Burning Bright

Part X

The mood in the room was tense and serious. Everyone was crowding around the round table with utmost interest. Zuko noticed that the Resistance seemed to have grown over the past few nights. He estimated that they now had over four hundred members and according to Jin that was still counting. Zuko had to squeeze himself in a corner to find anywhere to sit. Jin had reluctantly left him to go sit with her two brothers who positioned themselves at the end of the table.

Zuko hoped that this meeting would end better. So far, he only attended one meeting, and it resulted with everyone rioting and with Jin and Ge Jiang yelling at each other.

Jin and her brothers however seemed to have put their differences aside and they were now completely focused on the meeting. Despite the fact that they were all wearing their regular everyday clothes, they still looked imposing with their straight backs, fierce eyes and perfectly sculpted noses in the air. Even He Shen looked fully invested in the meeting. He wasn't composing a poem or a song or playing with anything as it was going on.

Everyone was squeezing themselves near the table. Zuko craned his neck to see what was so interesting that everyone had to crowd around the table and was completely shocked to see that every inch of the big, round table was covered with the map of the Dai Li Headquarters. He recognized it from the time he went there to retrieve the Avatar's bison. Stone markers were positioned on different areas.

Zuko began to fidget in his seat after realizing how deadly serious Jin was about taking the Dai Li down. He can't believe that he was getting himself roped into this. An attack on the Dai Li would mean that he would be stretching his loyalty to both sides beyond his limits. He was vaguely aware that he had to choose a side quickly. Zuko began to twiddle his thumbs in anticipation as he waited for the meeting to continue.

"Excited?" a voice asked him from his right.

Zuko turned around and smiled once he saw that it was Duan Jie. His smile, however, immediately faltered after taking a better look at the man. Duan Jie looked very haggard and tired. The tips of his hair had been singed at the edges. His skin looked bright pink which made Zuko guessed that he had been spending lots of time in the forge. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and his gnarled, veined hands looked strained.

"I look terrible," he miserably said after realizing that Zuko was looking at him, completely speechless.

"You've been spending time in the forge?" Zuko asked. He felt a bit ashamed for being so rude.

"Every waking minute," Duan Jie sighed. He continued, "We all have to make sacrifices when the time of war comes. I suppose mine is very little compared to most so it would do me well not to complain."

"I'm guessing it's because more and more people are showing up in the Resistance," Zuko stated.

"You have no idea, my boy. I've stopped taking orders so I could have time to forge new weapons. My shop has been working overtime. And I'm afraid that I'm spending less and less time with my little girls," Duan Jie frowned. He looked very weary and tired.

"You haven't told them?" Zuko said in surprise once he realized that Duan Jie was talking about his daughters.

"Things like these are too dangerous for young girls. I'm afraid that I don't want them to get involved," Duan Jie said.

Zuko sighed heavily and admitted something he had been keeping to himself, "Sometimes I don't want Jin to get involved."

"She's a strong girl, Li. She's like the rock which we all draw power from. She's persevering, strong-willed and enduring and she's very smart and cunning. She can take care of herself," Duan Jie said laughing a little.

"Don't think that I don't know," Zuko said chuckling a little.

"She's a bit too stubborn, I assume," Duan Jie smiled.

"You have no idea," Zuko said as he smiled to himself. Jin was definitely one of the most stubborn people he had met. She never backed down, especially if she thought that she was right. And that was always.

Duan Jie's face however morphed into a look of concern.

"But it's really horrible the way things are turning out with the Fire Nation being here. Brings out bad memories for everyone," he muttered under his breath.

Zuko looked away from Duan Jie in guilt. He wondered if this brings out bad memories for Jin. He looked at her strong and proud face and saw that a look of weary betrayed her eyes. He had done this. He had caused all this. If he had helped the Avatar then maybe things would have turned out differently.

He scowled. It doesn't matter now. There was no way he could take back what he had done.

And there was still a part of him that yearned to go home. His desire to feel the soil of his homeland and to feel the love of his father was greater than any other emotions that took over him. He wasn't ready to let the prospect of going home slip away from him yet.

He swallowed thickly before interrupting Duan Jie's rant by saying, "Uh…I think that the meeting's starting."

The last few members started trickling in and Ge Jiang was pounding his fist against the table. Everyone stopped talking and the room was filled with an uncomfortable silence. No one spoke or even whispered as Ge Jiang began talking. It was as if everyone was holding their breaths, waiting for some big news to explode on their faces.

Ge Jiang began with the basics. He announced the presence of new members, made everyone memorize the new password ("Be not afraid of growing slowly—be afraid of standing still"), he asked for volunteers to be the roving guards, and he stressed the importance of new members. While he was talking, he caught Zuko's eye and for a moment, his cool composure faltered and he shot a murderous glare towards Zuko. Zuko glared back at him.

"So….what's this about bringing down the Dai Li?" Zuko asked in an effort to distract himself from Ge Jiang's heated (and annoying) glare.

"Ahh…I'm guessing you've either heard the rumors or Jin told you," Duan Jie said.

"Jin told me," Zuko admitted.

Duan Jie shrugged before nodding, "The three of them have been discussing and toying with the idea for days now. There was a heated debate about it last night. Were you there?"

"Oh no….it's my first time here since last, last night," Zuko said as he shook his head.

"I see. Well…I suppose it's my duty to fill you in. Ge Jiang wanted to launch a full frontal attack on the Dai Li. Jin on the other hand was against it. She said that we still needed members and I'm afraid that she's right. We'd never survive if we pushed through with it," Duan Jie explained.

"And Shen?"

"Neutral, as always. I'm not even sure if he was aware of the fighting. He was composing a love song. But other people weren't as impassive. People started taking sides. Riots broke out again."

Zuko frowned.

"But now that we have about four hundred members and still counting….the rumor has it that Jin and Ge Jiang finally agreed on something. That's why everyone is so excited. This is the first major thing we're about to do against the Dai Li and the Fire Nation," Duan Jie continued.

Sweat glistened as Zuko listened to Duan Jie's account of a possible attack. What was he supposed to do? He can't tell Azula obviously, but neither can he help Jin without arousing Azula's suspicion. Zuko wiped the sweat off his brow in fear.

He turned his attention back to Ge Jiang who was discussing escape routes for civilians.

"My brother has started leading the construction of a tunnel. This tunnel will branch out beyond the wall. We will start grouping civilians and leading them by next week," Ge Jiang announced.

"But the tunnel can be finished by the end of this week. Why can't we start the operation by then?" someone from the crowd piped up. He was a strong, big man whose face and beard was covered with layers of dust.

Ge Jiang's face looked deadly serious. In a loud clear voice he said, "It's because we need every man we could get. We're going to take down the Dai Li."

No one looked surprised or shocked. Everyone looked as if they expected it. The room melded into a complete silence. Zuko looked around and noticed that everyone had a look of slight fear in their eyes.

"To those who have joined the meeting last night, you may have noticed that me and my sister were…..having a slight disagreement," Ge Jiang said, phrasing his words carefully.

"For the hundredth time," someone in the room coughed.

Ge Jiang frowned but continued, "We have resolved that little issue and we have decided amongst ourselves that it is time. The Resistance is ready to take the Dai Li on."

Murmurs rose from the room. Zuko felt his heart drop to his stomach.

"But…but…are you sure we're ready? I know that lately we have more members but the number of people we have is still nothing compared to the Dai Li's," a small timid-looking man spoke up from amongst the noise.

"Which is why we aren't going to go full-frontal," Jin said as she stood up. She looked and sounded confident as she eyed everyone in the room. A wide smile was plastered on her face.

The murmurs grew louder.

"What do you mean?" the small, timid looking man asked.

"What I mean is we're not going to go barging in. We'll never make it," Jin said. The murmurs died down as everyone moved forward to hear her better.

"We're going for something a little bit more….sneaky," Jin mischievously said.

"Everyone, come closer to the table. My sister has a really brilliant plan and it requires your full attention," Ge Jiang ordered. Everyone edged closer towards the table. Jin caught Zuko's eye and mouthed "I'm nervous". Zuko sent her a re-assuring smile. Once everyone was settled Jin cleared her throat and began to speak.

"It's really important that we get to the Dai Li and the Fire Nation before they get to us so that's why it's imperative we launch an attack on them first. We can't do anything too big. But we can do something to shake the Dai Li up. Announce our presence. Show them the we mean business," Jin said in a loud, clear voice.

Everyone nodded and chorused agreements.

"So my plan is we won't do anything too serious. We'll start out small. We'll launch an attack that's not too impossible for us," Jin continued.

"But how will we do that? Yes, more and more people are showing up but most of them can't fight very well or they haven't been trained," Nuo asked from the right.

Ge Jiang looked annoyed at the interruption but Jin merely smiled and said, "No one needs to fight. My plan is that we dig a tunnel under their headquarters, evacuate the place, fill it with blasting jelly and blow their headquarters into the sky!"

Zuko's clenched his jaw as everyone erupted into much more cheerful murmurs. He began to twiddle his thumbs. Azula, Ty Lee and Mai usually spend a great amount of time in the Dai Li headquarters. He dreaded to think what would happen if the Resistance blew the whole thing up. Still he was very impressed with the plan. He looked at Ge Jiang and saw that he was looking at his sister with pride. He Shen was giving her a thumbs up as everyone in the Resistance started nodding in approval.

"Is it possible to dig a tunnel under the Dai Li's headquarters? It's already under a lake. Can we go deeper?" someone asked.

Jin looked confident. She said, "It's very possible. I spent much of my day yesterday researching about it. The lake is only about eighteen feet deep. The entire headquarters is about nine to twelve feet high so it's a total of about thirty feet. For the bomb to take effect the tunnel has to be small so the explosion is compacted. We'll seal it in until it can take no more that it has to go upwards. Also, the tunnel will be built near the ground of the Dai Li's headquarters."

"Won't it collapse on us with all that weight piling on top of it?" Jiao yelled from the corner. Zuko turned to look at Jiao's direction and was severely annoyed to see that he had a flirtatious and smug smile on his face.

Jin faltered for a moment. "W-what?"

Jiao stood up and said, "Sorry to disappoint your pretty, little, face—''

Jin exhaled loudly while Zuko scowled and gave a sneer.

"—but the Dai Li said it themselves, that they were risking so much by building their head quarters under a lake. How do we know that the tunnel you plan to make won't collapse with the combined weight of the lake and the Dai Li's headquarters?" Jiao asked. He wagged his eyebrows. Zuko felt the urge to roast him alive.

Jin opened her mouth to answer but He Shen cut her off, speaking for the very first time in this meeting, "That's no problemo, man. I've got it covered."

"Excuse me? And how do you plan on doing it?" Jiao said his voice almost in the form of a sneer. Everyone started expressing their doubts. Zuko clenched his fists. He secretly did not want this plan to push through but he also hated seeing the disappointed look on Jin's face.

Shen sat up a little straighter and said confidently, "Did some research and I discovered lots of awesomely cool stuff. After tunneling, we'll support the walls more by adding in some blue soil. That stuff is majorly sticky and firm, man, I'm telling you. It'll hold anything in place."

.Jiao looked as if he'd been squeeze. He gave an annoyed huff before sitting down.

"But isn't Lake Laogai far from here?" someone asked.

"This coal mine is part of the Old Ba Sing Se. It can branch out to anywhere," Jin diffused quickly.

"Won't the Dai Li hear us when we're making the tunnel?" someone questioned.

"That's exactly why we have to proceed about this quietly," Jin answered.

"But what about the prisoners and innocent civilians trapped in there?" Duan Jie asked with concern. Zuko knew exactly what he was talking about. The Dai Li Headquarters had a few rooms wherein some civilians were kept and were being brainwashed. Zuko felt a bit relieved to find that the plan had a hitch. Jin surely wouldn't push through with this. He knew that she didn't like that innocent people would be put in danger.

Jin smiled as if that wasn't a problem. She explained carefully, "That's exactly why we have to be careful and extremely precise with building the tunnel. We're not going to blow the whole place up."

A few confused looks were exchanged as Jin took a parchment out. It had a detailed sketch of the tunnel they planned to build.

"Our Dai Li correspondent has helped us to get a better sketch of the entire Dai Li headquarters. Shen has spent the whole day making this outline for the tunnel we're about to build. We'll only blow up specific areas we're sure that the Dai Li will be present such as the training grounds and briefing rooms," Ge Jiang explained.

"All in all we'll make about eight tunnels. We've planned it out carefully. The other parts of the Dai Li headquarters—the one where people are being brainwashed—won't collapse with all the bombs we'll be setting off. I'm positive that this will work," Jin confidently said.

"Can't we just wait for the Avatar to lead us?" someone else yelled.

Jin sighed in exasperation and said, "We told you. That Avatar's whereabouts are currently unknown. For now, we're on our own."

The heavy truth weighed in on everyone as they realized that the Avatar might not be there for them for a very long time. After a few more questions and expressed doubts, everyone seemed satisfied. Everyone nodded and started murmuring agreements. Jin looked satisfied and so did Ge Jiang.

"The plan is very practical. No one will get hurt or involved and it will be a direct assault on the Dai Li. It will send a clear message—the message that the people of the Earth Kingdom won't take this lying down. It's the perfect plan," Ge Jiang declared.

Murmurs of approval echoed through the whole room. Zuko gulped. This was really happening. He could not believe this. Beside him Duan Jie eagerly nodded before saying, "That girl is brilliant. Just astonishing really. That's a fine girl, you got there, Li."

"Yeah….she's great," Zuko muttered. His thoughts were running a mile a minute now. What was he supposed to do?

"I'm glad everyone approves," Ge Jiang said as the noises grew louder. The murmurs died down a little.

"We plan to do this attack by the end of the week so we'll be working double time in making the tunnel. Can I please have the hands of all earthbenders?" Jin said. Lots of hands rose up. Jin passed a paper around and told all of them to write their names down.

"You're efforts will be all concentrated on building the tunnel," she announced.

"Even those who are making the passageways for the escape routes for the civilians?" the strong, muscled man who spoke up before asked as he wrote his name down.

"Yes. Unfortunately we'll have to halt that operation for awhile. This one is more important. We'll need all the Earthbenders we could get," Ge Jiang said.

"My brother, He Shen will lead this operation," Jin said. He Shen gave a small salute from his seat.

As soon as all the names were written, Jin tucked the paper in a small envelope and announced that the work will begin as soon as the meeting was over. All the Earthbenders gave a weary groan. She then showed a detailed design of the tunnel they were planning to build. He Shen gave a long explanation of how they were going to build it. As soon as he finished Ge Jiang pounded on the table to get everyone's attention before saying, "All non-benders will be divided into two groups. One will be with me. We will be the ones in charge for acquiring the blue soil. It's really expensive and we…..have no funds so…..we'll have to resort to other methods to acquire it."

He said "other methods" in a meaningful tone. Zuko could only think of how Ge Jiang planned on getting it.

"And the other half will be with me. We're going to be making the bombs and acquiring the blasting jelly," Jin announced.

They spent thirty minutes organizing the two groups. Many wanted to be in Jin's group. Zuko guessed it was because she was nicer and kinder than Ge Jiang. Unfortunately it was announced that Ge Jiang and Jin had already chosen the members for their group. Jin began calling out those who would belong to her group.

In a clear voice she said, "Duan Jie, Shu, Nuo, Kreung, Hai,….."

Zuko waited patiently for his name but frowned in disappointment when he realized that Jin had finished but she had not once called his name out. He then started to panic. Why didn't she want him in her group? Was it because she hated him?

He then calmed down after thinking about it more clearly. It seemed as if those in Jin's group were intellectual or were craftsmen. A majority of them were handy with their hands like Duan Jie and scholars who had a lot of knowledge stocked in their brain like Shu or Nuo. Zuko guessed that it was because they'll spend most of their time making bombs.

All those who weren't called automatically belonged in Ge Jiang's group. Zuko frowned. That also included Jiao. He sighed. The two people he disliked the most and who disliked him back, Jiao and Jiang. This was going to be a long siege.

He noticed that those who belonged in Ge Jiang's group looked very strong and it was clear to see that they were fighters. He guessed that whatever they were going to do to get the blue soil would entail physical strength and prowess.

As soon as all that was organized, they began to talk about escape routes for civilians again. That operation would start as soon as their assault with the Dai Li would be finished. They had to start informing civilians however since they anticipated that the Fire Nation would immediately make retribution once the attack was done. The civilians would have to be housed here and divided into groups until further notice.

And with that the meeting came to a close. Everyone dispersed, with the Earthbenders following Shen to a passageway to the right and with all those who volunteered to be the roving guards drifting off into the barracks. Jin weaved her way through the crowd towards Zuko.

She was smiling happily but her face fell once she saw Zuko's troubled expression.

"You're mad," she stated once she drew closer to him.

Zuko snapped back into focus and said, "Huh?"

"You're mad that you're not in my group," Jin said. She twined her fingers around both of Zuko's hands.

"No," Zuko smiled.

"Yes."

"No, I'm not mad."

"Then why do you look mad?"

"I'm just…..I'm just worried."

"What?" Jin frowned. She looked concern.

"It's nothing," Zuko shook his head as the emotions of guilt and shame began to bubble back into the surface. What was he doing? How could he be so incredibly stupid? Why did he even think that he could play along to both sides without hurting anyone? His uncle was right. He can't have it both ways. Zuko breathed in deeply as he tried to take hold of all the overwhelming emotions that was surging through his body.

He wanted to go home. He just couldn't let that go yet. He wanted his life to be back to normal.

"Li? Are you oaky? Are you sick?" Jin asked worriedly. She drew closer towards him. Her big, hazel-green eyes immediately banished all thoughts of the Fire Nation.

"Huh? Oh…um…..I'm fine….."

"I really wanted you to be in my group. Honestly. But you know how Jiang could be. I had to prove to him that I could think 'objectively'," Jin said as she made quotation marks in the air. She rolled her eyes.

Zuko blinked at her. Jin took this as a sign that he was still annoyed that she didn't choose him to be in her group. She continued to explained, "I made it clear that the people in my group had to be you know….blacksmiths and people who liked to invent and learn stuff and well….you're kind of the fighting, rough and tumble sort of guy so…..I wanted to be objective. You clearly belonged with Jiang's group."

Zuko quickly snapped back from his thoughts after realizing that Jin was staring at him with her brow furrowed. He quickly said, "What? I'm not mad at you. I understand…perfectly. Sort of."

Jin gave a laugh after seeing that Zuko was smiling again. She ruffled his hair and said, "Besides, I think one of the reasons why he insisted that you be in his group is that he's still suspicious."

"What?" Zuko sputtered worriedly.

Jin, however, smirked and confidently said as they began to exit the Headquarters, "But don't worry, Li. You're going to prove Jiang wrong. I just know you will."

Zuko immediately felt sick to his stomach when he heard that. This was so wrong. He had no idea what he was doing. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. He had no idea what he was about to do. His mind was completely blank. He had no way of moving forward because as of now, he was wedged in between two of the things he cared the most about and he just couldn't bear the thought of letting either one go.

They had now emerged from the tunnel and into a dark alleyway.

Zuko involuntarily gripped Jin's hand tighter.

Jin sent him a worried look. To abate her anxious expression, Zuko sent her wide smile. To his surprise Jin drew closer to him, her eyes big and wide and murmured hopefully, "We'll prove him wrong."

That did it. Zuko felt sick to his stomach and everything was a faded blur. All he could focus on was Jin's eyes—hopeful and re-assuring. He can't hurt her. He just can't do it. But he also wanted to go home. He needed to go home. Zuko felt like a ton of bricks was pile on top of him, crushing him until he could no longer breathe.

He backed away.

"Li? What's wrong?" Jin frowned.

Zuko groaned. He leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before scrambling off, muttering as he ran, "I have to go."

The dungeon was cold, dark and clammy with its grey and slimy, bricked walls and narrow hallway. His uncle's prison room was at the far edge. It was thick, encased with many centimeters of firm stone. Before Azula moved Iroh to his temporary residence, she made it a point to examine the room. Only the strongest prison room would hold the great Dragon of the West and so far, Zuko was very sure that Azula was having doubts with the room Iroh was in since two Dai Li guards were posted on each side of the door.

Once the Dai Li guards saw him, they gave a low bow.

"Leave," Zuko ordered with a wave of his hand.

One of them tugged at his collar and nervously said, "Um…..but….sir….er….your highness….the princess has told us that no one is to speak with your uncle or we aren't to leave the premises."

Zuko glared at them and his nostrils flared in annoyance. He should be worried that he was undermining a direct order from Azula but as of now, he didn't care. He desperately needed to talk to his uncle.

In his anger he involuntarily made the torches that glowed around him brighter.

The Dai Li guards cowered slightly in their places. The one who spoke up muttered, "But….I guess since you're her brother we could make an exception."

They all quickly scrambled away but before they did so, Zuko grabbed the shoulder of one Dai Li guard and said threateningly, "No one needs to know about this."

The Dai Li guard gave a quick nod before joining his comrades.

Zuko huffed before rolling his shoulders as he prepared himself. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't afraid. He was scared of what his uncle might say. Zuko was very sure that Iroh was not very happy with him lately. Zuko rubbed his fingers together before peering over the small rectangular opening that was barred.

His uncle was there, sitting in the middle of the room, doing nothing but staring at grey walls. His clothes had become ratty and worn down. Rats and strange bugs scuttled across the floor. Zuko immediately felt sorry for his uncle. His back was turned from Zuko.

"Uncle?" Zuko called.

Iroh didn't answer.

"Uncle!"

Still no answer.

"Uncle Iroh!"

Silence.

Zuko took a deep breath before continuing, "Uncle, you have to help me. I don't know what I'm doing. I am so confused."

His uncle remained still. No reaction, no comment. Just pure, empty silence.

"Jin is in the Resistance. She's one of the leaders and she….she sort of added me to the Resistance," Zuko said even though his uncle didn't answer him. The truth was he just needed someone who knew the whole truth about him. He just needed someone he could trust. He needed his uncle's comfort.

Iroh stiffened when he heard that Jin was in the Resistance.

"There's going to be an attack, uncle. And I'm part of it," Zuko said.

His uncle didn't so much as move a finger. He continued to sit there, without talking.

Zuko scowled in frustration and snapped, "Uncle, what do I do? I need your advice!"

Zuko realized that his uncle would never answer him. He was angry with him. Zuko couldn't believe it. He was alone. He had no idea what to do and his uncle refused to give him counsel. Suddenly, his own anger took over him. Zuko gripped the bars tighter and yelled in anger, "I need you uncle! I need your advice and right now you're abandoning me! I can't believe you!"

And with that Zuko turned around and started to stomp away.

"Just like you abandoned me?"

It was a whisper, barely audible but Zuko heard it clearly. Zuko froze in his steps and he felt the shame and the guilt and the feelings of regret wash over him.

"I'm sorry uncle," Zuko whispered.

Not a sound was heard for a very long time. Zuko stood there with his back turned against the prison room while his uncle continued to sit in the middle of the room in silence.

Finally, in a louder tone his uncle spoke, "I don't know what you are planning to do Prince Zuko. But Jin is a kind and sweet girl."

Zuko clenched his fist.

"Don't do anything to hurt her," Iroh said.

"I want to go home uncle. But I can't do it without hurting Jin," Zuko said. He felt hopeful. Maybe his uncle would give him advice that was actually helpful.

"You already know what you're supposed to do," was all that his uncle said before Zuko lost all his patience and temper. This was not helping! He gave an anguished cry and blew a puff of smoke through his nostrils before storming off, leaving his uncle in silence.

"What's the Fire Nation like?" Jin murmured as she traced imaginary circles on Zuko's chest. The two of them were sprawled out across a grassy field that rose into a small hill. A tree stood over them, bending and swaying as the cool breeze hit across the whole area. The stars were out that night and they were sprinkled across the night sky.

Zuko was lying down while Jin was curled up against his side with her head angled slightly on his chest. Zuko wasn't even so sure how they ended up in that position. They had spent most of the evening picking out shape patterns in the stars but the two of them got so wrapped up in their thoughts that they eventually progressed into a lulled silence with Jin absentmindedly making shapes on Zuko's chest and with Zuko stroking Jin's hair.

Zuko stiffened from the noise, startled to be interrupted from his thoughts but relaxed after realizing that it was just Jin. He eased into a smile before saying, "Hm?"

"What's the Fire Nation like?" Jin repeated. She propped her elbows up and placed her hands on her chin. She looked at Zuko intently. Zuko frowned before sitting up. Jin had hit a particularly sensitive nerve. He was trying his best to forget about the Fire Nation and everything else in general. He wanted to prolong the big decision he was about to make.

The truth was he understood what his uncle had told him perfectly. He did know what he was supposed to do. He had to make a choice. But unfortunately, he didn't want do it yet. He didn't want to be faced with any decisions mostly because the lines and boundaries between the two things he wanted was starting to get blurred with each passing day.

And the fact that he was spending this romantic evening with Jin was not helping in any way whatsoever.

"Why do you want to know?" Zuko asked after awhile.

Jin shrugged before saying, "I don't know. It's just that, I'm so curious to know what your homeland was like."

She snuggled closer to him and Zuko was forced to lie down again. Jin placed her head on his chest. Zuko heaved a great sigh before reluctantly saying, "It's….it's beautiful."

"That's it?" Jin frowned.

"That's all I can say."

"Why is it beautiful?" Jin asked. She began to play with his hair. Zuko frowned. He really didn't want to talk about it but Jin's big, hazel-green eyes were very distracting.

"It just is," Zuko managed to say.

"There has to be more to that. Come on. Tell me. Is it because…..of the beautiful girls?" Jin said. She pretended to look jealous.

"What! No!" Zuko said, panicked. He was afraid that Jin might be really mad. Jin gave a big laugh.

"I'm only messing with you," she whispered in his ear.

"It's not funny."

"You're so easy to rile up."

Zuko huffed before saying in a teasing tone, "And besides…..the only pretty girls are here in Ba Sing Se."

He leaned towards her and gave her a kiss on the lips. When they parted Jin gave a small laugh as Zuko wound his arm around her waist. Zuko pressed his lips against her forehead and murmured lazily, "The sunset and the sunrise. That's what's beautiful about the Fire Nation. The sun."

"Tell me what it's like," Jin sighed as her eyes became half-lidded.

Zuko paused before continuing, "It's like the sky is on fire. The sky bleeds red, gold and orange. I used to remember waking up to it every day. I had this big window, overlooking my bed so the sun is the first and last thing I see before I wake up or go to bed. Sometimes, me and my mother watch it from the turtle duck pond."

"Turtle duck?" Jin giggled.

"Yes, turtle ducks. Another great thing about the Fire Nation. Turtle duck ponds. Me and my mom…..we used….we used to feed them together," Zuko 's voice faltered at the memory of his mother. The decisions and choices he had made….would his mother be proud of them or would she be disappointed? Zuko began to seriously ponder about it.

Jin's eyes became a pool of sadness. In a strangely quiet voice she said, "My mom used to have this garden. You see, she loved flowers. Me and her, we used to stay there, talking and walking and planting…"

"I see where you got your love of flowers," Zuko chuckled. Jin smiled and laughed along with him, much to his relief. It was very rare that Jin was sad so Zuko had no clue what to do when she started looking or feeling sad.

"Do you miss it?" Jin asked.

"Miss what?"

"The Fire Nation."

Zuko closed his eyes and admitted, "Always."

Zuko opened his eyes and was disappointed to see that Jin was looking at him with a sad expression. She placed a hand on his cheek and said re-assuringly, "Don't worry, Li. This war will be over soon. And when there's peace….you can go home."

Zuko shivered after realizing that he could go home by next week if he wanted. But he's not sure if that's what he really wanted. Zuko frowned to himself. He couldn't believe that he had gotten himself into this. If he hadn't allowed his relationship with Jin to go further he might not have to be stuck with this decision. Zuko internally scowled.

"I want to go there sometime," Jin lazily said as she traced his jawline with her hand. Her touch made his skin tingle.

Zuko felt his previous confusion diffusing. He pictured the Fire Nation with its vast buildings and the sun hovering above it, with all its glory. But that scene quickly melted into Ba Sing Se—the Lower Ring with its overcrowded streets, the middle ring with its modest homes and the Upper Ring with its stately houses and manors. And Jin was always there, with her smile, warm and disarming.

"Huh?" Zuko said dazedly as Jin's fingers continued to trail along his skin, all the way to his cheek. He was losing his train of thought.

"The Fire Nation. I want to go there sometime and see this really…brilliant sun….you were talking about," Jin murmured as her fingers began to explore the area where his scar was. Zuko stiffened as her fingers came into contact with his scarred tissue.

Jin noticed his apprehension because she paused. Zuko glared at her, his eyes heated. The scar was a forbidden topic. An unspoken rule hung in the air that Jin was never to mention it. She wasn't even supposed to touch it.

Jin however, matched his heated glare defiantly. She did not once removed her hand from his scar. They didn't speak or move for the longest of time. They only looked at each other with intense gazes. Zuko felt his resolve crumbling. Jin would win. She always will. She was much more stubborn and persistent then him. She always got what she wanted.

Zuko gave a defeated sigh and Jin took it as signal to continue.

Her soft and slender fingers began to explore his scar, moving her fingers at an excruciatingly slow pace. But Zuko could not deny that her touch gave him goosebumps. Jin continued to trail her fingers. She outlined the shape of his scar before tenderly touching the burnt lids of his eyes.

Zuko didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to speak? Or should he just stay still?

Jin began to move on to his ear. She touched his outer ear and she began to gently stroke it. Zuko involuntarily gripped her waist tighter.

To his shock, Jin sat up a little, looked at him with an expression he could not understand before leaning forward and giving a small, soft kiss on his scar. Her lips started to go downwards, leaving a trail of kisses as she traced his jawline. Zuko's vision started to swim.

When she finally reached his lips, she breathed, "I'm sorry."

Zuko didn't answer her. Instead, he lunged forward and kissed her.

"Um…Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee's head perked up as she heard her name being called. She looked up and was mildly surprised to see that it was Zuko who had called her. She, Mai and Zuko were all holed up in the library while Azula was off in some other part of the palace probably terrorizing most of the palace help. Zuko actually wanted to get away from Azula, Mai and Ty lee but it seemed as if that was not possible since Mai and Ty Lee had made it their mission to keep an eye on him. Mai was throwing her knives at ancient (and probably extremely important) books while Ty Lee busied herself by making a flower necklace. Zuko just sat on a chair and stared at a weird painting without speaking for a long time. He looked as if he was deep in thought.

"I kind of need some advice," Zuko mumbled, speaking for the first time.

Mai maintained her dull expression but her eyes flashed a look of interest. Ty Lee frowned, confused. Zuko never asked her for advice, especially from her. Zuko had always thought that she was completely clueless.

"Advice? You want to ask advice from me?" Ty Lee said.

"It's about…um…..well….it's about girl trouble," Zuko finally managed to say.

Ty Lee's expression brightened up while Mai stopped playing with her knives completely. Ty Lee knew that she was supposed to be spending all her efforts in breaking up Zuko and Jin but so far she was having a really difficult time since Zuko was never around anymore and he didn't bring her along to meet Jin. And other than that, Ty Lee was a hopeless romantic and she found it impossibly cute to see Zuko fall over himself as he tried to impress Jin. And she can't deny the fact that the two of them make a great couple.

But still she was hoping that the two had an argument. It would make her job so much easier. Ty Lee leaned forward and said a little too hopefully, "What happened? Did you have a fight?"

Zuko began to squirm in his place. He gulped before continuing, "It's nothing like that…yet. It's just that…I um…I really, really like her and well…you know, she doesn't really know the whole truth about me and the thing is her brother is really suspicious—''

"She has a brother?" Ty Lee interrupted.

Zuko scowled in annoyance before saying, "Yes, two of them, actually. Anyway—''

"Two? Are they cute?" Ty Lee asked.

"I guess so…"

"Do you think you could hook me and Mai up?"

Mai gave a loud but annoyed yawn. Ty Lee shrugged, looked at her and said, "What?"

"Look! The point is I like her and…and well…her brother…her brother doesn't really like me and we have this um…trip coming up. And Jin is expecting me to impress her brother or something," Zuko muttered.

"Then I don't really understand what you're asking advice about. Isn't it kind of obvious? Impress him," Ty Lee frowned.

"But he can't be impressed," Zuko said.

"I'm sure that's not true."

"But it is."

"Why does your aura have to be so negative?"

"She's counting on me. I think she's expecting to be best friends with him by the end of the day," Zuko said miserably.

"She's going to understand, Zuko. And anyway, I think you have bigger issues than impressing her brother. Does she know that by next week, the Fire Nation Army will formally arrive?" Ty Lee asked, quickly remembering what Azula told her to do.

"Oh. Right. That. Well….she sort of….knows. I guess," Zuko looked down and avoided Ty lee's gaze. Ty Lee didn't seem to believe him.

"You have to break up with her," Ty Lee blurted out.

"What!"

"Subtle," Mai said sarcastically.

Ty Lee groaned and realized that she did not exactly subtly get her message across Zuko. Ty Lee toyed with the hem of her sleeve before saying, "It's the only solution. Your dad is expecting you to be home by next week. You can't just wait before she finds out, herself. The only real solution is to end it before….you know…someone gets hurt."

"Isn't that a little too drastic?" Zuko said.

"Well, what do you want me to say Zuko?"

"You're the one who's supposed to know this stuff! You've had like….thirty boyfriends!" Zuko said.

"Thirty-one," Mai corrected.

"Which is exactly why I have experience in stuff like these. And from my experience, if you wait until the truth blows up in your face, then the two of you will both hurt each other. It's better to end things before bad things happen," Ty Lee said as she stumbled to form one coherent phrase.

"Or you could just wait until she finds out and kills you," Mai monotonously said as she began to swing her knives.

Zuko seemed to have taken Mai's advice a bit more into consideration. Ty Lee groaned as she slapped her forehead.

"I think I'll take the second option," Zuko mumbled.

"I don't even get why you're considering any options. Either way, you'll get yourself mauled by a hundred tons of rocks by an angry girl," Mai yawned.

Zuko grumbled something incomprehensible while Ty Lee giggled and squealed, "Oooh! You're right Mai! You're so smart! Are you sure you've never had a boyfriend?"

Mai examined her nails before saying in a dull tone, "The only boyfriend I'll ever have is a spiderfish. They're easy to keep under control and if I get bored—which is usually in about every fifteen seconds—I could easily replace it with something better."

Zuko raised a brow while Ty Lee broke out into a loud laughter. She giggled, "Funny."

Mai blew on her nails before saying dully, "I'm a riot."

Zuko looked at the time and saw that it was almost sundown which means that the he had to get to the Lower Ring. Tonight was the night wherein he would meet up with Ge Jiang and his group. They would start acquiring the blue soil. Zuko sighed. That meant that he had only two days before Jin and the entire Resistance blow the Dai Li's headquarters up. He knew that he had to decide quickly. Because three nights after the Resistance blows up the headquarters, they would all be leaving for home and Azula is not taking a "no" for her answer.

Zuko exhaled loudly before abruptly standing up interrupting Mai and Ty Lee's conversation.

"I have to go…er…somewhere," Zuko said as he left.

"What? But….but…wouldn't you rather stay here in this warm, cozy library?" Ty Lee said remembering what Azula instructed her to do.

"I won't be gone long. I'll be back before you know it," Zuko said.

"Me and Mai will come with you!"

"No! What I mean is….I don't really want some company for…..um…what I'm planning to do," Zuko said.

Ty Lee's eyes narrowed in suspicion but she eventually relented. She sighed, "Fine. I guess we might as well catch up with Azula in Lake Laogai."

Zuko stiffened after hearing the word "Lake Laogai". He quickly remembered what the Resistance planned to do.

Zuko spun around and said, "Whatever you do…don't go to the headquarters by the end of this week."

Ty Lee frowned, "Why not?"

"Just don't. No matter what you do, just don't. Tell Azula too," he said as he headed out the doorway.

"Why? What's going to happen?" Ty lee asked curiously.

Zuko paused and said cryptically, "It's just something I heard through the grapevine. Something bad is about to happen."

The corridor was deathly quiet and empty. Zuko craned his ear to hear better and when he was sure that no one would pass by it for a long time, he dropped to the ground from perch he was hanging on and signaled Jiao, Ge Jiang and two burly lads who were about fourteen to fifteen years old named Guai and Long to come down too. The four of them all dropped down and looked around the corridor edgily. Jiao was looking his usual arrogant self while Ge Jiang looked around coolly. The two younger boys, who were brothers, but both looked so much alike that they could pass off as twins, were looking around nervously. Guai was pulling at his shirt while Long was biting his lower lip.

And Zuko could not blame them for being nervous.

Adrenaline was pumping into his system and his heart hammered against his chest. They had sneaked into the Upper Ring and past the gate into the Ba Sing Se Bureau of Import. It was a low but long gray building and like most buildings in Ba Sing Se it was made out of stone and rocks. It wasn't as heavily guarded like the other buildings in Government district so it was easy for all five of them to make it past the guards.

They had come here to steal blue soil. Ge Jiang at first wanted to take only four people with him to go on what he called an "experimental mission." Jiang wanted to check the defenses, scope the place out, and if possible, bring back some blue soil as a sample. The real mission would happen tonight once Ge Jiang saw what they would be up against.

Truth to be told, Zuko felt that Ge Jiang didn't really want him along. He suspected that Jin had a hand at this. Zuko sighed. He wished that Jin would stop trying to push him and her brother into being friends. It made him feel as if she was counting on him to make peace with Ge Jiang. Zuko also suspected that Jiang only picked Jiao to annoy him given that Jiang knew how much Zuko and Jiao hated each other. He wasn't exactly sure why Ge Jiang picked the two younger boys. In his opinion, bringing them along was too dangerous. They were both young and severely inexperienced. He shrugged. But what does he know? He wasn't the leader of the Resistance.

Zuko bit his lower lip and gripped the hilt of his Dual Dao swords tighter. He was extremely nervous. He had experienced stealing things before but they were small jobs. He had never stolen something with a scale as big as this. They were breaking into one of the Dai Li's buildings and from Ge Jiang's explanation blue soil was something extremely expensive. That's why they had to resort to stealing it. Jin didn't seem too pleased when she heard Ge Jiang's plan of acquiring it but she eventually relented after understanding that it was the only way they were ever going to acquire it.

"You okay, kid?" Zuko asked as Guai continued to pull at his shirt.

"Not really," he said.

Beside him, his brother kept on looking around as if he was expecting Dai Li Agents to suddenly burst out from the walls.

Zuko clamped a hand on Guai's shoulder and said comfortingly, "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say. You could probably hack off someone's head with your swords in two seconds," Long snorted.

Zuko smirked.

"Jin told me that you two are one of the best benders she has ever worked with. You'll do fine," Zuko assured.

Guai and Long smiled at him. The three of them quickly ran closer towards Ge Jiang who signaled them to come closer. The five of them huddled as Ge Jiang started giving instructions.

"They organized their imported stocks by the place it's been imported from. Blue soil comes from Gaoling so it's probably somewhere in the east wing. Me, Jiao and Li—'' Jiang wrinkled his nose and said the word "Li" as if he had just eaten something really nasty.

"—will scope the place out, grab a few bags maybe. Guai and Long, I want you two to be the look-outs," he said looking at the two younger boys.

Guai paled and long looked nervous.

"You're going to leave us here alone?" Guai asked, horrified.

"What if we do encounter some Dai Li Agents?" Long asked worriedly. Ge Jiang broke from his usual cool demeanor by giving them a warm smile. Zuko stared at him. He had never seen Ge Jiang smile in that way before. He looked a lot like Jin when he smiled.

"Don't worry. Send a signal if Dai Li Agents are approaching but you can't run until we've arrived. You have to wait. No one gets left behind. But whatever you do, don't pick a fight, understand? We don't want to attack attention or give them any reasons to get violent. Remember, we can't be seen. I want this to be done quietly. We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes," Ge Jiang whispered.

Everyone nodded and soon they quickly separated with Ge Jiang, Jiao and Zuko scrambling off into different directions once they reached the East Wing and with Guai and Long taking their posts at the corridor.

Zuko started going through different rooms and chambers in the East Wing. Each room was filled with an assortment of things. A golden plate with the engraved name of the place where the objects were from was plastered in front of every door.

Things were going fine at first. Zuko got a chance to take a breather from Ge Jiang and Jiao for awhile and so far, no one had noticed his presence. He was very skilled in stealth and he had already managed to examine five rooms without attracting anyone's attention. He had seen so many things that were interesting. He saw a room full of tops that were imported from Yongku, a room full of rugs from Sichuan and he even saw a room full of flowers that were all imported from Yaodu. Zuko's eyes widened when he saw a Fire Blossom. It wasn't in full bloom but it still looked beautiful with its vibrant red color and golden speckled undertone. Remembering how much Jin loved flowers, Zuko knew that he just had to pick it up for Jin. He grabbed one and tucked it in his pocket before going on his way.

Things however, took a turn for the worse when he entered a room full of weaponry and found Jiao toying with a big, bronze sword. He tossed it up in the air and fell on the floor with a CLANG!

"Stop playing with that. You're making too much noise," Zuko snapped.

Jiao flinched but gave a sneer once he found out that it was just Zuko.

"Oh. It's just you," he said. He continued to play with sword making small but audible noises by banging it against the wall.

"Quit it! You'll attract attention!" Zuko barked.

"And who are you to boss people around?"

'I'm not bossing—''

Jiao interrupted him again by leaning against the wall and saying arrogantly, "Just because you're dating one of the…'leaders'—'' he made quotation marks in the air. "—does not mean that I'll be taking order from you."

Zuko scowled before proceeding to stomp off.

"I don't have time for this," he muttered through his gritted teeth.

"You know, I never really knew why Jin was so attracted to you in the first place. But I guess that's the problem with her. She's too nice. She'll go out with any loser who has a sob story," Jiao said easily. He gestured at Zuko's scar.

Zuko inhaled deeply and tried to keep his temper in check but he was failing miserably. All he wanted to do was to roast Jiao alive.

"At least she has the common sense to not go out with a brainless dimwit," Zuko spat.

Jiao's brows dipped and he glared at Zuko. He crossed his arms before saying, "She may have common sense but she doesn't have the strength. Jin's really gorgeous but….I mean come on, Li. That's all she is. She doesn't have what it takes to lead a Resistance. The people will pummel her to the ground once her stupid, little plan fails—''

Zuko lost all his patience and calm. All he saw was red. In his anger, he lunged forward, tackled him and together they crashed into a set of shields making a loud, banging noise. Zuko, however, did not care about Ge Jiang's warning of proceeding with this mission "quietly". He just wanted to pound Jiao's head against the shield and hope that it would dent his skull.

Jiao gave a growl as he swung a punch at Zuko's face. Zuko easily blocked it and he managed to grab Jiao's wrist and twist it into a painful direction.

"Don't talk to her in that way," Zuko warned as Jiao whimpered.

"Lighten up….Li….I was only teasing," Jiao managed to choke.

"You were insulting her," Zuko snapped his nostrils flaring.

"I was telling the truth," Jiao defiantly spat.

Zuko clicked his teeth before muttering through gritted teeth, "You were mocking her. I won't have you violating my girlfriends' honor—''

Zuko paused. He let go of Jiao's arm and stood up as he craned his neck to hear better. He heard harried footsteps—it was as if someone was running—accompanied by loud voices. Behind him, Jiao cursed and rubbed his pained wrist. He glared at Zuko, picked up a shield and made a move to bang his head with it.

Zuko however merely tossed the shield away with a flick of his palm. It crashed into a set of spears.

Jiao pointed a finger at him and snapped, "You've got a lot of nerve—''

"We have to go," Zuko said as he drummed his fingers against the hilt of his Dual Dao swords.

"What?" Jiao said not comprehending their current situation.

Zuko rolled his eyes before hissing, "We've got company."

And with that he slammed against the door and burst into the hallway with Jiao following him. They sprinted forward and turned left, against a blind corner. Zuko was vaguely aware that they were now being pursued. He could hear the footsteps, matching their stride evenly as they tried to catch up with the two of them.

He panicked once he realized that if they were to catch even a glimpse of him, the Dai Li Agents would know his true identity and inform Azula.

"We can't keep running. We'll have to fight," Jiao panted.

"No fights. Jiang clearly told us," Zuko argued. He can't fight them. If he turned around and fought them then they would see that he was the Prince of the Fire Nation. He could not risk that.

"Why are you afraid! There are only three of them. We could take them!" Jiao cried in frustration. He whirled around to face them but Zuko wasn't having any of it. If Jiao fought the Dai Li then Zuko would be forced to fight and they would know who he was. It would be extremely suspicious if the prince of Fire Nation was gallivanting with some peasant and breaking in into a Dai Li building.

"NO!" he yelled as he grabbed Jiao's arm in mid-turn and slammed into a room pulling Jiao with him. They crashed into the room where Zuko felt another body slam into them. Together they tumbled into the wall. Zuko groaned his head pounding. He had landed on something soft and sticky. He looked around and saw Jiao rubbing his head on one corner.

"What are you two doing in here?" a voice hissed.

Zuko turned around and saw Jiang. He was grasping something in his hands. It was a sack and something wet and sticky was protruding out of it. The thing was a strange bluish-grey color. Zuko's eyes widened.

"Is that the—''

They heard noises coming from the hallway. Zuko stood up and helped Jiao to stand up. In a panicked tone he said, "We have to get out of here. The Dai Li—''

"What!" Jiang cried. He looked extremely angry.

"The Dai Li Agents are coming," Zuko hissed. He grabbed as many sacks as he could.

"I told you not to attract attention!" Ge Jiang scowled.

"This is all Li's fault!" Jiao accused.

"I'm not the one who was making noises with the sword!" Zuko shot back.

"Nothing would have happened if you hadn't tackled me!" Jiao snapped.

"You two were fighting?" Ge Jiang barked. Sweat was trickling out of his forehead. His face's expression looked like a cross between a look of anger and a look of anxiousness.

"He insulted your sister and questioned your authority!" Zuko said as he pointed a finger at Jiao.

"What!" Ge Jiang roared. He looked at Jiao and glared at him. Jaio cowered and muttered, "Um…I don't think yelling at each other is the best way to not attract attention…"

"If you hadn't been making so much noise with that dumb sword—''

"Hey, I didn't make too much noise! At least not as much noise as when you slammed me into the wall!" Jiao protested.

"If you hadn't provoked me—''

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up both of you! This is a disaster! We weren't supposed to be seen! No one was supposed to know about us!" Ge Jiang snapped. He took three calming breaths before proceeding to pile as many sacks as he could on his shoulder.

"We have to leave quickly before they call re-enforcements and surround us," he muttered.

"Shouldn't we just leave the blue soil? This way they won't know what we came here for," Zuko said.

"No. It's too late. They'll tighten security the next time we attempt to come here. This might be our only chance. Take as many as you can," Jiang ordered.

Zuko, Jiao and Jiang piled the sacks on their shoulders and together they scrambled away just as the Dai Li Agents burst in.

"Don't let them see your faces! You don't want them to be in a wanted poster by the end of the morning!" Jiang ordered as they hurried down the corridor.

Running with sacks full of soil was very difficult. It slowed them down. By the time they caught a glimpse of Guai and Long eight more Dai Li Agents had joined the previous three. Guai and Long's eyes widened once they saw the three teenagers rushing in.

"The Dai Li?" Guai asked.

"Earthbend the wall! Now!" Ge Jiang ordered as he sped towards them. Guai and Long seemed to have froze up but they quickly got a move on it once they saw the Dai Li Agents trailing behind their friends. The two of them took a deep breath before slamming their fists against the wall to their right. The wall crumbled and formed a good-sized opening.

"Get in! Get in there!" Ge Jiang roared. The two boys scrambled in with Zuko, Jiao and Jiang following close behind. The Dai Li Agents seemed to have decided that it was time to act violent. Earth Columns rose from the ground as they ran across the room. Zuko and the three other boys followed him. Stone gloves and bullets whizzed past their head. One stone glove hit Guai in the shoulder causing him to fall. Jiang barely hesitated.

"Pick him up," he ordered without looking at Guai. Long grabbed his brother by the arm and supported him as they ran. Zuko tried not to look back. He can't get his face recognized.

"The window," Ge Jiang muttered, gesturing to the tall and wide window that was at the far left of the room. The five of them immediately scrambled towards it. Jiao got there first. He dropped the sacks he was carrying before jumping out. Long and Guai followed, with Guai giving a high-pitched scream as they tumbled down. Jiang was next. He swung to his left and avoided a stone glove before looking over at the window.

"Go!" Zuko prodded. The sacks were starting to seriously hurt his back.

"You go first!"

"Jiang…."

"My sister would kill me if anything bad happened to—Look out!"

Zuko had no choice. He looked back and saw an earth spike pummeling towards him. Zuko ducked and so did Jiang. The spike sailed out the window. Zuko could not believe himself. One Dai Li Agent recognized him. Zuko looked at the man as his eyes widened in recognition. Zuko glared back at him angrily.

The man who recognized him held a hand up and whispered something to the man who seemed to be their leader. Zuko barely had time to process it all.

"Come on, Li!" Jiang cried as he grabbed Zuko's shoulder. Ge Jiang pulled Zuko with him as they jumped out the window. Once they landed, they immediately began to run as fast as they could away from the palace. Long and Guai ran behind them, with Long staggering from the Guai's weight. They didn't stop or look back until they reached the middle ring.

They sought refuge under a bridge. They were all tired. Their backs and shoulders were sore from carrying all that weight of the blue soil. Zuko felt as if the air had been knocked right out of his lungs.

"We did it. I can't believe that we actually escaped," Jiao wheezed.

"We escaped narrowly. And to top it all off someone got injured," Jiao said as he looked at Guai's direction. Despite the fact that he was gasping for some air he still looked extremely stern and angry with his narrowed, green eyes.

"Ooohh….my shoulder…"Guai groaned. Long rolled his sleeves up and Zuko was disgusted to see that his shoulder got bruised and the skin was turning into a motley, purplish-blue color.

Long frowned, "It looks pretty bad."

"It hurts even if I move slightly," Guai groaned.

"This is not good. The Dai Li now knows that we're up to something. If you two hadn't been so incompetent, things would have gone smoothly!" Jiang snapped.

"Hey! At least we got what we wanted!" Jiao argued.

"We got someone injured," Ge Jiang shortly said.

After a few more minutes of wheezing and panting they grabbed the sacks and started journeying towards the Lower Ring.

"You do realize that we've blown our cover? The Dai Li would know that something was wrong," Ge Jiang said in a steely voice.

"So what? How are they gonna know what we plan to do with the blue soil?" Jiao said.

"We should have been more careful," Jiang insistently said. They travelled in silence for a while.

Finally Ge Jiang spoke as they exited the Middle Ring, "Why isn't anyone chasing us?"

Jiao, Guai and Long stared at him blankly. Zuko was interrupted from his troubled thoughts.

"You want someone to chase us?" Long frowned.

Ge Jiang looked around suspiciously before continuing, "It's just…..weird. They're letting us off too easy. That's not the Dai Li's style."

He then turned to look at Zuko.

"And did you notice that back there….when we still hadn't jumped off the window….the Dai Li suddenly stopped attacking us?" he asked.

"Yeah….weird," Zuko mumbled. He hoped that his discomfort would not be noticed. Ge Jiang however seemed to catch it. He stared at Zuko silently before facing forward and saying, "Come on. We have to go to the Headquarters. We need to get Guai treated."

Zuko knew that Jiang was suspicious but he couldn't care less. He had bigger problems.

He was in big trouble.

One Dai Li Agent had seen him.

He was so sure that the Dai Li Agent recognized him.

He could still recall the shock look on his face when Zuko turned around.

The Dai Li Agent knew.

And before the night ends, Azula would know too.

"Li!" Jin cried as she barreled straight towards him and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug, causing Zuko to drop all the sacks he was carrying. Jiang emerged from behind him with Jiao and Long supporting his staggering brother, Guai. Ge Jiang wrinkled his nose once he saw Jin hugging Zuko while Jiao merely shot an angry and somewhat smug look. Zuko made a "you're dead" sign at Jiao. Long and Guai were immediately greeted by other Resistance members where they were steered into another room.

Jin pressed her forehead against his and their noses nudged. Zuko felt all his previous worries melt away. Suddenly she gave him a light punch on the arm.

"Hey!" Zuko protested.

"Why is it that you always want me to think that you have died or something!" Jin frowned.

"If it weren't for the fact that I was dating you, Ge Jiang would have probably killed me before we even started," Zuko chuckled as Jin pressed her lips against his.

Jin frowned once she heard what he had said.

"It didn't turn out too well?" she asked.

"We got caught."

"What?" Jin eyes widened.

"And the rest just went downhill after that. We can't go back anymore. By then the Dai Li would have tightened security."

"What happened?" Jin asked as Zuko grabbed a stool and took a seat.

"Well….things became fine….but um…..we…I sort of got into an argument with Jiao—''

"Li! You were supposed to make Ge Jiang like you! Not make him want to slam your head with a bong!" Jin scolded.

"Jiao was insulting you!"

"So? That is no reason for you to jeopardize the mission—''

"I was just trying to defend you!" Zuko argued.

"No, you probably just lost your temper."

Zuko guiltily looked down before muttering, "Well….a part of it might have been that…."

"You should really start taking some anger management classes."

"I don't need them! I can control my temper just fine!" Zuko peevishly snapped. Jin laughed and kissed his nose.

"And besides…Li. I'm not the kind of girl who finds it attractive when a man starts fighting my own battles. If Jiao insults me next time….." Jin stroked his hair before continuing, "….then I'll deal with him myself."

Zuko suddenly remembered the Fire Blossom he had found. Zuko slyly looked at Jin before procuring the flower.

"I got this for you," Zuko said.

"Oh...wow! What is it?" Jin asked in awer. She gingerly cradled the flower in her hands.

"It's a fire blossom."

"Where did you get it?" she gasped.

"It was one of the imports. I wanted to give it to you...so you know...you'll get a glimpse of what my home is like," Zuko whispered as he kissed her cheek. Jin blushed before saying, "I'll make sure to plant it."

"How's the bomb-making?" Zuko asked in an effort to silence Jin's giggles.

"It's going along more smoothly than you and Jiang's mission," Jin snorted.

"Is something wrong with Ge Jiang? He seems to hate me even more than usual," Zuko said.

"You mean aside from the fact that you and Jiao just completely ruined the whole mission?"

Zuko scowled.

Jin laughed before continuing, "It's Yun. They broke up."

"What!"

Jin looked sad. She said, "He's been very busy lately and well….Yun got mad that they never spend any time together anymore."

"She doesn't know that he's the all powerful leader of the Resistance?"

"She does. She's a member even but….I don't think she understands that as of now….he doesn't have much time to take her out. They got into a big argument."

"That's a stupid reason to break up," Zuko frowned.

"Well I certainly hope you won't break up with me because of that. I have been….really busy too you know."

Zuko chuckled. He grabbed her hips and drew her closer to him. He smirked, "Never."

He Shen's head suddenly popped up from one of the tunnels. He called, "Hey lovebirds! Sorry to interrupt but we need the blue soil….like now."

Zuko and Jin laughed. Jin grabbed one sack. Zuko argued that he could carry all of it himself but Jin was just as stubborn as ever. The two of them headed down to the tunnel where they were going to bomb the Dai Li.

It was Zuko's first time seeing the tunnel. The tunnel that they were planning to bomb was very small and narrow. The Earthbenders building it had to crawl or stoop as they bent new sections. It seemed as if work for the tunnel was non-stop. Zuko could see a few weary Earthbenders, resting or sleeping in one corner, their faces smudged in dirt and grime.

"Hey, man! Sis! Check my tunnel out. It is awesomeee!" He Shen howled as he strung his liuqin wildly. Zuko got a closer look at He Shen and saw that he also looked tired. His hair was messier than usual and his face was covered in layers of dirt and dust. His hands looked gnarled and strained.

"I have the other sacks of blue soil," Zuko said as he placed the sacks in one corner where it was grouped. Jin followed him and dropped her sack.

"Is it enough?" Jin frowned as she examined all the sacks.

He Shen's shoulders sagged and he said, "Not as much as I would have liked but not to worry, my darling sis. Figured something like this might happen. So I did some research beforehand and I discovered some really major stuff. We could totally work this out. We'll just have to mix the blue soil with some gravel. It won't be as strong as pure blue soil but it'll hold until we blow all the bombs up."

"That's great. Did you tell Jiang about this?"

He Shen shuffled his feet before saying, "Um…yeah. About Jiang, I think that you should lay off him for awhile. He ran into Yun on his way here and plus he's super mad at –'' He Shen jerked a thumb at Zuko's direction. Zuko frowned. "—so he's not really in the mood to talk or like…be nice to anyone, right now."

Jin looked pleased, nonetheless. She clapped her hands together and asked, "When can you finish this tunnel?"

He Shen looked smug.

"It's finished, Jin. This will be fully operational by tomorrow. All that's left is the blue soil. It's going to be super awesome, man," He Shen said as he pumped a fist into the air.

Jin turned to look at Zuko and she said excitedly, "Hear that Li? By tomorrow the Dai Li will be blown of their high emu-horses!"

Zuko felt his heart sink as he heard plenty of other Earthbenders who were working on the tunnel, boom cheers and chants. Zuko could not believe what he had just done.

All he wanted to do was to crawl into a corner and to disappear as he heard the loud chants of the Earthbenders echo through the whole tunnel, "Down with the Dai Li! Down with the Fire Nation! Hail to the Earth Kingdom! May the Earth Kingdom live forever…"

"Where were you Zuzu?" Azula asked coldly as Zuko tried to sneak past her. No such luck. As usual, he caught him even before he made it to his room. Azula was staring at him in a calm manner although her eyes betrayed a look of anger. Behind her stood Ty Lee who looked worried and Mai was fiddling with a knife.

"None of your business," Zuko snapped. Ty Lee cringed while Mai paused. Azula looked absolutely outraged.

"You suddenly disappeared without telling me. I thought you were in danger. You're my brother. Your safety is my business," Azula coolly said. She flicked one of her side-bangs away.

"I had to buy something."

"And it took you six hours to do it?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Zuko angrily told her as he spun around. He was about to storm off when Azula said, "I've heard some interesting news about you today Zuzu."

Zuko paused in mid-step. He took a deep breath before saying through gritted teeth, "What kind of news?"

"It seems as if the Ba Sing Se Bureau of Import was broken into and five Lower Ring peasants were seen. They were stealing some sort…of...soil from Gaoling," Azula said. She began to pace from side to side.

"It doesn't seem as if they stole anything too important," Zuko murmured.

Azula shrugged before continuing, "True. But that's not the interesting part I was talking about. It seems as if one of my Dai Li Agents has seen you, with the four other perpetrators."

Zuko tried his best to give her a blank look but Azula was too smart for that. Her eyes were narrowed and she was examining his facial features carefully. Behind her, Ty Lee avoided his gaze while Mai was looking at the wall. Struggling to keep his voice calm Zuko said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then I'd like to hear your fascinating explanation as to how you managed to make your way into that Dai Li Agent's line of vision?" Azula said.

"Maybe he ate some really bad, rooster-pork steak," Zuko said. He held Azula's gaze defiantly.

Ty lee suddenly piped up, "Yes! That must be it Azula! I eat really bad food all the time! Makes my vision…jumpy…"

Ty lee quickly stopped talking after Azula glared at her.

Azula looked at her nails and said, "Are you sure Zuzu? He was quite positive."

Zuko gritted his teeth and said, "Then maybe you should have his head checked."

"Are you sure you weren't there?"

"I told you. I don't have any idea what you are talking about. I don't even know where the Ba Sing Se Bureau of whatever is. He must be having some illusions."

She turned to look at Zuko and said sarcastically, "Or perhaps it was your doppelganger."

Zuko started to edge away from Azula. He forced a smile before saying, "Yeah. That must be it. My doppelganger…."

"Well...I hope that it wasn't your doppelganger that visited uncle."

Zuko froze.

"So? What if I visit uncle?" Zuko defiantly demanded.

Azula smiled. She said, "Oh, nothing's wrong. I always visit uncle myself."

"You should fix the place up, Azula. Rats are everywhere," Zuko shortly said. He spun around to leave.

"Before you go Zuko, anything else you want to tell me?" Azula said as Zuko started to leave nervously.

"Um…no," Zuko said. And with that he scrambled away to his room.

"What is wrong with my brother?" Azula hissed once she was sure that Zuko had left.

"He might be the telling the truth Azula," Ty lee chirped nervously.

"No. He's not. I can see it in his face. He's hiding something from me," Azula said.

"Or he could be telling the truth and he was just being super nervous. You kind of do that to people around you. You make them sweat and pee in their own pants without really saying anything," Ty lee said.

Azula glared at her. As she opened her mouth Mai interrupted her and said dully, "Give him a break Azula. He probably just has a lot on his mind right now."

"Like what?" Azula snapped.

Ty lee said, "Like his girlfriend and how he plans on breaking the news to her that he's the—''

"What! Didn't I tell you to break them up?" Azula peevishly said.

"It's really difficult Azula. Especially since they really like each other," Ty Lee pouted.

Azula sighed loudly and said, "Ugh! Do I have to do everything around here!"

Ty Lee flinched while Mai yawned.

Azula rubbed her chin and scowled, "Still, something strange is going on. I'm going to interview that Dai Li Agent some more."

She turned to look at Ty Lee and Mai and said in a dangerously low voice, "Keep an eye on Zuko. And properly this time. I want to get to the bottom of this before the night ends."

The tunnel was completely by the afternoon. All that was left were the finishing touches. Zuko watched as Jin wiggled and crawled into one tunnel as she tried to jam a strange, rectangular box made out of steel into the far end of the tunnel. Plenty of other people were milling in and about as the time to set the bombs drew nearer.

Zuko stood there and he felt his skin breaking out. He had warned Ty Lee and Mai again not to go to the Dai Li's headquarters. He hoped that the two managed to pass the message unto Azula. He knew that the time to make a decision was drawing near. Azula was becoming more suspicious with him and a Dai Li Agent saw him so he knew that it probably won't be long before she would find out and take action against him. Zuko rubbed his palms together.

"Excited?" a familiar voice asked.

Zuko turned to look where the voice came from and smiled. It was Duan Jie and he looked the happiest he had ever been. He was carrying another strange metal object, similar to the one Jin was planting in the tunnel.

"Is that one of the bombs?" Zuko asked after realizing that other similar-looking objects were sprawled across each tunnel. The tunnels they made were very odd and they spread and twisted and turned in erratic directions. Zuko could clearly make out the blue soil that was slapped unto the tunnel walls.

"Indeed! We made about seventy-three of these," Duan Jie said. He gave it to Zuko who began to examined it.

"Ah! Careful! It's very fragile! It could explode at this very moment with one wrong touch," Duan Jie said.

Zuko hurriedly handed it back to him.

"I better give this back to you then. So…how does it work?" Zuko asked.

"Ahh….here's where the brilliancy comes in! We don't need powder to activate the bomb! Hai, bless him, invented this new machine. All that Ge Jiang has to do is to pull that string over there. It connects to a main panel, located at the very heart of all the interlacing tunnels. The panel activates the all the bombs which will explode in order," Duan Jie gleefully explained.

"In order? Won't it explode at the same time?"

"It won't be at the same time, spirits no! That would destroy the entire headquarters, including the rooms with the civilians in it! The only way to ensure that the rooms we don't plan on destroying will remain intact or…er….you know….not completely destroyed….is to synchronize the perfect timing!" Duan Jie explained. An earthbender came by and grabbed the bomb Duan Jie was holding saying that he had to plant it. Duan Jie nodded.

"Li!"

Zuko and Duan Jie turned to find Jin bounding up towards them, her hazel-green eyes twinkling. She flung her arms around his neck and Zuko firmly planted his hands on her waist.

"It's really happening," she said excitedly.

"I know," Zuko said. But he wasn't exactly as happy as Jin. He felt nervous. He felt ready to explode.

Jin seemed to have caught his apprehensiveness because she frowned and said, "What's wrong?"

Zuko kissed her forehead, looked at Duan Jie and said weakly, "I'm just excited."

After all the bombs have been planted, everyone quieted down as Ge Jiang stepped forward and announced in a loud voice, "People of the Resistance! Today is the day when we break free from our oppression! This is just a small step towards freedom, but it a step that we have all taken together! When I pull this string, it will be known throughout the palace that the Earth Kingdom is a strong nation that will not take this lying down!"

Cheers erupted from everywhere. Jin raised her fist in the air.

"All right…Jiang. Before you do some majorly awesome string-pulling, I want everyone to leave the premises," Shen suddenly spoke up from the crowd. He ran forward and started to motion people to move back.

Awws and Boos erupted.

"Hey, I just don't want anyone to get blown up, man. Everyone has to stay in the Main room," He Shen ordered.

Everyone sighed but relented. Jin and Zuko were on of the few who stayed behind. Zuko felt nervous. His palms were sweaty and his skin was cold. And the worst part was, he didn't know why. Jin seemed to notice his weird behavior because she slipped her small and slender hand into his. Zuko stared at her and she gave him a comforting smile.

Only a few were allowed to stay. If there were plenty it would be difficult to mobilize everyone to a safe distance once the string was pulled. They only had five minutes before the first bomb detonates and from there, there was a three-minute relapse before other bombs started exploding.

All of Jin, He Shen and Ge Jiang's closest friends were allowed to stay, including Hai, the designer of the bomb. Shu looked proud while Duan Jie restlessly moved in his place.

"Ready to make history, sis?" He Shen roared.

Jin smiled, "Definitely."

Ge Jiang pulled the string and they all quickly scrambled to the main room.

They were in the middle of the tunnel when Zuko heard the first bomb. It was extremely strong. It rocked the ground and made everyone lose their balance. Hai tripped while Jin nearly fell. Zuko managed to catch her.

"Keep moving! Don't stop!" Ge Jiang ordered.

They kept on moving until hey finally reached the main room where all the Resistance members immediately erupted into cheers as the other bombs started exploding. Someone started singing their national anthem and soon the whole place was filled with the chorus of the Earth kingdom National Anthem. Even Jin joined in the singing.

Zuko however felt as if someone had hit him across the face. He vaguely wondered if Ty Lee and Mai heeded his warning. He noticed that Jin's hand has gripped his tighter. He looked at her.

And saw the pure joy the reverberated across her face.

She was so happy that he couldn't describe it.

"It almost makes all the bad things that has ever happened to me go away," Jin sighed.

Zuko looked at her closely. He said, "What?"

"This, Li! This makes me so proud! This makes me…makes me feel….I can't even describe it!" Jin bubbled.

And looking into her eyes, he suddenly felt all the feelings of tensions and nervousness wash away. All he could think about was the happiness and the joy that was translated into her eyes.

He didn't need to think twice of what he needed to do.

Because he now knew what he really wanted.

And it was to be with her. To be right next to Jin, fighting with her, as she struggled for freedom.

Azula watched as the scarred boy sat on the chair, two Dai Li Agents firmly holding his each of his arms. After the wretched explosion that destroyed nearly all of the Dai Li's headquarters they had to make do with doing all of their interrogations at an empty room in the palace. Azula was severely annoyed with the explosion. She had lost about five hundred men today. She wasn't really concerned fo their welfare or the fact that they died. She was more concerned with the amount of people she'll have serving her when the fire Nation arrived. Ty Lee seemed to have known that an event such as this would happen although she refused to tell Azula where she got that information. She scowled. She would deal with Ty lee later.

But right now, her focus was directed solely on the boy struggling against the chair. He was young but he had a jagged scar across his face.

Azula clicked her teeth and curled her lips as the interrogation began.

She leaned forward as the boy struggled and said in sickeningly sweet voice, "I understand that you know something about the…ah…explosion that happened today, Zei."

One chapter down and lots more chapters left to go.

To Fehize: Super, duper thanks to your awesome review! I swear if I could give you cookies, I'd dump a truckload on you because you are AMAZING! It definitely made my day.

To Alana C. Jones: I'm so glad that you liked my story enough to actually choose a suspension over waiting. I swear my heart has swelled so much that I'll probably have a heart attack. And P.S: your review was really creative.

To Marina Hawk: Thank you so much. You are awesome. (And I think you realize how much I love that word ;))

To SkorpionQueen012: Thank you for the review and for reviewing and giving feedback and comments in every chapter. I don't need to say it but I'll say it anyway. You are really awesome (I bet you noticed how much I love that word too.)

To ArrayePL: Thanks for the always honest feedback and review. I really appreciate it.

To TheApocalypticTarantula: I'm so glad that someone agrees with me. Thanks for the really nice and awesome (there it is again) review! It makes me want to write more.

Special thanks to those who have added this to their favorites and who took their time to read the story.

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