Last of Our Kind
Hey, folks, I'm back. Sorry I can't update regularly because I'm back at college. Something that should be noted for this story, I began writing it before the new season of Legend of Korra started; therefore, when I make references to "Avatar Setna" as the first Avatar, please note that she is the product of three years' worth of headcanon and I have no intention of giving her up.
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender or the following quote.
"When one with honeyed words but evil mind
Persuades the mob, great woes befall the state."
― Euripides, Orestes
Don't Trust Strangers
"Your arrogance knows no bounds, does it?"
The young man grinned at her. It was a lopsided and crooked grin that showed his egotistical character plainly on his face.
"My dear Miakoda, what would ever make you think something of that nature about me?"
"Don't mince words. You're not fooling anyone. It will be a long time before I trust you. You even think of trying to deceive me again, it will be the last thing you ever do."
"As you wish."
"Hey, Nona!"
"GAHH!" She sat bolt-upright. "What the Naraka! Aang, don't do that!"
"Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I guess I forgot that you don't like being startled awake."
Wenona stood, stretched, and gave a deep yawn.
"Morning," she said. She ran her fingers through her hair, it was tangled again.
"You look like you're in need of a comb," said Keng. He pulled out a whale-shark ivory comb from his pocket. "You need to be more mindful of your things, sis."
"Thanks, Squirt," Wenona said.
"Where's my hunting knife?" exclaimed Sokka.
"Knapsack," Keng replied.
"Has anyone seen my-" Katara started to say.
"Your water skein is next to the sleeping bags."
"That's our little find-it guy," Wenona murmered.
"Hey, where's Momo?" asked Aang.
Suddenly, the air was rent by an animal's cries.
"These are Fire Nation traps," Sokka concluded as they looked at the cages that had trapped Momo and the two hog-monkeys. "You can tell from the metalwork. We better pack up camp and keep moving."
"I second that," Wenona added.
They quickly made their way back to their campsite and began to load things onto Appa's saddle.
"Uh-uh, no flying this time," Sokka protested.
"What?" everyone exclaimed.
"Why wouldn't we fly?" asked Aang.
"Think about it," said Sokka. "Somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa; he's just too noticeable."
"Appa's not too noticeable," Katara snapped.
"He's a gigantic, fluffy monster with an arrow on his head; it's kinda hard to miss him."
Appa gave a loud groan.
"Sokka's just jealous because he doesn't have an arrow," Aang assured the creature.
"I have to admit, Sokka does make a valid point," Wenona said. "Perhaps we should walk, just for a little while at least. You know, to throw the Fire Nation off our scent."
"See, Nona agrees with me," said Sokka.
"But…but…" Keng tried to respond.
"I know you want to fly," Sokka continued. "But my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk."
"Who made you the boss?" Katara sniped.
"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader."
Katara and Wenona both stared at Sokka for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"Y-you're the leader?" said Katara. "But your voice still cracks."
"I'm a warrior and I'm a-"
"Sokka," said Wenona in a warning tone, "if you even think about ending that phrase with a word referring to your gender, then I swear by the Great Spirit Awonawilona, I will…"
"Moving on!"
"If anyone's the leader it's Aang," said Katara. "I mean, he is the Avatar."
"Are you kidding?!" Sokka exclaimed. "He's just a goofy kid!"
"He's right," Aang replied simply from his position of hanging upside-down from one of Appa's horns.
"Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader?" Katara complained. "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."
"I've kissed a girl," Sokka retorted, "You just haven't met her."
"Who? Gran-Gran? I've met Gran-Gran."
"No, besides Gran-Gran!"
"You can't count Suki," said Wenona. "Technically, she kissed you, and it was only on the cheek."
"That's still better than you, Wenona!" Sokka shouted. "You've barely even met boys your age, let alone get a kiss!"
"Oh, so you're saying you want me to go off and start kissing random boys?"
Sokka paled at the implications of what he just said.
"No kissing random boys! If any boy tries to kiss either of my sisters, I will-"
"You're not in charge of our social lives!" Katara declared.
Sokka made a noise of frustration.
"This is beside the point! Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot; and a leader has to trust his instincts."
"Okay, we'll try it your way, oh wise leader," Katara said mockingly.
"Who knows," said Aang, "Walking might be fun."
About thirty minutes later…
"Walking stinks!" Aang proclaimed. "How do people go anywhere without a flying-bison?"
"Well, I don't know, Aang," said Katara, "why don't you ask Sokka's instincts? They seem to know everything."
Sokka and Wenona, who were at the front of the group, both exchanged annoyed looks.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Sokka said sarcastically.
"I'm tired of carrying this pack," Aang complained.
"You know who you should ask to carry it for a while? Sokka's instincts."
"Alright, give it a rest, you two!" Wenona snapped. "This little hike in the woods is nothing, I repeat nothing, compared to what I went through on my Vision Quest last year. I was out on the tundra, alone, with barely any food or fresh water, and I had to march for two whole days to get to the meditation site. So don't either of you complain about what we're doing right now."
There was an awkward pause before Aang decided to speak.
"What's a Vision Quest?"
"A sacred coming-of-age rite for those who've reached the age of sixteen," Keng answered. "They have to journey out to the caves in the ice-cliffs and wait for the spirits to send them a vision. It's a pretty intense ritual and very risky as many who go through it have to deny themselves food and sleep."
"Anyway, enough with the culture lessons," said Sokka as he began to lead them towards some bushes. "Look, I get it, we're all a bit tired; but the important thing is that we're safe from the…Fire…Nation…" Sokka had trailed off when he realized the clearing he had led them into was a campsite for a group of Fire Nation soldiers.
"RUN!"
As they all turned to flee, the leader of the soldiers sent a fire-blast that lit the bushes on fire; they were trapped.
"We're cut off!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Sokka, your shirt!" shouted Keng, pointing at the flame on his brother's sleeve.
As Sokka began to panic, Katara whipped some water out of her skein to extinguish it. They were still cornered and the Fire Nation troops surrounded them.
"If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you," Sokka said with false bravado.
"What are you doing?" Katara whispered to him.
"Bluffing?"
"You promise not to hurt us?" the leader said with an air of mockery. Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound and the man dropped face-forward on the ground.
"Nice work, Sokka," said Aang.
"Yeah, bro, how did you do that?" asked Keng.
"Uh, instinct?" Sokka replied uncertainly.
"Look!" Katara shouted. She was pointing up towards a figure amongst the trees.
The person managed to swing down from the trees using a pair of hook-swords. The person, who turned out to be a young man, quickly knocked down several troops. He was soon joined by others who promptly began an assault on the troops. The Gaang also joined in the fighting, though Sokka was repeatedly disappointed when the first boy took down soldiers that he had been about to fight. Eventually, they managed to drive off the rest of the Fire Nation soldiers.
When the fighting was over, the boy approached them. He was tall, looked to be about Wenona's age, and had tanned skin and dark brown hair. He wore improvised armor that was clearly made out of various different sorts of material and he appeared to have a plant-stalk in his mouth.
"Hey," he greeted simply.
"Hi," Katara replied with an awed expression.
"You just took out an entire army almost single-handed!" Aang exclaimed.
"Army?" Sokka said incredulously. "Pfft! There were only, like, twenty guys." Sokka then leaned over towards Wenona. "I don't like the looks of this guy," he whispered, "there is definitely something shifty about him."
Wenona rolled her eyes, but she, like Sokka, was getting weird vibes from the strange boy.
"My name is Jet," the boy said, "And these are my Freedom Fighters." He then introduced each of the other young people with him.
He then instructed his comrades to check the Fire Nation camp for supplies. Sokka just watched everything with a sullen expression.
"Oh, cheer up, Mr. Grouch," said Keng. "What have you got against the people who pretty much saved our lives?"
"You wouldn't understand, Keng," said Sokka.
"You're upset because that Jet guy upstaged you in battle, aren't you?"
"Okay, so I guess you do understand."
From a distance, they heard a conversation between Katara and Jet.
"We were relying on instincts," said Katara.
"You'll get yourself killed doing that," Jet replied.
Sokka was about to turn away angrily, when he was accosted by Wenona.
"Don't listen to that guy," she said quietly. "Instincts are one of the Five Marks of the Warrior. You're right; I don't think we should trust him." Wenona threw a brief glance in Jet's direction. She wasn't sure why, but something about her dream from the night before was making her wary of the strange Earth Kingdom rebel.
"Hey, Jet," said the youngest of the fighters, a boy called The Duke. "These barrels are full of blasting-jelly."
"That's a great score," Jet replied.
"And these boxes are full of jelly candy," added the largest of the fighter, Pipsqueak.
"Also good. Let's not get those mixed up."
"We'll take the stuff back to the hideout," said The Duke.
"You guys have a hideout?" Aang inquired.
"You wanna see it?" asked Jet.
"Yes! We want to see it," Katara answered quickly.
"Uh, aren't we on a schedule?" Wenona interjected.
"Oh, Nona, we can take one little detour."
"Oh, sure, it's not like if we don't accomplish our goals before the end of next summer the whole world's gonna end." The irony was so thick you could have cut through it with a knife.
"Great! Let's go!"
Wenona and Sokka both glared at their younger sister as she followed after Jet; it certainly didn't help their moods that both Aang and Keng seemed to be siding with Katara on this.
"We're here," Jet said once they reached a clearing.
"Where?" Sokka replied irritably. "There's nothing here."
"Hold this." Jet handed Sokka a rope that extended out of the trees.
"Why? What's this do-aaaghhh!" The rope suddenly yanked Sokka up into the trees.
"Sokka!" Wenona called out.
"I'm okay," he called back in a shaky voice.
"Need a hand?" Jet said to Wenona.
"Hmph. No thank you." She took Keng by the hand and then grabbed another rope. They suddenly rocketed up after Sokka.
Aang followed them using his Airbending to propel him up. They were soon joined by Katara and Jet; Katara seemed to be blushing brightly.
"Ugh, my shoulder," Sokka muttered. "Stupid rope."
"Well, that's what you get when you stop being paranoid," Wenona teased.
"It's beautiful up here," Katara said to Jet.
"It's beautiful and, more importantly, the Fire Nation can't find us," Jet responded.
"They'd love to find you, wouldn't they, Jet?" said one of the other Freedom Fighters who had suddenly arrived.
"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee."
Jet began to lead them forwards through the hideout.
"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" asked Katara.
"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble. 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 doin' anything we can to mess with 'em," added Pipsqueak.
"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town."
"That's so brave," Katara practically sighed.
Wenona gave her sister a slight jab with her elbow.
"Psst. Sis, put your eyes back in your head," she whispered, causing Katara to glare at her in response.
"Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a tree-house," Sokka said loudly.
"Don't pay any attention to our brother," Katara said.
"No problem," said Jet. "He probably had a rough day."
"So, you all live here?"
"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."
"What about you?"
Jet stopped while the other Freedom Fighters kept walking ahead.
"The Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever."
"We lost our mother to the Fire Nation."
"I'm so sorry, Katara."
"As heart-rending as this share-a-sob-story time is," Wenona spoke up, "perhaps we should keep walking?"
"Nona, don't be so insensitive," Katara hissed.
"I'm not being insensitive, I'm being focused," Wenona said in a hushed voice. "As tragic as all our childhoods were, I think it would be in everyone's best interest if we stop thinking too much on the past and start looking forward. You know, towards the impending arrival of a certain doomsday comet that will enable the Fire Nation to win the war unless a certain master of all four elements defeats them."
Katara simply glared at Wenona who gave a sigh of annoyance and marched onwards.
"What's her deal?" Jet asked.
"Nona's just a lot like Sokka," Katara replied. "She's the eldest and feels she has to be responsible for everything and everyone. As much as I admire that about her, it annoys me that she can't just act her age for once."
"I understand. She had to grow up too fast. I know firsthand what that's like."
Soon enough, evening descended upon the forest. Jet invited the Gaang to join the Freedom Fighters for their victory celebration; despite Sokka and Wenona's protests, the four Water Tribe siblings and the Avatar agreed.
"Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine," Jet addressed the young people present, who all responded with cheers. "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 others all cheered for The Duke. "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees…maybe they're right." There were some boos. "Or maybe…they are dead wrong."
Wenona leaned over to whisper to Sokka: "Yeah, stabbed in the back with a pair of hook-swords wrong."
"Hey, Jet, nice speech," Katara said.
"Thanks. By the way, I was really impressed with you, Aang, and Nona."
"My name is Wenona," the girl in question snapped. "Only friends and family can call me by my nickname."
Katara glared at her sister but Jet continued like there hadn't been an interruption.
"That was some great Bending I saw out there today."
"Well, Aang's great," Katara said. "He's the Avatar. I could use some more training."
"Avatar, huh? Very nice."
"Thanks, Jet," said Aang.
"I really wish I was better at fighting," Keng said. "I felt useless out there."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short, kid," said Jet. "You did a great job distracting some of those troops." Keng smiled at the praise. "So, I might know a way you guys could help in our struggle."
"Unfortunately, we have to leave tonight," Sokka announced.
"Sokka, you're kidding me. I needed you on an important mission tomorrow."
Sokka paused.
"What mission?"
"Not you, too, Sokka," Wenona groaned. She watched in disgust as her only ally seemed to be swayed by the prospect of doing a reconnaissance assignment. Finally having had her fill of the spectacle, she stood up and marched off.
She found an unoccupied area and sat down to look at the sky through an opening in the tree branches. She was there for a good amount of time before she sensed someone approach. She shot up and had her hand at her water pouch.
"Relax, it's just me," said Jet as he stepped into view.
"That's supposed to make me want to drop my guard? You clearly don't understand the warrior mindset."
For some reason Jet looked annoyed.
"I don't know what I did to make you angry at me," he said, "so please explain why you've pretty much seemed to hate me since we met."
"There's just something about you that I don't trust, alright? Call it 'instinct' or whatever, it takes a lot to make me trust someone. I do not possess the talent that my siblings have of conversing easily with those I have never met before. Experience has taught me to be cautious, responsibility has made me wise."
"Come on, just give me a chance."
Wenona just looked at him with a discerning eye; she did not give out chances lightly, she only trusted Aang when she met him because he radiated innocence and naivety. Through her recent travels, she only trusted people because of what she could infer about their personalities; she had met many people she knew in a heartbeat she could trust with her life. With Jet, however, she didn't think she could trust him as far as she could throw Appa.
"Word of warning," she said, "my tribe has customs about how to deal with people who betray a trust. The best likely outcome of such an offence is to be scalped while still alive. Just something to think about." She gave a wolfish grin and walked off, leaving Jet staring incredulously after her.
"So, how did your little mission with Jet go?" Wenona asked Sokka.
"You were right."
"What about?"
"We can't trust him."
Wenona gave her brother a narrowed glance.
"What happened?"
"He attacked a harmless old man just because he was Fire Nation."
"You're sure? Are you positive you're not exaggerating?"
"Nona, I literally had to stop Jet from kicking the defenseless old man in the face. The guy was crippled, for the love Ehane; he needed a cane to help him walk."
"We need to tell the others," Wenona said firmly.
"As if they'll believe there's anything wrong with Mr. Perfect-Leader."
"We have to try."
They went to wait over by the tree-house they had been staying in. After a few minutes, Aang zipped in on one of the zip-lines.
"Sokka! Nona! Look what The Duke gave me." Aang withdrew some spark-pellets from inside his satchel and threw one of them at Momo who hissed and grabbed the rest of the pellets and began to throw them at Aang in retaliation.
Katara descended from the tree-house and came over to greet them.
"Hey, Sokka, is Jet back?"
"Yeah, he's back, but we're leaving," Sokka said.
"What?" said Aang.
"But I made him this hat," Katara replied, pulling out a hat crafted out of leaves and twigs.
"What's going on?" said Keng who had followed Katara down.
"Sokka's saying we need to leave," Aang replied.
"What? But why?"
"Katara's little boyfriend is nothing but a thug," Wenona replied.
"What? No he's not," Katara protested.
"He's messed up, Katara," said Sokka.
"He's not messed up," said Aang. "He's just got a different way of life."
"A really fun way of life," Keng added.
"Why don't we let Sokka be the judge on that in light of his recent 'mission' with Jet?" said Wenona.
"I saw it for myself. He beat and robbed a harmless old man," Sokka insisted.
"I wanna hear Jet's side of the story," Katara said defensively.
"Sokka, you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?"
"No, he conveniently left that part out," said Katara.
"He told me the man was Fire Nation," said Wenona.
"Even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian," Sokka added.
"He was an assassin, Sokka," Jet said. He produced a knife and jammed it into the small, wooden table in front of him. "See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife. He was sent to eliminate me. You helped save my life, Sokka."
"I knew there was an explanation," said Katara.
"I didn't see any knife," said Sokka.
"That's because he was concealing it," Jet replied.
"See, Sokka?" said Keng. "You probably just didn't see the knife."
"There was no knife!" Sokka declared. "Come on, Nona, let's go back to the hut and start packing."
As Wenona followed her brother out, she quickly turned around to give Jet the "I'm watching you" hand gesture.
"Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet," Jet said to Katara, Keng, and Aang. "I really need your help."
"What can we do?" asked Aang.
"The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest. If you three use Waterbending to fill the reservoir, we could fight the fires; but if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley. I'm sure if you told Sokka and Wenona about it, they'd be willing to help."
"I'm sure they would," said Keng. "I know my sister would never stand by and let something like that happen."
"No."
"But, Nona-"
"I said 'no,' Keng. We're leaving and that's that."
"We can't leave now with the Fire nation about to burn down a forest," Katara exclaimed vehemently.
"We're sorry, Katara," said Sokka, not sounding sorry at all. "Jet's very smooth, but we can't trust him."
"You know what I think? You both are just jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader than either of you."
"Katara, we're not jealous of Jet," Sokka rebutted.
"We just think that there's something very off about him," Wenona added. "From what we've seen, it doesn't look like he's as on-the-level as you seem to believe."
"And my instincts-"
"Well, my instincts tell me we need to stay here a little longer and help Jet," Katara interrupted.
"Katara, that is enough," Wenona said in an authoritative tone. "We are not staying. We are heading out at first light." The two girls stared each other down. "And I'm making this an order under my rights as firstborn and heiress to the Wolf Clan."
"I second that order," Sokka added. "And I'm also giving my support as heir of the Wolf Clan."
Katara had a very hurt expression.
"Come on, Aang, Keng, let's get out of here," Katara said angrily.
As the two twelve-year-olds followed her out, Aang looked to Keng questioningly.
"What just happened?" he said.
"Nona and Sokka invoked their rights as the heirs of the Wolf Clan. Here, let's sit down; this could take some explaining." Keng gestured for Aang to sit next to him. "You see, in our tribe we don't have last names but we do have clans. Each clan has one male and one female head of direct lineage. Technically Katara and I are the heir and heiress of another clan, the Polar Leopards, because our mother was the last living member of that family after our grandfather's death."
"Then why did it sound like you and Katara have to obey Sokka and Nona?"
"Because we're underage. Nona is acting-female-head of the Wolf Clan as Gran-Gran got the title through marriage, but Nona is still technically the heiress. If Gran-Gran should ever get remarried, as if that would ever happen, the female headship of the Wolf Clan would officially pass to Nona. Because our father is away at war, Sokka is able to second any decisions Nona makes as he is the heir. Until Katara and I are sixteen, we can't claim official leadership of our mother's clan and so we are subject to the rules of the senior clan."
"Wow, your people really put a lot of thought into this system, didn't they?"
"Actually, the system was developed specifically by an Avatar."
"Really? Who? I'd love to know more about a past-life of mine."
"Avatar Setna, our tribe's patroness and founder. She was the first Avatar in the cycle, the first Avatar to be born to the Water Tribe, and the first female Avatar. You see, Setna was dissatisfied with the Northern Water Tribe and led a group of her fellow tribespeople down to the South Pole where they began a new way of life…"
That night, tensions were running high. Katara now refused to speak to either of her older siblings and merely shot them scathing glares every few minutes. Wenona and Sokka, realizing they weren't welcome, slept on the other side of the hut from Katara, Keng, and Aang. Then, in the very early hours of the morning, Sokka and Wenona were awoken by strange sounds. They crept over to the entrance and looked out to see a couple of the Freedom Fighters descend to the clearing below. Sokka and Wenona exchanged a look; something was definitely up.
The brother and sister darted from the hut and then used one of the robes to descend to a tree limb. They saw Jet and the other Freedom Fighters loading barrels onto a wagon.
"Blasting-jelly?" Wenona thought aloud.
"This is looking bad," Sokka added quietly.
They slid down the tree and followed the Freedom Fighters to a Cliffside that overlooked the valley, in particular the river. They hid in the bushes to listen as Jet began to speak.
"Now, listen," Jet said in a hushed tone, "you're not to blow the dam until I give the signal. If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive."
"But, what about the people in the town?" asked The Duke. "Won't they get wiped out too?"
"Look, Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation. Now, don't blow the dam 'til I give the signal; got it?"
The two Water Tribe teens narrowed their eyes in anger. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes; then, without warning, Sokka and Wenona found themselves being restrained.
"Where do you two think you're going?"
"Sokka, Nona, I'm glad you decided to join us."
"Don't call me by my nickname, you maniac," Wenona shouted. "Only friends and family can call me Nona, and you are neither."
"We heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town," Sokka added.
"Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation," Jet said slowly.
"Are you out of your mind?" Wenona raged. "There are innocent people living there! You'd really butcher dozens of men, women, and children just to get rid of a handful of Fire Nation troops?"
"We can't win without making some sacrifices."
"You lied to Aang, Keng, and Katara about the forest fire!" Sokka added.
"Because they don't understand the demands of war; not like we do."
"We do understand; we understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."
"You're willing to sink to the same level as the very people you despise," Wenona said. "You're prepared to become just as much of a monster as them."
"I was hoping you both would have open minds," Jet concluded. "But, I can see you've made your choices. I can't let you warn Aang, Katara, and Keng." He looked over at Pipsqueak and Smellerbee. "Take them for a walk. A long walk."
"You can't do this!" Sokka yelled.
"Cheer up, guys, we're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."
"Come on, move along!" Smellerbee snapped as she gave Sokka a hard shove.
"How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?" Sokka asked.
"Hey, listen, Sokka, Jet's a great leader; we follow what he says and things always turn out okay," Pipsqueak said.
Sokka looked away and then spied more of the traps they had seen earlier; he shared a quick glance with Wenona to make sure she saw them too and they silently agreed on a plan.
"If that's how Jet leads…" Wenona started.
"Then he's got a lot to learn," Sokka finished as the two shot off.
"Hey!"
Sokka and Wenona skillfully evaded the traps; Smellerbee and Pipsqueak, on the other hand, easily got trapped.
"While you two are up there, you might want to practice your knot-work," Sokka said to them as he and Wenona easily slid the bindings off their wrists.
"Come on, Sokka!" Wenona exclaimed as they headed off. "Should we head for the dam?"
"No, we won't make it in time," Sokka said thoughtfully. He was suddenly struck by inspiration. "I have an idea."
Katara, Aang, and Keng looked down from the cliff at the reservoir as the Freedom Fighters were loading the barrels of blasting-jelly.
"What are they doing?" asked Katara.
"Hey," said Aang, "those are the red barrels they got from the Fire Nation."
"But…wasn't that blasting-jelly?" said Keng.
"Why would they need blasting-jelly?" said Katara.
Aang was suddenly struck by realization.
"Because Jet's gonna blow up the dam."
"What? No, that would destroy the town. Jet wouldn't do that."
"Katara, there are barrels of blasting-jelly down there," Keng protested. "It's time to face facts that Sokka and Nona were right."
"I've gotta stop him," Aang said.
"Jet wouldn't do that," Katara repeated in disbelief.
Suddenly, someone whipped by them and snatched Aang's glider.
"Yes, I would." It was Jet.
"Why, Jet?" Katara gasped.
"Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother. We can't let them do that to anyone else, ever again."
"This isn't the answer."
"I want you to understand me, Katara. I thought your brother and sister would understand, but…"
Katara and Keng's eyes widened in shock.
"Where are Sokka and Nona?" Katara demanded.
"Katara…"
Suddenly, a rush of water struck Jet in the stomach and a teary-eyed Keng stood glaring at him.
"Keep away from my sister, you madman!"
"I need to get to the dam," Aang said as he moved to retrieve his glider.
However, before Aang could reach it, Jet began to attack. A fight quickly ensued and only ended when Katara managed to freeze Jet to a tree.
"Why, Jet?" Katara said pleadingly. "I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me! You're sick and I trusted you!"
Suddenly, there was the sound of a bird-call. The three younger people froze when Jet copied it.
"What are you doing?"
"You're too late."
"No."
Aang tried to take off on his glider but it was too badly damaged.
"Sokka and Nona are still out there," Aang said with faint hopefulness. "They're our only chance."
"Come on, Sokka; come on, Nona," Katara murmured. "I am so sorry I doubted you. Please."
Everything went still when a light went off and the dam burst into rubble, sending the torrent of water rushing towards the village.
"No," Katara gasped.
"They didn't make it in time," Aang said somberly.
"All those people. Jet, you monster!"
"This was a victory, Katara," Jet replied without the faintest hint of remorse. "Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe."
"It will be safe!" came a voice. Sokka and Wenona suddenly arose on Appa.
"That is, it will be safe without you," Wenona added.
"Sokka! Nona!" Katara and Keng exclaimed happily.
"We warned the village of your plan," Sokka said. "Just in time."
"What?!" Jet shouted.
"At first they didn't believe us," Wenona said. "The Fire Nation soldiers thought we were spies."
"Luckily, one person vouched for us," Sokka added. "The old man you attacked. He urged them to trust us and we got everyone out in time."
"You fools!" Jet yelled furiously. "We could've freed this valley."
"Freed whom?" Wenona snapped. "If you had your way, everyone would be dead."
"You traitors!"
"No, Jet, you became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people," Sokka said calmly.
"Katara, please, help me."
"Goodbye, Jet," Katara deadpanned as Wenona offered her a hand up onto Appa.
"I'd better not see you again!" Wenona shouted at Jet. "If I do, I'll stand by my promise to scalp you!"
"Yip-yip!" Sokka said firmly, giving Appa's reins a hard flick.
"We thought you guys were going to the dam," said Aang.
"Yeah, what made you go to the town instead?" asked Keng.
"Let me guess," Katara said, "your instincts told you?"
"Hey, sometimes they're right," Sokka replied.
"Sokka, you do realize we're flying the wrong way, don't you?" said Wenona.
"And sometimes they're wrong."
Author's Note: Thank for reading! Hope you liked this chapter. I came up with the whole Water Tribe clans thing myself. Keng is proving himself to be quite the little font of information. The Vision Quest thing is a practice used by various Native American cultures. At the part where Sokka says "for the love of Ehane"; that will be explained later in the story as there are various spirits and guardians in my interpretation of the Southern Water Tribe.