A/N: Thanks again for reading and this chapter goes out to AsylumFox for leaving such wonderful reviews. If you thought the last chapter was a cliffy, you'll love this one. Thanks and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: Only own the kids…they're all mine! Muahahaha (yes, I'm being silly)

Chapter 8

Kana watched as her friends and brother worried. A ransom demand had finally arrived for Aya, and The Duke's face was red with anger. Teo and Haru were trying to keep him calm, and Ty Lee had finally had to poke The Duke just to make him sit still. Kana kept glancing at Iroh and saw him angry, occasionally blowing out puffs of smoke, but he seemed to be controlling himself well.

"Zuko and Toph will never go for it, no one in their right mind would!" The Duke said suddenly and his face became apologetic when Ty Lee turned on him. "Sorry, Ty Lee, I just can't stand this. The Jet I knew would never sanction this. He may have gone too far sometimes, but never this far!"

"But this isn't the Jet you knew!" Iroh said, standing.

"No, this is his son, and this guy seemed different. But nicer than the Jet from the stories," Hakoda said as he sat off to the side, his eyes narrowed in thought. "I think this is all Long Feng, and Jet's being pulled along for the ride."

"And how would you know that?!" Iroh fumed, turning on his friend. Kana reached out and placed her hand on Iroh's arm, hoping her touch would calm him. It seemed to and he sat again, giving a sigh.

"Because he stopped Long Feng from beating me," Hakoda told Iroh, blue eyes meeting golden. "He let Aya treat you two and I just have this feeling that this guy will watch over Aya."

"Hakoda's right," The Duke sighed. "I asked him to watch over everyone and he said he would. He reminded me of his father when I first met him. He still has hope."

"So, what are we going to do?" Haru asked.

Kana watched the adults and The Duke took a deep breath, calming down more. "Toph, Aang, and Sokka are heading this way now. Zuko wanted to, but Toph wouldn't let him. He would probably burn Ba Sing Sae to the ground to get answers."

"I should have thought of that," Iroh muttered and all the adults sent him a dark look to which he bowed his head to avoid their gazes.

"We'll send a reply saying we can not answer until The Fire Lord and Lady arrive," The Duke said and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as the teens looked up to watch him shrewdly. "Only we know that Toph is the only one coming. The delay will give us more time to find Aya. The lake was a bust, hasn't been used since the end of the hundred year war. You kids find out anything useful?"

The Duke turned to them and Kana rolled her eyes as both Hakoda and Kuzon became cheerful. Before they could start spouting nonsense, Kana spoke up.

"Nothing much. A lot of secrets are in this city, and the politicians are acting too nice and avoiding talking with us when we get too deep. Airhead and Meathead there couldn't take their eyes off the princesses." Kana noticed that Iroh started smiling at that while Ty Lee's two girls, Jen Lee and Hana, and Song's daughter, Marissa, became jealous.

"Yeah, we couldn't find anything out," Iroh sighed. "But if the king heard this ransom, he'd probably be convinced to give into it. And I will not let my sister be a tool to these imbeciles!"

"We know, Iroh," Ty Lee said gently. "I don't think Aya will let herself be used in this way either. So, the plan will be to not let the king hear of this."

Everyone nodded and became solemn. Kana thought over the ransom. They wanted the oldest Earth Kingdom princess, Jenell, to be given in marriage to Long Feng in return for Aya. If the demand wasn't met in two days, Aya would be forced to marry Long Feng and since she was a princess, the rights and titles that she had would be given to her husband. If anything happened to Iroh, Aya would become Fire Lady, and her husband would become Fire Lord. And since the Earth King had no sons, Jenell's husband would become king. Either way, Long Feng earned a kingdom.

The group talked more and Ty Lee poked The Duke again so that he could move, but the talk was pointless. They either went around in circles or tried to get onto other subjects, but it was useless. Everyone kept thinking about Aya and what would happen the next day. The Duke would be searching the forest for any sign of Aya, Jet, or Long Feng, but there was nothing they could do that night. The general refused to let The Duke lead men out at night because they were ambushed too frequently by thieves and mercenaries. Iroh left after a while and Kana followed him out to the garden, watching him as he walked up to a stone sculpture of a lady. He started firebending and Kana watched as the fire danced around the sculpture, making it look like the lady danced.

"It's beautiful," Kana said, walking up to stand beside Iroh.

"Yeah, but Aya could really make it dance," Iroh said and Kana was surprised to hear tears in his voice. She looked up at him and saw him fighting to keep control of himself. He let the fire extinguish and turned to her and Kana wrapped him in a hug.

"We'll get her back. She'll be fine," Kana said as Iroh clung to her and she could feel wetness on her shoulder. She just held onto Iroh for a while, and waited until she thought he was feeling better. "You know, I bet Aya has this Jet wrapped around her finger right now."

Iroh chuckled and quickly wiped his face before pulling back to look into her eyes. "You're like her, so strong," Iroh whispered as he reached up to cup her face in his warm hand. "How can I be like that? How can both of you be so strong?"

"It's a female thing, you wouldn't understand," Kana said with a smirk and Iroh laughed. He leaned towards her and Kana rose up to meet him in a kiss. It was the first real kiss she ever had, and it felt like it was Iroh's too, but neither of them cared. They just enjoyed it and each other, their arms wrapping around each other to hold each other as close as they could. Iroh finally ended it and rested his forehead against hers. Kana just smiled as she stared into the depths of his golden eyes.

"I know this is kind of silly," Iroh said with a grin. "I mean, Aya's captured and we're all worried about what's going to happen. But…will you be my girlfriend?"

Kana's smile grew and she felt tears coming to her eyes. "Yes," she said and kissed Iroh again.

When they broke apart, she saw a wry smile on Iroh's face and mischief in his eyes. "Now you cry."

Kana just laughed and hugged him again. They had finally come together, because of Aya. Kana just hoped her friend was ok. But she knew that Aya could take care of herself, and in no time at all, they would all be back together.

XXXXX

Aya woke to a gentle shake on her shoulder. She just cuddled up into the blankets since it was still cool, but the blanket was pulled off of her and what felt like a cloak thrown onto her.

"Get up and put that on," Jet said in a stern tone. "We're leaving."

"Fine," Aya sighed and got up, pulling the cloak around her quickly to keep warm. As soon as it was on, Jet placed a cup in her hand. She questioned him with her gaze and heard him sigh.

"We're meeting Long Feng. It's a small dose of Forkroot nectar. It's the only way we can travel."

Aya heard in Jet's tone that he didn't want to make her drink it, but he would ensure that he and his people would be safe from her. She nodded and drank the drink, frowning at the bitter taste.

"I understand," Jet said sadly. "Hopefully, you won't have to drink it ever again."

Aya was curious, wondering if the ransom had been paid, but Jet remained silent and just took the cup before grabbing her hand and leading her out. Aya wondered how they were going to reach the ground and Jet suddenly stopped them. He pulled her closer and she thought she heard a slight smile in his tone.

"Hang on. The zip line's the best way down," he said as he moved her arms to hold on around his neck.

Aya grabbed onto him, holding him as tight as she could as Jet wrapped an arm around her waist and then reached up.

"Here we go," he whispered and then he stepped forward and they were airborne. Aya clung to Jet as she felt the air whooshing by them as they descended, but found the ride enjoyable. By the time they reached the ground, she was smiling.

Feeling around with her limited bending sight because of the drink, she found about ten ostrich horses and people. Jet seemed in a decent mood and picked her up, placing her on the saddle. "A shorter ride this time," he whispered to her after he jumped up behind her. Aya nodded and grabbed onto the mane as Jet grabbed the reins. "Ok, if the army shows up, we split up and meet at the cave," Jet said to the people waiting. "If there's any trouble, fly like the wind and pray that you're not caught. Good luck everyone!"

Aya didn't hear any cheers, but everyone else shouted out a good luck and then they were off. The ride was faster this time, and harder, and Aya heard the other people surrounding them. Jet wrapped an arm around her waist again and leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"We're meeting Long Feng. He said your ransom was paid, but I don't trust him. Also there was a rumor the army was heading here, so most of my people have left and we're going someplace safe."

Aya nodded, unable to talk with the constant jarring, and just tried to relax as much as she could into Jet's embrace, wondering if this would be the last time they would be together. She was happy that she might be going home, but she didn't trust Long Feng either. And the thought of leaving Jet was heartbreaking, so she just leaned into his embrace, one of her hands moving from the ostrich horse to rest on his hand around her waist. He seemed surprised when she touched his hand, but he gave her a slight squeeze and Aya smiled as she felt him relax and almost become happy through the meteorite ring she had given him.

An hour into the ride, a call came through that the army was spotted. Aya heard Jet give orders and the group split, three staying with Jet and Aya as they veered through the land. One of the people remarked that more of the army was coming and two veered off to try and lead the army away from Jet. Jet and Aya were left with Hakul, and after another hour, they slowed their mounts and stopped. Aya almost fell off the ostrich horse, but Jet caught her and she ducked her head to hide her blush as he caught her like he had the night after they danced, though he made no move to kiss her this time. He was stiff and tense and Aya tried to send out her senses to feel for anyone, but all she felt was Jet, Hakul and the two ostrich horses. Jet took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze before he started leading her into a coolness that only came with caves.

"Hello, Jet," Aya heard Long Feng's slimy voice from ahead. Jet stopped and Aya stepped closer to him, trying to feel for people, but again only felt Jet and Hakul. She heard something above her and then a metal dart was heading to Hakul and hit him. Jet spun as his friend collapsed before dropping into a fighting stance facing Long Feng's voice. He suddenly pressed Aya's dagger into her hand before drawing his swords.

"What's going on, Long Feng?" Jet asked casually.

"The plans have changed," Long Feng said as he stepped towards them and Aya could finally feel him.

"He's lying," she whispered to Jet and thought he nodded once, but he seemed to have his attention on Long Feng.

"Changed?" Jet asked in an easy manner that Aya knew was false bravado. "How?"

"My dear boy, I thought you were smarter than this," Long Feng said with an evil chuckle that made Aya's skin crawl. When Jet didn't reply, a frown entered Long Feng's tone. "This dear little gem said you were smart, but not that smart. Perhaps she was right."

Jet tensed more, and it seemed he was almost frozen as Aya edged closer to him, placing a hand on his back so that she could feel him better through her ring.

"I told you he got too close to the girl," Jade said suddenly and Aya scowled. She knew why Jet was frozen. His girlfriend had betrayed him. Aya felt the girl walk towards Long Feng and then start hanging on the older man.

"Jade, what did you do?" Jet asked in a deadly tone.

"My dear Jet," Jade said in a condescending tone. "Long Feng will make me a lady once he has his kingdom. You just never saw more than your pitiful band of children while I aimed higher."

Jet growled and Aya moved her hand higher, reminding him she was there and watching his back. But she could only do so much with her bending disabled. She tried to concentrate and found her circumference of feeling was slowly expanding and she felt a few Dai Li surrounding them. She was sure Jet was aware of the fact as well and just waited for the next move.

"I don't understand," Jet said as calmly as he could. "Where's the ransom? Where's the money and medicine? Did the plans change or were they changed to begin with?"

"Ah, he does get it," Long Feng stated with a smile before he turned serious. "Hand over the girl, and I won't bother you or your group of children."

"I'll need to think about it," Jet stated.

"Now, Jet," Long Feng growled. "Don't make the same mistake your father made."

Aya felt Jet getting angry again, but he seemed calm on the outside. "I thought you said you never met my father."

"I lied," Long Feng said before he made a motion. Aya heard several pieces of earth heading towards them and Jet pushed her back before he flung one of his swords at Long Feng.

"No!" Aya screamed as Long Feng sidestepped the sword and sent a wave of rocks at Jet, hitting the teen in the chest and sending Jet onto his back. Aya could only remember the story her mother had told her of Jet's father when she heard Jet land hard. She felt rage boiling within her and stood, suddenly feeling the earth roar in response to her anger.

"Dart her! Quickly!" Long Feng yelled.

Aya felt the darts coming towards her, and put her hand out, stopping them all. Strangely, she also started feeling very warm as her rage at Long Feng took over. She raised her hands and brought them down, trying to bring the cavern down on Long Feng and his Dai Li. She heard screams as people fled, but she couldn't feel anything but the earth and heat around her. She couldn't feel Jet and her anger and grief swelled, causing the unusual heat around her to become an inferno. Stepping towards where she had heard Jet land, she made sure the cavern didn't collapse on them and with the last of her strength, was able to push the unconscious Hakul safely out of the cavern before she collapsed, unconscious.

XXXXX

Jet knew when he saw the rocks coming toward him that history was repeating himself. He had felt it coming and was trying to move out of the way when it hit him, sending him onto his back. He knew he heard Aya cry out, and when he opened his eyes, he was scared to see fire surrounding her as her face showed only rage. She was moving her hands around like a firebender, and the fire surrounding her shot out towards the Dai Li as the cavern collapsed around them. He saw several Dai Li fall under the rocks crashing down, or falling covered in flames, but then she started moving closer to him. He was almost frightened of her until he saw her face fall, tears falling down her face before she collapsed next to him. The cavern shook once more and a few more rocks fell around them, causing Jet to instinctually cover his head. Once it was still, he slowly sat up, feeling his body. He had a few broken and bruised ribs, and his right ankle was either broken or badly sprained from when he had landed on it wrong, but his main concern was Aya. She was pale and he scooted over to her quickly, straightening her out so that she could lie normally.

He had never seen anyone bend more than one element at a time and thought only the Avatar could do that. He noticed she was breathing evenly, though she continued to appear pale and he took a moment to look around. Nearly the entire cave had collapsed around them and Jet saw scorch marks on the stone. He hoped Hakul was ok, but he wasn't worried about Jade or Long Feng. He hoped both of the traitors were buried in the rubble. Praying that Aya was ok, Jet took her hand in his and placed the ring she had given him on her wrist to feel her pulse. It was slow, almost too slow, and he was surprised when it spiked suddenly and when he glanced at her face, he saw her color coming back before she opened her eyes.

"Hey, you ok?" Jet asked.

Suddenly she was sitting upright and hugging him tightly.

"Ow, hey, watch it," he growled as she pressed on his broken and bruised ribs.

"Sorry, I thought…I thought you had…"

He heard tears start in her tone as her grip loosened, but she continued to hug him. Jet just returned the hug, rubbing a hand over her back and saying soothing words that he often used on the kids when they had nightmares. His shoulder grew damp, but he didn't care as she continued to hold onto him and cry. He knew she had been scared, as he was, but he didn't expect this response. For the strongest person he knew to be crying on him, it was a little unsettling, but he also understood it and treasured the fact that she was so comfortable with him. She sobbed one last time and drew back, wiping her face with one hand as her other trailed over his shoulder to feel his ribs. Jet winced again when she touched a painful spot and she stopped.

"Sorry, you're all I can feel now," she said in a sad tone.

"What?" Jet asked, stopping short before he moved a stray hair out of her eyes. She was so beautiful, even when she looked a wreck from crying, but the way in which she had said that stopped him. Did she lose her bending? Had something happened because of the bending of two elements?

She turned her eyes towards his and he saw tears forming in them. "I can't feel anything at all. It's like my bending is completely gone."

He reached out for her and pulled her into a gentle embrace as she started crying again. He thought about what could have caused it and came up with several options as he just held her. "I didn't know you were able to bend that soon, or with that much power," he said gently and heard her crying lessen as she listened to him. "It may be that you somehow suppressed the drug and now it's in full force. Either that or it was the freaky bending of earth and fire."

"What?" Aya asked, pulling away from him and questioning him with her milky eyes.

"You were bending earth and fire," Jet said as he studied her. "You were bending both perfectly and taking out Dai Li left and right with both elements before you brought down the cavern around us and then collapsed yourself."

Aya looked thoughtful as she gently touched her own forehead and then her face seemed to light up in understanding. "I think it might be the last one," Aya whispered.

Jet frowned. "Care to explain?"

Aya nodded and wiped her eyes again. "You remember when I said the gods used my dad to save us?"

Jet nodded, feeling a shiver start running down his back. He didn't like the dealings of spirits and gods and knew this had to do with them.

"Well, right after you captured me, I had a dream and met Agni and Ceres. They told me to stop Long Feng from starting another war. Agni touched my forehead and said I would know when the time was right." Jet watched her as she shivered slightly and started rubbing her arms. "My mom once told me of a time when she was little and earthbent so much to stop a cave in when she ran away that her bending disappeared for a few hours. I hope that's all it is."

Jet nodded and started looking around. He didn't know how strong of a bender he was, but he was pretty sure he couldn't bend as many rocks as there were between him and the exit away safely. He saw one of his swords and started scooting towards it.

"What's wrong?" Aya asked, sounding scared.

"My ankle may be broken and I'm trying to get to my sword," Jet gritted through his teeth. Aya nodded and got onto her hands and knees and made her way to him.

"I'll get it. Tell me which way," she said and he stopped, nodding. With a little practice, he directed her to his sword and told her his other was probably buried under all the rock when she wanted to go after it. Aya nodded and she followed his voice back to him. He took the sword from her with a smile and set it down next to him where he could reach it. Once that was done, he glanced over at Aya and saw her looking scared while she fingered the inscription on her knife.

"Aya, don't worry. We'll be fine," he told her and saw her eyes come up to meet his. "You've been so strong, you just have to stronger a little while longer, ok?"

Expecting a smile, he was surprised as her jaw dropped open in shock. "What…what did you say?" she whispered.

"We'll be fine," Jet said, but Aya scooted closer to him and shook her head.

"No, the end."

"You have to be stronger for a little longer. Why?" he asked, confused.

She reached out and relief washed over her features when her hand landed on his. He was wondering what was going on.

"Li said that to me, before he fought Azula. And then he disappeared. You promise you won't disappear on me?"

Her milky green eyes seemed to bore into him and Jet nodded. "Yeah, I won't disappear. But, we have to get out of here. I'm not sure how long our air will last, or if you got Long Feng or not."

"He's too slimy to get with just raw power," Aya said with a scowl. "Though I hope I did get him, I don't think I did." Aya tilted her head a few times and then a small smile graced her face. "Well, we don't have to worry about air. There's a little coming from that way," she said and pointed towards the roof where the entrance used to be.

Jet nodded. "I hope Hakul made it out."

"He did, I sent him out," Aya said and Jet could only stare at her and she giggled. "I heard your jaw drop. That was one of my coherent thoughts after you…got hit. I thought you had died."

She whispered the last and Jet grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm strong, like my dad," he told her, and watched her as she listened to him. "He had a broken sternum, collarbone, ribs and his back was broken from the slimy earthbender. My dad never said his name. His friends got him to a healer that told him he would never walk again. A nice girl his age named Jin tended to him and he forced himself to get better. They fell in love and when the war ended, they walked away from Ba Sing Sae. My dad could never lift anything too heavy and tired more easily than most people, but he worked hard to provide for my mom and I. Azula and her army came through when I was nine, and I watched over the kids as our parents tried to protect us. They all died. I buried my parents and then took the kids to the forest to survive."

"I'm sorry," Aya whispered, scooting closer to him. He looked into her face and knew she understood. She hadn't lost her parents to the war like he had, but she had lost her grandfather and faced the evil Azula before the woman was killed.

Jet nodded. "I'm glad you taught me a little. I felt the rocks coming and was trying to get out of the way, but I was too slow. I think that if I hadn't felt it, I would have died. I owe you my life."

He saw Aya's eyes start to sparkle with tears again, but she was smiling. He felt an irresistible urge and just acted on it, running a finger down her face before leaning in to kiss her. She was surprised for a second before she was kissing him back. He pulled her closer and felt her hands running down his back and through his hair. Jet had never felt this way before. He had been passionate with Jade, but it was a small spark compared to the raging fire that overtook him while he was kissing Aya. Suddenly, a rumble sounded and Jet and Aya broke apart to sunlight streaming in from the cave entrance and a menacing figure silhouetted against the sunlight holding a sword pointed towards Jet.

"Get your slimy hands off my princess!" the man Jet knew to be The Duke yelled at him.