Miscalculation

Chapter 25: Opening Night, Part 1

A rather sizeable stack of propaganda posters sat on one of the dining room tables. Zuko and Mai took a look. They were colorful and dramatic and certainly got the point across; the Fire Nation did not belong in Ba Sing Se. Their presence was an affront the Earth Kingdom, the city and its citizens. And everyone here should want them gone. There was a subtle implication too that people should take matters into their own hands, fight back in whatever small ways that they could.

There were people who wouldn't, of course, and that would be most of them. With children and others to take care of, one couldn't really blame those who wanted to simply keep their heads down and plod forward, all the while hoping for the best, hoping that someone else would be brave enough or reckless enough to take up a fight. Then there were those like Jin's father, Kang, who was willing to have resistance members coming and going from his house at all hours of the night. There were those he knew, ones he had recruited, who childless and unmarried were willing to give their lives for the cause. Kang was quite proud that he knew such brave men and women. He was proud to be Earth Kingdom and proud to live in Ba Sing Se.

"So, Ty Lee and Jin will be putting some of these up in the Lower Ring tonight." Zuko put an arm around Mai's waist and drew her close. "It's really beginning."

"That would be why we're dressed in black, why we're armed and why we've got our masks," Mai drawled. She gave her boyfriend a friendly elbow in the side.

"Ha, ha, you're very funny," Zuko retorted a bit huffily. "I wonder what we'll encounter."

"The sooner you get below ground and make your way to the Lower Ring, the sooner you will find out," Mr. Wu declared, stating the obvious. "Mr. Guo and I are going to be a little daring tonight ourselves and put some of these posters up here in the Upper Ring. With the small amount of Fire Nation patrols and cover of darkness, we should succeed quite well." He held up a small pot of glue and a brush. "See, I'm armed too." He chuckled then and moved off to talk with Iroh.

Mai quirked her eyebrows upward and let her gaze follow the history expert. "I hope he can take care of himself or talk his way out of anything," she stated. "Respected professor or not, I don't think any patrols are going to take too kindly to him and his friend being out past curfew or putting up those posters."

"I have a feeling that the talking part won't be a problem," Zuko observed as the man spoke animatedly with his uncle. "And they both know this city a lot better than the Fire Nation soldiers do. That is a real advantage."

"True," Mai agreed and pressed herself into Zuko's warm side. "Let's go talk to Iroh for a minute and then get moving. We're just wasting time here."

"No one is going anywhere for a few minutes," Atka announced. "Jet has decided to try a healing session. It won't take long. I like to start slow. But I need quiet or we'll go upstairs."

"No need, my dear; we can behave ourselves. You two pick a spot." He guided the healer toward the dining room tables and beckoned to Jet.

The Freedom Fighter pulled back a random chair and sat, leaning backward, the grass stalk hanging impertinently from his lips. "I'm ready."

Atka couldn't help but smile. This Jet character intrigued her and she liked him. She wanted to help him, both because healing was instinctive and because the young man was so damned personable and charming.

"Okay, Jet, I need you to relax and hold still." The healer opened her water skin and drew the liquid out in one smooth movement, balancing it between her two hands. Then she separated the water and it coated both her hands. She placed one on each of Jet's temples, just resting them there for a moment, letting the Freedom Fighter become accustomed to the sensation.

"Feels… tingly," he stated, "And cool."

"Yes, that's all normal. But I'm going to start probing a bit now and it might hurt."

Her tone was as soothing as the feel of water against Jet's skin. He felt completely relaxed now, almost as if he were in a meditative state. "Do your thing. I can take it."

The rest watched from the other side of the room, concern and curiosity on all their faces. Smellerbee held on tight to Longshot's hand. She wanted the old Jet back, the real Jet. This one was an imposter of sorts, a stranger walking around with her old friend's face, living in his skin. It was disturbing and she would never get used to it, not ever. But she was afraid too. There were parts of the real Jet that might be better left behind, after all. There were memories that could cause an awful lot of trouble for everyone in this room.

She could only imagine how terrified the young man really was. He wouldn't show it, of course. He never showed his fear. But it had to be there, behind that smile she loved so dearly.

"All right," Atka warned him. "Here I go." Her fingers pressed harder now and the water seemed to seep beneath his skin and crawl around inside his skull, coating his brain and searching, searching for something broken or damaged or altered. Atka gasped when she found what felt like a tiny fissure. "I've got something," she declared.

Jet inhaled deeply. He could feel it too. The water, under Atka's expert guidance, filled the fissure and repaired the tiny wounds, joining cell to cell again, making that one spot whole. A memory hit him then, bright and colourful and oh so horrible. He gripped the arms of the chair. The skin of his knuckles pulled tight and the muscles in his arms flexed.

He saw himself, no more than ten years old probably, fighting off a Fire Nation soldier, no two of them. Jet could see their brown eyes, narrowed in their hard faces. They were full of hate and disgust and something else that scared him even more. He wasn't quite certain what their intentions were, but he knew that before they killed him, they planned on doing something terrible. The soldiers were excited and they talked back and forth as they swatted away his swipes with the hooked swords he had recently acquired.

'Maybe we should just burn him," one said to the other and made a fistful of fire. 'Maybe he's not worth the trouble.'

'Little bastard stole food right from our camp,' the second one replied. 'I say we enjoy ourselves first. We deserve it. Get those damned swords away from him. They're dangerous.'

The two descended on him then, no longer playing, all seriousness. Jet was strong and tough and smart, but no match for two burly men, both firebenders. He needed to either make a run for it, get away if he could or kill them somehow. He opted for the killing. He'd had enough, seen enough over the past couple of years to make anyone crazy. He'd seen enough blood and enough fire to last lifetimes. And now he wanted to make someone pay for all the pain he'd had to endure.

He refused to ever be vulnerable and weak. These two men would be the first of many, he hoped. The Fire Nation needed to be stopped, its soldiers pushed out of the Earth Kingdom, one at a time if need be and Jet would help.

'I won't let you touch me,' he hissed.

They were mere inches away, both of them grinning, anticipating their conquest. Neither thought about other weapons; he was a mere child, after all, and a filthy, stupid Earth Kingdom one at that. So naturally, both men were surprised to feel the sharp blade pierce their flesh, going through skin and fat and muscle easily, over and over again.

Jet kept stabbing until neither of them moved. Splattered with blood, he looked down at their corpses, spat and then picked up his swords.

The Freedom Fighter gasped and pushed Atka's hands aside. He got up from the chair and ran blindly through the tea shop, managing somehow to find the back door and the garden. There he dropped to his knees and wept.

Smellerbee shrugged off Longshot's grip. "I don't care if he wants to be alone. Did you see his face?" she was shrieking now, her voice filling up the dining room, the pain in it making everyone cringe.

The archer conceded the point. 'Go then,' his eyes said and Smellerbee darted around chairs and people to the back door.

She found him weeping silently; his shoulders were hunched and his arms wrapped tightly around himself as if trying to give comfort. The girl felt tears form in her own eyes. "Oh, Jet," she murmured, her voice soft and soothing now. She put a hand on his back and waited for the flinch. It didn't come. Then she moved it up and down, trying to calm the young man who meant so much to her. Kneeling down beside him, Smellerbee wrapped her arm around him and crooned. It came instinctively and she wondered momentarily if it was some female thing, something to do with children and motherhood.

"Bee, it was, it was.." he choked on a sob and couldn't continue.

"Shhh, it's all right," the girl whispered, stroking his head now, running her fingers through the thick brown hair. "Longshot and I are here. We'll help you. You'll be okay."

"I know now, I know, Bee. I understand." Finally, he looked up at his friend. The memory was still incredibly vivid. It was almost as though he could smell the sweat and the blood and feel the dampness on his skin. His eyes were red from crying and Smellerbee spotted the tracks that the tears had left behind on his cheeks. "The Fire Nation, the soldiers, they do unspeakable things. They need to be killed, Bee. We need to get them out of Ba Sing Se and we need to start now."

"Wha, what do you mean, Jet. We're just going to watch tonight, No one is going to kill anyone. What did you remember? Just how awful was it?" She was worried now. Old Jet was peeking through, the bad parts, the parts that made him dangerous and unstable.

"I'll do what needs to be done," the young man stated viciously. He seemed to have forgotten that they were working with four Fire Nation citizens now, two of them of the royal family. It didn't fit with his new knowledge. It didn't fit at all.

"Jet, please, I want the real you back. I want you to remember everything that the Dai Li took from you. But that isn't the way. We came to Ba Sing Se to change and start new lives. We were going to stop the needless killing and all the craziness and just live our lives."

"I don't remember that, do I? And that was before the Fire Nation invaded Ba Sing Se and that Princess took control. Everything's different now." He stared about the garden and recalled where he was then, and Iroh and Zuko and Mai. Jet swallowed down the rage he suddenly felt toward them and the memory faded just a bit. He recalled instead how kind Iroh had been, how decent Mai and Zuko were. Maybe, just maybe, they weren't all evil. "We've even got Fire Nation fighting Fire Nation. What does that tell you? They need to be stopped."

"No one will argue with you there, young man." Iroh, a lantern in his hand, stepped into the garden and looked at the Freedom Fighter with compassionate amber eyes. "And that's what we hope to do eventually; stop the war and put Zuko on the throne. Killing without need will gain us nothing, however, and make us like my brother and my father and my grandfather. We need to do things differently."

"Yeah, old man, I get it. But that doesn't stop me wanting to kill everyone dressed in red." Jet clenched his fists and began to shake again.

Iroh turned to the girl and offered her a weak smile. "Smellerbee, would it be all right if I spoke with Jet alone?"

She moved closer to her friend, putting a protective arm around him. "Well, I, I don't know."

Jet stared at Iroh, brown eyes meeting amber ones. He examined the former general as if seeing him for the first time. His gaze was piercing but Iroh did not back down. He was accustomed to such looks from both his brother and his father. "Talk then," Jet shrugged. "It's not like I can stop you. Bee, it's fine. Go back inside with Longshot and get ready. We're leaving as soon as I'm finished here."

Waiting until Smellerbee was out of earshot, Iroh sat on the narrow garden path opposite Jet. He was good at talking. He'd counseled Zuko too many times to keep track of as well as his son, Lu Ten, and many, many soldiers under his charge over the years. But Jet's case was unique and difficult. He cleared his throat and thought hard. "It must have been a terrible memory," he began.

"What gave you that idea, old man?" the Freedom Fighter retorted rudely.

Iroh, also accustomed to Zuko's abrasiveness during their three years onboard the prince's ship, let the young man's remark slide. "I think that you should talk about it, Jet." That was true but Iroh also wanted to find out whether Jet was still part of their team, willing to work alongside Fire Nation citizens as well as Earth Kingdom ones.

"Oh, you think I should talk about it, do you? And what, it will all go away then, like it never happened. I'll feel all better then until Atka unburies the next memory. If they're all like that, I don't want to remember anymore." His voice cracked then and he buried his head in his hands.

"I'm so sorry, Jet. I'm sorry that you've suffered so much at the hands of my countrymen. I'll never be able to fix that and I'm ashamed at how my nation has acted. But there are good, decent Fire Nation people, most of them, in fact, who would never commit atrocities against innocents. It's true that we've been raised to believe that we are better than the rest of the world, but not all of us bought into those teachings. Some of us want this war to end, not with Fire Nation victory, but with Fire Nation defeat. I hope that you can trust my nephew and Mai and I along with Ty Lee. We truly do want to help."

"It almost sounds like you mean that," Jet smirked. He contemplated things for a moment and then took a leap of faith. "I'll tell you about my memory."

Iroh said nothing but waited patiently.

"I must have been about ten years old and there were two men after me, Fire Nation soldiers. They mentioned me stealing food, so I guess that's why they were trying to catch me. I was fighting, using those swords, you know the hook ones, but it was like a game to them and their eyes, they were going to do terrible things to me before killing me. I, I had no choice."

"You killed them to save yourself?" Iroh reached out and put a hand on Jet's shoulder, touching him briefly. The Freedom Fighter nodded. "You were strong, Jet, a survivor. And you're still strong. What you did then was necessary. War, it seems to bring out the ugliness in humanity. Some use it as an excuse to do whatever they want to whomever they want. Again, Jet, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah," the young man said. He swiped at his eyes and stood up. "There really isn't much else to say, is there? I can't wait to see what memory is uncovered next."

"There will be good ones too, memories of your friends and your family." The tea maker smiled encouragingly. "Don't you want those back?"

"I do," he stated firmly. "But I'm scared of seeing everything else I did. I know, because Longshot and Smellerbee told me. I know about being all too willing to flood an Earth Kingdom village just to get rid of a few Fire Nation soldiers. But actually remembering it will be different. I had a lot of issues. Are they all going to come back? Or has this time with all of you changed me?"

"There's only one way to know that, Jet. Don't forget that you've got lots of people here for you, Fire Nation ones included." Iroh grunted as he stood up. "There's important work to be done tonight. I want to see my nephew and Mai off and remind them to be careful. Zuko, he tends to be reckless sometimes."

The Freedom Fighter nodded. "I'll be in shortly." He stared down at his hands for a moment and then added a quick "thank you."

"Any time," Iroh called back to him. "Any time."

Everyone inside the Jasmine Dragon looked up anxiously when Iroh walked in. They were expecting Jet to be accompanying him, no doubt.

"He's all right," the tea maker assured the group. "Jet simply needs a bit more time to get himself together."

"I feel terrible," Atka remarked. "Poor boy; what he must have suffered."

"You only did what he asked of you." Her husband, Yao, put an arm around her and hugged her close. "And you did it well. The fact that you care so much is part of what makes you a great healer."

The woman blushed and kissed her husband's cheek. "You always know just what to say."

"One of the many reasons she married me," Yao told everyone.

Laughter broke out in the dining room and it greeted Jet when he stepped inside a few minutes later. "Sorry for holding everyone up. I'm ready to go."

Longshot and Smellerbee crowded around him, the archer silently giving his own brand of comfort while the girl pestered him with questions. Iroh meanwhile gave Zuko and Mai each a hug before he watched them descend the stairs to the basement. "Be safe," he called after them. "Atka, how about we have a pot of tea? You and I will be waiting for quite a while."

Sighing, she gave the tea maker a nod. "Perhaps you could rustle up something to eat too. I'm feeling a bit hungry."

"Of course, dear; just give me a few minutes. Then we can sit and worry together." He headed off into the kitchen, glad to be busy."

Mai and Zuko could hear the others, Smellerbee, Jet, Longshot and Yao, following along behind them. They had already walked a fair distance, following the markers that the earthbender had left behind.

"That whole thing with Jet was just weird," Zuko whispered, wondering if the sound of his voice would carry back.

"Why?" Mai shrugged. "We all know he must have lots of terrible memories. What did you expect?"

"I dunno; I guess I mean the whole healing thing. How does that work, with the water? It's pretty impressive. And why can only waterbenders heal; why not firebenders or earthbenders?" The prince was genuinely curious. He had never given much thought to the other bending disciplines, despite Iroh's encouragement to do so. But he had seen something incredible, and his interest had definitely been piqued.

"Ask Atka; she's the waterbender." Not being a bender of any kind, it didn't really matter to Mai and she had no hidden knowledge she could impart. If it had been weapons they were discussing, she would be a bit keener.

"Yeah, I will, one day."

They walked in silence for awhile, both a bit tense about what they might encounter when they went back above ground in the Lower Ring. And they were tired too. Opening day at the Jasmine Dragon had been demanding and the quick romantic interlude in their room before heading downstairs had made them both drowsy and comfortable feeling. They needed to shake themselves alert. It wouldn't do to be caught napping when they were supposed to be observing.

"You feeling the urge to sleep too," Mai finally asked. She crossed her arms tightly over her breasts and gave herself a quick pinch. "That bed was way too comfortable."

Smirking, Zuko coiled his arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, it was and I do. But once we get our masks on, we'll be fine." He thought briefly about some of his exploits as the Blue Spirit. As soon as he pulled that mask over his face, it was like becoming someone different. He wasn't the Prince of the Fire Nation anymore, tied down by codes of behavior and expectations. He wasn't an exile or a refugee, shamed and homeless. He was a skilled warrior, no real identity, faceless, fear inspiring, able to slip in and out of strongholds without being seen. Silent, he let his swords talk for him. Putting on that mask was a powerful thing and he wondered if Mai had gotten an inkling of that when they had rescued the Avatar's bison together.

Mai's elbow nudged him out of his brief reverie. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, the Blue Spirit, what it feels like when I wear the mask." He reached back and touched it, that old friend of his, who had seen him through some troubled and interesting times. "I wonder if any Fire Nation soldiers know about him." Zuko felt odd talking about the Blue Spirit as if it were someone else, as if every deed done as the spirit, both good and bad, were not his responsibility or his to claim.

"Pohuai Stronghold," Mai reminded him. Zuko had told her the tale of outwitting Zhao and escaping from Pohuai with the Avatar. "I'm sure Zhao had him on wanted posters everywhere after that."

"Yeah." Zuko grinned at the memory. "He was furious. I found that out later." There was a tincture of regret in the prince's voice. Zhao was dead now, too damn stupid or stubborn or both to accept help from Zuko in the Northern Water Tribe. Much as he had loathed the man, he hadn't wanted to see him die.

"He got what was coming to him," Mai said pragmatically. "You have nothing to feel bad about." She found his hand, grabbed hold, and gave it a squeeze. "Look, I can see the entrance to Jin's place up ahead."

Sure enough, the path sloped upward gently and they could see light, not green light, but that from a fire, warm and welcoming, not cold. The girl's home was open to them and the rest of the resistance for the remainder of the evening and into the early hours of the night.

The path branched off as well, leading to the homes and businesses of others who had joined the movement. It was a network now, something they had better learn to navigate well. Mai didn't relish the idea of ever getting lost down in the Crystal Catacombs. She imagined walking around for days, getting turned around over and over again until finally collapsing from exhaustion. Yao's markers along the walls as well as Guo's maps were all that kept disaster from happening. She shuddered and squeezed Zuko's hand a bit harder.

Once they were close to the opening, close enough to see up into the living room of Jin's apartment, they heard excited shouts of, "Dad, someone's here. I can see them." It was Jin's twin sisters, the pair of them practically twitching with excitement, and their cute round faces peering down at Mai and Zuko. "Hi," they called. Suddenly they were jerked backwards and the cute faces were replaced with Ty Lee's and Jin's.

"Come on up," Jin invited. "We're about to leave ourselves through another entrance."

Zuko and Mai walked up into the living room (that was a strange sensation) and stood awkwardly while the little girls danced around them.

"Are you the prince?" ten year old Jia asked Zuko. She was almost swooning.

"Watch out," Mai whispered in Zuko's ear. "She likes you."

"My name is Zuko," he said politely and gave the little girl a bow. Both twins giggled and ran off to find their mother, thrilled about having seen a real live prince.

Mai gave her eyes a roll. "Guess I don't count," she remarked dryly.

"Aww, you count to me," Ty Lee exclaimed, giving her friend a hug. "How are you guys? How was opening day at the Jasmine Dragon?"

"Iroh was in his glory and it was very successful. We're wiped." Mai returned the hug with a bit more reserve.

Kang stood up from his chair and said a quick hello. "I don't mean to be rude, but you had all best get going. Ty Lee, you look out for Jin. You're the one with the training. You put up those posters and then get back here. If anything happens to my daughter…"

Big grey eyes serious and full of love, the acrobat reassured Kang as best she could. "We'll be very, very careful. I promise you."

She picked up a thick handful of posters and a pot of glue. Jin did the same and with a brief look at her father, headed down into the tunnels.

"Remember what I said," Kang called down after them. When he turned around to face Mai and Zuko, there were tears in his eyes. "I'm terrified," he explained. "Jin, she sees the good in just about everybody. I don't think she quite understands the severity of our situation." Not knowing what to say, the couple remained silent. "I'll take a look out the door, make sure the way is clear before you leave," Kang offered.

"Thank you," Zuko replied.

Kang poked his head outside, a bit at a time, taking a good look around. He crooked his finger, beckoning them over. "It's all clear. When you're done, knock three times on the door, no more and no less. If you're out later than midnight, you'll need to take shelter somewhere else. I need to sleep. My family needs to sleep. We have a business to run. There's a password too. It's spreading amongst the resistance workers."

"Well?" Mai asked.

"Weiji*,"the man informed them. "Use the password so we know that you're safe to let in."

With a brief nod, the two pulled up their masks, made certain they were securely in place and headed out into the street. Stealthily they made their way away from Jin's home, keeping track of their surroundings, knowing that it was imperative they be able to find their way back.

They darted into alleyways to miss a few Fire Nation patrols, groups of five soldiers marching grimly down the street. It was silent other than the sound of those fading footsteps. Mai and Zuko ran toward Yun's tea shop and their old apartment block. There were more soldiers there, near the city block they had taken over that night, that night when a man and a woman, a father and a mother were murdered so brutally.

The male and female soldiers chattered as they headed into the confiscated buildings, now barracks with beds and kitchens and bathrooms, their shift over, another one about to begin. The couple watched from the darkness and wondered if anything would happen. The soldiers appeared bored, if anything.

A few minutes passed like that. If they closed their eyes, Zuko and Mai could imagine they were in a city street anywhere, citizens walking about, discussing simple, every day things. But these weren't citizens of Ba Sing Se. They were invading soldiers who had no right to be there.

"Should we move on?" Zuko whispered, pressing himself even closer to Mai.

Mai was undecided. But before she could reply, a scream pierced the night. It was a child's scream, high pitched and absolutely terrified. Without thought, Mai ran toward the sound, glancing about as she moved. The voice had stirred something in her and she was unable to stop. She had to find out who had screamed and why and help in any way that she could.

Zuko had no choice but to follow her.

*means crisis in Chinese