With a sharp scrape of stone on stone, the noon train pulled into the station on the edge of Ba Sing Se's Inner Wall. The guards hastily Earthbent waist-high barriers, funneling the people in and out of the cars as the usual rush of passengers flooded the platform. The transportation system was one of the few things in the city that ran smoothly, but even it was segregated; citizens from the Lower Ring could not cross into the Middle or Upper Ring unless they had been invited or promoted, and had to carry letters of invitation. And so on.

The Earthbending-powered monorails simply could not keep up with the population, especially here, Xai Bau thought wearily. He didn't bother to wipe the dust from his blue-and-white robes as he disembarked and maneuvered his way through the crowd. Most of the White Lotuses stationed in the other two Rings acted like snobs among the downtrodden and poor, fearful of dirtying their clothes or hands unless violence broke out.

As the grizzled warrior strode out of the station, he closed his copper-colored eyes, using his other senses to take in the route home that he knew by heart. The smell of potsticker grease being emptied from a wok into the gutter, the clink of a coin dropping in a beggar's cup. And... a variation in the usual routine. About thirty feet behind him, the regular vibration of light yet purposeful footsteps, keeping perfect pace with his.

He stopped for a moment. Everything else around him kept moving... except the footsteps behind. Rather than turning to confront his shadow, Xai Bau opened his eyes and resumed his walk. The footsteps dropped beyond the range of his seismic sense for a moment, but then he heard quickened breathing from a rooftop to his left; the scrape of shoes, then the faint rattling of shingles as a body leaped and scrambled from one building to the next. Quick and agile, but overconfident. Probably only planning to rob him, but most thieves simply tried picking his pockets; occasionally, he let them get away with it, given their circumstances. This kind of stalking was a more calculated attack, which hinted at a different motive. Revenge, perhaps? Xai Bau didn't have any personal enemies he could think of, but there were plenty of people with reason to dislike his Order. For all he knew, the Council of Five were fed up with his constant complaints against their regime.

As he moved off the main street and approached the inn where he was staying, a different set of footsteps suddenly stopped around the corner. Xai Bau paused, then deliberately turned his back on the rooftop across from the inn's entrance, making himself a target. In the same movement, his arm shifted under his flowing sleeve, drawing a hollow, double-tipped baton from his belt.

There was a thump, and the scrape of straw sandals in the dust as one of the attackers dropped from the roof, made a rolling landing in the street, and rushed him. Xai Bau extended the collapsible steel handle of his baton and swung it outward at shoulder level as he whirled around. He struck the young man's elbow with a solid thwock, causing him to drop his knife with a gasp of pain. Xai Bau snagged the blade from the air before it could hit the ground and spun again, hurling it at a second attacker who had come around the corner. The blade snagged the edge of the youth's cowl and pinned it to a doorpost, paralyzing them for a moment. The first attacker made a grab for the string of coins tucked into Xai Bau's belt, but the tip of the warrior's baton caught him solidly in the windpipe. Eyes watering and struggling to breathe, the teenager staggered back against the nearest wall, barely keeping his feet. Xai Bau frowned, confused. It seemed they were simply trying to rob him, after all- but again, why the elaborate stalk-and-ambush? Unless theft was meant to disguise murder.

The other attacker tore the hood free from the doorpost, revealing a young woman with a scar running diagonally from her right jawline to the bridge of her nose. As Xai Bau advanced on her partner, she assumed a bending stance and thrust her arm forward in a spear-hand strike; a jagged furrow plowed across the ground toward Xai Bau's feet, stone projections following it. The warrior jumped back hastily, using his baton to deflect the wedges of stone and earth she hurled at him. He ducked back around the corner of the inn for a moment as a rock-shard grazed his cheek. Either his age was catching up to him, or this Earthbender was more talented than the average; no one had managed to land a blow on him, let alone draw blood, in over a decade. Shouts were coming from all sides; the noise and vibration caused by the Earthbending was drawing bystanders. Best to end this quickly, before either civilians or police got involved.

He twisted a pair of metal rings on each end of the baton's handle, then stepped out from behind his cover. Ducking another stream of earth-and-stone projectiles, Xai Bau swung the baton at the woman's face, despite being out of reach. The outward half of the rod suddenly separated; it was linked to the other half internally by a narrow length of chain, turning it into a flail mid-swing. Caught off-guard, the Earthbender was struck directly in the jaw, knocking her backward. Before she could counterattack, Xai Bau tossed his flail away and closed the distance between them, his fingers finding the pressure point at the base of her neck. She slumped to the ground, unconscious immediately.

Instead of fleeing, her companion staggered over, clutching his arm and wheezing. "What... did you do to her?!"

"She'll be fine, except for a few bruises on the jaw." Xai Bau collapsed the chain back into the flail, twisted its' ends shut and slid it back into his belt. He pulled the woman's arm over his shoulder, hoisting her upright. "Follow me, before the police arrive." He nodded curtly to the innkeeper, who had appeared in the doorway. "Nothing to worry about, Jin; a simple misunderstanding. Would you please arrange a table for three and get me some medicinal herbs?"

Jin nodded and disappeared. She had been around for both the fall and the liberation of Ba Sing Se; a minor bending scuffle or the presence of the White Lotus didn't faze her. Besides, she knew Xai Bau was a good customer and she never questioned his requests.

They followed her into the dining hall. There was no decoration, except a small bronze incense burner hanging over the serving counter. Like most people in the Lower Ring, Jin put everything she had into essential materials for her business; she had little left for anything else. Xai Bau set the woman down at the table with a tea-set on it and tapped her cheek lightly with his fingertips, trying to wake her. He gestured for the boy to sit with his other hand. "Pour tea for the three of us, Jin will bring food in a moment. Is this your sister?"

Wary but bewildered, the youth nodded as he obeyed. He was only about fifteen, his round features hollowed by lack of food. "I told her we shouldn't have gone after a White Lotus, but she said I have a lot to learn-"

"Damn right you do, boy. Should've listened to your gut; your survival instincts will do more for you than any training with this." Xai Bau stuck the knife point-first into the table. "And from what I've seen, you barely know how to use it. Rusty hilt, barely any edge on the blade. If you can't even keep your weapon in good condition, let alone pick my pocket, what made you think you were cut out to be an assassin?"

The boy puffed out his narrow chest, defiant. "I did what I had to do-"

"Only if you'd been acting as a decoy, while your sister was pulling off the real mission. What if I'd been another bender, or someone with a little less merciful attitude?" The White Lotus member shook his head in exasperation as he accepted the herbs and two wet cloths from Jin. He divided the herbs into two bundles, folded the cloths around them to make poultices, and passed one to the boy, holding the other against his sister's bruised jaw. "The White Lotus isn't made of amateurs, and you should know that."

The woman's eyes suddenly snapped open, but Jin grabbed her wrist as she raised her arm. "Bend even once, and I'll have the police on you before you can reach the door... if you got past Xai Bau or me first."

The woman glared at her, but complied. Jin set a serving dish of fried rice, shredded boarcupine meat and steamed vegetables on the table with plates and chopsticks, then walked away. Xai Bau gestured for the two youths to help themselves. "You want to explain why you were trying to kill me? Is this something personal to do with the White Lotus?"

Unlike her younger brother, who began wolfing down the food, the woman didn't break eye contact; she stared back at him defiantly. "Just making sure Yiwu has the survival skills he needs, if he's ever left alone. I figured I'd give him a challenge this time around."

"And giving him a scenario in which he would probably have to kill his opponent was a wise option? After you've barely given him any training, by the look of it?" Xai Bau shook his head again. "I can believe you're desperate, half the people in the Lower Ring are. But you had to have more of a motive for attacking me besides just petty theft." He reached out and held three fingers against her jugular vein. "What is your name?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Liu Tao, older sister of Liu Yiwu."

"Why were you trying to attack me?"

"We needed a decent haul. Our parents are long gone, and I don't make enough in private construction to pay the rent much longer. Yiwu knows how to pickpocket, but no one in our neighborhood has anything worth stealing; if they did, they'd have already been moved to the Middle Ring long ago. I figured if we mugged a White Lotus, we'd at least have enough to be off the streets for a while."

She was telling the truth as far as he could tell, but there was still a spark of hatred in her voice on the word "White Lotus." Murder might not have been the prime motive, but in Tao's mind it had probably been a second bird to take out with the same stone. Xai Bau released her and sat back. "So all you wanted was my purse? The Council of Five isn't having me followed?"

"The Council of Five can go fuck themselves." The young woman spat, picking up her cup. "They took our older brother two years ago, for his bending. They're not taking me, if I can help it- but if they do, I'm not leaving Yiwu without any survival skills."

"Then why target me? If you're smart enough to keep your Earthbending hidden from the police and the Army, you should be smart enough to know that White Lotus members usually aren't easy targets- and even if you somehow succeeded, the rest of the Order would come after you. You've got something against the White Lotus, and you're not exactly being subtle about it."

Tao looked sheepish for the first time, but her voice was still defiant. "...The White Lotus has only protected the Earth King and the people of the Upper and Middle Rings since the War ended, while the refugees and the peasants keep starving here in the Lower Ring-"

"You think I don't know that?" Xai Bau rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea. It was nowhere as good as what Iroh brewed at the Jade Dragon, but he was used to it. "I'm the only Order member who lives in the Lower Ring because I'm disgusted with how most of the White Lotus toadies to the Council of Five's decisions-"

Tao snorted contemptuously. "Yeah, and a lot of good your 'disgust' does us. Look, I appreciate you giving us a break, don't get me wrong, but what about the rest of the people that are struggling just to survive? For every one of us that gets a lucky chance, or escapes punishment for stealing, thousands more starve; those that don't get thrown in the cells, maimed, executed or conscripted. The only way out of that is to find a way to move to the Middle Ring- and that would involve exploiting our neighbors, who are in the same situation or worse. Your show of solidarity by staying in the Lower Ring isn't doing anyone any good... except your profit-seeking innkeeper." She threw a dark look at the doorway Jin had disappeared through.

"You were willing to rob me-"

"Because you're not struggling to survive. The people of the Lower Ring do the work that really keeps this city running; they build and defend the Outer Wall, they harvest the fields that feed the other Rings. They break their bodies and their spirits, so that the other two Rings can feel safe and content. And as a reward, the Council of Five keeps pitting them against each other, just like the Dai Li did. Because it keeps the Council in power, stops the people from turning on their oppressors. The White Lotus has only helped them maintain that order."

Xai Bau shook his head. "I don't have an answer for you. If I could change the situation in the Lower Ring single-handed, I would-"

Tao snorted again. "You think you can't change things? Your Order has the ear of the Avatar, the most powerful being on earth, the reason that idiot Kuei is still in power in the first place. The Avatar put the Earth King back on his throne, after the war; he can remove him again just as easily, if need be."

Xai Bau shook his head firmly. "Overthrowing King Kuei wouldn't help the situation. Besides, he's not the chief cause of your suffering-"

"The Hell he isn't!" Yiwu sputtered angrily, his mouth full of rice and vegetables. "He commands the Council of Five! If he was a proper King, he would reduce their power or dismiss them, like he did to Long Feng! But unless the Avatar or someone else with power backs him up, Kuei never makes up his mind on anything; he just lets the Council do whatever they want!"

"Kuei isn't a cruel person-"

"No, he's a weak one, and that's worse." Tao snapped. "He was the Dai Li's puppet his entire life, and now the Council are using him the same way, because they're afraid of losing their wartime status and power. Strip away the puppet and the oppressors behind him, and a new world can begin!" She slammed her hand down on the table to emphasize her point. Jin poked her head into the room, a warning look on her face, but Xai Bau raised his hand reassuringly and she left again.

"Just how much support do you think you'd have after assassinating the Earth King, or the Council- assuming you were somehow able to overcome the Royal Guard and rest of the White Lotus, including myself? Even if one of Kuei's vassals didn't move in to take his place, the city would descend into chaos; the strongest would still feed off of the weak. And you'd make Kuei into a martyr. The system can only be changed politically, the way Kiyoshi did-"

"Kiyoshi only got her way because no one could stop her, she was the Avatar! Force is the only language that people with power understand, and Kiyoshi used her force to bring justice!"

"All the same, Kiyoshi didn't try to overthrow the Earth King. For that matter, she didn't act against him until he ordered her to put down the uprisings against him. And when she did act, the end result was a compromise, intended to benefit both the Earth King and his discontented subjects."

Even as he spoke, Xai Bau could feel how hollow his words were. The "compromise" of Kiyoshi had been a constitution which allowed for an elected Citizens' Council, to oversee the judicial courts and veto any laws proposed by the Earth Monarch that they deemed "unjust". However, in exchange she had created the Dai Li secret police, to "defend the Constitution and enforce the cultural preservation of Ba Sing Se"; the latter part ultimately meant protecting the Upper and Middle Ring, and the Palace grounds. After Kiyoshi's death, the Dai Li controlled subsequent Earth Monarchs by restricting the flow of information to them. Through this, and intimidation of the Citizens' Council, they had managed to pass further laws that gave them near-unlimited power, always cloaked in the monarch's authority.

Xai Bau had his own reasons to dislike the former secret police, but to the people of the Lower Ring in particular, the Dai Li had been a constant source of fear and hatred. Tao was old enough to have been around during their final years, and her contemptuous expression made it clear what she thought of the old warrior's assessment. She met his eyes. "Kiyoshi's 'compromise' created even more repression than before, once she wasn't around to keep an eye on it. Ba Sing Se isn't like the rest of the world; the walls hold us back so much, they might as well be stopping time. And the King isn't going to listen to his people, unless you get the Avatar to back us up."

"Well, what's your alternative, Tao? Let the people of the Lower Ring loot the rest of the city?"

Tao shrugged as she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat. "It would be justice, after what we've been through for over a century-"

"But after you've finished with your revenge on your 'oppressors', what's your plan for Ba Sing Se?"

"It can crumble to ash, for all I care."

"And what about those in the Lower Ring who are suffering, but might not feel the same as you? Or those in the Middle and Upper Ring who are just going about their lives peacefully, or may agree with you?" Tao's eyes flickered slightly- part scorn, part guilt. "I'd suggest that you consider those perspectives, before you try anything too hasty."

Xai Bau finished his tea, stood up and undid the string of coins from his belt. He removed half the gold pieces and set them on the table. Yiwu stared at the money, but Tao kept her eyes on the warrior. "If you want a better life, I'd suggest you head for either Omashu or Kiyoshi; the monarchs and chieftains there are elected, not hereditary. This should be enough to cover passage for both of you."

He headed for the door, then paused. "By the way, Tao... make sure you keep your fists up, next time you're facing a nonbending opponent. The biggest advantage of bending is that it gives you range; if an opponent closes the distance on you the way I did, you'll be in trouble unless you have a backup plan."

Tao frowned as she pocketed the coins. "...How do you know so much about bending tactics?"

"One of my previous apprentices was a Firebender." Xai Bau didn't look back. "She had a habit of being reckless, too- and it got her killed."

Tao's words troubled Xai Bau as he boarded the monorail again, riding out into the Agrarian Ring. It wasn't that she wanted better conditions for the Lower Ring, or that the government needed change; he entirely agreed with that. It was her determination to use violence to achieve her ends. That went against everything the Grand Lotuses had taught him, everything he had learned about the Air Nomads. Except for the liberation of Ba Sing Se, he had only ever used his skills for defense, either himself or those who could not protect themselves. Overthrowing the monarchy would require offensive violence- and more importantly, it would invite chaos and possible civil war. But without an alternative solution in mind, sooner or later someone more extreme would probably act without thinking, and do exactly that.

Xai Bau hadn't been lying about being unable to get through to the leaders of the White Lotus. He had sent detailed reports about the inherent flaws of Ba Sing Se, several times. Again and again, he explained that the rigid class system of the Earth Capital was too outdated, that it left thousands more people suffering in the Lower Ring now than it ever had in wartime. Refugees had deserted many villages and come here during the Hundred Year War and the two decades of peace that followed. The end result was that the Agrarian Ring could no longer sustain Ba Sing Se's populace. At least during wartime, some of the new arrivals had been funneled into the army and sent out to garrison other parts of the Kingdom ...or, had fallen in battle. Now, the United Republic's newspapers reported that the largest city in the world, whose King lived in the grandest palace complex in the world, also had the largest number of homeless citizens. And this was the capital of the nation whose benders could build homes at will. Unbelievable.

The Grand Lotuses simply told him to take it up with the Avatar, or send a petition to the Earth King. Xai Bau had already known that the second option was pointless. Kuei was usually a gentle-natured man, but he was also a fool. Not that this was entirely his fault, since the Dai Li had raised him in complete ignorance since childhood. For almost six years after his restoration, Kuei had jumped into various projects without thinking ahead: his confrontation with Fire Lord Zuko over Yu Dao, his attempts to build new infrastructure for the Southern Water Tribe, and many others. Most were expensive, and usually abandoned at the first sign of trouble.

Finally, the year Kuei's first daughter was born, he saw the sense to delegate his administration. He continued to listen to the Avatar and other world leaders on diplomacy, but he left most of the governing of Ba Sing Se to the Council of Five. Although less repressive toward civilians than the Dai Li, the Council essentially put the city under martial law, each of them governing one of the five zones "on behalf of the King". Most of the new generation of Ba Sing Se's Earthbenders, instead of going to construction or agricultural crews, were either snapped up as conscripts of the Earth Army or forcibly recruited to expand and maintain the Outer Wall. All five Generals were paranoid since their brief overthrow by Long Feng and Azula, and the Wall was the one thing that made them feel secure. Despite the fact that it had been breached several times during the war.

No, speaking to Kuei would be no help... unless Xai Bau was backed by someone powerful, who would either intimidate or impress the gentle but weak-willed king. Tao and Yiwu had been right about that, and about who to ask. But getting Avatar Aang's attention hadn't been an option for some time.

Whenever Xai Bau thought of Aang, he felt a flash of cold anger. It was all very well to win wars, to stop the genocide that would have followed Sozin's Comet, but did Aang really think he'd fixed the world with one duel? And were was he now? Raising his family, and trying- and failing- to run his pet project, the United Republic. The strong preyed on the weak there, too, though it was harder to notice.

Angry though Xai Bau was, he understood that Aang's concern for his children would outweigh the traditional duties of the Avatar, especially during their youth. No question, family was an important commitment, especially for someone who was literally the Last Airbender. But the White Lotus was meant to balance the equation, to lighten Aang's load and work alongside him. If Aang had been willing to give them some initiative, to act more on his behalf, they could have participated in reconstructing and re-shaping the postwar world. Instead, the Order was still on sentry duty for various world leaders, who hardly needed protection. Here in Ba Sing Se, it was the common people who needed protection. Aang's wartime suffering was not a good enough excuse for staying only in Republic City, either. Everyone had lost something, during the Hundred Year War; Aang's loss of his people was tragic, but he was far from the only one who had suffered.

Xai Bau's own loss had come during the final days, when he answered the call of the White Lotus to free Ba Sing Se. During the battle, his apprentice Kaho had disappeared; he found her body drifting in Lake Laogai, three days later. The other White Lotus members gave him empty words of condolence, saying she must have lost to a stronger Firebender. But even as his grief and rage overwhelmed him, Xai Bau had not been blinded by it. There were no burn marks on Kaho's body, only broken fingers and the awful wound that had split her skull open. Of course, the wounds could have been caused by a bludgeon weapon. But the cells beneath Kuei's palace told him a different story. The original Council of Five, imprisoned by the Dai Li, told him Long Feng had been thrown back into prison after Azula's coup. But the ex-Grand Secretariat's cell was empty, its' door hanging open- and the Dai Li were nowhere to be found.

When Xai Bau implored his brethren to help him hunt down Kaho's killers, for the sake of justice and the memory of one of their own, they refused, claiming he didn't have concrete proof. Iroh had told him to let go of his obsession, or it would consume him, but this answer simply spurred Xai Bau to go hunting for the Dai Li alone. After two years with no leads and no results, he finally gave in and conceded that Iroh had been right. He did his best to accept the loss and move on with his life, but he never took another apprentice, and a spark of pain and anger still flared whenever he heard mention of the Dai Li.

He needed a fresh perspective on the situation. Iroh had always been willing to listen, when Xai Bau first joined the Order. However, Iroh was now retired from the White Lotus, and spent most of his time back in the Fire Nation with his family. When he came to Ba Sing Se, it was usually to either visit his son's grave or look after his tea shop... which was in the Upper Ring. Even the wise and benevolent "Dragon of the West" had turned a blind eye to Ba Sing Se's flaws, it seemed. He needed someone a bit more... detached from the material world.

Xai Bau stepped off the monorail and passed out of the station; the two soldiers at the entrance simply waved him past, familiar with his routine. Following the path that wound through the dykes and fields, he closed his eyes, the rough ground under his bare feet so familiar he could walk it blindfolded.

Suddenly, his seismic sense caught the vibration of small footsteps behind him. Once again, he was being followed, but the impacts were too light to be an adult. He stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. No one was there, but his ears caught a rustling in the barley stalks, coupled with light breathing and a rapid heartbeat. Xai Bau smiled slightly; children were always following him out of curiosity and asking about his unusual clothing. This one was too shy, it seemed... although apparently they were smart enough to evade the guards patrolling nearby. Probably busy sneaking a few extra fistfuls of grain. Just trying to survive, like everyone else in the Lower Ring...

He crested a little hill overlooking the rice-paddies and sat down cross-legged in the shade of a plum tree, connecting his thumbs across his stomach. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, but his mind refused to clear itself; the many thoughts rushing through it were provoking emotions that he was usually able to still.

"Focus. Breathe... enter the void... and empty." That wasn't quite how Laghima's poem went, but it helped remind him of what he needed.

He took a deep breath, forcing all thoughts and concerns out of his head... and then, filling it with the sounds of the waves, from the docks at Yu Dao when he was a boy. The rush of the water sweeping in, then receding, drowned out everything else. The push and pull called the images of Yue and La, the twin spirits of the Moon and Ocean, to his mind; they twisted together to form the Ying and Yang. The symbol began to emit light...

A kitsune fox-spirit was staring quizzically at Xai Bau when he opened his eyes in the Spirit World. He was sitting in a grove of trees with low-hanging, gnarled branches. A silvery mist swirled around him, mingling with the dappled light that spilled through the leaves.

He smiled and patted the kitsune's head. "It's been a while, Māoyan." The spirit scurried up his shoulder, nosing eagerly at the flail in his belt. "I promise, I'll play with you the next time I come. Right now, I need to see our mutual friend. Is he in his usual place?"

Māoyan yipped and floated off through the undergrowth, her twin luminous-tipped tails weaving behind her. Xai Bau stood and followed; the branches of the trees parted respectfully, allowing him to pass.

As he emerged from the grove near the bank of a stream, the familiar form of Guru Pathik came into sight through the mist; the ancient man was sitting cross-legged on a boulder, his long brown fingers trailing in the water. Māoyan bounded onto the rock, nudging his shoulder affectionately. Xai Bau approached him from behind and bowed.

"I sensed you coming even before you crossed the plane between our worlds." Pathik greeted him without turning. The kitsune curled up next to him, and he stroked her tasseled ears. "It's a wonder you are still able to pass through; there's barely enough spiritual energy for proper meditation, let alone separation of the soul from the body."

"People in Ba Sing Se aren't very interested in venerating the Spirits, these days." Xai Bau shook his head as he sat down on the bank, next to the Guru. "Besides, I had a lot on my mind."

"You, and others. You're not as alone in your concern for the downtrodden as you think. Piandao has made his own pilgrimages from the Fire Nation. I gave him the same answer I will give you: be patient. The balance you seek-"

"Will come in the end." Xai Bau nodded. "I know, sifu. I just need to know if you can see any way for me to... bring it sooner, rather than later. As I said, there are those in Ba Sing Se for whom 'balance' doesn't mean much. Survival is more what they have in mind, at any cost. I know you've been watching the goings-on of the world."

"Occasionally." Pathik plucked at his waist-length silver beard. "I can't see exact events in the mortal world, not with the Spirit Portals closed, but I can sense disturbances in the energy along the plane. Occasionally, I gain a sense of what is happening... or what may happen."

"You've had... a vision?"

"Indeed." Pathik turned around, his soft grey eyes staring at Xai Bau over a hooked nose. "I came to the brook this morning to clear away the algae, as always. When the stream was unblocked and the water ran clear, I saw two small children reflected on its' surface. One wore rags, the other golden robes. Then they vanished, and a vision of a giant, walled city in flames took their place. The words formed in my mind, unbidden: A child found, a child lost, between them, blood and order cost."

The hairs on the back of Xai Bau's neck stood up. Years before, he would have scoffed at this kind of vague prophecy, but his travels in the Spirit World had taught him not to take anything lightly. "A walled city in flames... Omashu? Ba Sing Se?"

"The reflection was too faint for me to tell exactly where. Nonetheless, it does not bode well. You should warn the Avatar."

"Why can't you tell him yourself?"

"Aang still doesn't trust me. Ever since he managed to access the Avatar State at will, he believes there is nothing more to learn... or, that there is too much to be sacrificed in the process."

"Well, you did essentially tell him he had to give up the one he loved just to get to the Avatar State, which he proved wrong-"

"You're missing the point, boy." Pathik interrupted curtly. "I'm not concerned with Aang's ability to access his power, so much as the spiritual links that keep him in tune with the rest of the world. You know as well as I do, that in recent years he has become... complacent. The end of the Hundred Year War does not mean the world doesn't need the Avatar anymore. Aang doesn't have a great deal of time left, and there is still much to do-"

"What do you mean, he doesn't have much time left?"

"One hundred years trapped in an iceberg takes a great deal of energy to stay alive, even if you are the Avatar." Pathik looked forlorn. "He may live another twenty years or so, but there is no guarantee-"

Xai Bau snorted. "Clearly, you have a different perception of time in the Spirit World, sifu. Twenty years is plenty of time."

"Not if most of it is spent teaching and protecting his children." Pathik locked eyes with him. "Promise me you will warn Aang of my vision. If he hears it from someone he trusts, he may be willing to come and speak with me; we can discover the meaning of this prophecy together. The Avatar needs to be warned, before it's too late."

Xai Bau felt mildly annoyed that he was merely the Guru's messenger, but all the same he nodded. Passing along Pathik's prophecy was one way to get into Aang's good graces. If he could achieve that, persuading the Avatar to take action in Ba Sing Se might not be such a great leap after all. "...I promise, sifu."

"Thank you, my friend." Pathik reached for a crooked staff next to his rock and used it to pull himself upright. "I'm afraid I must leave you, now. There may be a way for me to find out more about this vision... but it will require facing certain dangers."

A smirking smile played across Xai Bau's lips. "I would think 'danger' would be something you'd dismiss out of hand; you're effectively immortal."

Pathik returned the smirk sadly. "True... but as we both know, there are things far worse than death. I will send Māoyan to find you in the mortal world, when I have learned more; unlike me, she is still able to pass through. Until we meet again."

Turning away, the Guru hobbled off into the mists. Xai Bau stood up, shaking his head slightly. His old mentor was as cryptic as ever.

Suddenly, there was a faint creaking of branches behind them. Xai Bau spun around, his hand going to his baton, even though he knew it was useless here. Māoyan growled, her eyes glowing and the fur on her neck bristling. Xai Bau followed her gaze to the edge of the grove. Peering around the trunk of the nearest tree was a shock of shaggy dark hair and two piercing, jade-green eyes. It was a small boy, about seven to eight years old.

Xai Bau frowned. Was this a spirit, impersonating a human form, or someone who had passed away? He took a step towards the tree, and the boy stepped back, warily. No... a spirit or a permanent resident would not have bothered to hide, and anyway the movements were too uncoordinated and clumsy to be anything but a mortal.

"...How did you get here, child?"

"I followed you."

"I can see that, but how did you get into the Spirit World?"

The boy simply looked confused. "I followed you."

Xai Bau frowned again, then his eyes widened as a possibility occurred to him. "You... followed me into the Spirit World?"

The boy shrugged. "All I did was follow you to the hill, then sat down and did the same thing you were doing. I was curious-"

Alarmed, Xai Bau focused on his body. There was a rush of darkness all around him as the Spirit World faded away, then his eyes snapped open. The sun had nearly set, but he could still make out the rice-paddies around his little hill. Sitting directly across from him, in a perfect lotus position, was the boy, his eyes closed.

Xai Bau studied him curiously. Although he wore the ragged, dusty garb of a peasant child, he looked well-fed for his age; he was probably used to foraging around the dykes for edible plants or forgotten grain.

Closing his eyes again, the warrior drew himself back into the grove. The boy was turning frantically in circles, staring in every direction; his rushed entrance to the Spirit World had taught him nothing about how to get back out. Māoyan hovered around his feet, her tails flicking back and forth.

The boy's eyes widened with relief when he saw Xai Bai again, then narrowed accusingly. "You left me behind!"

"If you can get into the Spirit World, you ought to know how to get out."

"Like I said, I was just trying to do what I saw you doing! I followed you, then I listened to what you were saying to yourself, then I copied you just to see if I could! Next thing I knew, I was sitting in the branches of this tree-" he rapped the tree trunk with his knuckles "-when I saw you and the old man and the fox talking together." He put out his hand to the kitsune, and to Xai Bau's surprise, she licked it affectionately. "What were you talking about?"

"You... you meditated and followed me without even knowing what you were doing?" Xai Bau shook his head. "That's... very impressive, but dangerous, boy. Forget what the soldiers would have done to you if they'd caught you raiding the fields-"

"The soldiers don't scare me." The boy's expression turned as defiant as Tao's. "I've been able to sneak between the Agrarian Ring and the Lower Ring for years."

"Is that how you stay well-fed?"

The boy shrugged. "I help glean the leftover rice and barley. No one notices if my friends and I take some, and those that do would steal it anyway. We're just trying to stay alive."

He gave the warrior a shrewd look, as if daring him to judge. But the day's events had only reinforced Xai Bau's sympathy for the downtrodden, for those who fought for their survival against the odds. And being able to follow a White Lotus into the Spirit World on the first try, with no formal training... this could not be passed up. Now more than ever, the Order of the White Lotus needed someone with this kind of talent. He could nurture it carefully, not let it become bogged down in protecting the status quo, like so many of the other new recruits...

He put his hand gently on the boy's shoulder. "Let me lead you back to the mortal world."

For the first time, the child looked fearful. "I said, I don't know how-"

"You will, in time. For now, just hang on to me."

The last of the daylight was vanishing as they returned. Xai Bau steered the boy along the path leading back to the monorail station. "Jin can give you a room at the inn where I'm staying, I'll cover the cost-"

"What are you talking about? I have to get this stashed back at our hideout." The boy stopped and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a pouch full of collected rice stuffed in at elbow level. "It was my turn, my friends and I drew lots-"

"Keep that hidden." Xai Bau yanked his sleeve back down hastily, crouching in front of him. "You want the guards to nab you before you're even halfway home?"

The boy gave him a dark look. "Better that, than what I'll get if I don't bring the grain back." He stuck his chin out, revealing a half-healed cut on his jawline. "You may think you know your way around the Lower Ring, but the Triads that run our neighborhood know their way everywhere. And... they'll go for my friends, next." A flicker of fear mingled with the defiance in his eyes.

Xai Bau opened his palm, revealing a white and copper Pai Sho tile with a lotus insignia, identical to the one on his robes. "The Triads won't approach you, if you're with me."

The boy scoffed, glancing from the tile to the weapon in Xai Bau's belt. "What's an old man gonna do, against a gang of Earthbenders?"

The old warrior felt a flicker of amusement. "You'd be surprised." He sighed. "I can understand why you don't trust me, child. And, that you want to protect your friends. But how will you protect them, if you're caught on another of these 'deliveries?' Sooner or later, the police will get wind of where the thefts are happening, and how. You... you have an extraordinary gift. How easily you got into the Spirit World... I don't know if anyone's been able to do that since the Air Nomads were alive. For that gift to be destroyed, while you're still just a child... " He closed his eyes, remembering how he'd said similar words to Kaho. "I can teach you how to use that gift-"

"No, thanks-"

"And...I can teach you how defeat benders in combat. How do you think a Nonbender like me, became a Master in the Order of the White Lotus?" The boy paused, one thick eyebrow raised. "Feel free to invite any of your friends along; the White Lotus welcomes all volunteers, and in this city, we have the Earth King's protection. But someone with your gifts, your natural connection with the Spirits...if all your abilities were brought to their fullest, you would never have to fight to survive again. No one starves within our Order, we look after each other." Others in the Order might not take those words seriously, but he always had. Except, perhaps during Sozin's Comet...

After a pause, the boy shoved his cargo back inside his shirt. "Keep talking."

"First, tell me your name."

The boy frowned. "The orphanage director never told me my birth-name... but he named me after a character in a story. It was about a peasant farmer, who traveled in search of a gateway to the Spirit World, to gain blessings for his field during a drought-"

"Ah, yes, The Farmer's Folly. I'm familiar with that one." Xai Bau smiled slightly. In the story, the peasant's desperation to summon the local spirits, drove him to cut down a grove of nearby trees to build a shrine in their honor- ironically, driving the spirits to vengeance with his destruction. "Did he name you after the farmer, or the spirit who possessed him at the end of the story?"

"The farmer." The boy shrugged. "He tried whatever he could, to get what he wanted. What he needed to survive."

The old man chuckled. He could see the parallel between the story's protagonist and the reckless youth immediately. But impatience didn't have to be one's downfall; the latter only needed some guidance, some direction, to escape the former's fate. Sliding the tile back into his sleeve, he stood up. "My name is Xai Bau. I think you and I, can learn much from each other."

By the time they returned to Jin's inn, the boy had told Xai Bau some of his story. As with most people from the Lower Ring, it wasn't a pleasant one. He had been left in an overcrowded orphanage at nearly two years old, thrown out a year ago when he kept picking fights. In the slums, he'd survived by running odd jobs for more practiced thieves and gangsters, eventually drawing several children in similar circumstances into his orbit. Since the children only ever stole enough to keep themselves sheltered and fed, they usually managed to stay out of the eye of the police- though their extortion by more powerful Triads left them in a dangerous position. Though the boy was dismissive of his achievements, his own survival skills- and the way he passed them so readily to his friends- indicated leadership and decisiveness.

Xai Bau found himself becoming hopeful. This boy reminded him so much of Kaho, if a little more unfortunate... and he was easier to empathize with, being a Nonbender. Once fully trained, he might even become a future leader of the White Lotus, one day. His kind of single-minded determination, if given principals and a task to follow, could shock the older members of the Order out of their complacent state.

He clapped the boy on the shoulder as they approached the door. "You have such talent, child... and as long as your heart and your head are in the right place, you'll go so far-"

"Xai Bau!" A familiar voice from behind interrupted him. Turning, he saw a grey-haired woman in White Lotus robes gliding toward him on an ice-slide. "We're needed on the Palace grounds, right away. Orders from the Grand Lotuses."

"Nakken, if this is about another parade for Bosco, you can tell them I'm ill." Xai Bau glanced over his shoulder quickly. The boy had vanished, but faint breathing was coming from the eaves over the doorway. "Unless it's something genuinely concerning to the world at large-"

"It's not optional." The Waterbender stepped off the ice, liquefied it and sucked it back into a sealskin pouch on her belt. "Nearly all the White Lotus is being called to Ba Sing Se, on Grand Lotus Sungwoo's orders. Princess Hou-Ting has just vanished-"

"'Vanished?'" The old warrior turned around, frowning.

"She disappeared earlier this morning; the King and his staff didn't realize until she didn't arrive as scheduled for the mid-day meal. Whoever took her came with stealth; nothing was disturbed on her estate, but two of the guards at the south entrance were found dead, and all her servants unconscious. Sungwoo's been questioning them, but they didn't see their attackers."

Once again, the hairs on the back of Xai Bau's neck stood up. A child found, a child lost, between them blood and order cost. First a boy in peasant clothes, then a girl in golden robes, within hours of each other. It might be too late to warn the Avatar about Pathik's prophecy.

His thoughts flashed to the two youths he had met earlier that day, but he quickly dismissed the idea. They had the motive, but not the means. "Has anyone taken responsibility for the abduction? Made ransom demands, something like that?"

"None. Of course, Hou-Ting was always a prime target for anyone with a grudge against the Royal Family, but there have been no demands or ultimatums yet. The Council of Five are blaming the Fire Nation-"

"No surprises there."

"Obviously, but given the tension between the Fire Nation and Omashu since Ariq was elected King, that argument can't be dismissed entirely. All the same, we haven't had any troubling reports from from the Grand Lotuses in the Fire Nation lately, and there weren't any burn marks on the dead guards. Anyway, kidnapping isn't Zuko's style." Nakken looked grim. "Kuei's beside himself. I know he spoils Hou-Ting, but still..."

Xai Bau nodded. Flawed though the Earth King was, there was no denying his love for his daughters. To have his first-born taken would leave him paralyzed and out of his mind with terror... which was probably just what the abductor wanted. It was for exactly that reason, that Xai Bau had remained celibate all his life. He'd always had affection for children, but attachments could be distracting- and easy to exploit. He still lived with the pain of losing Kaho every day, and she had only been his apprentice.

Also, there was something about the way the abduction had happened that was setting off an alarm bell at the back of his mind. The stealth, the minimal casualties, the lack of any disturbance beyond knocked-out servants... Perhaps, after all these years, the Dai Li had finally crawled out from whatever hole they were hiding in. All the better, he thought with relish; justice was long overdue.

Nakken was looking at him expectantly. Xai Bau sighed. "...Tell Sungwoo I'll be there by morning. I'll need to visit the hawk-roost tower, first... I have a message that needs to reach the Avatar."

"We weren't instructed to bring Aang into this-"

"I think he may already be involved, whether the Grand Lotuses like it or not. There's a matter in the Spirit World, not unconnected with this, that he needs to attend to." He looked her in the eye. "This is for the sake of balance across the world, Nakken, not just getting back the heir to the Earth Kingdom."

Nakken looked uncomfortable, but she pressed her fist to her palm, bowed, and departed when Xai Bau returned the gesture. As soon as she turned a corner, the boy dropped from the rafters, landing awkwardly.

"You heard everything?"

"Not really. Just the parts I understood." The boy's eyes narrowed. "What do you need the Avatar for?"

"It has to do with my conversation with Guru Pathik- the old man from the Spirit World. I'll explain when I return." Xai Bau pulled his room key and the rest of his coins from his belt. "This will be enough gold to get you by for a few weeks. If it runs out, tell Jin she can bill the Grand Secretariat." The Earth King's chief Minister paid for the lodgings of all White Lotuses in Ba Sing Se.

"I want to come with you-"

"Not yet." Xai Bau forced a reassuring smile. "I will teach you, you have my word, but I can't ignore the call of my Order- and in this situation, bringing you along would only put your life and mine in danger. Once you've had a few years of training, you'll be able to accompany me anywhere... whether in this world, or the next."

The boy looked sullen, but he accepted the key and coins. "Can you speak to me through the Spirit World?"

"Perhaps. But only if you can emerge at the same spot as before, otherwise you might end up trapped there again. If I'm not available, Pathik may be able to show you, when he returns from his little journey. I'll ask him to wait for you."

"When will that be?"

"I don't know- time moves a bit differently in the Spirit World. But if I'm able to contact him again, I'll send you a message by hawk. Perhaps I will be able to begin your training early, after all." Xai Bau raised an eyebrow. "Who should I send the letter to?"

"I'll stick with the name from the story. It's as good as any other." The boy gave him a direct look. "Until you return, sifu."

Xai Bau returned his gaze, once again intrigued by its' intensity. "I give you my word... Zaheer."