The huge stone doors open at the beckoning of Earth-bending soldiers. The four look around in amazement as they realize they are in the City of Dreams (Ba Sing Se).

Kara:

Here we are. Ba Sing Se. Also nicknamed the City of Dreams by one disgruntled Empress Dowager, Azula.

Mo:

Kara, where do we head from here.

Kara: We need to head on to the inner circle where we will be tested and processed.

Jasmine: All this belongs to me?

Kara: Your humility astonishes me. Even among cities, Ba Sing Se is one of the greatest.

Shalini: We should head to the inner office to register.

The four take the train and carriage to the Elite Task force office. They fill up the application forms presented to them at the front desk.

Receptionist: You four are in luck. We can do your screening and testing now. This way please.

The four are shown to a waiting room where they busily fill out their application forms.

Mo: Kara, you are going to put that you are a firebender right.

Kara: I have my mothers looks. Perhaps, one last thing Princess Azumi can do for the world.

The four fill up their application forms.

Receptionist: Thank you. The four of you will be interviewed by His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Aaron and Her Royal Highness, Princess Joslin of the Fire Nation.

Kara: Thank you for your assistance.

Receptionist: Just enter one by one when you hear the bell.

The four wait fifteen minutes for the first bell to sound. Kara is the first to go through the door to a small room with a chair placed in the middle. In the corner the glimpse of a stoic man and a slender frame are observed. The Prince and Princess graciously ask their guest to sit.

Aaron: Kara Anne Syfildias, am I right?

Kara: Yes, Your Royal Highness.

Joslin: Please tell us your motivations to join our elite task force.

Kara: Like my mother, I am a gifted firebender. Calm, cool and calculated, my mother was a force to be reckoned with. However, like the firebenders in exile, she, or rather we believed in a Fire nation that was equal to all nations rather than a Fire Nation ruling the rest as a superior nation. I passionately believe that the Avatar's idea of balance is key to bringing out the optimum in each nation.

She believed in freedom. She joined the rebels. Until one day, our journeys brought her close to the Oo Long forest. There we met Fire Nation Inquisitors determined to wipe out stragglers of the Fire Nation. In a bid to protect me, my mother sacrificed her life.

I watched my mother die right in front of my eyes. That was the day I decided that my mother's sacrifice shall not be in vain and that I would devote my life to the service of the Avatar and hers or his ideals of balance.

Joslin: I am sorry to hear that. My Aunty died in a similar way too. I never knew her but not having the opportunity to know her hurts. You have my deepest sympathies.

Kara: That is very kind of you to say, Your Royal High… I mean Your Majesty.

Joslin: Please call me Joslin.

Kara: I believe your aunt was a blessing to the world in having fought for what she believed in.

Aaron: And where have you been since you left the Fire Nation?

Kara: I have been with the Earth Kingdom villages, living to protect the people of your villages from Fire Nation raids at the outskirts of the city.

Joslin: Do you know anything other than firebending?

Kara: Yes. I can bend lightning too.

Joslin: I see that your mother's lost has resulted in no emotional turmoil in you?

Kara: In fact, it has made my mission, my goal… or rather my life's purpose clearer than ever. I have no doubt that defeating Princess Azula, Prince Azulon and Princess Jaslin is key to restoring balance in the world.

Joslin: How do you differentiate your views from what you have to do? I have known that Jaslin was brought up her whole life believing that the Fire Nation should enslave other nations and she is devoted to an ideal instilled in her by those who brought her up. I can't take a swing at her without feeling that she is an innocent pawn in someone else's game.

Kara: She made her choice when you left the Fire Nation while she decided to stay. She has made her choice and so have we. There is no innocence when we make a choice, whether good or bad. It is in fact the opposite of innocence to make a choice for innocence is ignorance in its subtlest form.

Joslin: You speak from experience?

Kara: More from ambition.

Joslin: And what is your ambition.

Kara: To bring peace to the world.

Aaron: Big talk for a nameless face.

Kara: Perhaps.

Joslin: Your answers are mature and logical. We see you becoming an asset to the elite task force. If you pass your testing phase, we are happy to have you in our beloved task force.

Kara: That would be an honour, Your Majesty.

Kara curtsies to both the royals and heads back through the door.

Aaron: Don't you find that strange?

Joslin: Sorry, I don't follow?

Aaron: Her mother dies the same way your Aunt dies. There is something perculiar don't you think?

Joslin: Aaron, many families from my nation fled the Fire Nation during the coup in a bid to stay safe. I don't think you can rule out the possibility that two people met the same fate?

Aaron: That is true. However, I don't believe in coincidences.