CHAPTER NINE
( SAVING THE TOWN )

IT SHOULD HAVE STAYED silent as Aang took in the information – as Sokka was suddenly stunned into silence. Then there was Katara, who sat quietly, sparing Flo a pity expression. Because then, mayb, Flo could have spoken up and said something, or changed the topic in her own awkward, socially inept way. But it didn't stay that way. The Freedom Fighters erupted loudly not even two seconds later. The Duke came up again, waving his arms around in excitement. She she only got the second half of his praise, reeling in her inner panic.

"—so cool! She almost rivals the Yuan Archers, she's that good!"

Pipsqueak joined in from where he sat. "Her aim is scary. Never been so afraid of a little girl before in my life." He chuckled, as if it were a completely normal thing to say.

"Quite sneaky too!" Smellerbee shouted with a smirk. "She's taken fifteen soldiers out all by herself." Her words at the end were emphasized and spoken slowly.

All the while, the Fire Hunter kelt her gaze on the tree bark, refusing to look at the trip she'd been traveling with or any of the Freedom Fighters. But she felt someone staring at her. So, she turned her head. Flo immediately made eye contact with Longshot. They didn't know? he silently asked. She subtly shook her head. He lowered his.

"You... You killed people?" Aang asked. "It was, like, self-defense. Right?" She didn't respond. "Flo?"

There were cracks in her walls and they were instantly being repaired. Her hard expression came back, one the other three hadn't fully seen since Omashu. It's been there in bits and pieces, off and on, here and there. A mask, something to hide her turmoil; something to put distance between herself and them.

"I wanted revenge," she said, maybe a bit harsher than intended, and Aang went to say something but she didn't give him the chance. She harshly removed Jet's arm that was on her shoulders and walked away. Katara called out for her and so did Aang, and Sokka tried to get her to stop as she walked by but she avoided him. She walked away, ignoring them all.

+++

The rest of the night was quiet for her. Flo slept higher up in the trees rather than with everyone else, closer to where Appa slept actually. Sleemo stayed at the tent with the trio, along with Momo, mostly because Flo told her to. Flo had wanted to leave during the night. She really, really did. But she couldn't bring herself to, at least not without a goodbye, and she certainly wasn't going to leave when Aang, Katara, and Sokka were still stuck with Jet, of all people. They tried looking for her, but she didn't show herself, and only minimally relaxed once they all went to bed.

When morning came, she found breakfast, avoided the trio of friends, and eventually went to practice shooting with Longshot when Jet and whoever else went on whatever mission they had planned. Neither archer spoke at all during that time. Longshot just gave her a bunch of his arrows, and then they went off. They spent a few good hours like that. Practiced in silence. It was something Flo hadn't exactly realized she missed until that moment.

Before, the two were arguably the closest, though she knew The Duke would fuss about how it was actually him more than anyone. Maybe once upon a time it had been her and Jet. Boyfriend and girlfriend, two orphaned teens, co-leaders to a bunch of other orphans. A duo to admittedly be reckoned with when fighting together. If that was the case, it was a long time ago and didn't last long at all. So, yes, other than The Duke, Flo could easily say her and Longshot were the closest. Maybe not best friends, but they bonded in a way over the course of the time Flo was with them all. Shooting arrows with him, having a silent competition, felt good. Familiar. It reminded her of home, worse of all – it was more than home, it was like shooting with one of her siblings again – and when Flo realized that she drastically missed her intended target for the first time in a long time. Longshot barely batted an eye. Gave her more arrows. They continued on until their arms got too tired.

Flo walked around the hideout once they got back. She didn't really have any place to be, and she wanted to avoid the others as best as possible. Unfortunately for her, the universe didn't want that to happen, apparently. Katara quickly caught sight of her and waved her over; Sleemo was perched on her shoulder and even though Flo didn't want to interact with them, because that meant talking about what Jet had told them last night, she also wanted her hawk-cat. With a reluctant sigh, Flo made her way over.

"Hey," Katara greeted with a small smile. Flo returned it, tight lipped and awkward as Sleemo jumped onto her shoulder. The weight of the animal made her lean a little but Flo easily fixed her balance. "About last night..."

Flo's brows lowered. She stayed quiet as the other tried to find the right words.

"I'm not upset about it," Katara admitted. "Maybe I should be, I don't know, but I guess I understand." She added quickly when she saw Flo's disbelief look, "Not completely! Obviously. But the Fire Nation did kill my mother, and..."

"Sokka told me," Flo blurted before she could stop herself.

An expression Flo couldn't decipher crossed over her features. "He did?" Katara asked. "Huh."

Flo scratched under Sleemo's chin.

"Do you still want revenge?" she asked hesitantly, cautiously.

Flo didn't know how to answer that. Because yes, she did; but her anger has simmered down since, and she didn't want to continue on killing random soldiers – but she knew she wouldn't hesitate to shoot at the old general who was the cause of her father's death. It was a complicated answer. She felt as if she couldn't just say yes or no so simply. Before she could do so, anyway, both of their attentions quickly tore away from one another as loud pops were heard. They caught sight of Aang jumping around as Momo threw little explosives at his feet. Then, there was Sokka, the boy sitting up against a tree, and he looked annoyed and angry with crossed arms as he ignored what was going on beside him.

Katara gripped onto Flo's wrist before the older girl had a chance to leave. She walked over, forcibly bringing Flo, who noticed something in Katara's other hand along the way. The older teen couldn't exactly tell what it was, though.

"Hey Sokka," Katara greeted. "Is Jet back?"

"Yeah, he's back," Sokka said. "But we're leaving." He looked up and finally noticed Flo. "You too."

Flo blinked. "What?"

"We're leaving, and you're coming with us."

She tried to speak, to understand, because she honestly hadn't expected to leave with them.

"We can discuss the Fire Hunter thing later when we aren't anywhere near Jet," Sokka told her.

"We can't leave," Aang protested before Flo could properly respond.

"Yeah, I made him this hat," Katara said, and lifted up what Flo had noticed a few seconds earlier. They all stared at the hat for a moment. It wasn't anything impressive, really, and Flo didn't have the heart to tell Katara that he wouldn't wear that in a million years.

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug," Sokka said to her.

She was quickly offended, and defended Jet just as fast. "What? No he's not."

"He's messed up, Katara."

Flo nodded. "He's not the best person to be with."

"He's not messed up, he's just got a different way of life," Aang spoke up with a grin. "A really fun way of life! And Flo, everyone has their flaws."

The aforementioned girl looked at him, a bit taken back. It sounded like some sort of jab, a subtle one, but it was said so nicely it honestly made her confused on how to react to it. She pursed her lips and looked away with crossed arms.

"He beat and robbed a harmless old man!" shouted Sokka.

Katara crossed her arms. "I wanna hear Jet's side of the story."

+++

Flo tried to get out of going along with them, she really did, but Aang gave her no choice and dragged her along, and then somehow Katara and Sokka started arguing about who's side Flo was actually on without her own input. Every time she tried to, one of the siblings would start talking again, dramatically motioning with their hands and glaring at one another. Flo quickly learned to just stay out of it. So now she stood with the trio plus Jet in a little hut against her will. Aang – with the hat for Jet sat on top of his head – and Katara stood close to Jet while Sokka stayed away as far as possible. Flo stood in between them, albeit awkwardly because other than Katara, they hadn't exactly talked about last night and she sure wasn't about to talk to Jet about it unless it was to yell at him. Or punch him, again.

"Sokka, you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?" Jet asked after Katara explained what was going on.

Flo's brows furrowed. That tone he used didn't sit well with her.

"No, he conveniently left that part out," Katara answered for her brother.

"Fine! But even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian," Sokka said as he walked over.

"He was an assassin, Sokka," said Jet, like it explained everything. He pulled out a knife and stabbed it into some nearby wood so it stayed in place by itself. The blade was curved, and at the handle four spikes jutted out. At the butt of it there was a ring. "See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife." He twisted at the ring and pulled out a tube with dark red liquid in it. "He was sent to eliminate me. You saved my life, Sokka."

That didn't sound right. Not many knew of where the hideout was, especially people of the Fire Nation. They just knew to be wary of some kids in some trees. None of them personally knew Jet, or even knew of him, well enough to send an assassin. Flo crossed her arms and kept her expression neutral, and when she caught Jet's eyes she didn't roll her eyes like she wanted. He was up to something – and she was going to find out what.

"I knew there had to be an explanation," Katara said.

"I didn't see any knife!" Sokka shouted.

"That's because he was concealing it," Jet explained.

Katara turned to her brother. "See Sokka? I'm sure you just didn't notice the knife."

"There was no knife!" He pressed, frustrated and maybe even hurt that his own sister didn't believe him. "Flo, come on, you have to believe me."

Flo's lips formed into a thin line. She looked at the knife, the small tube, and then quickly at the others. "It wouldn't surprise me if the old man was an assassin," she said, and it wasn't exactly a lie. The Fire Nation would do anything.

He stared for a second. His arms then fell to his sides, and Sokka glared at her. "I'm going back to the hut and packing my things." He turned and then walked out.

She watched as he left and then looked away, only to make eye contact with Jet. He sent her a tiny smirk. She didn't visibly react. If anything, she let boredom overcome her features, while her insides grumbled not so kind things. Without a second thought, Flo left the hut as well. She didn't follow Sokka and she didn't leave. Instead, she silently jumped on the railing nearby and climbed onto a branch right above Jet's hut. She stayed as quiet and still as possible, listening, grateful that no one else was around.

"—guys aren't leaving yet," she heard Jet's voice, tone feigning worry. "I really need your help."

"What can we do?" asked Aang.

"The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest. If you both use your waterbending to fill the reservoir, we could fight off the fires. But if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley."

There was silence for a moment as Katara and Aang took in the information Jet gave them. Flo didn't want to believe Jet, though he did sound convincing and she wouldn't put it past the Fire Nation to burn down an entire forest. She didn't dwell on that, because soon enough Katara was saying something and then rushing out of the hut with Aang on her heels. Flo got down from the tree and quietly walked to the entrance, blocking Jet's leave.

"You're not telling them something." It wasn't a question. Not in the slightest. He might have sounded convincing but Flo also knew Jet. Knew his tones, his games, his expressions, his body language. Her chin tilted up as she stared him in the face. The sixteen year old stared back; his head moved down and slightly to the side as he smirked.

"What? Want in on it?" Jet asked. He won't tell her if she did, she knew that too. He wasn't going to let someone ruin the plans he had.

Flo wanted to say no, but she knew she couldn't. Not when she had a tiny bit of a plan. With crossed arms, Flo shrugged. "Depends. What's in it for me?"

"Why the sudden interest?" he countered back.

Flo didn't answer right away. She finally tore her gaze from Jet's face and let her eyes settle on the wooden railing. "I'm still angry," was what she eventually settled with and made sure to look back at Jet when she did. It wasn't a long explanation or weird heart-to-heart or even a threat. It was, in all honesty, the truth. A type of truth Flo could easily say to anyone. Something that didn't give too much away.

Because she was still angry, but not enough to do what she had all those months ago – not that Jet needed to know that in the current moment.

"So, what's in it for me?" Flo asked again.

Jet's smirk grew tenfold. "A wipeout."

+++

A wipeout.

Just like her answer had been, it was a truth that masked the entire truth. A half-truth. Because, there was going to be a wipeout. A wipeout of troops. Fire Nation troops. Past Flo would be all for it, because back then, to her, Fire Nation soldiers didn't deserve lives. Current Flo hated it. Because, now, she had the sense to realize that some soldiers might be forced to fight, and some might not even want to harm others, and that some might even have innocent families back home.

Just like the village had innocent families. That was going to be wiped out too. It was filled with babies and children and mothers and fathers. Filled with people who probably wanted to live to see the end of the war, if there was an end.

"I'm surprised you didn't blab to Sokka," Jet spoke in a whisper as he led the Freedom Fighters and Flo. "Or the Avatar, for that matter."

It was right before dawn, the sun would be up soon, and that meant the dam would soon be blown up. She got Jet to spill everything to her eventually, just so she would be on the plan better, and it honestly made her sick. She can't let Jet know that, though.

She gave a one shouldered shrug. "Why would I? I hate the Fire Nation. I want them gone."

Nothing was said after that, thankfully. The rest of the walk was quiet, everyone doing their best to not disturb any other living creatures that might possibly be around. Soon enough, they get to the edge of the forest and near a cliff. It was high enough that Flo was able to see the dam, the reservoir, and the village. Flo leaned against the wagon and let the Duke lean against the side of her arm as he sat on the wagon beside her.

"Now listen," Jet started. "You are not to blow the dam until I give the signal. If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive."

The Duke jumped off of the wagon and looked up at Jet. Flo subconsciously fixed his crooked helmet. "But what about the people in the town? Won't they get wiped out too?"

Jet crouched lightly to place a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Look Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation," he said. He then stood straight again and looked between Longshot and Flo. "Now don't blow the dam until I give the signal – got it?"

They nod, then leave in silence. Flo heard Smellerbee say something to someone, but she didn't turn to investigate, even when she heard "ponytail" and Sokka's faint voice afterwards. Instead, she kept a steady walk with Longshot and tried to figure out a way to separate from him to go warn the village. The plan was for both of them to shoot a fire arrow at the blasting jelly on either side of the dam.

Flo wasn't going to do that.

When they got to the tree they were supposed to shoot from, she didn't go up like Longshot did. She stayed at the base of the trunk, and simply watched as her old friend climbed up to a suitable height. Longshot, once settled, looked down at her. There was no hint of surprise on his face. He gradually tilted his head forward and then motioned for her to leave. She didn't move until he looked at her again. Her expression remained neutral as she sent him a two fingered salute. Then, she turned sharply on her heels, and ran in what she hoped was the direction of the town that was about to be flooded.

When footsteps sounded behind her, she pushed harder.

Jet wasn't an idiot. He might be an asshole, but Flo knew he wasn't dumb enough to just allow her to join in on this misison of his without too much second guessing. Flo expected someone to secretly follow them, to watch her every move, so getting chased didn't exactly surprise her. She just hoped Longshot didn't get into too much trouble.

She ran as fast and as hard as she could through the forest, pushing herself more and more to get away from whoever chased her. It wasn't until she got to the bank of the dried up river – that was clearly slowly filling up with water, albeit gradually – when things went wrong. She had been doing well, really, but the bank was slippery with mud and steeper than she expected. Without much warning, the archer slipped and fell with a short shout, arms pinwheeling yet it did little to help her balance. She quickly pushed herself back onto her knees, only to get tackled into the dirt and the small, steady stream. A split second later, a fist came in contact with her cheek.

"Jet guessed you would turn on him again," a young, feminine voice spat out as the archer groaned from the pain.

Flo huffed and forced herself to look up. The girl couldn't be too much younger than herself, if at all, and she looked furious with Flo. "Again?" Flo echoed slowly, voice low. "He's the one with messed up morals attacking innocent old people. He's about to kill some kids! Families."

"It's the Fire Nation," the girl seethed. "They deserve it. And you're not gonna get in the way."

Flo clenched her jaw. She blocked another hit, then wrapped her legs around the girl's waist, locked her ankles together, and flipped them. Flo punched the Freedom Fighter with all her strength, enough to disorient the other teen, and scrambled to stand. Flo breathed heavily as she grabbed the other's arms and pulled her out of the bank and into the grass. Just as she let her go, Appa landed a few feet away. Flo whipped her head in the bison's direction and let herself feel relieved for the shortest moment at noticing Sokka before her legs got kicked out from under her. The Freedom Fighter went to get on top of Flo again, but Flo rolled out of the way and onto one knee, her other leg bent as her foot found solid ground. She slid an arrow into her bow and aimed. She didn't let go. The Freedom Fighter's eyes widened. Out of the corner of her eye, Flo could see Sokka crouched and ready to jump off of Appa.

"I don't want to hurt you," Flo said. "And I won't, if you just let me do the right thing."

The other girl glared. "Jet's right. You've gone soft."

Flo didn't exactly know how to respond to that. So, she didn't. She slowly stood, arrow still aimed at the teen, and started to make her way to Appa. Once she got close enough, she put the arrow in the quiver and settled the bow on her back. Sokka silently reached down and Flo jumped, their hands clasping each other's forearms, and she climbed onto Appa's head with his help, instantly flying off.

"You okay?" Sokka asked.

Flo nodded, and startled slightly when Sleemo abruptly landed in her lap. "Let's just save the village." She cut her eyes over to him. "You followed us," she stated.

It was Sokka's turn to nod. "And you joined back with Jet, though clearly it was to learn the truth, which I gotta say is pretty smart. It kinda shocked me at first seeing you there, but I figured you had to be up to something."

"Yeah," Flo muttered. "How did you get away?"

Sokka smirked. "Let's just say Pipsqueak and Smelly Kid–."

"Smellerbee."

"–yeah, Smellerbee aren't great at knot-tying." He paused. "Also, they're in those monkey traps at the moment."

Flo whipped her head to the side, mouth agape. She quickly closed and blinked, thoroughly surprised. She didn't say anything, either. One, because she really didn't know what to say to that. And two, because they spotted the village. Sokka quickly got Appa to land to too far away from the entrance and both teenagers slid off of the bison. They ran to the village without a second's thought and Sokka wasted no time in shouting his warning at the soldiers and villagers around them.

Flo stuck right beside him, wary of the soldiers, and carefully watched as one walked closer to them followed by a couple others. "You really expect us to believe you?" one of them asked. "You could be spies setting a trap for us!"

"We're not spies," Flo said. Her tone was snappier than intended, if Sokka's slightly panicked eyes were anything to go by in that split second. "The dam is about to be blown up by the group of kids in the woods."

"Everyone needs to leave and get to higher ground!" Sokka yelled to the crowd.

A soldier close by moved even closer. "You kids are causing too much ruckus. I suggest you be the ones to leave–."

"Wait!" An old, shaky voice shouted, and a split second later a wrinkly old man with a cane stepped through the crowd. "We can trust the boy. He's the one who kept the boy in the trees from harming me." There was a pause as everyone looked at the man. "I believe they are telling the truth."

Another beat of silence. Then, the soldiers moved into action. Flo and Sokka stayed to help for a moment or two, just to make sure no one got left behind, and then they left the villagers and soldiers once they were everything would be okay, hurrying to Appa to get back to Katara and Aang.

+++

"Jet – you monster!" Flo heard Katara's voice as got closer, sounding equal parts furious and hurt.

"This was a victory Katara. Remember that," he told her. His act to keep her and Aang in the dark was obviously gone. "The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe."

"It will be safe," Sokka spoke up as they got to where the others were on the surface on the cliff. "Without you," he added.

Katara and Aang turned at his voice, and their faces lit up as they shouted their names in happiness and relief. Meanwhile, Jet looked at them with shock. Flo got off of Appa and walked towards him, taking the sheathed dagger off of her as she did so. "We warned the villagers of your plan," she said.

"What?!"

When she got close enough, she dropped the dagger at his feet and turned to walk back to Appa without another word as Sokka finished up the story about saving the village. She motioned for Aang and Katara to get on the bison as well.

"Flo!" Jet shouted. "Sokka, you're both fools! We could've freed this valley!"

"Who would be free?" Sokka asked. "Everyone would be dead."

"You traitors!"

"No, Jet," he started, almost sadly, "You became the traior when you stopped protecting innocent people."

"Katara. Please... Help me," Jet begged.

Katara looked down and away from him, and walked away to get in the saddle. "Goodbye, Jet."

Flo grinded her teeth together and started to climb into the saddle as well, but when she heard Jet start to speak up to her – "Flo, I know you! Don't think I d-" – she spun around and shot an arrow at him. The arrow cut him off, grazing the top of his right cheekbone before lodging itself into the tree bark. She stomped over to him, ignoring the others' protests. "No, Jet, you don't know me!" she snapped, and dismissed how her voice cracked halfway through. "You know me from a year ago when I was blinded by my anger, and when you used me as a killer. Yes, I am still angry, but I can't go killing an entire nation's army because of it! That makes me no better than them. I've changed. Alright? Instead of killing, I'm protecting.

"I'm protecting three sometimes dumb kids so the Avatar can get to where he needs to be, and so none of them will get hurt or worse. And now, that includes protecting them from you." She harshly poked at his ice covered chest. He not so subtly squirmed under her harsh gaze. "So I swear if I ever see you near them again, especially Katara, I will not hesitate to shoot an arrow in you. Understand?"

Jet just stared at her for a moment. Brown eyes were hard with anger and his mouth was set into a firm, straight line. Then, ever so slowly, he nodded.

Flo lifted a hand and yanked the arrow out of the tree. "Good," she whispered, keeping the pointed tip of the arrow near his face threateningly. "I don't want to kill anymore. But if I have to, to keep them safe, then so be it." Finally, she turned and left. She jogged back over to the others and got in the saddle, settling against the side as Sokka muttered a 'yip, yip' so they could leave.

"What did you say to him at the end?" Katara asked cautiously. The brunette eyed the archer as she slipped off the quiver from her back. "It was too quiet for us to hear."

Flo kept her head lowered as she settled the arrow with the others. "Just another threat," she said. Silence fell over the group for a minute. Flo ran her pointer finger over the upper limb of the bow as it rested in her lap. "I, uh," she started and cleared her throat. Being the one to start a conversation was awkward, to say the least. Everyone looked to her; even Sokka, who climbed into the saddle after getting Appa to fly in the right direction. "I don't like being the Fire Hunter, by the way."

"You don't?" Sokka asked. He sounded a little skeptical.

She shook her head. "Nope. I mean... At first I thought I was doing some good. I thought it would help me...grieve, I guess. Really, it just made it worse." She paused, frowning. "Now I just find it ironic that a bunch of men and women are scared of a fifteen year old." She didn't say that being the cause of someone else's death could be nightmare inducing.

Aang shifted a little closer to her, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw him pull his knees to his chest. "What about the General Jet mentioned?" he asked quietly. She instantly tensed.

"I'm still angry," she forced herself to admit a second time. "I don't want to... But, uh," Flo licked her lips and shrugged. "I don't know."

"...Oh."

Flo harshly bit her bottom lip and risked glancing over at Aang. She wasn't good at reading into deep emotions on people, but on the surface she could tell that he at least looked hurt. Maybe confused. Momo sat in his lap now, and at not seeing Sleemo anywhere close by Flo knew that the hawk-cat was more than likely with either one of the siblings or flying beside Appa. She bit back a sigh and fixed the cloak on her shoulders. But she suddenly lifted her head and looked straight at Katara.

"You're okay, right?" Flo asked the younger girl.

Katara blinked. Then her lips curled into a tiny smile. "I'm hurt by what Jet tried to do and how he tricked me and Aang, but... Other than that, I'm okay."

Flo gave a short nod.

The silence that fell over them after that was tense, though Flo expected nothing else.

***

A/N— I meant to update this sooner, especially since it's been written for a month, but life got in the way, so sorry!! I had to babysit my nieces and nephews a lot the past few weeks so that + going to work when they need me left little time for me to properly edit and post this chapter lmao. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Admittedly it's not the best but Flo yells at Jet so that makes up for it (in my opinion at least).

By the way, in the next chapter (which is already written and another reason I didn't update sooner bc I wanted to finish it first) Flo is, in the simplest terms, hella depressed and at the end has a nightmare & a panic attack. Just a little fyi! If you want me to, I'll put a warning at the beginning of the chapter

But yeah, that's all I think. Thanks for reading!! xx