A/N: This is a prequel to my other fic, Underground. Some of the things may intertwine, but you don't have to read it to understand this one.

Thanks to Elvira and Elana for holding my hand.

At the tender age of thirteen, Ghazan had already been the best earthbender in his entire neighborhood. He could take out anyone, mostly due to too many street fights. Every day his older sister sent him to spend hours on the training field. Sometimes she'd come along to coach him, if she didn't have to work. Today he was all alone, though, except for some rich boy who kept stalking him the whole time.

"What do you want? Don't you have enough money to buy a ticket for some real entertainment?" He asked as he finished his training and noticed his observer had stayed put.

He was about sixteen, dressed in Ba Sing Se's finest attire, with an annoyingly calm expression on his face.

"You're a really good bender for a kid," he smiled.

"I'm a really good bender for any age. What is it?"

"My name's Zaheer, and I need your help. I'm willing to pay you for it. A lot."

"I don't care about money, and I'm not helping you," Ghazan narrowed his eyes. Rich people were always the same; they kept thinking they can buy everything and everyone, make all their stupid whims come true. His skills weren't for sale.

"That's a first," he smiled. "Then let's make a wager. If you can hit me, I'll leave you alone. If I beat you, you'll have to do something for me."

"Deal," he clenched his fists. Hitting this spoiled brat would be easy even after hours of tedious training. In fact, it might just be the highlight of his day. He wondered if Zaheer will maintain his serene exterior after he gets hit in the face repeatedly.

A large rock emerged with a stomp of his foot. He launched piece by piece at the boy. Zaheer managed to dodge every strike with flips and somersaults, constantly trying to narrow the distance between them. Eventually he decided to change his approach and entrap Zaheer's feet. The rich bastard jumped away before Ghazan could finish his move - he was much quicker than anyone Ghazan has ever fought before. He knew Zaheer won't be able to hit him from a distance, so he kept backing up to maintain his advantage; however, the arena wasn't infinite, and eventually he found himself backed up with Zaheer charging at him. He stepped out of the way, his stance already shaky by the sudden movement. The older boy seized the opportunity and tripped Ghazan by sending a low kick to his feet.

For the first time in months, Ghazan lost his stability and fell to the ground. He was defeated by a non-bender, and a rich one, at that. Shouldn't he just be sitting on some pedestal while his servants did all the work for him? How could anyone move so damn fast? He got up, feeling grumpier than ever.

"I believe you owe me a job," Zaheer resumed his calm, annoying smile.

"We're going to approach this mission very carefully," Zaheer explained when Ghazan showed up for his first day. "It's going to take a few weeks, and you'll have to practice first. You're good, but not as good as you think. Like most earthbenders, you're too slow. You have to learn how to move a little."

"Then why won't we just give up this whole thing and you'll find yourself a quicker earthbender," he rolled his eyes. He assumed this mission is going to be a brief one, steal something or attack someone. Zaheer never mentioned anything about preparation time, and now he's stuck here with this condescending jerk just for losing a dumb bet.

"No, you're perfect, but I'm going to teach you to be more adaptable in combat. You can't always stay put while fighting multiple foes."

"Multiple?" He raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are we going to do?"

"This is it," Zaheer said as the three of them walked to a crumbling hut in the Lower Ring. "Your new home. I know it's not much, but that's all I could buy without my parents noticing."

"When should I report for duty?" The combustion girl asked. She was shaking like a leaf their whole way back to the city.

"There's no duty," he put a sack of money in her hand. "That's for clothes and food, and anything else you want. I'll come by tomorrow to make sure you've got everything you need."

"Then what should I do?" She asked, utterly confused.

"Whatever you want," he smiled at her.

The girl was about eleven years old, but already taller than Ghazan. Her bending was the most powerful one there is, yet she seemed so meek and broken; it made him wonder what happened to her over at that camp.

"I think… I want to sleep for a while," she said, nearly waiting for him to forbid her.

"I hope you find the bed comfortable enough. Let me know if anything bothers you."

The girl entered the hut, looking at the two of them nervously as if they plan to trap her all over again. It was a pitiful sight.

"You know I don't ask too many questions, but what are you going to do with her?" Ghazan scowled. She's clearly been through enough already. Getting her away from that warlord was the scariest thing he's ever done, and it would have been in vain if all he did was transfer her to a slightly different prison.

"I'm going to take care of her."

"Yeah, right. You want her as your own weapon, don't you?" He was more than willing to punch him in the face, if only he were quick enough.

"I already have everything I need. If I want anything else, I could get it myself, without mentally torturing a helpless girl. You can check on her yourself if you don't believe me."

"I will," he promised. He'll drop by every day, just to make sure she's getting better. She didn't seem like she's able to live on her own just yet, and could probably use the company.

"Congratulations, I'm relieving you of your debt now. Thanks for sticking to your word," he held out his hand for Ghazan to shake.

He thought about it for a moment – Zaheer wasn't like the other rich bastards. Sure, he was going overboard with his calm philosophies, and he's boring as hell, but there was something about him. Throughout those weeks, he only used his money for others. Never has he mentioned shopping or gourmet food; all he cared about is gurus and the mission. Annoying as it may be to admit, he did become a better earthbender during their time together.

"Maybe we could practice again sometime, just so I could keep my eye on you," he muttered as he shook Zaheer's hand.