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Chapter 25: Mi-Cha
Mi-Cha managed to escape Ba Sing Se by stowing away on a merchant transport out of the city. Terrified of pursuit, she used a small ruby to barter supplies and a change of clothes from one of the merchants, accepting less than the gem could have gotten her in her fear and need to escape. The transport let her out in a small town, not far from the city.
Frightened, not liking the way one of the merchants was eyeing her (she knew the woman had seen the bag she'd drawn the ruby from), Mi-Cha swiftly put as much distance between herself and the transport as possible, and ran headlong into the old man who'd stayed with her and Liang not long before. Startled, she glanced up at him; she saw only his eyes, not his face, and immediately tried to flee.
"Mi-Cha? What are you doing here?"
The voice brought her to a halt again. "Liàng got caught!" she blurted.
"Caught? When?"
"Last night." The teenager was trying her hardest not to cry. "The Dai Li and the Angels came to his door…"
"We need to find someplace more private to talk. Please, come with me." He led her to the room he'd been staying in.
Numb and afraid, Mi-Cha followed him.
"All right," he said, pouring her a cup of tea. "Now, could you please explain what happened?"
Haltingly, Mi-Cha did so, telling him everything she could — including Ty Lee's rescuing of her.
This is...very bad. We have lost Liang, and our source in the palace. "All right. All right, we'll find him."
"Wh-what do I do?" she asked him plaintively.
"First, you stay calm. That's the most important thing. Then, we try and find a way to figure out if they're in prison or if they managed to escape on their own. Because Ty Lee will have been arrested, as well." Which means she's probably dead.
Mi-Cha nodded, immediately switching her attention to a breathing technique Liàng had taught her.
Iroh, on the other hand, devoted himself to planning a way to determine whether or not Ty Lee and Liang were alive and free.