A/N: I must have gone insane. Or at least fe a little sorry for making you guys wait so long xD Here's another short chapter for ya'll to read. I might not be updating for some time after this one but be assured that I will be back. Enjoy and remember to review~!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or any of their characters.

And for the love of Aang, read it in 1/2 width format!!!

+Jones+

"I think you need to talk, Yugo." Jones said, putting extra emphasis on the name. "About your gang life about-" he gestured to the room around him "-everything."

Yumi didn't say anything, didn't even give him half a glance. Instead, she walked past him and slipped into through the open kitchen door. Jones, agitated immensely, followed her inside.

The kitchen was a cramped space lit bit bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. There was a small counter accompanied by a three-legged stool, an oven, a tiny fridge and a small shelf above the oven stacked with a couple of plates. She was leaning into the fridge, digging for something to drink. Maybe she was looking for a hidden mace. What the hell did he know about her anyway? Absolutely nothing. That just made him angrier.

"So you're not going to talk." Jones said. It was a statement. It didn't take an interrogator to figure out she wasn't going to spill. Time for a bit of wheedling.

Yumi extracted a bottle of beer. She popped the cap off lightly with her thumb and took a sip from it, still avoiding eye contact with Jones. She took the bottle and settled herself on the three-legged stool with her back to the counter. Jones closed the kitchen door and leaned against it. He scrutinized her before speaking.

"What the hell kind of name is Yugo, anyway?" he sneered. "That means ' ox yoke' or some shit in Spanish, yeah? Did you carry the luggage for you gang pals back in the days? Oh, I'm sorry. You guys were called La Sangre Subio, right? The blood roses. Fitting."

Another sip from the bottle but she made no signs of having heard him. Her eyes were fixed on the tiny kitchen window which was also boarded up. What the hell was this house, anyway? It wasn't even a hidden residential area and the guy went to all this trouble to make it even more conspicuous?

"Raul, was it?" Jones continued. "Seems like Raul knows a hell of lot about you." Jones walked over to Yumi, stood right in front of her barely 2 feet away. Yumi didn't look away. It was like she was seeing through him. He was a ghost to her. Nothing but insubstantial vapor, disposable baggage. And yet she had dragged him around the state and for what?

"What are you running from, Yumi?" Jones asked, finally. "If that is your real name. Is it Microbe? Did you piss them off too like you did to the Blood Roses? Are you a spy in the department or something? Is that it? Answer me!"

He slammed his palms down on the counter on either side of her and leaned forward menacingly. His green eyes impaled hers and for a split second, she almost looked intimidated, frightened.

"Get down." She whispered. He thought he had misheard her.

"What?"

"I said get down." Yumi pushed his chest, almost making him topple backwards from the surprising powerful shove. She got off the stool and closed her eyes, listening.

"Yumi, if you're gonna pull this shit on-"

Yumi's eyes fluttered open and her expression had turned stony. "They're here." She said. Grabbing Jones by the collar, she got down on the floor, dragging him with her. Jones had barely hit the floor when gunshots rained on the house. The boarded up windows were blown out with numerous bullets. The shots ricocheted off the counter, dented the oven, blew holes in the opposite wall and shattered the plates on the shelves. Worse yet, there came a shriek of fear from the living room. Jones felt Yumi move beside him, crawling through the debris and avoiding stray bullets. Reaching the door, she raised her arm and turned the doorknob.

Yumi cried out in pain as a bullet grazed her knuckles just as she was opening the door. Jones saw the blood dripping from the wound, dyeing her right hand a crimson red. Stemming the flow with her other hand, Yumi kicked the door open and Jones quickly ran, doubled up through the door and threw himself on the living room carpet.

"Ethan!"

Jones raised his head. Katara was crouching behind the couch. The gunfire had ceased and he could hear men's voices shouting loudly outside.

"Kid, let's go!" Jones shouted. He grabbed Katara's wrist and fled toward the second floor steps. At the foot of the stairs, his legs suddenly gave way. Looking down at his feet, he realized why. A quarter sized hole was oozing blood just above his ankle, soaking his foot. He could no longer walk without falling every step of the way.

"Hold on!" Katara said, pulling his arm over her shoulder and attempting to drag him the up the steps. It was no use. He was too heavy for her. Someone was assaulting the front door. Gun shots made dull thudding noises on the metal door and heavy swearing was audible.

Suddenly, a much stronger pair of hands gripped him under the armpits and started dragging up the steps at an alarming speed. It was Yumi, the blood from her injured hand leaving red stains on his jacket.

At the top of the stairs, another scene awaited them. Jones tried to stop Katara from coming up but it was too late. She let out a high-pitched scream at the sight of the body lying on the floor, blood gushing from the wound on his neck. It was Raul.

Yumi was kneeling at Raul's side in an instant. Raul seemed out of it but blinked slowly in reocognition at the sight of Yumi face.

"Yugo…" he whispered, his voice faint. "Bastards… got me through… the window…"

"Don't talk." She whispered softly. She tried to touch him, but Raul made a feeble swat at her hand. Instead of talking, he opened his fisted hand to reveal a set of keys. Yumi took them and she nodded, apparently understanding.

"You are strong." Raul whispered, his voice faint. His black hair was caked with blood and his dark skin seemed paler than usual against the dark pool forming around his head. It was painfully plain that he wasn't going to last long. With one last, agonizing effort, Raul gripped Yumi's wrist and whispered, "Aki…"

He was gone.

+Avatar World+

A stunning view it was. The evening sun glowed against the sparkling beauty of the ocean. The gently slapping of the waves on the rocks below made a soothing rhythm and the chorus of the gulls flying across the horizon added to the peaceful atmosphere.

"Father?"

A hoarse yet affectionate voice brought Ozai out of his daydream. He turned away from the cliff top view and turned to his daughter who was looking up at him with that simpering look she always gave him.

"What is it, my dear?" he asked in his most coddling voice.

"I was wondering when we were setting out to conquer the land which was once ours."

Ozai smiled down at the thin teenage girl. She was still wearing the armor he had managed to steal from the guard who had tried foolishly to stop them in their escape. It had almost been too easy up till now. Now was where the real challenge began.

Ozai placed a warm hand on his daughter's shoulder and she immediately lid up with glowing proud. She loved him when he showed her the tiniest sign of interest. He knew deep down she was broken beyond repair but it did not trouble as much as most fathers would have been at the sight of their mentally irreparable offspring. She was even more powerful yet vulnerable at the same time. His smallest word could set her off or calm her. She was a ticking time-bomb but Ozai was a smart man. He had raised his daughter with a firm hand. He knew her limits and had tested her strengths. He could not win this time without her.

"Soon, Azula. Very soon." He turned to look at the sea again. Such peaceful beauty… a pity he would have to shatter the very essence of its calmness. "Very, very soon indeed."

A slight breeze blew a strand of hair across Ozai's hollowed features. Yet his eyes burned alive with the flame within. The flame that no one, not even the Avatar, could take away.

A/N: I dunno about you guys but I feel a tiny bit remorseful for making Azula such a wretched mess. ;_; Poor Azula. And I killed Raul off in less than two chapters. Aren't I just evil? But I'll make it up to him, I swear. Or at least I'll try. Maybe.