Instinct's Info: Okay, school has slowed me down to a dead crawl. I'm amazed I got this up at all. I would really like the reviews for this story and will repay whoever does in kind. Oh, and really work your brains when you're reading this. I mean it to be a mystery and who doesn't like to try and solve it first?

Disclaimer: I own neither Avatar nor Nintendo.

Chapter Three: Rules of Engagement

Iroh restrained himself from chasing after Naise. He wasn't going to risk the lives of everyone in the tea shop to catch one kid, no matter how sadistic he seemed. Instead he called a member of the police that he saw out in the street to help him with the two prone men laying at his feet. The request got him a raised eyebrow, but the policemen seemed to know who he was and didn't ask questions.

The men were loaded into a patty wagon which Iroh caught a ride on so he could get to the palace. Once they got there the men were off loaded and Iroh started towards the throne room. There were soldiers outside of it and the doors were open. He expected to be refused admittance for some reason, but they let him through without any hassle.

As soon as he entered he heard the group of people at the end of the room talking, "I told you already that it wasn't me. And don't think you can hire me either. I don't go after family." Iroh felt his heart flutter a little for two very different reasons. If Jun remembered him it would be best if he kept low, she hadn't been happy when she woke up from that fight with the avatar.1 She turned at walked out of the room without a glance at him and he breathed easy. Iroh walked forward until he was noticed by the gaang which opened to let him join the circle.

"I've got some news for you, I haven't decided if it's good or bad." That got everyone's attention.

"Long-Feng was behind the break in at the Mental Health Facility, wasn't he?" Zuko asked quite certain that he was right.

"What! Long-Feng's here?!" Iroh couldn't remember when he'd been surprised this many times in one day.

"Well, Long-Feng's connection is long gone!"

"Get a new joke Sokka." Toph gave a loud yawn afterwards to help her point across.

"No, I found someone that was connected to it. He called himself Naise and he gave me a message for Zuko. He told me that no gang's played a part in the break in."

"How come he didn't come here to tell me himself?" Zuko asked a feeling of dread in his stomach already.

"It's a safe to assume he was part of it. If I didn't let him leave my shop alone he said he'd blow it up."

"You believed him?" Sokka asked, now with his curiosity coming to the problem.

"You couldn't look him the eyes and not believe him. He's was serious about the threat. He also gave me this." Iroh held out the envelope and everyone's eyes whisked over the writing. Iroh opened the envelope and pulled out the first sheaf of paper.

He started to read it out loud since not everyone could read quickly upside down (sarcasm cough, cough), "To Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang and anyone else they count to be among their trusted few. These are my rules of engagement to you. The rules themselves are quite simple. There are none for you, you may try to black mail me, murder to get to me, or anything else that you choose to use. I can't force my own ethics onto you but I will follow them. Everything contained in the envelope this paper came from is completely true, as is anything else you hear from me in any shape way or form you conceive.

"Secondly, I do not wish to hurt people, and depending on how you act there is a chance that there will not be any casualties from your actions or those of my group, the Ankhasha. This means that you will not try to stop Iroh from doing anything that he finds written for him in this sheaf of paper or the envelope it came from. If you attempt to set up a more secure shop for him you will force my hand to strike at people around you.

"I will say this so you do not waste any time. Do not look for any information about me. I wouldn't be so foolish as to leave a paper trail. Your best course of action is to try and apprehend Reido Mukie before he does too much damage. I have given him instructions much like these and he will be carrying them out. You are free to give this letter to anyone you wish, but none of the others are to be seen by anyone outside of the group you are standing with which should number approximately eight right now." There was an uneasy silence when Iroh finished the page. Everyone looked up from it and glanced around at each other, confirming there were actually eight of them.

"The demands should be on the next page." Zuko said as Iroh took out the next page.

"No, they're instructions for me."

"What do they say?" Zuko asked, really hoping that whoever Naise was he was telling the truth.

Iroh gave humph of dissatisfaction, "The first one says that I can't let you know these in any way until their completion."

"And how is he supposed to know if you tell us? No one can sneak into the palace; I bet that's why he gave all that paper to you." It appeared Sokka hadn't taken Iroh's statement earlier very seriously. Iroh shook his head before tucking the paper into the front of his apron and crossing his arms in a show of finality.

"Just what is he after then?" Zuko asked, clearly perplexed, "He would only clear the possibility of gangs if he wanted us to know it was him. He does that and then tells us to ignore him and go after Reido! Eargh, what is he thinking?!" A thick trail of smoke issued out of Zuko's hands as his frustration consumed him.

"He's trying to provoke us." Mai answered and Zuko looked up abruptly at her, "He's only going to give us one option no matter who we go after. Naise is setting up something else while we have to deal with Reido. We can probably expect demands once he's done that."

"And from the fact that none of us have heard of him up until now I doubt we'll be able to find him." Sokka concluded sadly with enough bitterness in his voice to warrant a comforting hug from Suki. Toph just rolled her eyes.

"The monks used to say the world is like a pond." All eyes turned to Aang, "Touch one place and the ripples will eventually touch everywhere else. Everything is connected."

"So we make the earth ripple?" Toph asked, clearly liking the idea.

"No, whatever Naise is planning he has to be able to talk to Reido to give him his instructions." Aang corrected her before she started putting her version of the plan into action.

"Didn't he say that he gave that guy a set of instructions like Iroh?" Katara asked, puzzled by Aang's lapse of logic.

"Yeah, but you can't predict everything that happens. He'll have to correct something eventually. When he does we'll find him. We should do as he said so we'll be closer when he does talk to him."

"I'll give the strategy to the police." Zuko said as he rose from the chair he'd been sitting in, "They'll probably be able to get something out of this that we can't."

"And when they try to stop you from putting yourself in danger?" Iroh asked, a playful smirk stretching his mouth a little.

"You know how hard it was to convince when I was bent on doing something Uncle." Zuko grinned back.

As the group started to make their way out of the throne room Iroh grimaced. He glanced back down at the instruction. 'Keep Katara out of harm's way. You'll need her to save the others very shortly'.


Reido stepped quickly into the alley outside the police station. He checked behind the dumpster and surveyed his handiwork. The fuses were all in order and covered so they would dry when they needed to be lit. One went to the boiler, another to the lobby, one to the holding cells, and a last one to the center of the building where most of the off duty officers would be. Reido buried the mad laughter that bubbled up through him for a moment and took out the pad of paper that his instructions where written on. 'Your detonation will occur shortly. Light the fuses when the Fire Lord is five buildings away.'

Now the laughter came up despite Reido telling himself not to. He buried his head in arm and tried to make the laughs sound like coughing. Maybe he'd get to go after the palace next! That would give off quite a show! He poked his head out of the alley and waited with the bundle of fuses in his hand, waiting.


It was impressive to note just how wrong Aang had been about Naise contacting Reido. Naise had absolutely no intention of contacting him again. There was no need to, he would either be dead, which was preferable, or apprehended soon enough. A few days in all likelihood, a week at most. He had faith in Aang and the others. They wouldn't let a psychopathic pyromaniac like Reido run rampant for long.

It was odd that as Naise went through all of his plan in his head after finishing his last thought that not once did so much as a ghost of a smile grace his face. His mouth actually became a harder line the more he thought. When it became no more than a slit on his face he rose from his chair like a man carrying the world on his shoulders and made his way across the room to the writhing ball of humanity that was bound and gagged on the opposite side of the room.

"It's a shame that you went the way you did, you know that?" He asked the writhing bundle. It stopped long enough for him to actually see Azula's features.

"I'm prepared to let you have a second crack at them though." He continued and her movement stopped completely, "But what you are right now will not do at all. I need all the Azula of old. Cold, calculating, and completely... and totally... immoral."


Instinct's Info: You though the last two chapters had cliff hangers! You have no idea how bad that trend is going to get. Another trend you might have noticed is how few questions are getting answered. So many contradictions, yet Naise's plan is apparently on track...what does it all mean? Sadly, I feel a maniacal laugh coming on as I write this.

1 Look it up if you don't remember. You'll laugh, I guarantee it.