A/N: Hope you guys liked the last chapter because the story's only going to get better! There's going to be one good surprise and a little bad one, but please just go with it.
Disclaimer – I do not own Dragon Ball Z or Avatar the Last Airbender
Chapter 10
After their last adventure, the Gang was camping inside a forest that had trees with red leaves. Momo had wandered off on his own to find some food. He spotted a bug on a branch and pounced on it, but the bug escaped his grasp and flew away. The Lemur climbed after the bug; it landed on the ground and Momo pounced at it again. The bug flew away and Momo spotted a pile of litchi nuts on top of some red leaves. He jumped at the nuts and ended up ensnared in a metal cage that was hanging from a tree. There were two more cages with Hog Monkeys trapped in them. The animals started screeching in fear.
"Where's Momo?" asked Aang.
The four teens suddenly heard the Lemur Bat's screeching and went to find him; they finally came across the three cages hanging from trees. "Hang on, Momo!" said Aang. The Airbender jumped up the trees to where his lemur was caged. He lowered the cage to the water Tribe siblings, who released Momo. The Lemur jumped out of his cage and started munching on a nut, making Sokka slap his forehead. Aang landed on the ground in time for the other two traps to be cut down from their trees, courtesy of Gohan. The cages hit the ground and split open, allowing the Hog Monkeys to escape.
"These are Fire Nation traps; you can tell from the metal work," said Sokka as he examined the cages. "We'd better pack up camp and get moving!"
The three benders quickly packed up the things and were loading them onto their flying beasts until Sokka interrupted them. "Uh uh, no flying this time!" said Sokka.
"What? Why wouldn't we fly?" asked Aang.
"Think about it. Somehow Prince Zuko, Prince Trunks, and the Fire Nation keep finding us," replied Sokka."It's because they spot Appa; he's too noticeable."
"What? Appa's not too noticeable!" Katara defended the bison.
"He's a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head! It's kinda hard to miss him!" Sokka pointed out.
"Sokka's just jealous 'cause he doesn't have an arrow," said Aang to Appa.
"And Icarus doesn't help either," said Sokka.
"How does Icarus help the Fire nation find us?" asked Gohan.
"An adorable little magic beast flying through the sky isn't something you see every day," said Sokka.
"Considering how fast he flies, he's not something you can see at all," argued Gohan.
"I know you all wanna fly but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk," said Sokka.
"Who made you the boss?" asked Katara.
"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader," Sokka corrected his sister.
"You're the leader? But your voice still cracks," laughed Katara.
"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior, so I'm the leader!" said Sokka as he tried to deepen his voice.
"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang. I mean he is the Avatar," said Katara.
"Are you kidding? He's just a goofy kid," argued Sokka.
"He's right," agreed Aang as he was hanging upside down from Appa's horn.
"What about Gohan? He's an Energy bender and he's better at fighting than you are," said Katara.
"Yeah, when it comes to using his fists instead of his head," argued Sokka.
"Hey! I can use my head in a fight!" argued Gohan indignantly.
"Sure you can, you're just not a leader," said Sokka as he picked up his stuff.
"Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader?" asked Katara. "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."
"I've kissed a girl, you just haven't met her," said Sokka without looking at his sister.
"Who? Gran-Gran? I've met Gran-Gran," teased Katara.
"No, besides Gran-Gran!" said Sokka. "Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance slipping through on foot, and a leader has to trust his instincts," said Sokka.
"Ok, we'll try it your way, o wise leader," said Katara.
"Who knows, walking might be fun," said Aang as he picked up his own bag. After walking for ten minutes, the monk, the Waterbender, and the fighter were tired of walking. "Walking stinks!" complained Aang. "How do people go anywhere without a flying bison or dragon?" "Well I don't know, Aang, why don't you ask Sokka's instincts?" Katara suggested sarcastically. "They seem to know everything." "I doubt they'll have an answer to that question," said Gohan. "Ha ha, very funny," said Sokka. "I'm tired of carrying this pack," said Aang. "You know who you should ask to carry it for awhile? Sokka's instincts," joked Katara. "That's a great idea!" agreed Aang. "Hey, Sokka's instincts, would you mind…"
"Ok ok, I get it!" said Sokka. "Look guys, I'm tired too, but the important thing is that we're safe from the fire… nation…"
As Sokka said that, the Gang walked through a bush right into a fire nation camp; the four teens stared with wide eyes at the numerous Firebenders and Fire soldiers who were looking back at them with surprised looks. "Or at least we would be if we just flew away on our too noticeable beasts," whispered Gohan. "RUN!" ordered Sokka. The Gang dropped their bags and tried to flee, but the soldiers quickly got up after them. The captain shot fire to block their path.
"We're cut off!" said Sokka.
"Sokka, your shirt!" cried Aang.
Katara quickly brought out some water from her pouch and used it to douse the fire on her brother's clothing. The Fire camp cornered the Gang, so the four teens held their positions as they prepared to fight their way out. "If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you," said Sokka. "What are you doing?" whispered Katara. "Bluffing," Sokka whispered back. "I don't think he's buying it," whispered Gohan.
"You? Promise not to hurt us?" asked the Captain when he was suddenly struck by something and fell on his face, unconscious. "Nice work, Sokka," said Aang. "How'd you do that?" "Uh, instinct?" replied Sokka. "I don't think that was him," said Gohan. "Look!" cried Katara as she pointed toward the trees. A young man with dark brown hair, wearing different pads on his clothing was standing on a branch; he pulled twin hooked swords and swung from a tree branch, landing on top of two fire soldiers. The teenager charged at two more soldiers and grabbed their ankles with his swords. He front flipped and tossed the soldiers onto their captain, where they fell unconscious.
"Down you go!" said the teen as he landed on his feet.
The Gang stared at the teenage warrior in curiosity while another soldier tried to strike the teen from behind, but he quickly blocked the attack and knocked out the soldier. Another boy with brown hair wearing a red headband, white shirt, and strange gauntlets that had wrist blades on them descended from the trees. He kicked one of the soldiers and blocked an assault from another before punching him in the face. A third fire soldier tried to jab him, but he deflected the spear and elbow bashed him, knocking him out. "They're in the trees!" said one soldier when a little boy suddenly pounced on his head and turned his helmet backwards; the soldier ran around blindly with the boy laughing on his head.
Arrows were suddenly flying around, disarming many of the soldiers; a teenage archer with a straw hat was hanging from a tree firing those arrows. Another boy jumped down and took out two soldiers, while a girl with a knife appeared and ran to fight.
The first boy looked toward Aang and Katara, who were using their bending to take out a few soldiers. Gohan pulled out his sword and charged at a soldier. The soldier blocked Gohan's strike and the two pushed against each other until Gohan skull bashed the soldier to knock him out. "Sokka's right, it is good to use your head in a fight," said Gohan. He fired a ki wave that blew away three soldiers before jumping up and shooting two soldiers in the chests with energy attacks that knocked them out. Sokka readied his boomerang as a Soldier charged at him, but the soldier was quickly knocked out by the boy with hook swords.
"Hey, he was mine!" complained Sokka.
"Gotta be quicker next time," said the teen which made Sokka frown.
Two soldiers backed away in fear when a huge man suddenly appeared behind them; they held out their swords, but the man pulled out a piece of wood and used it to smash their blades, causing them to run away. Gohan and the second teen were back to back as they were surrounded by six soldiers; the two fighters looked at each other and nodded. Gohan jumped over the boy and swung his sword at the ground, causing dust to fly into three of the soldiers' faces, blinding them as Gohan knocked them out. The second boy jumped at the other three soldiers and kicked two of them away before palm striking the last one.
The lead boy smirked until he noticed a soldier behind him, the soldier attempted to impale the teen but he used his swords to halt the spear; the boy quickly knocked the soldier down and threw the spear at another soldier that Sokka was about to fight, making him fall unconscious. "Man!" complained the Tribesman.
Another Soldier tried to get the teen from behind but he blocked the spear; the two broke away and the soldier twirled his weapon, the teen stomped on the soldier's head, knocking out before running up to the Water Tribe Girl.
"Hey," the boy smoothly greeted Katara.
"Hi," Katara greeted back.
They looked around and saw that the whole camp had been defeated; all the soldiers had run away, abandoning the camp. "You just took out a whole army almost single-handed," said Aang, clearly impressed. "Army? There were only like twenty guys!" scoffed Sokka, clearly unimpressed. "You didn't take out a single guy Sokka," said Gohan. "Shut up," said Sokka. The lead boy turned to the Gang and introduced his gang and himself. "My name is Jet," said the boy before pointing to the other brown haired teen. "That's my right-hand man Pigero, and these are my Freedom Fighters," Jet gestured at each kid who moved when introduced "Sneers, Long shot, Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, and the Duke."
Sneers was eating a bowl of chow, Long shot just looked up, Smellerbee slashed her swords while holding a knife in her mouth, Pipsqueak put his wood away and the Duke held a rod. Aang approached the Duke mistaking him for Pipsqueak and said "Pipsqueak, that's a funny name," "You think my name is funny?" asked the big man who was actually Pipsqueak angrily. "It's hilarious," replied Aang. The three laughed together as Pipsqueak slapped Aang on the back and knocked him to the ground.
Gohan approached Pigero and offered his hand. "Hey, my name's Gohan. You've got some nice fighting skills," said Gohan. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself," said Pigero as he shook Gohan's hand. "Nice headband," said Gohan. "You too," said Pigero."
A few moments later, the Freedom Fighters were searching the camp and gathering supplies. Sokka watched the kids with suspicion; Katara approached Jet who was resting against a tree chewing on some wheat. "Um, thanks for saving us jet," said Katara shyly. "We were lucky you were there." "I should be thanking you," said Jet. "We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning; we just needed the right distraction and then you guys stumbled in," "We were relying on instinct," said Katara as she looked at her brother and frowned. "You'll get yourself killed doing that," Jet said as Sokka walked away. Pipsqueak and the Duke were looking through some red barrels; the Duke brought out some goo and sniffed it.
"Hey Jet, these barrels are filled with blasting jelly," the Duke informed his leader.
"That's a great score," said Jet.
"And these boxes are filled with jelly candy," said Pipsqueak as he held up a big box.
"Also good," said Jet. "Let's not get those mixed up."
"We'll take this stuff back to the hideout," said the Duke as they loaded the stuff onto a cart.
"You guys have a hideout?" asked Aang.
"You wanna see it?" asked Jet.
"Yes, we wanna see it!" Katara answered excitingly.
The Gang was lead through the forest by Jet's gang until they stopped in between some trees. "We're here," said Jet. "Where? There's nothing here," said Sokka. "Hold this," instructed Jet as he handed Sokka rope. The Water Tribesman took the rope and asked "Why what's this do?" before he was suddenly yanked into the trees by the rope. "Aang?" asked Jet as he offered him a rope. "Gohan and I will get up on our own," said Aang. Everyone watched as the two boys jumped from branch to branch until they were above the leaves. "Grab hold of me Katara," said Jet as he held out his hand.
The Waterbender took Jet's hand and was suddenly pulled in close to him; the two were slowly pulled upward, Katara blushed as she clung to Jet and stared at his face. The two were finally brought to the Freedom Fighters' hideout. "Nice place you got!" complemented Aang as he sped down a zip line. The hideout had tents in trees and bridges from one tree to another.
"It's beautiful up here," said Katara.
"It's beautiful, and more importantly the Fire Nation can't find us," said Jet.
"They'd love to find you, wouldn't they Jet?" said Smellerbee as she came up.
"It's not gonna happen Smellerbee," said Jet.
"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" asked Katara.
"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble," replied Jet. "See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back,"
"We've been ambushing their troops, cutting off their supply lines and anything we can to mess with em!" explained Pipsqueak.
"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good, and free that town!" assured Jet.
"That's so brave," said Katara.
"Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a tree house," said Sokka.
"Don't pay any attention to my brother," said Katara.
"No problem, he probably had a rough day," said Jet.
"So, you all live here?" asked Katara.
"That's right," answered Jet. "Long shot over there, his town got burned down by the Fire Nation; and we found the Duke trying to steal our food, I don't think he ever really had a home. Pigero's town was wrecked by a tidal wave and right after that; the Fire Nation destroyed what was left of it."
"What about you?" asked Katara.
Jet stopped walking and looked down; his gang left him while Katara stood next to him. "The Fire Nation killed my Parents, I was only eight years old." said Jet. "That day changed me forever,"
"Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation," said Katara.
"I'm so sorry Katara," said Jet.
Night had fallen and the Gang had decided to stick with Jet's gang for the time being; Appa rested in the trees, scaring off a flock of birds. The Freedom Fighters were all gathered around Jet stood on the dinner table and he addressed the successful ambush against the Fire Nation camp. "Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine!" said Jet, making the kids cheer. "I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face when the Duke drop down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey," everyone cheered again and the Duke a victory lap around the dinner table before jet spoke again. "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees; maybe they're right,"
All the kids booed that statement, "Or maybe, they're dead wrong!" said Jet darkly. The Freedom Fighters cheered again for their leader, Jet got off the table and went to sit by the Gang. "Hey Jet, nice speech." said Katara.
"Thanks," said Jet. "By the way, I was really impressed with you and Aang, that was some great bending I saw out there today,"
"Well he's great, He's the Avatar. I could use some more training," said Katara humbly.
"Avatar huh? Very nice," said Jet to Aang.
"Thanks, Jet." said Aang.
"And Gohan, you did some sweet fighting today, I know Pigero was impressed by it," said Jet.
"Thanks," said Gohan in between stuffing his face with food.
"You've got a big appetite," said Pigero who was sitting by him.
"You have no idea," said Gohan.
"So, what was that bending you used?" asked Pigero.
"That was Energy bending," replied Gohan.
"You're an Energybender? Didn't think any still existed," said Pigero.
"Well they do, and I'm one of them." said Gohan.
"Anyway, I might know a way Aang and Katara might be able to help in our struggle," suggested Jet.
"Unfortunately, we have to leave tonight," said Sokka as he quickly got up to leave.
"Sokka you're kidding me, I needed you on an important mission tomorrow," said Jet, clearly flattering the Tribesman. Sokka stopped walking and asked "What mission?" as he turned around. "Some of the guys and I are going on a scouting mission tomorrow and I want you to come with us," explained Jet. "We could you're unique skill, so what do you say? Wanna come?" Sokka thought about it for a moment, he looked towards his sister who was giving him a look that told him that he'd better do it. "Fine, I'll go," said Sokka. "Great, we go in the morning," said Jet.
"I'm not going with you guys," said Pigero.
"Come on Pigero, seriously?" asked Jet.
"We've had too many close calls where the Fire Nation almost found us, and it's gets harder to hide the bigger we get," said Pigero. "Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, and the newbie should be enough help,"
"Newbie?!" cried Sokka.
"Are you sure Pigero?" asked Jet.
"Yeah, I'll stay and keep an eye on things at the hideout," replied Pigero.
"Alright then," said Jet.
"Hey Pigero," said Gohan getting the boy's attention. "I was wondering if you want to spar tomorrow."
"You wanna spar with me? Are you serious?" asked Pigero.
"Yeah, I always enjoy testing my skills against fighters that I think are strong, and I want to see what you can do!" said Gohan.
"Well, I can't say I'm not interested," said Pigero. "Plus you could probably give me a real challenge,"
"So what do you say?" asked Gohan.
"Sure, how about first thing tomorrow before the guys go on their mission?" asked Pigero.
"You got it!" replied Gohan.
The next morning, all the Freedom Fighters sat around in the trees as they were about to witness Gohan and Pigero duke it out. Gohan's companions sat by Jet, everyone watched anxiously as Gohan and Pigero stood on two different branches and faced each other. "Gohan doesn't know what he's getting into," said Jet. "There's a reason Pigero is my second in command." "Don't underestimate my brother," said Aang."If there's one thing he's good at its fighting!" Pigero noticed that his opponent was unarmed and asked "What? No sword?" Gohan smiled and replied "I don't think I'll need it, this is a spar after all."
"Alright then, I'll play along." said Pigero as he removed his gauntlets. "Even without his weapons, Pigero's pretty tough," said Jet. "So is Gohan without his sword." said Sokka. The two combatants took their fighting stances and waited, they carefully watched each other until a single leaf fell through the air in front of them; they suddenly charged at each other and clashed arms. Gohan tried to punch Pigero but his fist was grabbed, Pigero attempted to kick Gohan but the Energybender jumped backwards off the branch to another; as Gohan landed on branch he stumbled a bit due to being unbalanced at first. Pigero noticed this and smirked as he charged at his opponent again.
Gohan dodged Pigero's attack by jumping to another branch; Pigero continued to attack while Gohan continued to evade by jumping to another branch. "Go Gohan!" cried the Gang. "PIGERO! PIGERO!" cheered the Freedom Fighters. Eventually, Gohan landed on a slightly frail branch, it snapped a bit causing him to stumble; Gohan struggled to balance himself and was struck in the face by a kick from Pigero. The young fighter fell off the through the trees before quickly back flipping to grab a branch and swung himself back at Pigero, kicking him back in the face.
Pigero fell off the branch and landed on another branch, Gohan jumped to another branch and the two were staring at each other. "Not bad Gohan," said Pigero. "Thanks, you're pretty good yourself," said Gohan. The two jumped above the leaves and started trading blows with each other, Gohan managed to overtake his opponent by skull bashing him in the face and nailing him with a ki blast; Pigero fell through the leaves and Gohan dove after him, but when he landed on a tree branch, Gohan was surprised to see Pigero was gone. The Energybender looked around confused until he was suddenly pounced on by Pigero; Gohan was forced onto his back as Pigero landed on top of him.
The two tussled for a while before Gohan kicked Pigero off of him onto another tree. Gohan then jumped into the air above the leaves, Pigero climbed after him; when he reached the top he looked around and saw Gohan standing on top of a tree, the leaves of another tree prevented Pigero from seeing below Gohan's waist but above that were clear as day. "What's the matter? Not eager to continue?" asked Gohan as he smirked. "In your dreams!" replied Pigero as he jumped at Gohan, the older fighter tried to punch his opponent but Gohan moved to the side to show that he was standing on air. Pigero's attack missed its target and the young man fell through the trees.
Gohan laughed as his sparring partner supposedly plummets to the ground, he suddenly stopped when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head; he turned around to see Pigero standing on top of a tree with his elbow extended. "I know this forest better than you do kid, you can't get me with a simple trick like that." said Pigero.
"You're very strong Pigero, you've got a lot of potential," said Gohan.
"Thanks, you're amazing yourself." said Pigero. The climbed back to the hideout where everyone was waiting, once they got there, Jet, Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, and Sokka left to go on their scouting mission.
Moments later, Jet and Sokka were standing on the branches of one tree while Pipsqueak and Smellerbee were hiding in another. Jet whistled like a bird to his friends and they whistled back, Sokka placed a knife into the tree and put his ear by it. "What are you doing?" asked Jet. "Shh, it amplifies vibration," explained Sokka. "Good trick," said Jet. Sokka waited for a while and said "Nothing yet. Wait yes, someone's approaching!" "How many?" asked Jet. "I think there's just one," answered Sokka. The Freedom leader whistled to his team and said to Sokka. "Good work Sokka, ready your weapon."
Sokka pulled out his knife; he looked at the trespasser and saw an elderly man with a walking stick passing through. "Wait! False alarm, he's just an old man!" Sokka alerted Jet, but the leader brought his swords and jumped down, blocking the man's path.
"What are you doing in our woods, you leech?!" Jet asked sternly.
"Please sir, I'm just a traveler," replied the old man before his cane was knocked away by Jet. The teen pointed his sword at the old man; he tried to turn and run but ended up crashing into Pipsqueak, the giant turned the man over and pinned him to the ground with his foot. Jet approached the old man and asked "Do you like destroying towns?! Do you like destroying families?! Do you?! Do you?!" as the man cowered in fear. "Please, let me go. Have mercy," begged the man. "Does the Fire Nation let people go?!Does the Fire Nation have mercy?!" Jet asked furiously. He raised his foot to kick the man but Sokka grabbed it with his war club.
"Jet, he's just an old man!" urged Sokka.
"He's Fire Nation, search him!" ordered Jet.
"But he's not hurting anyone!" argued Sokka.
"Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother?" asked Jet. "Remember why you fight!"
"We got his stuff Jet!" Smellerbee informed her leader.
"This doesn't feel right!" argued Sokka.
"It's what has to be done," dismissed Jet. "Now let's get out of here,"
Jet, Smellerbee, and Pipsqueak walked away leaving Sokka with the old man. Sokka looked back at the old man who stared at the Tribesman. "Come on Sokka!" yelled Jet. Sokka quickly left the old traveler.
Back at the hideout, Aang laughed as he slid down the zip line and landed in front of the brooding Water Tribesman. "Sokka, look what the Duke gave me!" He pulled out a tiny firecracker and smirked, he threw by Momo causing him to shriek when it popped. The Lemur grabbed some from Aang's bag and jumped onto him before throwing them at his feet. "Ow! Quit it!" cried Aang as he danced when the firecrackers exploded at his feet. Gohan then jumped down and greeted his friend. "Hey Sokka, how was the mission?"
Before Sokka could answer, Katara came up to him and asked "Hey Sokka, is Jet back?" "Yeah he's back, but we're leaving!" said Sokka. "What?" asked Aang. "Already?" asked Gohan. "But I made him this hat," said Katara as she showed the hat for Jet. "Your boyfriend Jet's a thug!" said Sokka sternly. "What? No he's not," said Katara. "He's messed up Katara!" said Sokka. "He's not messed up," said Aang. "He's just got a different way of life, a really fun way of life," "He beat and robbed a harmless old man!" said Sokka, his sister crossed her arms in disbelief and frowned as she said "I wanna hear Jet's side of the story,"
"Sokka, you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?" Jet asked calmly when the Gang came to confirm Sokka's story. "No, he conveniently left that part out," replied Katara as the benders looked at Sokka. "Fine, but even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian." argued Sokka. "He was an Assassin Sokka," said Jet, he then pulled out a knife and placed it on a stump; he twisted the knob on the hilt and pulled out a vile containing poison. "See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife, he was sent to eliminate me; you help save my life Sokka," Katara seemed to believe Jet's story but Sokka was doubtful.
"I knew there was an explanation," said Katara.
"I didn't see any knife," said Sokka.
"That's because he was concealing it," said Jet.
"See Sokka, I'm sure you just didn't see them knife," assured Katara.
"There was no knife!" stated Sokka. "I'm going back to the hut and packing my things!"
"Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet," said Jet once Sokka left. "I really need your help,"
"What can we do?" asked Aang.
"The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest," explained Jet. "If you guys use Waterbending to fill the reservoir we can fight the fires; but if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley,"
Sokka was busy getting his things together when his friends came to reason with him. "We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest!" argued the Southern Waterbender. "I'm sorry Katara," apologized Sokka. "Jet's very smooth, but we can't trust him," "Maybe Sokka's right," suggested Gohan. "I can sense a lot of anger and malice from him, Pigero as well." "You know what I think? Sokka's just jealous of Jet because he's a better warrior and a better leader!" accused Katara.
"Katara I'm not jealous of Jet," said Sokka. "It's just that my instincts…"
"Well my instincts tell me we need to stay here a little longer and help Jet!" declared Katara. "Come on Aang,"
"Sorry Sokka," apologized the Monk as he followed the Waterbender.
The two left the hut, leaving Gohan alone with Sokka. "Don't worry Sokka," said the fighter, trying to comfort his friend. "After we save the forest from the Fire Nation, we can leave and you can go back to being our leader," The spiky-haired teen then exited the hut, leaving Sokka alone.
At night, the sky bison was snoring soundly as it slept on top of the trees. The Gang was fast asleep as well, until a certain "Let's go" command from Jet woke up Sokka. He looked outside the hut and saw several Freedom Fighters scaling down the hideout, the Tribesman quickly lowered himself onto a branch where he saw Jet leading his gang through the forest while pulling a cart of blasting jelly. Sokka kept himself hidden while following the Freedom Fighters to the edge of a cliff; there was a perfect view the valley and a dam that blocked off most of the water from the river. Jet stopped at the cliff and looked towards the dam before addressing his gang.
"Now listen, you're not to blow the dam til I give the signal," Jet told Long shot. "If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation Troops could survive,"
"But what about the people in the town?" asked the Duke. "Won't they get wiped out too?"
"Look Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation," replied Jet as he put his hand on Duke's shoulder; he then turned to Long Shot and said, "Now don't blow the dam until I give the signal, got it?" The Archer nodded.
Sokka's face held shock at what he just heard, there was some rustling in the bushes before Sokka was suddenly yanked by his ponytail, curtsey of Pipsqueak. "Where do you think you're going ponytail?" asked Smellerbee as she held a knife at Sokka's throat.
Moments later, Sokka was brought to Jet and Pigero at the edge of the cliff by Pipsqueak and Smellerbee. "Sokka, I'm glad you decided to join us," said Jet as Sokka was thrown at his feet.
"I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town," confessed Sokka.
"Our plan is to rid the Valley of the Fire Nation," explained Jet.
"There are people living there Jet, Mothers, and Fathers, and children!" argued Sokka.
"We can't win a war without making some sacrifices," said Pigero
"You lied to the others about the forest fire!" accused Sokka.
"Cause they don't understand the demands of war," said Jet. "Not like you and I do,"
"I do understand, I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want," said Sokka.
"I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice," said a disappointed Jet. Pipsqueak and Smellerbee advanced on Sokka while Jet grabbed his wrist with his swords. "I can't let you warn Katara and Aang," said Jet before he addressed his followers "Take him for a walk, a long walk!" "You can't do this!" said Sokka as he struggled. "Cheer up Sokka, we're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today!" said Jet. Suddenly a ki blast was fired at the ground in between Jet, Pigero, Pipsqueak, Smellerbee, and Sokka. The explosion knocked Jet and Pigero off the cliff, but Pigero quickly grabbed onto the cliff before grabbing Jet's hand.
Gohan soon jumped in front of the Freedom Fighters restraining his friend; he placed his hands forward and unleashed a gale force attack that pushed the two to the edge of the cliff. "Gohan?" asked Sokka. The Energybender grabbed Sokka's wrist and said "Come on, let's go!" The two ran into the forest at Jet and Pigero were pulled onto the cliff. "After them! Don't let them warn Katara and Aang!" ordered Jet. The three Freedom Fighters chased after the two travelers; Gohan and Sokka quickly hid behind some bushes to avoid their pursuers. "How did you know?" asked Sokka.
Gohan peeked through the bushes as he answered "I saw several Freedom Fighters sneaking out at night with a cart of blasting jelly; then I saw Pipsqueak and Smellerbee dragging you through the woods and followed them,"
"So you know Jet's plan?" asked Sokka.
"You mean to wipe out the town with the Fire Nation by flooding it? Yeah I know," said Gohan.
The young fighter quickly hid himself when he saw the Freedom Fighters coming; Pigero, Pipsqueak, and Smellerbee wandered around as they searched for the boys. "There's no point in hiding!" said Pigero. "You can't stop us, so just come out and we'll go easy on you guys!" The Freedom Fighters passed the bush the boys were hiding behind while still looking around.
"They won't go until they find us," said Sokka.
"Then I'll just have to lead them away so that you can stop Jet's plan," said Gohan.
"What?" asked Sokka.
"I'll reveal myself and get them to chase me while you escape and stop the Freedom Fighters from destroying the town." explained Gohan.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," said Sokka.
"Sokka, what do your instincts tell you?" asked Gohan.
Sokka thought for a moment before nodding his head in agreement, Gohan smiled as he gripped his sword and prepared to play the decoy; he looked back at Sokka one more time before saying "Sokka, trust your instincts," the spiky-haired teen then ran out the bushes right in front of the three Freedom Fighters. "There's Gohan!" cried Smellerbee. The Energybender swung his sword at them, creating another air current slash that blinded the three pursuing teens. When their vision returned, they saw the son of Goku scaling a tree and jumping away on branches.
Pipsqueak and Smellerbee were about to chase after the boy but Pigero placed his hand out to stop them. "Keep looking for Sokka, I'll handle this one!" said Pigero as he brought out his wrist blades, the two Freedom Fighters nodded as Pigero climbed up the tree and followed Gohan. The two fighters jumped through the trees, Gohan looked back and was surprised to see Pigero gaining on him. "He's faster than I thought," thought Gohan. The young fighter eventually stopped fleeing and turned to face Pigero. The Freedom Fighter stood on branch as he and Gohan stared each other down. "I don't see Pipsqueak or Smellerbee, they must be looking for Sokka," thought Gohan. "I have to help him!"
"If you're thinking about going to help your friend then forget about it," said Pigero, "I'm not going to let you get past me!"
"It doesn't have to be this way Pigero, we don't have to do this!" argued Gohan.
"Yes we do; if you're not with us Gohan than you're against us!" replied Pigero.
"Why are you doing this?! What do you get out of sacrificing an entire town just to kill a small part of the Fire Nation?!" asked Gohan.
"It's not for my sake; it's for the sake of the people living there so that they don't die slowly due to this war like my people did!" said Pigero.
"What do you mean?!" asked Gohan.
"My town was struck by a tidal wave; the survivors tried their best to salvage whatever food they could find. After a while it seemed that we would survive the war, but then the Fire Nation attacked our village! They destroyed everywhere with fire, and in all that destruction I learned the truth, my village would never survived the war; the death by fire actually saved my people from dying slowly and painfully due to starvation and solitude." explained Pigero as he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "All my friends and families were spared the pain of living in through this war, and I was lucky enough to survive so that I can make sure that this town doesn't suffer the fate I almost suffered by helping Jet complete his plan!"
"You can't be serious! It's not too late to stop this madness, we don't have to fight?!" urged Gohan.
"In times of war, there are no sides, no allies, no friends and no enemies," replied Pigero as he took a stance. "There is only kill or be killed, the strong survive and the weak must die!"
"I guess I have no choice but to fight you," said Gohan as he pulled out his sword and took a stance.
"Prepare yourself Gohan, cause this time I won't hold back!" warned Pigero.
"Well I won't either!" said Gohan.
The two fighters glared at each other before they charged, Gohan raised his sword and brought down with all his might; Pigero held up his blades and crossed them, the sword collided with the blades and the two pushed against each other.
Elsewhere, Jet was directing Katara and Aang towards the reservoir. "Jet, I'm sorry about how Sokka's been acting," said Katara.
"No worries, he already apologized," Jet lied.
"Really? Sokka apologized?" asked Aang.
"Yeah, I was surprised too," said Jet. "I got the sense that maybe you talked to him or something,"
"Yeah I did," admitted Katara.
"I guess something you said got through to him; anyhow, he and Gohan went out on a scouting mission with Pigero, Pipsqueak, and Smellerbee," Jet lied again.
"I'm glad he cooled off, he can be stubborn sometimes," said Katara.l
Aang was suddenly launched into the air by a steam of water from the ground. "Alright, we're here," said Jet. There were geysers all around the three teens, the river was flowing smoothly beside them as more streams shot out of the ground.
"Underground water is trying to escape from these vents, I need you guys to help it along," explained Jet.
"I've never used bending on water I can't see," said Katara, feeling doubtful of her abilities. "I don't know,"
"Katara, you can do this," said Jet encouragingly as he placed his hand on the Waterbender's shoulders.
"What about me?" asked Aang.
"I know the Avatar can do this," said Jet.
The two Waterbenders stood by one of the vents and moved their hands up and down in sync. The water slowly rose from underground to the surface; the water eventually shot out of the ground and the two benders directed it towards the river.
"Yes, good job!" cheered Jet. "This river empties into the reservoir, a few more geysers and it will be full,"
"Look, there's another steam vent!" said Aang.
"Ok, you two keep it up, I'll go check on things at the reservoir," said Jet as he started to leave.
"When we're done we'll meet you over there," said Katara making Jet frown.
"Actually, probably better if you meet back at the hideout when you're done." suggested Jet as he left, the two didn't argue and went back to bending water out of the geysers. After some time, Aang and Katara had just finished bending more water into the river when Aang finally said "I bet that's enough, and I'm not just saying that to be lazy," There were rows of water shooting out of the geysers flowing into the river. "Let's catch up with Jet at the reservoir," suggested Katara. "I thought we agreed to meet Jet back at the hideout?" questioned the Avatar. "Well, we finished early, I'm sure he'll be happy to see us," said the Waterbender confidently.
Meanwhile, Pipsqueak and Smellerbee had somehow managed to find and recapture Sokka, and were now walking him through the forest with his hands tied behind his back. "Come on, move along!" ordered Smellerbee as she pushed Sokka. "How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?" asked Sokka. "Hey listen Sokka, Jet's a great leader! We follow what he says, and things always turn out ok!" argued Pipsqueak. As the three walked, Sokka noticed two stacks of litchi nuts on top of some leaves and got an idea. "If that's how Jet leads, then he's got a lot to learn!" said Sokka as he dashed towards the litchi nuts.
"Hey!" cried Smellerbee as she and Pipsqueak chased after him; Sokka jumped over the nuts, the two Freedom Fighters ran over them and were caught in the Fire Nation traps. "While you two are up there you might wanna practice your knot work," suggested Sokka as he showed his untied hands before leaving the two in the trees. "Hey Smellerbee, you gonna eat your litchi nuts?" Pipsqueak asked his friend, she answered by tossing hers at him, which he picked up eagerly.
Back with Gohan, the young fighter was still battling against Pigero; the two jumped from branch to branch as the clashed. Gohan fired multiple ki blasts at his opponent, but Pigero was swift, he managed to avoid all of them with ease. Gohan growled as he lost track of Pigero's movements in the trees, he looked around but saw no sign of him. "Where is he?" Gohan asked himself, his question was suddenly answered when he looked up and saw Pigero descending on him; acting quickly, Gohan turned his sword horizontally to block Pigero's blades.
The pressure of the two warriors caused the branch they were on to snap; as they fell through the trees Gohan reversed the struggle by throwing Pigero downward and swinging his sword at him, the Freedom Fighter brought up his blades and blocked Gohan's attack. They landed in another tree and Gohan backed away from Pigero.
"How can you just help Jet wipe out those innocent people?!" asked Gohan. "How can you sacrifice them just to take out the Fire Nation?!"
"I told you, I'm sparing them the pain of living under the Fire Nation tyranny before they eventually die in the future!" argued Pigero.
"You're supposed to be protecting the innocent, not killing them as well!" said Gohan. "What's the point of fighting to freedom if you're going to kill everyone?!"
"The point is that once the Fire Nation takes a place, its fate is to be destroyed, either by the Fire Nation or by something else!" answered Pigero. "The moment the Fire Nation took over that town, it might only death could save it!"
When Gohan heard Pigero's answer he dropped his head and lowered his blade, Pigero took notice of this and charged at his foe; when Pigero got close, he thrust one of his blades at Gohan's head; the son of Goku suddenly glared up and swung his sword upward, snapping one of Pigero's wrist blades. The Freedom Fighter stared in shock as his broken blade flew through the air, allowing Gohan to palm strike him in the chest and knock him into another tree, Pigero slowly stood up and looked at the Energybender.
"If that's how you feel, then there's no point in trying to talk you out of it," said Gohan. "I'm done with words!"
"Oh, so what are you going to do?" asked Pigero.
"I will stop you!" said Gohan as he tossed up his sword, placed his hands over his head; he channeled energy into his palms and shouted "MASENKOHA!" as he fired a gold ki blast at Pigero. The Freedom Fighter quickly jumped away, allowing the blast to nail the tree and leave a large hole in it.
Gohan moved his head back and forth as he tried to keep track of Pigero's movements, but the Freedom Fighter dashed to and fro through the trees with greet speed. Gohan jumped up and grabbed his weapon as he prepared to resume fighting. The spiky haired teen patiently waited for his opponent to reveal himself when he was suddenly struck from behind; the attacker knocked Gohan off his branch, causing to fall onto another one. Gohan quickly got up and readied himself, Pigero struck again, hitting Gohan at the side. The Freedom Fighter continuously attacked Gohan, dashing at him incredibly fast; Gohan put away his sword and stood completely still, his opponent suddenly charged at him but Gohan managed to dodge him.
Gohan charged at Pigero and punched his face, the older teen quickly recovered and the two were locked in combat. Every blade strike from Pigero was dodged by Gohan and countered with his own attack; eventually the young fighter got the best of Pigero by kicking him to another branch. Gohan started firing more energy attacks at his enemy but Pigero started dodging as he jumped from tree to tree. "This going nowhere, and I'm exhausting my ki." thought Gohan. "How am I ever going to beat him if I can't track his movements?!"
Pigero suddenly jumped at Gohan and thrust his blade forward, but Gohan quickly caught the blade in between his hands, inches away from his face. The son of Goku then skull bashed Pigero, forcing him to recoil before fleeing to hide again. Gohan then got an idea and stood up straight as he said "Come on Pigero, let's end this already!" The Freedom Fighter rushed at his foe with his leg ready, Gohan made no attempt to dodge or block the blow to his face; the younger teen was kicked off the trees, he fell through the trees, painfully bouncing from branches before he crashed landed on the ground. Gohan struggled to get up when Pigero stomped on his right leg, breaking it in the process.
"ARRGH!" cried Gohan as he instinctively kicked Pigero away, The Freedom Fighter watched as Gohan limped away until he slumped against a tree, Pigero then pulled out a knife from his back and threw it at the Energybender; the blade impaled Gohan's left shoulder, the boy grit his teeth as he grabbed the knife and forcefully pulled it out of his shoulder. He glanced at the knife when he saw a light red liquid dripping from his shoulder.
"Isn't this the poison knife?" asked Gohan.
"That's right, which means you won't be using that arm for some time," said Pigero as he slowly approached his victim.
The Energybender grasped his shoulder as he slowly arose to his feet, his vision became blurry as he coughed up blood; he glared at Pigero who returned the look with his own angry one. "You still refuse to give up?" asked Pigero furiously, Gohan didn't reply as he clenched his fist and stood his ground, Pigero grew annoyed and charged at the spiky haired teen with his blade drawn. At the last second, Gohan grabbed Pigero's wrist blade before it could impale him; the blade scraped against Gohan's right hand, cutting it as he held it tightly while blood dripped from his palm. "Now you can use any of your limbs," said Pigero. "You've lost this fight!"
"That's what you think, but it's you who's lost, cause now I've got you right where I want you!" said Gohan, he closed his eyes and channeled his ki throughout his body. "KA…ME…HA…ME…" chanted Gohan, Pigero tried to back away but Gohan still held onto his wrist blade. "Nice bluff, I know you need your arms to fire those energy attacks," said Pigero. Gohan suddenly kicked Pigero upward and shouted "HAA!" as he opened his mouth wide and a blue sphere of ki appeared in it. The Kamehameha beam shot out of Gohan's mouth and hit Pigero at point-blank range, blasting him into a tree. Pigero's body fell to the floor, smoking from Gohan's attack. The Freedom Fighter attempted to get up but passed out rather quickly.
Gohan started breathing heavily as he grasped his shoulder; he glanced at then defeated Pigero and sighed when he saw that he was still breathing. "Good, he's still alive," thought Gohan, he then pulled out his sword and stabbed his wounded shoulder; Gohan winced as he his blood that was mixed with poison spilled onto the ground. When the poison was cleared Gohan focused ki into his hand and tapped his shoulder with it, the energy swarmed around the shoulder and stopped his bleeding. "Ok, now I have to…find…Sokka," Gohan said before he slowly fell unconscious.
Speak of the Water Tribesman; he came running through forest when he saw the unconscious bodies of Gohan and Pigero; without a second thought he picked up his friend and carried him away.
At the reservoir, Aang and Katara were standing at the edge of the cliff when they saw some Freedom Fighters unloading blasting jelly from a cart by the dam. "What are they doing?" asked Katara.
"Hey, those are the red barrels they got from the Fire Nation," Aang pointed out.
"Why would they need blasting jelly?" asked Katara.
"Because Jet's going blow up the dam!" said Aang with wide eyes.
"What?! No, that would destroy the town; Jet wouldn't do that!" argued Katara.
"I've gotta stop em!" Aang said as he opened his glider.
"Jet wouldn't do that," Katara said again.
Aang ran towards the edge of the cliff to take off, but Jet suddenly dashed past him and swiped his glider; the monk almost fell off the cliff but managed to save himself with his airbending.
"Yes I would," said Jet.
"Jet, why?" asked Katara.
"Katara, you would too if you'd just stop to think," said Jet. "Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother, we can't let them do that to anyone else ever again!"
"This isn't the answer," argued Katara.
"I want you to understand me, Katara." said Jet as he approached the Waterbender. "I thought your brother would understand, but…"
"Where's Sokka?!" asked Katara as she started to cry; The Freedom leader touched the girl's face, but it only seemed to anger her, she struck Jet in the chest with a the water from her pouch, knocking him onto his back. "I need to get to the dam," said Aang, he ran to pick up his staff but Jet quickly got up and grabbed it with his swords. "You're not going anywhere without your glider!" said Jet, he swung his swords at the Avatar; using his airbending, Aang avoided the attacks and jump into a tree. "I'm not gonna fight you Jet!" said Aang.
"You'll have to if you want your glider back!" said Jet as he climbed the tree after Aang, the Airbender jumped through the trees while Katara watched from the ground. As Aang was running on a tree branch, Jet suddenly swung by and tried to slash at the monk, he quickly ducked as Jet landed on the branch. Aang shot an air blast at Jet, he moved to the side and swung under the branch; he tried to kick Aang but it was blocked by his airbending. Jet swung at Aang again and the Airbender air kicked him away; The Freedom leader swung his blades wildly and Aang countered with another air blast, Jet managed to withstand the blast and rushed at Aang.
Aang jumped up the tree to escape his opponent, and Jet quickly climbed after him. Aang jumped above the trees with Jet right on his tail. The Avatar moved down the tree with the Freedom Fighter trying to attack him; eventually Jet managed to grab Aang with his swords and pull him downward, as they fell, Jet tried to strike Aang but his agility allowed to evade easily. The Bender and Non Bender landed on another branch; Jet swung his swords repeatedly at Aang who used his swift movements to dodge the slashes.
Aang then crawled under the branch to get behind Jet, when he came back up, Jet charged at him but was blown away by strong air current from Aang; he tried to use his swords to hold onto the tree, but the wind was too strong and he was blasted out of the trees; He quickly grabbed onto another tree with his swords but Aang's glider fell out of his grasp. Aang jumped after his staff and Jet jumped after him; the two fell towards the ground with Jet gaining on Aang, the Freedom Fighter then swung on a branch and knocked Aang into a tree.
The Avatar crash landed onto the ground while Jet landed on his feet; Aang weakly got up as Jet was about to attack, he was suddenly struck with a raging wave from Katara. The Waterbender pulled out more water from the river and attacked Jet with it, the Freedom Fighter was backed into a tree before blew cold air at the water, freezing the water on Jet whole body aside from his neck and above.
"Why, Jet? I can't believe I trusted you," said Katara. "You lied to me, you're sick and I trusted you!"
The three suddenly heard a bird-like whistle coming from the dam, being the only one who knew what it meant, Jet whistled back, giving the signal to blow the dam.
"What are you doing?" asked Katara.
"You're too late!" said Jet.
"No!" cried Katara. Aang tried to fly off to the dam, but his glider was wrecked from when Jet snatched it from him, causing him to crash back onto the ground. Katara rushed to Aang's side as he said "Sokka and Gohan are still out there; they're our only chance," "Come on Sokka, I'm sorry I ever doubted you, please!" pleaded Katara. Long shot stood in a tree with a flaming arrow ready, he released the arrow and it sailed towards the dam. "No," said Katara when she saw the arrow, the moment it collided with the dam, the blasting jelly exploded and the dam burst open.
Aang and Katara watched as a giant wave of water rushed through the dam and headed towards the town; in a matter of seconds, the water flooded the whole earth town, wiping it out completely. Destroyed homes, supplies, and a little girl's doll drifted through the water that used to be the town.
"They didn't make it in time," said Aang sadly.
"All those people," mourned Katara before turning to Jet furious. "Jet, you monster!"
"This was a victory Katara, remember that." said Jet. "The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe!"
"It will be safe, without you!" said Sokka, surprising everyone as he showed on Appa along with Icarus, Gohan, and Momo.
"Sokka!" cried Katara.
"I warned the villagers of your plan, just in time," explained Sokka.
"What?!" asked Jet.
"At first they didn't believe me; the Fire Nation soldiers assumed I was a spy, but one man vouched for me, the old man you attacked." Sokka continued to explain. "He urged them to trust me and we got everyone out in time,"
As Sokka spoke, the villagers were safely watching the water the destroyed their town; a little went to the water and picked up her lost doll. "Mrs. Pretty!" she squeaked as she hugged it.
"Sokka, you fool! We could've freed this valley!" argued Jet. Aang jumped onto Appa's saddle and landed next to his brother, who had a bandage over his left shoulder, his right palm and his right leg. "Who would be free?" asked Sokka. "Everyone would be dead!" "You traitor!" said Jet spitefully. "No Jet, you became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people," corrected Sokka. "Katara, please, help me." Jet pleaded to the Waterbender. "Goodbye Jet," said Katara as she climbed onto Appa. "Yip, yip!" commanded Sokka as he whipped the reins; Appa flew off into the sky leaving the Freedom leader behind.
"You look terrible, what happened to you?" Aang asked Gohan.
"I had a little trouble trying to help Sokka, but I'm fine, see Ahh!" groaned Gohan as he touched his shoulder. "The villagers patched me up."
"We thought you guys were going to the dam," said Aang. "How come you went to the town instead?"
"Let em guess, you're instincts told you," said Katara.
"A warrior should follow his allows instincts," said Gohan.
"Hey, sometimes they're right," said Sokka.
"Um, Sokka, you know we're going the wrong way right?" asked Aang as he, Katara, and Gohan shared a smile.
"And sometimes they're wrong," said Sokka as he turned Appa around.
A/N: There, finished. Onto the next chapter and a big thank you to one of my guest reviewers! Whoever you are, you guessed one of my non canon pairings-GohanxTy Lee. You're all free to guess the right but this guy is the one thinking like me. Until next time, TTFN AntiHero out!