A/N: This took a while to write but it didn't take as long as it could have. Anyway thanks to colouredred for reviewing. :)

Chapter 6

:A Mother's Wish:

Jet had given this rescue mission a fair amount of thought. Actually a lot of thought. This, Yilin thought to herself, was why people wanted to follow Jet. He laid out every detail before the group, even including a relative time schedule. His voice was steady yet powerful as he articulated his ideas. Smellerbee and Longshot, who had their doubts, soon forgot about them. Mao, Rosemary, and even Thyme were in awe. Yilin couldn't help feeling a bizarre mixture of admiration and envy.

"First thing's first," said Jet. He looked at the very eager Mao. "We need more of us. You think you can help with that?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Mao.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Rosemary raised her hand high into the air. "Me too, me too!"

"Why not," said Jet, smirking. He was clearly in his comfort zone. "The more people looking, the better. You're gonna help them, Thyme?"

The boy shrugged as if it was all beneath him. "I can if they're desperate."

"How many people do you need?" asked Mao.

"I'm hoping for twenty of us," answered Jet. "Right now, assuming everyone here joins our cause, we already have seven."

"So..." Mao did some quick math on his fingers. "Thirteen more people!"

Jet smiled. "Exactly. Do you know any more earthbenders?"

Mao mulled it over. "Um, just Rosemary and Thyme."

Jet looked at Yilin. "I guess you'll only have two students then."

Yilin raised her eyebrows. "Wait. What?"

Jet raised his eyebrows in return. "Who else can teach earthbending here?" Yilin wanted to explain why she couldn't but Jet put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'm counting on you."

She looked into his brown eyes but that only made her not want to speak her mind. She turned toward the twins. Rosemary looked at her with joy while Thyme's eyes seemed to only question her abilities. She resisted the urge to sigh. Just be positive about this. "I look forward to teaching you two."

Thyme tilted his head to the side. "You don't look like it.

"She's just tired," said Jet, coming to her rescue. "We had a rough night, remember?"

Thyme didn't look like he believed him but he dropped the subject. He stood up and walked to the sealed entrance. "See you in a week, right?"

"Right."

Rosemary joined her brother and together they opened a tiny crawl space to the outside. "Bye," she called out as she left the cave. Thyme raised his hand awkwardly as his goodbye before he followed his sister out.

Mao was about to leave but he stopped. "Should I bring back food? I can-!"

"It's fine," said Jet, cutting him off. "Trust me – you've done more than enough already."

Mao beamed, clearly proud of himself. "See you next week then!" He crawled through the hole. A few moments later it closed behind him.

Yilin looked at the three Freedom Fighters. Those doubts she thought were gone? They were back and they only thickened the air.

"There's no way we can train kids to fight in a month," said Smellerbee, finally voicing one of the many concerns in her mind.

"I know that," said Jet. "I don't expect them all to be combat ready. But as long as they can infiltrate a place without being caught, then that's good enough for now. We need eyes and ears around town if we're going to succeed."

Jet's right, Yilin thought. We need those eyes and ears since our hands are tied at the moment. But a month in here? Her green eyes examined her surroundings. I hope there are no monkey bats in here.

Jet stood up. "We should split into pairs and check out the cave. It won't be anything like our old tree house but we can make something out of it. Yilin, want to come with me?"

Yilin stared at him in confusion. He wanted her to come with him? After just spending the past night together? She wondered how this looked to Smellerbee and Longshot, Jet's actual friends. "Are you sure, Jet?"

"Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't ask."

Yilin looked at the ground. "Maybe Longshot would rather go with you?"

Jet didn't protest. "Want to come with me, Longshot? I got some things I want to discuss with you anyway."

Longshot nodded and stood up. Jet picked up the matches. "Smellerbee , Yilin, you two can take the lantern. We'll take the left tunnel."

The boys left to start what Yilin imagined to be the most one-sided conversation ever. She turned toward Smellerbee. "Should we get going, too?"

The girls took the right tunnel of the cave. Smellerbee walked ahead, holding the lantern out in front. At first nothing was said. Then Yilin decided to break the silence. "You know, you'd think I'd feel right at home surrounded by rocks and all but this cave freaks me out. Have you ever seen a monkey ba-!"

"What's going on between you and Jet?"

It took a while for Smellerbee's words to register in her mind. "Um, nothing really. I'm not interested in him if that's what you're-!"

"That's not what I meant. Last night and then how he wanted to be alone with you just now – are you two planning something else? Apart from what he told us?"

Yilin shook her head. "Of course not. Jet wouldn't keep you and Longshot out of anything."

"Except for last night."

Oh. Yilin wasn't sure if she should try explaining Jet's actions. It could turn out bad. "I'm pretty sure he had his reasons."

"Did he share them with you?"

"Not really." If Smellerbee didn't believe her, she didn't say so. For that Yilin felt grateful. "So, um, are you going to help Jet take down the Fire Nation?"

"Remember what I told you about the last time?"

"Yeah," replied Yilin. "But maybe things will be different. Everyone needs the chance to redeem themselves."

"I'm not mad at Jet," Said Smellerbee, frowning slightly. "I just don't want him going down this road again. It might not end well for him this time."

"He might succeed."

"But at what cost?"

Yilin took a deep breath. "Like I said, everyone needs that chance."

-FLASHBACK-

"You're ready to walk back in there?" asked Mao. He placed a strong hand on her shoulder, bending over slightly to be almost eye level with Yilin. "If you need more time to get it all out, I can wait."

Yilin squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that the tears would stop flowing. She had thought that she had been all cried out already by the time they had left her mother's grave. However, the closer they had gotten to the palace, the worse the stinging behind her eyes had only gotten. Then it had become too much. Mao, being the caring person he was, had stopped for her. He didn't rush her; he only waited for the end. But to Yilin, there was no end to this.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm wasting your time. Just go already."

"I won't leave you like this."

She sort of wished he would. There was no such thing as cute crying for her. But then his arms wrapped around her and suddenly she found herself hoping he wouldn't let go.

"It's more than just your mother's death, right?" he asked.

"I..." She hesitated slightly. "I don't know if I ever made it up to her."

He stroked her brown hair. "You mean-!"

She nodded against his chest. "Do you think helping the Guard was enough?"

"It's not because of that," he said. "You wanted to turn a new leaf. And you did." He pulled away and looked down at her. "She would be proud of you."

Yilin sniffled and quickly blinked her eyes. "Thanks. Even if you're just saying that."

"Hey," he said, acting like he was offended. "I always mean what I say."

"I'm sure you do."

He smiled as he playfully knocked her on top of the head. "Ready to go back in?"

Yilin nodded. "Let's go."

-END FLASHBACK-

"A watering hole!"

Yilin nearly bumped into Smellerbee. The earthbender spotted the small watering hole in front of them. She approached the edge and carefully put a hand in. While it was cold, it was still a tolerable temperature. Something suddenly brushed against Yilin's fingers and she immediately pulled her hand out. Smellerbee came closer and brought the lantern closer to the surface. The light reflected off silvery scales swimming by.

"I guess that's lunch," joked Smellerbee.

Yilin looked around. "There doesn't seem to be anything else worth noting. Should we head back?"

"Sure. Why not?"

By the time the girls got back, Jet and Longshot were already there. At the sound of their footsteps, Jet looked up. "Hey. Found anything?"

"A watering hole," Smellerbee replied. "With fish."

"Maybe it's connected to the waterfall," he said. "A food and water supply. That's a great find."

"Did you find anything?" asked Yilin.

"Not much," replied Jet. "It just leads to a dead end. But we found this."

Longshot tossed a sliver at a rock. Yilin caught it. Her green eyes opened wide. "Is this-!"

"So you know it then?"

"What is it?" asked Smellerbee.

Yilin moved away from the lantern and into the darkness. The rock started to glow brightly blue. "Is there a lot?"

"There is some covering the walls at the dead end," explained Jet. "But with your skills, we can probably get more."

"We can use them to light the cave," thought Smellerbee out loud. She approached Yilin with the lantern and the rock's glow began to dissipate. Still Smellerbee came closer and took it from Yilin. She studied it at all angles as if she was in disbelief that it could do emit so much light. "They're better than lanterns."

"Yeah," agreed Jet. "Now we don't need to worry about a light source anymore. I think we have the necessities here."

"Except for comfortable bedding," said Yilin as she determined that the ground was not only cold but hard as well.

Jet smirked. "If that's your only concern, I think we'll be fine."

Yilin looked away. "So what do we do the whole day? Since we're stuck in here."

"Remodeling, I guess," replied Jet. "Assuming you're up to it."

She looked around. "I can do some work."

The first night sleeping the cave had been barely tolerable. Yilin didn't want to act like a spoiled kid but after staying in a palace for the past two years, it was hard to give up such luxury without any intermediates.

Sure she had done some 'remodeling' as Jet had called it. In the entrance chamber, she had made a tunnel through the ceiling that stopped short of breaking through the earth. It was the only solution she and the Freedom Fighters could think of for cooking smoke. She had made a couple more tunnels and chambers, including one for sleeping. In the sleeping chamber, she had even pulled slabs of rocks from the walls that doubled as beds. It was an alternative to the floor but it wasn't more comfortable.

After a night of tossing and turning, Yilin was the first one up. She got up and carefully snuck out of the room. She went down the tunnel and came to the entrance chamber. Then she went left. After a five minute walk, she came to the dead end Longshot and Jet had found yesterday. The glowing crystals lined the walls and the ceiling, emitting more than enough light for the area.

Yilin sat down along the wall and sighed. I'm sorry, Mom, but there'll be no flowers this year. She closed her eyes as she retreated inside her mind. After some time, her eyes slowly opened.

She saw Jet standing the entrance, a glowing rock in his hands. His dark eyes were on her. "You finally noticed me," he said.

She stood up immediately. 'What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," replied Jet. "I thought maybe you ran off."

"Are you expecting me to?"

Jet shrugged. "It's hard to say. But like Thyme said, you didn't look too excited yesterday. Neither did Longshot or Smellerbee but I know they wouldn't abandon me. You... I'm still trying to figure out." He looked around. "So what are you doing here?"

"I was thinking about my mom," she admitted. "She died two years ago from today."

"Sorry to hear that," he said. "Was it the Fire Nation?"

Yilin shook her head. "Terminal illness. She tried hiding the pain but I knew she was suffering."

Jet walked in. "Tell me about her."

"What?" She couldn't have heard right.

"What better way to honor her memory?"

Yilin leaned against the wall and Jet joined her. She spared him a quick glance before staring at her feet. "Well, she was kind. Hard working. Understanding, maybe even sometimes to a fault. After my dad left to 'see the world,' she tried supporting us both with her pottery. Then one day she fell ill. She was determined to make a living for the two of us but it was clear that the illness had taken a toll. Her pottery wasn't the same and her skills slowly deteriorated. Eventually she couldn't take care of us anymore."

"So what happened?"

"Well, to make life easier for her, I stole and pickpocketed. And being an earthbender allowed for quick escapes. She eventually asked how I was getting the money but I lied to her. I told her that I was doing odd jobs around town and that the people were generous. Then one day, she found out. I tried to steal from a Royal Guard member but he took me down. After they arrested me, they found out where I lived and told my mother everything."

Jet frowned. "But after that, they still let you join them?"

"More or less," replied Yilin. "It actually started off as community service. The guard I tried stealing from, I think he wanted me to get off a bit easy because of my mother. When I got home, she was disappointed in me for doing what I did. But she was angry at herself. For her inability to be a mom. I don't necessarily regret stealing the money but I felt terrible for making her feel that way. So I vowed that somehow I would make it up to her and that I'd kept trying until she died."

"Did you?"

Yilin looked at Jet. His brown eyes were on her. "I would like to think that I did but..."

"But what?"

"I could've done things better."

Jet didn't have to ask her what she meant. He already knew.

Suddenly she pushed off the wall. "Anyway. I guess we should head back before your friends wake up. They already don't trust us alone together." She started walking away, assuming that Jet was right behind her.

"I know but I don't care nearly as much as you do, Yilin."

She turned around and looked at the leader of the Freedom Fighters. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing against them but I know they don't trust me on this. Not yet anyway. I'll have their trust soon."

She would have been discouraged. In fact, she had felt discouraged by a similar situation but Jet was determined to not let him get to him. As if he had faced worse. He probably has, she thought as the Fire Nation came to mind. "I'm sure you will, Jet." She tried to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes. With a deep breath, she tried again. "They'll trust you again."

"I know."

Yilin walked back into the chamber. "So what's your story?"

"My story?"

"Before all this I guess," she said with a shrug. "If you don't mind sharing that is."

He studied her before finally saying, "The Fire Nation killed my parents. But life before that – it wasn't perfect but it was okay..."

A/N: I wasn't sure if I should give Jet more of a backstory but I could always do so in the future as well as for Smellerbee and Longshot who don't have much of a backstory either. Till later.