Chapter VII: Infiltration

Three days passed. In that time, Sokka and Suki made their way north to the village of Garu, to rendezvous with their mysterious comrade. On the second day of their journey, Sokka asked, "So what do you think this other initiate will be like?"

"Who knows…" Suki replied. "I hope they're polite, though."

"You think it's anyone we know?"

"I don't know. Probably not, though."

The two continued following the road to the north. Eventually, they came to the village of Garu. Like the village to the south, it was a small village, built on the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. However, this village, unlike the last, was large enough to afford itself a tavern. The tavern was the tallest building in Garu, at two stories high. But that wasn't where their attention was. Rather, they were focusing on the large beast sleeping in the alley on the side of the building. It was massive, its fur was a light brown, and a large saddle had been strapped to its body. But most peculiarly, it had no eyes; its only facial features were a large mouth filled with sharp teeth, and a large nose in the shape of a star.

Suki was the first to identify the animal. "That's a Shirshu," she said.

"A Shirshu? Oh boy." At that moment, they heard a loud crash followed instantly by a groan of pain. They hurried to the front of the tavern, to see a man sprawled on the ground just outside the entrance. Unsure of what to expect, they entered.

Almost immediately, they spotted two people fighting in the middle of the tavern. One was a man in a white gi, with a red headband. The other was a woman, with black clothes, black hair, and very pale skin. The man drew back and delivered a powerful punch… or he would have if the woman hadn't dodged his attack. The woman was now standing with her back to the entrance, relatively close to where Sokka and Suki were standing. The man drew back again to deliver another powerful blow, but the woman was faster, and landed a powerful punch on the man's face. Almost instantly, the man slumped to the floor, clutching his face in pain. The woman shook her hand slightly, muttering, "It's always the dumb ones who have the hardest heads…" before she stalked off and took a seat at a table near the back of the room. Carefully, Sokka and Suki stepped over the fallen man and made their way to the woman's table. She must have felt them coming, because she began to say, "You're back for more already? Haven't the last three times taught you—" She looked back at the two, and her expression changed from anger to one of mild irritation. "Oh, it's you. Where's the bald kid?"

"It's nice to see you again too, June," Sokka said. "And Aang's not with us. Suki and I are here alone on business."

"Really? What kind of business?" June asked, before taking a drink from a small cup sitting on the table.

Suki answered, "We're looking for someone- an initiate for the Order of the White Lotus."

"Well, it just so happens that part of my assignment is to wait here for a couple of White Lotus initiates to show up. And unless I'm mistaken, you two are the initiates I'm supposed to be waiting for."

"So, you're a part of the White Lotus too?" Sokka asked, taking a seat across from June.

"Yeah, I was recruited, but don't get the wrong idea- I'm not what you would call a 'philanthropist,'" June replied, before taking another drink. "To me, this is just another job- I'm still getting paid at the end of all of this." She took one last drink before standing up. "Well, now that you're here, there's no point in sitting around. Let's go." She headed to the entrance of the tavern, with Sokka and Suki following. The three rounded the building- at once, the Shirshu sniffed the air, and with a low grunt, got to its feet. "Come on Nyla," she said to the beast. "We have to go." Nyla responded, by lowering his body, allowing June to climb into the saddle. However, Nyla didn't return to his feet, but remained in its lowered position.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" June asked. "Get on." After a moment's hesitation, Sokka complied, and climbed on the saddle behind June before helping Suki climb on. Then, with a snap of the reins, June drove Nyla out of the alleyway and after a few moments, out of the village. Several minutes passed in silence before Suki finally asked, "So, where's this Outcast stronghold that we have to infiltrate?"

"The guy who gave me the assignment said the fortress was to the north of here, in some foothills to the south of some place called 'Merchant's Pier,' or something like that. I have a map around here somewhere- check in one of those pouches." Sokka searched through one of the pouches- sure enough, he found a rolled up map of the Earth Kingdom, a red dot marked over the foothills to the south of a town called Merchant's Pier, the words "Outcast base" written underneath.

Some time passed. The sun began to sink below the horizon, so June elected to have the group stop for the night. The three sat around the campfire in silence, Sokka and Suki on one side, June on the other, scratching Nyla's belly. The silence was a bit uncomfortable, and with a bit of difficulty, Sokka asked, "So, how did you end up working for the Order of the White Lotus?"

June glanced over briefly and replied, "That guy, Piandao, showed up one day trying to recruit me. I turned him down, told him I didn't work for anyone but myself. He kept following me around, kept asking me to join up, and I kept telling him I wasn't interested… at least, until he told me he was willing to negotiate a compromise. So we worked out a deal- I go through this whole initiation process, and when it's over I'm free to go. From time to time, the Order contacts me with an assignment- I carry it out, and I get paid."

"So, the Order would be like a… private contractor."

"Exactly."

There was a short pause before Suki said, "So, we're going to be sneaking into an Outcast fortress. Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"Could be. The Outcasts have been pretty quiet for the last couple of months. The Council of Five is worried they're planning something big, so they put in a word to the Order of the White Lotus, and now we're camping out in the middle of the woods on the way to steal some intelligence from an Outcast fortress."

June leaned back against her massive Shirshu. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep, and if you two have any sense, so will you. We're gonna be leaving bright and early tomorrow." She fell silent. Suki curled up close to the fire, as if she was preparing to go to sleep, when she asked, "So, what do you think of this whole thing, Sokka?"

"I don't know. I mean, dealing with the Outcasts? I'd feel more comfortable about that if Aang were here with us."

"Hey, I'm sure Aang and the others are dealing with the Outcasts, too. And besides, it's not like we'll be fighting them head-on. It's a stealth assignment. And I'm a master of stealth." She shifted to a more comfortable position. "Now, get some sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow morning after all." Suki fell silent, and with no one else to talk to, Sokka soon laid down to sleep as well.

As Sokka lay on the ground, trying to sleep, his thoughts drifted to the Fire Nation Outcasts. When the War ended, Zuko had issued a general ceasefire to all troops in the Fire Nation army, at home and abroad. Some had disobeyed the ceasefire, refusing to recognize Zuko as the legitimate Fire Lord, and banded together, vowing to continue the War in the name of Ozai. This small group called themselves the Outcasts, and was made up of a handful of Fire Nation generals and nobles, along with whatever soldiers they could convince to join their cause, and even a handful of Dai Li agents had found their way into their ranks. The Outcasts were vicious- they had razed several towns and villages, openly attacked Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation soldiers, and had even attempted to break Ozai and Azula out of their respective prisons. The Outcasts' numbers were small, and spread thin over numerous strongholds scattered over the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, but their lack of manpower proved to be to their advantage, making them nearly impossible to track- over the months since the War ended, only two Outcast strongholds had been destroyed out of an unknown number, and at the cost of a great many number of lives. To Sokka's knowledge, there had been no prior attempts to infiltrate an Outcast stronghold. Well, there's a first time for everything… Sokka thought to himself, before rolling onto his side and falling into a deep sleep.

Just under two weeks passed as the three traveled to the Outcast fortress. June spoke very little to Sokka and Suki- the only times she seemingly did speak was when she spoke to Nyla, when she gave instructions, or when she made predictions regarding when they would reach the fortress. This wasn't lost on Sokka and Suki, and one day, as they rode on Nyla, Sokka asked, "You don't talk very much, do you?"

"In my line of work, talking too much can get you killed. Believe me, I found that one out the hard way." Her hand rested against her side, just above her waist for a moment, before she said to Sokka, "You're one to talk. You two have kept pretty quiet too."

"Well, it's just, we don't want to bother you too much."

"Hey, we're be stuck working together until all of this is over. It couldn't hurt too much to get to know each other a little better." She tugged on Nyla's reins, and said, "Hold up, Nyla." She then reached into a pouch and pulled out a map, studying it closely. Sokka and Suki peered over her shoulders to see it, Suki asking, "How much closer are we?"

"We're close- I'd say it'll take another week before we reach the Outcasts' fortress." June snapped Nyla's reins. "Come on, Nyla. We have to go." With a grunt, the beast set out again.

Several hours passed. Night had fallen, and as the three sat around the campfire, Sokka asked, "So… where are you from, June?"

June replied simply, "Far away."

"Why did you become a bounty hunter?"

"Well… that's a long, complicated, and kinda depressing story. But if you really want to know, I might tell it to you when we're done with this assignment." She turned back to stroke Nyla's belly. "So, what about you two? Last time I remember, there were more people in your group. Like that Fire Nation prince and his girl—"

"She's not his girlfriend!" Sokka snapped- he surprised himself by how quickly he had reacted.

"Okay okay, sheesh. I was just kidding."

Suki answered June's question just then, before Sokka could say anything else: "Well, Zuko was crowned the Fire Lord."

"Huh. Good for him."

"And Aang, Katara, and Toph are dealing with the Outcasts right now, just like us."

"Well, good luck to them." June turned again and leaned back against her mount. "We should get some sleep. We'll be at the fortress soon."

Several days passed as the three continued north. One day, at the three week mark since they left the village, Nyla became seemingly restless- he would continuously sniff the air, and paw against the ground with his claws. June dismounted Nyla and said to Sokka and Suki, "We're really close now. We'll go on foot from here- I can take us the rest of the way." Sokka dismounted as well, but Suki remained on Nyla, asking, "But what about Nyla? What'll he do?"

"Nyla will have to wait here until we get back. He's just too big, and we can't risk getting spotted." She approached the massive beast, and patted its head, saying to it in a low voice, "I have to go now, Nyla. Wait here for me until I get back." Nyla's response was a low whine. "Come on, don't do that. This is hard enough as it is. Now, just be a good boy and wait here. I'll be back soon." Nyla made another low whine, but this time, he laid himself on the ground, his body slumped. June scratched behind Nyla's ears one last time before saying, "Come on. We have to go." And with that, Suki dismounted the Shirshu.

A few minutes passed as June, Sokka and Suki made their way through the woods. June was in the front, leading Sokka and Suki, when all of a sudden, she stopped and held out her arm. "What is it?" Sokka asked, only to be immediately shushed by June. Several minutes passed before she finally said in a low voice, "Okay, I think it's all clear. I thought I heard someone. We're almost there- stay low, and stay close." She bent down and began to slowly creep through the underbrush; Sokka and Suki followed her example, until again, she held out her arm, signaling for them to stop. A moment later, she beckoned for them to approach. They did, and when they were alongside June, she whispered to them, "We're here." She peered through the bushes, before pulling back to allow Sokka and Suki to look.

Through the bush, Sokka and Suki could see a structure some distance away from them. The only immediately identifiable structure was a short tower that rose slightly above the walls surrounding the Outcasts' fortress. Neither Sokka nor Suki could be sure, but the surface of the walls appeared rough and uneven- no doubt the Outcasts had forced local earthbenders into erecting the walls for them. The tower was also poorly constructed, although rather than stone, it appeared to be made of metal. On a short pole at the top of the tower flew a flag of gold and red, emblazoned with a stylized phoenix- the personal symbol of "Phoenix King" Ozai. But the base wasn't deserted- from their vantage point, Sokka and Suki could see about two guards standing at the outside of the wall, with another two patrolling at the top.

"Okay, so there's the base," Suki said. "So what do we do now?"

"I'd been watching these guys for about a week before I left to go get you two. If they stick to their schedule, these guys'll head in and the night shift will come out at nightfall."

"So we have to wait here until sunset?" Sokka asked.

"Yep. And that'll be in about… six hours. Make yourselves comfortable."

The hours passed. The three alternated in keeping watch over the fortress. Little could be said about it- from time to time, one of the guards would be replaced by another, and one would wander away, returning a few minutes later, but the number of sentries standing guard remained consistently at four. But mercifully, the sky began to transition from blue, to orange, to red. When the sky turned red, the four soldiers disappeared from Sokka's view. "Okay," he said in a low voice, "the guards just went away."

"Their shift's over," June replied, leaning over to peer through the bushes. "Now we can sneak inside. But we have to hurry- if they stick to schedule, the night shift will be out in about six minutes."

"Then we should get going." Sokka began to stand up, but June pulled him back down. "Hold on just a second. We need to avoid drawing too much attention. We should go one at a time. I'll go first." Staying low, June left the underbrush and hurried to the base of the wall. After a moment, she signaled for Sokka and Suki to come. "Well, I should go next, Suki said to Sokka, and hurried over to the wall as well- after a moment, Sokka followed. When the three had regrouped, June said, "Okay, now we need to get over this wall. Can either of you do that?"

"Yeah, I can. Hold on for just a second." Suki then began to climb the wall, not waiting for a reply. June called out in a low voice, "Throw down a rope if you can find one!" Almost as if on cue, a rope descended from the top of the wall. Without delay, the two climbed to the top of the wall, gaining a better view of the inside of the base.

The inside of the fortress was surprisingly small- the only distinct building was a large, square-shaped structure that the tower rose from. The other buildings were much smaller, near-identical rectangular structures- barracks, presumably. After scanning over the interior of the base, Sokka mumbled, "Great, now what? The intelligence could be in any one of those buildings."

"I think I have an idea," Suki replied. She motioned over to a nearby guard walking by the base of the wall beneath them. She drew her tanto from the sheath at her waist and said, "Wait here for just a minute." She jumped down to ground level, landing in complete silence. Then, she sprinted over to the guard, her footsteps nearly inaudible- when she was in range, she slipped one leg around the guards, forced up his chin with her free hand, and pressed the dull side of the tanto against the guard's throat, all in one fluid motion. She said to the guard in a low, threatening voice, "Well, looks like someone forgot to shave this morning. Let me help you with that." She pressed the tanto harder against the guard's throat.

"No! Wait, please! Don't kill me!" The guard wheezed back.

"You didn't insult me. You're a lot smarter that the last person I tried this on."

Suki's bluff worked. 'What do you want from me?"

"I know there's information about the other Outcast bases here. You're going to tell me exactly where I can find it, and if you even think about lying to me… well, do you really want to know?"

"There's an archive… in the building on the northeast corner of the base. The information about the other strongholds is there."

"Good. And just for that, I'm not going to kill you." Suki pulled her tanto away, but instead of sheathing it, she drew back her arm and smashed the hilt against the back of the guard's head; the guard slumped to the ground instantly, and lay motionless on the ground. Suki signaled for her two comrades to come forward- when the two had closed the distance, Sokka asked, "You find out anything?"

"The information's in a building in the northeast corner of the base."

"Well, we came from the south," June said, "so the building is in the far right corner of the base. We need to get there now- we only have four minutes left before the night shift comes." June began to follow the wall to the eastern edge, saying, "We'll travel along the outer edge. Hopefully we'll run into fewer guards that way." Sokka and Suki followed, trying to make as little noise as possible, when June signaled for them to stop. She pressed herself against the last building in the row, and peered around the corner. The path to the far side of the base appeared to be all clear. The three skirted around the building, and June again peered around the corner, only to instantly draw back. "There's a guard coming," she hissed to Sokka and Suki. This time, Sokka drew Space Sword and whispered back, "I can handle this one." He moved to the edge, holding Space Sword ready. He strained, focusing on the sound of approaching footsteps. Sokka heard one from just around the corner- at this, Sokka swung Space Sword, hilt-first, around the corner.

He lucked out- the swing struck the guard in the direct center of his face, and he collapsed immediately. "Good job," June mumbled to Sokka, before the three of them moved down to the far end of the base. The three of them were now only a few feet away from the building the guard had directed them to. June moved from her hiding spot to the building- she peered through a medium-sized window on the side of the building before signaling Sokka and Suki to follow. "It looks all clear. We'll need to split up so we can find the information faster. I'll take the left; Suki, you take the middle, and Sokka, you take the right. But we have to hurry- we only have three minutes left."

Without another word, June hopped through the window into the building- Suki, and then Sokka, followed suit. Inside, the building had a series of shelves, arranged so that they formed three forks- one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle. Each shelf was absolutely jam-packed with scrolls. Wordlessly, Sokka moved to take the right branch. He looked at the mountains of scrolls, slightly intimidated- there were so many! How could he hope to find what he was looking for alone? Unconsciously, he grabbed a scroll off a shelf and opened it. What's this? …No, this is just a letter, he thought to himself, before returning the scroll to its shelf and grabbing another one. He opened it- a casualty report. He closed it and grabbed yet another scroll. And another. And another. Each scroll he opened seemed to contain nothing but small pieces of information that were more or less completely useless to him. Discouraged, he grabbed one more scroll and opened it. There was something markedly different about this scroll- it was a map, a red dot marking the base's location, and a series of red arrows pointing to some nearby towns.

Attack plans.

Sokka couldn't be sure if they had any relevance- there was no date written anywhere on the map- but it had to be a step in the right direction. So, he pocketed the scroll and picked up one that had been next to it on the shelf. This scroll was also a map, but rather than a local area, it depicted the entire Earth Kingdom, a dozen or so red dots marked all over the western half. In the bottom left corner of the page was written "Fire Nation Outcast Strongholds." "Well, what do we have here?" Sokka mumbled to himself as he looked the map over. There was little doubt; this had to be the information they were looking for. But Sokka wasn't about to call the others just yet. Maybe there was a map for the Fire Nation as well. He picked up a scroll that had been next to the map- to his surprise it wasn't a map, but some sort of operational report. He returned it, and picked another scroll- this time, on the scroll was drawn a map of the Fire Nation, with various red dots marking the location of the Outcast bases. "Guys!" He called out in a loud whisper. "Guys, I think I found it!" A few moments passed before Suki, and the June, were at his side. "What did you find?" June asked.

"I think they're maps of the Outcast bases."

"Let me see them." Sokka handed her the two maps. She looked down at them, stopping every few moments to check with a third scroll she was holding. "Okay, these two maps are pretty consistent with this log of troop movements I found, so I think they're genuine. You find anything else?"

"I found some attack plans."

"Okay, we'll take those with us too." June turned to Suki. "What about you? You find anything?"

"I found some attack plans too, for the other bases. I don't know if they'll help us, though."

"We'll worry about that later. We got what we came for- now we have to get out of here." June headed to the window and hopped out; Sokka and Suki did likewise. The three headed up a small staircase that led to the top of the wall. Sokka peered over the edge. "That's some drop," he said. June sat down at the wall's edge, her legs dangling over the side. "Well, it's also our fastest way down." She pushed herself over the edge, landing on the ground with a light thump a moment later. After a moment, Suki jumped down from the wall as well, landing with a slightly heavier thump. Sokka sat down at the edge- there was not enough time to get back to the rope, so this was the best he could do to lessen the pain that he would feel when he landed. After a moment, Sokka pushed himself away from the wall.

It didn't help. Unimaginable pain coursed through Sokka's leg the exact moment he landed; he struggled to his feet, only to collapse back onto one knee. "Come on Sokka!" June called to him. "We have to go!"

"I can't!" He called back. "It's my leg! I can't move it!" Then, a bell began to ring inside the base. Oh no… Sokka thought to himself. Again, he struggled to his feet; he managed, but virtually all his weight was now on his good leg. He hopped his way into the forest, only to be stopped when a voice behind him shouted "There they are! Fire!" Sokka turned, just in time to see a fireball streaking toward him. He dived out of the way just in time, and tossed Boomerang back in response. Boomerang arced through the air, striking a guard on top of the wall right across the face. Sokka got back on his good leg, caught Boomerang, and began hopping back toward the forest. He eventually reached his other comrades, having to dodge several more fireballs in the process. As soon as he reached them, June jammed two fingers in her mouth and made the loudest whistle Sokka and Suki had ever heard; moments later, Nyla crashed through the trees and stopped just in front of June. She hopped on, grabbed a small pouch from inside her vest and tossed it toward the wall. The pouch exploded into an enormous cloud of smoke; in the smokescreen, June grabbed Sokka and began to pull him up to Nyla's saddle; Suki pushed him up as well, before hopping on herself. With everyone secure, June snapped the reins, and Nyla charged back into the forest.

Many hours passed. Nyla kept moving through the night, after dawn, and after noon, only stopping at dusk. Throughout that time, Nyla gradually slowed, from a full charge, to a slower run, to a steady walk, to an exhausted limp, before he finally collapsed on the side of the road. When Nyla stopped, June turned back, and suddenly decked Sokka right across the face, knocking him out of the saddle and into the road. Instantly, Suki had drawn Sokka's machete from her waist, and she asked furiously, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me! What's wrong with you! Or better yet, what's wrong with him! He almost got us all killed!"

"If it wasn't for Sokka, you'd be dead right now! You and everyone else in the Earth Kingdom!"

Sokka staggered back to his feet, his bad leg buckling under his weight. "Look," he said, "I broke my leg trying to stop the Fire Nation's airships a few months ago. I know I should've told you, but hitting me isn't going to change that fact."

June jumped down from the tired Shirshu. "Whatever. We should stop for the night so Nyla can rest."

An hour or so passed. The three sat around a small campfire they had made on the side of the road. June sat near the sleeping Nyla, looking away from Sokka and Suki with an angry look on her face. She hadn't spoken to either of them since they had stopped for the night. All of a sudden, June asked, "Is what you said true? You really took down a fleet of Fire Nation airships?"

Both Sokka and Suki were taken aback for a moment, but Suki quickly replied, "Yeah, we did. Me and Sokka and Toph."

"I only heard rumors about that." She paused briefly. "Listen, about what I said, I'm…" her voice dropped to being nearly inaudible. "…I'm sorry. And… thanks." Her voice rose back to its normal volume. "For what it's worth, you two did a good job out there."

"Uh… thanks?" Sokka replied, a bit confused.

June leaned against Nyla. "Well, we should get some sleep. We need to wake up early and put as much distance between us and the fortress as we can."

A week passed as the three slowly made their way back to the village of Garu. Nyla had recovered most of his strength by then, and he was able to head down the path at a steady pace. On that day, as Nyla walked down the road, June asked out loud, "You probably want to hear my story now, don't you?" Sokka and Suki were confused at first- then, they remembered June's promise. Without waiting for an answer, June continued: "Like I said, it's a long, complicated, and kinda depressing story."

She paused briefly before continuing. "My father and I came from some islands off the east coast of the Earth Kingdom. He was a bounty hunter back in the day, one of the best. People called him 'The Beast of the East.'" June laughed. "He always hated that nickname. He and I traveled all over the Earth Kingdom, tracking down bounties, collecting rewards, that sort of thing. That's where I met Nyla, isn't that right, boy?" Nyla grunted in reply. "My father got him as payment for helping a noble up north- he collected all kinds of rare animals. My father taught me everything I know about bounty hunting- tracking, combat, capturing targets… but the truth is, I didn't plan to follow in his footsteps. Sure, I helped him when he was on the job, but I never saw myself working as a bounty hunter."

"So, what happened?" Sokka asked.

"A little under fifteen years ago, when I was sixteen years old, something happened. My father had taken a job from a noble in the southern half of the Earth Kingdom- his daughter ran away from home, and our job was to track her down. We found her, but on the way back to the noble's estate, we were attacked… by the noble's guards."

June looked down at the ground. "It was a setup. My father made a lot of enemies in his line of work, and there were plenty of people who wanted him dead. I found out later that this noble had been working with a smuggler my father and I put away a few weeks earlier. The noble let the smuggler use his estate to stash his goods, in exchange for a cut of the profits from the smuggled goods. Let's just say the noble wasn't too happy about his income loss. So, he made a trap for my father and me. We were completely outnumbered by his guards- we never stood a chance. They killed my father, and gave me this." June turned back, and lifted up her shirt. On her stomach, to the right of her belly button was a deep jagged scar- after a moment, she lowered her shirt and turned back to the front of the saddle. "After they stabbed me in the stomach, they took everything off Nyla and… just left. They left both of us to die. And I would have died on that day… if he hadn't saved me."

"Who?" asked Suki.

"…Piandao."

"What? Piandao saved you?" Sokka asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, Piandao saved me. He'd already been on the run from the Fire Nation for twenty years before I met him. He'd been traveling all over; by sheer luck, he came across me, and nursed me back to health. I owe Piandao my life."

"Is that why you joined the Order of the White Lotus?" Suki asked. "To repay your debt to Master Piandao?"

"No. The truth is, I don't think anything I do will be enough to repay Piandao for everything he did for me." June paused for a moment. "After Piandao saved me, I went to that noble's estate… but it was empty. From that day forward, my life changed- I decided to become a bounty hunter like my father. I traveled all over, rounding up all kinds of lowlifes, and all the while, I kept searching for that noble, promising myself that when I found him, I would make that bastard pay for what he did to my father and me."

"So, did you ever find the noble who set you up?" Suki asked.

It took several moments before June answered. "I'd been working as a bounty hunter for five years when I finally tracked down that noble," she replied. "I found him hiding in a little villa on the southeast edge of the Earth Kingdom."

June fell silent. Sokka and Suki waited in anticipation for her to resume her story. When she didn't, Sokka asked, "So, then what happened? Did you get your revenge?"

Several moments passed before June responded. "When I cornered the noble," she said, "I thought long and hard about what to do with him. I wanted to do it; I wanted to avenge my father. But, if I did, it would have put me on the same level as him. So instead, I knocked him out, dragged him to the nearest town, and dropped him in jail."

There was silence for several moments. Finally, Sokka asked cautiously, "Do you… do you regret your decision?"

June didn't answer at first; several moments passed before she replied, "For a long time, I wondered about that. I wondered if maybe, I should have killed that noble. But, I decided that if I'd killed him out of revenge, I would have dishonored my father's memory… so no, I don't regret my decision." There was silence for several minutes. June eventually asked, "So, how did you two meet Piandao?"

Sokka replied first, saying, "When me, Aang, and the others were in the Fire Nation, I became a student under Master Piandao. He taught me how to be a better fighter."

"What about you, Suki?"

"I wasn't with Sokka when he first met Piandao. I met him later, right before Sozin's Comet came."

"I see." There was a pause. "You know, you two are pretty good. I can see why Piandao chose you to be part of the Order of the White Lotus."

Several days passed. The three slowly made their way back to the village where they started. After about eighteen days, the three finally returned to the village of Garu. As Nyla trudged into town, Sokka asked, "Okay, we're here. What do we do now?"

June scanned the street before replying, "Piandao said the Council of Five would be sending someone to meet us. We just have to find the contact and give him the intelligence we found. Speaking of which, you two should give me the intelligence you found." Sokka and Suki complied, handing June the intelligence they had collected during their mission. June took out her intelligence as well, and rolled up the numerous papers into one large bundle. "Okay, keep your eyes open," she said. "This guy could be waiting anywhere." The three wouldn't have to wait long- after a few minutes, they heard a vice call to them, "Hey! You! You on the Shirshu! Come over here!" They looked over to the voice's source- in an alley between two buildings stood a man, wearing heavy clothes of brown and green that obscured his body. The man had a green cloth tied around his head, leaving only a small slit for his eyes.

June jumped down, mumbling "Stay here Nyla," before moving toward the man. Sokka and Suki jumped down and followed as well. When the three were close enough, the man asked them, "Do you have the intelligence?" June held up the roll of papers. "Right here." She handed them to the man- the man tucked the papers away in his clothes, and then pulled out two scrolls. "I've been asked to deliver two messages on the half of one Mister Piandao. The first is for 'June.'"

"That's me," June replied, and the man handed her the scroll. She opened it, and after a brief glance, she rolled it up and said, "Well, it looks like we'll be heading our separate ways." She left the alley, and waved to Sokka and Suki, without looking back. "You two take care of yourselves." Without another word, she hopped into Nyla's saddle, and with the snap of the reins, she and the great beast disappeared. "There's another message for 'Sokka and Suki.' I'm guessing that this letter is for you two." He handed Sokka the letter, and then said, "I need to be going. I'm sure the Council of Five will be able to put this intelligence to good use." The man disappeared down the alley. Sokka and Suki watched him leave for a few moments, before returning their attention to the scroll. Sokka opened the scroll, and the two read it:

Sokka, Suki,

I'm sorry that I can't deliver this message to you in person, but some urgent business came up, and I had to attend to it. We have another assignment for you. As you may know, the Earth King disappeared after the fall of Ba Sing Se- after the war ended, the Council of Five asked us to track him down and bring him back to the city. We tracked him down to a small town in the Fire Nation colonies. Your assignment is to find him and bring him back to Ba Sing Se. Grand Master Iroh will be waiting for you and the Earth King.

Piandao