Chapter 2

As soon as he could hear Uncle's snores coming clearly from the other room, Zuko slipped on the baggy black jumpsuit that normally accompanied his alter-ego. It was almost a relief when the straps of the mask were securely tied behind his head, like he could finally breathe, finally be someone else. Someone else with the same problems, but someone else nonetheless. Strange how it worked.

With broadswords in tow, he slipped nimbly out of his window and onto the worn beams that held the shanties together. He had a mission in mind, or at least a place to start. The Dai Li were everywhere. They had to see something pertaining to the avatar's bison. The footprint was singular and in a public space, and something wasn't adding up about it. Why would the avatar land his bison in the middle of a market? Surely, the creature could have stayed home if they had to go shopping.

It wasn't long before he'd found a target slinking about in the dark, alone at that. As secretive and adept as the Dai Li were, he figured they'd be less negligent, more aware. He wasn't sure if his plan would work at first, considering the strawman version of himself with a dummy head seemed particularly outlandish, even for him. But the darker the streets became as citizens outed their lanterns for the night, and the more he observed the overconfidence of the agent, the more sure he became of his scheme.

He started a full-on sprint down the alley, shouldering the agent with enough force to knock him sideways, and kept on down the darkened street. If that hadn't caught his attention, his out-of-the-way skinny taunt surely did. The agent snarled something indecipherable, but Zuko was already out of earshot and around the corner towards the strawman. Just as he'd planned, the agent pursued.

But what he hadn't accounted for was the woman walking down the street he'd rounded to. He barely caught a glimpse of her curiously observing the strawman, giving him just enough time to recalculate his movement, narrowly avoiding slamming dead into her. Their shoulders clipped though, and she gasped in shock as their eyes locked, and for a second, his breath hung up in his throat. He recognized her eyes, blue and foreign to Ba Sing Se, but had she recognized his? No time to ponder.

The Dai Li agent was catching up as she turned to chastise him. "Watch it!" she snapped.

His opportunity to hide and catch the agent from behind had now vanished, too busy worrying about the water bender, who seemed to have finally caught on to what was happening.

"Dai Li?" she breathed, just loud enough for Zuko to hear, and something about that simple, fear-laden phrase gave a whole new level of threat to the agent, especially coming from her. What did she know that he didn't?

His swords sung a metallic ring into the air, echoing off the phantom quiet stone walls, as he brought them from their sheath to position in front of him. The water bender caught the hint as well, and what followed was, what he assumed to be, the sound of a top popping off of a water skin. One thing at a time, Zuko. One thing at a time.

The agent hurtled a stone hand towards him, the same ones that'd restrained Jet from before. He couldn't let one get a hold of him, or this fight would be over before it'd even started. With a skilled arc of his sword, he turned the hand into shrapnel and dust. The waterbender sprung to action too, with a quickness that surprised him. She slung the water from a barrel full of stagnant rainwater across the alley, icing it over just as fast, and before he'd really had time to register it, there was a barrier between them and the Dai Li.

"Come on!" she ordered, which made him snap his head at her, forgetting she couldn't see his distasteful expression behind it. Who did she think she w-

Just when he thought he couldn't be more stunned, not to mention offended, she clamped a hand around his wrist and pulled him. "We don't have time! Let's go."

He let himself be led, unsure as to why, and after they'd rounded a couple of corners, she finally decided to release her hold on him. They sprinted a few streets over until they found an apartment building stairwell to dip into, one that was nearly as dark as the alleyway. The breath was heavy in both their chests as they peered watchfully over the railing, making sure no agents had been able to tail them. After a few painstaking minutes of silent waiting, it didn't seem that any had.

As the breath began to settle in his lungs, Zuko's thoughts settled as well. Now what was he supposed to do? He side-eyed the waterbender, considered pinning her to the wall to interrogate her, and immediately decided against it. She still didn't know who he was, still didn't realize he was in the city. He had the advantage of anonymity. If he spilled who he was now, he lost all element of surprise. If he could tail her, follow her to where she and the avatar were staying -

She laughed suddenly, just a short chuckle that seemed very loud in the dark. "I think we lost them," she whispered. She sounded happy, like he could hear the smile on her face. Her laugh wasn't something he'd ever heard before, but it was sweet, joyous, not at all mocking or harsh. "The Dai Li is bad news," she said. "They took my friend Jet… and well, they hurt him. You should try to stay off their bad side from now on."

... Jet? And why was she giving advice to him? He could be a murderer for all she knew, and here she was directing him so he wouldn't get hurt. This was quickly entering territory he hadn't prepared for, and he didn't have a single inkling on what to do now. She was helping him - in her own way, and suddenly it felt wrong to do anything to her at all.

So, he did nothing, and he backed away, slipping further into the darkness. She didn't catch on until he was nearly gone.

"Hey, wait!" he heard her say, but it was much too late. He'd already swung himself over the railing, making his escape into the alleys below.

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