Disclaimer: Another attempt at bad humor aside, I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Of course, if the creator reads this and actually likes what he sees, he can feel free to contact me. Lord knows I could use a big break.

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Rated M: Mature Content. Blood. Guts. Sex. Drugs. All the good stuff.

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Author: So someone posing as the blue spirit seems to have agenda. Interesting…

Toph: Oh please. It's just some clown in a bad costume. We'll take care of him.

Author: Perhaps, perhaps not. Still, it will be quite interesting to see how it plays out. The Blue Spirit was retired in the series.

Sokka: Just because Zuko pitched his mask doesn't mean he was retired. He could just as easily have a new mask made.

Author: Now there's an idea; dueling Blue Spirits. I wonder if I could manage that.

Zuko: Don't push your luck. I put that part of my past behind me.

Mai: I don't know Zuko. It sounds kind of interesting to me.

Zuko: I said no, and that's the end of it.

Author: Well, regardless of what you say, I get full creative license, so we will see.

Aang: I'm glad the mask was retired. Zuko came out of his shell and became who he is now. He might not be our friend if he had stayed the Blue Spirit.

Author: Touching. And on that note, on with the story!

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Chapter 7: Blast from the Past

"Azula." Mai echoed. "It couldn't be. It just couldn't. Azula never had any formal training with the broadswords. She wouldn't be able to do what the Blue Spirit does. Besides, there have been no reports of firebending from either Katara of the guards. Azula wouldn't be caught dead doing anything but firebending." Mai continued.

"That's true. I remember when we were younger and Azula prided herself on her basic martial arts and firebending. She wouldn't use a basic weapon unless absolutely necessary." Ty-Lee added.

"My sister couldn't be the Blue Spirit anyway. She is locked up under guard at a secure psychiatric facility. I have more guards on her than on the royal treasury. If she escaped, I would have heard about it." Zuko finished.

"Well, if it isn't Azula, then who? Who else fits the description?" Sokka asked, once again at a loss.

"Maybe we are looking at this the wrong way." Suki said. "Instead of trying to figure out who the Blue Spirit is, why don't we just set a trap and catch him in the act? We can unmask him at that point." She continued. "We even have the proper bait sitting in the dungeon right now."

"You want to use my father as bait?" Zuko asked her, surprised. "I didn't think the good guys could be so ruthless." He added, a smile on his face.

"Well, he'd be perfectly safe, and if there's no danger, what's the harm?" Suki said defensively.

Katara had a hand to her temple, tired of the speculation and arguing. "I think Suki's idea is good. I never heard the Blue Spirit coming until the last second. It may be he's listening to us right now for all we know. Our best bet would be to set a trap for him. Otherwise we might never even find him."

"Are you alright, Katara?" Aang asked, his concern mirrored on his face.

"Yes Aang; don't worry about me. I'll be fine in a day or so. The real question is will the next victim be okay if we don't stop the imposter." Katara replied.

"Alright then; we are agreed. I will have the guards move Ozai to another prison cell and we will set a trap for our wayward rogue. Let's see if he can handle himself as well as the real Blue Spirit can." Zuko said, smiling.

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The trap was simple. A single cell at the end of a long hallway housed the once self proclaimed phoenix king. Guards were lining the hall on both sides at even intervals. The gang was positioned on the other side of the cell wall, thanks to a little earthbending. The prison was made of rock and stone, making Toph the best choice to lead the trapping crew. If necessary, she would jump out and seal the Blue Spirit off, trapping him in a rocky prison until he could be handled accordingly.

Everything was set. Zuko and Mai would remain in the palace proper, due to administrative tasks and the necessity. Katara would remain with them as well, being not quite up to any possible problems. Toph awaited the attack impatiently, Aang, Sokka, Suki and Ty-Lee with her. Relying on Toph's incredible ability to sense movement and what's happening through her bending, the group waited in silence.

"I wonder what's taking so long." Sokka complained. "This guy is sure taking his sweet time. I'm going crazy in here!"

"Don't be such a baby." Toph said casually. "It's nice and cozy in here. I am sure he's stalling just to spite you th…" she suddenly cut off as she began to notice something. A large ruckus was coming from the hallway nearby. Toph felt the soldiers being tossed aside as if they were nothing, forcing slow but sure progress for the newcomer. "Get ready!" Toph said fiercely.

"Finally!" Sokka said, drawing his substitute sword. Aang took his stance as Toph used her hands to further determine when to strike. Suki and Ty-Lee was always ready and required no real preparation.

"He's at the cell door. I don't think the soldiers are moving anymore." Toph said. "He's in the cell. Here we go!" And with that, Toph bent the wall down into the floor and jumped out, bending up a smaller cell of rock around the spirit.

Aang looked into the same face he had seen in the past. It was uncanny. Through the newly formed bars of rock, Aang saw the Blue Spirit stand, Broadswords out and ready. He wasn't even attempting to escape. Suki and Ty-Lee came up with Aang to the cell.

"Well, that was easier than I thought." Ty-Lee said, cheerily.

"It was too easy." Suki said cautiously. "Be on your guard."

Suddenly, the Blue Spirit exploded into activity. A swipe of his sword against the earth yielded no results, however. He was totally trapped. He continued to slash at the walls, however. Toph bent up rock into the gaps, sealing the Blue Spirit off from view. "You'd think people would learn by now." She said with a sigh. Then, her head perked up and she bent the bars back into the floor. The Blue Spirit was gone.

Sokka, who had his sword against the ex-Firelord's throat as planned, stood there stunned. "Where is he!?" he exclaimed.

The momentary distraction was all Ozai needed. He disarmed Sokka and threw him against his friends. Using his surprise attack to his advantage, Ozai dashed from the cell and down the hall. Toph quickly bent a tunnel in the floor and disappeared from sight. Aang was the first on his feet and dashed out of the cell, using his airbending to increase his speed. He burst out into the outside landscape and took note of his surroundings. Ozai was nowhere to be seen. Toph came up from underneath him just as Sokka and the girls came out after Aang.

"Where is he!?" Aang asked, worry obvious in his voice.

"Sorry, twinkle toes. There's no one here but us." Toph said in a serious tone of voice.

"We lost the Blue Spirit." Sokka said sadly.

"Worse. We lost Ozai." Aang said.

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The gang was once again together in Zuko's meeting room. Everyone had been briefed on what happened, and Zuko was at a loss for words.

"What do you mean you lost him? He can't even firebend anymore! Where could he have gone!?" Zuko asked rhetorically.

"I'm sorry Zuko." Aang said apologetically. "We have no idea what went wrong. We had the Blue Spirit trapped, and Ozai too. I take full responsibility." He added.

Zuko looked into Aang's eyes and saw the sorrow there, and the guilt. "It isn't your fault Aang. None of us would have guessed that the new Blue Spirit would have any way of escaping." Zuko said, forgiving Aang his self imposed guilt.

"It wasn't just any power." Toph said. She stood up and walked to the middle of the room, then began pacing. "That guy was an earthbender."

"What!?" everyone in the room exclaimed, almost in unison.

"You heard me. When I sealed the cell up tight, I felt the ground give way. The Blue Spirit, whoever he is, can earthbend. He went underground and I tried to follow him. When I followed his trail up to the surface, he was gone. All I found was you guys, standing there." She said.

"If that's true, how could he escape you, Toph? You're the best earthbender on the planet." Katara asked, genuinely curious.

"That's what's ticking me off the most, sweetness. I was moving at my best and just couldn't catch him. It's almost like he was turbo charged. I mean, I guess if twinkle toes was fully trained he could probably outdo me like that, maybe, but no one should have been able to do that." She finished, stopping her pacing and stamping her foot.

"At least now we know it isn't Azula. That's something, isn't it?" Ty-Lee said, optimistically. "Azula cant earthbend, after all."

"That's true. If Azula isn't our culprit, who is?" Suki asked.

"Something's wrong here." Sokka said taking over Toph's pacing.

"What is it, Sokka?" Katara asked him.

"We know everyone here visiting the Fire Nation. Not a single earthbender fits the build of the Blue Spirit. The closest would be Haru, and he's too big. No one could have snuck in here with all the security around the nobles, and we don't know any earthbenders that could wield swords like that." Sokka said, still toying with an idea. It was on the tip of his memory, if only he could draw it out. "He has to be around Zuko's height and build. We saw that with our own eyes. I think the broadswords are the key. I know I have seen that fighting style before..." Suddenly Sokka looked up wide eyed, palming his forehead. "It couldn't be. But…" he kept off and on.

"Who couldn't it be!?" Aang nearly exploded.

Sokka ignored him. Instead, he drew his sword and started a mock swords dance in the middle of the room. "Oh my god…" he said to himself. Then, turning to the fireplace, he went and grabbed the ceremonial broadswords Zuko kept there. He walked over to Zuko and handed them to him. "Zuko, spar with me." Sokka demanded.

"Why? What are you doing, Sokka?" Zuko asked him.

Katara shushed him quickly. "Just do it, Zuko. He's on to something. Let's humor him."

Zuko shrugged and took his typical stance. Sokka lunged and Zuko parried. Coming at Sokka with his offhand, Sokka ducked and rolled, swinging at Zuko's legs. Zuko jumped the swipe and brought his swords down together where Sokka had been a second before. Sokka lunged for Zuko's midsection and Zuko crossed swords to repel the blow. Suddenly, Sokka dove in between Zuko's legs and twisted, using his sword hilt to hook around the ankle and pull Zuko's feet from under him. Zuko went down hard, his swords crashing to the ground. Sokka gave Zuko a hand up, and then smiled, obviously proud of himself.

"I think I know who our mysterious Blue Spirit is." Sokka told his friends.

"You know who the Blue Spirit is because you sparred with Zuko?" Mai asked, giving Zuko a hug from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Not entirely, but it's the only thing that makes even a little sense. Let me ask you all a question; is it possible for a bender to not know they are a bender?" Sokka asked the room.

"I guess it's possible." Katara said uncertainly.

"I know it is." Aang stated easily. My master Gyatso once told me that a friend of his hadn't realized he was an airbender until he was in his twenties. He hadn't been a very skilled person and had never managed to get anything right. He was overlooked and found out quite by accident he could airbend." Aang said.

"But isn't it true that most benders are known at birth?" Sokka continued his thought.

"Yes." Zuko said with certainty. "When a bender is born, there are usually signs that point it out."

"But that doesn't mean it can't happen." Aang interjected.

Sokka scratched his chin again. It was becoming a habit. "But what if the signs were missed?" Sokka queried.

"Then I suppose it's possible. It's sort of hard to miss though." Zuko conceded.

"What if the child was one of many and the wrong baby was thought to be a bender?"

"It wouldn't happen." Katara said firmly.

"What if the child was an orphan?" Sokka said slyly.

"I guess s…" Katara trailed off, suddenly getting what Sokka was inferring. "It couldn't be him, Sokka. It's impossible."

"I don't think it is Katara. It all fits." Sokka said.

Could someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?" Aang begged.

"Jet." Katara and Sokka said in unison.

"JET!?" Aang said, nearly choking on his surprise. "How the heck did you arrive at that conclusion?" he sputtered.

"Like Sokka said, it all fits." Katara answered. "Jet's about the same height and build as Zuko, and knows how to fight in the two handed style."

"And he's Earth Kingdom, and an orphan." Sokka added.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but Jet can't be the Blue Spirit. Even if he was this hidden earthbender, there's no way an amateur could have beat me like that."

"Yeah, that's the only hole in my logic." Sokka admitted.

The whole time this conversation had been going on, Suki had remained silent. She had been listening intently, but her eyes hadn't moved at all. She had been staring at the shadow by the door the whole time. At first she thought she had imagined it; then she knew she hadn't. The shadow had moved. Suki was sitting farthest from the door in question and had an almost direct line of sight. The shadows cast there would be just big enough to hide someone. Standing up, Suki walked to the center of the room and picked up Zuko's discarded swords. She took them over to the fireplace, fairly close to the shadow in question and mounted them back on their stand. There was no doubt in her mind just who was hiding in the shadow. "Well guys, why don't we find out if your right?" Suki said casually and then pounced on the shadow. She grabbed onto a person and used her momentum to pull him to the floor.

Rolling over and over, Suki pulled the Blue Spirit into the light. Everyone stood there stunned as Suki tussled with the earthbender, rolling on the ground. Suki was trying her best to keep the Spirit from being able to earthbend effectively. Ty-Lee was the fastest to recover from the surprise and quickly pounced on the combatants, using her chi blocking technique on the Blue Spirit. As quickly as the fight had begun, it had ended. The Blue Spirit lay motionless, his ability to move his arms and legs removed. Ty-Lee and Suki each held an arm and a leg down regardless, just in case. Everyone else finally managed to get up and come over to where the girls had the spy pinned down.

"Suki, how did you know?" Sokka asked her.

Suki looked up and smiled at him. "I saw the shadow move. He's been watching us since the beginning. I just needed a reason to get close without giving anything away. Now, let's see who our little troublemaker is."

Aang came around to the Spirit's head and readied himself in case of any funny business. "Zuko, you do the honors." Aang told his friend.

Zuko came over and knelt by the mask he had himself worn in the past. Taking it in his grip and removing it, the face of the assailant was finally revealed. Laying there before them with eyes of pure milky white and unable to move, was Jet.

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Author: Well everyone, I know you were waiting for what happened to Jet. You still don't have a clue, but at least he's back in the story.

Ty-Lee: Welcome back Jet!

Jet: Yeah, thanks.

Aang: So, I assume that Jet ties into something a little bigger right?

Author: Indubitably. Jet has a fairly big role to play; a big and important role.

Jet: Don't tell them anything. Save it for the chapters.

Author: Don't worry Jet. If I hadn't already given it away, then no one will see anything coming.

Katara: Am I better yet? I don't want to sit on the sidelines anymore.

Author: Give yourself a good night's sleep, and you should be fine.

Katara: Good. I still have to talk to Aang.

Aang: Oh yeah!

Zuko: Enough. I want to know what happened to my father.

Author: I suggest you look forward to the next chapter then, Firelord.

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Author's Corner:

So, here ends another chapter. Too be honest, I had sort of been taking this as I went along, with a very minor idea of what I wanted to have happen. I am pleased to announce that I am no longer winging it. Everything is now defined and has purpose. I have linked all my ideas together and think it will come out as I imagine it.

I know that some of the earlier chapters have spelling and grammar errors. I misspelled a few names, missed a letter here and there, and didn't capitalize some things like countries. I also hyphenated things I probably didn't need to. I will try and get around to fixing that eventually.

I am going to ask for a poll now and then with reader input on how to proceed with certain ideas. For this chapter's poll, not that it's relevant yet, but why not get it out there sooner than later. The first earthbenders were badger moles. The first airbenders were the sky bison and the first firebenders were the dragons. Keeping with the tradition of mythology and fantasy, my first question is this: what was the original waterbender? What type of creature should have that honor? I have read some fan fics where creatures were made up. One of the better ones I have seen was Polar Eagle. On that note, I am requesting that people submit either in reviews or in private notes their ideas for what the original waterbenders were. I will post in an into to a chapter all the choices submitted that have merit and then let people vote, or if I get numerous people suggesting the same thing and its workable, I will just use what popular demand dictates. I know in theory that the moon and ocean spirits taught waterbending, but an animal taught the other 3 tribes and it only makes sense to add a fourth.

Thanks again to those of you reviewing each chapter and telling me what you think. All forms of input are appreciated. And as always, please review review REVIEW!!