Chapter 3

"Ah, it is such a pleasure to see my young friends still hale and hearty," Uncle Iroh said, sitting down at a table in The Jasmine Dragon and smiling at the visitors calling on him this morning, Avatar Aang with his Fire Nation girlfriend On Ji, as well as Iroh's favorite earthbender, one Toph Beifong. "I trust you're all enjoying your tea?"

The three youngsters nodded swiftly, but it was On Ji who spoke up first. "Uncle Iroh, I'm not surprised that you know Aang and Toph's favorite teas, but how did you guess mine?" she asked. Now that On Ji was sitting down, she wasn't really showing, but as they had all come in through the doors of Iroh's little Upper Ring tea shop, he could tell that the Avatar's girlfriend was probably in her fifth, or even sixth month of pregnancy.

"They say that tapioca is an acquired taste, but somehow, I immediately pegged you for someone who'd enjoy it," Iroh laughed. "I'm glad to have guessed correctly."

"Well, it's not like mine and Aang's choices are so wildly unpredictable," Toph shrugged. "Jasmine tea was what Uncle Iroh offered me on our first meeting. And oolong tea is literally called the Avatar Tea in this establishment, so of course it would have to be something that Aang enjoyed. Also, smart marketing decision, Uncle Iroh."

"Hey, it's a good idea, oolong tea is great," Aang argued, while Iroh merely chuckled good-naturedly.

"So," Iroh began, enjoying a sip of his jasmine tea. "Tell me about your latest adventures, my young friends."

"You go first, Toph," Aang said.

"You say that as if I had some kind of wild adventures to boast about," Toph shrugged. "Uncle Iroh, you probably know everything about what I've been up to from your White Lotus pals. I've been told that they're always keeping an eye out and reporting everything to you."

"I think someone is exaggerating the reach of my little circle of friends," Iroh chuckled awkwardly. He knew that Toph was visiting the Fire Nation often, hanging out with Zuko and his wife, or Azula and Katara. Toph's comment about the White Lotus Order was probably influenced by something she had overheard during one of her Fire Nation visits.

"Well, I'm still keeping busy at my metalbending academy, as you can imagine," Toph replied. "Although, the excitement is starting to wear off a little, I can tell you that much. Besides, some of my students are proving to be better tutors than I've ever been."

"That's nonsense, Toph, you've always been a great earthbending sifu," Aang said, clearly disagreeing.

"Pah, you don't need to butter me up, Twinkletoes," Toph laughed. "You know perfectly well that I came within an inch of crushing you to painful death on more than a few occasions."

"Are you serious?" On Ji gasped, looking shocked. "But he is the Avatar! If Aang had died, it would have compromised the whole effort to end the war!"

"Well, that was just my style of teaching, sorry if that upsets you," Toph shrugged.

"No, you don't have to apologize, it was very effective," Aang said quickly.

"Exactly, I wasn't going to mother you like Katara did," Toph snorted. "She always handled you with kiddie gloves, but I was never going to be like that."

"I don't think Katara was always like that," Aang replied, looking a little peeved. On Ji was also frowning, although Iroh was not immediately sure about the reason.

"And what of your involvement with the Republic City police force?" Iroh asked. "I have heard some glowing reports from the Earth Kingdom councilman regarding the efficiency of this elite metalbending unit."

"Of course, he would say that, he pushed for its creation and financing," Toph laughed. "It's a fun distraction when we get called in to take down some threat the rank and file are struggling with? The organized crime is starting to become a problem, I guess, so there are always some skulls that need cracking. Which is just fine by me," Toph added, cracking her knuckles in a meaningful way.

"Well, you do make for an excellent enforcer, Toph," Aang chuckled.

"You better hope that was a compliment," Toph shot back. "Anyway, in a few weeks I'll be going back to the Fire Nation. Azula and Katara want me over once again. Azula thinks that the Fire Fountain City's harbor is neither deep nor wide enough, so I'll get to do plenty of fun large scale earthbending. And I'll probably make Katara sweat a bit as she tries to keep all that water from flooding the city."

"Uh, that sounds… fun, but also really dangerous?" Aang gulped. "Maybe you need the Avatar's help with that?"

"Pfft, relax, Twinkletoes, we have it all under control," Toph scoffed. "Anyway, we have a lot of fun during those visits. Azula and Katara always want to spar with me, because they don't want to forget how to fight against earthbenders."

"Are they expecting to fight earthbenders in the future?" Iroh asked, feeling mildly concerned. He believed that Azula was truly reformed by now, but this was still an odd behavior, made even stranger by Katara going along with it.

"I don't think so?" Toph shrugged. "I think it's just a precaution. You know that Azula will probably always have enemies in the Earth Kingdom. I suspect that they just want to be prepared if they take a trip to Ba Sing Se or Omashu and someone tries to come after Azula."

"Hmm, that makes sense," Iroh admitted.

"I think it does, yes," Toph nodded. "Anyway, as I said, Twinkletoes, we don't really need you there. When it's just us girls, we can go a lot harder on each other and nobody's going to ruin our fun by lecturing that we should be more careful."

"I wouldn't do that," Aang argued.

"Be honest with yourself, Aang, you probably would," On Ji giggled. "You wouldn't enjoy seeing your friends fighting, even while sparring, especially if you thought that they had no good reason to do so."

"Ah, brought low by your own girlfriend," Toph said, laughing so hard that some of the tea she was drinking went down the wrong hatch. She was left coughing violently, with Iroh having to gently pat her on the back to help.

"And what about you, young man?" Iroh asked, turning towards Aang before he and Toph could get into a real argument, not that there was any chance of it turning nasty. Aang was simply too averse to conflict of any sort, particularly so during this time of relative peace. "Where have your journeys taken you, On Ji and Appa?" he added, even if he had a good idea what Aang had been up to, the two of them exchanging letters constantly. Iroh was very pleased that Aang had taken to the idea of the Avatar and the White Lotus Order working together very closely.

"Mostly just traveling between the Air Temples, pitching in where we're needed the most," Aang replied, smiling. "It's a great way to see the world, isn't it?" he turned towards his girlfriend.

"Yes, I would have never imagined traveling the world like that with the boy who taught me how to dance all those years ago," On Ji replied, giving her boyfriend a fond stare, the two of them ignoring the gagging sounds made by Toph.

"Traveling the world is a wonderful way to spend your time, but I imagine that in a few months, the two of you might want to settle down at least for a while," Iroh pointed out, making the two lovebirds blush.

"We've discussed it, and we'll be going back to the Fire Nation and staying with On Ji's family on the outer archipelago," Aang explained. "And I'll try to be with On Ji as much as I can, of course." Iroh noticed that On Ji looked slightly conflicted by that comment, probably hoping that Aang would remain by her side throughout the stay with her family. Iroh seriously hoped that On Ji was under no illusions that as much as Aang was in love with her, his duty wasn't just to her, but to the entire world. It was something that the girl would simply have to accept, there was no way around it.

"That seems like an excellent idea," Iroh nodded. "By the way, Aang," he said after they had been enjoying their tea in silence for a while. "I have something in my office that I think you'll want to see."

"What is it, Uncle Iroh?" Aang gave him a curious stare.

"An old airbending scroll that just happened to fall into my hands recently," Iroh said. "Would you like to take a look? Excuse us, ladies, but I suspect that this will be boring for you. We shan't be long," Iroh added, rising from the table and beckoning Aang to follow him.

"Whatever, it's not like I can appreciate a stupid airbending scroll anyway," Toph shrugged. "You'll keep me company, On Ji, right?"

"Of course, Toph," On Ji agreed happily as Iroh and Aang made their way towards the back rooms.

"Hmm, let me guess," Aang spoke up after they had arrived at Iroh's office, the Avatar curiously looking around. "There is no airbending scroll and you just wanted to discuss something with me in private. I should have known that the line in your last letter, mentioning that I haven't visited in a while, was an invitation."

"Well guessed," Iroh nodded. "Sit with me," he said, pointing at a seat by his work desk, dominated by a tea set and piles of letters and White Lotus Order reports.

"Is something wrong, Uncle Iroh?" Aang asked, looking concerned.

"The White Lotus Order is under attack, Aang," Iroh sighed, shaking his head. "A few days ago, I received distressing news from our outpost in the Si Wong Desert. My old friend Fung was recently found dead. His death was clearly a violent one."

"Oh no!" Aang looked shocked. "I'm so sorry to hear about that, Uncle Iroh!"

"That's not the whole extent of the bad news, Aang," Iroh said. "It is by far not the only attack on White Lotus members over the past few months. I recently received the latest reports from the Fire Nation. Two of our members have been killed and my friend Piandao was injured while fending off his attackers, but fortunately he is expected to make a full recovery."

"This is horrible!" Aang exclaimed, looking upset and angry. "Who would want to do something like this? The White Lotus Order is a force for good!"

"Well, that alone could be the reason why we have made some enemies over the years," Iroh frowned. "Also, let's not forget just who made his escape during the recent Fire Nation coup…"

"Wait, you mean… Fire Lord Ozai?" Aang gasped. "Well, I guess he's not the Fire Lord anymore, but you know what I meant. But could it really be him? I don't think he could do all this without his bending, right?"

"No, it was most definitely not done by Ozai himself," Iroh agreed. "Our members were not killed by a firebender, but by more conventional weapons. But it's possible that Ozai is still somehow involved. It is clear that he did not escape the prison by himself. He was released by someone, which means that even after all this time, my brother still has allies. Probably someone dissatisfied with the reign of my nephew."

"Well, Ozai was released at the end of Azula's brief stint on the throne," Aang said. "Maybe they were dissatisfied with the way Azula ruled and it wasn't about Zuko."

"Maybe, but it doesn't really matter," Iroh said. "All I know is that we have to stop these attacks on our members. It is very concerning that whoever is coordinating these attacks, seems to possess the knowledge of our network. It leads me to believe that someone within the Order has turned against us."

"Do you have any suspects or clues?" Aang asked.

"Not yet," Iroh shook his head. "There's just not enough information for me to go on. I need to know more, Aang, and until Piandao recovers and is able to make a full report, we will continue to fly blind. And that is very concerning to me, because more and more members of the order could be targeted."

"That is very concerning," Aang agreed. "What can I do to help, Uncle Iroh?"

"I am loathe to ask for your help, Aang, especially considering your girlfriend's delicate state," Iroh said. "But these attacks are targeting your friends, including a very special old friend of yours."

"Bumi," Aang realized, gasping. "Is Bumi alright?"

"Yes, he's fine… well, aside of his poor health in general. The age is starting to show, I'm afraid," Iroh sighed. "Bumi hasn't been targeted yet, but this leads me to believe that it will only be a matter of time before they strike against him."

"Then I will go to Omashu and make sure that any attack against him fails!" Aang declared passionately.

"That's what I like about you, Aang," Iroh smiled at the young man. "I don't even have to ask for your help. You always want to do the right thing without prompting."

"Thank you, Uncle Iroh," Aang smiled back. "We'll leave tomorrow morning, at the earliest. This is clearly too urgent to delay."

"I knew I could rely on you, young Avatar," Iroh nodded.

"Always," Aang said. His eyes seemed transfixed on something on Iroh's desk, however. Aang reached out and picked up one of the unopened letters that Iroh had set aside for now. "I'll recognize Katara's scraggly handwriting everywhere," Aang said, smiling wistfully. "Why haven't you opened her letter?"

Iroh winced inwardly. He couldn't even recall when the letter had come, probably more than a week ago. He already knew what it would entail, though. All the previous letters Katara had sent him contained numerous hints about how he should visit her and Azula on Shuhon Island and spend some time repairing the relationship with his niece. And it wasn't that Iroh was opposed to doing that. He was interested in having an amicable relationship with Azula, now that they had reached an understanding following the failed coup. It was just that with this crisis threatening the White Lotus Order, Iroh's priorities were on eliminating the threat to the lives of his friends and fellow members of the order.

"With everything that has happened, it simply must have escaped my notice," Iroh replied.

"Why don't you open it now?" Aang asked. He was obviously curious to learn what Katara was writing to him about.

"I guess I could do that," Iroh agreed, opening the letter and quickly browsing it. It was shorter than most of Katara's letters, and the tone had shifted drastically, Katara's words making Iroh's ears burn with guilt. Katara sounded very embittered and even accusing about him not making any moves whatsoever to reach out to Azula and attempt to bond with her. Iroh knew how much Katara respected and looked up to him, and to have her be so clearly disappointed in him hurt.

"Is something wrong?" Aang asked, clearly having noticed his discomfort.

"Nothing aside from me being a negligent uncle," Iroh said. "As soon as this crisis will allow me to travel, a visit to the Fire Nation will definitely be in order."

Sokka let out a frustrated sigh as he looked around the courtyard of Swordmaster Piandao's Shu Jing stronghold. It was many years since he had last visited the small volcanic island and the place where Piandao had chased him around, swinging deadly swords, all a part of the test of Sokka's worthiness. And now he was back, but under unhappy circumstances. The Kyoshi Warriors, honor guard to Fire Lord Zuko, had been dispatched to investigate the attack on Piandao. Given the severity of the incident, Sokka and Suki had decided to spearhead the mission, taking with them two of their more promising recent recruits.

The attack had left Piandao severely wounded, as well as delirious. A trusted waterbender healer from Katara's Shuhon Island hospital had arrived just in time to stabilize Piandao's condition and now the worst seemed to be behind him. It appeared that Piandao had been wounded by weapons coated in poison, so while he was expected to recover, the process would be lengthy and difficult. Unfortunately, Piandao's long-time servant Fat had been beyond saving by the time the healer had arrived, and after battling the poison for several days, Fat had succumbed earlier this morning. Sokka felt terrible, knowing that the ageing Swordmaster would take the loss of his servant very hard.

The attempts to communicate with Piandao and learn anything about the incident hadn't gone very well. Piandao clearly didn't recognize his old pupil, and his delirious mutterings hadn't revealed much, save for a few decipherable words.

"The Fire Warriors, huh?" Suki mused, tapping an index finger against her chin, carefully so as not to smudge her face paint. "I wonder who they might be?"

"Don't look at me," Sokka shrugged at his wife. "This is the first time I've heard about a group with that name. Maybe we can learn more back in Caldera. And it might not be a bad idea to consult the archives."

"I suppose so," Suki conceded reluctantly. "And I know that we won't be leaving empty handed, but I would still prefer to have a few more clues before we return to the capital."

"Learning more about the poison used in the attack could be an important clue," one of their recruits spoke up eagerly. It was still a little hard for Sokka to tell the two girls apart when they were in their full Kyoshi Warrior garb, but he had by now become aware of the slight tonal differences in their voices. It really was the only hint to go by because Nutha and Niyok were Water Tribe sisters with almost perfectly identical ocean blue eyes. Speaking with either Nutha or Niyok always made Sokka think about his own sister, wondering if this was how Katara would look in a full Kyoshi garb.

"That's a good idea, Niyok," Suki nodded. "We'll speak with the healer again before departing. Right now, however, I will want you to conduct a thorough search of the area. The attackers must have scaled the wall somewhere before physically attacking Piandao and his servant. Maybe they dropped something, anything, so let's fan out and give the place a good search," she said, urging the two Water Tribe recruits to get to their assigned task. "That includes you as well," Suki said, turning to face her husband, only then noticing that Sokka was sniggering. "Did I say something funny?" she glared.

"Fan out… you made a pun," Sokka managed, wiping tears of happiness from his cheeks. "I'm so proud of you, love."

Suki groaned, giving him a fond yet exasperated stare. "I guess I'm not immune to your questionable sense of humor after all," she smiled. Suki then made a quick glance across the courtyard to make sure that nobody was watching them as she swiftly walked up to Sokka and kissed him on the lips, a lingering contact neither of them was eager to break off. "Okay, that's enough of that, back to work," Suki eventually pulled away with some reluctance.

"Duty calls," Sokka nodded in understanding. Fun was fun, and they would indulge later, but for now they had an important task at hand that could not be treated lightly.

Still, the brief exchange made Sokka's mind go back to the quiet little ceremony months ago in which he and Suki had finally done what the others, namely his persistent little sister, had egged him on about for months if not years, and that was to finally tie the knot. Something had finally told Sokka that postponing the proposal again and again just because all sorts of crises kept popping up and as a close friend of the Avatar, he always ended up getting involved in solving them, there would never be that perfect moment for them to get married. In the end, Sokka had simply taken the plunge and after they had finally exchanged their vows, he had never regretted his decision even for a moment. Suki was the woman he wanted to grow old with, hopefully while surrounded by a family of children and grandchildren.

Only one aspect had somewhat soured the wedding, and it was the absence of his father. Falling out with Hakoda had been one of the reasons why Sokka had wanted to wait with his proposal, hoping that his father would reach out to Katara and apologize about the horrible way he had acted towards his own daughter. Sokka was not proud when he thought back on his own initial reaction to Katara dating Azula, but he had come around eventually. Everyone always thought that he and Katara got their stubbornness from their mother, but as far as Sokka was convinced, their parents had been well matched when it came to stubbornness. He truly hoped that his father would see the light soon. There were reports of Hakoda having lost his title as the chief of the Southern Water Tribe and later showing up exiled in the Republic City. Surely that should be enough to make even a stubborn man like his father realize that he was in the wrong.

With this and many other thoughts swirling through his head, Sokka did his best to focus on clue finding, but after more than an hour of fruitless searching through the gardens, he was forced to admit defeat and return to the courtyard, hoping that the others would have had more luck.

"Sorry, I've got nothing," he called out to Suki and one of the Water Tribe sisters, standing around and talking back in the courtyard.

"We didn't find anything either," Suki replied, looking mildly annoyed.

"Maybe Nutha will have better luck," the Water Tribe girl spoke up, revealing herself to be Niyok.

"Where is she, anyway?" Suki sighed, looking around. "It's probably about time we wrapped this up-"

"Here I am!" Nutha announced, barging into the courtyard and looking rather excited. "I may have found something!" she said, passing a little round object over to Suki.

"Huh," Suki said, examining the object. "Where did you find it, Nutha?"

"Over the garden wall," Nutha explained. "I think that the assailants might have dropped it when they scaled the wall. It was wedged pretty deep in the mud, as if someone had stepped on it."

"That seems like a reasonable explanation," Suki said, continuing her examination. "Hmm, this is a Pai Sho tile, isn't it? Sokka, you are more familiar with Pai Sho than I am," she said, passing the little round object over to Sokka.

"Yeah, this is a Pai Sho tile," Sokka nodded, recognizing it immediately. "More importantly, it's a White Lotus tile, which-"

"Which makes sense considering Piandao's affiliations," Suki finished for him.

"Exactly, but I don't understand why it's painted red," Sokka shrugged, looking at the tile in incomprehension. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe, but I still think this might be a valuable clue," Suki said. "This could be our next step, discovering the meaning of this Red Lotus tile…"