Chapter 5: Danger at the Gates

Aang sat outside the earth-tent that Toph had made for Ying. He could hear the woman screaming as she gave birth to her child. Also in the tent, Aang could vaguely hear Than, Suki, and Sokka conversing. Poor Sokka, Aang couldn't help but think. He had nearly fainted as Suki had dragged him into the earth tent. Katara would have reacted better.

He walked over to Toph, who was sitting silently as they waited. She played with a couple pebbles, moving them around and around. It almost reminded him of his own marble trick. He sat down beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked her. She had nearly drowned just earlier in the morning. He thought of his own close encounters in deep water. At the South Pole, then later during their journey north. It had been the Avatar State which had saved him on those occasions. At least it was more useful than destructive those times.

"I'm fine," she told him, though her voice was unconvincing. "Just waiting for those dunderheads to be done so we can move on."

Aang paused as he tried to think of what to say to her. "Part of being a friend," Aang said, "Is sharing what's troubling you."

She snorted. "Yeah? When are you gonna talk about your problems, then, instead of moping around all the time?" Aang frowned. "I may not have a lot of experience with friendship, but I'm pretty sure the rules go both ways." She stopped talking for a moment, then shot the pebbles forward. "So, here's the deal, you tell me what your problem is, and I'll tell you about mine. No mushiness necessary."

Aang just stared blankly for a few moments, before looking down. "When I was in the desert," he finally said, "I lost control of my anger. I went into the Avatar State, and I could have seriously hurt someone. I was out of control. I never want to feel like that again."

"So, what, you're just going to try shutting your emotions off?" Toph asked. She folded her arms. "Sorry, Twinkletoes, I don't think that's how it works. You're just gonna have to learn to live with the Avatar State."

"What do you know?" Aang snapped. Then, he winced, looking down. "I'm sorry. I said before that I would try not to lash out against you. It's just…the Avatar State is something I can't control. It scares me. If trying to stop myself from caring is the only way I can stop myself from losing control again…"

"I don't believe that," Toph said. Aang looked at her, seeing a small frown on her lips as she spoke. "There have been dozens, hundreds of Avatars before you. They must have figured out how to control the Avatar State."

"But I don't know how," Aang told her. "There's no one to teach me about this stuff. Occasionally Roku speaks to me, but he only ever gives me the bare minimum of advice." He turned his face downwards.

"You know what I know?" Toph asked him, and he looked to her again. "I know that you tracked me down and bugged me until I agreed to be your earthbending teacher. And I know how you waited to fight Azula, despite the plan being to run away. And I know that you struggled to even move a rock on the first day I started teaching you. But you were always capable of moving that rock. You just had to get into the right mindset to do it." She cocked her head to the side slightly. "Maybe this thing with the Avatar State is the same. You can control the Avatar State, Aang. You just have to figure out the right mindset."

Aang frowned, thinking over what she said. Hope was almost frightening, after the last few months, knowing how grief and rage could spiral into the Avatar State. "I hope you're right," he told Toph. "I don't want to live in fear of myself."

She punched his shoulder lightly. "Good. You've been worrying everyone else the past few days."

"Sorry," he told her. He smiled for a moment, then his expression became more serious again. "So, what's on your mind?"

She scowled. "I've never had a problem 'seeing,'" she told him. "I've never been defenseless. But over the past few weeks…I guess I've had more actual problems than I ever had before." She curled up slightly, pulling her knees forward. "First, there was that girl who somehow blocked my earthbending. I was actually blind for a few minutes there, and I couldn't even move. If Appa hadn't rescued Sokka and I…then there was the desert. I could barely see out there, and even then, I could barely bend the sand. I was practically useless out there. I never thought that could happen."

"That's not true," Aang quickly said. He frowned sympathetically. This wasn't at all like the Toph he had come to know. But then, it had been a lousy stretch of weeks. It seemed that it had taken a toll on her. "You may not have been able to stop the sandbenders from stealing Appa, but you're the reason the rest of us are still alive." He smiled. "You know, I think keeping a giant library from being pulled underground definitely makes you the best earthbender in the world. Don't forget that."

Toph did smile at that, though it fell quickly. "I almost drowned just earlier today."

"Well, you were never taught to swim," Aang reminded her. "The same thing could happen to anyone." He paused, trying to think of something else to say. "You know, if it makes you feel any better, I could try to teach you how to swim."

Toph's face turned contemplative. "That's nice, but you realize that I wouldn't know where I'm swimming to, right? I can't feel vibrations through the water. For all I know, I'd be swimming further out into the water."

"I can teach you the basics," Aang amended. "So you can remain floating before I can come and get you out of the water."

Toph snorted, but she gave a slight nod. "I would feel better if I could keep my head above the water." She paused, turning to the earth tent. "Hey, I think they're done in there."

Aang stood up with Toph, watching as Suki came out. She waved them in, and the two twelve-year-olds entered the earth tent. Aang observed the occupants. Suki and Sokka both looked a bit frazzled, but content. Ying was smiling softly as she held her newborn, Than leaning over her shoulder, his own eyes soft as they looked down on his child. The baby was crying, loud enough to be heard, though it didn't sound like an upset sort of crying. Though, Aang's experience with human babies was somewhat limited.

"She sounds healthy," Toph remarked.

"It's so…squishy looking," was Sokka's remark. Aang began to smile as he observed the happy family. The baby had been born before they reached Ba Sing Se, but they were now at the precipice, the walls of Ba Sing Se being very close now.

"What should we name her?" Than asked.

"I want our daughter's name to be unique," Ying said. "I want it to mean something."

Aang didn't know about naming a baby. But he felt almost overwhelmed by emotion as he watched—in a good way, this time. "I've been going through a really hard time lately," he told them. He thought of all the troubles of the recent weeks. Appa. Of things before that. Katara. Of all the changes over the past few months. My entire people. "But you've made me…hopeful again."

Ying's eyes brightened. "I know what I want to name our baby now. Hope."

"That's a perfect name," Than agreed. "Hope."

Sokka smiled as Aang flew off in his glider. If they had any luck—and Sokka really hoped they hadn't jinxed themselves—then they would have Appa back really soon. Aang would be overjoyed to be reunited with him. And then, hopefully, they would soon be reunited with Katara. And, to top it all off, they would be able to plan their invasion with the help of the Earth King.

Yeah, Sokka was so excited to be at Ba Sing Se.

Suki came up to him, looking almost nervous. Sokka offered her a smile. Man, I hope I didn't blow it yesterday. Sokka really liked her. And the more time he spent with her, the more that feeling grew. But, with a bit of hindsight, he knew that his behavior was probably really off-putting. In fact, she had even confronted him about it. Plus, she had attempted to kiss him, only for him to turn away at the last moment.

"Sokka," she said, returning his smile. "I originally came along because I wanted to make sure that you got through the Serpent's Pass safely."

Sokka blinked. "Wait—you mean you came along to protect me?" Here he had been trying to protect her.

"That's certainly part of it," she said. She frowned slightly. "My warriors and I wanted to do good. But we've all come to realize that there was only so much that we could do at that ferry. It was time for us to leave, anyways. But…" She took a deep breath.

"What is it?" Sokka asked her.

"I was wondering if you guys wanted me to stay a little longer," Suki said slowly. Sokka's eyes widened. "It's just, you guys are already down a member, and I just can't help but worry."

"We're at Ba Sing Se," Sokka reminded her, though he didn't particularly want to argue for her leaving. "Our problems should be over."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? How's that been working so far? From what I can tell, you guys manage to find trouble everywhere you go." She shrugged. "Until you guys find Katara, I thought I might just stay and help." She paused for a moment. "That is, if you want me. You can tell me to go."

Sokka embraced her, holding her tightly. He smiled as he felt her hands on his own back. Stepping back, he told her, "Hey, if you want to be stuck with me longer, I'm not gonna complain."

She tipped her head, smiling. "Just in case you manage to find trouble in Ba Sing Se. But I've told my warriors, if I don't return to them, then to come to Ba Sing Se within a month."

"By that time," Sokka told her, "Hopefully we'll have a plan to invade the Fire Nation. Maybe you guys will even want to help." He stared deep into her eyes, admiring the deep blue color. It was hard to tell underneath her makeup, but he almost thought her cheeks turned darker.

"Listen," Suki said. "I'm really sorry about last night. We were talking…and saying things…and I just got carried away and before I knew it…"

"It's fine," Sokka assured her. What should he do? He stared at her lips for a moment, considering kissing her. He even leaned in a little, before he gave her an awkward grin, rubbing his head. "I feel the same way."

She let out a relieved breath. "Well, maybe while we're in Ba Sing Se, we can…I don't know. Do something."

"We can do an activity together," Sokka blurted out. Suki laughed.

"Yes. An activity. Or two." The two of them chuckled. Sokka looked away for a moment, warmth flooding his cheeks. He glanced at her again. Yes, he would be more than happy to have her around for a while. And though he still wondered whether he should have just gone ahead and kissed her, he was happy to know that they still had time.

They all began walking towards the wall of Ba Sing Se. Finally devoid of conflict, they were making good time, though Ying needed help moving along. But, before they quite reached the wall, Aang swooped back down on his glider. Sokka furrowed his brows as he saw his young friend. This can't be good, he thought. Aang looked anxious, and Appa was still nowhere to be seen.

"What happened now?" he asked.

"The Fire Nation," Aang responded. It was hardly an answer, but before they knew it, they were sprinting to the wall, where Toph and Aang created a stone lift, pushing them up to the top of the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.

Upon reaching the top, Sokka asked Aang, "Now what's so big that Appa has to wait?" Aang had been determined to get Appa back since the moment he knew he was missing. What could distract him from that when they were so close to where Appa was supposed to be?

"That," Aang said, indicating something below the wall. Sokka looked, his jaw dropping as he took in the sight.

It was, as far as Sokka could tell, a giant drill, burrowing its way into the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.

Mai lounged in the chair, twirling her knives as she waited for something, anything to happen. But minutes passed by, marked only by the grinding noises of the drill and the War Minister's rambling. He was proud of this plan of his, to break through the walls of Ba Sing Se. Mai, upon entering the vessel, had given a polite acknowledgment of the plan. In truth, the idea of using a giant drill to make a hole in the walls sounded more like a bad joke than an actual plan.

She only hoped it would fail in an interesting way.

And, maybe, that the idiotic war minister wouldn't be punished too badly by Azula. But, really, he was pushing it with this plan. Mai wondered if he realized that, or if he was too arrogant to realize how skeptical Azula actually was of this idea. Mai continued twirling her knives as War Minister Qin said, "Nothing can stop us."

Mai suspected that, throughout history, many people had said that before they were stopped. She didn't bother saying so, but that didn't stop Ty Lee.

"Hmmm, what about those muscle-y guys down there?" Ty Lee asked, looking through the telescope.

Qin whacked the telescope, startling Ty Lee, who shot him a glare. "Please. The drill's metal shell is impervious to any earthbending attack." Why are we even here? Mai wondered. It's not as though this man is interested in what we have to say. I wonder if he'll listen after he botches this attack.

Azula was clearly not amused by Qin's attitude. "Oh, I'm sure it is, War Minister Qin. But just to be on the safe side—Mai and Ty Lee, take the earthbenders out!"

Mai gave her knife one last twirl before she stood up. "Finally, something to do." She walked out, followed closely by Ty Lee. As they made their way down and out, she looked at Ty Lee. Her friend was wearing her pink clothes, as she still liked to do.

Ty Lee caught her looking, and offered her a smile. "At least this won't be boring anymore," she said. "And, hey, maybe we'll get to see the inside of Ba Sing Se! That'll be exciting, don't you think?"

"Not really," Mai said. "And that's only assuming that this stupid plan actually works." She took out a knife again. "I can't think of anything in Ba Sing Se to get excited over. It's just another ugly Earth Kingdom city."

Ty Lee was quiet for a minute. "When Ba Sing Se is taken, the war will basically be over."

"You've never lived in an occupied city, have you?" Mai asked, though she knew the answer. "Just because a place is taken or surrendered, doesn't actually mean that the fighting is over. It just means that it turns dirty, and underground."

"But that's an improvement over open fighting, isn't it?" Ty Lee asked. "There will be fewer people dying to hold the land than to take it to begin with."

Mai frowned. "But the targets change," she argued in her usual monotone. "Just the day before the Omashu resistance fighters abducted my brother, they tried to kill my family with a giant boulder. By brother was there, too, but they didn't care." She shot a glance at Ty Lee. She just shrugged. "Maybe it doesn't really matter how the fighting is done. But it won't end when the Fire Nation raises a flag over Ba Sing Se. Don't fool yourself."

They were quiet for a minute. "Have you written letters to your family?" Ty Lee asked.

"Have you?"

"No," Ty Lee admitted. "But that's not really new. What about you?"

"My parents don't care what I'm doing as long as I behave."

"But what about your brother?" Ty Lee asked. "I know you care about him."

Mai raised an eyebrow, as she glanced at Ty Lee. "Tom-Tom can't read," she pointed out. "He's a baby. There's no point in writing to him."

"Right…maybe you can visit him?"

"I'm sure Azula will be needing our help for a while longer," Mai said as they exited the drill. She looked out, catching sight of the attacking earthbenders. Before she ran out to stop them, she exchanged one last look with her friend. "You know what we want doesn't matter as long as that's the case."

Smellerbee stood in line with Jet and Longshot, a wave of exhaustion coming over her as she observed Katara, Li, and Mushi with them. Jet was very much an older brother to her, at least as much so as Longshot. She tried to look out for him, as he had done for her when she had lost her family to the Fire Nation. She had stood by his side through everything, even as he led them to attack a colony full of Fire Nation citizens. Most of them hadn't been soldiers, but families with little to do with the war. Their guilt for colonizing the Earth Kingdom was another thing, but, with a bit of hindsight, it was wrong to target them all.

Smellerbee knew that Jet's encounter with a family of survivors from their attack had rattled Jet more than he cared to admit.

So she had been happy to stand by him as he chose to lead them to Ba Sing Se. To go straight and live their lives as refugees within the great city's walls. Perhaps do a bit of good there, though not like they had ever done by Gaipan. After all, there were no Fire Nation soldiers to fight in Ba Sing Se. But, now, she found herself just what Jet was thinking.

They observed Katara and her new friends giving their passports to the woman at the desk. Upon getting on the ticket lady's nerves, Mushi began flirting with the old woman. Smellerbee refrained from snorting; this would not be a fond memory for his teenage companions. True to her thought, as the three began walking away, she could hear Li speaking.

"I'm going to forget I saw that," Li said as he snatched his ticket and passport back from his uncle. Smellerbee could see Katara mutter something to Li, perhaps some form of agreement.

"I think Li would make a good Freedom Fighter," Jet said, and the exhaustion grew in Smellerbee. "He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us."

"You don't know anything about him, Jet," Smellerbee pointed out. True, Li had been a decent teammate in their food heist on the ferry. But the fact remained that they didn't know him. They knew he was a friend of Katara's—and while that may be testimony to his character, it also supported Smellerbee's opinion that they should stay far away from him. Li may not want to spend more time with them if he knew what they had done.

But then, Katara was a whole other issue, and one that Smellerbee doubted was going to go away.

"I know he didn't get that scar from a waterbender," Jet retorted. You'll get a scar from a waterbender if you aren't careful, Smellerbee couldn't help but think.

"Besides, I thought we were going straight now," she told him. She didn't know what he was thinking. This wasn't the middle of a forest. They were refugees in the Earth Kingdom capital. Smellerbee doubted the officials would appreciate Jet leading their group into fights. Who are we gonna fight in Ba Sing Se, anyways?

"We are," Jet said, "and the new Freedom Fighters could use a guy like Li. If he's good enough for Katara, he's good enough for us, don't you think, Longshot?" Longshot just gave Jet one of his signature looks. To an outsider, it would be a total non-answer. But to those who truly knew Longshot, they knew he was taking a middle road. Ask Li to join if you feel it's necessary. But be cautious, and don't try to force him. "I can respect that."

Smellerbee shook her head as they reached the ticket lady. She folded her arms as they handed over their passports. Upon being given their train tickets and beginning to walk away, she got in front of Jet, blocking his path slightly. "I'm not chipping ice off of you again," she told Jet. "Katara isn't accepting your apology, not from what I've seen so far. And you can't go to Li without going to her. She's not going to like you trying to recruit her friend."

Jet folded his arms. "Well, this isn't about her. She can't make Li's decisions for him."

"No," Smellerbee said. "But if they're together, then I don't know that he'll want to spend time with you any more than she does."

Jet's cheeks darkened slightly. "Together? Who told you they're together?"

Smellerbee clenched her jaw. "That's not even what I meant," she snapped. "And it doesn't matter whether they're friends or anything else. From what I've seen so far, they trust each other. And I don't either one of them are interested in extending that trust to you." She deflated slightly as she said it.

Jet's face fell. "I'm not talking about Gaipan," he said quietly. He let out a breath. "Li could be useful. And I kind of liked having him around…and I'd still like to make things right with Katara."

Smellerbee shook her head, but she got out of his way. They resumed walking. "I'm telling you Jet, I don't think there are any words for you to say that will make her forgive you. If you keep going to her, or to Li, I can't help but think it's going to get you burned."

Suki could only observe patiently as her friends and General Sung talked to the survivors of the attack on the giant drill. She frowned as one of the earthbenders described a girl hitting them—and taking their bending away? Suki startled as she heard the earth crack beneath her feet.

"That girl again?" Toph sounded angry. "We met her before." Toph was scowling.

"You don't have to fight her if you don't want to," Aang told her. "You can stay and fight…some other way."

"Oh, no, Twinkletoes," Toph said. "I'm not missing this rematch."

"We still need a plan, though," Sokka said. Everyone looked at him. After a few moments, he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're the idea guy," Aang told him. Suki's lips twitched.

"Oh, so I'm the only one who can come up with a plan?"

"At least half the time," Aang said. He grinned, before he looked back out at the drill. How long would it take that thing to break through the wall? Suki hoped that they still had enough time.

"Sokka?" she asked. He looked at her. "Do you have a plan?"

He grimaced, squinting his eyes as he walked over to look at the drill. "A frontal attack won't work," he said. "A whole team of earthbenders just tried that and failed. The thing is made of metal, it's going to be largely impervious to any sort of outside, brute force." He blinked. "But the inside…" He smiled, turning back to them. "Anyone up for a trip into a giant drill? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's the only way we can destroy this thing."

Suki nodded. "I'm in, Sokka."

"We'll take it down from the inside," Aang agreed. Toph frowned, saying nothing, but they all went down the wall to confront the Fire Nation together. Suki, seeing the boys running ahead, lingered a moment.

"Will you be coming?" she asked the younger girl.

She scowled. "That thing is all metal," she replied, projecting her voice to that the boys could hear. "I can't bend in there. I can help you guys get on the thing, but then I'll be staying out here to try and slow it down." Suki nodded.

She took a deep breath. This, she thought, was why we left Kyoshi Island.

Katara let out a frustrated groan as she saw Jet approaching them. She, Zuko, and Iroh were still waiting for their train to come. Here, she had almost hoped that they would be able to get on it before Jet showed up, get into their ring, and, with luck, never see Jet again. She nudged her friends.

"I told him I didn't want to join his group," Zuko muttered. "Won't he give it a rest?"

"No," Katara said as she stood up. She walked over to Jet, her hand on her hips as she scowled at him. "Can you knock it off? Li already told you he doesn't want anything to do with your gang. And I don't want anything to do with you."

Jet almost looked hurt for a moment before he raised his hands. "Okay," he said. "Fine, you want nothing to do with me. But maybe Li should get to make his own decision." He started trying to go around Katara, but she stepped to the side, blocking him from her friends once more.

Katara's nostrils flared as she glared at him. "Those two saved my life," she said. "There's no way I'm letting you hurt them!" She startled as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Iroh standing behind her. He offered her a smile, though his eyes were slightly reprimanding.

"Katara, could you do something for me? I'm afraid Li and I forgot our documents back at the ticket station. Could you go and get them from us?" Katara frowned, shooting Jet another look. She knew Iroh wanted them to resolve things peacefully. She just wasn't sure that would be possible with Jet around. But Iroh gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "Please?"

She let out a breath. "I'll go," she said, begrudgingly. She narrowed her eyes as she walked past Jet. "If you do anything while I'm gone, you'll regret it." She walked on, heart beating fast as she hoped that Zuko and Iroh didn't get themselves into more trouble.

Jet grimaced, raising an eyebrow as he watched Katara walk away. She was different than when he'd met her a few months back. She was angrier—though, that may have just been from having him around. Jet began to wonder if he would ever be back in her good graces again. She'd seemed sweet and trusting when he'd known her in the forest by Gaipan, but now she was all distrust and fury. Jet shook his head, before going back to sit near Mushi and Li. He offered them a smile, hoping that Li would be more willing to listen than Katara had been.

"So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?" he asked.

"Get away from you," Li muttered, giving him a glare eerily reminiscent of the one Katara had given him. Jet gave an awkward smile under the other boy's irritated stare. What was Li's connection to Katara? She had said that Li and Mushi had saved her life.

She didn't exactly seem like the type to need saving, anymore.

Before anyone could say anything else, a man came buy, shouting out to sell his tea. "Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!"

Mushi's eyes lit up, and he waved his hand to call the man over. "Ooh! Jasmine please." The tea seller came over and poured Mushi a cup of tea, before quickly walking off. Mushi quickly took a sip, before grimacing. "Blaugh! Ugh, coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it! What a disgrace!" Li just frowned.

This was going nowhere, especially with these distractions. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He motioned Li to follow him. After a moment, Li sighed, but he stood up and followed Jet to the side, where he talked to Katara a minute earlier. Now we can talk, away from Katara, Mushi, and anyone else who might interrupt us. Best make it fast. "You and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together. You want to join the Freedom Fighters?"

"I already told you," Li said, eyes narrowed, "I'm not interested in joining your gang. Believe me, you don't want me in it, anyways."

"I'm asking, aren't I?" Jet said, frowning. "I know you saved Katara's life." Li froze, eyes widening slightly. "And we made a great team looting that captain's food. Think of all the good we could do for these refugees."

Li's eye twitched, and he clenched a fist. "Katara has helped me more than I deserved," he told Jet. "And I trust her—which means that I do not trust you." He shook his head, taking a step back. "I told you before, I'm not interested in spending any more time with you. And stay away from Katara." He turned, and walked back to his uncle.

"Have it your way," Jet said, defeated. But it was then, as he watched Li walk back to his uncle, that he saw what Mushi was holding. It was the same leaf-shaped cup of tea that he had been given a few minutes previously. "Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it!" But now that cold cup of tea was steaming hot, little wisps of vapory heat visibly drifting up in the air. The man selling the tea was long gone; it was the same cup. There was nothing around with which Mushi could have heated the cup of tea.

Nothing but his own hands.

Jet's eyes widened.

Mushi is a firebender.

And if Mushi was Fire Nation, then Li was, too. Jet watched as Li reached his uncle and then cast a look at Jet over his shoulder. Jet narrowed his eyes, meeting Li's for just a moment. Enemy. Fire Nation. Firebender? Jet turned and began walking away. Had Li seen through him, Jet wondered? Did he know that Jet knew? Mushi and Li—if those were even their real names—were Fire Nation, freely entering Ba Sing Se. The capital of the Earth Kingdom. The last bastion of hope against the Fire Nation's conquest. At once, Jet felt his heartbeat quickening as he thought of the danger presented to the Earth Kingdom. What were those two planning?

It wouldn't matter.

Jet would stop them.

He saw Katara walking up, scowl on her face as she eyed him. She was returning to Mushi and Li. At once, Jet found himself floored. Did she know? Did she know she was travelling with Fire Nation spies? She couldn't, he thought. Her mother was killed by a firebender. She was friends with the Avatar.

"Katara," he said. "Your friends—"

"I don't want to hear another word, Jet!" She walked right past him.

"But, Katara! You're in danger! Katara!" She went right to Li and Mushi, waiting beside them for the train into Ba Sing Se. Does she know? He wondered again. It just didn't seem possible.

But then, she had seemed eerily concerned with the possibility that he would hurt them. If she knew that they were Fire Nation…

Jet clenched his fists as he returned to Smellerbee and Longshot. Longshot only gave him a questioning look, while Smellerbee folded her arms. "We have a problem," he told them both.

"So Li doesn't want to join us, big deal," Smellerbee said.

Jet let out an incredulous laugh. I actually tried to recruit a possible firebender into the Freedom Fighters. Smellerbee and Longshot frowned at the sound, giving each other uncomfortable glances. "No," Jet told them. "We have a different problem, and this one is way worse."

Aang let out a breath as he sliced through the support beam one final time.

Their attack on the giant drill had started out well enough, Sokka, Suki, and himself entering the contraption, with Toph staying outside to slow the machine down. It had been easy to trick one of the engineers into coming out, and to steal the machine's design layout from him. Sokka had quickly come up with the idea of using waterbending to break through the support pillars.

"You know," Aang said, sweating as he finished cutting through the pillar. "This is actually harder than it looks like." Sokka, of course, wasn't a bender of any sort. So, perhaps it wasn't surprising that he didn't understand how draining bending could be.

Suki shook her head. "This isn't enough," she said. "We'll need to cut through more for this to work." But then the machine began to shake, a loud groan reverberating through its metal walls.

"Ha!" Sokka exclaimed. "Do you hear that? We took it down! We better get out of here fast!" Suki just raised an eyebrow, before the three began to run. But the moment of victory was quickly ended.

"Congratulations, crew," a voice was projected throughout the machine. "The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se. Start the countdown to victory!"

No! Aang shared a frantic look with his companions. Sokka ran back to the pillar, pushing against it stubbornly, as though pushing it just a little more would be enough to destroy the machine.

"Sokka, that isn't going to work," Suki said. "There has to be another way to destroy these pillars. Maybe we need to cut through more pillars? Or, I don't know, a particular pillar?" Sokka looked at the schematics again, then shook his head.

Aang's eyes brightened as he had an idea. "Maybe we don't need to cut all the way through. Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't give one hundred percent of your energy into any one strike." He went over to Sokka. "Sokka, take a fighting stance. You've got to be quick and accurate. Hit a series of points and break your opponent's stance." He demonstrated, hitting Sokka several times. "And when he's reeling back, you deliver the final blow." He hit Sokka lightly on his head, mentally picturing the same attack on the machine. "His own weight becomes his downfall, literally." Sokka fell over.

Suki grinned. "So all you need to do is cut through them enough to weaken them…"

Aang nodded. "Then I'll go to the top of this thing and deliver the final blow."

Sokka stood. "And boom! It all comes crashing down!"

Aang could only hope that they wouldn't encounter any more complications. They had encountered more than enough of those recently.

Mai stood behind Azula and Ty Lee. Though War Minister Qin seemed to believe they were going to have an easy victory, the moments dragged on and on. Was it only Mai's imagination, or was the drill actually having more resistance than it had when it had started? Occasionally, Mai would hear a clang from a boulder hitting the outside of the drill. Was that really the best that the military at Ba Sing Se could think of? If it were, Mai struggled to understand how the city could have withstood the Fire Nation for a hundred years. It had taken Azula's uncle, the greatest of the Fire Nation's generals in his prime, six hundred days of war to make headway.

Everyone knew he gave up, not lost.

There was another clang from a boulder hitting the drill. "Not to worry," Qin assured them, "This drill can withstand any blow."

At that moment, a voice came through on the speakers. "War Minister, an engineer was ambushed! His schematics were stolen!" Qin was visibly startled. Azula made no movement, but Mai knew she was analyzing the situation—and judging Qin for his failure.

A second voice came through the speaker. "War Minister, a brace on the starboard side has been cut clean through! It's sabotage, sir!"

Azula didn't even say anything to Qin—that would come later. "Let's go, ladies!" Mai and Ty Lee followed her out of the room, going through the halls. "The person who is sabotaging the drill was capable of sneaking aboard—most likely during the dust cloud that Ty Lee and Qin dismissed earlier." Mai noticed Ty Lee look down for a moment. "They have also been able to make a plan to sabotage this machine, and of cutting through metal."

"That's not easy," Mai said, tone neutral.

"No, it isn't," Azula agreed. "Especially not without good tools. I suspect that waterbending had been used to cut the brace. I expect that our saboteur is none other than the Avatar." She shot Mai and Ty Lee a smirk. "This is our chance to eliminate the threat of the Avatar. Be ready, and do not let him—or his friends—get away."

They reached the braces of the drill. True to Azula's expectations, the Avatar was there, using his waterbending to cut into the braces. Not all the way through, Mai noticed. But what was the point in cutting only partway through a brace? His friend, the Water Tribesman was also there. The little earthbender in green was not there, but there was an unfamiliar face. A girl, around Mai's age, in a ridiculous green dress, with an elaborate hair piece and a bunch of makeup.

"Good work, Team Avatar!" the Water Tribesman was saying. "Now Aang just needs to—" He noticed them just as Azula shot a blast of blue fire at them. "Duck!" He dodged the blast.

Azula ran out onto a brace, Mai and Ty Lee following closely behind. Azula sent another blast of blue fire towards the Avatar. "Whoa!" the Avatar exclaimed as he just barely avoided the fire.

"Wow, Azula, you were right!" Ty Lee said, her gray eyes sparkling. "It is the Avatar!" She began smiling as she observed the Water Tribesman. "And friends." She can't be serious, Mai thought.

To Mai's disbelief, the Water Tribesman seemed caught off-guard, and offered Ty Lee a smile, waving back to her. "Hey…" The girl in the green dress gave him an indignant look and swatted his hand. "Sorry," Mai thought he muttered as the girl began dragging him off. Ty Lee attempted to leap towards the Avatar, probably hoping to chi-block him and make their work easy, but the Avatar airbent her away with ease. He raced after his friends, and Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee chased after them.

If nothing else, at least this gave them something to do besides sit around listening to Qin extoll the virtues of his giant drill. Mai suspected he would regret that, once Azula had the chance to speak to him again. The three girls reached an intersection of hallways, arriving just in time to see the Avatar break off from his friends. "Follow them!" Azula ordered. "The Avatar's mine!"

Mai and Ty Lee did as Azula told them, pursuing the Avatar's friends. Before long, they cornered them, but only in time to see them climbing into a hatch on the floor. Mai threw several daggers at them as quickly as she could, but they had already descended into the hatch. Mai and Ty Lee approached it, observing what laid beneath. It was like a river; a canal full of brown muck.

There was no way Mai was going in there.

"Ugh, disgusting!" was all she said, leaning away from the nasty canal.

But Ty Lee began entering the hatch. "C'mon! You heard Azula. We have to follow them!" Why bother? Mai thought. This plan is never going to work; we are not going to drill our way into Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation would take Ba Sing Se. It was inevitable. But the fall of Ba Sing Se was not going to be achieved through the use of a giant drill.

What she said was, "She can shoot all the lightning she wants at me. I am not going in that wall sludge juice." Which was, basically, the truth. She looked at the sludge and shivered at the thought of touching that stuff. No thank you. I'll take Azula's complaints after we lose.

Mai wondered if Ty Lee also saw the absurdity of the plan—if she had even bothered to question the plan when Azula played along with it. Either way, pleasing Azula was apparently more important that Ty Lee's personal comfort, so the girl in pink just shrugged, and leapt into the wall sludge. Mai shuddered again, and then closed the hatch.

Toph could feel it as Sokka and Suki left the giant drill, colliding with the ground within the giant, muddy liquid being expelled from the end of the machine. Where was Aang? The machine was still working, so it wasn't as though they had won. A new body came through the muddy exit, but it wasn't Aang. No, this one was female—the chi blocker! Toph scowled. After a moment, she stepped back, leaving her stone wedges to slow the drill for as long as they could hold out. If Suki and Sokka were fighting one of those Fire Nation Girls, Aang had to be busy with at least one of the other ones. Should she try to find him and help him? No, she quickly dismissed. He's still in the drill. My earthbending won't help. But I can help the others. She smirked. And I can get payback.

In a minute, she had made her way to the end of the drill, where she felt Suki and Sokka fighting against the Fire Nation girl. They fought well together, Toph couldn't help but note. In fact, Sokka seemed to almost reflect Suki's fighting style. He wasn't exactly the same, or as good, but Toph could 'see' him moving similarly, pulling a few of the same moves. Weird, Toph thought. Why would a Water Tribe boy fight like a Kyoshi Warrior? She dismissed it from her mind as she joined the fight, trapping the Fire Nation girl's right food in the ground. The girl gave a startled shout; she had already begun moving into another attack, and had fallen over as her foot was trapped.

"You guys need some help?" Toph asked as she approached. She felt Suki fold her arms for a moment.

"Well," Suki said, "It's not like we'll say no." But her tone held gratitude and relief.

Toph locked the Fire Nation girl's other foot. She smirked as she felt the girl looking up at her. "How's that feel?" she asked. "You're never chi-blocking me again, understand? I'm the best earthbender in the world, and don't you dare try that again!" She shifter her foot and punched out, pushing the girl into the drill's drain.

"That's it!" Sokka exclaimed, patting Toph's shoulder. "Toph, keep her and the rest of that slurry in the drain for as long as you can!"

"Not a problem," Toph said. She concentrated on the slurry, focusing on keeping it back. A waterbender, she thought, would be useful right now. But Toph could do it. She would do it.

"It'll build up pressure," Suki said, putting together what Sokka wanted.

"Then when Aang delivers the final blow, it'll be ready to pop!" Sokka responded excitedly.

"Sokka, you're a genius!" Suki said. Toph could feel them staring at each other. Ugh.

"Where's Aang?" Toph asked, trying to think of some distraction.

"He's…on the top of the drill, fighting Azula," Sokka said.

Toph felt the slurry slip slightly as she frowned. "Is he okay? Last time we fought her, it took all of us." All of us plus friends.

"I can't see much from here," Suki said. "I think he's doing alright. Wait, who is this girl?"

"Remember the jerk with the ponytail who burned down your village a few months ago?" Sokka said. "It's his sister Aang's fighting."

"Oh…"

And then Toph felt it; the great tremor as the machine was dismantled, falling apart from within, the pressure culminating to blow apart the sewage system.

"Woohoo!" Sokka shouted in victory.

"Here it comes!" Toph used her earthbending to lift a large platform up for Sokka, Suki, and herself, as the remains of the slurry came pouring out of the drain. Below the platform, she felt the flood of slurry. Behind her, she felt Sokka and Suki embracing. She blew at the hair in front of her face. I don't need this, she decided. She turned to them. "If you two are done staring into each other's eyes, we should go find Aang. We have a lot to do in Ba Sing Se, remember?" She could feel the two teenagers' hearts beating quickly, but they separated, and the three of them went to the top of the drill to find Aang, Toph's footsteps more cautious on the metal. Though, she almost thought that she could feel some of the vibrations through the metal.

"Last call for Ba Sing Se!" The voice rang out through the train station. Jet clenched his jaw as he heard it. He tried to maintain sight on Mushi, Li, and Katara, following them as closely as he could without arousing suspicion—if he hadn't already done so. Why, he thought again, was Katara with those two?

Smellerbee and Longshot followed closely behind him; he could feel their distress radiating off of them. They hadn't said anything since he had told them what he had seen, but he knew they didn't believe him. "Jet, relax," Smellerbee finally said. "So the old guy had some hot tea. Big deal."

"He heated it himself!" Jet snapped. "Those guys are firebenders!" Jet eyed the trio as they boarded the train.

"You really think that Katara is travelling with firebenders," Smellerbee said, incredulity in her voice.

"I know what I saw," Jet said, sending her a glare. How could she just dismiss him like this? Didn't she trust him? Jet turned away from her as it occurred to him that perhaps she didn't. Though Smellerbee and Longshot had stayed with him after everyone else had left, perhaps, it now occurred to him, it hadn't been because they still believed in him. Perhaps they were only following him to be damage control…

He swallowed, throat aching suddenly.

"Jet," Smellerbee spoke again, voice gentle this time. Her tone didn't help as she probably hoped it would. "The past few days have been a bit crazy." Is that an accusation? I'm not crazy. "Katara has been a bit…hostile. I know you were really affected by whatever she said before she left you in the woods before." Jet, you monster! "Are you sure you aren't just…I don't know, projecting your problems onto Li or something? I mean, I know you really did like Katara before, and now she seems really close to Li. Are you sure you aren't just going after him because of that?"

Jet whirled around to glare at her. "That has nothing to do with it!" he shouted. Smellerbee actually flinched as he said it, her eyes widening. She covered her hurt quickly, exchanging a quick look with Longshot. The archer said nothing, but he furrowed his brows as he observed Jet. A disapproving frown came over his face. Jet grimaced, looking around. People were starting to stare. He let out an irritated breath. "Come on," he said. "Let's get on the train."

He thought of Katara as the found seats. I don't know why you're with those two, and I don't know what they're planning. But I will not allow it. This isn't like before.

"We lost," had been Mai's blunt assessment of what had happened.

Azula's stare had momentarily sharpened into an irritated glare, while Ty Lee had been busy trying to get the wall slurry off of herself. Mai was glad she hadn't followed Ty Lee down into the slurry pipeline. It wasn't worth it. Azula's glare lasted only a few moments before she redirected her anger towards War Minister Qin. After all, the mission was doomed to fail long before Mai decided not to swim in the slurry. Best to discipline the man responsible for the foolish plan than those who were powerless to stop it from failing.

It wasn't as though her attempt to stop the Avatar had succeeded, after all.

Mai mostly hung back as they rendezvoused with Qin and the other survivors of the attack. Ty Lee was mostly quiet at the time, though an expression of disgust slowly crept onto her face as she tried to get the slurry off of her skin. "It's starting to dry," she quietly complained to Mai.

"You should have just stayed with me," Mai said. She raised an eyebrow for a moment as she saw Ty Lee look almost embarrassed. "Azula knows there was nothing we could have done at that point. Or else, do you really think we'd be having this conversation?" Ty Lee flinched.

Mai and Ty Lee listened in the background as Azula chewed out Qin. Within minutes, the older man had beads of sweat on his brow, wrinkles exaggerated by his expression of thinly veiled terror. He's lucky we have to flee, Mai thought, or he would be getting far worse treatment. As it was, they had little time to waste. With the drill plan failed, they had no choice but to flee, unless they wished to be taken captive by the Earth Kingdom. Being stuck in Omashu was bad enough—Mai had no interest whatsoever in becoming a prisoner of war, much less in the aftermath of what may have been the dumbest attack in Fire Nation history. They evacuated the survivors quickly, Azula's sharp face practicing neutrality the entire time. Mai shook her head slightly as they had to leave, waiting to be found by reinforcements.

By the time the sun was setting, they were far enough away to feel secure in speaking to each other.

Azula sent a glare at Qin as she approached Mai and Ty Lee. "That man is a relic," she said simply. "He's had his good days, but I see little use left of him to the Fire Nation. I intend to tell my father as much when I send Qin to report to him."

"I'm going to be washing slurry out of my hair for weeks," Ty Lee said, pouting as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Azula's gaze sharpened slightly before she relaxed. "I'm aware of what both of you did during the attack. I am also aware that there was nothing you could have done to change the outcome." Her gaze turned to Mai, who made not response. "Next time I give you an order, I expect you to follow it."

Mai's expression didn't change. "Next time, will we have a better plan? I thought we were supposed to be chasing your brother and uncle, anyways." The way things were going, the Earth Kingdom authorities would find Zuko and Iroh before Azula even laid eyes on them again. Mai couldn't help but wonder what Azula was playing at—she was more than capable of tracking down her brother and uncle.

"We have another target," Azula reminded her. "The Avatar." A self-assigned target, Mai recalled. To her knowledge, the Firelord had never tasked Azula with capturing the Avatar. She wondered what exactly was going through Azula's mind in assigning herself a hunt for the Avatar. But she said nothing, instead allowing Azula to speak. Azula clasped her hands behind her back, frowning slightly as she thought. "We were asked to help oversee Qin's attempt to break through the walls of Ba Sing Se. That didn't go anywhere. You are right, Mai—it is time for us to turn back to our own purposes. We know the Avatar is in, or around, Ba Sing Se. If we stay in the area, we may be able to find him again."

"But if he's in Ba Sing Se," Ty Lee said, tipping her head slightly, "then how are we going to find him? They wouldn't let us in."

"We'll find another way," Azula told them, a small smirk forming.

Mai said nothing, though she glanced behind them, towards the walls of Ba Sing Se. This wasn't over, she knew. Knowing Azula, she would find a way to get them into that city, if that was where their chase led them.

Mai wondered what was waiting for them behind those walls.

Katara smiled slightly as she got onto the train with Zuko and Iroh. At last, they were reaching Ba Sing Se! It was a great sight, and she couldn't help but be excited—they were in the capital of the Earth Kingdom. A year previously, she never would have dreamt that she would one day see Ba Sing Se. A few months previously, she never would have thought that she would see it with Zuko and Uncle Iroh. But they were there. And the two of them were finally safe. Azula and the rest of the Fire Nation won't be able to get to them here. They're finally safe. And I can finally get back to Sokka and Aang!

The three of them found their seats beside another family. A woman was holding her baby in her arms, smiling softly at her child. The baby must have been born very recently—maybe within the day or so. Katara had seen plenty enough newborns to recognize one. She offered her congratulations. Iroh also noticed the child.

"What a handsome baby," he said to the mother.

"Thank you," the mother said. Katara felt a slight lurch as the train began moving. She let out a relieved breath. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Zuko. She blinked, her gaze flipping over to his hand on her shoulder, before turning back to him. He followed her stare, looking at his own hand before quickly retracting it, cheeks darkening slightly. Katara would have asked him what he was doing, but his expression turned stressed as he leaned over to speak to her quietly. "We may have a problem," he said quietly.

Her eyes widened. "Oh no…now what?" What could possibly have gone wrong as they reached Ba Sing Se? She turned to see Zuko eyeing all of the other passengers. Her stomach felt knotted. If it's something they can't hear about…

"Jet may've seen something he shouldn't have," Zuko whispered. Her jaw dropped, and she quickly gave him a baffled look.

"You didn't!?" she whisper-shouted.

Zuko gave her an indignant look. "It wasn't me," he muttered, looking past to, to give his uncle an exasperated look. He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll tell you more later. Just…Just know that he may be following us."

"What" Her heart felt like it had stopped for a moment.

"I thought I saw him earlier, trying to keep us in sight…he isn't going to let this go, is he?"

She shook her head. "No. Jet doesn't let things go." She looked down. How could this have happened? How did they manage to find trouble in Ba Sing Se? She thought of what Jet had done to Gaipan, what would have happened if not for Sokka. Now Jet would be after them. Even if he didn't kill them himself, he could still expose them. Jet is crazy, she thought, and now Zuko and Iroh are targets. They've reached Ba Sing Se and they still aren't safe.

"We'll be okay," Zuko said quietly, and she looked at him, meeting his eyes. "We not easy to kill."

She closed her jaw firmly, her own eyes narrowing slightly. "No. We aren't."

Jet was never going to hurt anyone again.

I know, a lot of this is super close to canon, but I swear it's going somewhere. There's a reason for the Mai parts, and also for the Jet parts. Anyways, I'm happy to say that, as of next chapter, we are officially in Ba Sing Se. I've been looking forward to these next chapters for a while. I hope you guys will enjoy reading them as much as I've enjoyed planning them. As always, reviews are super-appreciated.