Rohan found the Order of the White Lotus to be full of surprises. Growing up, he read how it quietly recruited members from all walks of life through a simple game of Pai Sho before they revealed themselves to help Avatar Aang end the Hundred Years War. Working for them as an adult took him all over the world, sent on a mission to resolve several questions.

The answer to many of them walked with Rohan through Chin City's marketplace. The obvious curiosity, annoyance, and impatience were focused on the note in Rohan's hand. On it was written: 'I know your secret. Come to the market's center, or I'll tell everyone.'

"Welp, I don't see him anywhere," Mushi said after wolfing down some bread. "Could you use your Airbending for a higher view?"

"Not around here. After last night, we shouldn't attract too much attention," Rohan reasoned.

Mushi accepted it, despite his clear reservations. Rohan's cloak hid his own better. White Lotus members today were a rarity. Airbending members were the rarest. In a small place like Chin City, he was like a flame in a vast ocean. Whomever sent the note had some idea of what they were doing.

With Mushi, Rohan following his thought and the narrowed streets the center. Shopkeepers and buyers stood around a statue of the city's leader from Avatar Aang's time. Rohan found a petite woman hiding among them. A long brown braid draped over one side of her red blouse, and two long straps over the other.

After adjusting her spectacles, the woman's brown eyes met Rohan's. "Ah! I was wondering when you'd show up!" she exclaimed and ran over to the two.

Rohan studied her. She may have been shorter and older than Mushi–perhaps, twenty–but she had a childish mischief about her, reminding Rohan of his older brother. Mushi never noticed and asked Rohan, "Who's she?"

One hand on her hip, the woman frowned. "You don't know? Didn't you get my message?"

"We did," Rohan answered, holding up the paper.

Mushi pointed at the young woman. "Wait, you?"

"Let me guess, you were expecting someone more intimidating?" she deadpanned and rolled her eyes after Mushi confirmed as much.

"Is there something you want from us?" Rohan asked after seeing Mushi's annoyed look. "We don't have much money on us."

"Oh, no. It's just a little photoshoot." The woman pulled her box-shaped camera from one shoulder. "It shouldn't take too much of your time. Hope you don't mind."

Rohan gestured to a confused Mushi as if to say "go with it." "Fine," Mushi said. "Is that all?"

"Well, there's something else. I got a couple things about last night. A friend of mine–"

Rohan cut her off gently. "I believe you're mistaken, miss…?"

"Riza." She pulled out a business card from her bag. "Photographer for the Chin City Chronicle."

Rohan didn't take the card. "Miss Riza, we don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you sure?"

Mushi stepped in. "Uh look, I don't know what your friend heard, but we arrived yesterday. You'd have to be pretty stupid to cause trouble after arriving at a place you don't know."

Rohan held back an ironic smile. Riza's own was too akin to the hounding horde of cameras and pens, also known as Republic City's printing press. "No, you're right. It is pretty stupid," she agreed. "No one would ever want to do that, let alone get caught."

Riza reaching her bag rang alarms in Rohan's mind. Mushi, unaware of how much he doomed them both, asked, "So, is there a reason you want us to model for you?"

"No reason. I just need a better photo of you," Riza said, unveiling what she meant.

Rohan noted Mushi's shock was tenfold of his own. Not surprising, since the two saw a picture neither knew of. A picture where Rohan stood over an unconscious Mushi in the pale moonlight.

The noon sun fell on Mushi, who asked Riza, "You were there? How…?"

She nodded. "Sure was. I couldn't get the white eyes here, but I think I could make do with–"

Mushi lunged. Rohan–cursing himself for not seeing it first–yanked on the teenager's jacket. "Not in front of so many," he whispered, and the additional crowd kept Mushi still, albeit bristling.

Riza pulled back and dangled the photo like a treat. "Nuh-uh-uh. I'm not going to make it easy. There's more where that came from. They have the eyes and all–hey!"

Twirling his wrist for a rush of air, Rohan sent the photo spiraling into his hand. He briefly caught Riza's resigned pout–another ploy, maybe–and asked, "Where are the others?"

Riza smiled. "I've left them at my office for my boss. If I don't call him by the end of today, he'll just up and print 'em. I won't have a story, but the secret will be out, and I don't think your friend won't like that very much," she explained with a nod at a fuming Mushi. "So, what will it be?"

Rohan released Mushi and felt the same resignation when the grinning Riza snatched her prize from his grasp.


Mushi's grumbling filled the next fifteen or so minutes. Rohan couldn't blame him, but the Airbender focused on Riza. If there was any place to unveil Mushi's secret, it would have been in the marketplace. Instead, she led the pair out of it.

"Just how long was I out?" Mushi whispered. "There's no way she could've taken those photos and get them ready before meeting us!"

"For several hours, and she could," Rohan whispered, recalling what the trouble the press gave him and his family back home. Riza undoubted had enough time to develop, gather, and place the photos on her desk. "So, what are you thinking about?"

"Bit obvious, don't you think? I'd say we grab the photos before anyone notices."

"I wouldn't if I were you," Riza said from ahead. "You don't want to cause a scene."

Rohan held Mushi back again. "She's right. I don't think you would like to be in prison again."

"Better than letting anyone know." Swallowing his mumble, Mushi said, "So, what's your idea?"

"We wait," Rohan suggested

"'Wait?' You helped me stop a fight on the ferry before!"

"That was different."

"Yeah right! Aren't you used to fighting? I thought you guys were soldiers, now."

"Not all Airbenders are. Especially not him," Riza said as she turned her spectacles on Rohan. "Oh, I know about you. Rohan, son of the former Grandmaster Tenzin and grandson of Avatar Aang. Republic City Times said you left the Air Temple for missionary work a few years ago. Around the same time, a few of your fellow Airbenders joined the United Republic military. Right?"

A tiny frown cracked through Rohan's façade. "You're well informed."

"It comes with the job!"

Mushi snorted but thankfully said nothing. They trailed after Riza again, the rattle of her side bag and camera guiding them. "Sorry," Mushi soon told Rohan. "I didn't mean… you know, what I said."

"It's alright," Rohan said, hoping it would dissuade Mushi from anything stupid.

"Still, I think we could take her. She's only one. With your bending and my moves, we could–"

Riza cut Mushi off. "Lay a finger on me, and you'll lose any chance of finding her. Of course, you don't want that and are going to help me find answers for… reasons." She patted her bag.

After glancing at Mushi, Rohan asked, "And how exactly do you expect us to help you?"

"Just an investigation. Oh look, we're here!"

Rohan stopped after Mushi did in front of some warehouses. "What are we doing back here?" Rohan asked Riza.

"Inspecting the scene of the crime, of course! Come on!" After slipping through the torn wire gate which Rohan flew over last night, Riza told the duo, "Don't worry, the police only did a quick look around. They're long gone!"

"You're sure?" Mushi called, his hesitation clear.

Riza paused. "Uh, let me check." After dashing in, she returned some seconds later. "Nope, not a soul! Come on!" she said and bounded across the factory grounds like a rabaroo.

Rohan walked with Mushi, the latter dragging his feet. The flashes in between warehouses made Riza easy to find. While following her, Rohan passed by his dreaded sense of déjà vu and the new sign saying, "KEEP OUT." Yet, he slowly approached the place where he fought last night.

His gaze followed the very walls he once ran up to avoid a green dagger. Rohan had to keep the same opponent away from the Shroud, more for the sake of the child's opponent. Sadly, the airheaded girl and her friend got in the way. Rohan couldn't focus on the escaping females because of the stone-faced boy's jutting rocks he passed and those white glowing eyes standing next to him–

Flash.

Rohan turned to where he once landed before the Shroud and her accomplice. In the same spot, Riza lowered her camera. "What? I said I gotta do a photoshoot. No one will believe me otherwise!"

Rohan said, "I'm uncertain if those photos will help. They may only be good for a tourist guide."

"She probably is working on one, anyway," Mushi grumbled quickly. Unlike Rohan, he was not as quick at blocking another camera flash. "Grrr, stop that!"

"Hey, it's not every day I meet someone like you. I need to capture the evidence," Riza said to Mushi, much to Rohan's ever-growing concern. "So, does anything here jog your memory?"

"You expect me to just remember?"

Riza nodded. Rohan told Mushi, "It couldn't hurt to try."

A disgruntled Mushi returned to the warehouse from last night. Rohan entered with Riza instead of crashing through the ceiling. Afternoon rays pierced the darkness to unveil old cobwebs, and one beamed diagonally from the hole Rohan fell through. He stood by, next to Riza and Mushi.

Rohan studied the remembrance in the teenager's eyes and the tiny inflection in his voice. "It was right there," Mushi said. "She was about thirteen or fourteen."

"He means the Shroud," Rohan clarified in a hushed tone.

In the faint glimmer, Riza's confusion became surprise. "Wait, the Shroud's just a kid?"

Mushi went on without noticing. "She did something to me, I think. Probably how she gave bending to those teens with her. The ones I met at the shop earlier. It… Well, I think you know the rest."

Rohan felt pity at the hint of disappointment. He put aside as Riza, never missing a beat, wrote on a notepad and asked, "Was there anyone else around?"

"There was," Rohan said. "A woman, I think. She had a mask on. It looked like some animal."

"Did it have tusks?" Though taken aback, Rohan nodded and took in Riza's scribbling. "Hmm, just like the others. Gotta be a connection. Was there anything else?"

"She had a dagger. It was glowing green."

Now, Mushi spoke up. "Wait, didn't the Shroud have one, too? I dagger, I mean. I thought I knocked it out of her hand." His words drew Rohan and Riza's gazes. "What? I remember… bits of last night. It's not all blurred! The dagger might still be around!"

"Well, I didn't see anything. Think the police has it?" Riza asked. She cursed after Rohan nodded. "Guess I'll have another run-in."

She left without another word. Mushi loudly followed her. Rohan silently did the same, but not before he spared a glance to the beam of sunlight, letting the events from last night–of the 'nonbenders' who could bend and of the girl who tried to bend Mushi–run through his mind.


Not long afterwards did Rohan and Mushi march through the marketplace where they met Riza, albeit into a different direction. The chatty photographer muttered into her notepad for twenty minutes straight. Rohan didn't think it was possible, but Riza did it.

Speaking of Riza, her voice halted upon arriving at Chin City's only other police station. "Uh, you know, why don't you guys go in first?"

Rohan noticed Riza's hesitation and Mushi's confusion, but he stepped inside. A design like the other station greeted him, as did the young officer behind the front desk. "Yes, can I help you?" he asked, his head on his propped arm.

Rohan said, "We're here about some people detained here. I think it was for a fight last night."

"You and everyone else. I swear all the reporters are trying to get a word on them when we can't even…" The young officer's eyes stopped on the tiny woman trying to hide behind Rohan. "Ah great, it's you. No, you can't be here, Riza," he said while writing on a slip. A curious reaction. Curiouser was how the two more employees–the only other ones in the station–watched Riza.

"C'mon, Ren! You can't write me up for just stepping inside!" Riza pleaded.

"Sorry, Riza, but the chief's orders were quite clear about you."

Mushi's quiet snort had Rohan step out of his thoughts. Rohan slid his White Lotus tile onto the desk and said, "I see you have a past, but there may be a way you can accommodate."

"If you're with her, I'm afraid I can't let you through under any circumsta…" the officer said, but his bored tone squeaked at the sight of the tile. "Uh, let me check, sir! Please wait!"

After hiding his tile, Rohan waited by the far wall with Riza and Mushi. Rohan waited by the wall, where Riza had passed the time by 'interviewing' Mushi. Rohan would have appraised Mushi for his silence, despite its futility.

Mushi said, "Look, I am not answering any of–"

Riza cut him off. "Can you bend earth?"

"Ugh, does it matter?"

"Well, can you?"

"… No," Mushi said with a small sigh.

"Water?"

"Definitely not."

"How about–?"

"And not air or fire. Believe me, I've tried."

"Seriously?" Riza asked, and Mushi nodded. "Well, what can you do then?"

"Chi-blocking."

"Really? Are good you at it?"

"Spirits, you ask a lot of questions!"

"Hey, everyone will ask them," Riza said. "After all, no one found you before. Now, I know why. The White Lotus would've taken you in a heartbeat if you had bending! That's what happened to Korra."

"I'm not–"

Rohan coughed loudly to conceal their precious secret. "I think they're ready for us now."

The young officer brought the trio further into the station. The first to follow, Rohan eyed the two inhabited cells in the back. "You have ten minutes. I'm sorry, but chief's orders," the young officer said before pointing at Riza. "And he said to watch her. There's no telling what she'll pull on you."

After thanking the departing officer, Rohan stepped to the two cells in front. In the right cell, the earthbending boy from last night huffed. "Nice seeing you again."

"I see your head is much better," Rohan said, recalling how the boy "accidentally" slammed into his own boulder last night instead of pulverizing Rohan with it.

In next cell, one girl stepped in front of her airbending friend and said, "What do you want?"

"We're not here to fight. We only want answers," Rohan answered, which the boy scoffed at.

"T-then, what is he doing here?" the airbending girl asked and pointed at Mushi. "Don't think we've forgotten already! There's no way he could've been–"

Mushi cut her off. "We're not here to fight! Like my… friend here said, we just wanted answers on the Shroud."

"Oh, so you want us to sell her out. Fat chance!"

"I–!" Mushi, stopping himself, sighed. "Listen, what happened last night was a fluke. I didn't have any control–"

"Clearly," said the boy in prison.

"–but what I said was true. You guys saw me. If I had any bending, I could've done much worse, but I don't. That is why I was looking for her. To control it! I–well, we–don't mean any harm. After this, you won't hopefully see or hear from us, again."

The imprisoned trio exchanged looks before the firebending girl spoke. "We would like to believe that, and maybe you do." She paused to look at Rohan. "But your friend here clearly was after her. We won't give her up. Even if we do, what would you do for us?"

Riza spoke before Rohan could. "Well, we don't have to do much. I mean, you'll probably be out within a week or two, if not earlier. Don't ask. Anyway, if you have bending, couldn't you just get out of here? Unless you're hiding it, right? Do your parents know? Do you have parents?"

"Spirits, and I thought the airhead talked a lot," the boy muttered, earning an indignant "Hey!" from said 'airhead.'

A tug from Mushi caught Rohan's attention. "Couldn't you use your tile to help them? You know, like you did before?" Mushi asked.

"Well," Riza said, "they tried to kill you last night, so that probably isn't a good idea."

The boy glowered at her. "A whole lot worse will happen if you don't stop talking."

"See what I mean?"

Rohan looked to Mushi and Riza. "Can you two head outside? You might have a better chance getting what else we need."

"'What else?' But this is supposed to be–!" Riza objected at first before her eyes met Rohan's stare and widened with realization. "Oh, oh! Yeah, I think I got an idea how to get it."

"Should I be worried?" asked a concerned Mushi.

"It'll be fine. I hope." With that, Riza marched back to the front. "Hey, Ren! There's something I want to ask you…"

Once she and Mushi were gone to inevitably cause commotion, Rohan turned to the cellmates. "No one else knows about you, do they?" The trio's silence and expressions answered him. "I see. Wasn't there anyone you could've told? Any family?"

After a moment, the airbending girl said, "There isn't anyone. Hasn't been, really."

Rohan nodded. For some time, the three had been alone with no help nor power… until a stranger arrived to give them both. There was still one more piece to the puzzle.

"I understand why you don't trust me. But I only wished to protect my companion, since I thought your friend was about to attack him," Rohan continued. "You speak of keeping the Shroud safe. If you don't tell me, someone else will come after her. Believe me, I know a few who would be more than happy to use you to get to her."

"Like you are?" the earthbending boy spat.

Rohan again nodded. "But I mean her no harm. More importantly, I can give you a way out. With your bending, you can lead new lives. Have a fresh start anywhere else in the world."

"It's not a lot to go on," the firebending girl said.

"Maybe, but if the Shroud gave you power, why have you been here this entire time?" Rohan noted how the trio eyed each other. Conviction, not doubt, glowed in their eyes. There had to be more.

The officer's voice shouted from the front. "Sir! You said you would be watching over her!"

"Hey, I'm not causing any trouble!" shouted Riza's voice.

"I apologize! I'll be right over!" Rohan called back. He stopped to tell the imprisoned trio, "I will be back, soon. I'm not sure what the Shroud has promised you, but you must ask yourself: is this loyalty worth being thrown into a prison?"

The firebending girl shared a look with her friends. "More than you will ever know," she told Rohan with a spark in her raised hand.

Rohan threw up a wall of air against the fiery stream. He could do nothing about it bouncing off his shield or the crunch of earth. A second later, he found the area around him burning, including now empty cells in front of him.

Empty cells with a large hole in the back walls.

The searing heat and choking smoke forced Rohan to the front lobby, where everyone's surprised faces greeted him. "What the–where are they?" Mushi asked.

"Forget that! What happened?" Riza cried over the station's few staff members leaving in a panic. Rohan grabbed at her and Mushi to do the same. "Wait, the evidence–!"

Rohan's burst of air cut Riza off, as well as dragged her and Mushi out onto street. Words of nearby bystanders rang all around at the smoke spewing after the trio. Rohan's companion cried after him when he went past the corner of the burning station and towards the alley by it. "… where are you even… going?" Riza said, and her voice stopped with Rohan at the smoke-filled hole in the station's blind spot.

"I think I see them! Come on!" Mushi said about the three blurred images behind the smoke.

Fortunately, Riza beat Rohan in chasing and grabbing Mushi. "Hey, watch out!" she shouted, and Rohan saw what she saw: a red speck fiercely emerging from the hole.

Seconds slowed while Rohan–running with all he had–and the fire–ever growing wilder–sped towards his companions. In a split-second, Rohan's heart pounded at the incoming fire. In another, the flames converged elsewhere, flowing specifically into Riza's folded hands.

"OUTTA THE WAY!" Riza shouted and split the fire apart in one fluid motion.

Air lifted Rohan over a hot stream shooting towards the main road. He landed on Riza's other side, next to a scurrying Mushi. Riza herself pushed the remaining fire back where it came.

It was not a complete victory. Rohan found himself and his companion alone in an alley with a hole in its far wall. Also, nearby bystanders yelled about burnt meat from a street stand. Mushi especially gaped at the hazard unleashed. "Ooooh," Riza said, wincing beneath her smoke-covered specs. "That one's not on me, 'kay?"

Rohan knew the police arriving at the scene would think otherwise.


"'Don't steal the photos,' you said," Mushi grumbled. "'You'll get in trouble again,' you said."

"Yes, I'm aware of the irony," Rohan said with a restrained frown.

Squeezed between the car door and Rohan's left side, Riza said, "Look, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. I mean, we didn't cause the fire. We'll be fine. See, they already put it out!"

On Rohan's right, Mushi slumped in his seat. Some nearby waterbenders put out the fire. From the murmurs outside, Rohan guessed not much had been damage. "I'm not sure that one officer would agree. You did hit him in the face," he said.

"Hey, he put his hands on me!"

"He was only trying to cuff you," Rohan countered with rising impatience.

Mushi's groan cut in. "I don't get it. How did it turn into this? And why pin the blame on us?"

Rohan had an idea why. Their suspects probably wanted to learn about their enemy before escaping and leaving a scapegoat behind. After all, who would ever think of "nonbenders" causing a fire with bending? It was a very, very aggravating truth.

Speaking of aggravating, Mushi's mumbling grew against Riza's "assuring words." Wedged in between them, Rohan could barely think in the bickering that followed. "Oh sure, you flirt with the guy in front while our leads escape!" Mushi said. "Some plan that was! You didn't even get the evidence!"

"Hey, you were with me! I worked with what I had!" Riza argued. "It's not like I can walk up and say, 'Hey, I'm here with the Avatar no one has seen in years. Show us the green knife!'"

"At least that would've been better than your firebending!"

"That's rich coming from the kid who can't bend for–"

Rohan shouted, "STOP! Now isn't the time for this. No bickering, no arguing! Both of you, stay quiet!" The surprised Riza and Mushi caved in, but both under protest. Rohan sighed. "Look, this isn't the best situation, but we have to work with what we have."

Mushi slumped in his seat. "Easy for you to say. You've got that Pai Sho tile! Not to mention, they could easily go through her bags and finds the photos!"

"Yeah, about that," Riza said. She tapped her shirt to the sound of rustling papers underneath it, surprising the two. "What? They always go through my things, so I try to be extra careful. Besides, this will be the last of our worries if we don't find those guys. I bet you the cops can't find–"

The car door opened, letting in the outside noise to replace Riza's silence. "You three, out," said a tired female officer, whom Rohan remembered seeing this morning.

The same woman took the trio through a slightly scorched street towards a more scorched police station. Part of Rohan wished he could try to hide from the gossiping crowds nearby, if to also the shame he brought upon the White Lotus. Yet, any attempt could nothing against the burly police chief in front of the stained station. "Riza," the chief said, frowning under his thick mustache.

Lowering a hand over her face, Riza blurted out, "Look, I know it looks bad, but I swear I had nothing to do with it! Well, this time, anyway."

Rohan stepped forward. "Sir, I'm–"

The chief cut him off. "I know. Officer Ren told me over the phone, and Officer Mina here told me what you told her back at the prison. The one you didn't burn down." The chief crossed his arms. "I don't care where you're from or why you're here, but even with your… status, you know the work needed to fix this. I don't need to say anything about the paperwork!"

Taking a deep breath, Rohan said, "I can make a call to cover the damages. We can also assist with the cleanup, which I'm sure all three of us will take responsibility for."

"Even if we didn't do it," Mushi mumbled.

"… Yes. Anyway, I will be sure Riza won't cause any more trouble to you or your respected officers. You have my word."

The faces of the chief and any onlookers said otherwise. Rohan was willing to believe them. The chief rubbed his forehead and said, "Listen, we got enough on our hands. I don't care what you do or take. Just get out of here. I don't want to ever see her again."

"Feeling's mutual," grumbled her, but Rohan pulled her away before another fire could start.

Doing so returned Rohan to the station's main lobby. Aside from some ash, the only damage had been some knocked over mail, shelves, and some small items. Rohan sadly didn't find the dagger. In the guise of "helping out" too, Mushi looked at every nook and cranny. Riza herself stuck close with the two males to undoubtedly avoid the departing officers' glares. "Well, this is a waste of time," she groaned after twenty minutes.

Hearing Mushi's retort, Rohan correctly guessed and rightfully ignored the incoming argument. Enough sibling squabbles told him they would first argue over situation then who started it. Halfway through the first part, Rohan walked over to the prone front desk. There, his eyes caught something under papers and ash, both blown aside by for him to pick it up.

"… it's going to be hard enough just to look," Mushi said in the background.

Riza sarcastically responded, "Oh gee, whatever makes you think that? Surely, it shouldn't be hard to find something green and metallic in all of this black soot!"

"You mean something like this?" Rohan said, holding up the Shroud's dagger.

Its green gleam reflected off Riza's glasses, almost hiding her shock. "Wait, when did you…? You know what? I'm glad we finally got it." After looking around, she turned to Mushi. "Well, do your thing."

"My 'thing?'" Mushi asked.

"You know, your thing! Where you touch something, and you glow? I read in a book that happened to an Avatar or two in the past."

After thanking the lack of people around and Great-Uncle Sokka's memoirs, Rohan said, "It wouldn't hurt to try."

Rohan was sort of right. It didn't hurt a sighing Mushi. It did shock the trio when his touch made the blade glowed green. It died after Mushi moved his finger away. "That," he said. "Is that supposed to happen?"

Beside the silent Riza, Rohan said, "I don't think so. Come on, we'll be expecting company soon."

Rohan brought them into the smoking back, away from the returning officers and workers to set things back the way they were. "Did we have to come here?" Mushi asked with a cough.

"Well, we could just walk out in front and show everyone we literally stole some evidence," Riza said, and Mushi fell silent. "Well, mister Air Nomad, what's the plan?"

After eying the dagger, Rohan said, "Do you think we could look at the rest of your notes on the Shroud or her people?"

"And what makes you think I have any more?" Rohan and Mushi's stares answered a pouting Riza. "Okay, we'll head to my place, but I gotta call my office first. They got my more recent stuff."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? After what we did," Mushi said with concern.

Riza waved it off. "Eh, I wouldn't worry 'bout it. My boss usually pulls through for me. It's not the first time the police caught me in my, er, endeavors. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"


"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M FIRED?"

Rohan stepped back, feeling Riza's scream vibrate through the floor. He stood against the smoke entering the tiny dark shack of an apartment, each heated breath hitting his skin. Rohan had nowhere to run towards, aside from the door leading into the hall. Of course, Riza's voice surged from said hall, her "public phone call" drowning faint murmurs from neighboring rooms.

"No, you listen… But that wasn't my fault! The fire was coming at me and… Oh, you expect me to just take it? That's not… Yeah, I'm a firebender, so what? I can't just… That's bendist!"

"'Bendist?' Is that even a word?" Mushi muttered before coughing again from the smoke.

Rohan silently waited a minute for Riza's return. Smoke followed her inside and gathered once she slammed the door behind her. "The nerve of that fat–UGH! Can't he see I finally got a story?" she said, marching towards the window before whirling to the two. "Guess what? My boss is willing to pay me one last time! And you know what he said it's for?"

"Uh," Mushi said hoarsely, "should we really know–"

"The rest of my stuff from the photoshoot! The Spirits-cursed photoshoot!"

Rohan hesitated. If he wasn't careful, Riza's hands–clenched and sparking–would blast him out a window two floors off the ground. "I take it that doesn't include the photos of us," he said.

"No!" Riza cried. Thankfully, she simmered down and said, "No, they'll probably throw it in the trash without looking at it. Your secret's safe, don't worry. I won't have to waste another phone call for that."

Mushi, waving some residual smoke away, said, "There's still figuring where those three went."

"Probably running back to that kid boss of theirs. I doubt they're going to be back here at any point. That still leaves a lot of ground to cover."

Rohan's eyes followed Riza's loud trek from the tiny and open window, and the poor neighborhood outside it. The rent may have been cheaper, but Riza's apartment also was in a good position to gain information which not many would pay attention to. Said information dangled on the cracked wall with a map which Riza fingered. "The only way out of Chin City's the station," she said, "but they couldn't be going there just yet. That's out in the open. They gotta be very sneaky 'bout this."

"Couldn't they just bribe someone?" Mushi suggested.

While the two went back and forth, Rohan approached the wall. The colorful strings of a fabric tied letters, slips of paper, and headlines into a crudely made flowchart. Among them were a photo of an equally crude drawing: a large face with tusks emerging from the bottom and long ridges over feline-like eyes. The Shroud's escort wore a mask like it, and the name of the creature sprung from Rohan's childhood bedtime stories and his White Lotus training.

A lion turtle.

"What is all of this exactly?" Rohan asked Riza.

"That?" she said. "Just what I've collected for a while. Bits and bobs, you know?"

"You have a lot of 'bits and bobs' here."

"Eh, I know the odd guy here or there. At first, it was just to get some news outside of town. Something sensational!" After Riza poked the image, her voice grew serious. "But then, one of my contacts ran into some healer in the United Republic. The man's paralyzed, but he described seeing something like this before he went lights out. My other contacts told me similar stuff. A couple benders disappearing there, others left in coma. And it's just not in one area. You guys proved that."

Rohan hummed. "'More than you will ever know,'" he whispered before turning to Mushi. "Does any of this sound familiar to you?"

"I… I don't know," Mushi said, but the tremor in his voice made Rohan suspect otherwise.

Nonetheless, Rohan studied the flowchart again. "They may have left something around. A sign where they could meet up. The Equalists used to do the same thing during the Second Uprising."

"And I'm sure a mark like this would not stand out at all," Riza said sarcastically, thumbing the photo. "Even if we find something, how can we even track down the Shroud?"

"I think there might be a way," Mushi said. Rohan and Riza's eyes made the teen stand straight up. "You know when I held the dagger? Well, there was a sensation. I felt it before when the Shroud tried to… well, what happened last night. Maybe if I held the dagger again…"

Rohan immediately knew where Mushi was going. "Are you sure about this?" Rohan asked after taking out the dagger.

"Y-yeah. It's the only way we can find her, right?"

Mushi's weak smile vanished after he grasped the dagger. Rohan looked away, unlike Riza who cried from the same glow engulfing her one-roomed apartment. "Next time, warn me when you do that!" she said. "Gah, my eyes must be so screwy, I gotta get new lenses!"

The roof above echoed with a thud and a shout: "SHUT UP, DOWN THERE!"

"YOU SHUT UP!"


It was amazing how a piece of cloth, torn from Rohan's cloak, hid a glowing green dagger from prying eyes. Keeping in the alleyways gave Mushi additional secrecy to learn which way to go.

"It has her touch, alright," Mushi had said after several minutes of trial and error. "And it feels strong over there."

To go "over there" meant leaving the alley they were in for the street. Riza had been collecting information elsewhere instead of wandering about and–in her words–"nearly losing her eyesight again." Rohan's sharp whistle had her running into the open. "Pleasure doing business. Remember, don't waste it all on candy!" Riza said on her way out, waving at a bunch of kids in her alley.

At least, Rohan thought so, but he put it aside to address Riza. "Anything?"

"Well, my contacts–put that away!" Riza said and went on after Mushi slid the dagger into his jacket. "My contacts said something about some strange guys moving towards the edge of town."

"That doesn't sound like much," Mushi said.

"Hey, it's some genuine gold! I almost used up the money I had left for that."

"Aren't you getting some anyway?"

Rohan spoke before Riza could. "Did your contacts say anything else?"

"Of course!" Riza said. Glancing around, she whispered, "Those strange guys seem to be taking something with them. Empty boxes, I think. Or crates. Point is, they're packing something big."

"So?" Mushi asked.

"'So?' Chin City never has enough crates for itself. The tracks pass through here all the time, carrying them in and out. Tell me, if someone wanted on a ride out of here, how could they do it?"

Mushi's widened eyes said he came to the same realization as Rohan himself had. Once the teen ran off, Rohan followed. He avoided bumping into anyone and apologized to the men and women whom Mushi stopped to ask directions. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice the tiny green speck, which grew in the buildings' shadows and the setting sun's glow.

Déjà vu touched Rohan upon seeing a warehouse near the edge of Chin City, as Riza had said. It seemed livelier than the one he visited last night or the street he ran in. After Rohan hid with Mushi behind a nearby corner, Riza's panting voice crawled from behind. "You're… sure… this is–?"

Rohan regrettably covered Riza's mouth. The muffled words and steam stopped hitting his palm when Mushi silenced the two. "Quiet! Someone's by the door. I think I've seen him around, too."

A peek revealed the watcher to be a man sitting by the warehouse's front door. His glazed eyes and dirty clothes made him look like a bum, but Rohan knew looks could be deceiving. Mushi voiced the possibility of everyone inside being involved with the Shroud, earning a quip from Riza. Rohan kept it in mind after he told them to stay put and bounded up from their hiding spot on a burst of air.

Rohan's feet left one rooftop for another before he slipped inside the warehouse. His bending carried him from the highest window to the lowest catwalk, unnoticed. Then again, the twenty or so workers clambered on the floor, too busy towing boxes and crates towards something out of view. Rohan couldn't tell what, even when he drifted atop an empty rack in one of many empty aisles.

"No, absolutely not!" Rohan heard, and so did everyone else. "There's too much at stake!"

Rohan moved like a ring-tailed lemur across more empty racks. A flickering light above didn't distract him from the words echoing inside a room right below the shelf he crawled on. They reminded Rohan of his mother's scolding. This time, three familiar teenagers were on the receiving end.

"… we know we screwed up, but we can help!" came from the high-pitched airbending girl.

"You don't get it!" said the older man scolding the three. "That airbender was White Lotus. White Lotus! Be lucky Shroud's already gone or that Jade here doesn't give your bending to–"

Another voice cut the man off. At best, Rohan heard the faintest hint of admonishment. At the same time, he focused on the rest of the conversation. "Alright," the older man eventually said. "We'll get the trucks ready for Fujira. Hopefully, you lot can be for something. The last thing we need is anymore trouble–"

"THEY'RE HERE!" shouted the slurred voice of a bum.

A green light and flames entered to tell Rohan who "they" were. Riza and Mushi arguing made him groan even more. He had no time for anger or secrecy, not when a few had dropped their crates to engage his companions.

Soon, the rack which Rohan held onto soon mimicked his forced rocking. Rohan leaped at the last second. The crashing rack and cries rang under him. He briefly hung in the air like a leaf to spot figures running in the dust. Not Riza or Mushi. They remained near the entrance, blocking one attacker's waterbending with flames or aiming at the same man's pressure points.

"I told you two to wait!" Rohan shouted after he landed on the fallen rack.

"We were!" Mushi said, wincing from the dagger in his hand and the bum falling at his feet.

"HA! I told him to keep that knife hidden," Riza spat, her flames incinerating the bottom which the bum had bent its liquor. "Told him to be careful, but no, he just had to–!"

A surge of earth pushed Rohan up and away from Riza's words. Sliding down its steep slope, Rohan danced around salvos of fire and air as he did last night. Jumping over a sudden crack in the floor, he focused on not the few facing Mushi and Riza, or the others running away, but the three familiar and glaring faces he planned to throw a giant air ball at.

A lion turtle mask surged from in between those faces. In a blink of an eye, its hooded bearer from last night ran up to Rohan. In another blink, her fist struck his chest.

A green energy ring dispersed before his eyes, and the air Rohan gathered followed suit. Rohan first saw the woman tossed aside by his uncontrolled bending. Everything afterwards tumbled in different directions.

The next thing Rohan knew, he stared at a hazy ceiling. Pain burned his muscles like the fire Riza deflected away. He only moved because somebody grabbed him. "Rohan!" he heard Mushi, drawing him to the two friendly faces over him.

Engines roared over anything else to be said. Rohan could tell Mushi and Riza were arguing again. He could also tell one held the other back from the trucks driving by.

"What… happened?" Rohan asked several seconds later, his groggy voice echoing in the silence.

Riza responded oh-so tactfully, "Well, you got your butt kicked, and everyone else escaped. How are you feeling, by the way?"

His pain fading, Rohan sat up in a now empty warehouse. "Like a bison stomped on me."

"Might as well," Mushi said, "since the woman–"

"Mushi," Rohan said quickly, "the dagger?"

Mushi drew the glowing dagger. "I can still feel the Shroud, but it feels like it's fading now. Does that mean she's…?" he said and shot up when Rohan nodded. "C'mon, we can catch after them!"

"Hey, I just kept you from getting run over!" Riza shouted. "You wanna chase after a vehicle going as fast as an ostrich-horse? See how that goes!"

"But we don't know where they're going–"

"Fujira," Rohan wheezed.

"Well, there's Fujira Town," Riza said. "How did you know?"

"I… heard them… before you barged in. A hand, please?"

While a slightly content Mushi helped Rohan up, Riza scoured around for any missing bits of information. She didn't dawdle for not too long. None of them wanted the cops to find them in the middle of another scuffle.

Upon leaving the warehouse, Rohan's own reasons for not getting caught grew with his concern. First and foremost, the Shroud's allies knew he was White Lotus. He may have showed his Pai Sho tile to a couple people, but word of him couldn't have spread so quickly. At best, the Shroud's allies could have been nearby. At worst, the same two cops to whom he revealed himself, could have informed them.

More than he knew, indeed.

Upon leaving the warehouse, Rohan knew he had a story to tell when he met with the others. Right now, though? He wanted a long nap.


Special thanks goes to the following:

1) pikachucutie17I mentioned her in the previous chapter, and you may be seeing her more as I upload future chapters. Though busy with her family and whatnot, she has put aside time to look at my works and give feedback that helped me move forward in the writing process.

2) AvatarSen – A writer of a well-known fanfic, Avatar: Synergy, I've reached out to him for advice on how to approach certain scenes within the chapter. Like with pikachucutie17, his feedback helped out A LOT.

As always, I couldn't have done this without their help. If anyone is missing, I will try to re-edit the above list in order to show their names.

Anyway, that's all I have right now. I sadly haven't finished all chapter 3 yet, so there may be another wait (apologies to any invested readers), but hopefully, it won't be as long as last time. Thanks, and take care.

Raika out.