Jet awoke with a start, his eyes taking in the room that was slowly coming back into focus. Finally, as the scene began to take form, he could see that he was in some kind of infirmary. As he tried to get up, a fierce pain shot through his body, emanating from his chest area.

Dammit.

Jet remembered how his chest had been crushed by Long Feng's Earthbending. He was actually a little surprised he was still alive. Longshot and Smellerbee must have gotten him help in time. He smirked. He should have known he could trust his two best freedom fighters.

Then he realized: where were Longshot and Smellerbee? He would have expected the two to be hovering over his bedside waiting for him to wake up. Guess not. Then again, he probably preferred not waking up to that. He surveyed the infirmary. His cot was at the far right end, and there were four others next to it. All of which were unoccupied. He turned to see that his twin hook swords and his clothes lied near his cot. He was still in too much pain to get out of the cot, so he just laid there, waiting for his damn chest wound to heal so he could get back on his feet. Well, in the meantime, he could just wait for Longshot and Smellerbee.

And so he sat there for close to ten minutes. The pain in his chest did not go away, and, disturbingly, Longshot and Smellerbee where still nowhere to be found. Jet began to grow uneasy. Where were they? They must have made it out of Lake Laogai, otherwise he wouldn't be here. So what was it then? Attempting to get up only sent another spike of pain to emerge from his chest and he collapsed once more.

"This isn't good…"

"Don't try to get up yet."

Jet turned his gaze to see a young woman standing in the doorway to the infirmary, looking at him. She looked to be around Jet's age, though she was probably a few years older. She wore some kind of black outfit, and there were tattoos on both of her shoulders that looked like a red snake. Her black hair went down to her shoulders and was capped with a top knot. Her skin also looked somewhat pale, but if anything, that only made her even more attractive. Jet's eyes widened a little bit.

Damn. Didn't think I'd be seeing an angel. Maybe I really am dead…

"Seen enough?"

"What? Oh, uh..."

She smiled, and looked even prettier when she did. Then Jet heard another voice.

"I gotta say kiddo, you proved to be the big highlight of my career."

Out stepped a man who was clearly some kind of doctor, at least judging by the clothes he wore. His features were worn, his hair was closely-cropped, and his hard gray eyes looked at Jet as he continued:

"This was unlike anything I have ever done in the seven years I've been at this. Your upper ribs, muscles, chest bones, almost everything was either fractured, or broken. It's a good thing June got you here when she did. You didn't have much longer."

"Thanks…but…."

"Surprised that a non-bender such as myself saved your ass? Well, there are some things a trained surgeon can do that water-bending can't. And I happen to be a damn good surgeon. Like I said, you made my career."

"What's your name?"

"Quan. At least that's the alias all of my patients use. Truth be told, I prefer to remain anonymous."

"Yeah…wait. I had two friends with me. A little girl with er…armor and red whiskers painted on her face and a tall lanky guy with a bow and arrows and a big hat. Where are they?"

"Oh yes, those two. Eh…perhaps June should tell you."

"The girl didn't trust me, and when Quan here had to uh…operate on you, she had a breakdown. Mr. Tall, dark, and silent took her out. They still haven't come back, and I don't know where they are."

"Find them…please."

"Yeah…look. I hate to break your heart handsome, but I'm not a babysitter. I'm sure they'll be back soon…"

"Please find them. I've almost lost them twice now. Please don't make me go through this a third time…"

June thought about it. She was a mercenary at heart, not usually doing anything unless it yielded a reward. And she definitely didn't like the idea of hunting after a pair of kids for a guy lying on a cot with a bandaged up chest. And yet…

June wasn't completely heartless. The poor sap looked like he'd seen his share of pain over the years. And if these two kids really meant so much to him…maybe she could be a good Samaritan a little longer…

"All right, uh…I'm sorry, I never did get your name."

"Jet."