Smellerbee should have known that Jet wouldn't settle for a normal life in Ba Sing Se. He already found a new enemy to antagonize. Sure, the Dai Li were podges, and the Joo Dees were unsettling, but what were they going to do about it? It was so easy to buy into his ideas when there were no adults around, back in the forest where he was all they had for leadership. But they had Shu, Jing, and Mushi now. They didn't need to fight anymore.

Longshot agreed with her. They had tried to pull Jet aside on many occasions to persuade him to stop. But he wouldn't listen. And they had no choice but to go with him every night, because who knows what kind of trouble he would get into without them? People vanished in a blink of an eye in this city. Everyone was terrified to mention the war- but Jet was going around talking about it with everyone like an idiot! Smellerbee longed to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense in him, but she knew from experience that it wouldn't work. She had already tried many, many times.

Even Master Shu was worried. Smellerbee had told him all about their nefarious night time activities, because if anybody could get Jet to stop, it would be Shu. Jet actually listened to him! She hadn't seen Jet trust an adult since before their village was destroyed. Maybe Shu reminded him of his father. Or maybe it was nice to actually have an adult care about them for once, instead of shooing them away or giving them pitying looks. Either way, Jet respected Master Shu. Smellerbee did, too.

While she didn't like Ba Sing Se very much, she couldn't help but feel safer than when they were in the forest. They had a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. Tips were good at the tea shop. Jing had even started to tutor them, since she and Longshot never had a chance to go to school. Things were good. She didn't want Jet to ruin that for them.

There were Fire Nation forces patrolling outside the outer wall. His Dai Li had reported it was a small group, but they have been there for days now. A small part of him was alarmed by this, the frightened boy who lived through a brutal siege. But he didn't claw his way into power only to lose it to the Fire Nation so easily. This was an opportunity, and he was the only one clever enough to see it.

Long Feng carefully folded the letter and attached it to the messenger hawk's leg. Its leg band was black- for high ranking officials only. He hoped that the Fire Nation savages understood. While he was confident that this small group would never breach the wall, he also knew that they were there for a reason. He might as well take advantage of that.

If he didn't take control of this situation quickly then he was going to lose everything. There were White Lotus spies in the city again, and word had reached him that the Avatar was to arrive next week. His perfect city- his perfect life- was at risk. He wasn't going to relinquish control, not even to the Avatar.

Now all he had to do was wait for Prince Ozai's reply.

Jet had snuck out again. Spirits help him.

Piandao settled himself in the armchair and waited. He didn't have a lot of experience with teenagers, but he was sure that sneaking out to spy on government officials was not a "hip" or "cool" thing to do these days. But, of course, he had somehow taken in three feral children who raised themselves in a forest. Smellerbee and Longshot had adjusted to the city well. But Jet seemed to be struggling.

From what Smellerbee had told him, or not told him, their village had been burned down by Fire Nation troops. Jet had taken the children who survived and formed their own guerilla group. It worked very well for them, up until he tried to trick the Avatar to drown an entire village.

"Everyone is an enemy to him." Smellerbee had told him. "He never got over losing his parents. He's always so angry, and I don't know how to help him."

The young man was hurting. Piandao's heart ached for him. The boy reminded him of Zuko's own drive and passion for justice. But Jet didn't know who to direct his anger towards. He didn't know how to calm the angry waters within him, or how to forgive himself for surviving when his parents did not. His recklessness would get him killed if he wasn't careful.

There was a small clatter. Piandao watched as the window creaked open, and a gangly figure slunk through. The boy froze when Piandao lit the lamp.

"Where have you been, young man?"

Jet rolled his eyes. "You know exactly where I've been. I know that Smellerbee snitched."

"She was right to. You're needlessly putting yourself in danger."

"Needlessly?" Jet exclaimed. "There are people suffering in this city, and nobody is doing anything about it!"

Piandao rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Jet, I understand why you are so frustrated. But you are only sixteen. Please believe me when I say that I have your best interests at heart."

"You want me to just work in a tea shop while people are unjustly imprisoned?"

"That's what teenagers generally do."

"Well I'm not like other teenagers." Jet crossed his arms and looked away. "I didn't have parents to coddle me."

"You think I'm coddling you?"

"You're trying to control me!"

"I'm trying to protect you, Jet." Piandao stood up and crossed the room, placing his hands on Jet's shoulders. "I'm trying to give you a second chance. Didn't you come here to start over? To start a new life with your friends?"

Jet nodded reluctantly.

"How are you going to do that if you get arrested?"

Jet pushed him away. "I'm not going to get caught." He insisted.

Piandao sighed and tried to think of a new tactic. "You're worrying the people who care about you. Smellerbee and Longshot rely on you, and I would hate for you to let them down again."

He could tell he hit a sore spot. Jet's shoulders sagged. "They don't need me anymore."

"You know that's not true. Why else would they follow you to this city? You're the only family they have left, Jet. Setting a good example for them would help you, too." Piandao closed the window and pushed Jet into a chair. "I know that you are capable of great things. There is plenty of opportunity here for you to thrive."

"All I'm good for is fighting the Fire Nation."

"That isn't an option here."

"Then you admit something is wrong!" Jet burst out. "They're hiding the war! People are disappearing, being brainwashed, and nobody is doing anything about it!"

Piandao sat back and studied the boy. His drive for justice was admirable. If only his fellow members of the Order felt half as much as Jet. But sneaking around the Dai Li's headquarters was not a good solution.

"What are you hoping to accomplish here?"

"I want to find their prison and release everyone trapped there." Jet said.

"And what would happen after that?"

Jet paused. "What?"

Piandao smiled gently. "What do you think will happen after you free them?"

The boy shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "Why does that matter?"

"Not planning ahead is planning to fail, Jet. I agree with you; these people are unjustly imprisoned and someone has to do something about it. But breaking into the prison and unlocking the doors will not make things better."

Jet didn't answer, but Piandao could tell that he was mulling over his words. He hoped he was finally getting through to the boy. He let him stew for a moment before continuing. "Jet, my companions and I did not come to Ba Sing Se to find relatives. We are here to do our part in this war, to help the Avatar bring peace."

Jet gaped at him. "What do you mean?"

"I am part of an organization who works to bring balance back to the world." Piandao pressed a white lotus tile into the boy's hands. "You are not old enough to join," he added when Jet opened his mouth again. "I am telling you this to ease your mind. We will liberate this city from the Dai Li, as well as from the Fire Nation."

"But I can help!" Jet cried out. "The Freedom Fighters have been doing it for years-"

"I do not want to place you in any more danger." Piando said firmly. "You have an opportunity to be a kid again."

Jet stood up. His eyes blazed with indignation. "Well, I'm not a kid. Not after all I've seen. You can't expect me to just sit on the sidelines after everything!"

"Jet-" Piandao started, but the boy shouted over him.

"You don't get it! I've spent my whole life fighting. It's all I know how to do. I didn't get to be a kid because of the Fire Nation. Thousands of kids don't get a childhood because of them! How do you expect me to make tea when they kill more of us every day? How am I supposed to live a normal life when the city that promised to protect me is almost worse than the ashmakers?"

The boy's chest was heaving now, his eyes glittered with tears. "You don't get to tell me I'm a kid when I've seen my whole family killed, when I heard their screams and couldn't do a fucking thing to help them! It's too late now! I'm going to keep fighting them until my last breath. You can let me help, or I'll find my own way to."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Piandao longed to pull him into a hug, but resisted. He didn't want Jet to think he wasn't being taken seriously. Azula used to do the same thing, interpreting any affection as a sign of pity. He understood what this boy needed- to have an adult listen, to actually hear him. Perhaps he really did have useful information.

"What do you know?" Piandao eventually asked.

"So you'll let me help?"

Piandao sighed. "Against my better judgment, yes." It went against everything he stood for to allow a child to fight in this war, but Jet was right. This war was fought by children. The Avatar himself was a child. Who was he to stop them from seeking justice?

"They keep their prisoners in an underground facility called Lake Laogai." Jet said eagerly. "We haven't figured out where it is yet. They brainwash people there, too. Not just Joo Dees- anybody who talks about the war."

"If we want to help those people then we need more allies." Piandao said. "The Avatar will arrive soon."

"I know the Avatar."

"Yes, I heard all about that." Piandao gave him a stern look. "Another reason why you need to plan farther ahead. You'll have to apologize to him before he'll trust you again."

The boy grinned sheepishly. "That's fair. But what do you think he can do here? He only knows two elements and he isn't even thirteen yet."

"I believe he will be the catalyst for change in this city." The boy was capable of great destruction, based on reports from Pakku. Long Feng would feel pressured to make a move with such a powerful figure in the city who could threaten his hold on the Earth King. "For now, we need to keep pretending. We must assume that Long Feng knows who we are, and we can't give him a reason to arrest us before the Avatar gets here."

"That makes sense," Jet said reluctantly. He glanced down at the tile in his hand. "So is this why you guys are so obsessed with flowers?"

Piandao yawned. He was getting too old for this. "We should get to bed. You're on the opening shift tomorrow."

Jet groaned, but turned to leave. "Nobody wants tea that early anyways."

Piandao watched the boy return to his room and close the door. He didn't understand how he let his heart open to another troubled child after what happened to Zuko and Azula, but he promised he would do anything to help these children. They did not know who he was just yet, but they trusted him. Their resilience and drive for justice was inspiring. It may take some convincing, but Piandao was sure they would make great White Lotus initiates when they are old enough.

He wondered about the Avatar's companions. Pakku had reported that there were four other children traveling with him: two from the Water Tribes and two from the Earth Kingdom. The boy had returned less than a year ago, and already he and a group of children were doing more than their Order had done in a hundred years. Piandao glanced at Jet's closed door. It wasn't their war to fight. How many children were like the Avatar, like Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot? (or, Piandao despaired, Zuko and Azula?) Forced to take up arms, losing everything and everyone they loved to a war they didn't start? And why did they have to be the ones who ended it?

Piandao decided right then and there that he was going to tell them the truth. They deserved to know who they were living with. They deserved so much more, but this was all he could give them.

The look on her brother's face when he saw her new (old?) Blue Spirit mask was priceless. Azula held it away from his outstretched hands and tried not to smirk too much.

"Are you serious?" He was spluttering. "That's an original? From playwright Chiyo's time?"

She nonchalantly examined her nails. "That's what the plaque said."

"And you stole it?"

"It's nothing we haven't done before," Azula shrugged. "And technically your girlfriend stole it."

Katara, who was currently trying to nap with her head in Zuko's lap, waved her hand apathetically.

Zuko crossed his arms. "So while I was getting pummeled by sandbenders you guys were pilfering priceless artifacts. And you won't even share."

"That's right."

Katara squealed indignantly as Zuko lunged across the saddle. Azula most definitely did not squeal when he grabbed her by the neck and started messing up her hair. Her stupid big brother knew exactly what pissed her off. Legs flailed. Hair was pulled. Punches were thrown.

Azula didn't play around when people touched her hair. Even if it was Zuko.

(Especially if it's Zuko).

Things were good.

Jet couldn't remember a time where he felt this comfortable. Back in the forest it was his responsibility to protect all the Freedom Fighters, but now all he had to worry about was remembering customer's orders. He trained with Master Shu, he learned Pai Sho from Mushi, and Jing's cooking was keeping him, Smellerbee, and Longshot well fed.

He had stopped spying on the Dai Li after his talk with Master Shu. It was temporary- to stay on the down low until the Avatar arrived. And while he was itching to get back out there and actually do something when all those people were suffering, he understood that it was necessary. The stakes were too high– he couldn't get caught now.

He was never going to be a normal kid. After everything he'd been through, it just wasn't possible. But it was still nice to pretend for a while. To flirt with the pretty girls and boys who frequented the tea shop, to joke around with Smellerbee and Longshot when closing up, to come home to a warm meal and adults who actually cared.

He was learning things. The adults were aghast when they told them that they didn't go to school. So he, Smellerbee, and Longshot were getting lessons every afternoon. He learned strategy, arithmetic, geography, and history. Master Shu worked with him to think critically, to plan ahead. Mushi talked with him for hours about philosophy. Jing taught him hand to hand combat and how to make a perfect omelet.

Master Shu, Jing, and Mushi were not telling him everything. He knew they were trying to protect him, which was simultaneously touching and frustrating. But, from what he was able to eavesdrop, they were part of a resistance group. They were working with Wu Chen, the strange man who they visited on their first day in the city. His wife was missing. He had a horrible suspicion that she was one of the hundreds of Joo Dees trapped in Lake Laogai.

All they needed to do was wait for the Avatar. Then they would take down Long Feng and free all of these people. And after that, Jet was going to help them take down the Fire Nation.

So he waited.

He definitely didn't expect Master Shu to sit him, Smellerbee, and Longshot down one night. Jing and Mushi were there, too. And Jet listened, stunned, as they explained that they were actually from the Fire Nation. They were from the Fire Nation, and Mushi was actually the infamous general who besieged the city and terrorized the Earth Kingdom.

What the fuck.

He remembered lots of shouting, mostly from him and Smellerbee. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. Jet stormed out of the house.

He didn't know where he was going, only that the fire burning in his veins was telling him to run. He ran and ran, not stopping to look where he was going.

They were fucking Fire Nation. The men who cared for them were from the same country who took his family from him.

Jet didn't know what to think, what to feel. He had really felt like Master Shu, Master Piandao, was different. That he really cared. But how could he trust someone from the Fire Nation, let alone someone who traveled with the Dragon of the West?

He was in a park. Jet shoved himself between two bushes and tried to control his breathing. He was living with Fire Nation rebels. They defected from their country. They said they were part of a group of people from all nations to bring peace. And the worst part was that Jet believed them. What would they have gotten from helping three feral Earth Kingdom children? It probably made things harder for them, if they had intended to infiltrate the city.

Mushi- General Iroh- had said he wanted a second chance. Jet finally understood what he meant, where the heavy lines on his face and haunted look in his eyes were from. He never thought that he would have something in common with the Dragon of the West.

They cared for him. That was real. A few weeks ago he wouldn't have hesitated to turn them in, maybe even attack them. But he couldn't ignore everything they did for him since then. He would be rotting in the lower ring if it wasn't for them.

Jet slowly unwound himself and sat up. He was still in the park. The stars shone brightly above him. He took a deep breath.

As much as it disgusted him, he longed for one of Jing's (Fat's) hugs. He wanted to feel warm and safe and cared for again. And he knew that was possible- he could go straight back there and they would take him back. Fat would fuss over him, Iroh would shove a cup of tea in his hands, and Piandao would give him a small smile that warmed him to his core.

Jet began the long walk home. He didn't know what was going to happen after this, but he knew he could trust them. He wanted to move forward in his life, with them, and change the world.

He barely made it out of the park before the earthen cuffs grabbed him.

The city of Ba Sing Se loomed in front of them. More and more of it was revealed, stretching out past the horizon. Katara couldn't believe that such a place could exist. Even Zuko and Azula looked impressed.

They had just reached the outer wall before they caught the attention of the guards. Men in green uniforms gawked at them. One of them waved frantically at them, gesturing for Aang to land Appa on the battlement.

Apparently they couldn't fly Appa over the city. There were rules. Lots of them.

General Sung was especially adamant about this. They were quickly directed to dismount and their bags were searched. Once Aang had proven himself as the Avatar, however, they were ushered down the wall and onto a train. Appa was taken to stables, where Aang accompanied them to make sure that he was properly cared for. Once Appa was settled, they were once again herded onto the train. Katara was starting to understand why Toph had dreaded entering the city.

A woman named Joo Dee met them on the train. She was beautiful, but Katara was wary of her wide smile. Everyone else seemed suspicious as well.

Since one couldn't "pop in" with the Earth King, they were given a guest house to wait. It was nice enough, she at least got her own room.

Dinner was delivered to them. Sokka and Azula were grumbling about having to wait so long when they had important news. They eventually decided to play along for now. If they wanted the Earth King to cooperate then they couldn't risk breaking his rules.

Katara got into bed that night with a feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as they thought.

Ozai didn't have a plan when he reached the outer wall. He knew the Avatar was in the city, so that's where he went. But once he laid eyes on the monstrosity of a city, he realized that this might be it. He would have no choice but to wait for the Avatar to leave.

His father had always said that to lose patience was to lose the battle. So he ordered for his soldiers to set up camp. For days he would stare at those walls and scheme. Over and over he cursed himself for his plight.

Then the letter arrived.

Grand Secretariat Long Feng proposed an alliance. Ozai did not know his ulterior motives and did not care to find out. All he needed to know was that this man was offering him a way inside the city, and access to an elite force of soldiers.

That was all he needed.