Chapter 3: You know, if he had a better life, I'm sure he'd be much nicer.

I sighed in frustration. Did Zuko always have to be so persistent? I mean, COME ON! Give it a break or something. Go penguin sledding in at the South Pole or something. I hung on tighter, knowing that Appa having to dodge these cannonballs would be hard work. I thought intensely on a song to keep me calm, My Dear Prince sung by Sumina Suisha to be exact.

"Far beyond the ocean waves… I see—" I was interrupted in the middle of that wonderful song with the shot of a cannonball. I braced for impact, although, I knew better. I saw it shoot past me as Appa dodged to the right. I sighed.

"That was too close for comfort," I thought, my heart beating fast. I looked behind me, to Aang. He seemed tense, along with everyone else. Katara looked behind to check for incoming cannonballs. Another shot was heard, but from where? I closed my eyes and focused to the point of the sound. To the left of us! How did he do that?

"AANG, TO THE LEFT!" I screamed, I knew he would be too late. It was already in sight. I didn't want to die. I DIDN'T MEET EVERYONE I WANTED TO YET!

"FOCUS!" I screamed. No one heard me, and I was glad no one did. It was the only thing that came to my mind, but… it saved us. Well, I'm surer that the cannonball was a dud, but it stopped in midair and turned into ashes. At that moment, Appa got away safely and I sighed in relief.

"What happened back there? Aang, did you do that?" Katara asked, surprised. Aang shook his head and stared back.

"I don't know, but I'm sure someone's out there helping us," Aang said, having a serious face on. Psh, everyone knows if Aang dies, there's no point to the show. I can't tell them all that though. It'd totally ruin this fun I'm having.

"I don't have any idea either," I replied, sighing. I fell back in relief and pain. Who did do that? I'm sure now that it certainly wasn't me. I don't have any super powers.

"You know what?" I asked, sitting upright now. Everyone stared at me for me to answer my own question. I did. "I don't think Zuko is so bad."

Everyone gasped at my comment and stared at me like I was really crazy. Katara almost dropped the water she was bending and Sokka's face… priceless. But I had my reasons.

"I have a feeling, what he's gone through," I said, letting the wind rush through my hair. I smiled softly, showing that I seemed I had a little passion for him. But HECK NO, I didn't have any. "You know, if he had a better life, I'm sure he'd be much nicer. You can't help it that some people have a bad life."

"Heyyy," Sokka said, staring at me with suspicious eyes. He waved his hand at me as if to try and make me show my true identity. Maybe they're thinking I'm with the fire nation? "How do you know about Zuko's life?"

"A person with a burn like that and scowls every two seconds must have some issues," I replied simply. Sokka thought this over, I saw the glint of truth in his eyes, but he still stared at me like I was with the fire nation. I smiled and continued, "Anyway, a girl who smiles this much can't be part of him!"

"That's true, Sokka," Katara agreed, her voice accusing Sokka. She allowed the water to fly in and out of her hands and around her head. It was interesting to watch, actually.

We soon landed near a forest, with a clear stream rushing through it. I stared at it, nothing seeming familiar. As soon as I took a step in the forest, some dude jumped in front of me. Oh, I remember him. He's the jerk from that forest with those group of kids! I'm so descriptive, huh? I know, I know.

"Hey, what're you doing here, Katara?" they boy asked. Katara merely glared at the boy along with my group doing the same. Oh, so his name was Jet, okay. Shows how great I am at being an Avatar fan. I stared at him. Dirty, rough looking, that piece of grass he's chewing on, YUP, certainly seems like the type Katara would go after. I placed my hands on my hips in a very girly manner and stared at him.

"Oh, so you've all met before. I can tell there is no good between the two of our groups, I suggest we move along before anything bad can happen," I stated, smirking at him. He lowered his eyes when he looked at me. What? Am I too beautiful for his eyes?

"You're ugly-looking, where did you come from?" he asked.

OH, what a DISS. Angrily, I stuck my tongue out and retorted, "I was thinkin' the same thing! It looked like the Fire Nation chewed you up and spit you out!"

Silence. Oh, I did it now, didn't I? I walked past him; I didn't want anymore to do with him. Before I could do anything, he snatched me up and darted off. Aang got ready to attack, but I shouted, "I'll fix this, Aang! I'll meet up with you another day!"

I ended up in a new place with many trees, but only one of them had a hut. He carried me up there by some mechanism. Nice, I thought, this is lone wolf out on a secret mission, huh? Fun, fun…

He plopped me down inside the middle of the hut and examined me. Psh, what am I? A new type of disease or an almost teenager that looks nine? Oh, when I get to Zuko, he will NEVER think I'm 9 again.

"Who are you?" Jet asked. "You don't look like you're from around here."

"NO duh, I'm not," I snapped, making him jump back in surprise. I stuck my tongue out as I sat on the soft floor. "I'm from a secret part of the world where another element of bending was born." I laughed inside my mind. Lying to this moron was fun.

"Oh, really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow on me. "And where would that be."

"If I told you, it wouldn't be secret anymore," I replied simply. I yawned and continued. "Also, I barely managed to escape from there. I didn't have the potential to bend, so I did nothing, and I couldn't leave city walls. I snuck out, and here I am."
"Nice to know," Jet replied, sneering at me. I looked around, there was only one way out, but I couldn't just run out the door and jump off. And I have no idea how to work the mechanism. I was stuck. He circled me once more, seeing how different my clothing was.

"You'll need new clothes if you want to fit in," he told me. WAIT, did he believe all those lies I told him? Is he being… NICE? Actually, in a way, I was telling the truth. I'm from a distant bending land of the remote control. Yeah, so I wasn't exactly lying, just stretching the truth. I shook my head in denial.

"NO, I'm fine," I stated and sat down. I don't want any help, I'd rather wear my own clothes. He pulled out a blue robe with short sleeves, about my size, maybe bigger, and handed it to me along with a matching sash and a new silk ribbon to tie my hair with. And there was another long sleeve shirt to wear under the loose robe. Am I going for the water tribe look? Sweet.

Jet walked out of the hut. "You can change in there," he said, and everything was silent. I still was computing anything correctly, but I did change. I folded my clothes and tied the ribbon into my hair so it became a ponytail. I sat alone for awhile, fiddling in my seat.

"I'm glad you changed," Jet said, walking in after a few minutes. Smirking, he grabbed me, forced a small ax I hadn't realized he had to my throat, and whispered the words in my ear that made me start to panic…

"Because it may be your last."

End of Chapter 3: You know, if he had a better life, I'm sure he'd be nicer.

Author's Note: OOO, cliffhanger. Scary, is he gonna kill me right away? Is he kidding? What's going on? Anyway, I think there was a little OCing there with Jet. There wasn't much about Jet in the episode he was in, so I couldn't assess much of his personality, other than that he's two-faced. Well, until the next chapter!