Hokay here we go, this is my first ATLA fic, so be brutal. I can take it.This is a story set about 3 years postwar, with the main characters we all know and love having lost. I just got bored of almost every story I read being about them winning, so I'm turning the tables.

Disclaimer- I don't own ATLA in any way shape or form, but I do own the plot in front of you so don't steal it.

The sun quietly rose, not yet alerting it's presence to the people of the lower districts in the capital city of the Fire Nation. The ocean waves lapped slightly up against the dock. A couple stray crab-seagulls took flight from a stray pole in the middle of the bay. A feminine silhouette watched from the docks, waiting.

"He should have been here by now." she mumbled to herself and turned her golden gaze upon the sky.

"And here he is." a deep voice said and she spun around. Yes, it was him. A black cloak covered the majority of his form, all except for his official military boots and a spark of the man's pale cheek.

"You better have the money" she told him, her voice cold enough to freeze the lava from the great volcanoes that surrounded the city in the distance

"You better watch your mouth or I'll have you arrested for treason"

"And risk me talking?"

"Who do you think they would listen to, a measly lower class women or a guard to his lordship?"

"A measly lower class women who can prove it. I think you're forgetting what I'm capable of." his patch of visible vanilla skin paled.

"Here" he tossed her a bag of coins. She felt the weight in her hand and nodded

"Excellent."

Jade sped past the stands as fast as her feet could carry her and into the restaurant's back entrance and yanked her apron over her head, slipping through the doors just before the 8am alarm went off. She grabbed her tray and moved herself to serve.

"May I take your order?" she asked a group of noble men.

"Jasmine Tea." they chorused and she nodded, turning and heading back behind the door into the kitchen to get the order. She started by pulling a few finely illustrated tea cups from the shelf and arranging them on the dish.

"You were almost late today." Kayko said, coming up behind her to grab some tea cups as well.

"Well I'm here now, aren't I?" she responded, grabbing the mixture of herbs for Jasmine tea and placing a bit in each. She looked up at the tea pot, seeing it wasn't boiling yet she sighed. Kayko looked at her and grinned, reaching forward and placing her hand on it, bringing the water to a boil. Jade rolled her eyes

"Show off." she said and grabbed the covered handle to pour some water into the cup. Kayko placed a bit of the Jade mixture in the bottom of the cups on her tray and took the water pot. "Why don't you apply for a master?" Jade spoke up to Kayko as she poured her water.

"Because if I do that I will have to fight, and I don't want to be sent off to fight."

"But we won the war! If you learn to fight the worst that could happen is you could be sent to guard somewhere on the Great Continent." She shook her head

"The av…" Jade covered her friends mouth

"Don't speak it, you'll be accused of treason." she whispered to her and pulled back. Kayko glared at her momentarily before picking up her tray and walking away. Jade sighed, she knew her next door neighbor was stubborn and believed that the avatar will defeat the Fire Lord. How she can still believe that is almost unbelievable, the Avatar died 3 years ago in the attack on the day of no sun. She was 16 then, since then this belief has installed itself in her and she believes that the avatar is still alive. Jade shook her head and returned to her work of serving tea to the old generals who had returned when the Fire Nation finally took over the Water Tribes last month.

"We made a deal." the voice in the shadows said. A lone rat crawled from one of the buildings to another across the narrow alley they stood in. Her entire body was covered by the dark shadows, only her golden eyes shown though the darkness.

"I know, I tried but the palace suspects something. I can't just complete my task!"

"Then try harder. I do not except failure as an option."

"Yes master"

"Staff meeting." The manager called as they closed up the tea shop that night. Jade looked over at Kayko as she continued to wash down the last of the oak tables. We hurried up and hurried into the back area to listen to the staff meeting. "I have been called overseas to help out in the dimming down of the lessening numbers of earth rebels. As a result, I have sold the tea shop to a larger chain and 50 of you will lose your jobs. If you receive more than usual on your paycheck, then you have been fire. Have a nice life." The manager said and began to hand out the small envelops with the pay in it. Jade and Kayko glanced at each other as they received their pay, then walked out without looking.

"I say we open on 3." Jade started and Kayko nodded as the background changed from the basically motionless tea house to the bustling streets of the lower districts. She stepped over a pile of broken wood "1"

"2" Jade said

"3" They said at the same time and opened their envelopes.
"Well I'm out." Kayko said, closing her envelope and putting it inside of her pale red robe near her cleavage.

"Me too," Jade said, mimicking her actions. The two of them watched down the street, past all the stands and heaps of crap on the ground. Kayko's eyes narrowed suddenly,

"Who's that?" she asked and Jade turned her head to see a boy standing near on of the stands, observing the jerky. His skin was darker than either of them has seen, and his hair was long and hide most of his face from the world. He was dressed similar to most of the boys around here, dark red trousers and a white shirt with red accents here and there.

"I don't know." Jade mumbled. "Lets introduce ourselves." She gave Kayko and look and she smiled.

"Yes, lets." The two girls approached the boy and stood a few feet behind him. The boy thanked the vender for the jerky and turned around, running into the girls.

"Sorry." he said and tried to walk by them

"Hi." they chorused. The boy kept his hair covering his face, so you couldn't see his eyes or what he was thinking.

"Uh, hi." he said and tried to walk around them again. They stepped in his path once again.

"What's your name?"

"Uhh, Haru"

"Well. I'm Kayko." Kayko said

"And I'm Jade."

"You're new around here aren't you?"

"You must be, we know everyone in the lower districts."

"Where are you from?"

"How old are you?"

"What's your craft?" The girls bombarded him with questions, then followed it with an awkward silence, before bursting out laughing.

"Okay, okay. We're sorry to bombard you. We like to tease when new people move into the lower districts. We've lived here our entire lives, ane this is diffidently an everybody knows everybody type area. Come on, we'll treat you to dinner, at Kayko's family bar." Jade said and took his elbow crook. Kayko took the other.

"That's Jade. You always here us referred to as Kayko and Jade or Jade and Kayko. We've been best friends since like ever, and we know everybody in this part of town." Kayko told him

"Even if she is a little crazier than me." Jade said in a matter of fact voice. The trio came upon a swinging door and pushed open the door. Inside was a bustle. The sun had started setting already, so the tavern was filling up from gates on opposite sides. A group of musicians played fast, catchy mood setting tunes to the left of the bar. A large young man stood behind the bar. Several tables were set up around the tavern as well as a dance floor. People stood around, talking and such, drinking mugs full of booze.

"Come on." Kayko said "Lets get a table." she grabbed his forearm and dragged him across the tavern, Jade disappearing into the crowd. She sat him down at a table.

"So, Haru." she said, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. "Tell me, what province are you from?"

"The Northern Earth Kingdom, I never was a bright boy and still can never remember the name of ih…"

"Ah, are you from Toukan Chi?" Kayko asked him

"Yeah, that's it." the boy responded to her,

"Drinks!" Jade yelled and put down 3 small bottles of rum on the table. "I convinced your brother to give me some rum for us. He was all "you know that your parents don't want you drinking" and I was like "aw come on don't be a party pooper." and he gave me some. Isn't that awesome?"

"Of course, seducing my brother is always awesome."

"Shut up." Jade said and sat down. "So, Haru. Do you dance?"

"I've got two left feet." Jade tilted her head t the side and stood up.

"Well that's too bad. Come on Kayko, lets dance."

"We just got laid-off and all you want to do is dance?"

"Yep!"

"Fine." Kayko got up and the two girls went off into the dance floor.

Sokka sat there, waiting for something to happen. When that guard had released him and gave him money, all he had said was 'she will find you'.

"You came in with Kayko and Jade?" a voice said and a guy slid into the chair next to him.

"Yeah."

"Do you understand what that means?"

"No, not really."

"Those two know everyone. They keep to themselves for the most part, but everyone wants to be their friend. For you to just come in here and them to befriend you must mean that you have something about you that they like."

"Tell me about them."

"Well, Kayko's family owns this bar, they live behind it. For years Jades family lived next door, but then when the fire nation won the war the city was unstable and having a large house with 6 people in it was unsafe. So Jade's family moved in with them. The two have always been close, both of them love people. But after the war ended, Kayko grew more silent and sarcastic. The two stayed close as ever, but Kayko acts different."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"Hey boys." Jade said coming up to them "Haru, I see you've met Kanagi."

"Lets blow this popsicle stand." Kayko said and the group left the small bar.

"Has the poison been placed in the drinks?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Excellent, is everything in order for the fire festival?"

"Yes, my lord."

"How large are my troops?"

"Currently, we've exceeded around 40 members willfully, and another 10 who owe a debut to be paid."

"Excellent, what kind of poison did you deliver?"

"a 48 hour one."

"You know usually, I do not approve of using poison. I prefer hand to hand contact, but in this situation it is best to take them down from afar. Have you found the boy?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Has he discovered who you are yet?"

"No, my lord."

"Keep it that way. We have 3 weeks until the festival. The avatar must be found."

"My lord, we have no way of finding the avatar."

"As a matter of fact we do, tomorrow night bring the boy here. I know how we can find the avatar."

"Yes, my lord."

"Next, I want you to break out the girl. If you can't find someone to do your dirty work, do it yourself."

"Yes, my lord."

"You will do this right before you leave."

"Yes, my lord."

"You are dismissed."

"Good night my lord,"

Jade lay on her stomach on a hill top just outside the city. "I can't wait for the fire festival."

"festival?" Sokka said, confused

"Yes, the 3 days of the Fire Festival. Its great. On the First day a grand performance by the circus, orchestra and ballet is preformed. It is such an exclusive event that you have to buy your tickets the second the boxes open, or not at all. Of course, the Fire Lord's inner circle has reserved seats as does the Fire Lord himself. But of course, it is very easy to sneak into and if you cant sneak in then the auditorium has no top so you can watch or listen from a nearby hill top its so loud."

"Then" Kayko began "On the second day is a day of preparation for the festival. By the end of the night everything has to be in order. And on the third day the Fire Lord hosts a grand ball, while all of us in the lower districts have a grand festival. It's great." Kayko rolled over onto her back. "Don't you think so Kanagi?"

"You don't have to be a guard. Crime always goes up during the festival times."

"Oh, shut up."

"Haru, do you have a place to stay?" Jade asked him

"No."

"You should stay with us."
"You sure?"

"Of course, what's another person?"

"Most likely more than the health code allows." Kanagi piped in his opinion.

"Oh shut-up"

Anyone confused? Thoes little segements that seem to make no sense will eventually make sense. You'll have to tune in to find out. .o.