Disclaimer: Still don't own Avatar.
Name: Farewell to a fallen hero.
Genre: More tragedy? Dear G-d, I'm morbid!
Summary: Okay, so I'm kinda on a funeral kick right now. I've been watching waaaayyy too much Rent. (Angel's funeral makes my cry EVERY FREAKIN' TIME!!!) So I was watching the part with Angel's funeral, and through my pathetic tears, I realized that this would be the kind of funeral Jet would have. Very casual, no big religious ceremony, just people who knew him sitting around telling stories and saying their final goodbyes. So basically what happens here is that the gaang (including Zuko) runs into Longshot and Smellerbee in some random place, close the freedom fighter's tree house base. That's where the funeral is.
"Longshot? Smellerbee? Is that you?" Katara's eyes lit up with hope as she ran towards the two rebels, closely followed by the rest of their little gaang.
"Katara? Aang? Sokka? Hi!" said Smellerbee. Longshot gave them a meaningful glance. Zuko caught up with them and Smellerbee looked at him in surprise. "Lee? Wow, we haven't seen you since you're uhh… encounter with Jet. Look, we're really sorry about what he did. It was just so hard for him to let go of everything that he got to looking for firebenders."
"Don't be," was Zuko's curt reply.
"Wait. You know them?" asked Sokka incredulously.
"It's kind of a long story," said Zuko.
"So where's Jet? Is he o-" Katara stopped mid sentence when she noticed the tears running down Smellerbee's face. "Oh no…" whispered Katara, her eyes welling up.
"He wasn't okay, Katara…" choked out Smellerbee. Longshot put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "He said he was, but… but…" she couldn't go on.
"We're holding a funeral for him back at the tree base. He would have liked it if you could come," said Longshot quietly. Everyone just stood there looking at him in shock for a couple seconds.
"You talk?" said Zuko, who obviously had thought him to be mute or something. Longshot nodded.
They made their way to the tree fort and were there by nightfall. The tree fort village of the Freedom Fighters was oddly quiet, as if it was being smothered by a wet blanket. The children mostly stayed in their huts and grieved silently, but some came out to greet them somberly. At nightfall, Smellerbee called a meeting on the big platform in the center of the little village. In the center of the platform was a raised area where the speaker stood. Tears ran down Katara's cheeks as she recalled the time when Jet would speak on it, in his entrancing, inspiring way. Smellerbee got up on the podium and began to speak.
"Freedom Fighters, friends, we gather here tonight to remember our beloved leader. Jet. Jet was an inspiration to us all, and brought our big family together. He was a good strong fighter, a brave leader, and a true friend. We will all miss him greatly. He was always a fighter and he fought bravely to the very end. And I'm sure that he wouldn't want it any other way. Now, if anyone has something to say, please come up and say it one at a time." Smellerbee stepped off the platform and sat down next to Longshot, resting her head on his shoulder. Many of the children, some of them surprisingly young to be fighting in the war, got up and spoke of how Jet had found them after their families were killed and gave them hope and a place to call home. How he had rescued them from a life on the streets, begging and pick pocketing to survive. After a while of this, Sokka stook up and walked on to the podium.
"From the very beginning, Jet and I had our differences. We had our different philosophies on how to fight the Fire Nation, and I admit that I was a little prejudiced against him because of his… closeness with my sister. But still, you had to respect the guy. Misguided as he was, he was a brave warrior. And in the end, he really wasn't so bad. So all I gotta say is… you were okay, Jet. And I'm sorry I judged you." Sokka stepped down and gave his sister a hug as Aang stepped up.
"As Sokka mentioned, Jet and I had our differences. A lot of differences. But in the end, he was a good guy. The day he died, I was there, fighting alongside him. He gave his life to protect me, and for that I thank him. Thank you, Jet. I hope that wherever you are, you've finally found some peace." Aang let a couple tears fall and then sat back down next to Katara who hugged him tightly and cried onto his shoulder. Then, Zuko did something that surprised them all. He stood up, walked onto the podium... and began to speak.
"Jet… wow. I'm probably the very last person anyone would expect to be speaking at his funeral, yet here I am. I met Jet on the ferry to Ba Sing Se, where I was supposed to start a new life with my uncle. As you can see, that didn't exactly pan out, or else I wouldn't be standing here. Jet and I actually hit it off right away, surprisingly enough. We did a lot of… questionably good deeds together, such as 'liberating' the captain's food and giving it to the refugees. It was after I declined his invitation to join the Freedom Fighters that he first became suspicious of me. As Smellerbee told me earlier today, sometimes people have a hard time letting go of old habits," said Zuko, giving Aang a meaningful glance. "I can attest to that. Jet's suspicions grew to the point where he openly accused me of being a firebender in public and attacking me. This is what got him arrested by the Dai Li in the first place, making his death partially my fault. And for that, I am sorry. Believe me when I say that no matter what he said, I was not out to kill anybody. Jet may have been slightly fanatical and obsessive, but for all his faults, he was not stupid." Zuko searched crowd and saw that no one had their weapons with them. Zuko looked up at the stars and conjured a flame in his palm. Gasps and even some screams rippled throughout the area. They looked at Aang, who shook his head. They did not rise to fight. Zuko continued speaking, directing his voice at the heavens. "I have to hand it to you Jet, I thought my secret was pretty well guarded. But as you soon noticed, my disguise was less than perfect. You were smart enough to see through my charade so the least I owe you is an explanation. First of all, my name is not Lee. It's Zuko. Prince Zuko of the Fire Naton, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai." More gasps could be heard throughout the otherwise silent audience. "I am wanted by every nation, including my own, for treason. I came to Ba Sing Se with my uncle in order to hide. That was before my sister arrived and convinced me into joining her in bringing down the Earth Kingdom once and for all. We succeeded. But a short while later, I turned on her after she killed my uncle, and swore to bring her and my father down. I now teach the Avatar… Aang firebending." The forest was dead silent. "So there's your explanation, Jet. Wherever you are now, you're probably cursing me off or giving me death threats. And all you Freedom Fighters probably hate me now, too. Go ahead, I deserve it. At least now, you know that your leader wasn't a complete psycho." Zuko stepped off the podium and walked back to his seat, the crowd parting as he made his way through it, sitting down near Katara, who looked at him oddly. "He really loved you, you know," said Zuko quietly to her. "He talked about you a lot. You should go up there." Katara nodded and slowly made her way up to the podium. She stood there for a second gazing at all the young faces in the crowd. Younger than her, younger than Aang and Toph, but old enough to fight for what they believe, and old enough to die their cause. She began to speak.
"How can I sum Jet up in just a few words? For starters, he was crazy, immoral, reckless, fanatic and manipulative. He could kill hundreds of innocent people just to get ten firebenders. Yes, he was insane. It is true, that he was all those things that I said a second ago, but he was also smart, funny, spirited, inspirational, handsome, a great leader and friend, and a true Freedom Fighter. And to his credit, in the end, he did the right thing. And that's all that counts." The tears that had finally stopped coming welled up in her eyes once more as she concluded; "I loved Jet. Even after everything he did, I loved him, and I guess you can say that I still do. But Jet would hate it if I just kept dwelling in the past. So I'll go on living in the moment… for both of us. And I'm sure he wouldn't have it any other way." Katara stepped off the podium and sat down with her adopted "family". Somewhere in a place between Earth and the Spirit World, Jet smiled. This was the conformation he was waiting for. Everyone would be fine without him. He didn't need to worry. The light was getting brighter now, and Jet could begin to make out the faint outlines of his parents, waiting for him.
"See ya' around, guys. You're right as usual, Katara. I wouldn't want things to turn out any other way." Jet walked into the light.