Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is my OC.

The Six Rules:

Rule Number One: Alec won't warn the Gaang about things in advance or solve their problems for them, with a few rare exceptions.

Rule Number Two: Only Alec has the right to tell people his true origins, and he will mostly limit this to group members. He will tell new group members his secret as soon as they join the Gaang.

Rule Number Three: There are some changes Alec wants to make, and he will use his knowledge of the future to make those changes.

Rule Number Four: Sometimes, to make a change, Alec will act in a way that doesn't make sense. If that's necessary, he'll tell the Gaang "I need you to absolutely trust me." After he says that, the Gaang has to either do whatever he asks or leave him to do what he needs to do.

Rule Number Five: After a change happens, Alec will tell the Gaang what happened in the original story, in the interest of transparency.

Rule Number Six: If a major change happens that Alec doesn't expect, the Gaang will have a meeting ASAP. In this meeting, Alec will break Rule One and tell them all relevant information that will help them figure out how to respond to the change.

Chapter 9:

Jet

Alec POV

A few days after the pirate incident, we found ourselves camped out in a forest near the occupied Fire Nation town of Gaipan. There were massive trees with red leaves as far as the eye could see. It really was beautiful. At one point, we noticed that Momo was missing. We found him caught in a trap. After we got him loose, Sokka analyzed the trap.

"These are Fire Nation traps." He observed. "You can tell from the metalwork. We'd better pack up camp and get moving."

We quickly packed up camp. We moved to put our stuff in the saddle, but Sokka stopped us.

"No flying this time." He insisted.

"What? Why wouldn't we fly?" Aang asked.

"Think about it." Sokka said. "Somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa, he's just too noticeable."

"What? Appa's not too noticeable." Katara objected.

"He's a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head!" Sokka pointed out. "It's kinda hard to miss him."

Appa growled at that comment. Aang patted the bison on the head. "Sokka's just jealous because he doesn't have an arrow." Aang assured him.

"They only found us one time because of Appa." I corrected.

"What do you mean?" Sokka inquired.

"Zuko found us in the South Pole because of the massive beam of light Aang shot off when we found him, and then Aang tripped the booby trap in the shipwreck, giving away our position." I said. "He found us on Kyoshi Island because we stayed too long and people like to gossip. He actually did spot Appa flying near Senlin Village, which is how he picked up our trail to Roku's temple. Finally, he found us last time because Katara stole the scroll, and he overheard the pirates talking about it when he was resupplying at the pier. So that's four times they've found us, and only once because they spotted Appa."

"Look, I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk." Sokka said.

"Who made you the boss?" Katara asked, with her hands on her hips.

"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader." He insisted, thumbing his chest.

Katara scoffed. "You're the leader? But your voice still cracks."

"I'm the oldest, and I'm a warrior!" Sokka retorted, his voice cracking. "So, I'm the leader." He deepened his voice for that last sentence.

Honestly, I was older, even if you didn't think of me as twenty eight. My birthday was about five weeks before the summer solstice, and Sokka told me he was born shortly after the solstice.

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang." Katara replied. "I mean, he is the Avatar."

"Are you kidding? He's just a goofy kid." Sokka retorted.

"He's right." Aang confessed, hanging upside-down off Appa's horn.

"Why not Alec, then?" She asked.

I shook my head. "I don't want it."

"Why do boys always think someone has to meet the leader?" Katara wondered out loud. "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl." She accused Sokka.

"I've kissed a girl!" He replied. "You just haven't met her."

"Who, Gran Gran? I've met Gran Gran." Katara teased.

"No, besides Gran Gran." He insisted.

"Suki kissed you on the cheek, it doesn't count." I stated.

Sokka turned to me. "How do you know that?" I just gave him a look. "Oh, right. Anyway, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot, and a leader has to trust his instincts."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Okay, we'll try it your way, oh wise leader."

Aang perked up. "Who knows, walking might be fun."


A Few Minutes Later

"Walking stinks! How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?" Aang complained.

Normally, I wouldn't mind walking so much. The part that annoyed me was that Sokka insisted we not put our equipment on Appa, and carry it ourselves instead. "Better exercise" he had said. Honestly, we were living off the land for the most part, it's not like we were in danger of getting fat.

"I don't know Aang, why don't you ask Sokka's Instincts? They seem to know everything." Katara responded to the airbender.

"Ha ha, very funny." Sokka deadpanned.

"Guys, could we talk?" I said.

"Sure, what's up?" Aang replied.

"Could we not tell people I'm a firebender unless I bring it up?" I requested.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but why?"

"Because the last two times people found out, I ended up with a knife to my throat." I reminded them. "I'd like to avoid that." That was half-true. I knew Suki and Bumi were only being careful. But I knew that Jet wouldn't listen to anyone if he found out, even though I was helping the Avatar. He'd probably attack first and ask questions never.

Sokka nodded as he trudged ahead and parted two bushes. "Good point. Besides, if people start talking about a not-evil firebender, it might tip off the Fire…Nation…" He trailed off.

We found ourselves in a Fire Nation camp with twenty enemy soldiers. They looked about as surprised as we were. "Run!" Sokka screamed, his voice cracking again.

We made a break for the woods, but one soldier cut us off with a fireball, setting Sokka's sleeve on fire in the process. "Sokka, your shirt!" Aang exclaimed. Katara quickly put Sokka out by waterbending from her water skin.

Sokka tried to bluff our way out. "If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you." He said.

"What are you doing?" Katara whispered.

"Bluffing." He admitted.

One soldier with an eyepatch scoffed at this. "You, promise not to hurt us?" Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"Nice work Sokka! How did you do that?" Aang piped up.

"Uh…instinct?" Sokka replied with a shrug.

"Look!" Katara pointed up into the trees. A tall, dark-haired boy with hook swords and a blade of grass hanging out of his mouth leaped down from the trees. He landed on two of the soldiers, and flipped them over with his swords.

"Down you go." He said in the cockiest voice I could imagine.

The other soldiers went on alert. "They're in the trees!" One yelled. Suddenly a small kid dropped on the soldier's head and turned his helmet around, cutting off his vision. Three more soldiers got disarmed by some very accurate arrows. I looked up and saw a kid in a straw hat hanging down from a branch and firing arrows, never missing his mark. Two more soldiers tried to attack a burly kid with brown hair and a topknot, but they underestimated his strength and got taken down hard. A small girl with short brown hair, two red lines on each cheek, and a sword on her back fought brilliantly with a dagger she held in a reverse grip.

Meanwhile, we didn't stay still. Aang and Katara took two soldiers down with their preferred element. Sokka swung his boomerang at one, but the guy with the hook swords took that one down first. I tackled one from behind, grabbed his sword from his hand and slammed the pommel down onto his helmet, knocking him out. I knew I couldn't risk firebending because of who was nearby. A giant man suddenly dropped behind two soldiers, and pulled out a massive log that he used as a club. He hit the soldiers' swords so hard that they broke.

The guy with the hook swords took down the last soldier and came to a stop in front of Katara. "Hey." He greeted.

"Hi." Katara said, clearly impressed.

Aang was impressed, too. "You just took out an army almost single-handed." He said with amazement.

Sokka wasn't as impressed. "Army?! There were only, like, twenty guys."

Sokka had a point. There were only twenty of them and they were distracted by us. Granted, he did manage to take out six or seven of them, so that was pretty good.

"My name is Jet," The tall kid introduced, "And these are my Freedom Fighters." He pointed to each member of his group.

"Sneers." The kid with the topknot.

"Longshot." The guy with the bow.

"Smellerbee." The girl with the dagger.

"The Duke." The small kid.

"And, Pipsqueak." The giant.

I walked over to Smellerbee. "That's a very nice dagger. You use it well." I complimented. I wasn't kidding. The blade was beautifully crafted steel, with gold hilt. Gold finger grooves ran along the length of the dark brown grip, with a gold loop on the pommel. I couldn't shake the feeling that the knife looked familiar.

She smirked and nodded. "Thanks."

Aang walked up to the small kid. "Pipsqueak, that's a funny name." He said with a giggle.

"You think my name is funny?" The giant replied in a deep voice.

Aang, to his credit, didn't look the least bit scared. "It's hilarious!" He declared brightly. Pipsqueak laughed loudly and thumped Aang on the back, knocking the airbender over.


While the Freedom Fighters cleared out the camp, Katara approached Jet.

"Um, thanks for saving us, Jet." She said shyly with her hands held behind her back. "We're lucky you were there." I barely avoided rolling my eyes. I know Katara didn't have any experience with romance, but seriously, it had to be some kind of record to get a crush that fast. I gave her a break because she didn't know what Jet was capable of. He did give off that 'bad boy' vibe that some girls allegedly like, but the piece of grass in his mouth was a bit much.

"I should be thanking you." He replied smoothly. "We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning. We just needed the right distraction. And then you guys stumbled in."

"We were relying on instincts." Katara said lowly, shooting a look at Sokka.

"You'll get yourself killed doing that." Jet said.

Over in the camp, The Duke put his hand in a barrel, pulled out a small amount of a substance, and gave it a sniff. "Hey Jet, these barrels are filled with blasting jelly." He reported.

"That's a great score." Jet praised. It was pretty disturbing that a kid no older than eight knew exactly what an explosive smelled like. It was just another reminder of the impact the war had on human lives.

"And these boxes are filled with jelly candy!" Pipsqueak announced with glee.

"Also good." Jet nodded. "Let's not get those mixed up." That part confused me. Why would soldiers need or want candy? Booze, I understand, but candy?

The Freedom Fighters loaded their supplies on a cart. "We'll take the stuff back to the hideout." The Duke said.

Aang perked up at this. "You guys have a hideout?"

Jet nodded. "You want to see it?"

Katara clasped her hands together in a pleading motion. "Yes, we want to see it!"

I couldn't resist rolling my eyes that time.


As we made our way through the forest, I thought about my plan for this part. It was pretty simple. I would go with Aang and Katara when they went to fill the reservoir, then I would tell them what Jet was planning as soon as he left. I'd ask them to try to empty the reservoir as much as they could while I went to distract him. By the time Jet figured out what went wrong and blew the dam, It would be empty and the town would be safe. I knew Sokka evacuated the town in the show, but those people still basically lost everything. I wanted to prevent that.

"We're here." Jet's voice shook me from my thoughts.

"Where? there's nothing here." Sokka said sharply.

Jet grabbed a rope hanging down from a tree and passed it to Sokka. "Hold this."

"Why? What's this do?" Sokka asked. Suddenly, he was yanked up into the trees, screaming all the while.

Jet offered a rope to Aang, who declined and jumped up on his own with airbending. He handed me the rope. I braced myself, and was pulled up onto a wooden platform high in the trees. I looked around and saw a massive complex of treehouses connected by a system of bridges and ziplines. Shortly after I arrived, Jet shot up, with Katara holding onto him, staring at his face. Seriously, down girl. Katara took her eyes off Jet and looked at the treehouses.

"It's beautiful up here." She said.

"It's beautiful, and more importantly, the Fire Nation can't find us." He replied.

Smellerbee shot up behind us. "They would love to find you, wouldn't they Jet?" She said with a smirk.

"It's not going to happen, Smellerbee." Jet said with a smirk of his own.

I barely held back a bitter laugh. The Fire Nation probably didn't know Jet even existed. Or, if they did, they didn't think he was a threat worth taking seriously. Gaipan was a tiny village in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with no strategic value. If they thought Jet was a threat, they would've burned down the entire forest to flush him out. They were willing to throw away a division just to take out a battalion after all.*

We made our way across a bridge with the rest of the Freedom Fighters.

"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" Katara asked curiously.

"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble." Jet said cheekily. "See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."

"We've been ambushing their troops, cutting off their supply lines, and doing anything we can to mess with them." Pipsqueak declared proudly.

"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town." Jet stated firmly.

"That's so brave." Katara praised with a blush.

"Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a treehouse." Sokka said sarcastically.

"Don't pay any attention to my brother." Katara told Jet.

"No problem, he probably had a rough day." Jet replied easily.

"So, you all live here?" Katara asked.

"That's right. Longshot over there, his town got burned down by the Fire Nation. And we found The Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home." Jet said. I felt bad for the kids, and even Jet to an extent. These kids all lost their homes and their families because of this war. That didn't justify what Jet was willing to do, though.

"What about you?" Katara prompted.

Jet stopped walking and looked down at his feet. "The Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever."

"Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation." Katara replied.

"I'm so sorry, Katara." Jet replied.


Once dusk fell, our group joined the Freedom Fighters for dinner at a long table. While we ate, Jet stood up and spoke.

"Today," He began, raising his cup in a toast, "We struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine."

Everyone but Sokka and I cheered. Sokka still didn't trust Jet, and I was getting sick of Jet's overinflated sense of self-importance. The 'blows' that the Freedom Fighters struck against the Fire Nation were so small that they probably thought the losses in supplies were caused by a few soldiers with sticky fingers or a rounding error in paperwork. Jet wouldn't have been able to destroy Gaipan without Aang and Katara. It's not like he could fill up the reservoir by himself.

Jet continued. "I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face when The Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey!"

The Duke jumped up on the table and raised his fists in triumph while everyone cheered. I did clap for that part. It was pretty awesome to see an eight-year-old take down a fully grown soldier.

"Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees." Jet said with a smirk. "Maybe they're right."

The Freedom Fighters booed.

"You're lucky they think that." I thought. "If they thought you were a threat, they would've taken you out by now."

"Or maybe, they're dead wrong." Jet finished sinisterly. He walked over and sat between Katara and Sokka while the Freedom Fighters cheered for him. I had to admit, Jet had charisma.

"Nice speech." Katara complimented.

"Thanks." Jet replied. "By the way, I was really impressed with you and Aang. That was some great bending I saw out there today. Alec wasn't so bad either."

"Well," Katara said with a blush, "Aang's great, he's the Avatar. I could use some more training. And Alec was holding back."

Oh shit. She wasn't going to spill the beans, was she?

"Avatar, huh? Very nice." Jet said approvingly. He turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by holding back?"

"Well, he's a firebender, but he fought without his bending." Katara answered nonchalantly.

FUCK!

You could hear a pin drop around the table. All the freedom fighters glared at me. A few reached for their weapons. I saw a flash of anger in Jet's eyes, but he quickly replaced it with his normal aloof expression. Sokka looked at Katara with disbelief. Aang's eyes went wide. Katara covered her mouth, but it was too little, too late.

Silence reigned for several long moments. "Well, I guess if you're with the Avatar, you can't be all bad." Jet said after a second. That was unexpected. Was he up to something? The Freedom Fighters put their weapons down, but still looked uneasy.

"Look," I said putting up my hands in a placating gesture, "We can leave right now if you're uncomfortable. I understand the Fire Nation and firebenders have hurt you all."

"Actually," Jet said thoughtfully, "I might know a way Aang and Katara can help us with our struggle."

Sokka stood up. "I really think we should leave."

"Sokka, you're kidding me. I needed you on an important mission tomorrow." Jet pleaded.

That hooked Sokka. Katara wasn't going to leave, and Aang would follow Katara. I was stuck here.

"I'll go sleep on the ground with Appa." I offered.

Jet nodded. "The rest of you can stay up here, we have plenty of space in the treehouses."


I left the dining area and started to make my way back to the ziplines that led to the forest floor. I was fuming. Katara's crush and her big mouth put all of my plans in jeopardy. Jet and his crew would be watching me like hawks now. How was I supposed to save the town with them breathing down my neck?

"I'm sorry." Katara said behind me. "It just slipped out."

I turned and glared. "Slipped out?" I repeated. "I told you only a few hours ago not to tell anybody and it just slipped out?! Katara, you're smarter than that!"

"We can trust him!" She insisted.

I just shook my head. I was so angry that I didn't bother to explain myself. "I can't be around you right now." I said, turning away.

"Fine!" She spat and stormed off towards the treehouses.

I turned around and headed towards the ziplines again. I almost made it when someone snuck up behind me and covered my mouth with a rag soaked in some sort of strong chemical. I struggled briefly, but I couldn't get free and blacked out.


I woke up with a massive headache. I tried to move, but I realized that my hands were tied behind a wooden post. I also had a gag in my mouth. I also noticed that I was shirtless. I tried to burn the ropes away, but I couldn't firebend. I looked around. I was in a treehouse, and I could see through the flap that it was still night outside. I must not have been out for very long.

"You're awake." A voice spoke from behind me. I heard footsteps and Jet came into my field of vision. His normal aloof expression was gone. In its place was a mask of hatred and fury. This was bad.

"Don't try to escape. The rag I used to knock you out was soaked in a drug that makes it impossible to bend for hours." He said coldly.

Correction. This wasn't just bad, it was fucked.

"I know you're an assassin sent by the Fire Nation." He continued. "So I have special plans for you. I gotta admit, traveling with the Avatar to lure me into a false sense of security was a nice touch."

I would've scoffed if I wasn't so scared. This idiot thought he was so important that the Fire Nation used the Avatar, their number-one enemy, as bait to take him down?

"Don't bother waiting for help." He continued. "Your friends don't know your here. I didn't even tell my Freedom Fighters. They wouldn't have the guts to do something like this."

"You mean they're not bison-shit crazy enough." I thought.

Suddenly, Jet punched me in the stomach, hard. I grunted and knelt over. I made sure to keep my eyes on him. If I was gonna go down, I was going down staring him in the eye. He punched me a few more times in the ribs. I swore I felt a few of them crack. I yelled in pain into the gag.

"I'm doing this to save your so-called friends from you." He kept up with the monologue while beating the shit out of me. "I'm doing this so you can't betray them in the future, like all you evil firebenders would do!"

He kept punching me. I didn't look down, but my torso probably looked like a mess. Suddenly he stopped. He moved over and picked up his swords. My eyes widened in fear. Was this the end?

"Don't worry. I won't kill you, yet." He said. "I just need a sword-sharpener."

He came over to me, and started cutting my chest and arms. He made the cuts shallow so I wouldn't bleed to death, but the cuts hurt like no pain I had ever felt before. I screamed into the gag.

"That's just a small amount of the pain the Fire Nation has caused!" Jet yelled like a maniac. I didn't count how many times he cut me, but eventually, he stopped. He wiped down his swords.

"You're going to die in two days, along with the filthy Fire Nation swine in Gaipan." He said, looking me in the eye.

He smirked. "I'm going to trick the Avatar and your sister into filling up the reservoir, then I'm going to blow up the dam, and wash away all the Fire Nation scum. You'll have a front-row seat. I'm gonna tie you up right next to the blasting jelly. Pretty fitting that a firebender would go out with a bang."

He yawned. "Anyway, I need to get some sleep. Night-night!"

He punched me in the head and knocked me out.


I woke up in excruciating pain. How long was I out, exactly? I noticed light outside. I heard voices coming from nearby.

"Sokka, you told them what happened, but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?" I heard Jet say.

"No, he conveniently left that part out." Katara responded.

Okay, so I hadn't been out for an entire day. I needed to get out of here! But I couldn't bend, could I?!

Wait. Couldn't I? Jet said the drug lasted a few hours, so maybe it had worn off. I concentrated. Come on, come on, come on! Heat flowed through my arms and burned away the ropes at my wrists. Success! Thank the spirits Jet decided to act like a Bond villain.

"Fine, but even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian." Sokka retorted.

I tore off the gag, and stumbled through the pain to the flap covering the hut's entrance. I peaked out. Luckily, nobody else was outside. I concentrated, listening for the voices.

"He was an assassin, Sokka!" Jet's voice spoke from a nearby hut. "See, there's a compartment for poison in the knife. He was sent to eliminate me. You helped save my life, Sokka."

Of course, that's why I recognized the knife! Jet must've taken it from Smellerbee to use as fake evidence to justify mugging the old man! I staggered over to the hut where the voices were coming from.

"I didn't see any knife." Sokka insisted.

I threw open the flap and staggered in. "Of course you didn't. The knife is Smellerbee's. I saw it yesterday." I rasped through the pain, falling to my knees.

All of them turned and gasped. Aang looked like he was going to puke. Sokka's eyes went so wide that they looked like they would fall out of his head. Katara's hands flew to her mouth in horror. Jet looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Katara ran over to me. "What happened to you?!" She asked frantically.

I glared at Jet. "Ask…him…"

The three of them turned to face my torturer. "Jet, what did you do?" Katara asked in a whisper, tears filling her eyes.

Jet's eyes hardened. "What I had to do. Firebenders can't be allowed to hurt anyone else." He said harshly.

Katara's eyes brimmed with tears of rage. "YOU HURT MY BROTHER!" She screamed. She opened her water skin and shot a massive wave at Jet, knocking him into the wall. She turned the water into ice, freezing every part of Jet to the wall except his head. She summoned an icicle and was about to launch it at him. I grabbed her wrist before she could kill him.

"No." I rasped out.

"Why not?!" She shouted. "He hurt you! I trusted him and he hurt you!"

"You're better than him." I said softly. "You wouldn't kill someone when you have them beaten."

Katara looked conflicted, but then she nodded. She turned the icicle back into water and bitch-slapped Jet with a water whip.

"We've got a problem." Sokka said urgently. I turned to face him. I saw Aang kneeling down on the floor, holding his head like he was in pain. Sokka had him by the shoulders, trying to hold him back. His eyes were flashing white. He was about an inch away from the Avatar State.

I stumbled over to Aang, got down and looked him in the eye. "Aang, stop." I said. "Please calm down, you don't need to do this. Katara got him. It's fine. Please, don't do this." I begged.

Everything was tense for a long time. Finally, the flashing stopped, and Aang calmed down. We heard footsteps approaching behind us. I turned and groaned. The Freedom Fighters had shown up. Sneers looked at me with his jaw dropped. Pipsqueak looked pale. The Duke turned green. Longshot's eyebrows shot up, which I knew was his version of open-mouthed shock.

Smellerbee looked at me with wide eyes. "What happened to you?" She asked in a small voice.

"Jet did this." I spat bitterly.

She noticed her leader frozen to the wall. "Jet. Is this true?"

Jet nodded. "Freedom Fighters! Kill them!" He ordered.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka got into fighting stances. The Freedom Fighters looked a little unsure. I guess blowing up a dam and not seeing the town you flooded is a little different than killing a person while looking them in the eyes. Sure, the result is the same, but seeing someone die probably gives you pause.

"What are you guys waiting for, kill them!" Jet screamed.

"Jet, why do you want us to kill the Avatar?" The Duke asked.

"Don't question me! Do it!" Jet roared.

I could see the uncertainty in their eyes. I decided to make myself less of a threat. I sat down. My adrenaline started wearing off and the pain returned in force.

"Katara," I turned to my sister, "Could you please heal me?" She ran over to me. She bent some water over me, and her hands began to glow. My cracked ribs healed. Bruises were wiped away like coffee stains. The cuts knitted themselves back together. She washed off all the dried blood. The pain disappeared.

"Thank you." I gave her a small smile. She looked away with tears still in her eyes. I would have to talk to her later. I looked at the Freedom Fighters. "Did he tell you not to question him when he came up with the plan to blow up the dam and flood Gaipan?" I asked.

The Freedom Fighters looked down guiltily. I was on the right track. "What do you mean, blow up the dam?" Katara asked.

"Jet bragged about it when he tortured me." I explained. "He was gonna lie to you and Aang and get you to fill the nearby reservoir. After that, he was gonna take the blasting jelly he got yesterday and blow up the dam, flooding the town and killing everyone in it."

Aang and my siblings looked disgusted by this. I kept talking to the Freedom Fighters. "Not everyone in that town is a soldier." I said. "Most of them are civilians. Some of them are kids, even younger than The Duke. Can you really tell me that a kid deserves to die?" I asked.

"That's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation!" Jet spat. "Those dirty firebenders will kill everyone in their path!"

"That firebender is the reason you don't have an icicle lodged in your brain." Sokka retorted.

"The people will be free when the Fire Nation is gone!" Jet yelled.

Sokka shook his head. "Dead isn't free, Jet."

I looked at each of the Freedom Fighters. "Jet just ordered you to kill the Avatar. Who do you think has a better chance of beating the Fire Nation? The master of all four elements, or Jet?"

There was complete silence for a long time. Then Sneers moved. "I'm done." He said. He left the hut. Pipsqueak and The Duke followed after him. Longshot shook his head and left. Smellerbee looked back. "Sorry, Jet. I can't follow you anymore." She left the treehouse.

"TRAITORS!" Jet screamed in rage.

"You became a traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people." Sokka replied sadly.

"We'd better get rid of that blasting jelly, just in case." I said.

"What about Jet?" Sokka asked.

I didn't know what he was suggesting. "What about him?"

"He committed a serious crime against a friend of the Southern Water Tribe, I can't just let him go." He explained.

"What should we do?" Aang asked.

"The Mark." Sokka said gravely. After a moment, Katara and I nodded. Aang was confused. "What Mark?" He asked.

"The Mark of the Disgraced. A permanent reminder that you've committed an unforgivable act against the Water Tribe." I explained. "You should leave, Aang. You don't want to see this." Aang nodded and left the treehouse.

"I'll gag him and do it." Sokka said. Sokka approached Jet and shoved a gag in his mouth. Sokka drew his knife. Jet's eyes widened in fear. Sokka put the blade of the knife against the center of Jet's forehead and began to cut. Jet screamed into the gag and shut his eyes in agony. Sokka showed no emotion. Katara kept her eyes steady, but I could tell she didn't like this. I kept my face neutral. I knew this was a very serious thing for the Tribe, not to be done in revenge, but solemn justice. Sokka finished quickly and stepped back. Jet now sported a large mark carved in the center of his forehead. It was a circle with an X through it, and resembled a railroad crossing sign without the letter R. Blood dripped from the fresh mark.

"It's done." Sokka said in a shaky voice. "I hope I never have to do that again."

I grabbed him by the shoulder. "I hope you don't, either." I said. "We should get the blasting jelly, blow it up somewhere safe, and get out of here."

Katara bent the ice off Jet and returned it to her pouch. Jet collapsed to the floor. We turned away and moved towards the door flap. Sokka and Katara had just left when I heard a noise. I turned and saw Jet scramble to his feet and charge me, tackling me to the ground. He got on top of me, wrapped his hands around my throat and squeezed. I couldn't cry out or wrench myself free from his grip. I didn't have enough breath to firebend either. He was too strong! I had to do something! I desperately reached out with my hand, feeling for anything I could use as a weapon. My vision began to go dark.

I felt my hand brush up against something. Smellerbee's knife! I wrenched it up, and before I could even think of the consequences, I drove the knife forward.

There was a wet sound. Jet's grip loosened and my vision returned, showing me what I had done. The knife was buried to the hilt in the center of Jet's chest, through his heart. His eyes were wide, and I saw the life slowly fading from them.

"Alec, what are you waiting for-OH SPIRITS!"

Katara stood in the doorway, horrified at the scene. I pulled the knife out of Jet's chest, and he slumped down beside me, dead. I scrambled back as fast as I could, shocked at what I'd done. "He attacked me and tried to strangle me. I grabbed the closest thing I could, and…" I trailed off. I was still coming to grips with my actions.

I swallowed. "We need to get out of here." I dropped the knife, and walked out of the treehouse, forcing myself not to look back.


A Few Hours Later

We managed to find a remote location to dispose of the blasting jelly. Once we set it up, we retreated a safe distance and I detonated it with a fireball. Under most circumstances, I would've been proud of a massive explosion. But these weren't normal circumstances. My mind was a whirlwind of emotion.

I killed Jet. I knew it was self-defense. But, he redeemed himself later in the story. But, in the story he hadn't tortured anyone. Could I view story Jet and my Jet as two separate people? Were they separate people?

We sat around the campfire eating dinner. I stared into the fire. I hadn't spoken since I left Jet's body in the treehouse. Instead, I spent the entire time asking myself a single question.

"What did I do wrong?"

My silence became too much for Sokka. "Okay, enough! Spill it, what's wrong?!" He demanded.

Aang took a more polite approach. "Um, yeah, could you please talk to us?"

Katara hadn't told them what happened to Jet. She gave me a look, pleading for me to speak.

I took a deep breath. "Jet's dead."

Aang looked shocked. "What happened?" Sokka hadn't forgiven Jet, and said "Good riddance."

"After Katara and Sokka left the treehouse, Jet got up and tackled me before I could react." I said. "He tried to strangle me, so I picked up Smellerbee's knife." I looked Aang in the eye. "I killed him." I said plainly. I didn't feel guilty about that part, I felt guilty that I let a situation happen that led to Jet's early death.

Aang looked at me with wide eyes. Sokka walked over to me and grabbed me by the shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Aang was silent for a while, and he had a thoughtful look on his face, but then he spoke. "I can't imagine what you're going through right now." He said.

I looked at him quizzically. "You're not mad?"

He shook his head. "I don't like killing, but you killed in self-defense. The monks taught me that we can't expect others to conform to our own beliefs."

I nodded. "Thanks."

"Are you worried about something else?" Katara prompted gently.

"Yeah." I admitted. "I had planned on making a change to the story here, but it went wrong."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

"In the original story, Jet tricked you and Aang into filling the reservoir, and he blew up the dam with the blasting jelly." I began. "Luckily, Sokka figured out Jet's plan and managed to evacuate Gaipan. Jet destroyed the town, but nobody died."

"So, were you going to save the town from being destroyed at all?" Sokka guessed.

I nodded. "Yeah. My plan was to tell Aang and Katara what Jet was up to as soon as Jet led them to the reservoir. I'd ask Aang and Katara to empty it instead of filling it. That way, when Jet blew up the dam, the town wouldn't flood. I needed Jet to not know I was a firebender, because I knew he'd be hostile." I winced at the memory of my torture. "I just didn't know how hostile he'd be."

"So that's why you told us not to tell anyone, and why you didn't use firebending to fight the soldiers." Aang realized.

Katara burst into tears and wrapped me in a hug. "I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. "I didn't know what he would do to you! I thought I could trust him!"

I returned the hug. "Katara, I forgive you. I've done a lot of thinking in the last few hours. Part of this is my fault."

"What?" She said, completely bewildered that I forgave her so easily.

"You told Jet about my firebending because you trusted him too easily. My mistake was, when I told you not to tell anyone about my firebending, I didn't trust you enough to say, 'Hey guys, the next person we meet will definitely be hostile to firebenders, whether or not I'm traveling with the Avatar'. I should have made an exception to the rules and warned you in advance, but I didn't. And, I got so angry after dinner that I didn't tell you what the reason was. I just stormed off, which allowed me to get captured." I explained.

I shook my head. "I was so arrogant that I thought I could make you do what I ask without question. That's something Jet would've done."

I looked each group member in the eyes. "I promise you, I'll be more forthcoming in the future." I stated firmly. "If I ask you to do something, I'll do my best to give you a reason without spoiling anything too important."

"I have a question," Sokka asked, "What happened to Jet in the original story?"

I took a breath. "When you left the forest, he was alive." I said. "He did die later though. I had actually planned on preventing his death."

"Even after what he did to you?" Katara asked.

"I never said I'd forgive him, but he would have been helpful at one point." I explained. "He had evidence of something that would've helped us out later. I can't give you any more details without spoiling things, though."

"I guess we should avoid telling anyone about your firebending in the future." Sokka said. "We don't want a repeat of what happened here. We might run into another Jet."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that too much." I replied, shaking my head. "Jet was angry and delusional. He hated firebenders so much that he attacked me even though I'm friends with the Avatar. Suki and King Bumi accepted me as soon as they realized I was with Aang. I think something like that will be the most common response."

"What? A knife to your throat while you explain yourself?" Sokka asked sarcastically.

I shrugged. "Pretty much. We should probably have Aang say he's the Avatar before I say I'm a firebender. That should take care of most of the knives."

"Alec, are you really sure?" Katara asked.

"No." I admitted. "But I think it's the best option."

I turned to Aang. "Speaking of our next adventure, where are we headed next?"

"I really wanna stop at the Great Divide before we head to the North Pole." The airbender replied.

Oh fuck. The Great Divide.

I put on a fake smile. "Okay, let's get some sleep and head over tomorrow."

AN: This was a pretty heavy chapter. My first real big change to the story. Don't worry, I'm not doing a full chapter for The Great Divide. It'll just be summarized in a few paragraphs in the next chapter.

Some of you people may say that the Freedom Fighters wouldn't abandon Jet. Keep in mind, in the original story, Sneers, Pipsqueak and The Duke didn't join up with Jet when he went to Ba Sing Se, so it's not like they didn't leave him. Plus, Jet ordered them to kill the Avatar, the best hope for ending the war. That made them wonder if Jet really was doing the right thing.

*This is a reference to "The Storm", when Zuko spoke out against a general's plan to sacrifice a division as a distraction for an Earth Kingdom battalion. In the US military, a division is 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers, while a battalion maxes out at 1,000. I went by US military units because the show was written in the US. If the Fire Nation is willing to accept such lopsided losses, they'd definitely burn down an entire forest to get rid of one guy.