This is the longest chapter so far because I wanted to include a lot all in one chapter instead of breaking it up in segments. It's kind of like a double chapter. So..hope you enjoy!
~th3rdhal3~


I was in the market place of Ba Sing Se. The others weren't anywhere to be found. Where they were I did not know. I was alone in a strange city I had never been to before. The streets were lively and filled with merchants, artisans and refugees. It did not look familiar in my eyes at all. It was easily the biggest city I had been to. Something caught my attention. He was there again. The boy with the white headband.

He smiled at me before maneuvering through the crowds. Who was he? I had seen him many times before, yet had never been around him long enough to question him. I knew I had never met him, yet I felt as if I knew him. I followed him through the slew of people. I had to know more.

We were above the bizarre now, on the roof tops! The texture of the shingles felt funny against my now shoeless feet, but I didn't stop. The end's of the headband flew behind him as he jumped from roof to roof. I ran right after him, not fearing certain death that would await if I tripped and fell. The boy glanced over his shoulder at me. A goofy grin was now on his face. "Heads up!" That voice! I knew I had heard it before. It almost sounded like Zuko's except more energetic and spirited. He pulled something from off of his back and threw it at me. The object hurled towards my face, instantly turning into one of Mai's daggers.

THUNK!

"Crime-a-niddley!" I sat up quickly and saw Toph holding her forehead across from me. I didn't even realize that mine had started hurting as well. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I was in the house that was provided for us in Ba Sing Se. I must have fallen asleep on the floor from the night before. "Geez sifu, what were you dreamin' about? You were practically earth-bending in your sleep!" My cousin groaned.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "Sorry Toph." I apologized. Sokka was busy with some charcoal and paper a little ways away. I assumed it was mid-morning because the two were up, and the light that shined in through the windows was bright. There was no sign of Aang or Katara. They must have been out running errands. After all, the two were the earlier risers of the group. "Sokka, whatcha doing?" I got up off the pea-green carpet and went over to him. The Water Tribe boy lay on his stomach, focusing on whatever he was doodling.

"Lost posters." He answered enthusiastically. "Ya know, to put up in search of Appa." I studied his drawings. All I could make out was some thing with sticks coming out of it and a huge arrow going across.

"That's awesome Sokka," I smiled at him. "...but what the heck is that?" Sokka sat up instantly, gripping his homemade poster in his hands. He shoved the drawing in my face and it bonked me on the nose.

"How could you not know what this is?" He looked offended. "It's Appa! Don't tell me you've forgotten what he looks like already!" I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Sokka took pride in all types of his work. I felt bad for poking fun at his artwork and for laughing.

"Don't sweat it, Sokka. I think it looks great." Toph grinned impishly. I bit down on my lower lip to keep from ruining the moment. The older boy beamed, his ego rising once more. He was definitely a ham.

"Why thank you, Toph." He began all perky-like. "I-..." Once realization hit, he stopped and made a grumpy looking face at us. "You know, you two have no appreciation for art." With that, he turned his back to us, and continued working on the poster. What a ham.

Aang and Katara returned back to the house soon after. "Hey guys, we just went to the print shop!" Katara reported. She then pulled out a stack of papers from her bag. They were professionally made missing posters with an incredible sketch of the sky bison on them. Sokka took one look at them and tossed his drawings over his head in defeat. It was a nice effort that he at least tried, but the boomerang was Sokka's true area of expertise. Aang helped an in-denial Sokka to his feet.

"C'mon. Let's go put them up!"


We found a bare wall around some of the shops in the market place. It wasn't super crowded but we guessed about 50 or so passed by every hour, give or take. Katara handed us each some of the missing flyers to hang up. "Wow," I marveled. "I'm surprised this isn't on Joo Dee's list of things 'one simply doesn't do in the Earth Kingdom'." I mocked our guide and then grabbed the paste can from Sokka.

Katara suggested that we split up, after we had put the first few posters, to cover more ground. Aang decided he would take the flyers with him on his glider, and Katara thought Toph should go with Sokka. Of course, my cousin found an issue with this.

"Why do I have to go with Sokka?" She complained. I had a theory that she secretly liked him. "I can put these stupid things up myself!" Toph snatched a flyer and some paste then slammed the poster onto the wall. After an unexpected silence, she sighed. "It's upside down isn't it?" Actually, she had put the poster up backwards, so that the white side was displayed. Toph gave up. "Okay ponytail, lead the way." She followed the Water Tribe boy off to the right.

Aang opened up his glider and said, "See you guys in a bit!" He then sprang up into the air and took off. Katara and I carried the rest of the posters and headed off for the center of the market place.

"To be honest," Katara admitted in between handing flyers out to citizens, asking if they'd seen Appa. "I'm not even sure if what we're doing is allowed...by Joo Dee's standards." She smiled wryly.

I pretended to gasp. "What sorcery is this? Toph is obedient, Katara is breaking the rules!" This caused her to burst into a giggle. I turned around. "And Momo is tagging along with us!" The lemur cocked it's head at me and cooed. He then crawled up my side and onto my shoulder. I scratched his head. "Good lemur."

The two of us began to wander into the food district-where all the restaurants and food markets were. The aroma of pork, beef and chicken teased my nostrils. "I need meat!" I whined. Katara chuckled and took the scents and smells in as well.

"You know, it's a wonder you're not the one dating my brother." She joked. I cracked a smile too, and blushed faintly. I'll admit, I did have a small crush on the warrior boy the first few weeks of knowing him. However, that changed and now that Suki was in the picture, I didn't want to get in the way of their relationship. Plus, I was not interested in a relationship. Why was that always my last reason? "You two are so alike." Katara went on. "You both are obsessed with meat, sarcastic as all get out, fighters to the end, and painfully skeptical." I mulled the list over in my head. She was right; Sokka and I were more alike than I had realized. "The only difference I can see is that he's-"

"Not a bender?" I guessed what she would say next.

The water-bender grew silent and quietly stated, "I was going to say he's more eccentric and out there with a lot of his ideas. But I guess that's true too." I felt like an idiot. I hadn't meant to bring up the fact that Sokka had not been blessed with the gift of bending. There were probably at least a dozen other differences I could of touched over. Like the fact that I'm a girl, maybe? Nope, of course I had to chose the touchy difference. I hoped Katara didn't think I was prejudice like some. The poor boy probably felt otiose in our bender battles. But, the spirits had bestowed the mind of a warrior upon him, and he proved to be a great strategist.

"What I'd give to be normal like Sokka." I sighed, remembering the countless number of times my bending had gotten me into trouble. It would be much simpler if I didn't possess such abilities.

Katara gave me a look of disbelief. What bender would wish their gift away? "you should tell that to him. He thinks he's useless to the team sometimes."

"He's not useless, no one else could take on the burden of telling lame and humorless jokes." Katara cracked up at my remark and so did I. "But seriously, you're brother's no-" I bit my tongue to keep from saying 'Azula.' "...warlord," I saved myself. "but he's definitely got some effective tactics of his-" I stopped in the middle of my thought. Standing in front of a merchant's post up ahead, was a boy with shoulder pads and a full head of brown hair. "Jet..." I whispered under my breath.

I rushed towards him, where he was preoccupied by looking at the merchant's goods. I placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him toward him. A huge grin replaced the older teen's previous colorless expression. "Karuna!" He exclaimed, recognizing me immediately. He then noticed the water-bender at my side and his eyes widened in surprise. "Katara! Wow are you two here together?" I raised an eyebrow. Jet knew her too? Katara was already three steps ahead. The girl drew up the water from a nearby fountain and sent Jet and the water into the alley right next to us. The water-bender trapped the Freedom Fighter in a barrage of ice. I followed her into the alley in a panic. What the hell was her problem?

"What are you doing here Jet?" Katara questioned grimly, her arms still raised in an offensive position.

"Katara what are-" The water-bender completely ignored me. Her attention was on Jet and Jet only.

"I didn't mean any trouble!" The older boy blurted out. " I came here to start over. Katara, I've changed!" He pleaded, struggling against the hold the ice had on him. Katara glared at him with unblinking, cautious eyes. I pushed past her and struck the ice trap with a sudo; she made no effort to stop me. She turned her back to us. A large crack ran through the ice and the whole thing shattered seconds later. Jet started to fall forward but I was there to spot him. I helped him to his feet and the Freedom Fighter took a good look at me. The large smile returned to his handsome face. I surprised him with a glomp-hug and he returned the display of affection. It was nice to feel his friendly yet strong embraces. "It's been a while." He marveled once we let go of each other.

"Too long." I agreed, remembering how I'd promised to visit him and the others over a year ago. "How is everybody?" Jet grinned warmly.

"I knew you were going to ask that. They're great, and Zaida says hi." My spirits rose. Zaida and the others had made it safely to the Earth Kingdom. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest. I wished nothing but the best for my friends.

"How do you two know each other?" Katara suddenly intervened. After all, there was no clear indication of how I was acquainted with Jet.

"Before I stayed in Gaoling, I passed through the town and forest where the Freedom Fighters lived." I explained.

"Karuna stuck up for The Duke and I when we were in a jam with some Fire Nation soldiers." Jet helped to tell the story. Gratefulness still shown in his eyes. I wanted to ask how Katara and Jet knew one another but had a feeling it would create more tension than necessary. Jet wandered up to a still hesitant Katara.

"Why should I believe you now?" The water-bender asked, more calmly then. Her anger had indeed died down, but something in her voice told me that she was still close to livid deep down inside. Jet must have done something really infuriating in order to get on this girl's bad side.

Jet lowered his head and his tone was filled with sorrow. "I've done a number of things I'm not proud of. Believe me Katara, I'm ashamed, I really am. But my mistakes are something that remorse nor regret can fix. That's why I came here to Ba Sing Se, to start over with a clean slate. I've changed my ways." Katara studied him for a long time, deciding how she would handle the situation.

"Fine." She breathed, accepting his testimony. "Karuna, we should finish handing out these flyers." The darker skinned girl looked my way.

"Mind if I help?" Jet asked politely. Katara sighed then nodded in approval. I guess she thought the more the merrier.

The three of us left the alley and continued through the bizarre. "Wow Jet, you really have changed!" I pointed out. "Where's your wheat grass?" The boy chuckled at the fact that I had noticed nothing was in his mouth.

"I know! Bee told me how unsanitary it could be. Who knows how many animals piss on those kinds of plants."

"Bee's here too?" I wanted to clarify. He had been alone when Katara and I first approached him.

"Yeah, her and Longshot and somewhere around here." He replied. "So what are the flyers for?"

Katara tacked some of the posters to wooden posts on the outsides of shops. "Appa's missing. We're all trying to find him." A look of sympathy came across the older teen's face. He frowned and gave his condolences.

"Have you tried the black market?" Katara shook her head.

"We've asked multiple people if they knew anything. All their answers were the same, and none of them could give us a straight up response." The water-bender replied. Jet rubbed his chin for a moment while he thought.

"That's pretty strange. Just about every city has an illegal market...they're not telling you something." The Freedom Fighter brainstormed.

"It was pretty odd that out of the eight people we sought out, none would give us a straight answer." I threw in my two cents. Jet was on the right track. Something was definitely off. I could sense it.

"Well I guess we're gonna have to find it ourselves." Jet shrugged, the spirit of adventure evident in his mischievous grin. Katara looked a little uneasy about our new quest. "I know just the guy to help us." He reassured her. Not even two seconds later, a voice called out from around the corner.

"Jet!" The brown haired boy turned at the sound of his name. That voice! The teen grinned and chuckled to himself.

"Perfect timing."

He emerged from the sea of people crowding around the different posts and shops. His shoes were black shinobi sandals that only revealed his toes. Bands were wrapped around one of his pant legs. His collar was open, showing off the top of his chest. Two straps ran from shoulder down around the waist; escrimas* strapped onto his back. There was a depiction of a yellow sun in the middle of his white headband. Some of his spiky, chestnut colored hair spilled over the headband, covering part of the design. His eyes were stormy gray and seemed to know things that I wouldn't attempt to understand in my dizziest daydreams.

I knew we were making eye contact due to his irises; they were centered perfectly. This boy, who I h dreamt of early twice a week was in my presence. In the short moments, I felt a connection with him. It was unspoken and silent but I felt as if I knew him.

"My friend here just happens to be a bounty hunter." Jet's speech brought my mind back to a conscious state. "I'll be if anyone knows anything about the black market, it's him." I was still paralyzed with wonder in the boy's presence. Katara spoke for the both of us.

"A bounty hunter? In Ba Sing Se?" I began to follow her thought process; the idea didn't make a ton of sense. Why would a bounty hunter be needed here when the Dai Li acted as a police force?

The older boy's voice was mature and deeper than Jet's, almost like a man's. "You'd be surprised at some of the activities that take place in your average city." He responded, tapping his escrimas.

"You're a bounty hunter?" I clarified. He looked about Sokka or Zuko's age, maybe slightly older. He was just a kid-like us. Whenever I thought of bounty hunters, I thought of scruffy looking men in middle adulthood. "How old are you?"

"What's it to you?" He remarked in a way that was short and unexpected, but not quite rude. I blinked, not sure if I should take that offensively or not.

"I was just asking..." I shyly explained.

"Well, sometimes asking won't always give you an answer." He replied with the same polite manner mixed with curtness. I began to feel slightly agitated by the way he spoke.

"Why are you avoiding the question?" I asked bluntly, almost feeling insulted. It wasn't as if I had asked for his whole life story or deepest secret. Was it really that hard to just say?

The boy with the white headband shook his head slowly, a sly smirk on his lips. "Typical earth-bender." He mused. "So stubborn." All I could do was gap at him open mouthed. How could he tell that about me in two minutes time? How could he seem to read my mind when not even spirits had the power of telekinesis? "Oh come on now," the older boy bantered. "don't be so surprised. It doesn't take a genius to figure something like that out. You're barefoot. What kind of person walks through city streets without shoes on?" He pointed out. I looked down at my own two feet and realized the boy was right. I must have forgotten all about footwear when we departed for town earlier. The boy continued. "It doesn't look like you stem from poverty," he eyed my clothing. "and from what I can tell, you don't seem to suffer from mental instability. Process of elimination." Katara and I exchanged a glance of wonder. This guy was precise and thorough with what he took in. "Hey, I just pay attention to things. And if you want to find your sky bison," he unrolled the poster that was in his hands. "you're going to have to as well."

The boy began to head off into one direction with Jet, while Katara and I were still hesitant. Finally, the two of us followed the boys.

"What did you say your name was?" Katara called out to the boy with the white headband.

"I didn't." Was the response that followed from up ahead. I glared at the back of the boy's head. I was thoroughly annoyed at the way he answered simple and harmless questions and I had had enough of it.

"Perfectly fine with me," I snorted. " 'Hey You!' Is what I'm going to call you from now on." To my surprise, he laughed at my smartypants comment.

"I like your sense of humor. As tempting as that sounds, I'd rather just go by 'Raiden.' The other name kind of lacks individuality." Ya think?

Raiden...

The other three found Katara and I with Jet and Raiden not too long after. We brought them up to speed on what they missed while distributing flyers. The six of us followed Raiden to wherever he was taking us. He stopped outside of an animal housing barn. "Best bet is to check this place out." He suggested. "The place is big enough for a bison." We entered the barn and foul animal stench was definitely in the air. The insides of the barn had probably seen better days, but most importantly, it was empty. Not a single animal in sight.

"Well, that was a waste." Katara muttered under her breath. Toph wandered further into the barn and leaned down towards something at her feet. She rose, a white clump of fur was in her open palm. Appa's fur! I recognized it anywhere!

"He was here!" My cousin determined. Aang looked hopeful, yet hung his head. We were getting closer and closer to finding our large animal friend.

Out of nowhere, an elderly man appeared, broom in his hand. His beard was as white as snow. "They finally shipped 'im out to that island," relief was evident in the old man's speech. "beast was a handful to look after-fur everywhere!" He emphasized, sweeping the floor.

"What island?" Aang asked to obtain any type of information that would help him reunite with his companion.

The man scratched his head. "Whale Tale Island I believe." Then he went back to his sweeping as if we weren't there at all.

"That's so far..." Sokka's voice was low as he looked at the location on a map. The island was near the South Pole. "We'd never be able to get there all on our own."

"But if that's where Appa is we have to!" Aang protested. Sokka could only sigh. Aang was partially right; we wanted our bison friend to be safe and sound and we had no hope of completing Aang's task without him. We had some serious decisions to make.

After leaving the barn, Aang and Sokka began to plan out our long trek to Whale Tale Island. My cousin never seemed happier. She threw her arms out in the air. "Yes! We're finally leaving Ba Sing Se. Worst. City. Ever!" Her cheering was soon interrupted by two familiar faces. Smellerbee and Longshot spotted us from across the street.

"Jet!" Smellerbee called out to her friend. Our gang stopped to let them catch up to us. "How did you escape?" Raiden narrowed his eyes at the Freedom Fighter leader and repeated her.

"Escape?" Suspicion lined his voice. I was curious to know what had happened as well. The girl with the red war paint nodded.

"He was arrested by the Dai Li weeks ago!" She informed us.

Out of the corner of my eye, Raiden began to reach for his escrimas slowly. Katara turned on Jet before anyone could really react. "To think I believed you when you told me you changed!" She yelled and began to lose her temper. Jet's eyes were as big as oranges.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The boy denied. "I've been living here peacefully since I've arrived."

"Jet, be honest with me," I intervened. "What id you do?"

"Nothing!" He looked at me with disbelief. "I haven't done anything!' Toph felt the ground. She molded her face into an expression that was hard to read.

"They're both telling the truth..."


"Is there anything you remember at all?" Katara prodded. The Freedom Fighter sat on a wooden stool while the rest of us sat around him. His apartment was small and contained one mattress off in a corner. It wasn't much, but it was the best place to interrogate him. Jet searched his mind but again, found nothing. Sokka had a theory that Jet had been brainwashed, and as far fetched as it sounded, it soon began to make sense. Plus, it was the only legitimate reason to explain him and Smellerbee both telling the truth about the situation.

"Come on Jet, think!" Raiden pushed. "Where did they take you the night you were arrested?" Jet closed his eyes and the veins on the sides of his head were visible because of the strain. The boy grunted trying to recall what had happened.

"I-don't even remember how it happened but...it was dark. That's all I can remember." Without thinking, I drew closer and cupped my hands around the older teen's head.

"Jet, please keep trying." I coaxed him. I let my chi flow to my finger tips and let the subtle heat sink into his skin. The boy relaxed at my touch and exhaled slowly. Moments later, his pupils shrank and I watched as he recalled more previous events. Jet soon stood up and out of my grasp. His dark eyes were wide open, seeming as if he just had an epiphany.

"There's a headquarters!" He began to spit out. "Somewhere else-somewhere outside the city! It's by water!" The boy rambled on. "By a lake-it's by a lake!" He exclaimed, remembering at last.

"Laogai." Raiden uttered from his sport against the threshold. "It's outside the Eastern walls." Sokka's ears perked up as he began to make the connection as well.

"Joo Dee mentioned Lake Laogai to us once before!" He reported. "That has to be the place!"

The three Freedom Fighters, Raiden and my gang arrived at the lake in the late afternoon. Jet scanned the shore as well as the water, soaking in the scene for a second time. "It's around here somewhere." Out there? It couldn't be. There was nothing but a sandy shore and water the stretched out a mile by two miles. I tread across the sand, thinking that it must have a secret entrance if it really was where Jet claimed it to be. Toph beat me to it.

"There's a tunnel...over there." She pointed down at the water a little ways away. She pushed her arms down and out. Up from the water rose a stone walkway with what looked like a circle cap at the end. Sokka and Longshot lifted up the cap and peered down. There wasn't a whole lot of light down there. A ladder went all the way to the bottom-about 30 feet or so.

"So, who wants to go first?" Sokka asked.

The Dai Li headquarters were all in underground tunnels. Torches with green flames lit the number of different routes. Everyone followed Jet since he was the only one who had ever been down there. It wasn't long until we approached a stone door shaped like a huge trapezoid. Jet paused as he eyed it. "I have a feeling this is it." He told us. The older teen pushed at the stone and surprisingly, it budged. The nine of us eagerly flooded into the chamber. It was enormous, and circular, but above all, empty. Aang's face fell; he was so anxious to rescue Appa. "He must be in a different one." Jet breathed, feeling disappointed that he led us to the wrong room.

Rubble crumbled at my foot, a piece hitting my big toe. I stopped in my tracks and looked up. Clinging to the stalactites and the ceiling high up above were members of the Dai Li. I had instantly noticed them because of their recognizable robes and headgear. "Up there!" I hollered and pointed up at the agents. The gang glanced up as well and then were instantly on the defense. The Dai Li dropped down from the ceiling and landed around us. They had known we were coming.

Long Feng appeared in the doorway, blocking our only escape route. "It was foolish of you to come here. You are all enemies of the state. Take them." The Dai Li dropped down from the ceiling, and more rose up from the floor all around us. Long Feng gave his agents the signal and the attack began.

Two agents shot out rock hands at my cousin. Toph heard them flying through the air and burst the hands into pebbles. She then extracted two huge columns from the ground underneath where the agents stood. Jet joined in the fight moments later. He charged at another agents with his hook swords in hand and crushed the rock hands. With a sword, he caught the member around his ankle and yanked out from under his feet. Aang used both air-bending an earth-bending to ward off the other agents closest to him. All of a sudden, more rock hands shot out towards Sokka and Katara. I jumped in front of their course and blocked out with both hands, smashing the rock hands before they reached their target.

Toph was soon busy taking on two Dai Li agents up high upon rock pillars. None could match her skill level. Then, a stone hand grabbed her from the back of her tunic and pulled her down from her column. My cousin was falling fast and I thanked the spirits I was close enough. "Oof!" Toph landed in my outstretched arms and bounced up again, ready for another round.

"Cover me!" Jet ran alongside Raiden towards two opposing Dai Li. From behind them, Longshot fired arrows from his bow that stopped incoming projectiles. The other two boys used their weapons in a very similar style. Jet hit the rocks shooting towards him with his hook swords and Raiden struck the stone hands that were aimed at him with his iron escrimas.

I was fighting besides Katara and Smellerbee when I looked up to see Long Feng fleeing the scene. "He's escaping!" Aang shouted. He and Jet took off after the man, leaving the others to deal with the Dai Li.

"Wait!" I hollered at them, but the boys were already in pursuit. Raiden and I made brief contact and instantly took action. The two of us bolted through the hole Aang had made.

Though the boys had a few second head start, Raiden and I were practically at their heels. We ran after them through a narrow passageway. This chamber was also a dead end. Pipes lined the walls, spewing out water which flowed down through the outermost edges of the floor. A slamming sound caused the four of us to whirl around. The passage was no closed and blended in with the wall as if there was no opening at all. Long Feng dropped down from somewhere up above. "Alright avatar, you and your friends," he glared at us other three. "have caused me enough trouble. If you want your bison back this is your last chance." Aang widened his stance and pointed his staff out at the Dai Li's leader.

"Tell me where he is!" The air nomad demanded.

"If you exit the city now, I will allow you to leave with your lost pet and all charges against you will be wavered." Long Feng began to strike a deal with him. I couldn't tell what Aang was thinking, but Jet didn't seem to like the idea of the barter.

"You're in no position to bargain!" He spat.

Long Feng only grinned devilishly in response. "Am I not?" I tightened my firsts and raised them up. I despised this man as much as it was possible to loathe someone. He had no right to pull us all into his sinister schemes.

"You're definitely not!" I agreed. Long Feng directed his gaze over to the boy with the shoulder pads.

"Jet, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai..." Jet's mouth twitched, and then his pupils shrank. Uh oh!

"I am honored to except his invitation." The boy responded in a monotone fashion. All of a sudden you growled and swung his swords at Aang. The avatar ducked out of the way and retreated back several steps, clutching his staff out in front of him. Jet charged at him, swords held out at his sides. Raiden pushed the air-bender out of the way and met Jet's swords with his escrimas. The clanging sound of metal echoed off the walls as the boys duked it out. Jet was definitely rage driven and wasn't in a clear state of mind, I could tell that for sure. His eyes seemed empty, just like Joo Dee's had.

"Jet stop!" Aang objected from next to me on the sidelines. "We're your friends-stop fighting him!" I knew I should have stepped in, but I couldn't use my earth-bending to stop the fight. One of them would most likely get injured, and possibly badly. We had to rely on Raiden to bring him back to his senses. "You don't have to do this!"

Jet paused his onslaught, leaving three feet of space between him and the bounty hunter. Sweat trickled down his forehead and he was breathing heavily. "I'm afraid he has no choice." Long Feng's icy voice discouraged Aang. Jet resumed the battle with the Raiden and the two struck away at one another again. Jet was beginning to tire because he staggered a lot and his shoulders rose and fell from his inhaling and exhaling. Raiden sent Jet sliding backwards with a sidekick to his stomach.

"Jet, snap out of it!" I cried out to him. Long Feng was still persistent.

"Do what is commanded of you, Jet!" The boy stopped again to catch his breath and stared Raiden down. He raised his swords up again.

"Don't let him control yo,u Jet!" I countered, hoping that somehow we could break the trance that he was ensnared in. "Think of what you stand for-you're a Freedom Fighter!" That was the trigger word. Jet's pupils widened and his face was no longer contorted into a snarl. His eyes had a far off look to them as he stared out past us.

"Do it! Silence them all!" Long Feng demanded from behind him. Jet's eyes narrowed and he twisted around quickly. With a swift movement, the boy roared and hurled one of his swords at the Dai Li's leader. It was fast but not fast enough. Long Feng dodged the thrown weapon and punched outward. The ground began to ripple. OH NO! A large dust and dirt cloud rose into the air, prohibiting vision. I drew my right arm back and struck out into the air with my fingers tight together and palm open. Something rumbled, but I don't know if it hit its target or not. When the smoke cleared, a tall earth column took the place of where Long Feng had been, and in the middle of the floor was a diagonal stalagmite. Jet lay on the ground just in front of it.

"Jet..." I knelt down by his right and Aang on his left. The Freedom Fighter looked up at us and barely tilted his head to look at all three of us. "I'm sorry guys, he apologized." The avatar shook his head.

"No, don't be."

The rest of the group, led by Toph, entered the chamber. Gasps were open all their faces as they took in the scene. The gang gathered around Jet moments after. Katara used her water to inspect his internal wounds. She then proclaimed the injuries to be lethal. "You guys go on and find Appa," Smellerbee urged us. "We'll stay with him."

"We're not going to leave you." Katara insisted, voice bursting with emotion. Then, to everyone's surprise. Longshot spoke up.

"There isn't any time. Go. We'll take care of Jet. He's our leader." The archer decided wisely. No one argued with the quite fighters decision. Jet mustered up a dry smile though I knew he must have been in mass amounts of pain.

"Don't worry guys, I'll be fine." Katara touched his arm one last time before rising. My gang began to leave. They hurried for the exit but halted once they discovered I was not among them. I breathed in deeply before speaking.

"I need to stay." I don't know how they heard from their location in the room; the words barely came out of my throat. But Aang, Toph, Sokka and Katara knew to carry on without me for the time being. The four of them went off to keep looking for Appa, leaving the five us alone.

Smellerbee had been suppressing tears during the whole conversation, and now she was finally letting them fall down her cheeks and run down her war paint. Longshot held a grim expression upon his face as he glanced down at his leader who was slowly slipping. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, but failed. At the sight of this, water began to well up in Jet's olive colored eyes as well. "I'm so sorry Karuna." The boy whimpered, his voice hoarse. My breathing quickened as I realized his time was beginning to run out. I shook my head, rivers running down my cheeks and onto his uniform.

"No, I'm sorry." The words were almost chocked out. "I never should have lied to you." I cried. "When you met me back in the Earth Kingdom, I was Fire Nation. I was a fire-bender." I spilled the truth out to him. He needed to know who I was and who I had been. There was no other time I could reveal this to him. If Jet was shocked or appalled, his expressions didn't give it away. Instead, the older boy gazed into my eyes for a few moments which felt like a few years. He shook his head as much as he could.

"You'll never be Fire Nation in my eyes." This caused me to sob even more. My breathing was becoming uncontrolled, and my frontal lobe began to ache. "You're above them." I cried hard into his shoulder and with his right hand he held my arm.

"Jet...please," I pleaded with him, my voice wavering. "Don't go." No, I couldn't lose another person in my life. I couldn't lose him too.

"My destiny's been filled, Karuna." He stated, in a stable and ready voice. "You have to live for both of us now." He held my hand and squeezed it tight. I couldn't bear to see him go through with this. We could get him to a hospital. Why didn't Katara heal him on the spot? I thought of at least a million ways to prevent the inevitable from occurring. Jet looked at me with the same sweet face that led me to fall for him all those months ago. "One last time...for memories sake?..." I inhaled deeply, regaining some of my composure. I leaned in closer and brushed the spiky bangs out of his eyes. I closes my soaking eyes and brought my lips to his. The rough yet yielding warmth brought me back to a simpler time. A time I wished wasn't so far away. In the moments of this last kiss was when I realized I still had unresolved feelings for the Freedom Fighter. I shouldn't have come to this. But here we were.

It felt like an eternity though it had only been a few moments once the kiss was over. All too soon it feel like eons ago. Jet closed his eyes.* "So far away, we wait for the day..." he began to sing a song that we all used to sing back when I was with the Freedom Fighters. It had been too long since I had partaken in that tune.

"For the lives all so wasted and gone..."

"We feel the pain, of a lifetime lost in a thousand days..."

"Through the fire and the flames we carry on."*

We finished together, while Smellerbee and Longshot hummed along In the background. Jet's smile reached from ear to ear. It was a weaker smile but one of the most beautiful I had ever seen on the boy's face. All I wanted to do was hold him. Jet gagged and soon succumbed to a coughing fit. I looked on with horror as the boy spat up blood which dripped down from the corners of his lips. The fit soon ceased and he laid his head back down on the stone. He did not move again.

I collapsed next to his body in agony. A loud cry escaped from my lungs. Not another. NOT ANOTHER! Smellerbee wept beside me as well. Longshot placed his hat over his heart and remained still. Raiden stared at the stone for some time, his eyes were narrowed. His lip quivered and I knew that something inside him was stirring. His arms shook slightly and the condition grew more intense over time. A deafening bellow shook the walls themselves in the chamber. "YOU BASTARD!" He screamed up at the tunnel Long Feng escaped in, as if our antagonist was still watching from above. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" The bounty hunter's tone sent shivers down my spine. "LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU BASTARD-YOU KILLED HIM!" Raiden withdrew his escrimas from on his back. "I'm going after him." He told us, in a much lowered voice. His attention snapped back to the tunnel above. "I'm gonna find you, you SONOFABITCH!" The bounty hunter sped towards the earth column left behind, ran up the wall behind it, and jumped back and forth between the column and wall until he reached the top. Then he charged into the tunnel.

The chamber was desolate once more. The silence engulfed the last of us.


References:

* escrimas are Filipino fighting sticks-if you broke a bo staff in half that's a lot like how they would look

* The song the Freedom Fighters were singing is "Through the Fire and the Flames" by metal artist Dragonforce
(I thought it was fitting for them)