Jet, Freedom Fighter, respected warrior,was crying. Weeping quietly as if someone had died. Jet blinked to clear his clouded vision, and suddenly knew that someone had ceased to exist. Himself.
Quietly, almost discreetly, he silenced the sobs and wiped his tears, but none of that seemed to erase the sadness in his soul.. A sorrow so deep and true, that he ached from the very power of it. As if a silencing, blinding veil had been lifted from his heart, he saw everything he had once been. A carefree child, surrounded by loving parents. This was followed by a charismatic, idealistic, risk-taking Freedom Fighter.
That man was dead.
As soon as he knew he was gone, deceased, he regretted betraying that beautiful waterbender... His beloved Katara. The moment she called him a monster, as soon as those hate-driven words passed her soft lips, he decided he wanted to change. He decided, right then and there, that he would show her his worth, no matter what. Life or death, he would prove to Katara, his Katara, that he wasn't the monster she'd accused him of being.
Years ago, when his parents, his only family, was ruthlessly killed, no, murdered, by the Rough Rhinos, his heart was ruptured, leaving him nearly emotionless. He didn't show this, though. He maintained a cocky attitude for his friends' sake, knowing that if he didn't have a lever head, they didn't either. When Katara came into his life...
He'd felt something- a feeling- toward her that he hadn't felt in so long... Love. He'd felt strangely empty after she left. He wanted, no, needed that warmth in his underbelly again. He'd been searching, quite desperately, for the love he'd felt, and he found it- the completion of his very being. Finally, just as his heart was ruptured once more- literally, along with half of his ribcage being shattered- he found that the object of his eye returned his affections.
As he continued to wait, though he didn't know for what, in the black abyss of seemingly nothingness, his sadness grew. Though he no longer felt the pain of his collapsed ribcage, he cried.
Why did I let this happen? he asked himself. How could I leave them-everyone- like this? What have I become?
Jet swallowed back a lump in his throat and tried again to clear the tears from his eyes. What was he crying for, or better yet, who? Where had these feelings come from, torturing his unbeating heart?
Katara deserved better, he informed himself bitterly. Someone stable, who'd always be there for her. Someone not like you.
He'd gone and gotten himself killed by a new enemy- Long Feng.
"Someone who'd love her." Jet whispered into the murky blackness.
"Love who?" The departed blinked, wondering how he'd missed that glowing figure before. He leaned forward slightly in a curl-up like gesture. A bright light was suspended far off in the distance, silhouetting a slim figure.. That of a woman.
"Katara." he murmured, wondering why he'd answered in the first place. A fresh pang of guilt swept over him, consuming his cold body. As strong and capable as he'd thought himself to be, the depth of sorrow that now surrounded him was nearly enough to destroy his very soul.
"Jet, I've been watching you." the woman's voice seemed to be quite monotone, never raising pitches. Something similar to a siren's one-noted song. Strange, yet.. Enticing. "The spirits have not been kind to you, my child. I think you deserve a change."
"Redemption?" another, slightly hunched, figure emerged from behind the seemingly flowing robes of the woman before himself.
"Redemption." she repeated the figure somberly, the light behind her slowly, but surely, fading.
"What?" Jet felt slightly panicked. Was redemption a good thing?
As if reading his thoughts, the taller figure spoke. "Do not be worried, boy."
"Boy?" snarled Jet. The last person who had called him that, was a drunken idiot in a bar- who'd gotten his ass kicked by the Freedom Fighters.
"Step forth, young one." The woman ignored his harsh tone.
"Why?" He searched about his body, looking for something to step on, in this abyss of midnight. He didn't understand how he was even standing... There seemed to be nothing about, and not even the faint glow behind the figures gave off enough light to penetrate more than a few feet.
"Do not be afraid." the hunched figure rasped, slinking behind the woman once more.
"I'm not afraid." He muttered indignantly, pressing his hands about the nothingness surrounding his body. Suddenly, without Jet's permission, his body lurched forward, and into a doubled-over standing position.
"Right yourself." The warrior did as he was told, wondering how many... Things, were staring at him. He though he could feel a strange presence around himself, but he couldn't be sure.
"Redemption?" he echoed her words, his gaze aligning with the space where he hoped the silhouette's eyes were. A soft gasp escaped his lips as the light fully dissapeared, not even an outline of the people.
"Redemption." a voice from behind him whispered against his neck. Jet did a quick turn on his heel, and without thinking, he threw out an arm to catch the figure. Instead, his arm hit emptiness, slicing cleanly through the air.
"Silly boy." the voice was once more behind him.
"Daiki!" the woman's voice rang out strong and clear, but instead of ricocheting off the walls Jet had thought surrounded him, her voice carried on, throughout the seemingly never-ending space.
"Master?" the rasping voice whispered, backing away from the Earth Kingdom teenager.
"Stop pestering him."
In the time it took to blink, the woman was in front of Jet, visible in the dim light of shading trees, far above the swamp they were in. The teenaged boy took great measures in an attempt to cover his astonishment, holding back a gasp.
"Shit..." he murmured, taking in the woman's features- she was obviously Fire Nation. Deep, amber eyes, pale skin, maroon clothing; red as blood, very much similar to the blood the Fire Nation had spilled from the lives of innocent people. Her robes were silk, hitting her womanly curves, though she seemed to be in her thirties. He took a step away from her positively radiant features and was rewarded by his boot sinking into the mud surrounding the shores of the murky water.
"Jet, you've met my son." the woman sighed wistfully, her voice taking on a new tone.. Kinder, almost caring. "Zuko."
"Zoo who?" Jet asked, the mud slopping noisily as he pulled his footwear away from it.
"You know him as Li." the woman stood tall, staring down at him. He gave her a slight glare, keeping his eyes on her, in case she attempted anything. She was Fire Nation; they were all the same. Killers, murderers.
"I know tons of 'Li's'." he crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles tensing before relaxing into coils.. Ready to pounce.
"You only know one Li from the Fire Nation." She nodded her head thoughtfully, the golden topknot piece on her head, that topped off her slight bun, giving a small jiggle with the sudden movement.
"Who are you?" the boy demanded, his lips curving into a slight sneer. That boy, Li, with the scar had been her son? So he was right after all! They were firebenders! Too late for that now.
"Princess Ursa of the Fire Nation." as if to stop him from thinking of what Zuko might be, she answered it for him. "Yes, the two men, 'Li' and 'Mushi' are my son and brother-in-law. Zuko and Iroh, Prince and General."
"You have to be kidding." He whispered, diverting his gaze from her. He feigned focus on a chattering squirrel, which began to quarrel with a young- prarie dog?- over a lee chee nut.
"I offer you a trade- redemption, for you to deliver a message to my son." she neatly tucked her arm into the other sleeve.
"She allows you your life back, if you perform a task." the hunched figure emerged from behind her red robes, and straightened its hunched back. He was about the height of Jet, and though the sunlight was sprouting in some areas, the creature avoided these, and stayed in the shade, his hood pulled over his head.
"Though, the task will not be simple." Ursa smiled, her features softening.