Chapter Four: Goodbye

I opened my eyes and cringed at the constant throbbing in my head. Everything looked fuzzy, and the only thing I could make out were the small rays of sunlight peeking through the curtain.

Wait, sunlight? How long was I out? Shifting against the floor, I realized my arms and legs were tied.

"So you're awake?"

"Duke?" As my vision cleared, I saw the small boy sitting in the corner. "What's going on? Where's Jet?"

"None of your business. Jet had me stay behind to watch you, so you won't interfere," he said.

I shifted on my side. "Interfere with what?"

The Duke opened his mouth to speak, but paused and folded his arms. "You're not getting anything out of me, traitor."

"Traitor?" I said.

"Jet said he saw you conspiring with that Water Tribe boy." Sniffling, he rubbed his nose. "Now be quiet. Jet'll release you once he returns."

Why that…. I scowled. I can't believe him.

A part of me blamed myself. If I had just listened and not questioned Jet's actions, everything would've been fine. That's what I told myself any other time we fought. I had misunderstood, and if I just stopped being so difficult, our relationship would smooth out. I closed my eyes. No, no, this was his fault not mine. Why should I have to tip toe around him like a frightened meadow vole and follow his orders?

I'm an air-bender. I'm free to go wherever the wind takes me. Tilting my head, I saw my whips and spare knives sitting beside The Duke. I'm taking the Avatar's offer and getting far away from here.

"I haven't been conspiring with anyone. Jet's overreacting." I struggled in my binds. "Now get me out of here, Duke, or else."

He snorted. "Or else what? You're tied up."

I rolled over on my stomach, and taking a deep breath, I exhaled enough air to push myself upright onto my feet. "But you didn't cover my face."

I hopped toward the exit, but The Duke tripped me with his spear. I fell through the curtain, tearing it down with me, and landed halfway outside of the hut.

"Nice try." He grabbed my feet and started pulling me back inside.

Big mistake. Taking another deep breath, I exhaled through my feet and knocked him back into the wall.

"Tashi, there you are."

I looked up and saw Razor rushing toward me. "Oh, thank the spirits. Razor, get me out of this."

Seeing the state I was in, she gasped. "What happened?"

"Jet's lost his mind. I have to find him." I squirmed against my binds. "Hurry."

Razor took out her large, butcher knife and cut the ropes around my arms and legs.

I stood and rubbed my wrists. "Thanks. Do you know where Jet and the others went?"

She put her knife away and shook her head. Hearing a groan, I looked at The Duke. He was sprawled on the floor, his spear and helmet laying next to him. He seemed delirious, but he was still conscious. I felt a little guilt at the state he was in. I didn't like hurting children, but he didn't give me much choice.

I looked at Razor with a smirk. "How about a new lesson? It's called interrogation. Get information from Duke about Jet while I collect my stuff."

Razor nodded, and she ran over to The Duke. "Where's Jet? Answer me!"

I sheathed my spare knives before walking over to Jet's stash of money and took what I could fit into my pockets. "He's a bit knocked out. You need to get his attention. Grab his collar and shake him a little."

She snatched his collar with both hands and shook him until he came to. "Where's Jet?"

The Duke gasped, and he shifted his gaze from Razor to me. "What?"

I saw him reach for his spear. "Quick! Put your knife to his throat."

In one swift motion, Razor had her knife pointed at his neck before he could raise his spear. He dropped it and gulped, his eyes widening.

"Don't hurt me." He trembled. "Please."

"We won't so long as you cooperate." I walked over to Razor and adjusted the position of her hands. "Here. Hold it to his neck like this, and lean against him a bit. Intimidation is important, and you need to convince him that you have the upper hand. Now, what we you waiting for, Duke? Answer the lady."

He shifted his gaze between us again. "Alright, alright. Jet sent the Avatar and that Water Tribe girl to the reservoir to open the geysers."

I narrowed my eyes. "And why would he want to fill the reservoir?"

"Because he's gonna blow up the dam and flood Gaipan to get rid of the Fire Nation," he said.

Razor gasped. "What?"

"What is Jet thinking? There are Earth Kingdom citizens in that town. He'll kill them." I grabbed my whips and rushed out of the hut.

"Wait!"

Pausing in my attempt to jump, I straightened my posture and turned to face Razor. "There's no time to waste. I have to go."

"Let me go with you," she said.

I shook my head. "Out of the question. It's too dangerous."

She tilted her head up and put her hands on her hips. "I can handle myself."

"As your teacher, I'll have to disagree, and I'd feel terrible if something happened to you out there." I knelt in front of her. "Stay here with the other children. This place is your safe haven to train until you're strong enough to actually handle yourself. Trust me."

She pursed her lips like she was about to whine, but she huffed, letting her arms slacken to her sides. "Fine. Just come back soon, okay?"

My heart sank, and I met her pleading, gold eyes with regret. There was no time to explain to her that I was leaving for good, and she wasn't old enough to understand why anyway. I searched my brain for the right words to say, so she wouldn't worry. However, I came up empty.

"Take care." I kissed her forehead before standing up. "Hopefully, our paths will cross again."

Razor furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

Without another word, I latched one of my whips onto a tree branch and made my way down. If I was quick, I could save the town, but where should I go? The Fire Nation soldiers would arrest me before I had a chance to warn them, and the other Freedom Fighters weren't going to heed my orders now that I'd been deemed a traitor. My only chance was to stop Jet himself.

I landed on the ground and sped toward the reservoir. He has to be somewhere between here and the dam.

When I arrived at the reservoir, I saw that Aang and Katara had already filled it to the brim. Was I too late? I followed the path to the cliff that overlooked the river, and I spotted the dam in the distance. It was still intact.

"Jet, stop!"

Katara? I rushed in the direction of her voice.

Katara was looking up at the trees, her eyes wet and puffy. I followed her gaze and saw Aang and Jet fighting each other. Aang was holding his own, but Jet was getting too many hits in and didn't seem to be slowing down. I cracked my whip, ready to jump up and help, but I was knocked back by a blast of water. I fell on the ground, and looked up to see Katara, who was glaring down at me.

"What are you doing here?" She held the stream of water steady, waiting to strike me again.

"Trying to stop my ex-boyfriend from committing mass murder." I raised an eyebrow. "You?"

Her eyes widened, and her hands released the water, letting it drop on the ground with a loud splash. "So Sokka was right? Jet didn't actually like me at all."

Katara turned away from me, and she looked like she was about to cry again. I stood, grimacing at my now wet clothes, and retrieved my whips.

"Well, it could be worse. You could've dated a boy, who you thought was gonna be the love of your life, only for him to turn into an abusive jerk." I gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "But, hey, lesson learned. Now you know there's more to relationships than a pretty face and a few sweet words."

Aang dropped to the ground in front of us, his staff falling beside him. Jet landed a second after, his gaze locking with mine, but before either one of us could say anything, Katara lashed out at him with a stream of water.

"You lied to me!" She bended more water from the reservoir and struck him again. "I trusted you! You kissed me even though you're dating Tashi!"

I knelt beside Aang. "Aang, wake up."

Groaning, he opened his eyes and sat up. "The village."

He grabbed his staff and opened it, revealing it was a glider. Speeding toward the cliff, he jumped but fell back on the ground.

I ran over to him. "Are you okay?"

He looked at the shredded cloth on his glider. "It's too damaged. I can't make it over there."

"Where's Sokka, you jerk!" Katara said.

Aang and I looked back to see that she had frozen Jet to the base of a tree. His head was free of the ice, which was a shame in my opinion. What? With how I was feeling, I would've gladly let him suffocate to death in his frosty prison.

A bird call echoed in the distance, and I gasped. "Katara, cover his mouth!"

However, she looked at me with a furrowed brow, allowing Jet to send a bird call in reply.

Katara shifted her gaze between Jet and me. "What's he doing?"

"He just gave them the signal to blow up the dam," I said.

Jet smirked. "You're too late."

"What?" Katara's eyes widened, and she looked toward the village. "No!"

A loud boom sounded off followed by rushing water, and the three of us ran to the cliff to see a tsunami overrun Gaipan.

"Sokka's still out there. Maybe he–" Aang's eyebrows raised. "Katara?"

I turned to see Katara marching over to Jet.

"Jet, you monster!" She glared at him, her fists clenched. "You killed all those people."

"An unfortunate sacrifice for our victory." He stared her straight in the eye, his face stoic. "You'll understand one day."

I walked over to Katara and stood beside her. "You're absolutely unbelievable, you know that? How can you justify killing a whole town of innocent people just to achieve your own ends? You're no different than the soldiers who burned down my village and tried to kill me!"

His eyes filled with rage, and he spoke in a deeper, warning tone. "Take that back. I'm nothing like the Fire Nation!"

"That's up for debate."

All of us turned our attention toward the cliff and saw Sokka riding on Appa.

Katara ran toward her brother. "Sokka, you're okay."

He smiled. "And so are the villagers. The Fire Nation soldiers thought I was a spy at first, but the old man Jet threatened yesterday vouched for me. Everyone evacuated before the dam was destroyed."

"What?" Jet scowled at him. "You traitor! You ruined everything. This valley would've been free."

"And how would the dead Earth Kingdom villagers be free?" Sokka narrowed his eyes. "The only traitor I see is you, Jet. Aang, Katara, let's go."

The two of them rushed toward Appa, and I followed. "Wait. I'm coming too."

Aang turned around and gave me a bright smile. "Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

"Tashi, get back here! Where do you think you're going?" Jet said.

I looked back at him with one hand resting on my hip. "Oh, that's right. I forgot to tell you, didn't I? The Avatar invited to me to join him on his journey, and I accepted."

"What?" His eyes widened. "You're leaving me?"

There was a strain of hurt in his voice, but I wasn't going to let that sway me. "Yes, I am. I'm tired of your nonsense, Jet. We're done."

Scoffing, he glared at me. "Like you'd last five minutes out there without me. You need me, Tashi!"

"Shut up!" I stepped closer. "Why would I need someone who doesn't trust me? Someone who locks me up for talking to another guy? Someone who uses my past against me? I've never needed you, Jet, and I'll survive just fine with my new friends."

"New friends?" Jet snorted. "Don't kid yourself, Tashi. No one will ever love you like I do. You can cover yourself in as many layers as you want, but we both know that underneath, you're a disfigured freak!"

I crossed my arms, my hands gripping my elbows, and my watery eyes stared at the ground.

"You should consider yourself lucky I didn't consider dumping you for Katara." He laughed. "She's not damaged like you are."

I reached for one of my whips, ready to lash the smirk off of his face. Before I could, a whip of water struck Jet and froze his mouth shut. I glanced to my left and saw a furious Katara heaving next to me.

"How dare you say something so vile! You deserve everything you get, Jet!" She grabbed my hand and led me back to Appa. "Come on, Tashi."

We climbed into the sky bison's saddle, and at Sokka's command, Appa took off into the air. I glanced back at Jet as he became smaller and smaller until he was nothing more than a tiny speck in this large world. I left him. I left my home, everything that I knew, and I was happy. It felt strange to think, but I was.

Katara placed a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay? Jet had no right to–"

"It's fine. It's over now." I smiled, enjoying the wind blowing through my hair. "So we're heading for the North Pole? Guess I'll have to get some warmer clothes and supplies along the way."

"You won't be able to get much." Sokka glanced back at me. "We're kinda broke."

"Not a problem." I pulled one of the bags of coins from my pocket. "I figured since Jet and I were dating for two years, I should get my fair share. He keeps the Freedom Fighters, and I take the money."

"Are you serious?" Katara said.

I winked at her and placed the bag back into my pocket. "Lesson two in relationships, Katara. When breaking up with losers, always make sure you're well compensated for your trouble."

She laughed. "You know, I think it's nice to finally have another girl around."

Aang moved over next to me. "We're gonna have so much fun together, Tashi."

I looked out toward the horizon. Two days ago, I never thought I would be traveling the world with the Avatar, but here I was. Whatever adventures awaited me, I knew it was going to be an interesting journey.