Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: No, of course not. They produced one of the most beloved cartoons of all time. I'm not going to sit here and claim I could have done that better.

Zigzagdoublezee: Was it the hook swords on the flag which gave it away?

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Jet, it turned out, had been very busy indeed since Yue had seen him last. A vast military camp had been set up in the deep interior of a forest, with both rows of tents, stables, an armoury, and everything else a military might need surrounded by a palisade at ground level and a network of treehouses high above.

Yue could see people peering down from those treehouses as they approached. All of them looked heartbreakingly young, and all were dressed in some variation of white and blue clothing, much like her own.

Now that this had occured to Yue, she found it puzzling. Why was an army in the Earth Kingdom dressing like one from the Water Tribe?

But she didn't have long to ponder it. Their arrival had caused quite a stir. Sokka gestured for her to stand up, and then helped her to her feet, followed a moment later by Suki and Katara. Soldiers, both men and women, stared at them as they went past, armed with expensive looking weapons of all kinds. Some of them were clearly captured from the Fire Nation.

For a moment, they were greeted with silence apart from the rumbling of cartwheels and the grunting of ostrich-horses.

Then a voice cried out.

"Three cheers for the Avatar!"

And there was commotion as a roar of approval rose from the gathered masses. Yue felt her cheeks burning. She had been centre of attention before- being a princess of the water tribe and having her distinctive appearance guaranteed that- but never like this.

A group on Ostrich-horses trotted towards the cart, the soldiers parting to let them past, and Yue recognised the rider in the lead. His hair was longer, his clothes were a little nicer, and he carried himself with more of a dignified air, but otherwise Jet looked exactly the same as he had the last time she had seen him. He was dressed in a very similar fashion to her.

Next to him, several others rode. Chief among them was Longshot, his bow slung over his back. He nodded as he approached them.

His face split into a smile as he spotted them and he raised a hand to wave.

"Well, well, well," he said happily. "If it isn't Avatar Yue. Welcome to the Glorious Freedom and Liberation Army of the Central Valleys. But everyone just calls us the Freedom Fighters for short."

"Did you do all this?" Yue asked, impressed.

"Most of it," Jet shrugged. "But really, it's you I have to thank for it."

"Why?"

"You saved my life, didn't you?" Jet said. "I would have died a lowly charioteer, killed in a failed ambush in the opening days of the war, if not for you."

he gestured to his clothes.

"So I hope you don't mind, but I've tried to honour you ever since. The uniforms we wear, the white and blue? They're modelled after you. And the banners, with the crossed swords, that's the North Pole's moon symbol there with them. You're a symbol of hope, Avatar. To all these people."

Yue's head had suddenly started spinning. Jet had been consciously moulding his new army in her image?

"I hope you're being careful," Rinzen frowned at Jet. "One wrong move and you'll end up tarnishing her image as well as yours."

"Don't worry, I know that," Jet grinned. "My mission is to protect, and I take it very seriously."

"There were only two of you last time we saw you," Katara said, looking around. "How did you manage this all so quickly?"

Jet looked somber.

"The Fire Nation pushed through quickly," he said, "their armies destroyed the Earth King's army here, and left people unprotected. So when we started raiding Fire Nation supply convoys, we began attracting recruits. More recruits meant we could do more ambitious things, which meant more recruits as we became more visible. We went from being able to do hit and run attacks on the Fire Nation to being able to protect villages full time. That includes my home village, where my family live."

He gestured around him.

"We were joined by recruits from those villages, soldiers from defeated Royal armies who were not ready to give up the fight, and anyone else who wanted to have a go at the Fire Nation. Even a couple of entire regiments, which gave us a lot of necessary experience. And that's before our benefactor stepped in."

"Your benefactor?"

"We got a letter from a man who calls himself a wealthy patriot," Jet explained, "Offering to supply us. So now he- well, they, apparently he's roped in some rich friends to help now- sends us weapons, the white uniforms, mounts for our cavalry and anything else we might need and can't get from raiding the Fire Nation or from grateful villagers. And it's the good stuff too."

"Does he want anything in return?" Suki asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at that.

"He hasn't said," Jet told her. "Maybe he is genuinely motivated by honest love of country like the rest of us. But if I had to guess, a Fire Nation victory would be bad for business."

He dismounted his Ostrich-horse and gestured for them to come down from their cart. Once they had, he spread his arms as if for a hug.

"It's good to see you again," he said. "I heard what happened at the South Pole. A great victory."

Yue nodded. Jet turned his attention to Suki, and bowed theatrically.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure," he said. "My name is Jet."

"Suki," Suki returned the bow, looking him up and down. "Honoured to meet you."

"Indeed " Jet straightened up again. "This calls for a celebration. You will stay a while?"

"Well... we do need to keep moving-" Sokka began. Yue nodded, remembering Aang's warning about the Great Comet making its way inexorably through the cosmos towards them.

"Of course," Jet said, "but there's no reason you can't stay here a while is there?"

"There are not one but two evil Firebender royals out to get us," Katara told him.

"Oh, that'll be fine. What are two people going to do about all of us?" Jet clapped his hands. "You'll be safe here. There'll be food, and dancing, and music. And then you can tell me exactly what you've been doing since we last saw you."

Sokka stopped.

"... Food?" He said hopefully.

"Yes," Jet laughed. "And now I have your attention. Come with me. We have a lot to talk about."