A small rucksack of books and food was all Nikki brought with her as she sprinted along the streets with this mysterious General Grant.

"This way," he said in the same calm, even tone he always used, "your brother is this way."

They kept running, down ladders, through alleys, and around corners until, just as they neared the bottom rung of the city, they saw Sam, furiously sprinting up to meet them.

"Coming… danger… to get you… running…" He stopped in front of them, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"It's ok." Nikki touched his shoulder, "I know what's going on – or at least a bit of it. This is General Grant. He fights for the resistance."

She gestured to the, still coif, unexhausted figure standing by her.

While Sam would normally have been a bit taller, his being doubled over from exhaustion kept General Grant looking even more heroic than he might have. "We must move quickly. They are very close."

But it was too late. At that moment, the little party just left the cover of the forest and came into view of the city.

"And now there will be a fight," said Grant, "there is no way to avoid it, so I will accept it. Nikki, I need you and your brother to exit the city and run to the woods. We will meet by the lake. There is a small house on the far side. The people who live there will help us," and then he ran off, towards the city's gates, not looking back.

"What an intense guy," said Sam, slightly sarcastically, now standing and panting less.

"I think he's just serious about his job, but he seems to know what he's talking about. We should probably just do what he says."

They sprinted off together, in the same direction as General Grant.

When the pair reached the gates, they found Grant standing just outside, sleeves rolled up, hair slicked back. "They sent Ogodei," he said calmly, though visibly sweating. "He will die for what he's done."

Nikki pulled at Sam's shirt, urging him on, into the woods. "Wait," he said, holding her back, "I want to see."

The Shade and his party had also seen Grant. They advanced quickly over the field, iron boots reverberating on the frozen ground. However, before reaching Grant, the shade stopped, smiled, and urged his three companions forward, and sat down to watch.

"You mock me old friend!" Grant called as the three fire benders danced forward, three tongues of flame stretching outward.

Nikki gasped.

Grant didn't move. Not a muscle, until the fire was so close he could feel the heat. Then, in one quick motion, his had shot up, protecting his face. A ring on the glove glowed and the advancing flames parted around him, as though blocked by a wall. His second hand slashed through the air and a single, knife edge of flame passed down, lightning fast, and cut through all three benders advancing on his position. They fell and didn't move again.

"Mercy was never your strength," laughed the shade named Ogodei as he stood up.

"Neither was it yours," came the icy retort.

And then then pair stood there, quietly, eyes locked, hardly breathing.

"Well, I guess we should start," called the shade, and he raked both hands through the air. Massive trails of fire followed his motion and joined into a massive flaming blade just before crashing into their target. Nikki and her brother were blasted to the side, but Grant, never moving, never breaking concentration, emerged from the blast unscathed, only to be forced to block once more from another blast.

"Run!" He called to Nikki. "Please."

"We need to go Sam." Nikki pulled at his shirt.

"Not yet Nick. He might need us."

All discussion was drowned out in more blasts.

"You cannot outlast me," screamed the shade in a laughing wrath. "Alchemy has its rules. Each action you make has a cost!" He brought down ever heavier blows onto the general. "Ha! I laugh at your rules! There is no cost to me! I cannot tire!" He punctuated his last statement with a great uppercut. A river of flame erupted from the ground just under Grant. It passed his guard and he was punted far into the air, crashed into the wall, and slumped down to the ground, breathing, but not moving.

"We need to save him," whispered Nikki to her brother from the safety of the grassy outcropping where they landed after their dive.

"How though? Did you see what he can do" Sam replied.

Nikki touched her back and began weaving as the shade advanced on Grant.

"You see," he said, "you have chosen the way of order, and I the way of power. Did you know that? Don't answer. More importantly, you need to know how foolish a discussion that was. Do you know what I do to those under me who make foolish decisions?" He waited for a response.

"Hmm, too lazy to answer I see. Well, I'll tell you anyways. I punish them. And so, old friend," he spat, "remember this. Teach this to your children and to your children's children. When someone deserves punishment, here's what to do."

He held his hand high, flourished it, brought it down to a bow, and then snapped his fingers. The air around the general exploded into the most intense flame imaginable. Like the center of a bomb, and then it was gone. He snapped again, and again the air exploded. This time Grant cried out in his death throws. The fire stopped.

"And now you will die, General Grant Mustang," laughed his attacker, holding his hand up for the final blow.

"NO!" screamed Nikki, soaring to the wounded general, Sam in her talons, looking more owl than human. The shade's concentration was stolen, though only for a moment, and Nikki's talons closed around the limp body of the general and she took off, powerful wing strokes carrying the three to safety, away from the streams of fire and curses of the shade below.

"The lake is this way," yelled Sam over the rushing wind, pointing far to the West, and off they went. Nikki's powerful strokes carrying them over miles and miles away in minutes. He watched the general as they flew – knowing he was still alive, but not knowing how much longer he'd last.

Sam knew of the little house Grant had told them about and directed Nikki towards it. She touched down in front of the unassuming inn on the shore of the far side of the lake.

Nicole shook her wings and feet, muttering to herself and, gradually, she more and more resembled herself. A moment or two later, she, now decidedly human, and her brother had hoisted their unconscious companion up and walked in to the inn.

The inside, like the outside, was homely and unassuming. Only two people occupied the large eating area, and they sat together at the table furthest from the entrance.

One was a large man with a long grey beard. He wore a long cloak and a straw hat. Very little about his appearance was distinguishable. His companion, however, was far more unique. He had dark hair, much like General Grant, was thin as a whip, and had a thick, purple scar distorting nearly half of his face – certainly the result of an encounter with the Fire Nation.

"Uhh, sirs," Sam stumbled, "we were told by this man… you know… when he was conscious… to come here. We were running from a shade…"

"Mustang!" The larger man leapt from his seat with surprising agility and was by their side in a moment. "And brought to us by the chosen one. Interesting." He took the fully grown man out of Nikki and her brother's hands as though he weighed nothing.

The younger man had joined his elder by this time. "What is it uncle?"

"Today is a day of joy and mourning. See that our guests find safety. I will take our leader to the healers. I fear the war has begun anew today. Call the council, there is much to discuss."

The older man ran off to a back room and the younger gestured in front of them. "Follow me."

As they walked, Sam whispered to Nikki, "what if it's a trap?"

"Anyone who holds this love for Grant seems to be the sort we should be with. I think they're resistance fighters." They walked in silence after that. Down several halls and through a few doors until they came to a final, barred door. A small window in the door slid open, revealing a single pair of eyes.

"Who knocks at the garden gate?"

The thin man leading them answered, "One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries."

The door slid open and their guide stood to the side, holding the door open for Sam and Nikki. "Welcome to the headquarters of The Order of the White Lotus. We've been waiting on you for a long time…"