Instincts Info: I don't own ATLA and please review. I have plenty of people adding the story and I'm thankful, but no reviews are coming in! I would really appreciate them!

Chapter Twenty-One: Birth of the Fanatic

Approximately 2 Weeks Earlier

Jet's mind came out of the muddied mess that his head had become. He knew whose side he was on now. He looked up at Long-Feng with a hate filled stare and threw one of his swords as hard as he could at him. Long-Feng moved and it missed. He saw him make a movement and, almost in slow motion, saw the ground come up to meet his chest.

Jet seemed to get a detached viewpoint of the situation. He saw himself fly into the air. He felt his bone's splinter against the rock; he even felt some of them enter his organs on the other side of his rib cage. He hit the ground and the world rushed back to him. Endorphins were pumping through him because he found he could still use that brave grin that had won over Katara when he'd first met her.

Her hands glowed and he felt the cool water on his chest; he knew it was useless though. He heard the earth bender confirm it. Many of the sad faces around him disappeared to go after Long-Feng. Only Smellerbee and Longshot stayed beside him.

--

Longshot and Smellerbee placed Jet's body on the little raft with reverence and pushed it out into Lake Laogi. When it was far enough away a flaming arrow was shot and it turned the raft into a funeral pyre. The pair watched it until it sank beneath the water.

Jet came to at the bottom of the lake. Strangely, he didn't need to breath. There also seemed to be light coming from somewhere around him, though whenever he tried to locate it, the source moved.

Just when he was getting a little annoyed a cloaked figure emerged from the gloom. The hood had such an overhang he could barely see any part of the face at all. All he could see was a big nose, slightly hooked, that was halfway between what the color of skin should be and purple.

"You are Jet?" The voice was higher than he would have expected, and sing-songy, giving it a spooky quality.

"And who are you?" The voice was more than enough to make Jet suspicious.

"I'm known by many unfortunate names. Syh-Shen, The Life Thief, the Ravenous Shadow, even Death. But all these are pessimistic names. I prefer the name the Air Nomads gave me: The Caretaker. People see life as finite and fear it's end. I'm here to guide you back to your source so that all the dirt the world has caked on to you can be cleaned away and hung back on the canvas of the world.

"But you were a great human and there are no great repeats. It's such a shame that your body gave out long before your mind or spirit did." It was said with a wistful longing that filled Jet with the same emotion.

A decrepit looking hand came up and started to move where the chin should be; to represent thinking, "I could give you a second chance you know. Just, it couldn't the body you had a little while ago. That's in no state to function. The only problem is that you would have to cooperate with me."

Jet was more than a little mystified, "Why give me a second chance? You can't give this to everyone, you shouldn't even be able to do this at all."

Syh-Shen recoiled slightly, "It is an odd fact of this world that no one here knows how we spirits came to be. If you did then you would realize why I'm able to do this. Would you like to know?"

Jet stared at the figure for a long time before nodding, "Well then, where to start? Best be at the very beginning. In the very beginning there were two worlds, separated by a great gulf. Both worlds had massive amounts of spiritual energy in them. One was a mostly barren place where its inhabitants had to struggle to get anything. The other was plentiful where fruit hung ready on trees and there was water everywhere. This is your world.

"The other world's people learned to harness their spiritual power and used it to subjugate their home to do whatever they pleased. Your world became lax and their power became latent. Eventually, your group came to realize that there were others out there other than themselves. They reached out across the gulf and a bridge was formed between the two worlds with a massive discharge of spiritual energy from the other side.

"Seeing how luscious your world was they longer to live in it. They had lived in the bareness of what they'd been given for so long it was impossible not to. Your people were greedy though. They said there were too many from the other world to live here with them. They initiated a war.

"The other group quickly became dominant because they were far more advanced because of the advances in controlling their spiritual energy. Then your latent power surfaced and took the form of your beliefs, which was in spirits representing things across your world.

"This is where we came from. We did what you thought we would do and drove back the others across the gap then sealed it. You grew to fear some of us and because of that our forms changed to reflect what you thought. In other words: the only reason your world is our playground is because that is what you think it is. Some people are hopeful that I would give them a second chance and I'm giving that option to you."

"Why me though?" Jet still wasn't sure he could trust the spirit. Everything seemed too convenient.

"You are charismatic and the world about to change dramatically. Depending on where I place you your impact could be very wide spread."

"I'll agree if you can tell me how this benefits you."

"I've seen eons go by with the other world never resting in its attempts to break back into your world. I've realized that at the current rate there will come a time when they will break through and we won't be able to stop them. I seek to alleviate this. Depending on your actions the world could be led in a direction that will allow you to stop their advance. Do you agree?"

"I do, but how,"

"Excellent! You'll be placed in you new body momentarily." The cloaked figure disappeared. Jet felt a slight rush and felt himself being compressed. His eyes came open and he was in a room that stunk of incense. Syh-Shen's cloaked form was standing in the corner of the small room.

"Who am I?" Jet asked in a voice that wasn't his own.

"You are a preacher of one of the larger sects of Omashu."

"How do I lead the world in the right direction?"

"Hannya, the spirit of Wisdom, prevents me from telling you that. But I can whisper it in your ear."

"Why is that any different?"

"You would accept it without thinking. Since you would undoubtedly accept it anyway I can see no harm in it." He leaned over and Jet nodded confirmation, "You will preach to the masses that the Fire Nation must be demolished and it's population decimated. You will wait as your following grows and take the throne of Omashu once it has been reclaimed from the Fire Nation and the Avatar's group has left for good. Then you will take the throne and spread your word to Ba-Sing-Se. From there you will raise an army to exterminate the Fire Nation and the Avatar and his friends.

"Then you will wait and strike when the opportunity arises at the Water Tribes. Once the world is under a single banner strengthen your religion and collect bodies for me for they will give me the strength I need to join this world with the other and ensure that there can be no deviance to war any longer." Syh-Shen went on until he'd finished his whole plan. Everything was accounted for and Jet was now the first human inducted into his new order.

Syh-Shen took a step back to view his handiwork. Jet's mind was string after his ordeal against Long-Feng and his mind games. He was sweating profusely and his eyes were wild, trying to fight the message that was worming through his mind. He yelled in a hoarse voice once, and then stopped.

"It will be as you say my lord."

--

Instincts Info: That give you goose bumps? It's what I was aiming for. Be kind in your reviews, I know the end could get a bit touchy in some people's minds. With this chapter you have all the pieces you need to put together the puzzle that's given in the rest of the series. Seriously though, review this chapter if you review any of them. I really want to know what you think of it.