Tenzin simply got an uneasy feeling about the whole situation he found himself, and his family, in. That day had started out like every other morning since he gave up his position as a councilman, but then President Raiko paid him a visit, with a following of newspaper reporters, photographers and security officers of some sort. The new leader of the United Republic told him there was an airship on it's way to the island, and it was carrying Hiroshi Sato on it. It was inconvenient, but tolerable, he'd have to see that his children were taken to the mainland, and he'd talk to his siblings and enlist their help in keeping Lin away from the equalist's throat. But then, it seemed that there were a few conditions,
The prisoner will be transferred on Air Temple Island, no other place is acceptable.
Lin Beifong must not be present during the prisoner transfer, or have any knowledge of it.
A full pardon, or an official release with 'time served' for one escapee of the United Republic.
A meeting must be arranged with all three of Beifong's children.
All four of those conditions were suspicious, and the airbender wasn't happy with it. Nor was he happy about the limited time he was given to prepare. The airship was so close that it was in already sight, so his children couldn't be evacuated.
So, now here he was, standing in the midst of security personnel who were not the city police, surrounded by reporters and awaiting the criminal's arrival with his siblings and student by his side. If anything went wrong, they might be able to stall long enough for his wife to get their children to safety.
"I'm not certain this is a good idea." He breathed out with a sigh.
"The matriarch didn't give us much of a choice, Tenzin." The president informed him sternly, "We need Hiroshi Sato behind bars. Whatever the cost."
"I agree, but a little more time to get my children away from this area and get organized would have been preferable."
"I was up all night getting this release without Chief Beifong's knowledge." His eyes narrowed slightly, giving his excuse for not extending the common courtesy of a telephone call.
"All this secrecy sound a little fishy to anyone else?" Bumi said as he crossed his arm at the ship landing in the training area.
"Ah," President Raiko ignored the newly retired commander's question, "this is it." The hatch opened, and a ramp extended. Thirteen metal clad guards and three others, bounty hunters Tenzin would guess by the looks of them, flanked Hiroshi as they made their way down to the ground.
"President Raiko." The leading guard guessed, and was greeted with a firm, surprising hand grasping her own. The poor, unprepared woman froze and her follow guards got into stances as she was spun around to be seen at a better angle for the cameras.
"I would like to take this opportunity to announce," Raiko said to the reporters, still grasping the woman's hand, and placing a paper in the other "that the Matriarch of Zaofu has been sentenced to twenty years in banishment for crimes against Republic City and pardon her as her time has been served."
"Zaofu?!" The three siblings shouted at once, surprising and silencing everyone around them. Suddenly, everything so suspicious about this made perfect sense, Suyin had squirrelweaseled her way back into Republic City.
"Wait." Bumi slid up to the two and leaned in close to the woman's face to scrutinize her. With a finger pointed at the woman's helmet his eyes narrowed and his mouth formed into a comical frown, "Listen, sister, I know the Matriarch of Zaofu and you aren't her."
"No, she's not." The guard most directly behind the one Bumi was sizing up came forward and took the paper from her hand, reading it before she gave a nod to the United Republic's leader. Then she took off her helmet and the trio of siblings saw Suyin Beifong for the first time in eight years, "Isn't anyone going to say hello?"
Many, many blank stares. That's all she got at first. Most of the people around them had not the slightest idea who this woman really was, thanks to Lin's hard work distancing herself from her baby sister, and Toph's hard work to erase her daughter from the city's memory. And as for the three siblings, even after they heard the title 'Matriarch of Zaofu', they couldn't believe Su would be foolish enough to return.
"What are you doing here?" Bumi asked as innocently as he could, but he didn't look innocent at all. His index fingers tapped each other repeatedly, his smile was nervous and traces of sweat ran down his face.
"Oh," Su smile, turning her hand over and gave it a single wave in the air so nonchalantly, "I just came to see my family, who I didn't even know I had until yesterday. Speaking of which," her eyes darkened and turned to him. And like with her big sister, the glare made him feel like a part of him was dying inside. A stomp and a rock came from the ground and into his stomach faster than he could react, "How dare you leave my sister you-" Tenzin didn't wait for her to finish, he opened his glider and made a run for it, followed closely by the earthbender who wasted no time sending a few pieces of sharp metal through the material of the wings.
Meanwhile the guards and security forces were about to face off, the airbender children outran their mother and came to help their father along Korra, when Kya got between the avatar, her nieces and nephews and held up her arms, "It's okay." She assured loud enough for everyone to hear, "It's just a family honor thing. No one's gonna get hurt." the sound of an earthquake rang through the air.
"Go get 'em Su!" Bumi shouted with a cheering fist in the air as Pema caught up with her children.
"Bumi. Kya. Who is that woman?" She stared off into the forest which the two benders ran off to.
"Um..." Brother and sister looked to each other, "That's a very good question..."
Lin got back to her office, her sealhound in tow, to find a man waiting for her in one of the chairs in front of her desk, he stood as soon as she came through the door. She knew him, he was a messenger for her bosses, and he hardly ever brought her good news. Closing the door and locking it behind her, she met him in the middle of the room. As usual, he reached into a pouch on his belt and produced a white lotus tile, and as usual she looked at it with a raised eyebrow,
"A white lotus tile? Not many cling to the old ways." she pried open a small piece of metal on her arm guard and pulled out a similar tile,
"But those do can always find a friend." They bowed, as was the old tradition, before the man pulled a letter out and presented it to her. "I have a message from Grand Master Zuko." She nodded, taking the letter and reading it.
"I understand." She gave the letter back, and he used his bending to turn it into ash.
"Safe journey, Chief Beifon-" A loud a knock pounded through the door, and they both quickly returned their lotus tiles to their hiding places. Lin put on her best scary face and flung the door open, ready to scare off some dumb rookie who thought they were important enough to interrupt her meeting, only to see a pardon slip shoved in her face.
"Twenty years banishment, Lin." A voice she hadn't heard in years came from behind the paper, and then it lowered, and she saw her sister's face. "My time's been served, I'm square with the law again." Lin ripped the paper out of the woman's hand and read over it, it was signed by the president himself, damn her luck.
"Get out." She said lowly, just because Su tricked the idiot president into dropping the charges and calling it 'time served' didn't mean that she had to tolerate the woman's presence.
"Would you at least talk to me?!" her little sister yelled back, and the messenger slipped out between her and the door, "I never hear a word from you, then one day I hear some terrorist madman took your bending away!"
"I have it back now," she got into a fighting stance, "and if you don't get out of here..."
"You're going to do what, officer, arrest me?" Su asked haughtily before abruptly going on with her rant, "And imagine my surprise when I find out that you have children!" Lin's eyes widened, but only for a minute before narrowing.
"That's none of your business!" The secret she'd worked so hard to protect was blown, and now she would have to try to scare and muscle the younger woman into leaving her family alone.
"They're my family, Lin! That makes them my business!"
"Family!" Lin scoffed, and pointed an accusing finger at her sister, "They're my family! Go back to your family and leave mine alone!"
"We're blood, Lin!" Su felt the need to remind her, "And I'm going to meet your children."
"Not happening." She growled, clenching her fists. Her little sister wasn't phased in the least, or at least she didn't seem to be,
"Well, if that's how you feel, then you won't get to throw Hiroshi Sato in your prison."
"What are you talking about?"
"I made an agreement with President Raiko, and one of the conditions was that I get to meet your children. My officers have Sato here, but if you refuse I will take him back with me right now." her threat was met with contemplative silence, "Damn it, Lin, I only want to meet them!"
"Why?" She asked suspiciously, "What do you have planed for them?"
"Nothing! I've changed, Lin!"
"How many times have I heard that before?" She imitated her sister in that bratty teenage phase, "'Get me out of this one, Lin, I promise I'll change', 'just one more chance, I can do better', and I was always stupid enough to believe you. I'm not doing that again!"
"So you're willing to let Hiroshi walk, is that it?" The younger Beifong asked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. To have her enemy so close, and to have this particular stumbling block put in front of her. This was one of the hardest sentences she had to mutter. She opened her eyes, and with no uncertainty in her voice, she told the treacherous woman,
"My answer is no."