.: Chapter 11: Two Months After :.

"Next!" The wrinkled old lady snapped. The room was crowded with refugees. It was hot, and smelly. The woman at the desk had a very mean disposition—like she was born and bred in the Fire Nation.

Easy, Jet.

I just hated this place.

"Passport?" she barked.

"I don't think I need—"

"No passport, no ticket!" the lady spat.

"You don't understand—"

"I understand one thing: no passport, no ticket!"

"Couldn't you just—"

"NO!" she hollered. "If I give you a free ticket, I have to give everyone a free ticket. Come back when you have a passport." I knew a dismissal when I heard one. Dejected, I exited the line and returned to where Longshot and Smellerbee sat, waiting. They could read the disappointment in my face.

"She wouldn't give you any?" Smellerbee gasped.

"No. But that's okay. We don't need passports… anyway," I finished, watching Smells disappear into the crowd. I smiled and sat down next to Longshot. "I can't believe she's going to steal from refugees. I was just going to sneak on the boat, but—"

"Stop." Longshot's voice was cold, hard, and bitter. It sent chills up my spine, and I wasn't afraid of much. "I'm never going to forgive you. You know it, and I know it, so stop trying."

"Longshot, I—"

"I don't want to hear it. Even if you were upset or lonely or depressed, you shouldn't have said what you said to her. You've always used her as a sword sharpener, Jet. Don't deny it, but don't continue doing it. I'm only here for Smellerbee. The day she decides to ditch you is the day you should start sleeping with one eye open." He half smiled to himself. "You know how good of a shot I am."

It was the most I'd ever heard Longshot say. But I knew he meant it. And I stopped talking.

When Smells returned, she found us sitting in silence.

"Hey. Any luck?"

She gave a feral grin. "Refugees really need to guard their belongings a little better." From her right hand dangled three tickets, as well as two bags of supplies.

"Nice score," I smiled. "Where'd you find them?"

"Some couple—they were off talking with…" Her voice trailed off for a moment, and she flicked her eyes towards me. "With people. And they turned their backs on their stuff. I guess that means no travel for them, but we've got our ticket out of here."

"So, what do you think of him?" I asked Smellerbee nonchalantly. We were both holding up to the Ferry really well, which was a plus. People were puking all over this ship, although that might have been due to food poisoning. The food here was practically lethal, and now word had gotten around that the captain was feeding us his leftovers. I'd never been so hungry, unwilling to eat, and angry at once in my life.

It was doing weird things to my stomach.

"Why would I have an opinion of him?" Smells wondered.

"Do you think we can trust him?"

"Jet, don't tell me—" she started.

"I just want to get us some real food," I protested. My stomach rumbled in agreement. "And if you can steal from fellow refugees, I can steal from greedy captains," I added with a smile. She blushed, embarrassed, and studied her feet.

"He's fine," she agreed eventually. I looked back towards the pair for a final evaluation. The old man was worthless, but next to him stood a teenage boy with a bowl in his hand. An angry red scar covered his left eye and ear. His black, short hair revealed golden eyes and a furious glare. He was muscular, body probably conditioned by months on the run from the Fire Nation. In short, he was perfect for what I had in mind.

I drew closer in time to hear him mutter, "I'm tired of living like this." He leaned onto the rail. I adjusted the straw in my mouth and made my move.

"Aren't we all?" I asked. He turned to look at me and I gave a sly grin. "My name's Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters: Smellerbee and Longshot." I didn't even have to turn around to know they were there. Instead, I leaned on the railing of the ferry next to him.

"Hey," Smellerbee added as a greeting.

"Hello," he returned quietly, looking out over the lake.

I moved closer—couldn't risk the wrong ears hearing this. "Here's the deal. I hear the Captain's eating like a king, while us refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"What kind of king is he eating like?" the old man demanded eagerly. He was practically drooling. Well I've captured his attention.

"The fat, happy kind," I answered. Great. Now he really is drooling. "You want to help us "liberate" some food?"

I waited, anxious, as he stared into his bowl of gruel for a long moment. Then he threw it over the rail and turned to me. I heard the distinct plop! of wood hitting water. "I'm in."

That night, I met the kid out on the lower deck. We nodded in silent agreement, and I turned to Smellerbee.

"Keep watch," I hissed. "Longshot," I continued, "can you cover our trail?" He looked at me for a long moment, as if I needed a reminder that he hated my guts, before walking calmly away. "So, do you know…" My voice trailed off as the kid headed up a set of stairs and around a corner. He led us straight to the kitchen. We paused for a moment, staring in the window for confirmation. I decided to take charge for a change and forced the lock on the door open. Smellerbee took up a post at the side of the door.

We burst into the kitchen and started taking everything we could find. It was more food than I'd seen in a couple of days. It was in better condition than anything I'd eaten in a couple of days, too. Maybe the rumors are true, I mused, using my swords to "liberate" some birds into my sack. I turned around and watched as the kid whipped out a pair of broadswords and stacked eight bowls together, securing them with some ribbon.

Broadswords, huh? Very nice.

The two of us turned towards the doorway, our sacks filled, as Smells hissed "Guards coming!" Now all three of us were running stealthily towards the balcony, where Longshot had fired an arrow and rope. We sent the sacks of food down first and then got ourselves out after. Smellerbee was the first, and then the kid, and then me. Longshot pulled the arrow out after I landed safely, and we disappeared into the shadows of the ship.

"Awesome job," I congratulated everyone. I even made a point of nodding to Longshot, but he didn't respond. "Hey," I added, turning towards our new comrade. Smellerbee glanced over at Longshot, and the two of them melted into the darkness. He just looked at me, waiting. "You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were." He glanced at me, uncertainty and anxiety shining in his eyes. "You're an outcast, like me. And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs, because no one else will."

He looked away, out towards the rocky cliffs of the nearby Earth Kingdom shore. The great wall of Ba Sing Se loomed behind them. "I've realized lately that being on your own isn't always the best path," he announced grimly.

I can't believe I've been missing this, I thought to myself as I doled out the food the next afternoon. These people actually appreciate me. They don't expect anything from me. I'm just a hero to them.

Did I really sacrifice people like them to the Fire Nation?

Would they still love me if they knew the truth? If they knew I was a failure?

If they knew I couldn't save everyone?

I gave the final bowl to a little old lady before turning back to my new group. To my surprise, Longshot and Smellerbee were deep in conversation, which meant Smellerbee was talking to herself, and the old man looked somewhat embarrassed of himself. I headed over to break the ice after dissolving my frown.

"From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall," I announced eagerly.

"It is a magnificent sight," the old man told me respectfully.

"So you've been there before?" I asked.

"Once," he muttered, "when I was a different man." He looked away, reeking of regret and sorrow. What does he have to regret?

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of," I admitted calmly. "But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning. A second chance."

"That's very noble of you. I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances." The two looked at each other, and once again I got the feeling that I was missing something.

What are they hiding?

My train of thought was interrupted as the ship slowly ground to a halt. The man and the kid stood up. Smellerbee and Longshot came back and rejoined us as we were herded off the ship like rooster-cattle. Hundreds of us, hundreds of refugees, poured inside the Ferry Landing. We followed our friends right through to the line of the ticket gate. I hung back with the Freedom Fighters as they mixed words with the Customs Woman.

"So, Mr. Lee," she growled, "and Mr.… umm… Mushy, is it?"

"It's pronounced Moo-shee," the old man corrected.

The woman glared at him from her desk. "You telling me how to do my job?" she snapped.

"Uh, no no no," Mushi grinned hastily. He took a few steps towards her. "But may I just say that you're like a flower in bloom, your beauty intoxicating."

She smiled back at him, obviously charmed. "You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome." I was tempted to look at Smellerbee to see the expression on her face, but this moment was priceless. She was actually making the gesture of a puma-lion claw! "Raorrr. Welcome to Ba Sing Se." The woman stamped their papers and pushed them towards the pair.

Lee snatched them up, clearly embarrassed. "I'm gonna forget I saw that." They marched off towards the line for the transport system, and we took a step forward in line.

"I think Lee would make a good Freedom Fighter," I told Smells and Longshot. "He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us."

"You don't know anything about him, Jet," Smells protested.

"I know he didn't get that scar from a Waterbender," I reminded her.

"Besides," she continued as though I hadn't spoken, "I thought we were going straight now."

"We are," I shrugged. "And the new Freedom Fighters could use a guy like Lee. What do you think, Longshot?" I asked him out of habit, but curiosity overcame me and I turned to look at him. He shot me a look that said if I invited Lee in, Longshot would quit then and there, not to mention destroy us with the information he knew. "I can respect that."

We stepped forward in line to the ticket counter. I pushed the tickets forward and kept my eyes on the floor.

"Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot, are these right?" the lady growled.

"Yeah," I answered bluntly.

"Are they even real names?" she baited me, the stamp hovering over our tickets.

"They're our names," I answered. She frowned, but stamped the tickets anyway. I wasn't quite sure what answer she'd wanted, and I gathered the tickets before she could change her mind. Me and my Freedom Fighters headed to the debarkation point for Ba Sing Se, where I found Lee and Mushi.

"So," I began, sitting down next to Lee, "you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"

I almost had an answer out of them when this crazy tea guy started shouting "Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!"

Mushi stuck out his arm. "Oh!" he called. "Jasmine, please." The tea guy poured it into Mushi's bowl and he took a sip with an excited expression on his face. Before I knew it, the tea was out of his mouth and on the ground. "BLAUGH! Ugh. Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it," he muttered. "What a disgrace!"

This guy is just too distracting, I sighed to myself. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Lee didn't even seem to notice the tea incident, but he got up when I asked with a reluctant sigh. I led him to a point away from our friends and Mr. Mushi.

"You and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together," I told him. "You want to join the Freedom Fighters?"

"Thanks," Lee muttered, "but I don't think you want me in your gang."

With those sword skills? Is he kidding?

"Come on," I pleaded. "We made a great team looting that Captain's food. Think of all the good we could do for those refugees."

"I said no," Lee answered, returning to his place by his Uncle.

"Have it your way," I shrugged, but I couldn't keep the shock out of my voice.

Why wouldn't he want to join… Wait a minute! I focused in harder on Mr. Mushi and his bowl of tea. He'd spat it out on the floor only moments ago because it was cold, hadn't he? Well, now it was steaming hot and he looked like the happiest man in the Physical World. There's no way that tea just heated itself. But he couldn't have started a Fire unless… he's a Firebender!

Lee turned to look at me. I tried to wipe the glare of hostile suspicion off my face but it was too late. I turned and walked away. I didn't need to see anything else.

The Fire Nation's infiltrated Ba Sing Se. But the Freedom Fighters and I will bring them down.

A/N: So, there are only a few chapters left. Dear Jet, enjoy it while it lasts! As the saying goes, "Seasons change. People don't."