Jin struggled and struggled in a hopeless attempt to break free from the soldiers' tight grip. Her feet dragged across the ground as she used all of her strength to make herself dense, but it just wasn't enough. She didn't have the slightest clue where they were taking her. She continued elbowing them every chance she got.

"Alright, I'll handle this." One soldier told the other. His hand flashed towards her and before she knew what was happening, everything went black.

She woke up on the ground, her head throbbing with red hot pain. She reached up and felt a large bump swelling over her temple. It was so dark, she couldn't tell if her eyes were opened or closed. She crawled forward, only to be stopped by a wall of rock. She reached out her hands on either side of her and felt the cold stones. She was completely encased by a rock wall. Her heart started racing as reality sank in. She was trapped. She frantically starting beating on the walls around her, but they didn't budge. It was no use. She slowly gave up and curled up in the corner of the tiny cell and pressed her face into her knees.

It felt like she had been sitting there for hours. There was not enough room to completely stretch out her legs, and they were beginning to feel numb. Her throat ached from the dusty, dry air inside the rock cell. Suddenly, she was blinded by a white wall of light. The northern wall of the tiny cell had disappeared into the ground. When her eyes finally came into focus, she saw two armed Fire Nation soldiers towering above her, joined by a member of the Dai Li.

"Dinner." One of them said tonelessly. He slapped down a bowl in front of her, slightly spilling the contents on the ground. The rock wall slid back up and left her in the dark again. Her stomach growled. She wasn't aware how hungry she actually was. She grabbed the bowl and brought it up to her mouth. It was soup, cabbage soup to be exact. It was bland and cold, but she drank it down quickly.

After she was done eating, there was nothing for her to do. She curled back up in the corner, trying to stretch out her legs as much as should could. She stroked her hand up and down the rock wall she was leaning against and felt the formations. After a while, she almost had the locations of each bump and groove memorized. When she could no longer find anything to keep her mind distracted, the swirling fears hidden in the back of her mind began popping up.

Where have they taken me? How am I supposed to escape? I'm just going to be left here to rot, I know it. How could the takeover of the Upper Ring go completely unnoticed to the rest of the city? Where is Li? Her last thought caused her to shiver. She knew he had to be close. If he was captured, they had to have taken her to the same place. Frustration filled up inside her, knowing they were so close, but there was no way she could escape. She was trapped and there was no way out. She began to sob, but no tears fell. The sob came out like more of a choke that caused an aching pain in her chest. Eventually, she drifted off in to an uncomfortable sleep.

She was abruptly awoken by the sound of the wall slamming back into the ground. There was no blinding outside light, so she assumed it was night. There was a shady looking soldier accompanied by a Dai Li soldier, who she assumed was there to open the rock cell.

"You look lonely in that cell, little girl." The Fire Nation soldier smirked at her. Jin backed as far into the corner as she could. "Aw, don't try to hide." He stepped in the cell. He grabbed on to her wrist and tried pulling her up. She squirmed free from his grip and spat towards him. He immediately filled with rage, striking her in the face with his fist. She yelped. He grabbed her by her hair and made sure she could see his face. "Nobody spits on me, especially peasant scum like you!" He dropped her to the ground, causing her to smack her head against the rock wall. Before he left the cell, he aimed a kick towards her stomach, but her arm blocked it, taking most of the force. She bit her tongue holding in the scream. "Next time, it'll be fire." The rock wall slid back up from the ground, but this time, it was closer than before, making the cell tinier than it already was.

Jin couldn't bring herself to move. Her head was spinning and her arm throbbed. She tried to move it, but the pain was too much. The shock caused her to become even dizzier, and she felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness.

I didn't believe Li when he told me how bad the world outside of the city was. And now that treacherous world is inside the city walls. The Fire Nation has turned this world into a horrendous world of sorrow. They…can't…win. Her thoughts started to drift into darkness. There's…still…hope.

Zuko and Toph packed up their campsite and prepared to continue their journey to Ba Sing Se. They weren't far, only a few hours away. Zuko had changed out of his normal Fire Nation clothes in exchange for a pair of common Earth Kingdom clothes. Even wearing the green clothing, he wasn't safe. The Fire Nation would attempt to capture him if they thought he was a commoner, but if they saw who he really was, he knew the punishment would be twice as worse. He would be sent back to the Fire Nation to be punished personally by his father.

"I'm not sure how we're going to get into the city." Zuko admitted. "I haven't come up with an idea yet." The enormous city walls were visible in the distance.

"Don't worry, I figured you wouldn't be able to come up with an idea, so I did." Toph grinned in self-satisfaction. They landed a ways away from the wall to avoid being seen.

"What is Appa going to do?" Zuko asked.

"I took this whistle from Aang that will call for him when we need him." She held up the small, bison-shaped whistle. "Go find some apples or something, buddy." She patted him on his nose.

"So what's your genius idea of getting past the walls?" Zuko said in a doubting voice. Without saying a word, she stomped her foot to the ground, revealing a small opening she had just created.

"It'll lead us right under the wall and into the city." Toph stepped into the hole first. Zuko was a little hesitant, but he followed right behind her.

"It's so dark in here. I can't see anything."

"Gee, you poor thing." Toph said sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Zuko almost forgot. He had no idea how far they were along they were in the tunnel. He finally saw a circle of light approaching them. As he stepped out of the tunnel, which Toph quickly sealed up, he couldn't believe what he saw. The tunnel had exited to an alley next to a small market in the Lower Ring. The small plaza was completely filled with bustling Earth Kingdom citizens, shopping as normal. There was no sign of suspicious Fire Nation activity, no soldiers, and no guards. Everything was surprisingly normal. There were a few children squatting at the end of the alley, playing a game of some sort.

"Ha! Earth beats fire!" Yelled the small kid. He was holding his hand out in a clench fist, while the other kid wiggled his fingers, making the motion of flames.

"Aw, man!" cried the other, while the rest of the children gathered around them giggled.

"This is not what I expected to see." Zuko said with a hint of confusion in his tone.

"I didn't expect to see anything, but this is definitely not what I expected to feel."

"There's no sign of the Fire Nation anywhere. That means they haven't reached the Lower Ring yet. Jin is safe!"

"That makes his whole mission a lot easier. Where does she live?"

"She lives a few houses down from my uncle's old tea shop."

"You're uncle had a tea shop?" She asked.

"Oh. Uh…yeah for a while when we were in hiding."

"Your uncle makes great tea."

"How do you know my uncle?"

"I met him in the woods once and knocked him down. Then he gave me tea and very good advice."

"That's definitely my uncle."

"All he talked about was you."

"Really?" He wondered where his uncle was now. The last he knew, he had busted himself out of Fire Nation jail and disappeared. He knew he would be safe, but he still worried about him.

"Yeah. It was kind of annoying." She giggled.

"Oh, sorry."

"But it was also very sweet. All he wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. I know the others don't see it, but I can tell you've changed. If you didn't, I don't think we would have come all this way to rescue an Earth Kingdom girl." She punched him a little too hard on the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That's how I show affection." She smiled big.

"Well, okay then." He rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder. "We should go find her now." They walked down the dirt roads of the Lower Ring. Most of the houses they walked past look the same. None of them were particularly big, and most were in less than preferable conditions. As they continued walking, there was still no sign of any Fire Nation soldiers. It was almost too good to be true that they hadn't taken over the Lower Ring yet.

"Are we getting close yet?" Toph asked anxiously.

"I think so. This city is huge."

"Well, they don't call it the largest city in the world for no reason." she pointed out.

"I can see why they haven't taken over the Lower Ring yet. There are so many people that live here, it would be nearly impossible to run this whole ring."

"You said nearly impossible. Does that mean it's still possible that they will?"

"Yes. The Fire Nation is more tactical than you think."

"So all these people will be captured?"

"More than likely. It'll be a longer process than the Upper Ring, but with time and determination, this whole city will belong to the Fire Nation."

"Wow." She said quietly.

"I should have stopped this from happening. I had the choice."

"Ugh, stop feeling so guilty all the time. You made the right choice now and that's all that matters! I'm tired of all your moping around."

"You don't know what I've been through!"

"No, maybe I don't. But I have issues of my own that I don't use as an excuse to act so grumpy all the time!"

"I don't act grumpy!" He raised his voice.

"Settle down, people are staring." She whispered. He looked around and saw some concerned citizens staring at the two of them.

"Okay. I'm sorry. You're right."

"Course I am." She smirked.

"I think that's the house up there." They approached the cozy house and knocked on the door. A woman with brunette hair fastened in a small bun answered the door. Her face had tiny creases around her eyes and mouth, but she looked friendly. He could definitely see the resemblance to Jin.

"Hi. Is Jin home?" Zuko asked her cordially. Her face immediately turned into a frown.

"I'm afraid she's not." Her voice was full of sorrow and worry. "She's been missing for about a month now."

"What? Where is she?" Zuko asked. Thoughts flooded his mind of all the possible things that could have happened to her.

"If I knew, she wouldn't be missing, now would she?" A man came up and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Who are these people?" He asked her.

"Some friends looking for Jin."

"Oh." He looked down at the ground for a moment. "We searched the whole town for her. She didn't turn up anywhere. We think she must have run away."

"I don't understand why she would do that." Her mother turned and wrapped her arms around her husband and leaned into his chest. "We tried to give her the best life we could."

"We haven't figured out a good way to explain to her younger brother, Yong, why she hasn't been home. He misses her a lot."

"Where was the last place she went before she went missing?" Zuko asked.

"She said she was going to visit a boy named Li at a new tea shop." Her mother sniffed.

"I've never seen or heard of this boy before. I think it was just a cover up for the fact that she planned on running away." Her father added.

"No, he's a real person. I know him."

"You do know where he lives?" Her mother asked. Her voice had a spark of hope to it.

"Yes. I'm going to find your daughter. I'll make sure she is safe, you have my word." He bowed to them.

"It means so much to us that you would help out." Her father told him. "What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't. My name is Zuko and this is my friend, Toph."

"Well we appreciate the help, you two. It would mean so much to have our daughter back." Toph and Zuko nodded to them and then continued walking.

"So where are we going now? And who's this Li guy?"

"Go figure, this is my fault again. She would have been safe if it wasn't for me!"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I'm Li. It was the name I used when my uncle and I were in hiding. She thinks I'm just an Earth Kingdom commoner. She went to go find me in the Upper Ring. The one ring that's taken over by the Fire Nation and she walked right into it to find me." He groaned.

"Well, good. For a second, I thought this whole rescue trip was going to be a waste." Toph flashed an intimidating grin. Zuko raised the corner of his mouth, but he didn't smile.

After a while, Jin lost track of time. It felt like it had been weeks. The time spent in the cell went by slowly. She was still in a great amount of pain. It was hard to be sure, but she believed that her arm was broken. She ripped off one of her sleeves to use as a sling to keep it secure, but it still stung with a shooting pain every time she made a tiny movement. The rations seemed to be getting smaller every mealtime (which was only once a day). She thought they might just appear that way because she was so hungry. She was also exhausted, and found it hard to sleep at night, and even harder to stay awake. She was finally starting to accept the fact that she was going to die in the tiny rock confinement. She just waited and waited for the time to pass, thinking about her family and friends and hoping they were safe.

She couldn't tell if it was day or night, but she assumed it was night. She curled back up in her corner, resting her hurt arm on her lap. She tried her best to doze off into sleep, but the discomfort she felt was too great. She sat there in silence and tried to suppress her thoughts.

The silence was interrupted by the rock wall vanishing into the ground. She knew they weren't serving her a meal, since she had already eaten for the day.

Great. It's probably that same soldier who broke my arm. He did say next time, there would be fire. She cringed at her thoughts. Tears welled up in her eyes as she prepared for what was to come. She looked up to see two fully uniformed guards standing in the opening, one clearly shorter than the other. The taller one had two swords sheathed on his back.

"Is this the one?" the short guard asked the other.

"Yes. Nice job." The tall one replied. He took a step forward into the cell.

Wait a second, Jin thought. How did they open the cell? I don't see a Dai Li member with them. The soldier squatted down so he was eye level with Jin, and he removed his helmet.

"Li!" She squealed. Is that really you?"

"Shh. Yes, it's me. We're here to rescue you." He whispered. "And this is Toph."

"How are we going to get out?" She asked.

"Well, as of right now, the plan is to just walk out and hopefully there's no interruptions. We look like guards, so I don't think they'd question us."

"So let's go now." Toph said. Zuko helped Jin off the ground. She was in worse shape than he thought. She looked lean and hungry. Her pale face was dark blue and yellow in some places. Her hair was matted to her face. Zuko noticed her arm was held up by a homemade sling. There was a second bump next to her elbow, where it appeared that a bone was poking that area.

"Your arm is broken." He pointed out.

"Is it that bad?" She asked.

"Yes. We can heal that after we get out of here."

"You know healers?"

"One." He told her. "Now, let's go." There weren't any other guards in the area where Jin's cell was located. She had never seen the outside of it before. There were rows of rock walls all around the camp area, surrounded by an even bigger rock wall, preventing anyone from escaping that couldn't Earth bend. That reminded her of a question she had earlier.

"So can you Earth bend, Li?" She whispered as they were walking.

"What? Oh, uh no. Toph can."

"Oh." She was almost a little disappointed that Zuko wasn't a bender. Nobody in her immediate family was, and she always wanted to have a friend that could. They continued walking at a quick pace, but not fast enough that they stood out. They had almost reached the outer wall, when they were confronted by another guard.

"Chang? Is that you?" The question was directed towards Zuko.

"Uh…yeah." He said nervously.

"You're voice sounds different." The guard eyed him suspiciously. Zuko let out a fake cough.

"Oh, uh…I have a cold." He coughed again. "It's pretty bad."

"Ew, well stay away from me then." The guard replied.

"Sure thing." Zuko said. He motioned for Toph and Jin to follow him.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" The guard stopped him.

"Yes?" He tried to act calm.

"Did you hear about the two guys that snuck in here?"

"No."

"Oh, they mugged a couple of guards and stole their uniforms. The foreman is doing a head check actually. We're supposed to be lined up here pretty soon."

"Well, I have to handle this prisoner first."

"What are you doing with her?"

"Uh…" He couldn't think of a good excuse. "We were just…"

"She's a hidden Earth Bender. She needs to be transferred to where the Earth benders are being held." Toph chimed in.

"Oh, yes take here there immediately." They hurried off away from the guard.

"That was a close one." Toph sighed.

"Nice job on the quick excuse." Zuko pointed out.

"Thanks. These cells are obviously not built for Earth benders, so I figured they were keeping them somewhere else."

The outer wall was only a short distance away from them. Anxious to get out of the horrid camp, they picked up their pace.

"Hey, you two! Get over here. We're going a head check." A voice called to them. They glanced around to see a group of guards in a single file line removing their helmets. They panicked and took off running towards the wall that they were so close to.

"They're the imposters! Follow them!" a different voice yelled.

"Oh great. Now what do we do?" Zuko said as they were running. He grabbed on to Jin's wrist and pulled her faster.

"We have to make a speedy getaway. Follow me." Toph told them. A small entrance to a tunnel opened in front of them, and they hurried inside. She sealed the entrance behind them.

"I can't see anything!" Jin said.

"Don't worry. We should be safe now." Zuko said as he slowed down.

"Uh, I don't think so, you guys." Toph said. "Keep running!" They felt a small rumbling in the tunnel walls. A few feet ahead of them, two Dai Li members busted their way into the tunnel.

"Stop right where you are!" One of the Dai LI members yelled. The sound of his voice echoed throughout the tunnel.

"This way!" Toph called to Zuko and Jin. She had created another opening that headed in the other direction. They sprinted as fast as they could, but the Dai Li members were close behind. Toph sent an occasional boulder back at the members, but they dodged every one of them.

"They're just going to keep following us!" Zuko said.

"We have to split up!"

"What?" he yelled at her, but before he could continue speaking, the tunnels divided into three smaller ones, leaving the three of them separated.

Zuko kept running, following the quick curves of the tunnel. He couldn't see if anyone was behind him. He only hoped that they hadn't all went in Jin's tunnel. He wasn't particularly fond of Toph's idea to split up, especially leaving Jin alone in the dark. She was already hurt enough. He kept running faster and hoping that the tunnels would connect soon. He suddenly heard the sound of breaking rock echoing through the tunnel. Oh great, they found my tunnel, he thought to himself. He turned quickly and shot a line of flames down the tunnel, illuminating his surroundings. He saw the Dai Li get hit directly with the fire, each of them falling to the ground.

"Hey! I'm up here!" He heard Toph's voice call to him from the head of the tunnel.

"Where's Jin? He asked when he caught up to her. His question was answered when a tunnel opening appeared next to him, revealing Jin.

"Are they still following us?" She asked.

"No, I think Zuko took care of most of them and the rest are still pretty far away. I think it's safe to go to the surface now. We're well out of the city limits." The tunnel was dimly illuminated by an opening to the surface. "Let's hurry." Toph pulled out the bison whistle and blew into it. A dry, airy sound came out. "This better not be broken." It was a long, upwards slant to the surface, but they ran full speed making sure no Dai Li was following them. Sure enough, when they reached the surface, Appa was just flying down and landed next to the opening.

"You have a flying bison!" Jin exclaimed. "That's incredible.

"It's not exactly mine." Zuko admitted.

"But we get to fly on it?"

"Yes. Get on." He climbed on first, reaching his hand down to lift her up. "Yip, yip!" he yelled to Appa. He let out a small roar before taking off into the night sky.

AN: Sorry for all the sloppy POV changes. I think this rescue scene went a lot better than the one in the old story. It's much longer too, so that's a plus. Ch. 3 coming soon! Also, I just made a quick little picture to go along with my story. Link: wiki-wiki (.) deviantart (.) (com) (/) art (/) Never-Over-Anguished-183720141 I plan on making and drawing some more art to go with the story, so I'll probably post more later. Thanks!