Yeah, I have a pretty good vision of how this story should shape up. The key is going to be compressing the scenes that contain plot points. Another interesting article of this chapter (specifically this second part) is that for the first time I'm not giving any exposition or defining any new character points. For right now, I'm just telling a story. This may be the first time I've ever done that at all.

Jet's "Freedom Fighters" scavenged the Fire Nation camp. What was found was mostly unhelpful. Apparently, the Fire Nation army traveled light. They did, however, find several barrels of "blasting jelly". Tom inspected it to find it was basically snot-green napalm. Not entirely surprising. It didn't take long for Aang and particularly Katara to be taken in by Jet's charms. They decided to join Jet at his hideout. It was a tree house that could only be accessed by a pulley (or Aang's airbending) system that was reminiscent to the lifts used by mobile suits from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. The ride was a little brisk, but since Tom already knew how use it, he didn't have as hard a time as Sokka.

The hideout was a small tree house city. Most of the small, one room houses were connected by wooden bridges and different levels could be accessed quickly by zip lines. It all seemed very professional and well thought out. Too well thought out for a bunch of teenagers and children Tom decided. It must have been found and repurposed by Jet. None the less, it was impressive. It was easy to understand how one could have a hard time finding it if they didn't already know where it was.

As they walked, Jet explained a little about who he and his companions were and what they were doing. He also mentioned why; most of his companions had been touched in a negative way by the Fire Nation. "What about you?" Katara asked. Jet stopped and let the group pass. Tom and Katara were the only ones to hear Jet's motivation.

"The Fire Nation killed my parents," he said flatly, "I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever."

"Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation," Katara sighed, her eyes cast down.

"I'm so sorry Katara…"

Katara realized something and looked up. "Oh, I hadn't told you yet, have I Tom? Sorry."

"It's alright. Dwelling on a loss like that will only eat away at you."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," Jet noted, "What's your story?"

Tom smiled. "It's not nearly as interesting as either of yours. And besides, I'm depressed enough as it is!" He gestured to their surroundings, "We're in a tree house city. This is every little kid's dream, we should be having fun!" Tom's joke seemed to lift Katara's spirits at least. He really didn't care much about Jet's state of mind, though he smiled too.

The community in the tree house city was fairly large and surprisingly well organized. The fact that most of the food at dinner was non-native and thus probably stolen from the nearby town was lost to all but Tom. The speech Jet gave during the meal didn't exactly thrill him either. Better fictional orators came to mind, like Lealouch Vi Britannia and Zechs Marquees came to mind. Huh, two mech pilots… If Sokka's attitude was sour, Tom's was apathetic. That was his default though, so there wasn't really anything to notice. Sokka's mood did improve when he was invited along on a "special mission". Tom was invited along as well. Jet seemed to be impressed with Tom, perhaps for the skill he had shown earlier in the day.

The "special mission" turned out to be simply lying in wait in the tree along a forest path. Jet, Sokka, and Tom waited in one tree overlooking the path, while two others, the gargantuan "Pipsqueak" and the young knife fighter Smellerbee, waited in another, just out of sight. Jet signaled the two with a birdcall. When it was returned, Sokka drove his knife into the tree they were in.

"What are you doing?" Jet enquired.

"It amplifies vibrations…"

"Good trick."

Only a few minutes passed before Sokka raised the alarm. "Someone's coming… I think there's just one."

"Good work, Sokka," Jet whispered, sending another birdcall and drawing his twin hooks, "Ready your weapon."

A figure did appear, but it was a harmless old man in red robes and carrying a small travel bag. Sokka tried to call the attack off, but the old man being Fire Nation was more than enough of an offence for Jet. He dropped down in front of the clearly harmless traveler, threatening him venomously. When the old man tried to run, he was met with Pipsqueak and thrown to the ground.

"Please, let me go," the old man begged, "Have mercy!"

"Does the Fire Nation let people go?!" Jet demanded, "Does the Fire Nation have mercy?!" Jet moved to kick the old man, but Sokka caught his Jet's leg with his club.

"Jet he's just an old man!"

"He's Fire Nation," Jet returned, "Search him!"

"But he's not hurting anyone."

"Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother? Remember why you fight!"

"What are you fighting for, Jet?" Tom shot back, showing more emotion than Jet was used to from him.

"I fight for justice. The Fire Nation destroyed our homes, so we're taking something back!"

"That sounds more like revenge to me."

"So what if it is!"

"We got his stuff, Jet," Smellerbee reported.

Tom turned his attention to her and Pipsqueak. "That make you feel strong? Robing the defenseless?" He shoved Smellerbee's shoulder, the surprisingly aggressive act distracting the two long enough so that they didn't notice his hand slip into the bag for a moment.

"What's the matter with you?" Smellerbee demanded.

"Yeah," Pipsqueak agreed, "I thought you were on our side!"

"I'm on the side that protects people."

"Tom's right," Sokka said to Jet, with whom he was arguing, "This doesn't feel right."

"It's what has to be done," Jet finished strongly, "Now let's go." Sokka was reluctant to leave the poor old man, but Tom waived him on. Once they were alone Tom offered the old man a hand.

"Gonna live?" Tom asked kindly.

"Yes, thank you young man," the old man said, "What's an honorable knight like you doing with thugs like that?"

"A knight?" Tom chuckled.

The man shrugged, "I'm old fashioned. And thank you again."

"Oh, before I go," Tom handed something to the old man, "Here's your stuff back." Tom got a look at the contents of the bag as the old man looked them over. They were some kind of documents. "You lost your bag, but you kept your…"

"Financial records, bless you. I'm a banker, you see. You've truly saved me. And your friend as well."

"Well, we try."

"But trying to defend everyone isn't easy. You end up making a lot of enemies that way."

Tom started on his way into the shroud of the woods. "Well," he said with a smile, "who said the life of a knight was supposed to be easy?" With that he vanished into the trees.

Tom found Sokka back at the hideout. They both decided that it was time to leave. After an hour or two, Aang appeared from one of the zip lines, just as enthusiastic as ever, Katara right behind. "Is Jet back?" she asked in a particularly chipper mood.

"Yeah, he's back," he responded crossly, "But we're leaving."

"What? Why?"

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug."

"No he's not!"

"He beat and robbed a helpless old man!"

"Well, he didn't actually hit the guy," Tom interjected, "But that was only because Sokka stopped him."

"I want to hear Jet's side of the story," Katara said, totally unconvinced.

"You told them what happened but you didn't tell them he was Fire Nation?" Jet said easily.

"No," Katara said accusingly, "They conveniently left that out."

"That's because it was irrelevant," Tom returned.

"He was a harmless civilian," Sokka added, "He couldn't hurt a fly!"

"He was an assassin, Sokka," Jet said, producing a knife that seemed to be more decorative than dangerous. "There's a compartment for poison in the knife," he explained, rather convincingly in fact, as he unscrewed the compartment. "You helped save my life, guys."

"I didn't see any knife!" Sokka returned.

"That's because he was concealing it."

"Where was that?" Tom asked knowingly.

"What?"

"Where did he have the knife? You didn't lay a finger on him. Unless you count knocking his walking stick out of his hands."

"It was in his bag."

Tom smiled, "Liar."

The accusation seemed to cut Jet deep. He probably hadn't been met with any moral opposition since he started his marry little band of highway robbers. "Excuse me?!" he gasped, standing bolt upright, "How dare you accuse me of…"

"The bag was empty," Tom said with confidant certainty. Jet's fairly obvious flinch was all Tom needed to let him know he got everything. "You tried to rob an eighty-five year old accountant and you couldn't even get that right!"

Jet, not taking the joke well, closed with Tom and tried to make him back down. He didn't flinch and the two of them ended up almost nose to nose. "You looking for a fight, tough guy?"

"Better be careful, I can actually fight back."

The tension reached a head, and just before someone threw a punch, a blast of cold air washed between them. "Starting a fight won't settle anything," Aang said with surprising strength.

"Look," Katara said calmly, trying to defuse the situation, "even if this one situation wasn't handled well, it doesn't mean that Jet isn't a good person."

"Is that so?" Tom's ire beginning to surface. None in the room had really seen him angry like that. "You're not a freedom fighter, you're a terrorist."

"I'm whatever I have to be," Jet returned.

"And I'm leaving!" Sokka added, "I'm going back to the hut to pack my things. You coming Tom?"

"With pleasure."

Tom and Sokka packed their gear as they waited for the other half of their party to return. "You think they'll listen to us?"

"Well, I'm hoping Aang'll listen, but Katara's pretty smitten with Jet," Tom replied dejectedly, "And she is your sister."

Sokka turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm thinking stubbornness runs in the family." Tom couldn't help but snicker at the sour look Sokka shot him. Just then, Katara and Aang burst in.

"We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down this forest!" Katara implored.

"Working with Jet is a mistake," Tom said tiredly, "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"Well, you almost tried to rip Jet's head off just now for no reason." Tom just rolled his eyes and returned to packing his effects.

"I'm sorry, Katara," Sokka said, sounding much more calm and rational than usual, "Jet's very smooth, but my instincts tell me we can't trust him."

"Well my instincts tell me we have to stay a little longer and help Jet," Katara's tone was absolute.

"Well, it couldn't hurt to just stay to help out with the forest fire, could it?" Aang asked, seeming to be the only open-minded one left in the room. There was a pause at the group mulled it over. Finally Tom spoke up.

"Fine," he said calmly, "We'll stay and stop the fire, but that's it."

Now it was Katara who had a decision to make. "I suppose we have to leave sometime…"

Sokka grabbed Tom's shoulder and spun him around. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"I'm concerned about that Blasting Jelly Jet got his hands on," Tom returned, hushed.

"Oh, good point…"

"What are you two whispering about?" Katara asked suspiciously.

Sokka turned around like a bolt of lightning with a big, comical grin. "Nothing, nothing at all." He shook his head quickly, seemingly to shake out the silly. "We'll stay a little longer," he continued seriously, "But we have to get Aang to the North Pole.

"Great!" Aang grinned, "It's decided!"

That night, Tom and Sokka stayed awake. Tom was sick of sleeping through important events and he knew the explosives would be moved tonight. It was only a few hours before sunrise when they saw Jet and a few of his cronies sneak out of the hideout. Careful not to disturb the sleeping Aang or Katara, they crept out and after Jet. With him was a cart carrying the red barrels they had salvaged from the Fire Nation troops.

They stopped on a cliff overlooking a dam protecting the village below from the river's flood waters. Almost immediately, Jet reveled the real reason he wanted the reservoir filled. "Jet's going to blow up the dam?!" Sokka gasped, perhaps a little louder than he should have.

"I say we end this now," Tom said in a low voice that almost seemed to be a growled.

"We can't take them on all at once," Sokka whispered back, "My instincts say we should go to the town. We should be able to make it in time."

"Your instincts, huh?" Tom asked, almost jovially, "They haven't exactly been spot on lately."

"Well, I figure they're past due."

Tom smiled. "Town it is."

Just then they heard rustling behind them. Tom and Sokka jumped out of the way just in time as two of the freedom fighters tried to ambush them. The broke for the path, Jet and his entourage in toe. "Don't let them get to the hideout!" they heard Jet shout.

"On my signal, dive into the bushes," Tom told Sokka. They looked over their shoulders to see Longshot knocking an arrow. Tom let heat build all around them both so the whole path behind them was hot as a mid-summer's day. "Now!" he called. Just as Longshot let the arrow fly, the heat Tom produced created a heat shimmer in the new morning sun. As he and Sokka jumped out of the path, they seemed to vanish like a mirage.

Jet, stumped by the disappearing act, ordered the group to spread out and find the "traitors". Once they left the area, Sokka and Tom extracted themselves from the leaves. "Good trick," Sokka complimented.

"I try," Tom returned. "Now to see a man about a flood."

The two made good time toward the town. Most of the townsfolk were up and going about their day, and noticed the two strange boy that burst into town.

"Who are you?" a Fire Nation soldier demanded, leveling a spear at Sokka.

"The freedom fighters are going to blow up the dam!" Sokka shouted with all the air left in his lungs. The townsfolk just laughed at the notion.

"Then why don't you stop them yourselves from 'blowing up the dam' with their bows and rocks!" one of the villagers mocked.

"Look at how they're dressed!" another shouted, "I bet they're with those miscreants!"

The soldiers were just about to arrest them when a voice Tom and Sokka recognized spoke up. "Wait!" the old man from the day before shouted, "I know these boys. We can trust their word."

"You know them?" a soldier asked skeptically.

"They were with those bandits that attacked me, but they stopped them from harming and robbing me. They're good boys, and if they say those ruffians are going to destroy the town, I believe them!" He turned to Tom and smiled, "That's at least one friend a knight can make.

The populace seemed unsure, so Tom turned to the soldier who seemed to be in charge. "Look, if we're wrong, it's embarrassing for us and inconvenient for you. But if we're right…" Tom let the implication hang. It was all the soldier needed. He started organizing the evacuation. Once most of the town was to safety, Tom spoke to some of the soldiers. "If we move quickly, we might be able to save the town. The terrorists are using Blasting Jelly to destroy the dam. If you guy can get it far enough away from the structure, the town won't flood." A few of the soldiers were convinced and started toward the dam. Tom turned to Sokka next and spoke to him quietly. "You get Appa. I don't want to give any explosives back to the Fire Nation so we might need a quick getaway." He nodded and disappeared back into the forest as the last of the villagers made it to high ground.

Tom joined the soldiers at the dam. Between him and the six soldiers, they were able to get the Blasting Jelly a safe distance from the dam. Just as they finished moving the material, Tom heard a familiar birdcall. "Incoming!" he yelled to the soldiers. They ran and dove out of the way, but Tom stayed put. He threw a blast of fire at the flaming arrow meant to light the barrels. The bolt disintegrated into ash far from its target.

The soldiers, who had scattered impressively far, reassembled and started toward the barrels of Blasting Jelly. "You're a hero, son," one of the soldiers called, "Who are you?"

Tom smiled and held his hand up. The soldiers, taking the signal, stopped a safe distance from the explosives. Then Tom backed up a safe distance and called back to them, "Just a passing knight who doesn't want to see these explosives used on anybody." He snapped his fingers and a little spark of fire darted from his finger to one of the barrels, causing them all to explode. The soldiers, too far to be seriously injured, but close enough to be thrown back a foot, picked themselves up as the flames died down to show that strange "knight" again. "Remember," Tom said in a strange accent, "this is very dangerous. I am professional Russian." When the soldiers saw Appa land to pick him up, the realization seemed to hit them harder than the shock wave. "And as always," he called from Appa's back as the party took off, "have nice day!"

More dialogue heavy than I expected. I like it, but it'll probably see some major revisions when I get back around to it. The advantage I had was that I didn't have to hit any specific beats in this chapter. It freed me up to tell the story in a more story driven way. A good deal of Dragon Knight may end up that way, but that has yet to be seen. I also note this story tends to have really long chapters. Make of that what you will.