huge, serpentine mass suddenly shot up from below, creating a huge, ground-shaking noise, like that of the sails from a hundred refugee ships when they had just caught the wind. It was as if the Avatar was airbending him into the grass and dirt, and Jet was powerless against the strength of it as he was flattened to the ground.

Suddenly, the rushing air ceased. Jet pushed himself up, trying to scramble to his feet. Whatever had gone flying by was gone as quickly as it had come. Was it going to come back? Would it attack him? Could a dead person even die again?

Jet's scrambling was unexpectedly met with emptiness. In his haste to get up, he'd lurched forward too far and stepped out over the edge of the grass. But it was too late. He tried to turn back, but he'd overbalanced and was pitching forward into the endless sky below. There was just enough time for him to think about how dumb he was for not paying attention to the edge, but before he got very far he was quickly jerked to a stop by the back of his collar. It pulled tight against his throat, choking off his breath for a moment before yanking him backward to send him sprawling on the grass. Jet spluttered and coughed, his eyes squeezed tightly shut and fingers gripping the grass tenaciously. After a few minutes of ragged breathing, his gulps for air evened out, and he opened his eyes.

Two large, yellow eyes stared into his from over a huge, golden muzzle. Giant, ribbed antlers, curved near the ends, jumbled up with huge white fangs and polished golden scales. Tendril-like whiskers moved gently with the breeze, leading up to flaring nostrils that poured breath smelling of bitter smoke. Jet gaped in a blatant astonishment as he groped after words that he had suddenly lost.

:: Did I not warn you? Such soft and fleshy creatures like yourself would not fare well in the endless skies here. ::

The words spoke themselves within Jet's head as he stared, wide-eyed, at the gigantic sight before him. The dragon stared back for a moment before rolling its catlike eyes and giving a puff of smoke from its nostrils. It moved with all the grace and danger of a lizardsnake to wind itself around the miniscule human boy in a large, slightly distant loop.

Taking the opportunity while he had it, Jet rose slowly from his flat position to take in the full power of the dragon.

An honest-to-god, fully grown dragon lay around him in a huge, lazy coil. It had reared back its head, curving its neck turtleswan fashion, and its five-toed talons were casually crossed on the ground in front of its golden chest. Jet pivoted as his eyes followed the serpentine body, his gaze marveling at the gleaming scales that overlapped one another like a lizardsnake's and the endless folds of leathery wings. He turned fully around to see a two more legs with more talons and a tapering, whip-like tail with an incredibly fluffy tuft of bronze fur at the end, which twitched thoughtfully.

:: I am indeed a fine specimen, but come now. It is unseemly to stare so long. ::

Jet looked back to the dragon's face to find it... smiling? The ends of its wide mouth were certainly curving upwards, and there was a twinkle in its eyes that hinted at sharp, witty humor. Such a strange sight startled the words into Jet's conscious mind.

"You're the voice inside my head?"

Again, the dragon's eyes rolled, and the smile faded. It made a noise that could have been an exasperated puff.

:: You are rather dim-witted, are you not? Very well, I shall use small words that even a simpleton might understand. ::

Jet became indignant at the condescending color of the thoughts and at being called dumb. Before considering the consequences of antagonizing a dragon in the afterlife, he blurted, "Hey! Who're you calling stupid? I'm the leader of the Freedom Fighters, feared by the Fire Nation! I've-"

:: Attacked innocent bystanders in the name of freedom, slaughtered unsuspecting soldiers for personal vengeance, and committed other minor wrongs that include, but are not limited to, lying, theft, slander, instigating violence, armed robbery, and destruction of private and public property. Yes, I am well aware of who you once were, Jet of the Freedom Fighters. ::

The dragon's head came close, and its lips lifted to show a little of the razor teeth, quickly becoming all menace. Jet unconsciously stepped back, and wondered if this was how a pygmy rabbiroo felt when faced with a full-grown saber-toothed mooselion.

:: Believe me, such things do not impress me. A hatchling like you must show respect to its elders or risk being reprimanded most harshly. ::

The dragon bared more of its fangs, but Jet stood his ground out of pride, despite the rise of fear from the pit of his stomach. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.

Think, man. What would you have done with these odds in a raid?

Jet surveyed his opponent once more, taking stock of his options.

He's so much bigger, and I have no weapons...If only Longshot were here! Where's your team when you need them, anyway...?

Jet looked the dragon in the eye for only a flicker of a moment before dropping his gaze in defeat.

"Alright, alright..." Jet mumbled, refusing to acknowledge the blow his pride had taken at being forced to surrender.

The dragon continued to bare its fangs in a menacing snarl, and words tinged red with anger appeared in his mind.

:: This is the second time you have not heeded a warning of mine. For such disrespect, I should tear you to shreds and scatter your entrails as a feast for the Yao Guai! ::

The last few words were accompanied by a low growl that rose quickly in volume, and the dragon reared its head up.

:: It is lucky for you that I am very forgiving, so your punishment shall not be so severe. Do not think for a moment, though, little human, that what I am about to do is a reward in any way for your foolishness. ::

Jet was having a hard time hiding his fear. He could see the dragon flexing its claws and the attached muscles rippling with deadly strength. It took everything he had not to flinch when the dragon slowly lifted one paw.

:: I will give you one last warning. After this, you must earn such valuable advice from me through your own efforts. My warning is this. Learn what true freedom is, and defend it. If you do not, you will know true death. ::

The dragon's raised paw suddenly struck with the speed of lightning, slamming into Jet with breathtaking force. He went flying over the edge of the grass into the empty sky in a high arc, barely realizing he was going up before he began his downward plummet. It felt as if he was only floating, and only the shrinking cliff edge above and his wildly whipping hair and clothing told him otherwise.

He twisted around sharply, his panic-filled mind wondering what was going to happen. There was now ground far below him, and as he rapidly approached it, he picked out the enormous wall of Ba Sing Se encircling the hugely sprawling city. For a brief moment, he saw a giant metal cylinder that seemed to have pierced the wall and was resting partly inside and outside of it. He caught a brief glimpse of the Fire Nation symbol on top before he lost sight of it.

Looking down again, he saw the ground was fast approaching and flailed wildly in a futile effort to slow down his fall. Now a wide roof in disrepair filled his field of vision, and he yelled in fear as he...

Passed right through it and landed in his own body.

Irako's Author's Note: Thank you for reading the first chapter in our fanfiction, Jet's Return! We hope you enjoyed it.

I'd like to thank VerrucktVerruckt for agreeing to be my coauthor on this. So far, it's turning out way better with her than it would have if I was doing this alone. She's very talented and it's been lots of fun working everything out with her.

I personally really like Jet's character and couldn't bear the thought of him being ambiguously disposed of in a secret underwater lair, so came up with the idea for this fanfic. In it, we hope to explore Jet's character more thoroughly as we put him through the wringer.

Oh, yeah, Yao Guai is a little twist on the pinyin for demon in Chinese. Here, they're supposed to be low-level demons in the Spirit World that are kind of like hyenas because they're scavengers and gather in packs. They're not too dangerous unless there's a lot of them ganging up on one spirit.

Here's to hoping you'll stick with us through this fic!

Verruckt's Author Note: I'd also like to thank the readers for starting to follow a (hopefully) long journey of beautiful proportions. I've greatly enjoyed writing the first chapter with Irako, as coauthorship is a new experience for me, and I owe it to her for coming up with the beautiful tale and giving me someone to discuss a piece of writing with; it's been a truly fulfilling experience that I know will continue. I hope all of you stick out the tale with us and grow with it as I know we will.

If you wish to contact me, you can reach me at my E-Mail (verrucktverruckt at gmail dot com) or through my FanFiction account at www dot fanfiction dot net slash~verrucktverruckt