"I know we've already been out many times, but we have to try at least one last sweep of the city." Aang prompted, and Y/N nodded in agreement. 

          "Let's all go together this time." She said warily. "People disappear here, and I don't like it."

          "What's that supposed to mean?" Katara asked, raising an eyebrow. "You were fine with us going out until now."

          "That's right." Y/N nodded, brushing out her hair and styling it out of her face. "It's just something I've seen. The guy I met up with was taken, haven't seen him since. I started paying attention to the people that talked about the war with me. All that I spoke to in public? Gone. Ba Sing Se isn't safe, not for people like us."

          Jet had been taken about a week ago now. There was still no sign of him. Or Appa, for that matter.

          "You failed to mention that your date a was kidnapped." Sokka pointed out, but everyone now seemed onboard with the all-together idea. "This was like a week ago, and now old news, why didn't you tell us sooner?"

          "He wasn't my date, he was my good friend, and I don't want any of us suffering the same fate. There wasn't any use in telling you guys at the time, I needed to figure more stuff out."

          "Anything else you forgot to tell us before we leave?" Toph asked, arms crossed and listening expectantly.

          "..." Y/N thought for a few moments, then sighed. "Toph the lie detector makes this harder. I'll be brutally honest." She turned from the mirror, leaning against the dresser to face the group. 

          "Zuko is in town."

          Immediately, everyone was on their feet, yelling different things. Aang looked genuinely concerned, while Sokka was saying something about trusting them, while Katara spouted insults and Toph laughed her head off.

          "SHUT UP!" Y/N screeched over the racket, effectively silencing everyone, save for a few snorts from Toph.

          "So that's where you'd been all those late nights!" Katara spat, shaking her sister's shoulders. "Y/N why? Why do you keep doing this??"

          "YOU THINK I KNOW?" Y/N yelled, ripping her shoulders away from her grasp. "YOU THINK EITHER OF US KNOW WHY WE TEAR EACH OTHER APART?!" That made Katara fall silent again, and Y/N took a few moments to breathe.

          "We can't be apart, not when we're so close. Just the hour we get away to have dinner- or watch street performers... have tea? It's enough. We both know what's coming, and what the other will do depending on choices made, but we need time to get away from thinking, alright?"

          "I've had some of the best hours of my life with him, let me enjoy the fact that we can spend time together, the fact that we can laugh, ignoring the war outside the walls!" Y/N tried to hold in tears at the pitying looks she was getting. "Because we both know it will have to end soon, and we won't have these hours ever again."

          "Y/N...?" Sokka asked quietly, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. It was comforting, and she leaned on her twin brother, breathing slowly.

          "I think I know what he will choose." She whispered, wiping away a few tears and regaining her composure. "And when he does..." She looked up, straight into Katara's eyes. "I will have to kill him."

                             —|➖◾️➖|—

          That was a fantastic way to start the new day.

          Everyone was quiet as they moved around, asking people and hanging any remaining posters. Y/N hoped for a distraction, and got one. Fast.

          "Y/N!" Y/N knew from the moment she heard Jet's voice, everything was going straight to hell, and she was totally up for it. She turned around in time for him to tackle her in a hug, and Katara screeched in horror, waterbending nearly all the water from the nearby canal into the air.

          "Nice to see you too." Y/N laughed, hugging back. "Duck." He did, and hundreds of pounds of ice flew over his head. Y/N bent the water back into the canal, but Katara brought out more. 

          "Think I might survive?" Jet asked, hitting a few ice spikes from his face with his hooks, and Y/N shrugged, deflecting almost every attack Katara threw at him, she was still screeching like a pterodactyl. 

          "Preferably, yes, but I feel like her voice is gonna give out before her will does." She stated, watching the fiery anger in Katara's eyes only grow. "I heard that you attacked my boyfriend, before you got arrested and all that, of course."

          "What?" Jet ducked behind her as Katara delivered a devastating attack, Y/N only able to keep the water away as all of it froze, leaving them in an air pocket inside a giant ball of ice. Y/N sighed, looking back at him as he stood.

          "Ok. What did they do to you? It's been a week." She asked in a tired voice, every noise echoing back at them. There was a muffled yell from outside, and the dome shattered. Jet disappeared in a pressurized stream of water, and then he was frozen against the nearest alleyway wall.

          "OH, WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT! I'M TRYING TO TALK TO HIM!" Y/N yelled. "YOU'RE GONNA GET US ARRESTED." She washed her sister into the canal, unfreezing Jet and patiently waiting as a slightly, VERY SLIGHTLY, less angry Katara marched up to where the group waited.

          "Wait, Y/N, you know him? You weren't with us." Sokka glanced suspiciously over at Jet, who now sat on the ground. 

           "He's the disappearing act friend." She responded. "I heard you guys had beef, so I decided to keep my mouth shut." Y/N turned back to Jet, drying his clothes and helping him off the ground. "Now explanation time. What happened to you? What did the Dai Li do to you?"

          "What do you mean? I've been living here in the city peacefully for several weeks." His expression was scrunched in confusion, and Y/N looked at Toph, who somehow got the memo and walked over, placing a hand on the wall he leaned against, giving a thumbs up a few seconds later. 

          "Ok..." He's telling the truth... but Zuko confirmed the story. How can that be? "Let's try why you didn't show up to the lunch meetup. You remember that, right?" He nodded with a smile, but it fell moments later, and he looked confused again.

          "Yea... wait. Why wasn't I there for that?" He sounded more like he was asking himself. "I was... where was I? I was here in the city, right?"

          "I don't understand." Toph said. "This is all genuine, but... there's no way. Nothing lines up."

          "It's because he genuinely thinks he didn't attack Zu- the firebender. They did something to him. Jet- What were you doing this morning?" 

                             —|➖◾️➖|—

          A little running around looking for Appa and some healing from Katara, and Jet's was able to remember more of what happened. Something about an underground base, and Appa. 

          They would make an attempt to save the bison the following day.

          This resulted in a rather restless night, especially with the unavoidable bicker of Sokka and Katara attacking Jet, thankfully the physical fights had calmed down, and it was mostly snappy comments from Y/N's little sister.

          "So what exactly happened, anyways?" Toph asked. "Is he Katara's ex boyfriend or something?"

          "That's what it sounds like." Y/N snorted.

          "Shut up!" Katara snapped. "It wasn't like that."

          "Yea, boyfriend is a very strong word, it was more like ex humongous crush." Sokka said, and yelped when Katara swung a pillow in his face.

          "Shut up! What if he hears you?" She hissed. 

          "Ohhh, does little sis still have feelings?" Y/N cooed, receiving the same treatment as Sokka as she laughed. 

          "Am I interrupting something?" Jet asked, walking into the room. It was decided he would stay with them, so they could keep an eye on him without risk that the Dai Li might take him back after failing to lead the Gaang on a wild goose chase around the world looking for Appa.

          "Nope! Come over and get settled, lights out in 5 minutes. We've got a big day tomorrow." Y/N gestured to the empty bed, and got up to quickly put her stuff away. Soon she blew out their lanterns, laying down and sighing as everyone shuffled under their covers to go to sleep.

          Soon, everyone fell asleep around Y/N, their breathing slowing and shuffling stopping within the hour. All except-

          "Jet? Are you alright?" Y/N whispered. She could see his outline in the dark, and he rolled over to look in her direction.

          "Sorry. I just can't shake it." He whispered back.

          "Shake what?" Y/N watched as he took a deep breath.

          "A feeling. A really bad feeling about tomorrow."

          I'm back, sorry. Took a little break. Let's do this.