Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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There was that girl in the blue dress. She looked down to him…was she crying? She was kneeling beside him, but he told her he'd be alright. She squeezed her eyes shut. All the faces around him…those were the faces he always saw.
"He's our leader; we'll take care of him." One of the children said. One started crying.
"Jet…" She whispered. He watched as one used the bow and arrow to take out Dai Li, and the other used a small dagger. He couldn't move…he was defenseless…he watched their attempts to bring down the army, but they were too strong. They got captured. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't. He watched the older man; he had a long, raven-colored braid, dismiss the soldiers that carried away the two people that tried to save him.
He tried to stay focused. It was this man that used him…that brainwashed him. His face got a scowl as the man approached and looked down. He waited for the blow. For the attack the man was sure to give. He kept his eyes open, though.
"Jet, you will make a fine recruit in the Earth Kingdom army." He smiled down. He tried to reach for his swords, but he couldn't. He couldn't feel his arms…he tried to force his eyes open, but he couldn't…everything got blurry…the last thing he saw was the man smiling down to him. Then it all went black.
Jet snapped his eyes open as his back shot up. He felt a cold sweat and was shaking a little. He knew that dream. It was just one of the many nightmares he had grown accustom to. He shook his head and walked into his washroom. He was given a room in the palace until they left. He splashed water in his face and looked in the mirror. He let out a sigh…those nightmares were getting sickening, but he had them over and over. He walked out of his room and into the darkened hallway. It was hard to see, so he put his hand on the wall and walked alongside it.
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"You are a monster, Azula."
"No I'm not!" She tried to defend.
"You are cruel and heartless…just like your father." Ursa frowned.
"You never loved me!"
"I never once said that…" She began to vanish.
"Don't leave!" She didn't know if she was ordering or pleading. "Please…don't leave me." She fell to her knees.
Azula snapped her eyes open. Those damn nightmares…she hadn't had them since she was a child, though. She walked out of her room and lit a small fire in her hand. She found the kitchen; it looked so different when there was nobody working in it, and poured herself a glass of water. She walked into the dining room…there was already a candle lit.
"Couldn't sleep?" A voice startled her.
"What's it to you?" She glared at Jet.
"Hey, it was just a question." He shrugged. She sat across from him.
"So what are you doing up?"
"Hey, you aren't flipping out on me." He smirked and sipped his drink.
"That could change." She glared.
"Just kidding!" He held his hands up in defense. "Nah…I just had a nightmare."
"What, you get scared? How bad could a foolish dream be?"
"Then why are you up?" He put his elbows on the table. She rolled her eyes and sipped her water. "Exactly…I'm used to it though." He sipped his cup.
"What are you drinking?"
"Sake." He smirked.
"You aren't supposed to touch that."
"Oh, because you're just such a 'good-girl'…right?" He snickered.
"No, you moron, my father only has that for himself or if we have a party."
"Then let's have our own party." He leaned over the table and took her now empty cup. He filled it with the bottle that he had on the side of him.
"You're pathetic."
"So…what was your dream about?"
"Nobody important."
"Was it me?" He winked.
"You wish…that would be a bad nightmare." She shuddered at the thought.
"You know you like it."
"Shut up…what was yours about?"
"I'm not sure…" He frowned.
"You seriously don't know." Azula studied his expression.
"Yep." He sighed. "Can I tell you something?"
"I am not your friend so therefore you cannot confide in me." She said sternly and sipped the sake. She gagged as she felt a burning sensation slip down her throat. He snickered.
"Can't handle your liquor?" He taunted.
"Can so!"
"Ok, if you can drink the rest of that cup in one sip, I won't bother you, if you can't; I get to talk to you." He offered his hand. After a short hesitation, she took it. "Now…chug." He smirked. "And it doesn't count if you spit it out." She nodded and frowned to the glass. She began to drink, but only made it halfway before stopping.
"Get me water!" She did her best attempt to shout in a raspy voice. He nodded and jumped over the table. He came back with a new cup of water and she drank it quickly.
"So…I win." She snarled. "I can't remember anything…"
"What are you talking about? Oh gods, my father gave me a crazy body guard." She rolled her eyes. He growled and took in a deep breath.
"No…I cant remember anything before joining the army…in my dream, there's this guy…I think he brainwashed me in Ba Sing Se, but I'm not sure…"
"Well, what does this man look like?"
"He has pale skin…black hair, none on the top of his head, though…and the hair on his sides is long enough to make a braid that goes down to his waist…he has a bunch of Dai Li…" he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to picture him.
"And you think it's in Ba Sing Se?"
"I just said that." He looked at her quizzically.
"Well…it sounds like Long Feng." She shrugged. "He's locked up now."
"Long Feng…" He whispered as he looked down to the table.
"So you can't remember anything?"
"Nope…nothing but my name."
"So…you are crazy?" She smirked.
"Only if you want me to be." He smirked at her and she let out another sigh.
"You really are hopeless." She smirked to him.
"So…you do have a nice side." He smirked.
"No, I'm just tired and not myself." She crossed her arms.
"I'm sure…well, I'm off to bed. Goodnight, Princess." He stood up.
"Goodnight, Loser." She followed his suit. They walked down the hallway in silence.
XXX
"Ah, Jet…you will be a great Earth Kingdom soldier." The man with the braid stood in front of him. He was awake and his wounds were a little better. He had his hands bound behind him as he struggled in the chair. The man swung an orb in front of him. He began saying something, he didn't listen, but he heard. It was that moment. That was the moment he lost his memory. The man dropped the orb and he shook his head.
"What happened?" He demanded.
"Your name is Jet; you have been fighting for the Earth Kingdom for years." He stared wide-eyed.
"I…I don't remember…"
"You were knocked unconscious during your last battle, you were out a few days and the doctors said you might lose your memory…I'm terribly sorry, Jet." The man frowned. He squeezed his eyes shut. He got nothing…he didn't remember anything at all.
"I'm a soldier?" He whispered.
"Correct." The man's smirk irked him.
Jet snapped his eyes open. Nightmare number two. He didn't know why they were all coming back, but he didn't like it. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked into his washroom. He stared into the mirror with his angry expression. He growled. Why couldn't he remember? He pulled back his fist and brought it to the cold surface of the mirror. It shattered on the floor and countertop, which was the last of his problems. His head started throbbing. He fell to his knees and cradled his head in his hands.
"Why?" He whispered. He hunched himself over as his head throbbed harder. "Shit…" He slowly opened his eyes and stood up. He washed the blood off his hand, but it was no use. New blood filled in the spots he washed away. He sighed and went back to his bed.
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"I said wake up dammit!" Jet opened his eyes when he felt someone roughly shake his shoulder. He looked up to her. It was the fire princess herself.
"What time is it?" He held his head as he sat up and leaned his back against the wall. The blankets still covering his lap.
"The sun went up a few hours ago." She frowned and looked to his hands that rested on his lap. "What happened to you?" She slowly brought her hand to his and lifted it. She studied the cuts filled with dried up blood.
"How cute, the princess likes to hold hands." He smirked and she dropped his hand. Blood stains covered the pillows and sheets as well. "I really don't want to talk about it." He said seriously.
"Just tell me what you did." She rolled her eyes.
"I…broke the mirror…" He looked at the palm of his hand.
"Ok, dare I ask, why did you break the mirror? What, did you get a good look at yourself?"
"I said I don't want to talk about it!" He shouted and her body jumped. Now she got it…he was smooth, but was angry. Her face grew a scowl.
"Who do you think you are talking to me like that?" She yelled back with the equal amount of anger. She was not about to let him order her around…overpower her.
"I think I'm who ever the fuck I want to be!" He felt his body get tense.
"I thought you didn't know who that was?" She stood up and looked at him in the eye. His eyes now showed hurt and his body calmed down. He closed his eyes.
"Get out." He whispered.
"I will not take orders from you." She saw his eyes snap open. He stood up and she felt herself take a step back, but she stopped herself. She didn't fear him. He grabbed her by the forearm and began dragging her to the door. "Let go of me!" She struggled but couldn't pry his hand off. His grip was tight. She put her hand over his own and began to increase the heat, but he seemed unaffected. He shoved her out of the room.
"And stay out." He said in a dangerously low voice before slamming the door in her face. She heard a click…it was locked. She growled and clenched her fists to her side…for some reason, when he got angry, she was afraid. And he just proved his physical strength was superior to hers. She walked down the hall.
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Jet walked out of his room a few hours later. He hated it when he lost his temper. When he joined the army, it was a good thing…it had been a while since he needed to keep his cool around someone. He had on his baggy red pants that were meant to be worn under his armor. He didn't have time to change…he needed to get his room picked up, well…the glass, and he needed to get his cuts checked before they got infected. He aimlessly wandered through the maze of hallways.
"Lost?" A familiar voice said from behind. He frowned and faced her. "Good. Don't speak, just listen. If you ever threaten me in any way again, I will make your death quick and painless. And it will only be quick because I don't want to see your disgusting face anymore." She said just audible to him. He could tell she wasn't kidding, either.
"I'm…sorry." He knew she was out of line, but if he wanted to keep his ranking and stay out of prison, he would need to stay on her good side.
"Good…you should be." She glared at him. "And this is a palace…you're required to be fully clothed…shirts included."
"I wouldn't complain if you had your shirt off." He smirked and she punched him in the chest.
"Just shut up…let's go have them check on your hands." She led him down the hallways.
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Azula had left him alone about an hour ago to go get her ship ready…he decided to explore some more. The palace never ceased to amaze him. He saw a small bedroom…it was unfamiliar to him, but the door was open. He walked in and almost everything was cleared out. The only things left were the pink curtains and the wardrobe still looked full. All pink. There was a picture on the nightstand and he picked it up with his bandaged hand. It was of three little girls. He recognized Azula from the other picture; she was in the middle and had one arm around each of the other girls' shoulders. The girl on her left had a braid and a smile. She closed her eyes and revealed her toothy grin. To Azula's right was a girl with short hair. She had her lips twisted in a smirk, but she was glancing to Azula and the other girl. There was something written below each of them. He dusted it off and read.
"Ty Lee, Azula, Mai…" He smirked and put it back down.
"They used to be my best friends." Azula sighed. "Can we please get out of here…you don't belong exploring anyway."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Go to your room…my father will send someone for you when dinner is ready." She walked away. He sighed and obeyed. He opened the door to his room and frowned. There was still blood on the bed and the washroom mirror was still in pieces on the floor. He sat on the bed and thought. Those nightmares…they had to be his memories. He couldn't remember the situation, but they seemed so familiar. He hated not knowing. He sat up and bowed his head forward, slowly closing his eyes. He was tired from the lack of sleep the night before…maybe for now he could sleep without nightmares…
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