I'm only putting this one up the same day, without any reviews because the story doesn't really start without this. So, don't expect two chapters in one day (I don't write this fast usually) or a new chapter without the previous having any reviews.

Second chapter. Yeah. Don't own Avatar tear

Jet (and Smellerbee and Long Shot, of course) come into the story at this point. Takes place relatively the same time as the first chapter. It's just Jet, Smellerbee and Long Shot rather than Katara's POV of what is going on in the final Book 2 chapters. Enjoy :)

Oh, and I haven't written any fight scenes before so... Yeah.

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We are the ones, we get knocked down, we get back up and stand above the crowd. We are one. We are the ones, we get knocked down, we get back up and stand above the crowd. We are one. – One X by Three Days Grace

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It was the first time that Long Shot had spoken aloud to someone (let alone an entire group) other than Jet or Smellerbee. It was also the first time that Long Shot had given out anything close to an order. His words left almost no room for argument (didn't stop Katara, of course. Jet had to take care of that) shocking the entire group. Even having been one of his closest 'confidents,' Smellerbee had never seen this side of him.

As the door behind them shut, Long Shot notched an arrow and pointed it at the other opening. "Jet? Smellerbee?" His quiet voice spoke again, "Are you two going to be able to fight?"

Jet smirked lightly and winced as he switched into a sitting position, "If Smellerbee will go grab my other hook sword, I will be." Smellerbee immediately ran to where Jet had thrown his sword and raced back to help him stand up, "It's going to take more than a huge rock to keep this Freedom Fighter down." He grasped the two swords and walked slowly to Long Shot before settling into a battle stance. Even though he was woozy on his feet, he knew this could be his final stand, and it was going to be one that the Fire Nation, and these Earth Kingdom freak benders would never forget.

Long Shot allowed a small smile to grace his face before it went back to a stoic expression, "Smellerbee?" He needed to say nothing after, because the small girl rose to her feet and drew the dagger from under her clothes and unsheathed the longer dagger that was resting on her back. That, combined with the feral look in her eyes, was all the confirmation the two boys needed to know that she was in this until the end.

They all were.

They had nothing to lose.

As if in slow motion, Jet counted out fifteen Dai Li agents rushing through the opening with three more staying at the entrance. Which made... Six for each of them to take on, if he did his math correctly. Mental math had never really been his strong suit, and the incredible pain he was in was somewhat blocking his cognitive functions. Ever being the leader, Jet whispered "Long Shot, can you get the three at the door?" The other boy chewed his lip and nodded lightly, "Alright, Smellerbee and I will cover you." He turned his head to the girl, "I'll take the left, you take the right?"

"Whatever you say, Jet." She said with a grin.

For a moment, neither side moved a muscle, waiting for the other side to make the first move. Smirking, Jet whistled a bird call, bringing back memories for the three of the time spent in the forest and signaling Long Shot into action. He whistled back, and his arrow flew through the air and struck the Dai Li agent at the shoulder, the one place the armor didn't cover. He crumpled, and the rest sprung into action.

True to their word, Jet and Smellerbee guarded Long Shot as he shot arrow after arrow at the Dai Li at the opening. The three were constantly moving, doing their best to avoid having their feet restrained. It would be all over for them, then.

A pair of rock gloves shot towards Smellerbee who, using one dagger to stop them, spun around quickly to baseball hit it back to the agent in front of her. She ducked sharply as two rocks came hurtling at her from either side, narrowly avoiding being stuck in between them.

Jet had taken a much less defensive approach and had run straight to the troop of Dai Li, despite his wounds making it extremely painful. He hooked two of the agent's feet and brought the swords together, effectively making the two hit each other, knocking them out quickly. A rock sent from his right nailed him on his side and he gasped in pain, nearly letting his swords fall. Grunting in agony he picked himself up and charged towards the one who hit him. One sword hooked his left ankle, the other hooking under the agent's right armpit. He was flipped and out before he could draw up any earth to stop him.

Thanks to Long Shot's accuracy (hitting, and incapacitating, seven more) as well as Jet and Smellerbee's attacks, they were down to six Dai Li. Unfortunately, Jet was tiring, Long Shot was running low on arrows, and Smellerbee was getting attacked from all sides. She had completely abandoned fighting, and was now totally on the defensive.

Running a tactical eye over the scene, Jet signaled for them to change tactics. Long Shot abandoned taking out those closest to the door in favor of those who were going after Smellerbee, and Jet took up fighting the ones at the door. A quick slide (and on the way taking down another agent), Jet was at the door, and with a few fancy foot moves, Long Shot was in place to help out Smellerbee.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the archer take a stance and draw an arrow, but also at the same time glared at the boys. They knew she could hold her own. But she had no time for anger, as it was taking all her energy dancing from side to side, avoiding the rocks that were being thrown at her. Her annoyances ebbed away as the onslaught of rocks being hurled her way started to slow down to nothing. Long Shot had gotten the four surrounding her swiftly and she smiled at him in gratitude. He gave her a small grin and the two turned to Jet, who was in a dead lock against the final agent.

This time, Long Shot initiated the whistle. Jet smiled smugly at the Dai Li in front of him and stepped to the side, whistling back at the same time. The agent looked confused for a millisecond before his eyes dulled and he dropped to the ground.

Jet imitated the Dai Li agent, crumpling to the ground as well. The adrenaline that was pumping through his body during the fight was waning, his body was starting to shut itself down. "Long Shot? Smellerbee?" His voice was weak, life force fading, "Good job." His body slumped over, and his companions rushed over.

"Jet!" Smellerbee shook his shoulder, hard. "Jet, stay with us!"

He faintly took her hand, "This was a great victory. Too bad most of them won't remember it." He chuckled, "I have this feeling that none of them are going to recall this fight for quite some time." He glanced to Long Shot, "Take care of her for me?"

Long Shot shook his head, "No." Smellerbee and Jet looked at him, shocked, "Not alone. You're going to be there with me."

"Yeah, Jet." Smellerbee said, "Wait. I don't need you two to take care of me! I can do fine all on my own!" She furrowed her eyebrows, "But you're going to be there. You're going to be there, and we're going to help Aang and Sokka and Toph and Katara in saving the world. And then we're going to find a place for us to start over – really start over."

At the mention of Katara's name Jet blushed and a warm smiled graced his face, "Katara..." He started to drift off, but not before mumbling, "Can she start over with us?"

"Of course she can." Long Shot looked at him pitifully, "Smellerbee, we need to move him. We need to move him, now."

The girl nodded furiously, "Fine by me. How are we going to get him out?"

Long Shot grabbed Jet's upper body and started to drag him our the entrance, "Same way we came in. If we have any luck at all, the pathway will still be there." He wasn't an idiot, he knew there was a large chance that there was no way for them to get out, but at this point hope was all they had. "Can you grab his legs? I don't want to have the drag sound catch anyone's attention."

"This is the most I've ever heard you say. Ever. Craziness." Smellerbee picked up his feet effortlessly but made a face as she did so, "I hate feet. This is disgusting." She shuddered, looking at them again, "Where have you been walking, Jet?"

Starting to resume his silent persona, Long Shot quietly responded, "Same places you have."

"Well, my feet certainly don't smell this bad." Nothing else was said until the trio reached the ladder leading up to the hatch. "Now what?" Long Shot chewed on his bottom lip, trying to figure out a way that the two of them could get Jet's body up the ladder, "I'm going to try to wake him up. See if he's able to climb by himself, because there is no way that I can carry him." She let his feet fall to the ground and went up to Jet's face, slapping it lightly, "Jet. Jet. JET! Wake up!"

One bleary eye opened lazily, "Smellerbee? Wha... Long Shot, why are you holding me up?" He squirmed out of Long Shot's hold, and struggled to his feet, "I can do that myself." Long Shot raised an eyebrow, "Alright. Maybe I can't at the moment." The archer nodded his head over to the ladder, "I need to climb that?" Smellerbee gave an affirmative squeak, "Here goes nothing." Jet's first attempt was a failure, barely making it up one rung before falling down, the next two were no better. "Okay, that's it, ladder. No mercy." He took out his two hook swords, "Maybe this'll work." He reached one hook up, and then the other and pulled himself up off of the ground. "Good enough."

Smellerbee snorted with laughter at Jet's mode of transportation. But it was effective, and the three reached the top, with Long Shot pushing the hatch door open, relatively effortlessly.

Luck was smiling on them as it seemed the Dai Li agents they fought had not bended away the pathway to shore. Slowly but surely, the three Freedom Fighters made their way to shore and started the daunting journey back to Ba Sing Se. Jet needed a healer, and finding one there was their best bet. And if they couldn't find one, well, at least he'd have a bed to lie on.

"To Ba Sing Se?"

"To Ba Sing Se."

The trek was long, and hot, and several times Jet started to nod off again. Smellerbee and Long Shot took turns keeping him awake and walking further ahead to see how far away they were from the city.

Far, apparently. Very far.

It was approaching sundown when Smellerbee ran back to Jet and Long Shot, "I see the city!" She pointed to a small hill, "It's right over that hill."

"Good." Jet smirked, "I'm tired of carrying all of Long Shot's weight." He patted him lightly on the back, "He's getting pretty heavy." Long Shot looked offended before laughing slightly.

Their 'home' was a pitiful place. One room in the lower ring, with a single chair, and a solitary bed, if it could even be called that. A pile of carefully arranged straw would be a better term for it. But whatever it was, Jet collapsed on it, completely exhausted. "Jet. I know this is going to sound totally weird but... Strip. Now." Smellerbee said forcefully.

Long Shot bowed his head, hiding a smile.

"Uh... Okay." Jet tossed his swords to the side, and started taking off his clothes, piece by piece. The armor went first, followed by his tunic to which Smellerbee let out a gasp, "Do I need to take off my pants as well? Cuz, I'll do it ya know."

Smellerbee flushed, "No, no. This is all I need to see." She blushed even brighter as he ran her hands over his abdomen to feel for the injuries, "Spirits, Jet... How... Long Shot! Come over here." The archer sauntered over, and raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"What? What is it?" Jet's worried voice broke the two out of their reverie.

Smellerbee was almost giddy, "It's just bruising. Jet, it's just bruising. I don't know what happened... Maybe Katara did heal you, at least to some extent. I'm obviously not an expert but... It looks like you're going to be okay. Just... in some major chest pain for a while."

Jet, while happy, amusingly asked, "That's great, but uh... Do you mind not feeling me up anymore? While I'm quite flattered, I would like to get my clothes back on, we have things we need to do, and it's quite difficult with you laying on top of me."

Smellerbee jumped back, her blush intensifying to where the face paint was indiscernible from her face. "Sorry, sorry." She stammered, "Here are your clothes." She thrust them towards Jet and turned around, oblivious to the silent laughter the two boys were sharing at her expense. "I'll just be... over here. In the corner."

Long Shot, still laughing spoke up softly, "What things do we need to do?"

Jet had finished with the tunic, and was now gathering up his various pieces of armor, "All those things you said we were going to do when we got out of the cavern. You know, help the Avatar and all that." Smellerbee perked up at that, "Yes, Smellerbee. I was listening to you. I didn't just hear you say Katara. And yes, I would like to start over with her. Both times we've started off on the wrong foot. I'd like an honest relationship with her..." He finished by putting his two swords back into place. "And now that I've finished getting dressed, I've finished opening up. Only when I'm unclothed will I say what I truly want to."

"Then Katara better get used to you with no shirt on."

"Shut it, Long Shot. No one asked you."

The embarrassment long gone, Smellerbee scrunched her face up, "How're we gonna help the Avatar? I was just putting that out there. We don't even know where he's going."

"We'll find him, Smellerbee." Jet said confidently, "We'll find them, and get the rest of the Freedom Fighters back. And offer up our services. Spirits know that they'll need all the help they can get. And our group was pretty good at giving the Fire Nation trouble, right?" She nodded, "So, what do you all say to having a little reunion? I, for one, have missed The Duke."

"The Freedom Fighters are getting back together?"

Jet smiled, "And we're going to help take the Fire Nation by storm."