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CHAPTER FIVE - SUSPICIONS

Jinora watched from the rooftops as the massive ornamented coffin was carried through the streets by twenty strong men and women. Some mourners had stood for hours to hold a good spot to watch the procession. Some stood close by for a chance to reach out and touch her blessed casket. Some were too crippled by their sorrow to do anything but cry and wail. The sun had been shining its golden rays upon the mourners that day, but the streets were moist with tears. The Avatar was loved all around the world, and the love was particularly strong here in the Republic, her home.

. . .

"Master Jinora!" a servant called out to her as she touched down. "Chairman Tenzin wishes to see you."

. . .

She knocked on the door before entering. There was no one else inside, just her father, still sick in his bed. He motioned her to close the door behind her. She did and stood beside him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the procession," he rasped.

"It's okay. Mom read your speech, it was perfect. You'll be well enough to attend her burial, Dad. We'll delay it if we have to."

Tenzin: "...Where?"

Her final resting place had been up in the air for a while. Asami and the city had been pushing for her to be laid to rest in the Republic, but her parents wanted her back home and ultimately they had the final say - Watertribe rules and all. Jinora didn't want to give Tenzin any more news of meaningless conflict. "I think it's safe to say it'll be held in the South Pole."

"I see…" Tenzin had another subject to bring up. His daughter waited patiently for him to think of the right way to say it. He figured he should just be blunt. "Jinora, I have something... important, to tell you. You should sit." She did so, on the bed. "Jinora. The security at the summit was tight. No explosives would have gotten through that detail. It had to be someone on the inside. I'm sure of it."

Jinora: "What are you saying? That it was a member of the summit?"

Tenzin: "A few days before the meeting, when Korra came to the island and took you to Ba Sing Se, Grand Lotus Ranlok accompanied her in the airship. I had tea with him in the courtyard and the servant uncharacteristically spilled tea on my robes. I went to change and came back and we finished our tea. The next day, I fell ill."

Jinora: "Ranlok…? He's a waterbender right? You think he…?"

Tenzin: "Ranlok and I were old friends. I couldn't imagine that he would be involved with the Red Lotus and I hate to suspect him under such circumstances, but… if it was him… it would be in his best interest to keep me away from the summit... Keep me alive… If I had been killed, he risked the entire Air Nation joining the already powerful forces against them in retaliation. Besides that reason, I'm the only one he knew personally."

Jinora: "Ranlok… If it was him, if he was Red Lotus, the entire White Lotus of the Republic could be in on it!"

Tenzin remained quiet.

Jinora stood up and darted through the window.

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She boomed through the air all the way to the White Lotus Headquarters, blowing the door right off its hinges when she arrived. The small number of staff left in the building despite the imminent relocation came to see what was going on. Locking eyes with the first person in her path, she snatched him by the collar and raised him to her own hovering eye level, demanding "Where's Zaheer!?"

"Wh- what?"

Jinora: "I know about Ranlok! I know he's Red Lotus! I know he was working with Zaheer!"

One of the terrified hostages recognized her. "Master Jinora?" She approached her slowly, pleading. "Please, there's been a mistake. We don't know anything-"

Jinora dropped the helpless man to the hard ground and turned her attention to the woman. "You must have noticed something!"

"He was a secretive man," she admitted. "He was always coming and going. He acted a little suspicious but we never would've dreamt that he- he…" She covered her tearful face.

Jinora looked around at everyone else. "I need information on the Red Lotus."

They directed her towards a locked door. She kissed her teeth and blew it down like she had done with the front. She scuffled frantically around the collection of books for a while and grew more frustrated with every passing minute.

"There's nothing here!" she exclaimed on top of a pile of books now scattered on the floor.

This place didn't have the information she needed, but there was a place she knew of that had all sorts of information.

. . .

Jinora soared amongst the enchanting scenery of the Spirit World, weaving through majestic vines and fantastical trees, and upwards into the inverted library, landing squarely in the center, where four bridges met. She waited there for a moment. Impatiently. Her arms folded themselves. Her foot tapped out an incessant rhythm. Until a magnificent presence, the giant black owl, finally swooped down to greet her. The gust from his wings tousled her clothes as he came down. He attempted to twist his beak into a smile suitable to greet an acquaintance. Maybe a friend. A superior?

"Jinora, companion of the Avatar! What a pleasant surprise!" said Wan Shi Tong after contorting his feathery mass into a courteous bow.

Jinora's eye twitched. "Do you not see this?" she struck her index finger to the arrow on her forehead. "You're a smart bird, right? Do you know what this means?"

Wan Shi Tong recovered from his bewilderment quickly. "Y-yes, of course, it's-"

But it still wasn't quick enough for her. "-It means you address me as Master Jinora."

"Master Jinora," he bowed again.

"You know, the last time I visited you, you were… less hospitable… how long ago was it? Wow, more than ten years ago, now."

"Yes," he agreed, raising his head. "My sincerest apologies, Master Jinora. I assure you, I was not aware of the full extent of Unalaq's plans."

"Yet you sided with him. Against. The Avatar."

"And I have felt nothing but regret and sorrow ever since. I decided to refuse access to every human apart from the Avatar themselves - if and when they decide to pay me a visit."

"Every human?" Jinora tilted her head slightly. "Well, you're going to have to make an exception for me, Wan. I need information on the Red Lotus' whereabouts. Any old headquarters, any secret meeting places. Things like that."

"And you will use this information to… do what exactly?" the bird asked meekly.

Jinora gave him a weary expression and sighed. "I'm gonna be honest with you, Wan. I've had a bad week because of Zaheer. I plan to eradicate every single last one of those Red Lotus terrorists. Without exception."

The Knowledge Spirit gulped. "Then… I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Master Jinora."

Jinora laughed condescendingly. "Or what?" she challenged, looking beyond the black figure to see a growing herd of foxes multiply behind him, gathering together to stand ready on their paws. "Are you gonna call your fox-friends to get me?"

Wan Shi Tong stepped forward with a slightly more menacing look. "I'm sorry, but-"

Wan Shi Tong noticed Jinora's arm had been extended, with her palm out-stretched, towards the pack of foxes. He looked back to see his servants, every last one of them, levitating just a foot off the ground, whining helplessly like pups separated from their mother. He turned to the Master again. Before he could react, she had used her other arm to do the same to him.

"Here's something you can add to your bending collection," she said.

He rose, not of his own accord, and felt the very air around him imprison him. He felt the pressure especially around his throat. His wings refused to flap though he commanded them to. "Impossible!" he choked. "What trickery is this?"

"No trickery." The foxes understood their position by now, she had just about enough mercy to return them to the floor. They scampered away in different directions as Jinora returned her gaze to Wan Shi Tong. "You overestimate the extent of your knowledge, owl. There's a lot of things you don't know." She walked to him and her fingers drew closer together, ever so slightly, and the cage of air around the spirit tightened. "You worked with Unalaq before, how do I know you're not working with Zaheer and protecting him now? He's a spiritual man, just like Unalaq. Are you close with him too?"

"What!? That's ridiculous! I'm not acquainted with him! I would never grant him access to my library! I told you! I won't do anything like that ever again! I promise! I'm an ally to the Avatar!"

"You talk a lot, bird," she began. "But it's easy to befriend the dead. If you really regretted your actions, if you really wanted to be considered an ally to the Avatar, you'd help me stop him. Anything less and you're in my way."

The owl was in no position to refuse. "Okay, okay, you can read whatever you want! Just leave us as soon as you're done!"

The owl returned to the ground, gasping as Jinora passed him. "Thanks, Wan."

DAYS AGO

Kaili plummeted down, the earth rendering her unconscious upon her impact.

Zaheer was trapped in Father Glowworm's slimy vines. The Flying Man struggled with all his might and the tentacles began losing grip on him. With a yell that echoed through the mountains, Zaheer unleashed one final explosion from within him. Father Glowworm had been knocked away and even Zaheer, himself, had been laid flat out by his own attack. With the remaining strength that Zaheer had left he sat up. It took him everything he had, his whole body ached unbearably, but he had to sit up. He managed to eventually cross his legs to maintain a lotus position.

"What are you doing!?" hissed the eyeball as he raced to his target again.

Zaheer didn't respond.

Is he trying to enter the spirit world? Did he manage to enter it already? No matter, at least his physical body wasn't resisting anymore - Father Glowworm would have his fill.

. . .

Not a trace of Zaheer was left after he was done, save his energy which now flowed through the growing spirit. Father Glowworm moaned as his body multiplied in size. He had regained his power, he was finally free to do as he willed.

He looked over at his victim's treacherous daughter, lying unconscious on the sand.

Well, he was free after his debt was repaid to the girl.

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NEXT: CHAPTER 6 - JUST A PART OF YOU

Lin hung up the phone. "Jinora, what the hell's going on?"

Jinora rummaged around her room getting ready for a trip of some kind when Tenzin walked in. "Dad? Should you be walking around?"

"I'm fine. More importantly, where are you going?"

"If I told you, you'd just try to stop me, Chairman."

"Jinora."

She turned to him, reluctantly.

"Jinora, you went to the headquarters to get the Red Lotus files didn't you?"

Her eyes widened. "Wait, Dad... what files?"…