A/N: GAAAHH!! It's been forever since I last updated. Okay, here's chapter 16. At long last, I totally know. Hope you guys enjoy it! Any major grammar mistakes should be reported. Just leave it in a note on your review. Thanks~!

Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender does not belong to me.

They drove straight into the heart of town. The single road was lined with hardware stores and pubs that looked like they belonged on the set of 90's movie with real cowboys. Most of the stores looked like they had gone out of business several years ago and even the ones still in business were only discernable by the dim lights illuminating the grimy windows.

Yumi drove in silence, turning into a school district. Jones peered out the windows at the small brick building with barely enough parking spaces at the front to hold a dirty yellow school bus and a motorcycle. The school had a halo of moonlight crowning its roof but the effect was eerily haunting.

Several minutes later, tiny yellow bricked houses started cropping up. The street lights were so poor along this street that Jones had trouble discerning one house from the next. Despite this inconvenience, Yumi refused to turn on the headlights. Jones didn't complain. How long would it take Microbe people to find them? It had been hours since their last encounter but for all he knew, they could be pop out one of the houses at any minute.

"We're here." Yumi said.

She parked the car outside the only green house in sight. When Jones had gotten out of the car to inspect it, he saw in the dim light that the house was not in fact green but covered with so much ivy that the yellow brick underneath was obscured completely. The windows had been boarded some time ago judging by the ivy that was growing around the planks of wood. As the three walked up to the front door, Jones stepped on something that was not gravel. As the two girls walked past him, he glanced down and realized he had tread on a shell casing. The untarnished gold glistened feebly in the lamp light.

Katara was staring warily at the house. She seemed slightly frightened by the ominous place. Her arms were wrapped around her, shielding herself from the chilly night breeze. With his heart in his throat, Jones glanced to his left at the picket fence dividing the house from its neighbor. He thought he saw dark holes there. Almost like bullet holes.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Jones jumped in spite of himself at the noise. Yumi was knocking on the front door which was surprisingly clear of any signs of cobwebs or ivy. The door itself looked brand new as though in a vain attempt to look welcoming despite the overgrown ivy and boarded up windows.

They waited; Katara and Jones standing half-anxious, half-curious. Yumi, on the other hand, was leaning against the opposite wall looking slightly bored.

After a couple of minutes, there were signs of movement inside and the lights switched on. Jones heard the clicking of a lock and the door opened an inch.

"Who's there?" a low, male voice issued from the door.

Jones could see not a hair of the person who was speaking but he stood quite still with Katara a good 5 feet away from the door. Yumi seemed not to hear the voice and was examining the back of her right hand with mild interest.

The door closed shut again and there was a metallic clicking. Jones thought his heart had stopped beating. He was quite certain that it had been something more threatening that the deadbolt. He looked over at Yumi who was now peering down at her finger nails, entirely unconcerned about whoever it was that she had rudely awoken at the dead of night. He wondered if he should pull out his gun but then realized that he had stupidly left his only weapon in the back seat of the car.

Suddenly, the door swung open all the way and the light from the hall within flooded out. Jones blinked and saw that a tall, lean Hispanic man was framed in the doorway wearing an undershirt and jeans. He had dark skin, short curly hair and dark eyes. A single gold earring was the only accessory but with his lean yet muscular build he could easily have been a model.

"What do you want?" he asked in a Spanish accent, looking around at his three visitors.

Jones was starting to think that Yumi had picked a random strangers house out of sheer desperation for a hiding place when she finally looked up at the Hispanic man. When their eyes met, the Hispanic man said nothing but Jones saw the flicker of recognition in dark brown eyes.

After a minute of awkward silence, the man finally said rather grudgingly, "Fine. Get in quickly."

He retreated back into the house and Yumi followed. Bewildered, Katara and Jones followed her in, closing the door behind them.

The bare hallway started with a set of stairs to the left and stretched straight into the living room which was as bare as the hallway. There were no photographs, electronic equipments or any reading material. Instead there was a small coffee table, a beige armchair, a sofa and a standing lamp. The living room was not large but was so empty it looked twice as big and might have looked even larger had the long windows not been boarded up. There were only two more doors leading off the living room, both doors closed shut. A lonely fireplace displayed its cold grate directly across from the seats.

The Hispanic man took the armchair on the right and motioned everyone else to take a seat. Jones sat down on the sofa with Katara but Yumi remained standing with her back turned to her host.

Unfazed by Yumi's lack of manners, the Hispanic man crossed his legs, staring at her back with an idle look in his eyes.

"You won't see it there anymore." He spoke suddenly. Yumi did not turn around but it was obvious that she was listening. "We painted over it. It's erased. Gone."

After a slight pause Yumi replied, "Blood can never be erased, Raul."

Raul smirked as though he found this comment highly amusing. He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, his fingers laced together in front of him.

"Perhaps not, but you won't find what you're looking for here." When Yumi did not answer, he continued, "La Sangre Subio is no more. You saw to that yourself."

Katara sat silently next to Jones but he knew that she was burning to ask questions just as he was. She looked curiously at Raul and the Hispanic man caught her watching him. She held her gaze and he smirked at her.

Turning back to look at Yumi who was still staring resolutely at the space above the fireplace, he leaned back again in his chair.

"If I remember anything about you, I think I'm correct in thinking that you have not told your little friends about what you are up to." He said. Again, there was no answer. He continued, "Or more likely they are pawns in yet another game yours. It was always like you to drag innocent people into unwanted trouble."

Very slowly, Yumi turned around; arms crossed and eyes looking coldly into Raul's. Raul didn't back down and it was a few minutes before Yumi broke her gaze, took a few steps toward the boarded window and sat on the sill.

"I need your help." She finally said, looking through the space between the boards out onto the dimly lit street.

Raul laughed, a harsh bark of a laugh. He slapped his thigh and laughed until tears formed in his eyes.

Wiping a tear away with one hand he chocked, "Y-you… are very, very amusing, Yugo."

"Her name is Yumi." Katara corrected him abruptly.

Both Raul and Jones stared at Katara. Her eyes were alive with fire. Perhaps she felt indignant that Raul had laughed at Yumi's request for help. Perhaps she was a little edgy from being kept in the dark so long. Whatever the reason, Raul seemed to take an interest in her misunderstanding.

"Ah… changed that as well, have you?" Raul asked Yumi. Yumi looked away from the window and gave him a nonchalant look that was almost indifferent. She shrugged and got off the window sill. She walked over to stand right in front of him. Looking down at him she said, "I'm not a blood rose anymore, Raul. Neither am I strong."

"Of course you're not." Raul said and he stood up, towering over her. "But, Yugo…" he brushed a strand of hair from her face and caressed her cheek. She didn't move, just stood there without breaking eye contact. Raul smirked and leaned over so that his nose was inches away from hers. "I think you'd better tell you friends about your little secret." He leaned in a bit more so that their foreheads met. They were basically breathing the same air. "After all," he whispered. "It's only a matter of time."

Raul straightened up abruptly, his hand falling to his side. Yumi was still staring at him, her gaze boring into his. He smirked at her and then turned to Jones and Katara who were still sitting on the couch, utterly confused.

"I apologize. What a rude host I've been." He said looking from Jones's face to Katara's blue eyes. "I would offer some refreshments but I assume you're a bit behind schedule."

He walked over to one of the closed doors and opened it. "But if you're thirsty, do help yourselves to a drink."

Leaving the door to the kitchen open, Raul turned and headed down the hall to the stairs. Katara watched him leave but Jones didn't take his eyes off Yumi who was still standing where Raul had been.

"So…" Katara said. "Are we leaving?"

Jones stood up, stretched and let out a yawn. He glanced down at his watch. It was nearly morning and he was dead tired. He would have liked to lie down on the couch and go to sleep but too much needed taking care of. Too much was uncertain and this unexpected visit to Raul's place had added even more dead weight to the pile of mysteries that needed solving.

"Yeah," Jones said, looking down at Katara. "We're leaving all right." He turned to look at Yumi and added, "Just as soon Yugo tells as what the hell is going on."

A/N: Ooh... what happens next? xD Thanks a bunch for reading! I love you all!