Immediately after "Lake Laogai"
"Wait!"
A voice managed to reach Appa, as if the sound had jumped into the air as high as it could, reached out a hand to the bison's flank, and Sokka had grabbed it.
"Wait!" it called again, slightly louder, slightly more desperate. Sokka peered over the edge of Appa's side and saw two lean forms, one of which was waving its arms frantically. The other partook in no such theatrics, though his wide-brimmed straw hat and bow were unmistakable. Smellerbee and Longshot.
"Aang, turn back," Sokka called. The Avatar whipped his head around curiously.
"Shouldn't we be going away from the freaky underground lair?" Aang asked, quite fairly.
"Yeah, but it's Smellerbee and Longshot. They're on the surface. Let's give 'em a lift."
Aang nodded and tugged Appa's reins. The bison lowed and gracefully turned around, careening into a joyful nosedive. Clearly, the bison was ecstatic to be back with his family, and he was flying like it. They landed quickly, and Sokka was the first to disembark, rushing over to the Freedom Fighters. It was startling to see their numbers reduced to two. Their forest fortress, before Sokka had realized the shadier side of Jet's gang, had been so full of unabashed optimism, a pride in the simple nobility of guerilla warfare. Now their leader was gone; their ranks dispersed. As far as Sokka knew, the two skinny and exhausted warriors standing hunched in front of him were all that was left of their force.
"Is he…" Sokka started, knowing he would trail off. It didn't seem possible that a man with as much fire as Jet could be extinguished. And yet, there Smellerbee and Longshot were. They wouldn't have left their leader. So, even before he got a real answer, there was no doubt in Sokka's mind that Jet was…
Well, there was no use avoiding the word. Jet was dead.
Smellerbee nodded.
"We won't ever forget what he did for us," Katara said, walking over to put a hand on Smellerbee's shoulder pauldron. Smellerbee's eyes started to brim over, and she grimaced, silently chastisting herself for crying in front of people she, really, barely knew.
"We should take a minute and remember him," Aang suggested.
"No, it's okay," Smellerbee said, wiping her nose. "You guys have to go, wherever you're going. I shouldn't have waved you back down here, the Dai Li will be after-"
"Aang's right," Sokka interrupted. "We can't just leave like nothing happened." Katara looked at him, mildly surprised. It wasn't like he couldn't be sensitive, he just didn't make a habit of it. That was her department. But Sokka put himself in Smellerbee's and Longshot's shoes. They were looking out for the Boomerang Squad (the others may not have appreciated the catchiness of this team name, but they couldn't stop him from thinking it), but Sokka wasn't going to let them grieve alone. When he'd lost his mother, his tribe had been there for him, collectively almost (almost) filling the void left by her death. Smellerbee and Longshot didn't have such a tribe anymore.
Sokka didn't know how exactly to lead a memorial, though. He'd obviously been to a Water Tribe funeral, but that felt wrong here, even if he knew how to conduct the official rites. He kind of wished Katara would take over, but he'd already essentially volunteered himself as a pseudo-minister here. He could speak from the heart. Sokka normally appreciated a good strategy, but strategy and planning had failed them already today. Ad-libbing it was.
"To be honest, when we ran into Jet back in Ba Sing Se, I didn't know what to think," Sokka said, trying to infuse his voice with dignity, leadership befitting the self-proclaimed leader of the group. He almost chuckled, realizing the first time he had declared himself a leader was right before he had led them to Jet. And Jet had chided him for relying on instinct. "But now I know Jet was a good man." Public speaking was way harder than Sokka thought. This was going terribly. So far he had only managed to backhandedly insult Jet, implying (correctly, to be fair) that he had thought Jet to be a bad dude until today. Luckily, Smellerbee and Longshot didn't seem to have the energy to be angry. Sokka continued, praying his mind would come up with something even remotely acceptable to remember a dead man by.
"He taught me a lot about never giving up, about fighting for what you believe in, about doing whatever you can, whenever you can," Sokka said, his voice strengthening as he spoke. Longshot was nodding, and Aang tapped his staff on the ground, as if agreeing with Sokka's points.
"I wish we had been on the same side for longer," Sokka finished, hoping it came across as genuinely wistful, not insulting. Judging from everyone's expressions, somehow he had succeeded. "Goodbye, Jet. And thank you for everything you did."
He stepped back, not really realizing he had stepped forward. As he fell in line in between Toph and Smellerbee, Toph punched him lightly in the arm. He smiled softly, even thought he knew she probably couldn't see it.
Aang stepped forward and faced out onto Lake Laogai. Its surface was a brilliant blue, reflecting the sunny sky perfectly, belying the gravity of the moment. They could've been just six kids, a lemur, and a bison having a nice day in the countryside. Sokka wished they had that luxury.
"Jet reunited this family," Aang said quietly. On cue, Appa lumbered forward and nuzzled Aang gently with his head. Of course, a gentle nuzzle from Appa's head could easily knock one off one's feet, but Aang was prepared. "Jet said he had changed, and he proved himself honorable down there in those tunnels. No matter how we fought in the past, I'll always be grateful for that." He tapped his staff on the ground again and looked up towards the few clouds that dotted the sky. "Thank you, Jet. You deserved a lot more than the life you got." Aang turned around, walked over to Smellerbee and Longshot, and pulled them into a powerful hug. They stiffened at first, but quickly relaxed and leaned into the young Avatar's shoulders. He released them and fell back in line. Toph took his place at the area that had become a de facto lectern.
"All I know about the guy is what happened today," she said, her voice surprisingly thick. "But judging from how brave he was down there, I'm really sorry I didn't know him for longer." At this, Smellerbee burst into tears again. Sokka could see why. Jet had that charm, the ability to win people over instantly. He had pulled one over on Katara and Aang back in that forest, but now, with Jet a changed man and his charisma still intact, it was a testament to him as a fighter and a person that tough-as-nails Toph warmed up to him so quickly.
And now it appeared to be Katara's turn. Her eyes were already misty, and Sokka, as he often felt when he looked at her, felt as if he was looking at his own eyes. Sokka couldn't feel any oncoming waterworks, but if the tears wanted to come, he told himself he would let them. The moment was appropriate.
Katara, like Aang, took a long moment to stare out at the lake before speaking. They had been the two most deceived by Jet in the past, and if Sokka thought coming up with his own excuse for a eulogy was difficult, he could only imagine those two's struggle.
Finally, Katara turned around, the first one to face the group while speaking. "When I first met Jet, he was everything I thought a leader should be. Passionate and smart...and he cared about the people he led."
Smellerbee nodded emphatically, and Katara smiled at her and Longshot. "When we were staying in your hideout, we didn't just want to help fight the Fire Nation. We wanted to help Jet. I would've done anything to help his fight for freedom." She frowned. Sokka knew she was struggling to avoid the elephant-rat in the room. She had believed in Jet, and he had ruthlessly abused her trust.
"And now he gave up everything for us. Whatever happened back then, this, today, is how I'll remember him. Yet again, leading those he cared about to a better tomorrow."
Katara stepped back and linked arms with Aang, who threaded his arm through Toph's, who linked with Sokka, who pulled Smellerbee close to him. Longshot nocked the last arrow remaining in his quiver, drew his bowstring as far back as it would go, and loosed the arrow far, far away over the lake. It splashed down peacefully a few seconds later. "Rest easy, Jet," he said simply.
A minute passed in respectful silence. Sokka watched the tiny ripples in the water, stirred up by the wind, that glided across the lake's surface. Laogai was eerily calm. The more time Sokka spent there, the more he thought it was the perfect hideout for a group as insidious as the Dai Li. Its calm surface mirrored the city of Ba Sing Se as a whole, but something sinister lurked beneath the placid waters. It reminded Sokka of his reason for coming to this wretched city in the first place. They had to get an audience with the Earth King, tell him everything about the war and the Dai Li conspiracy and the eclipse.
They had to mess up this glassy lake.
"Hey," Sokka said, turning to the two Freedom Fighters. "You guys should join us. We could really use your help showing the Earth King everything that's going on. We're going to invade the Fire Nation during a solar eclipse this summer, and we need his forces if we want to stand a chance."
Smellerbee unlinked her arm from Sokka's and stepped away. "Thanks. But no thanks," she said, rather unexpectedly. Sokka had been expecting her and Longshot to jump at the chance to continue sticking it to the Fire Nation. And this time, teaming up with the Avatar, they'd actually be able to do some damage.
"Are you sure?" Katara asked. "You'd be safe with us-"
"Really, Sugar Queen?" Toph interrupted, scoffing. "Look, I think you two should join us, but safety is not what we can promise."
Katara smiled wanly. "I guess you're right, Toph. But still. We want you guys to come aboard. We want to continue Jet's mission, together."
"And hey, Appa already knows you," Aang added. The bison hopped over and licked Longshot. The corner of the archer's lip quirked upward, so briefly it might not have happened.
"We're flattered, guys, really," Smellerbee smiled earnestly at Sokka and his little family. "But, honestly, I've done enough fighting for a little while."
"I understand," Sokka said. The other three in his group looked at him. "You guys find a nice village to lay low in for a while. You're right, you've done enough fighting. We'll do you proud on the day of the eclipse."
"Thanks, Sokka," Smellerbee said. "For everything." Sokka nodded. "Now go! Don't you guys have a king to talk to?"
"That we do," Sokka replied, climbing up onto Appa's bare back.
Katara rushed in to give Smellerbee and Longshot a final hug. "We'll see each other again, I promise."
"No doubt," Smellerbee said, returning the hug warmly.
The rest of the Boomerang Squad hopped onto Appa. Aang flicked the reins, and the bison took off, leaving the two fighters behind on the shore.
"I'm surprised, Sokka," Katara said once they were a few hundred feet in the air. "I thought you, out of all of us, would be the most likely to resent them for backing down from the fight."
Sokka shook his head. "They're not backing down. They're soldiers. They've spend enough time at war. It's time for them to go home."
Katara nodded and smiled, and Sokka watched Lake Laogai grow smaller and smaller, becoming just an innocent blue dot on the quilted green landscape as Appa flew back to Ba Sing Se with purpose.
Full honesty, this doesn't technically qualify as a 'missing moment' because there isn't a time gap between "Lake Laogai" and "The Earth King" where this could've happened, but this definitely should've happened. I'm allowing myself this one cheat, okay? :)
(and it's a bit of a double-whammy continuity error bc Sokka says Jet's death was "unclear" in "The Ember Island Players" but I'm choosing to interpret that as a meta fourth-wall-break joke, and not an actual lack of knowledge about Jet's status on Sokka's part)
Those disclaimers acknowledged, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Jet's inclusion in season 2 was a really nice surprise for me, and I'm glad he was redeemed by the time of his death. He deserves to be remembered by the Gaang like this.
As usual, if you enjoyed, please favorite and/or review, and I'll be back in two days with chapter 18!