Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Chapter 16: The City of Walls and Secrets

"How long until we get there?" Toph groaned from her spot on Appa's saddle. "I get flying is convenient and all, but I can't see! I just want to get back onto nice, solid earth."

Sokka looked up from his maps. "We have about two days of flying, and then we'll be at Full Moon Bay. From there, we can take a ferry to Ba Sing Se."

"You need passports for the ferry at Ba Sing Se." Zuko informed them, cracking his eye open from where he was laying up against Appa's saddle, dozing. "Otherwise, the ferry attendant won't let you across."

Sokka looked up in alarm. "How are we supposed to get passports? We can't exactly tell someone that we're traveling with the Avatar and the Prince of the Fire Nation."

"Don't worry about it. Uncle and I got fake passports last time." Zuko reassured them. "We can do that again."

Katara looked up, concerned. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Katara, we're flying around the world on a sky bison, with the Avatar and the Prince of the Fire Nation, on a mission to kill the Fire Lord. I think getting fake passports is perfectly fine." Zuko deadpanned.

Katara sighed. "Okay, but if this turns dangerous, I'm blaming you."

"Lighten up Sugar Queen." Toph said, leaning back against the saddle. "A little fun couldn't hurt."

Sokka set his maps aside, turning to Zuko. "How are we even going to get fake passports?"

"We're going to play Pai Sho." Zuko said, grinning.

Aang turned around, confusion on his face. "What does Pai Sho have to do with anything?"

"Uncle and I already planned this before." Zuko told them. "I'm going to play Pai Sho with one of his White Lotus friends, and they'll give us the fake passports. We're stopping in a town just outside of Full Moon Bay."

Toph waved her hands. "Um hello? Did you plan for me being here?"

"Of course." Zuko said, nodding. "I always planned on getting you before we went to Ba Sing Se. I planned this out without requiring for me to tell all of you about my time travel. At the time I had no idea when I was going to tell you."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "If you planned this without us knowing about your time travel, how did you plan on getting us to go find Toph?"

"I hadn't thought about that part." Zuko commented sheepishly.

"You're ability to both plan ahead and not plan at all surprises me." Sokka deadpanned

Zuko scowled. "You expect me to know what I'm doing. Newsflash, I don't."

"If Sparky wants to live his life always spur of the moment, let him." Toph said, shrugging. "I'd do that if I had the chance."

Katara rolled her eyes. "That's great, except when we're trying to prevent our own deaths."

"We need a plan for when we get to Ba Sing Se." Sokka said. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm the plans guy. Zuko said we need to avoid the Dai Li."

Zuko nodded. "We don't have to worry about trying to find Appa this time, so that should free up our time. As far as Ba Sing Se goes, its going to be in the same condition as last time, so we need to figure out how to tell the Earth King about the war."

"What about your sister?" Katara asked. "You said that she tried to take over Ba Sing Se last time."

Zuko sighed. "Azula's a wild card. I expect her to try and take over the city again, but I have no clue how long she was in the city. She at least won't have my help this time."

"So, we need to figure out a way to take out the Dai Li, or at least stop them before they join Azula." Sokka confirmed. "Stopping them will be a major blow to Azula."

Zuko nodded. "Azula used them last time to help take over Ba Sing Se. She'll be at a disadvantage if she can't use their help."

"Who controls the Dai Li?" Katara asked. "If we can get them on our side, then the Dai Li won't join your sister."

Zuko sighed. "Long Feng. He's the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se. Long Feng's smart, but he craves power. Its why he joined up with Azula the first time."

"Do you think he'll join up with us this time?" Aang asked hopefully.

Zuko shook his head. "Long Feng isn't an idiot. He knows that the kind of power he wants, you won't let him have. He'll side with the Fire Nation, simply because of power. But, if we can convince King Kuei that Long Feng has been lying to him about the war, we'll get him on our side."

"What did we do last time?" Sokka asked. "Maybe we can do it again."

Zuko leaned back against Appa's saddle, wishing for what wasn't the first time that this could be a lot simpler than it actually was. "Well, we showed him the destroyed drill that my sister used to try and break into the city, but we're going to be there sooner than last time, and I have no idea what Azula is going to do."

"If only this could be easy." Sokka lamented. "Why couldn't the spirits actually like us?"

Katara shook her head at her brother. "I thought you didn't believe in all the 'spirit mumbo jumbo'. Besides, our lives are never easy. Why would they be now, even with knowing the future?"

"I guess you have a point." Sokka agreed. "But is it too much just to wish that everything would go right for once?"

Zuko closed his eyes, resting up against the side of the saddle. "Let's just hold off on the plan until we get to Ba Sing Se. I've always just gone with everything, and not planned it out. It worked at the Fire Temple, and the Boiling Rock, and the North Pole."

"I'm not going to even ask." Sokka said, shaking his head. "The Boiling Rock doesn't sound fun."

Zuko winced. "Believe me, its not."

"As fun as it is to make fun of Sparky for his lack of planning," Toph spoke up. "We should probably camp for the night."

Aang nodded. "Toph's right. Let's look for a clearing."

"Look down there!" Toph yelled, pointing in a random direction.

Sokka and Katara scrambled over to the side of the saddle, peering over, as Aang jerked his head in the general direction, spotting nothing but trees. Zuko simply sat in his spot, rolling his eyes.

"She's blind guys. Toph's just messing with you." He told them.

Toph scowled. "You ruined the joke Sparky. How did you even know I would do that?"

"I'm from the future." Zuko deadpanned. "Don't think you haven't tried that joke before."

Toph sighed. "And here I thought I was being original."

As soon as Sokka and Katara had turned away, Zuko scooted closer to the blind earthbender. "Don't worry," he told her. "Sokka will keep believing you when you mention seeing something, so you didn't loose your joke."

"I knew I liked you Sparky." Toph said, grinning. "You're keeping my one joke alive."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You do need to get more than one joke though."

"Not if its so effective." She shot back, punching Zuko in the arm.

Zuko smiled at her. "I'm glad we found you again Toph."

"Why? Because I'm so amazing?" Toph asked, grinning.

Zuko nodded. "Yes, but also you're the only one who understands what it's like to have terrible parents. Aang, Katara, and Sokka try to understand, but they don't get it like you do. Aang never met his parents, and Sokka and Katara's parents are amazing. Its just really nice to have someone who gets it. Also, you are the best earthbender in the world, and that is great too."

"You bet I am. But also, that was one of the nicest things someone has ever said to me." Toph said, smiling softly. "Hey, didn't you say that I learned metalbending?" She asked, perking up.

Zuko nodded. "Yeah, and I think you can learn again. It was really useful."

"I've course I can learn it again, I'm the best earthbender in the world." Toph shot back.

Katara leaned over the side of the saddle, peering down towards the forest. "I think I spot a clearing down there."

"Come on Appa." Aang prompted, steering the bison down towards the opening in the forest, right next to the river, that Katara had spotted.

As the rest of them jumped out of the saddle, and Katara, Sokka, and Aang began to set up the tents, Toph turned to Zuko. "Do you happen to have any spare metal? I want to see if I can get metalbending again."

"Knock yourself out." Zuko told her, reaching into his pack to grab a spare piece of metal he had saved for just this particular reason, tossing it to the blind earthbender, who barely caught it. "I'm going to go gather some wood for our fire."

As Zuko headed off into the woods surrounding their campsite, he looked back behind him, smiling at the sight. Aang and Sokka were in the middle of pitching their tents, both working in tandem, having done this so many times. Katara was sorting through their supplies, pulling out the food for dinner, as Momo busied himself with finding random fruits and nuts. Toph leaned up against Appa, fiddling with the piece of metal in her hands, a look of concentration on her face.

He knew he would do whatever he could to keep them like this, to save them where his past self could not. This time around, he would do it right, even if he went down fighting. Because this sight, of his friends just being themselves, was something Zuko wanted to remember forever, in case he didn't make it out of this.

Gathering the rest of the food needed for the fire, Zuko headed back to their campsite. Sokka and Aang had already finished setting up the tents, and both boys were certainly training, standing off near Appa, so they weren't in Katara's way. Aang was standing near the river, practicing some of his katas, and bending some water around, while Sokka was over near Appa and Toph, practicing some of the sword moves that Zuko had taught him. Both Katara and Toph were where they had been before, with Toph still fiddling with the metal, and Katara had moved to preparing some of the food.

He set the wood down near Katara, arranging them in a pile, before lighting the fire.

"Your tent is over there." Katara told him, not even looking up. "I put your bags inside."

Before Zuko could thank her, Toph's voice rang out from over near Appa. "I did it! I'm the greatest earthbender in the world! I can bend metal."

The four of them looked up from what they were doing, Aang dropping the water back in the river, to see Toph, a grin on her face, as she shaped the small scrap of metal into various shapes.

"That's great Toph." Aang told her sincerely. "You really just invented a new type of bending."

Toph smirked. "I told you I was the greatest earthbender in the world, Twinkle Toes. And besides, you really should be thanking Sparky. He was the one who told me it was possible, and gave me the metal."

"I was only following what happened last time." Zuko said, shrugging. "If you could bend metal before, there's no reason you can't do it now."

Toph grinned. "This is pretty amazing. I now have an advantage that no one besides us knows about. I'm going to destroy the Fire Nation."

"Are you sure it was a good idea to help Toph learn metalbending? She's going to be terrifying now." Sokka whispered, leaning over to the firebender.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You act like Toph wasn't terrifying before. Come on, let's spar."

"You probably should put that off until later." Katara called. "Dinner is ready."

Resheathing his swords, Zuko headed back to the fire circle, Sokka, Aang, and Toph following him.

"We should probably plan for what we're going to do in Ba Sing Se." Sokka told them, as soon as everyone had gotten their dinner, and was sitting down again, Toph having earthbended chairs for them to sit on.

Zuko nodded. "We'll have to avoid the Dai Li. They're still in power in Ba Sing Se, and Long Feng is still having them brainwash people. We can't let them get any of us, like they got Jet. If Long Feng is truly working for Azula again, and he gets one of us, he could find out about my time traveling, and then Azula would know, which is a really bad idea."

"Well, we have my metalbending." Toph pointed out. "If we keep that a secret, if we did get captured, I could break us out."

"This is all well and good, but we still need a plan for how to talk to the Earth King." Sokka pointed out. "We either need some way to take out Long Feng, or some evidence of the war."

Zuko sighed. "I hate to admit it, but we need to take out Long Feng, in case that Azula doesn't show up with her giant drill."

"Woo! Assassination, let's go!" Toph cheered.

Zuko shook his head. "I should probably be the one to take out Long Feng."

"No, its too dangerous." Katara said, shaking her head. "You said it yourself, if Long Feng gets his hands on you, your time traveling could be revealed."

Zuko sighed. "I appreciate your concern, Katara. But I came back here to save all of you. I'm not going to fail now."

"We'll keep it as a last resort." Aang spoke up. "No one is getting captured. If we can find something else to show the king, then we won't have to take out Long Feng."

Zuko's eyes widened. "Lake Laogai! I can't believe I forgot about that."

"What's that?" Sokka asked confused.

Zuko grinned. "Its the lake outside the city. The Dai Li's secret brainwashing base is under it. Long Feng doesn't know that we know about it. A couple of us can stay there, to make sure the Dai Li don't blow it up to hide the evidence, and the others can get the king. A secret brainwashing facility under the lake is pretty damning. And, even if it doesn't convince the king that there's a war, it'll at least convince him that Long Feng and the Dai Li are corrupt."

"That just might work." Katara pointed out.

Sokka nodded, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head. "Look at us. Making plans to take down corrupt government, and assassinate corrupt officials."

"No one can doubt that I've committed treason now." Zuko pointed out, chuckling.

Katara rolled her eyes. "I think that was pretty obvious when you freed Earth Kingdom villages and took down the Fire Sages."

"True." Zuko said, nodding.

Two days later...

"The town's down there." Zuko pointed below, turning to Aang, who nodded and flew Appa down, landing in a clearing.

As they all hopped off, Sokka turned to Zuko. "What should we do now?"

"You all can go and get some supplies." Zuko told them. "Its better for me to go alone to find uncle's Pai Sho friend. He'll be more likely to help if I'm alone,"

Katara nodded. "Just stay safe."

Katara, Sokka, and Zuko headed into the town, Aang and Toph staying back at the campsite with Appa and Momo to watch their supplies. As soon as they reached the town, the group split off, Katara and Sokka going to get more supplies, while Zuko went into the local tavern. Spotting a short, balding man with a long, grey beard and dressed in the traditional Earth Kingdom greens, sitting next to the Pai Sho table, Zuko walked over to him, bowing.

"May I have this game?" He asked.

The man gestured towards the table. "The guest has the first move." As Zuko placed down the White Lotus tile, the man looked up at him. "I see you favor the White Lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways." He told Zuko, bowing, eyebrows raised at how young the other man was.

"Those who do can always find a friend." Zuko told him, holding his hands out.

The man nodded. "Then let us play."

One by one, they placed each of the tiles down, until they formed the shape of a White Lotus.

"Welcome brother." The man said, spreading his hands out. "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets." Reaching into his bag, he pulled out some passports, discreetly handing them to Zuko.

Zuko nodded. "Thank you for the game, brother. It was a pleasant time."

"The pleasure is all mine. An old friend of mine wanted me to tell you that if you're looking for him, he's where secrets are hidden among the walls and the jasmine blooms. But, beware the colors of the ocean and the angels of the devil, for they're as sharp as pointy knives and just as deadly. For just like the ocean where they get their color, they can drown you, unless you know how to swim the waters and soar amongst the clouds."

Zuko smiled. "Thank you very much."

Leaving the tavern, Zuko tucked the five passports into his bag, heading back towards their campsite, where they had arranged to meet. But the entire time, he couldn't stop thinking about the old man's proverb. He had become extremely familiar with proverbs, having traveled with uncle for three years, but that one was confusing.

"There you are." Katara said, as Zuko walked into the clearing. "What took you so long? Did you get them?"

Zuko nodded. "Yeah, they're in my bag. But the old man who gave me them, gave me a proverb as well, and I don't know what it means."

"Oh, I love proverbs." Aang said, perking up. "Gyatso used to tell me them all the time. What did he say?"

"An old friend of mine wanted me to tell you that if you're looking for him, he's where secrets are hidden among the walls and the jasmine blooms. But, beware the colors of the ocean and the angels of the devil, for they're as sharp as pointy knives and just as deadly. For just like the ocean where they get their color, they can drown you, unless you know how to swim the waters and soar amongst the clouds." Zuko recited.

Sokka frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know." Zuko said, shrugging. "That's why I was thinking about it."

Katara threw the last of their supplies onto Appa and turned to the rest of them. "We can figure it out later. Now come on, we want to get to Ba Sing Se by tonight."

Shrugging, the rest of them jumped on, and with a call of "yip yip" by Aang, Appa took off towards Full Moon Bay.

"I can't believe that worked." Sokka said, as the attendant stamped their five forged passports without so much as a second glance, and a call of "next!"

Zuko nodded. "They act like they care, but they really don't. No one here is going to question us, and the attendants only act like they care if there's an obvious problem. And besides, we look like we're refugees." He said, gesturing to their dirty and torn clothes from traveling for the past three months.

"We should probably get on the ferry." Katara said, gesturing to one of the nearby boats. "Its going to leave soon."

The five teenagers joined the rest of the passengers filing onto the ferry, Momo stowed in Aang's shirt. As soon as they were on the boat, Aang led Appa down to the storage compartment, throwing a tarp over him, before rejoining the others on the deck.

Zuko sat on one of the wooden crates, staring out at the water, his mind occupied with the last time he was here on this boat, with uncle.

"What are you thinking about?" Sokka asked, coming to sit next to him.

Zuko sighed. "Just the last time I was on one of these boats. Uncle and I were going to Ba Sing Se to start a new life. We didn't even know you were in the city until much later. I actually met Jet on the boat. We stole food from the captain to feed the people on the ship.

"Well, well, well," a voice sounded behind them, almost as if he was summoned, and making Zuko and Sokka jump. "Who would have thought we would see you here."

Zuko and Sokka turned around, to see Jet standing there with his arms crossed, Smellerbee and Longshot flanking him. "What do you want Jet?" Sokka asked, groaning.

"I would like to know why the half Fire Nation bastard is here, with you." Jet growled.

Zuko sighed. "We're going to Ba Sing Se, with Katara, Aang, and Toph, just like you." He said, gesturing to the three of them, who hadn't noticed the commotion.

"I know what you're really doing, ashmaker." Jet glared. "You're here to conquer Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation."

Zuko shook his head. "I know you won't believe me, which is why I'm not going to even say anything. But, you should be careful in Ba Sing Se. Its called the City of Secrets for a reason."

"What's going on?" Katara asked, walking over, Aang and Toph flanking her, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Jet. "Jet. What are you doing here?"

Sokka stepped in between the two of them. "Come on guys, let's not fight. We're all just trying to get to the same place."

"Fine. But don't expect me to stand that ashmaker." Jet said, glaring. "Come on Smellerbee, Longshot, let's go."

As Jet and his two remaining Freedom Fighters left, Zuko sighed, sitting back down on his wooden crate. "I'm glad they're gone. I don't think I could stand here much longer, before trying to punch Jet in his smug little face."

"You and me both Zuko." Katara agreed, sitting back down.

Several hours later, they had all arrived in Ba Sing Se and had been escorted to their housing, quickly ditching Joo Dee as soon as they could.

"Let's deal with what we're going to do tomorrow." Sokka decided, yawning. "I'm tired."

Zuko nodded. "You and me both Sokka."

"Let's just go to bed." Aang agreed, as they all collapsed into bed.

Toph and Zuko are siblings and no one can convince me otherwise. They're my favorite dynamic besides Zuko and Iroh. Sorry this chapter took so long, I have had finals, but its almost Christmas break so I should be updating sooner now.

I was the dumb person who didn't realize until halfway through writing this chapter that they didn't need to go to Full Moon Bay if they have Appa, so we're just going to go with it, since I didn't feel like rewriting it.

Also kudos to anyone who can guess what the old man means. The first part may be a little obvious, the last part not as much.

If I accidentally write Zhu Li instead of Joo Dee during the Ba Sing Se chapters, sorry about that, but I'm currently in the middle of binging LOK and they're names are extremely similar and I may not catch it

Please review. I love reviews.