Author's notes: Welcome back, dear readers! My apologies for taking so long, but from now on, the two-week schedule will most likely return. (Hopefully) As for the rest, well, here we go: Blah blah, hope you enjoy, yadda yadda yadda, please rate and review if you liked it or even if you did not, as reviews are always nice to read, even if they are critical of my work, but as I always say, ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: Do I seem like someone, who owns an animated TV series this beloved and cherished by it's fanbase? Well, I don't to me. I wish my fanfiction will turn out close to the level of quality the original story had. I'm happy then. But main thing is, I don't own anything here. Except a few things I made up.


The next three days were spent with the same monotone routine. Each day, Mako woke up, went to Roka's clinic, had a session with her, which cheered him up slightly for the rest of the day, then went out to the next victim's home in order to investigate. Eska was always there, with him, but he didn't protest her presence anymore. Though it bothered him slightly, especially because this kind of exposure for the chief came with most likely double the risk than it would have if she listened to him and hid in some safe place, but the firebender was beyond arguing with her. If she really wanted to come along to oversee things, he figured, then he'd let her. Even if it caused him some frustration. The investigation alone was complicated enough, but the fact he constantly had to be worried about her getting attacked by their suspect just made the whole thing worse.

But in the three days, nothing of interest was discovered. They went to over a dozen people's homes and looked through each, having to comfort grieving family members in some instances, but aside from a few interesting discoveries about various Water Tribe citizens, nothing seemed to stand out during their search. The entire thing seemed nonsensical. As if there really was no identifiable pattern. Some group had a lot of casualties thanks to the killings, but so did some others. And there didn't seem to be any kind of motive, aside from the enjoyment of violence. From time to time, Mako began to slightly doubt himself. Maybe there really was no other way. Maybe Eska was right. But he quickly chased these thoughts away. No, that idea was crazy and it had way too many holes through which the culprit could escape. He had to push on and trust his instincts, as well as his observational skills. And just hope Eska would too.

The Co-Chief of the North seemed relatively calm in most situations, but it didn't take a master detective to spot tiny signs of frustration or disappointment, when she learned of another search leading to nowhere. They were subtle, of course, but Mako could spot the slight twitch of her facial muscles or the suddenly less apathetic and more somber look she had on her face. As her gaze changed ever so slightly from uncaring to disappointment as they came to seemingly yet another dead-end.

The entire thing just didn't seem to fit. Mako could sometimes outright see the outlines of connections between several victims, but then the next one outright proved that there was nothing of the sort. Or something else they found, that disproved his theories.

And as he noticed, what they were doing wasn't exactly subtle either. As the two walked through the streets, Eska sent her bodyguards away, so that they wouldn't draw too much attention to the two of them, but people still kept looking at the two, some of them even bowing to the woman respectfully. It was their customs, Mako thought, but the added attention was certainly unwelcome. It just slightly irritated him, as he walked with her to the next location.

"Is something irritating you, detective?" She suddenly asked, noticing his slight glances at her, wordlessly conveying his desire to ask something, though she had no idea what.

"Hm? Oh, nothing." He said, scratching the back of his head as he walked along with her, noticing the house they were heading for at the end of the street. "Just noticed how many people are bowing to you."

"Is it causing you discomfort? Do they not show respect to your leaders in the Republic?"

"They do, just…"

"Then what is the problem with the greetings my people give their chieftain?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. It was one of those rare occasions, when Eska actually showed emotion, Mako noticed. Too bad it was irritation.

"It's not bad in and of itself, but it might draw some unwanted attention. You know. Expose us if a lot of people bow toward you."

"This attire is not fit to be in incognito, after all."

"Well, it's just something I noticed. And isn't it slightly harder to do field work in this long coat?" He said, hoping he didn't go too far with his suggestions. If she was so Hell-bent on going with him to investigate this thing, she might as well do herself a favor and get something more suited for the possible work they would have to do. The coat didn't seem too good for fighting or chasing a suspect, would it come to that.

"Describe 'field work'." She responded, turning her head towards him curiously, but continuing to walk along with him.

"Well, what we do right now. Looking through evidence, talking to witnesses, etc. But we might be attacked or have to chase a suspect later. And while doing this kind of work, it's usually better to draw less attention. But that's just my opinion." He said, hoping that she wouldn't take it as an insult, just as what it was. Observations.

"I see." Eska replied, looking back towards their destination and seeming thoughtful, for once. As if she was considering his words.

The next day, however, as he investigated the death of an elderly man and it appeared, that he might have actually come to a breakthrough in terms of evidence. Though there was no connection from the man to any major crime organizations or something in relation to the Equalist movement, but Mako did uncover something interesting.

"So, pardon me, but are you sure your husband never spoke of anything like this? Not even a single word? My apologies, but if you think you might remember something, anything, it could be important." He asked the grieving woman, who nodded sadly, wiping away a few tears.

"I'm sorry, detective. I wish I could help, but he never told me about his work. Only said it was something with politics or another, but never more than that. I never even heard this name, 'Rising Tide Society.' I'm sure he would have told me if it was serious." She spoke, causing Mako to nod slightly, writing her response down in a few short words into his notepad. Maybe he actually struck gold now. This "Rising Tide" movement seemed to be secretive and politically motivated, thus it could mean a good connection between at least some of the murders. Perhaps the backers of a specific political figure? Or maybe a secret society operating under the radar? The fact that not even the deceased man's family knew of it seemed to point in such a direction. Even if it did not answer all of the questions, it was the best lead so far for the firebender to start on. He had to ask Eska about it when she arrived. Something, he noticed, she was quite late with.

Not that he minded the woman not being 'on the case' that much. He personally thought she was better off in a safely guarded room, while he put himself out to danger, but she outright refused to just stand around and do nothing, so he learned to accept her decision in this matter. However, as soon as the idea of her not being here began to make him feel relieved, thinking that she might have given up, so did the worry arrive in his mind. Because of his appointments with Roka, Mako woke up and left Eska's residence much earlier than the chief did, thus he had no idea what she was up to until she arrived to join his investigation about an hour in. Today, however, it has been two hours since that time and she has still yet to have arrived on the scene, prompting Mako to feel a slight worry for her. Eska wasn't the most punctual person he ever came across, but suddenly disappearing certainly wasn't like her.

At once, his brain began to stray slightly, his thoughts circling the burning question: Where was his partner in crime solving at a time like this? It was certainly unlike her to not be here, especially considering the willingness and determination she showed in terms of accompanying him. Maybe she was held up with some official business? But she herself stated that Desna ruled during these times, so what could she have gotten mixed up in? If it was something the former Prince of the North couldn't take care of alone, how would that affect the course of his investigation? And just what could be holding her back? The theories began to annoy Mako, so he finally decided to chase them away into a darker corner of his mind, so he could focus on the evidence he found so far.

Suddenly, however, the door opened and in stepped the person his thoughts circled for the past few minutes, bearing the same neutral expression, that suggested both boredom and a slight detest for everything living, as well as having her head of pitch-black hair in the same symmetric style she always wore it. However, his eyes had to widen slightly upon seeing her clothing.

"Apologies, detective. I was late because of important matters I cannot speak of. Shall we continue?" She asked, gazing back at Mako with that continuously apathetic expression, her sparkling blue eyes almost shining. Her long, big coat that previously encircled her entire body from the neck down was not present. Instead, she wore a shorter, thinner jacket, its hood lined with white fur, as well as the chief's royal seal painted into the material in several spots. A darker blue shirt was underneath it, the sleeves of which ended in the long, black glove-like pieces of cloth that covered both of her hands up to her forearms. Without her coat, he could also see her usually worn baggy pants, which ended in her knee-high boots. This was quite the unexpected change from someone so used to wearing the same outfit every day, so to say that the firebender detective was surprised would have been an understatement.

"Is there a problem?" She asked after a time of his wordless staring at her, prompting Mako to blink in surprise and look back onto the table.

"Wha-uh, nothing. It's just that…-" his gaze was dragged back to Eska, seemingly against his will. "Well, you-uh…how should I put it…look…"

"Look different?" The chief finished instead of him and upon looking at her face again, he noticed the tiniest of smiles on her otherwise still calm and disinterested face.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's just surprising. What's the occasion?" He nodded, looking her outfit over once more. This was quite unlike the person he remembered from a day ago. At least in terms of clothing choices. Of course, people can change styles, but choosing to wear something this different from her otherwise absolute choice of clothing was much big a change for someone like her, he thought.

It certainly demolished his idea that there was some kind of uniform politicians were required to wear in the Water Tribe.

"I chose this for the remainder of the investigation. As you mentioned, 'field work' as you call it, is something my regular clothing is unfit for. Thus, I chose to wear something less of my taste, but better suited for grunt work. Does that satisfy your curiosity adequately?" She elaborated after noticing his slightly confused and disbelieving expression upon hearing her original answer. "Regardless, what have you found so far?"

"Oh, right, sorry." He said, taking the letters and documents he found about the secretive group he wanted to ask her about. "So, we might just have a breakthrough with this. Do you know of a group called the 'Rising Tide Society'?"

After a short time of thinking, Eska nodded slightly, taking a look at the offered pieces of paper. "Yes, I remember such an organization existing. Why?"

"Can you tell me something about them? Anything you know? Apparently our late resident here was a member, so there might be a connection."

"I do not know every detail, but they were supposedly an organization made up of several rich men and women, all of them concerned with the catastrophes the war with the Fire Nation caused and the possible repercussions they would most likely have on the future of every nation." She explained, eyes quickly running through page after page

A slight smirk appeared on Mako's face. "Well, that might be a good lead. I mean, this thing might be politically motivated for all we know, maybe the supporter of someone or some political cause being in the back, but if these people were brought together for projects nobody else knew about and it was connected to the Great War, that might just be our best connection." He said, putting his right hand onto one of the documents as his eyes scanned it again. "Do you know when their last meeting was?"

"About fifteen years ago." She responded calmly, dropping the paper she held back onto the pile. Mako's face scrunched up. Wait, what? No, that couldn't be the case. Why, in the first place?!

"What? But why? What happened?" Mako questioned, raising an eyebrow with disbelief in his voice. No, this couldn't be a dead end again. His left hand curled into a fist, causing slight pain to shoot through his fingers and palm. So all the papers he looked through were worthless?

"Their existence was ended by my father, following a failed attempt at raising the level of the Ocean close to our territories via waterbending and then blaming it on the Phoenix King's attack against the Earth Kingdom. Their best claims were the melting of the ice surrounding our nation, which caused a great panic for some time, until my father investigated and declared the accusation, as well as any claims concerning the melting to be moot. Thus, he banned the group and made sure they were punished adequately. I was not aware some of them still remained here."

Mako felt devastated, to say the least. Tossing the letter he was currently holding in his hand, as well as his last hope concerning the ideas of the "Rising Tide" onto the pile. For once, wishing that he could just set the entire stack of paper ablaze with a shot of fire. But he didn't. Both Eska and Lin would give him Hell if he destroyed any piece of evidence during a case. But where could he look now? There was no other idea, only the-oh, wait.

Snapping his fingers, the detective grabbed a small parchment from his pocket and opened it, taking a look at the list containing names of all victims, going through it quickly, inspecting some of the criteria listed on it. Hmm, it was a slight stretch, but they might just be able to do something with it.

"What are you seeking?" Eska asked, warranting a quick explanation from him.

"Well, I only noticed this recently while looking through the list a couple of times, but a specific group had more of it's members die seemingly than the rest. And they seem to be a political movement, supporting the chief. This might be a stretch, seeing as the rest have nothing to do with them, but maybe we can find something there." He pointed out, showing her the list, as well as the specific names. He only received a slight nod, but knew enough to consider said reply a sign of complete agreement.

"I see no better path to continue either. Perhaps this will prove fruitful."


Making their way towards a house on the other end of town, where Eska pointed out the leading minister of the specific political group lived. It was a slight hope, but at this point, even unlikely options had to be examined, considering the severity of their situation. While they walked, the detective thought over the case and evidence they gathered so far, coming to the conclusion, that while still unlikely, the closest option to reality might be the political standing of most victims. Still, as the chief informed him, all political groups and followers of all ideologies have suffered this fate, but all other theories seemed to lead nowhere.

The two walked in silence, not speaking another word to each other, which made the situation feel even more tense than it was. Considering their options, though, the fact he noticed this gave the firebender a small glimpse of hope. As the snow cracked under their feet, he thought back to their first meeting and sighed slightly, feeling his injured arm hurt slightly at the thought. He had to find the man. And bring him to justice. The thought of him running free in this place reminded him of something-someone…else. That terrifying visage. That amount of malice and hate coming from a single person. Mako didn't even notice his thoughts slowly drifting from the killer he was chasing now to somebody else from the past.

…that mask…

"Is something wrong, detective?" He was snapped back into reality by a feminime voice, as Eska looked at him, while they walked.

"Uh-wha-oh,no, nothing. I'm alright." He lied. No, he wouldn't have said he was alright. There was something wrong here. Very wrong.

"You seem agitated."

"I'm just worried. Worried that we won't be able to solve this. Guess that's taking a bigger toll on me than I thought." He sighed, looking back at her, noticing her gaze already returned to the road they walked.

"Until a sure conclusion can be found, no matter good or bad, we cannot draw one ourselves. Your worry is pointless." She pointed out. Well, even if he would have worded it differently, she did have a point. Even though the future looked bleaker than the day before, they still had no idea how it would end.

"Alright. Thanks. I needed that."

"Do not mention it." She answered, looking at him again as if to study his expression. Suddenly, however, as Mako ran the case over again in his head, a thought came to his mind.

"Wait a minute, you said you rule one at a time, right?"

"That is how Desna and I assume the position of chieftain, yes. Why do you ask?"

"It just made me curious. I mean, what do you do, when it's not your turn?" He asked. Though it was irrelevant seemingly, Mako's curiosity made him interested in this. It was possible it would prove useful, but right now, it was merely to kill time while the two of them made their way to their destination.

"Why are you interested?"

"I'm just curious. I mean, it's interesting. I only met Unalaq and Korra's father as chiefs of the Water Tribe before, but I never talked with them about how they ruled."

"Our reign differs quite from our father's and uncle's. Mostly because of the fact we lead together."

"That makes me even more curious."

With a sigh, Eska gave in and began to elaborate. "I mostly spend my time visiting the newly built theatre to watch plays performed there. In fact, that was what I attended before our… meeting."

"And your brother?"

"Desna has different ambitions during his free time. He mostly reads works of science or-" she suddenly fell silent, continuing to walk without another word, as if she was supposed to stop talking mid-sentence. Suffice to say, her reluctance made him even more curious.

"Or…what?"

"He…has a peculiar hobby." She answered, continuing upon seeing his interested gaze.

"Desna…travels to a slightly less icy area of the tribe's territory, submerges himself almost completely into the water and as he told me, pretends to be algae." She said, her eyes leaving his for a second, as if in slight embarrassment. Strange from someone like her, but he guessed, everyone could be weirded out by something or someone.

"And…sorry for asking, but…why?" The firebender responded, almost failing to stop himself from laughing. The image she managed to put in his head was absurd, but most of all because it was Desna doing such things.

"As he explained, it allows him to meditate and think better. And it helps him to get in better contact with wildlife on some occasions." She explained, suddenly turning to look ahead, as they approached a tall building. Her left gloved hand was raised and extended towards it, pointing. "We have arrived."

In front of them stretched a tall, tower-like building, quite like most structures surrounding Eska's residence on the other side of the city. The only difference was the surrounding neighborhood, which consisted of shorter, wider buildings. Aside from the height and decorations, a large seal of the Water Tribe also set it apart from most others, signaling a higher purpose for this specific one. He nodded in acceptance of her statement, while the two of them walked inside, Eska carrying obvious authority with her arrival, as she approached the guards at the door.

"We wish to speak with the minister." She told them, prompting the two spears to be pulled aside and the two men to bow at their chief respectfully, extending the bow slightly towards her detective companion.

They found the man they were looking for quickly. His office was on the ground floor. A room larger than most others, Mako noted. Luckily for them, he was inside, reading something of importance, as the chief and her detective companion.

"Greetings, my lady. How may I be of assistance to you?" He stood up and bowed deeply to Eska as they walked in, his voice carrying obedience and loyalty in his greeting.

"I require you to answer some questions to the detective, as well as allow him to take a look through documents he deems necessary." She explained, prompting the minister to nod, though with a worried expression.

"Apologies, but what is the meaning of this? Am I suspected of something?"

"Not yet, at least. However, a group of your supporters met their end to a series of murders and the detective suspects that might mean a connection between the murders."

"I see. Well, you are both free to look through my documents, should you need to. I am at your service as well, Lady Eska." The man nodded, bowing to her once more.

Looking through the man's documents seemed to be a foolhardy task, as there were no signs anywhere that he was involved in anything secretive, which could make him the target or culprit of the murders. They both agreed that a questioning would be better to find out such things.

However…

"Alright, so haven't noticed anything? Nothing in your group's work that would suggest some…shady businesses?" He asked, after taking a look at the records of their funds and finding no suspicious expenses.

"What exactly do you mean, detective?" The minister asked, looking ready to help, but also slightly nervous at the fact that his party was suspected of being both targets and culprits currently. But as it seemed, they were seriously approaching the former category.

"Missing funds, your employees acting strange, disappearing from time to time, dealing with businesses you have not approved of, that kind of thing." He replied, prompting the man to go silent, thinking for a little bit.

"Hmmm, not that I know of. There was this thing a few months back about someone buying new furniture for our main building, which turned out to be stolen material, but nothing of this volume or suspicion."

"Any of your people mention the name 'Songtan' perhaps before the murders began?"

"Songtan? That sounds strange enough that I think I would remember if someone said it to me. But no. Sorry, detective."

"It's fine. Do you think any of your employees might have some…'hired work' helping them? I do not mean secretaries, but perhaps bodyguards or something of the sort."

"What are you suggesting, detective?" Came the response, sounding slightly offended at the potential accusation. "That one of us sent this madman after the others?"

"There are possibilities, I am afraid. But it's not just that. It could be anything, from one of your employees knowing about it beforehand and having hired help to protect them from the killer or them hiring the killer himself for one thing or another. We must look at every possible connection, so that we might find answers." Mako reassured him, writing a few more things into his notepad.

"Oh, alright. Apologies. Not that I know of. And trust me, I know my people well. I am sure I would know about certain individuals being hired under my organization, if it was happening." The minister said, sounding much calmer now that the accusation proved moot.

"We are not the wealthiest people of the Water Tribe, you know? I'm not even sure either of us could afford such a killer. Or guards good enough to protect us from him. But if you think this helps, I will provide all the information you deem necessary."

"Nothing more is necessary right now, thank you. We might contact you later on, but for now, thank you for your time and the information you provided." Mako said, making sure to bow respectfully on their way out, seeing the man do it to Eska as she left the building.

Thus was concluded about an hour of questioning, leading to seemingly nowhere, but to another dead end.

At least they could find out his innocence, seeing as the man had an alibi to nearly all of the murders, which was backed up by others. As they were leaving, however, the man stopped them.

"If you please, detective, may I make a suggestion?" He asked, continuing when both Mako and Eska nodded. "I do not know what your current hypothesis is about the killings, but if you ask me, the culprit can certainly be an anarchist. There have been some incidents in the past before this nightmare began and since they attacked Lady Eska herself the other day, I doubt anyone else could be behind them."

Considering his proposed idea, Mako thought for a bit, before nodding. It was a theory at best and blind accusations at worst, but right now, it did seem to be a logical conclusion.

"And do you know of any known anarchist groups in this city that you suspect could have something to do with it?

"I am glad you asked."