Chapter 15 - The One Who Sets the Trap

"I really should let Lee know first," stated Katara as she took a slight step back and turned to look at her other two friends working nearby. "He should hear that you found the people that attempted to hurt him."

Still smarting from being on the receiving end of getting thrown around yesterday, Jet frowned ever so briefly before shaking his head and attempting to persuade instead, "It's fine. Look, Lee's busy with ranch work anyway. We can go take care of these Fire Nation vermin ourselves. I bet that Lee will be happy to find out about it later. You can even surprise him with the news!"

"I'm not too sure about that," objected Katara hesitantly as she glanced back over to Zuko as he broke down a hay bale, placing the pieces into a long series of troughs for the cattle within the pen. "He's not a big fan of surprises."

"Trust me," assured Jet as he stepped down from the front of the wagon and looped his arm around the waterbender's shoulder, guiding her towards the small step leading up into the backside of the cart. "We're taking care of his problem for him. You remember how seriously injured he got last time, right? This way, we can secure the town, take the firebender down, and get back to the ranch, all without Lee putting himself in danger or risking getting himself hurt again. It's a win-win. And just think about it, you can prove to him that you can take care of yourself without having to rely on him."

The Jet's words were very tempting in the waterbender's mind. Zuko did almost die last time blocking a lightning attack meant for her. This way, she could keep the Fire Prince safe from possibly being severely injured by his Sister a second time. And not only that, but she could get some payback for Azula endangering both of them in the first place. Katara wasn't normally a vengeful person, but there was something about watching a friend nearly die in front of her eyes made her a tad unforgiving towards the Fire Princess.

"You're right," relented the Water Tribe girl after a moment as she climbed aboard the backside of the wagon. "We can confirm that they are there and alert the Earth Kingdom forces in town to arrest them."

Jet nodded along to the Water Tribe girl's proposed plan of action with a comforting smile in his face. Jet glanced at Pipsqueak as he agreed with her. "Correct, we can have the town guard arrest them."

The giant seemed to relax his concerned expression at Jet's agreement to Katara's suggestion. Neither Katara or Pipsqueak noticed when Jet turned to look at Smellerbee and Longshot seated at the front of the wagon with a serious look and narrowed eyes. At Jet's discreet nod to them, Smellerbee flicked the reins, sending the ostrich horse into a swift pace as the group departed the ranch.


"Where are they going?" asked Jin as she noticed the covered wagon that Jet and his crew frequently used exit through the front gate and rapidly shrink on the horizon.

Zuko looked up from the hay bales that he was stacking next to the cattle pen. "I don't know," he stated just as he spotted the waterbender sitting in the backend of the wagon. "But I don't like it." He set down the hsy bale he was holding and darted into the barn. He emerged on top of Biscuit a few minutes later with his Dao broadswords on his belt loop.

As Biscuit took a couple of steps forward, a slender arm grabbed onto the reins to slow the animal down. "What do you think you're doing?" demanded Zuko as he settled his horse down. Biscuit bristled, her head moving clumsily from the unexpected yank to her reins.

"I could ask you the same thing," replied Jin as she held on tightly to Biscuit's reins.

"I need to go after them," answered Zuko hurriedly.

"Just slow down a minute, we should think this through first," returned Jin.

"Slow down? Slow down?!" snapped back Zuko roughly. "We saw them leaving together Jin! Jet and his Freedom Fighters are up to something and Luna's getting dragged into whatever it. We don't have time to slow down."

"You really do get impulsive whenever Luna's in trouble, don't you?" sighed Jin. Then, the Earth Kingdom girl attempted to calm down her friend. "All I'm saying, is that we shouldn't just rush in unprepared and without a plan. A great leap forward often requires first taking two steps back."

Zuko held onto Biscuit's reins tighter as he attempted to control his emotions. Jin was right, of course. In fact, her advice sounded really close to what his Uncle always told him about the importance of thinking things through first before acting. He shut his eyes in frustration for a moment before opening them again quickly. He just couldn't think when he was this worked up. Instead, he shot back in exasperation, "And sometimes, all it requires is the will to jump."

Jin raised her free hand as she motioned for Zuko to help pull her up into the saddle. "You're going regardless of what I say, aren't you? Fine, then I'm coming along too." Zuko didn't move to immediately assist the girl up even when Jin gave him a pointed look of expectation.

"No," he finally declared. "If Jet and his crew are going to do what I suspect they might be doing, then things are going to get dangerous. Really dangerous, like life or death dangerous."

"You're going," pointed out Jin defiantly. "And Luna's already wrapped up in whatever Jet's got cooking, so I'm going too. And that's that. So just take my hand and let's go already, because we're only wasting time otherwise," reasoned Jin as she stared him down despite the height advantage of the Fire Prince being on horseback.

Debating with himself for another moment, Zuko grabbed Jin's hand and lifted her up into the saddle behind him. She settled herself into the seat and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist as Zuko urged Biscuit into a brisk trot as the pair of them headed in the direction of town.

"I'll think of a plan on the way then!" shouted Jin over the heavy gallop of Biscuit as Zuko urged the ostrich horse onward. "You just focus on getting us there."

Finishing up with the latest customer wanting to buy some cattle, Camila watched her Granddaughter and Zuko give chase to the wagon carrying Jet, Katara, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters that had left a couple of minutes ago. 'Now what are they up too?' she wondered as another customer approached her.


Jet and his crew disembarked shortly after arriving in the town. However, as Katara stepped down from the wagon cart, she noticed that they were neither at the fancy inn that Jet claimed Azula was staying at nor at a city watch outpost. None of the other Freedom Fighters appeared to be overly concerned.

"Where are we going? I thought we were going to alert the city guards," stated Katara as Jet waved her over to where the rest of the Freedom Fighters were gathering.

"We will," reassured Jet as he sent Smellerbee and Longshot to each end of the alleyway to keep a lookout. "But first, we need to check something."

Katara observed Pipsqueak moving some heavy crates out of the way, slowing revealing a gate entrance that had been obscured by the containers. The giant checked the gate by shaking it slowly and confirming that it was still locked up securely with several padlocks and chains.

"What's in there?" asked Katara.

"I don't know," answered Jet as he studied the locks on the gate. He pulled heavily on one of the padlocks. The chain held tight. "But that's what we're going to find out. One of my contacts observed those Fire Nation girls coming in and out of this area." The rogue backed up from the gate. "Whatever they were doing in here, it can't be good."

The rogue pretended to be in deep thought for a moment before snapping his fingers as if he had come up with a great idea. "You know what? It would probably take a while for us to bust our way in there, but you could speed that all up Luna." Jet pointed at the heavy chains and padlocks. "Do you think that you could encase the locks in ice for us?"

"I guess so?" replied Katara questioningly. She wasn't exactly sure how that would help. Bending some water from her waterskin, Katara effortlessly froze the locks on the gate. "Okay, now what?"

The waterbender felt a tap on her shoulder as Pipsqueak gently motioned for her to step aside. The giant pulled what appeared to be a small log from off his back. Raising the wooden post high, Pipsqueak brought his weapon crashing down on each of the locks in turn as they shattered underneath his strength.

Jet grinned as he answered Katara's unspoken question. "Metal become very brittle when exposed to cold temperatures. Makes it very simple to smash." He pushed open the gate easily. "Come on."

Jet, Pipsqueak, the Duke, and Katara spilled into the gated area. After searching around a little, they found another door leading to what appeared to be a storage shed of some sort.

"Here we go. This must be it," declared Jet. He frowned at the additional padlock securing the door. With a nod at Katara and Pipsqueak, the two repeated their earlier combination as this lock was easily disposed of as well.

Entering the storage shed, Jet started to check each of the barrels that they came across. Katara knelt down too as she scanned the barrels for any discernable markings. "Jet, all these barrels have Earth Kingdom symbols on them." She didn't get an answer. Standing back up, Katara spied the leader of the Freedom Fighters pulling up the lid of another barrel. "Jet?"

"Luna, over here!" called out Jet as he signaled everyone to come over to where he was. The rogue seemed to lift something out of the barrel before closing the lid again as everyone reached where he was.

Jet turned around to face the group. In his hands was a small vial of a foul looking red liquid. "It's worse than I feared."

"What's that?" asked Katara in concern.

"Tears of Cerise," proclaimed Jet, his voice deadly serious. "A very lethal poison. Odorless, tasteless, dissolves quickly in water. When ingested, death is certain within the day if the remedy is not taken." The rogue looked down at the barrel next to him. "This thing is full of these vials. Who knows how many other barrels are also holding this poison?"

"This is serious Jet," stated Pipsqueak as he picked up the Duke to ensure the little kid didn't accidently touch any of the barrels. "I know we like to handle things ourselves, but this is above our heads. We need to let the city guard know."

"You're right," replied Jet, his face seemingly calculating a plan.

"But why?" asked Katara as the three boys in the storage shed turned to look at her. "Why would they store all this poison in here? How did they even get so much? Or smuggle it into the town for that matter? And they hid it in all these Earth Kingdom barrels?"

Jet sighed. "I don't know. Maybe there's a traitor in the city guard that helped them. Or maybe there's a lot more going on here that we don't know about. But this just means that it's even more important now to stop these Fire Nation vixens." He paused for a moment. "Maybe..." Jet's eyes widened. "No... that would be terrible."

"What? What would be terrible?" pressed Katara with concern in her voice.

Jet gestured towards the magnitude of barrels in the storage shed. "There's enough poison here to destroy this whole city. Drop a couple of these barrels into the water supply and it's over. Everyone would be dead and the Fire Nation armies could just walk right into the town without a fight."

Katara's eyes widened in horror. Would Zuko's Sister really be capable of wiping out an entire city, soldiers and civilians alike, with poison? She wanted to think Zuko's Sister wouldn't do that, but the memory of Azula gleefully launching lightning meant to kill the waterbender and Zuko made Katara think twice. 'Azula might actually be capable of just that...' realized Katara with anxiety.

"Pipsqueak, Luna, can I count on the two of you to go alert the city guard and bring them to the fancy inn I mentioned on the north side of the town?" asked Jet. "I'll get Smellerbee to secure this place while Longshot and I monitor the inn and the Fire Nation trio there."

Katara and Pipsqueak looked at each other, and then back at Jet. "Yeah, you can count on us," replied the Water Tribe girl as she made for the entrance of the storage shed. Pipsqueak followed behind her, carrying the Duke on his shoulders.

Jet watched the three of them leave the alleyway. A moment later, Longshot and Smellerbee appeared at their leader's side.

Pointing to several of the barrels, Jet ordered, "Get this blasting jelly over to the inn. I'm going to go keep watch. Let me know when everything is in position. I'll give the order to light it up once all the players are in place. I don't want those Fire Nation scum to escape. We'll take them all out in one fell swoop."

Smellerbee opened the lid to one of the barrels. Inside was a messy stack of blasting jelly. "So that whole bit about the poison...?"

Jet flicked the tiny vial of foul looking red liquid up in the air like a coin before catching the bottle and pocketing it once more. "Pipsqueak's been reluctant to act lately and it's best to give Luna some time to adjust to how we do things," replied the rogue. "Only poison in this room is what I've got in my pocket."

Smellerbee rubbed the back of her head. "Lying to outsiders, fine, whatever. But I still don't like lying to Pipsqueak. He's one of us." Longshot nodded next to his friend's side. "And Longshot's right. What about the others staying in that inn? Those Fire Nation girls won't be the only ones in there when we blow it up."

Sighing deeply, the rogue explained himself, "I hate the plan myself Smellerbee, and I hate that we have to do it this way. However, we need to be sure that we get that firebender before she can start shooting lightning at other innocence people," answered Jet with a tense expression. "You saw how hurt Lee was and how close he was to dying after taking a hit from that attack of hers. I doubt any of us could block lightning. So we need to ensure our first strike wipes her and her friends out completely. Anyone else in that inn who gets caught up in the blast will be helping us to rid the Earth Kingdom of that firebender. Pipsqueak will understand."

Smellerbee thought for a minute. Then, she nodded in affirmation. "You're right. We need to be sure."

"Besides, the staff of that inn have been serving and harboring a firebender. Whether they did so knowingly or not, that make them traitors to the Earth Kingdom. How can they be so close to a firebender and not realize it?" continued to reason the rogue. "They're not that innocent." And with that, the rest of the Freedom Fighter moved to accomplish their assigned tasks.


Zuko and Jin slowed down as Biscuit reached the front gate. Jin showed an emblem crest from her family's Sierra Bonita Ranch to the gate guard who waved them through without any questions once he saw it. Putting the crest away, Jin grinned at Zuko. "Told you I could help. Our family's ranch is very respected around here. It might have taken you awhile to convince the guards to let you into town otherwise."

Zuko simply nodded as he guided Biscuit to a hitching post with several other ostrich horses already there. As the two slid down from the saddle, Jin scanned the crowd. "So, first things first. You see them anywhere?"

The Fire Prince's eyes zeroed in on the ranch's covered wagon tucked into a corner near the lines of hitching posts. "There."

Approaching the familiar-looking wagon, Zuko peered inside. "They're not here."

"Any thing in there that might indicate where they went?" asked Jin as she checked on the ostrich horse pulling the cart.

Climbing inside, Zuko searched the cart, but it was completely empty. Exiting, he shook his head. "No." The Fire Prince punched the side of the wagon in frustration. "I bet they went after the firebender that attacked us in town earlier. Jet wouldn't shut up about it. That idiot doesn't understand the firestorm he's about to bring crashing down on this place."

"It's that dangerous?" asked Jin.

"Yes," was the single word answer from Zuko.

Jin thought for a moment. "Do you remember anything about the firebender that attacked you? Any clue about where they might be in town, right now?"

"They wouldn't waste their time with anything they thought was beneath them. If they stayed hidden in the town, then it wouldn't be for lack of comfort," answered Zuko after a moment.

"Sounds like they might be on the rich side of the city." Jin pointed northward. "Fancy part of town with all the rich folk and city leaders is up on the northside."

Zuko nodded as he looked at Jin. "Head to the city garrison. Let them know what's going on. We'll need their help when things inevitably get out of hand. I'm going to go find Jet."

"Be careful!" shouted Jin with worry as the Fire Prince dashed off through an alleyway. Then, she darted in the direction of the town garrison.


Just as the Earth Kingdom girl reached the guard station, she noticed a familiar Water Tribe girl approaching from the opposite direction. "Luna!" she greeted as she ran up to her friend. "You're alright! I'm so glad that I found you!"

The waterbender seemed genuinely surprised to see her friend running up to her. "Jin? What are you doing here?"

"I'm making sure my friend isn't about to get herself into trouble!" scolded Jin. "Lee and I saw you riding away from the ranch with Jet and his crew. And we didn't think that they were up to anything good."

"Jet's here to help get rid of a vicious firebender in town. And I know how dangerous she can be. Lee and I were attacked by her just before we arrived at your ranch," countered Katara. "Trust me when I say, that we're here to do a good thing."

Jin noticed Pipsqueak and the Duke nearing the two of them, but the rest of the Freedom Fighters were nowhere to be seen. "Ok... then, where's Jet and the rest of them? If you all know where this firebender is, then let's just let the city watch know and let them handle it. It's their job and they're trained for fighting these kinds of battles."

"That's what Pipsqueak and I are here for," replied Katara. "Jet and the others are watching the inn to make sure that the firebender doesn't sneak away."

Jin thought for a moment. "If this firebender is just as dangerous as you say, then aren't Jet and his friends putting themselves at risk right now?"

Now it was Katara's turn to think. Jin did have a point. Jet did seem sure of his plan, but Azula had been ruthless during their last encounter. As the waterbender debated inwardly, she realized that Jin was alone. "Wait, didn't you say that you and Lee saw us heading to town? Where's Lee?"

"Lee's on his way to the north end of town to find you and Jet. I was coming to let the town guard know what's going on," replied Jin.

Worry spread through Katara's mind almost instantly. Zuko was headed to the northside? What if he ran into Azula again? What if Azula struck him with lightning again? She was working with Jet to ensure that didn't happen a second time. "Pipsqueak, can you please go with Jin to let the Earth Kingdom soldiers know what is going on?" She started to run to the north end of town.

"Where are you going?!" shouted Jin in surprise at the Water Tribe girl's sudden actions.

"I need to find Lee!" yelled back Katara as she rounded a corner.

Jin was starting to get the feeling that she was missing some important parts of a much greater story. Pulling out her family's ranch emblem crest again, she hurried inside the town garrison with Pipsqueak and the Duke right behind her. First, she needed to alert the guards, then she was going to figure out what was really going on.


"Longshot's confirmed it. The three of them are on the top floor of the inn in the room on the east side," reported Smellerbee as she walked up to Jet in an alleyway overlooking the front end of their target's building.

"Excellent. The east side of the building is away from the street. Have the barrels placed in the alley there and have Longshot wait for my signal," grinned Jet as he placed a grass reed in his mouth and chewed on the stem.

"Jet, I'm still having second thoughts about all this," protested Smellerbee. "There's a lot more foot traffic around this inn than we first thought there was going to be. We're going to hurt a lot of people."

Jet turned around and placed his hands on Smellerbee's shoulders. "I know that you're nervous, but we need to be strong if we're going to get rid of all the hidden firebenders in our Earth Kingdom. Remember Gaipan? We almost got rid of the Fire Nation presence there, but because that Water Tribe boy didn't have the stomach to do what needed to be done, all those Fire Nation soldiers got away. And now they are free to continue terrorizing our country. We can't let that happen again. It can't be for nothing."

Determination burned within Smellerbee's eyes. "You're right."

"The only good firebender..." started Jet as he raised his right hand in an open palm.

"..Is a dead firebender," finished Smellerbee as she walked past him and gave him a high-five. "I'll get the barrels in place."

As Smellerbee ran off, Jet narrowed his eyes and announced to the seemingly empty alleyway, "It's rude to eavesdrop."

Zuko dropped down from a single story building behind Jet. "I've heard reports about what happened to Gaipan. There was a catastrophic flood there. The entire village was wiped out in the blink of an eye. That was you?"

"Reports? What are you, some kind of brave little soldier-boy?" remarked Jet with a sneer as he turned around to face Zuko. When the Fire Prince didn't answer, Jet continued, "I told you that we would do what we needed to do to rid our country of the Fire Nation. And I meant it."

"So you're willing to what? Kill dozens of innocent people? Just to maybe catch three Fire Nation girls in your crude trap? How does that make any sense?!" accused Zuko with a scowl.

"Oh, we'll get them. Have you ever seen the detonation area of a barrel of blasting jelly? Just one barrel could probably level a small building. And we have four to work with," summarized Jet.

"Do you even hear yourself?!" implored Zuko in disbelief. It was like he was back in the royal war room three years ago listening to callous Fire Nation Generals eagerly discussing how best to sacrifice of an entire battalion of young soldiers just to ambush a much smaller group of enemy veterans.

Was this how both sides saw this conflict? Just a never-ending series of cold-hearted and senseless tit-for-tats? It seemed that the regular people of each country had to worry not only about attacks from the adversary country but also from their own protectors doing them harm.

Zuko grit his teeth. Was this the true face of war? Was this the greatness that the Fire Sages lectured endlessly about the Fire Nation spreading with the world? Making everyone just as cruel and uncaring as his own Father and Sister?

"I don't know what you're acting all high and mighty for. In fact, you should be thanking me," stated the rogue.

"Thanking you? For what?! Committing violent atrocities?" scoffed Zuko in skepticism.

"Atrocities?" balked Jet with fake hurt. "I'm taking care of your little firebender problem. You know, the firebender that you were fighting back in the tavern. The firebender that very nearly ended your life. You clearly aren't up to the task of taking her down. So, I'm stepping in to help you out," gloated the rogue.

"Your trap won't work," stated Zuko flatly.

Jet gave a shallow, scoffing laugh in response. "And why's that?"

"Azula doesn't get trapped. She sets the trap," asserted the Fire Prince.

"Azula?" mulled over Jet. "Is that her name?" He waved his hand dismissively at Zuko. "Just because everything you've tried in the past didn't work, doesn't mean she can beat us. She won't be setting anymore traps after she gets blown up."

Zuko placed his hand on the hilt of his Dao broadswords. Jet raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?" the rogue asked incredulously. "You're going to fight me to save a firebender that tried to kill you?"

"I'm going to stop you from making a mistake," stated Zuko matter-of-factly. "Azula must be stopped. But this isn't the way to do it. You're going to hurt innocent people just to get to her. And I can't let you do that."

"You can't let me?" mocked Jet as he snarled. "I thought with that scar on your face, you'd understand that the people of the Fire Nation are monsters that must be rooted out. Otherwise their disease will continue to spread and fester throughout our lands. They'll keep killing and burning. More and more villages will be destroyed. More and more children like my Freedom Fighters will grow up without their parents."

Jet glared heatedly at Zuko when the scarred teenager didn't answer him back. "The Fire Nation only responds to power. That's how you defeat bullies like them. My parents stood up to the Fire Nation when they came for our village. But they were the only ones! Everyone else bowed and submitted to subjugation. So what do you think happened to my parents? They were butchered at the hands of the Fire Nation! And my village burned and erased anyway! So, no, I won't stop. I am fighting to avenge them, to honor their memory. They were the bravest people I ever knew. They wouldn't want me to pull my punches. Not when I can hurt the Fire Nation that hurt us."

"And don't forget!" continued Jet. "I was the one to help you when you were at the mercy of that firebender in the tavern. My Freedom Fighters and I helped you then. And you promised to join forces with us when the time came," recounted Jet intensely. "Are you not going to honor your word? Are you really so quick to disregard that debt? Don't you owe us? Tell me, does honor mean nothing to you?"

Zuko bristled at Jet's question. Jet would never actually know just how loaded of a question that was to the Fire Prince. Honor; it was a concept that had agonized Zuko to no end. A concept that he had spent the better part of his time in the Earth Kingdom reflecting on. Zuko could understand the roguish boy's need to right an injustice that had befallen him; Jet's need to honor his parent's memory. Zuko realized that perhaps he did still owe a debt to Jet for helping him escape from Azula last time. But yet, Zuko knew he could take no part in this. This was simply an act of indiscriminate violence, using blasting jelly in the middle of a heavily populated area.

Steeling himself, Zuko answered the rogue firmly. "It means... everything to me."

But when Zuko didn't budge, Jet's glare intensified. "And yet, even now, here you stand."

The Fire Prince's grip on the hilt of his sheathed Dao broadswords tightened. "And yet, here I stand," Zuko proclaimed defiantly, standing even taller.

Jet placed his own hands on the hilts of his hooked blades. His anger flared and his argument become childish. "So you're just a Fire Nation sympathizer in the end, aren't you? What, Luna and Jin aren't enough for you? You going after that Azula girl too? She beat you enough times that you fell for her?"

Zuko struggled to resist the instantaneous urge to dry heave at Jet's provocation. The rogue had no idea how ridiculous and disgusting that notion was. Zuko focused on the front half of that taunt instead. "Is that what this is really about?"

Jet drew his twin hook blades in both hands. "Not really. Jin's already determined to dislike me, but I have Luna willing to travel with me. Her waterbending will come in handy during our future strikes against the Fire Nation. I'm sure that I'll think of some great plans to put her skills to good use. And hey, if I get the chance to hook up with her, then all the better. She is pretty hot."

Zuko's dual broadswords were out in a flash, metal gleaming. His eyes looked downright murderous. "I thought you were just an arrogant braggart when we first met. But now I know you're actually a manipulative extremist." He grip tightened on the hilts of his weapons to the point that his knuckles turned white. "We don't have anything left to say do we?"

"No," answered Jet as both boys settled into ready stances. "We don't."

Zuko started the fight, using his leg to knock an empty barrel in the alley onto its side and then kicked it directly at the rogue. As the barrel picked up momentum, Jet slashed down with both of his swords to split the wooden cylinder in half. The rogue then bounded forward while lashing out with both blades as Zuko parried and jumped backwards onto a crate.

Jet split that container in half as Zuko shifted his weight to the right side of the damaged box. Spinning around with a horizontal swipe, Jet knocked the rest of the crate away as Zuko leapt into the air and came crashing down on top of Jet as he thrust his swords forward. Jet parried and backflipped away.

The Fire Prince surged forward to press his advantage, but Jet regained his footing and blocked both swings. As he held the Fire Prince's blades in place, Jet smirked and kicked out with a front kick that impacted solidly with the Fire Prince's chest and causing the boy to tumbled backwards as he skidded to a stop on his back a couple of feet away.

Springing onto his feet immediately, Zuko raised his defenses in time to lock blades with both of flashes of metal that assaulted him. As they stood deadlocked, Jet took the time to taunt some more. "With this level of swordplay, I can see why you lost to that firebender over and over. You're quite weak."

Zuko replied with his own jeer. "At least I don't attempt to murder innocent citizens just to kill a couple of people from the Fire Nation. Gaipan doesn't even exist anymore! And now you're looking to do the same thing here!"

They clashed swords several more times as each of them struck and parried in a fierce deadlock of ringing steel. Looking to build an advantage with his reach, Jet swung out with his left hooked blade. As Zuko dodged the basic swing with a backstep, Jet interlocked his left blade with the hook on his right and spun around a second time with double his previous reach in an attempt to catch his opponent off guard. "I bet you wished you had some other skills to help you out right about now," taunted the rogue.

However, from the start of the fight, Zuko had already noticed the curvature on the ends of Jet's unique weapons. He had a suspicion about the capabilities of their design and that suspicion was confirmed when he observed Jet interlock his swords. As Jet spun a second time with his elongated weapon, the Fire Prince reversed the grip on his left blade and drove the blade through the hilt of Jet's extended sword as it came around to catch his front foot in an attempt to trip the Fire Prince up. "You're the one that needs help!" Zuko declared as he lunged forward with a wide horizontal arc from his right blade, discarding his left blade as he left it spiked into the dirt as an anchor to keep Jet's weapon pinned to the ground.

Jet bent backwards just enough to avoid being caught by Zuko's attack. The grass reed in his mouth was not quite so fortunate as it was cleaved in half. Flicking his wrist to unhook his blades, Jet jumped backward with only one sword in his hands now in order to make some space. A moment later, he spit out the grass stem.

With a growl, the rogue surged forward back into the fray. Zuko blocked the rogue's wild swing and stepped forward as Jet took another step as well. The end result placed them back to back as each boy continued to swap blade arms as they clashed swords once, twice, and thrice. Gripping his hooked blade in both hands, Jet turned inward sharply to pierce Zuko through the side, but the Fire Prince cleanly side stepped and blocked Jet's blade away as the rogue stumbled forward a couple of steps and distance between them was created once again.

Turning around, Jet noticed some movement behind Zuko. He smirked. "You're right. I could use some help."

The quizzical look on Zuko's face lasted only a split second as he realized what Jet had meant by that. Spinning around, he parried a knife thrust from Smellerbee that had been aimed at his back.

As Zuko struggled to regain his balance with Smellerbee buzzing around him with a small dagger in each hand, Jet turned to give the signal to Longshot. If Smellerbee was back, then that meant the blasting jelly was in place.

"Tell me you wouldn't do that," demanded Katara as she emerged from a connecting alley.

Jet paused at the sound of her voice. She wasn't supposed to be here. She must have heard some of the back and forth during his fight with Lee, and maybe even some of his earlier conversation with Lee before the fight too. Jet kept his back to the waterbender.

"Tell me you wouldn't blow up the inn," Katara pressed, firmer this time.

Kicking Lee's broadsword away and reclaiming his second hooked blade, Jet answered her, "Yes. I would."

"Jet, why?" the Water Tribe girl pleaded.

"Luna, 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." The rogue's tone was begging for her to listen to him.

"This isn't the answer Jet!" she countered.

"I want you to understand me, Luna. I thought Lee would understand, but he clearly doesn't get it," replied Jet.

Further down the alley, Zuko continued to clash with Smellerbee. The Fire Prince had regained his balance now and was rapidly growing accustomed to the tomboy's flighty stabs and weaves.

"What really happened in Gaipan?" she demanded.

"Luna..." Jet started.

"What happened?!" the waterbender shouted.

Jet's face softened as he explained. "We had a plan to rid the valley of the Fire Nation once and for all. Just a small creak in the dam and we could let the all that water wash away the entire force of Fire Nation troops garrisoned there. A bit of poetic justice actually, water smoldering all that fire."

"They had a barracks there?" the waterbender inquired further.

"They were stationed in the town of Gaipan. A town of cowards and weaklings that were bending their knees to the Fire Nation. The water would have washed all that away, except..."

When he didn't look like he was going to continue, Katara stepped forward and pressed again, "Except?"

Jet's face hardened once more. "Except the Avatar, with all his self-righteousness, and some amateurish fool from the Water Tribes both interfered with our plans. We thought they were on our side. We thought that the Avatar of all people would understand. He lost his entire race to the Fire Nation!"

Jet's grip on his swords tightened fiercely. "But no, that stupid little boy demanded that we stop. He fought against us! Us! Not the Fire Nation scum in the valley. We were just trying to reclaim our country and he wanted to stop that! And that Water Tribe boy actually revealed our entire plan to the Fire Nation and evacuated the town before the dam broke. They ruined everything!"

Katara lowered her head as tears filled in her eyes. Other than from Azula, she hadn't heard anything about her Brother since her time in captivity. She was proud that Sokka hadn't given in to despair and turned into a monster that lashed out at innocents even after she had been captured by the Fire Nation. Even if Sokka had thought her dead, he still had managed to keep that part of himself that allowed him to be compassionate and able to tell right from wrong. Sokka could have just as easily lost himself to the same darkness that had clearly consumed Jet, but yet, her Brother didn't allow himself to become like that. And neither did Aang it seemed.

Resolve flared in the Water Tribe girl's eyes. She could do no less. With an angry shout, she sent Jet flying backwards with a burst of water from her waterskins, drawing the water back into the containers afterwards. She was learning to maintain her supply better.

Jet kicked out with his feet as he rose from the ground, spinning back up into a fighting stance. "You're going to regret that." He was immediately knocked back down to the ground with a sharp blow to the back of his head from the hilt of the Fire Prince's sword.

"No, she isn't," declared Zuko as he stood over the dazed rogue.

Staggered, Jet raised his head enough to look back and see Smellerbee on the ground, alive, but disarmed and in pain.

Rolling horizontally on the ground, away from Zuko, Jet struggled to his feet again. Holding his swords out to engage Zuko once more, Jet was blindsided yet again by another plume of water. Stumbling a couple of steps, the rogue managed to stay upright, only for another plume to strike him. Jet dropped his swords from the continuous impacts.

Finally, a geyser of water pinned the rogue against the far wall. Katara blew out with cool breath as she willed the water on the ground and soaking Jet's clothes to freeze the rogue to the alley wall. The rogue was locked in place from his feet to his neck.

As Jet scuffled uselessly against his icy prison, Katara approached him. "Why, Jet? I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me about what you were doing. Both here and back in Gaipan! You're sick and I trusted you!"

"The Earth Kingdom needs people like me if it hopes to win this war, Luna," rebuffed Jet. "People who are willing to make the hard decisions and the tough choices. People who will get rid of the invaders who have ravaged our country for the last one hundred years, no matter the cost!"

Zuko was stunned. "You truly believe that, don't you?" he muttered.

Katara slapped Jet across the face. "My Brother was the one who stopped you in Gaipan! It's not a hard choice to save innocent people Jet! Sokka made the right decision to stop you!"

As Jet's cheek shone bright red from the impact of Katara's palm, a birdcall whistle rang out through the alleyway. With his head downcast and his eyes covered by his messy mop of hair, Jet grinned. His head snapped up as he answered back with a birdcall of his own.

Zuko punched the rogue across the face with a right cross. "What did you just do?!"

Jet spit out blood at Zuko's feet. "You're too late."

The color drained from Katara's face as she spun towards the entrance of the alleyway with a horrified, "No..."

Overhead, a flaming arrow streaked against the sky as it fell towards the east side of the inn. Just before it reached the stacked barrels of blasting jelly, an earthen wall rose up to cover the barrels. The flaming arrow clanged uselessly against the dirt as it fizzled out.

"What?!" shouted Jet when he didn't hear the explosions he was expecting.

In the main street, Jin arrived with Pipsqueak, the Duke, and several Earth Kingdom earthbending soldiers in tow. The guards were moving to orderly evacuate people from the area. Several went to investigate the barrels lined up against the east side of the inn. The earthbenders had raised a barrier over them when they saw where the flaming arrow was headed. Jin noticed Luna and Lee in the alleyway across the street and came running over with a pair of earthbenders at her flank. Pipsqueak and the Duke came jogging along afterwards.

"There you two are!" she exclaimed as she ran up to Katara and took the girl's hands into her own. She noticed Jet frozen to the wall with a furious expression on his face. "Did Jet try to make a move on you Luna?" she asked in admiration. If only she could waterbend too, then there were several boys the Earth Kingdom girl knew that deserved the same treatment for constantly hitting on her in the past.

"Not exactly," replied Katara. "It's actually worse than that."

Before Jin could ask what Katara meant by that, Jet starting thrashing against the ice holding him to the wall. "Hey! Let me go! You're all going to let the firebender get away!"

"What are you talking about son?" asked one of the adult earthbenders as he approached the rogue on the wall. He was wearing an officer rank.

"Sir!" saluted another soldier as he rushed into the alleyway. "We searched the barrels that the flaming arrow was aimed at. They're filled to the brim with blasting jelly. Four whole barrels, sir!" Then, the soldier's voice dropped to a low whisper. "The markings on the barrels, sir. They look like they're from one of our warehouses."

"What?!" shot out the earthbender Lieutenant. "Secure those right now and get them out of here! The last thing we need is for those barrels to explode in the middle of a crowded area." As the soldier saluted again and dash off to comply, the Lieutenant turned back to the others in the alley. "You kids better start talking right now."

Zuko looked at Katara and Jin before glancing at Jet. Then, he stepped forward when no one else did. "Jet and his so-called Freedom Fighters were attempting to destroy the inn across the street because they believe there is a firebender staying there."

"There is a firebender in that inn! And you're all allowing her to escape again! Get some soldiers in there and take her out! Top floor! East side room!" shouted Jet as he struggled against the unyielding ice.

The Lieutenant signaled to his other subordinate to take a team and check out the claim. "We'll find out the truth of this."

"Jet, please tell me that you didn't. You promised that we were all going to start over in Ba Sing Se. The plan here was to let the town guards handle the situation," pleaded Pipsqueak as he approached the pinned rogue on the wall.

Jet didn't look Pipsqueak in the eye. "Why do you think we need to start over? It's because of the Fire Nation. Besides, we're not in Ba Sing Se yet."

An angry expression flared on Pipsqueak's normally jovial face. "I still followed you after our group disbanded because I thought you were a capable leader and that you cared about us. But you can't let your hatred go, can you?"

Pipsqueak bent down and lifted the Duke up onto his shoulders. Then, he turned away from Jet. "I'm leaving, and I'm taking the Duke with me before you corrupt him with your hate. We'll find somewhere else to start over, without the Freedom Fighters."

"Fine! Leave! You were useless anyways!" shouted Jet heatedly at his friend's back.

"You don't mean that, right Jet?" asked the Duke with tears in his eyes as he looked back. The young boy didn't really know what was going on, but he could see his group of friends was crumbling around him.

"Just get out of my sight," grunted Jet as he looked away. The Duke hid his face in the side of Pipsqueak's head as the two walked away.

"Sir!" reported the subordinate as he returned. "We've evacuated the inn to be safe. There were three girls on the top floor of the inn just as reported."

"Finally!" snapped Jet. "They're dangerous. You better have them in iron handcuffs, or better yet, just end them now and be done with it."

The Earth Kingdom Lieutenant turned to Zuko, Katara, and Jin. "Did you all do this to this boy?" At Katara's head nod, he asked, "Could you do something about the ice then?" As Katara melted the ice and Jet stumbled down from the wall, the Lieutenant slapped a pair of earthen cuffs on Jet to pinning the rogue's hands against his own back.

"What are you arresting me for?!" demanded Jet. "You should be focusing on that firebender." Another earthbender placed earthen cuffs on Smellerbee as he helped her to her feet and pooled her with the rest of the group.

The Earth Kingdom Lieutenant led everyone out of the alleyway. As Zuko walked into the main street, he noticed a host of town guards surrounding a trio of females in front of the inn. The Fire Prince frowned. "That's not them."

Katara's and Jet's gazes intensified as they studied the three girls that the earthbenders were holding. The girls looked to be about the right age and they were dressed in the same outfits that Azula, Mia, and Ty Lee had been wearing a couple of days ago. At a distance, and perhaps under the right light, the three girls possibly could have passed for the genuine articles. At least to anyone who didn't really know what they actually looked like. However, Zuko was right. These three were not the right girls. Closer inspection of their faces revealed that clearly obvious realization.

"Who are you?!" demanded Jet as he struggled to rush closer to the imposters, but was held back by an earthbender soldier. "Where is the actual firebender?"

"Firebender?" asked the girl dressed as Azula. "We aren't firebenders."

"Then what were you doing up in that inn room? Why are you wearing those clothes that the firebender wore?" pressed Jet further.

"I don't know what you're talking about," denied the girl dressed as Mai. "We were paid good money to hang out on the top floor of this inn while wearing these outfits. There was a lot of good food and games to play up there."

"W-What?" stuttered Jet, caught off guard by the unexpected response.

"It's true," added the girl dressed as Ty Lee. "Some gloomy looking girl and another bubbly girl approached us a couple of days ago and were willing to pay us a large sum of money if we spent the week on the top floor of that inn. They said that they were running away from home and wanted to throw off anyone that their family sent after them."

"And you just accepted that?!" demanded Jet incredulously.

"Hey, they were paying us a lot of money," replied the Azula dressed girl again. "It was a simple job that paid well. We made more this last week then we have working part-time jobs all last year. We would have been crazy not to take the offer."

"You have got to be kidding me," growled Jet. "You let them play you all as fools! The firebender is still out there somewhere! This whole town is in danger!"

"Take these two back to the garrison. They've got a lot to answer for," ordered the Earth Kingdom Lieutenant as a protesting Jet and a struggling Smellerbee were dragged away by two earthbenders. Then, the man sighed. "A pair of delusional kids almost blew up one of the wealthiest inns in the whole town as well as who knows how many people. What is the world coming to?"

"Three," corrected Zuko. When the Lieutenant looked at him, Zuko added, "There's an archer as well. Up on the rooftops somewhere. He was the one who shot the arrow at Jet's signal."

The Earth Kingdom Lieutenant signaled for some more men to search the rooftops. He crossed his arms as he studied Zuko, Katara, and Jin. "I guess some thanks are in order." He nodded at Jin. "Your Grandmother and Grandfather would be proud that you and your friends averted a big disaster from hitting this town. Sierra Bonita Ranch is only going to get more popular once word starts to spread around town. You three just helped us to keep the entire city safe."

Zuko shook his head. "We were just trying to keep Jet from making a big mistake. But I am worried that he might have been telling the truth of it about the firebender. His methods were not right, but if there is a firebender here, then there might be more trouble ahead."

This whole situation was not sitting well with Zuko. Azula clearly set this all up, probably as a trap to catch him if he came looking for her again. Or maybe to catch Jet and his team since they rescued him and Katara earlier and had been asking questions in town about Azula's whereabouts. The problem; however, was that Zuko still was no closer to knowing where his Sister actually was. But she was probably watching all this unfold from somewhere unseen. They needed to leave now, before something else happened. He could warn the Earth Kingdom garrison and let them take care of their own town. But that was all he could do for them.

The earthbending Lieutenant didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyhow. "We'll keep our eyes open kid. We thank you again for your assistance."

As soon as the Earth Kingdom troops waved them off, Zuko took Katara and Jin each by the hand and led them back towards the front of town at a brisk pace. Neither said anything when they saw him scanning the streets with a calculating eye as if worried about being ambushed. Instead, they kept a look out as well. The three reached Biscuit quickly and Zuko hitched the ostrich horse to the covered wagon that Jet and his crew had arrived in. As Katara and Jin hopped into the wagon bed, Zuko took the reins and led the group out of town.

After they were a good distance away and nothing seemed to happen, Zuko finally started to breath easier. "Do you think Azula was there somewhere?" asked Katara when she saw him finally relax a little.

Zuko held a firm gaze on the road. "I don't know. She definitely set that whole fake room with decoys up to see who might be after her following our run-in a couple of days ago, but there's no telling if that was just to buy time, throw people off her trail, or to ambush any pursuers later. I'm most worried about the latter. That fits her methods the best. We need to leave this area soon."

Jin's spoke up. "So there really is a firebender after you guys?"

Zuko's shoulders tensed for a moment. Then, they sunk as he sighed. "Yes. We had a run-in with a dangerous firebender who seems to have a vendetta against me. She's not going to stop chasing me. So we need to keep moving."

"At least spend one last night at the ranch," offered Jin warmly. "It's been a long day, and after all this excitement, I know I would need to rest. This way you both can be fresh and ready to travel in the morning."

As Zuko and Katara were thinking it over, Jin added, "And after these cattle sales, my grandparents like to hold a little celebration for the ranching team. Jet and his friends are going to be preoccupied in town for a while, you know, with being arrested and all. So if you two leave already, then the whole party will be a waste," entreated the Earth Kingdom girl.

Katara suspected that Zuko wasn't going to accept the offer. He could be quite stubborn once he set his mind to something. And from what she had witnessed, when his Sister was involved, he could be even more obstinate. She began to ready herself to argue in favor of staying the night to rest up and gather their gear so that they could be ready to travel in the morning. And that's why she nearly fell over when she heard him agree, "We can stay one more night and leave in the morning."

As Jin smiled happily, Katara turned away and stared out the back of the wagon as she watched the town get smaller and smaller in the distance. Perhaps, Zuko liked Jin much more than Katara realized. He never seemed to disagree or argue with the Earth Kingdom girl. The waterbender didn't know what she was going to do.


A couple of hours later, the Earth Kingdom Major of the city garrison office door opened and closed as the Earth Kingdom Lieutenant from earlier that day entered and saluted. After the Major saluted back, the Lieutenant proceeded to parade rest and waited. Giving his subordinate his full attention, the Major declared, "Report."

"Sir, we've secured the northern part of the town and settled down all the disturbances and unrest from today's events. We've apprehended three troublemakers who almost blew up a good portion of the northside of town. They claimed that they were hunting a firebender that infiltrated our town. However, they were unable to provide any actual proof of this firebender after our questioning of them. The people that they accused to be firebenders are not even benders of any element. Lastly, we confiscated four barrels of blasting jelly at the scene."

"Where did these hooligans even get that much explosives?" asked the Major.

The Lieutenant coughed awkwardly as he sweated a little. "Sir, it appears the troublemakers broke into one our storage areas. The blasting jelly came from our own reserves.

The Major rubbed the front of his temple to stem a headache he knew was going to be ensuing soon. "Keep them detained for now. Their plan may have been unsuccessful, but they almost caused the deaths and serious injury of multiple people. We'll have to have a trial."

"Yes, sir." The Lieutenant gave another salute and turned to leave.

"Hold a minute, Lieutenant," interrupted the Major as his subordinate paused and turned back around. "I understand there were more kids on scene than the ones you arrested."

"Yes, sir. A boy with a burn scar over his left eye, a waterbender, and the granddaughter of the Sierra Bonita Ranch owners. They helped in preventing the disaster from occurring," replied the Lieutenant.

"And they have already departed town?"

"Yes, sir. They already left back in the direction of the ranch."

"A shame. I would have liked to congratulated them myself. Perhaps we can gather them back tomorrow in the town square. Have a little ceremony. That could help raise the spirits of the townspeople. Let them know that today's youth are committed to protecting the Earth Kingdom," expressed the Major.

"I'll send a team tomorrow morning to request their presence then, sir," replied the Lieutenant.

"Very well, that will be all. Dismissed."

As the door opened and shut again, the Major pulled out a glass and poured some alcohol into it. Standing up, he walked over to the large glass window overlooking the town and gazed across the landscape for a minute. He took a sip of his drink and set the glass on a nearby small table. As he turned back around, the Fire Princess was sitting in his seat at his desk. The Major frowned.

With an amused smile, Azula simply stated, "Tell me more about this Sierra Bonita Ranch."