AN: Excerpt from Yeats' "On Being Asked for a War Poem."

Chapter 10: The Earth Benders

Suri was late. That was unusual for Suri, but since the rest of the staff had set a precedent for being late without it being a big deal, Zuko was prepared to ignore it. Yun was mopping the floor and complaining to Mimi about her little sister, as Zuko tried to ignore them as well.

"I mean, I've been working my ass off so she can go to school. What's she doing dropping out?"

Mimi shrugged. "School never did me any good."

"Ugg. I know it's dull and all that, but it really will help her, right?"

"If she gets a job then she could help with the rent. You won't have to work as hard. It's kinda sweet really."

"No, it's not. She's just being stupid and selfish. If she finishes school then she can get a GOOD job and MOVE OUT. If she just works in a shop at this point, then she's going to be living with me forever."

"Not forever. She'll get married eventually."

"Spirits! You're no help at all."

"I'm just saying that I dropped out and now I work here and it's all ok."

"And you still live with your parents."

"Yeah, what of it?"

"You don't know what it's like. Trying to provide for people. Trying to do what's best for them."

"Oh, cry me a river, your life is so damned hard."

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Both of you shut up!" Zuko snapped. "Quit bickering. It's annoying." Both girls turned their glares on him and he turned back to wiping down tables a bit more quickly than he would have otherwise.

He was saved at that moment by Jin, who burst through the door with disheveled hair and a dazed look in her eyes.

"Jin? You alright? What's the matter?"

She seemed to focus on him for the first time. The fear on her face was downright scary. Her voice had a ghostly quality. "They took her. They came in the night and they took her."

"Took who?"

"My mother. The Dai Li broke into our house last night and dragged her away."

Zuko dropped his rag and approached her quickly. "Why? Do they know about you? Are you alright?"

"It's not about me. They said it was because she's an earth bender."

"But… she's untrained, right? I mean, she's not a very good earth bender and she's not really a threat. There's nothing important about her."

"All I know is what they said." Her voice cracked and she ran a hand through her frazzled hair.

"There must be another reason. It's not like they've taken every earth bender in the city." Jin stared at him, silently pleading for him to say the right thing and make the pain go away.

But he didn't know how to do that. Seeing her in so much distress was actually causing him pain and he wished desperately that he had a clue as to what to do. But what did she expect from him? He wasn't great at comforting people and she knew that. And he had been ticked at her until about thirty seconds ago.

"Lee?" Yun's voice – quiet and frightened - cut through his troubled thoughts.

"What?"

"Suri's late for work."

Time stood still for a moment as he attempted to process this. Suri was an earth bender. Suri was never late for work. Some higher power had decided that for some reason it was going to be his job to watch out for Suri.

Oh no.

He didn't snap out of it until Mimi dropped her mop to the floor with a loud clatter, covering her mouth with her hand. His uncle had appeared at the door to the back room, concern blatantly written across his features. They were all looking at Zuko, waiting for him to give them instructions.

Why did they think that he knew what to do? Jin was the boss in this kind of thing. Jin was the planner. Jin was …

Jin was shaking.

She was trying to hide it, but there was a definite tremor to her clutched hands. He took a breath and switched to his demanding prince mode that he had been neglecting recently. "Yun, go to Suri's house. Maybe she's just sick or something. Mimi, go to the market, get the gossip. Find out how widespread this is. Uncle, I think we're going to be a bit late opening today."

"Of course. Unless anyone comes by in desperate need of tea. Or company."

"Good. Let's move." As Yun and Mimi left the store, Zuko grabbed his Dao swords from behind the counter.

"You can't carry those."

He gave Jin a look that said try and stop me, then took her elbow and led her outside.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to see if Hyun Su is at work. We can find out if this is just a lower ring thing, and if they've taken any masters." She nodded and soon they were at the locked door of the flower shop.

That was not a good sign. "You got a key?"

She swallowed. "Yeah."

Inside, the shop was obviously deserted. It usually wouldn't have seemed sinister with the damp, warm air and the sweet smells. The plants radiated life and a closeness that was generally friendly. However, today the green light and the stillness seemed menacing. It was like something unseen was sneaking up on them.

"Maybe he's just late. He's not really a stickler for punctuality."

"Is that really what you think?"

"No." She sighed and leaned against a shelf. "This is more than just a lower ring thing."

"Yeah. But how did they pull it off? An eighth of the population are earth benders. To capture them all in one night…" He shook his head.

"It would be a massive undertaking. Spirits, it's like anything is possible these days." She closed her eyes as if she could shut out the world.

He felt lost in the silence that fell upon them. He had no idea what to say. "Are you going to be ok?" Lame. Very lame.

"Well, I have to take care of all these orchids now."

He snorted. "Way to look on the bright side."

"Pretty bleak bright side."

"It's not the worst thing ever."

She gave him a tired smile and pulled her mussed hair into a braid, attempting to smooth it out as much as possible. "This is one crazy nightmare."

"Come on," he said, and took her hand and pulled her outside again.

"Where are we going now?"

"There are families in the upper ring that are almost entirely earth benders, right?"

"Yeah."

"So we're going to go see if anyone's home."

"We already know that they aren't."

"Maybe we're wrong." Whenever Lee tried to find a silver lining, Jin knew that terrible things were happening. It was just unnatural.

Ten minutes later they stopped in front of a large villa, with a pristine yard, ornate tiling, and a front door that had been thrown off its hinges.

Jin swallowed and gripped his hand more tightly. Zuko drew his swords and crept into the house.

The front room was a disaster. Furniture had been destroyed and lay in scattered pieces around the room. The floor had been raised into spikes and boulders and walls, which had then been crumbled and smashed. The paper walls were torn and the back wall had a sizable hole. Scorch marks crisscrossed the room.

Zuko felt the same eerie sensation as he had in the flower shop: people had been here not long ago, and now they were gone.

"Hello?" he called out. "Anyone here?"

"We're friends. We can help," Jin added.

The house was deserted, and unnaturally quiet. Zuko sighed and holstered his swords. He met Jin's eyes.

"This is really happening," she whispered.

There were several people in the tea shop when they returned, all sitting around a table holding cups of tea, but not drinking. All were members of the resistance.

"Suri's not home. Her mother was in a state," Yun reported.

"Word on the street is that all the earth benders are gone. The market's practically deserted, everyone's so scared," said Mimi.

"Yeah, that's what we heard too," Genki said.

Jin at last had her calm façade completely intact and had returned to the assured leader that they all knew and loved. "Who did they take from the resistance?"

"Just Roller that we know of."

"And Hyun Su."

"What do they know that might take the resistance down?" Jin asked.

"I don't think much. Locations. A few names. I don't know if they'll be interrogating them, though. It doesn't seem like they're after that."

"Genki, change the safe houses anyway. Just to be sure."

"Yes, ma'am."

Jin stood up straighter and crossed her arms, "How did we not know this was coming?"

"That woman said her whores would spy on the Dai Li."

"Well, they did a piss poor job. Longshot, want to take over? You've given us much more than she has already."

He nodded.

"Does anyone have any idea where they're being held?"

"Lake Laogai," Smellerbee said.

"Yeah, that's where the Dai Li's headquarters are," Zuko added. "They've got plenty of cells for holding people."

"You know how to get there?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Take a team tonight and do some reconnaissance."

"I think I should just go alone. No sense risking anyone else."

Jin rolled her eyes. "Fine. Now there're a lot of scared people out there." She clapped her hands together and put on a rather foreboding smile. "Who wants to hit the streets and spread calming vibes?"

There was a general grumble as no one was ever in the mood for that, even on a good day.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zuko asked.

"Home. It's almost curfew," Jin responded.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. It's probably a half hour until sunset."

"That's not what I meant."

"Why shouldn't I go home?"

"You'll be alone with your father."

Jin stopped walking and turned to frown at him. The setting sun behind her made her hair glow like a halo and her eyes seemed several shades darker than they usually were. Her voice took on a defensive tone. "What of it?"

"He's probably in a bad mood since last night when the Dai Li came. He'll take it out on you."

Her eyebrow twitched. "Don't act like you know anything about it. It's none of your business."

"Don't go home tonight."

"Don't order me around."

"I don't want you hurt."

"I'm fine."

"You're pigheaded and it's going to get you into trouble."

Her eyes narrowed before she turned and walked away.

Damn it. He had to think of something to get her to stay. Anything. "I can give you news as soon as I get back from the lake," he called after her. "You'll be the first to know what I find."

This made her pause and spin slowly to glower at him. After a moment she agreed to spend the night at his house under the conditions that Mushi cook and Lee keep his hands to himself.

"Gross," he mumbled and turned his face away from her as it began to grow warm.

His uncle was happy to have Jin over, but he gave them a knowing look that said far too much. Zuko was starting to understand that there was no use keeping secrets from his uncle. For some reason, the man knew everything.

When it was late enough that he assumed that is uncle had gone to sleep, Zuko dawned a set of black clothes, his swords, and a dark hooded cape. He wouldn't be easily seen, especially since he was used to sneaking around. He was a pro. This would be easy.

Why was his stomach queasy? He must have eaten something bad.

He had one leg out of the living room window when a hand covered his own. He looked up to see Jin's shining eyes. "Come back safe," she whispered. His stomach twisted again, and he grimaced to form a look that he hoped inspired confidence. She didn't seem to buy it and squeezed his hand before it slipped away. He knew that she would spend the next several hours worrying about him, and hoped that she would go to sleep sooner rather than later.

As he predicted, it was easy to get to the lake. There were very few fire benders on patrol and those that he saw were easy to avoid. He hadn't seen a Dai Li agent all day. That was a little worrying. They might all be gathered at the lake.

He turned out to be right about that too. The woods surrounding Lake Laogai were filled with furtive Dai Li patrols. He studied their movements from a tree for a time, before dropping down behind a lone agent. One twist of the man's neck and he collapsed without a sound. It was an easy task of taking his robe and hat and hiding the body in the undergrowth.

Then it was the simple matter of looking like he belonged and knew what he was doing as he walked straight into the cavernous labyrinth. He kept his head bowed and his arms folded behind his back. The dim green lighting worked with his hat to hide his face in shadows. No one noticed him, but he found himself fingering the handle of his swords through his stolen robe.

He didn't like this place. It was cold. It was damp. It was dark. It was confining to the point of claustrophobia. And why didn't they use fire instead of those damned glowing crystals? He focused on making a mental map of the maze of hallways to distract himself from how uncomfortable he felt – to distract himself from the uneasy feeling he got when he thought of what the Dai Li might be doing.

During the day, Jin had been able to distract herself by planning and confronting the immediate problems that had arisen. But now she was left alone in the dark with her fears, staring at the ceiling of Lee's room. Her thoughts wondered to her mother, alone and scared. To her father, upset and ready to take that anger out on the nearest person. To herself and what would become of her without a mother, without someone to care for her and look out for her in small, loving ways. She thought of Hyun Su and what he would think if he came back to find that all his precious orchids had died under her care. They would die like the dreams of the city. She tried to distract herself by going over everything she would need to do to care for them.

Add orchid food to the water.

Water the base when dry.

Mist the foliage, but not the flowers, between waterings.

Maintain the temperature of the shop by opening the doors or starting a fire.

When would Lee get back?

Remove any yellow leaves.

Don't repot them in soil, but only in Hyun Su's special blend of bark, volcanic rock, charcoal, and peat moss.

Don't add plant food during winter. She hoped she wouldn't be caring for them that long.

What would Lee find? Was her mother dead?

Never let them sit in water.

Please Spirits, let him be ok. Please Spirits, watch over her mother. Watch over Suri. Watch over Hyun Su.

After several hours, a shadow dropped over the window and Jin sat up in alarm. "Lee?"

"Yeah." She heard him land in the room and relaxed slightly. He slipped off his cloak and swords.

"What did you find?"

He took a deep breath and flopped down onto the bed beside her. "It looks like everyone's safe. They're being held in big cells and they look really out of it."

"Out of it?"

"Like they've been drugged."

"Or brain washed?"

"Yeah." He rolled his shoulders to relieve some of the tension.

"Do you know what they're doing?"

"Not really. They took them in groups to a big empty room and had them demonstrate their bending. It looked like they were assessing everyone. They were taking notes and then sorting them into different cells." He sounded tired and helpless.

"Is that all you found?" She didn't mean to sound as disappointed as she did. She couldn't help it. Just like he couldn't help that he didn't see anything helpful.

"I saw Long Feng. He was watching the assessment. Then I heard some Dai Li talking about a procedure, but I don't know what kind." He knew that his trip had been fruitless, and he felt like he had somehow failed Jin. "I couldn't find anyone we knew. And it's very well guarded. There are so many people there, and they're like zombies. It's going to be really hard to break them out."

She nodded and slumped back down onto her back.

"It's going to be okay. We'll figure something out." Trying to sound reassuring wasn't working at all. "Get some sleep and we'll talk about it more tomorrow."

She nodded again.

He leaned towards her. "You ok?"

"Yeah. Just a lot on my mind, you know."

"Yeah." He collapsed next to her, too tired to change clothes and move to the couch. "Scoot over." She did and he made himself comfortable, ending up with her curled against his side.

"Hands to yourself," she said in a drowsy voice. Now that he was back, she found that she was much more at ease, even though he hadn't cleared anything up for her. She worried now that he would fall asleep and leave her alone in the dark again. She needed to hear his voice. She needed to know he was there.

"Lee?"

"Yeah."

"You said that you used to memorize and recite things in school."

"Mmm."

"Could you recite something for me now?"

He wearily thought on it. All he knew were Fire Nation poems. Most of them were epic poems about conquering parts of the Earth Kingdom. But then again, he was too tired to come up with something different. And anyway, she looked like she was about to fall asleep too. She might not notice.

"I think it better that in times like these

A poet's mouth be silent, for in truth

We have no gift to set a statesman right;

He has had enough of meddling who can please

A young girl in the indolence of her youth,

Or an old man upon a winter's night."