...

Chouyu's funeral had been held just before noon. Xiaobao helped carry the body to the local house of the dead. Usually it took much longer than this to secure the proper permits but by now even the Kuang Harbor funerary deputy had heard the rumors about spirits out on the streets at night. No one wanted to chance the spiritual risk of putting off funeral ceremonies and the requisite papers were stamped in a flurry. So Chouyu got his clay disks over his eyes and was lowered into the narrow stone sepulcher for appearances. Later, after everyone including the priests was gone, temple servants would remove his body and begin the process of reducing him down to the bones that would actually receive internment in the damp and overcrowded catacombs.

Not that any of it would help. If Ayika and that Water Tribe shaman woman Mua were right then something was working to prevent the ghost rituals from being effective. Many of the city's dead were remaining fractured, spirit and ghost prevented from reuniting and advancing on to the cycle of reincarnation. In some places the living were already paying the cost. That was another thing the Masks were responsible for. The list was growing and Xiaobao felt each entry like a lead weight in his gut, replacing the aches of battle that Mua had mostly healed away with her waterbending.

Surprisingly, the little ceremony had been well attended. Chouyu had been aging, crude, and often drunk. Xiaobao would have called him a coward without a second thought and the man would have agreed. But last night he had stood with the rest of the dockworkers as they faced the spirit-magic of the Masks. This morning, all those men and more had been there, along with Chouyu's equally grey haired sister who looked like she might have preferred to be the one to do him in but never the less provided the appropriate wailing of bereavement. However, out on the street outside the squat little brick temple there were other people, people Xiaobao had never seen before. Word had gotten out that a group of nonbender working men had stood up against the demons who tried to burn down the town. These town-dwellers had come to pay their respects.

As Xiaobao and the others exited the temple he saw many of the people waiting outside nod their heads respectfully. It almost looked like those gestures were directed at him. Of course it could just be that he was tall enough to stand out clearly from the other docks-men. That had to be it.

But that had been hours ago. Now the mourners were crowded into a large but cheap three-walled restaurant that specialized in these sort of occasions for the working-people of the town. They had been there for quite while and those who were partaking of the bottles were now getting very expressive in their grief. Xiaobao tried to join in the refreshments to get swept away from the anger growing within him but every sip reminded him of the taste of Chouyu's Islander liqueur on that night. He was not in the mood to talk to anyone, but still people kept coming up to him.

"It's dreadful what happened. Just dreadful."

Xiaobao did not know this man but the stranger kept talking all the same. "You guys were out protecting the place and this is what you get, while now the guards are on a flipping rampage! And not against the witches that did this either. Nah, just lashing out at anyone they see on the streets. I guess their superiors just want to see bodies in cells and people like us are a lot easier to catch than evil spirits."

Xiaobao muttered something along the lines of what he had been saying all day. "We weren't trying to do anything. Just wanted to keep everything safe. Just watch out for our homes."

Somehow these meaningless words seemed to resonate with the man. He smiled, "Right you are. People were saying The Bao was the man and I see they got it right. I'm a harbor man myself and I still remember your father, sure I do. Not the biggest fan of those pompous Islanders but when it comes to this I know where I stand. We all do." With that he turned and walked back out of the restaurant, nodding his head as he did so.

It had not just been harbor-dwellers. There had been some citizens from the Lower Ring come down here to spend a little while in this dingy open-walled restaurant on a narrow side street. People were nervous. They were afraid, and the story of what the Masks had done was spreading and growing with each telling. Another strange thing was also spreading. Xiaobao had seen quite a few people with black headbands wrapped around their foreheads. The headbands had two holes cut in them like the costume mask he had been wearing that night during the fight at the train-yard. A lot of the neighborhood watch men were wearing them, but Xiaobao could not bring himself to ask about that. Enough people were hiding their faces these days, if some people wanted to make a statement about raised masks then he might as well let them.

The watch had quite a few more members than it did a few hours ago. Things were happening quickly and though everyone kept looking in his direction, no one actually seemed to think it was necessary to refer any of these expansions to their nominal leader. Xiaobao slumped back down at the table just as he saw his brother poke his head through the crowd that was packed in the street outside.

"Gah, what are all you people doing here? Come on! Yes, Maolin Bao's my brother, what of it? I work with these people so just...let...me!"

With a last grunt of exertion Xinfei managed to enter the restaurant and spot his brother.

Xiaobao looked up and said, "You missed the funeral."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Xinfei was still turning around to look back at the crowd outside the restaurant as if he expected someone else to appear. "I was supposed to be back before it started but...well, something came up."

Xiaobao lowered his brow. "I would have thought better of you. Chouyu knew you your whole life. You know he was friends with dad. What could..." He broke off suddenly as he recognized the two young men who had just forced their way through the crowd to find a spot behind Xinfei. They looked very nervous and Xiaobao's fist tightened involuntarily to prove that instinct correct. These were two of the student nationalists who were direct allies of the Masks.

"What are...?!"

"Woah, hold on." Xinfei put a hand down on Xiaobao's arm. "Believe it or not, I don't think you're going to want to do that." He gestured over to the plainclothes students, for once not wearing their black and white uniform robes. "Lili sent them. That's what delayed me. There's been a bit of a change of heart."

Zhangyi stepped forward and bowed his head to Xiaobao. "We heard about..." He looked around. And took time to carefully compose his words. "Miss Gaoli convinced us about who was really behind the...the political actions. We've been dissatisfied for a while so this betrayal actually..." He broke off again as he looked very uncomfortable. "Actually, could we move to a less dangerous location? This crowd looks one step away from an uprising. I have not seen those black headbands before but I can recognize hostile symbology when I see it."

Xiaobao pushed himself up to his feet. He growled, "Hostile? Dangerous? Where do you get off saying that? With what you have been behind?" All the frustration that had been building up in his chest was boiling forth. He looked down on Zhangyi and his friend.

He spoke in a low muffled tone but his voice rose with every word. "So, it's 'political action' when citizens do it, but when us down here have had enough with the city ignoring us and ring-dwellers tearing up everything in their plan to defend some abstract vision of the history of this city, then it's hostile? We normal people want to protect ourselves and it's dangerous? Well, too bad! That's what those black headbands are saying! Just...for us to be able to live our lives. That past you and your friends were so keen on protecting from the Islanders or whoever did not have us in it! Against factories, and cheap imports, and... stuff! Things have been getting better when we are just left alone!" Xiaobao knew that this speech was muddled and confused. He had never been a great speaker, but these words were in his heart and somehow some of the meaning got out past his clumsy tongue.

Many of those wearing the black bands were watching the little group now. Xiaobao frowned and tried to reign in his anger again. The university boys were right to be worried after all. Things would go badly if this crowd found out half of who they were. He breathed out and said, "Sure, lets go somewhere else to talk." But before he moved his feet he turned to the man sitting near where he had been at the table. "Li, get me one of those headbands. I seem to have misplaced mine."

It was just a gesture driven by useless anger, but as Xiaobao yanked tight the knot on that black band a low cheer rose up somewhere within the crowd in the narrow street. It did not quite catch on but neither did it die, and the quiet acclimation spread out down the crowded alleys like ripples.

Xiaobao led the way and let Xinfei lead the two rich boys along behind as they made their way to a less crowded street. The only sound was the occasional squelching splash as Zhangyi or Jiang showed their inexperience in navigating these less well drained dirt paved streets. Xiaobao was still fuming and he thought the students had sensed this as they were not trying to speak with him. They crossed a small, arching stone bridge over a thin brown water channel clogged with narrow canal boats and pushed past a precarious stack of woven reed baskets in front of a tiny shopfront. Just as Xiaobao was giving the boys credit for a small bit of silent wisdom Zhangi pulled up to match his pace and said, "You know, we are...were trying to protect the people too."

There was a soft smack of Xinfei's hand meeting his forehead as Xiaobao turned around to face Zhangyi with storms in his eyes. Xiaobao spoke through clenched teeth. "Speaking of that, where are your fancy spirit masks? According to Xinfei you should have a bunch of them handed over by that Islander you work for. Hasn't that been your plan? Cause a lot of random destruction?"

Jiang broke in, speaking up in his friend's defense. "Hey, we never trusted those artifacts much from the beginning. We just wanted to inform people of how the ministers were making policies agains the citizenry's best interest. And now..." He changed what he was going to say. "Chonglong had the masks, and now something's happened to him. I wonder if that is what the Trade Representative..."

"Figures." Xiaobao tried to sound merciless, but in his heart he felt a twinge of pity. He remembered meeting Chonglong. The young man had been big and full of bluster, but Xiaobao remembered the inhuman voices of the Masks who attacked the Miohuito factory. Could you really blame someone for what they did in that state, even if they willingly put the mask on their face? Xiaobao felt his anger draining away. Now he just felt tired again.

"Xinfei, why are they here?"

His brother opened his mouth to speak but Zhangyi interjected. "We are here because we still want to help the people. That Islander... The leadership of our former organization was compromised against our knowledge, but we would still like to make amends. We have always wanted to help the people who are being victimized by those more powerful. Now we see there is a more immediate concern to be rectified before we focus on the industrial competition. Tailang's plot must be exposed but until it is uprooted people are at risk. A grass-roots organization for coordinated citizen action is powerful but could always benefit from expertise in the methodology of civil protest."

Xiaobao blinked. "Grass? We're not..."

Xinfei finally got his words in. "He means they've read a lot of books on how to do this neighborhood watch political stuff without ending up in a Public Safety cell. Not that their record is very stellar there." He raised an eyebrow at the two students that drew reference to their friends who had been seized the night of the festival.

"You know better than any that the student committee was set up." Jiang said, snapping back at him. "Right now the only way we have have a chance of helping those who have been arrested is to expose what Trade Representative Tailang has been doing. That is what you are planning to do, right?"

Xiaobao reluctantly knew that they were right. He did not know what he was doing down here. It was only a matter of time until the guards noticed all these people wearing black headbands and the government had never looked too kindly on the common people organizing against it. He nodded gruffly.

Xinfei took advantage of that moment of silence. "Keeping people organized on the street so they don't tear each other apart is one thing, bringing down the top Islander official in this country is another. We need to meet with Lili and Ayika. And Mizumi too, I guess. We need to have a serious talk."

...

They were a motley group who met in Mama Mua's now rather cramped main room under the clunking reefs of wooden charms hanging from the rafters. On one side were Ayika and her two female friends, surrounded on each side by the Bao brothers and the university boys, all of them facing the two benders, Nia Mua and Duoli Ma'er. That mismatched pair were looking oddly comfortable together, even as both were covered with healing bruises and cuts from their fights with the Masks. There must be some commonality among those who could kill you with a flick of their hands. With everyone else looking hesitant to leap into this jumble of uncertain loyalties, Ayika elected to take control.

"All right, according to Mizumi's talk with the Fire Sage, this spiritual crisis is not going to get any better and Tailang might not even be able to stop it himself. Not without regaining Naruhama's burial mask which Ma'er's assistant Tian has, and even Ma'er doesn't know where that boy is. If we can't take away the Masks' power then we have to hit this at the top of the leadership. But Zhangyi and Jiang have said that Tailang is still handing out more masks so we have to stop him quickly. The boys can testify that they heard him talking about leading the Masks, and Lili can testify that he was the man they were talking to. The guards would have to at least take him into custody over three accusations of treason from Middle Ring notables. If they arrested those other students then they will certainly want to get their hands on the master of the Masks. That is the only chance I can see."

Mizumi interjected. "Yes, but your city's enforcement personnel can not enter the Exclusion, and Representative Tailang has shown no sign of being willing to exit it. How is he going to be arrested?"

Over by Ma'er, Mama Mua grunted. "That's showin' sense, for him. If he disrupted a burial ceremony like that fire priest says he did then Tailang shines like a target to the spirits that are all crossin' over. The disruption may center around the ghost mask but all spirits that the weakenin' veil's welcomed will be drawn to him, and they'll be angry. He'll be stayin' close to some place he has warded up well."

"There is one opportunity." Lili shared her idea. "Several days ago Tailang was very insistent in inviting my father and I come to a special opera that is being hosted in a Kuang Harbor playhouse. Apparently he is a big fan of theater. I guess that is how he could put on accents like he did to disguise himself and trick the conservatives, but anyway he should be leaving the Exclusion for that performance. He has invited so many Ba Sing Se personages that he has to show up or else it will be a significant sign of weakness, not to mention bad manners."

Zhangyi caught this excitement. He joined in saying, "At the Silver Snake Theater? That is actually perfect. I have heard the Portmaster and other government officials are going to be there so there will be plenty of city guards on hand. In fact, with all the tension lately, there will probably be a Public Safety agent or two hidden nearby. The Trade Representative will not have any chance to escape back to his refuge in the Exclusion."

Most of them now turned to look at Ma'er to see if he concurred with Zhangyi's predication. The scarred man reluctantly nodded in agreement with this assessment. "That may be the best opportunity. But a public confrontation is risky. A man is most dangerous when he thinks he has been cornered and those spirit masks are compact enough to sneak in almost anywhere. He could try to break containment." A small movement he made triggered twinges from his remaining aches, souvenirs of his last fight. Mua glared at him, daring him to undo what healing her bending techniques had managed.

"They'll only be more powerful with each passin' night. And Ah've got no more favors to cash in to take those possessed out of it. But I'll be there to do whatever I can. If that guy killed Erliao for me then Ah'd be willin' to return the favor."

Xinfei held up his hands. "Woah, woah, hold on. Look, it would probably be smart to have you two benders stationed outside but if the leader of the masks is venturing out of hiding hole to a night of opera, then why exactly do you think he will be on his own? This could go south really quickly."

In the corner, Xiaobao had been silent but now he spoke up in his usual thoughtful and distant way. Under his new black headband this tone was now inflected with an ephemeral sense of power and significance. "Those Masks did not look in control. The Initiated might be more hesitant to use their masks now that they have noticed they are getting possessed, but if they have no choice then the people of the town could be at risk. I will try to make sure the guys set some people up outside the playhouse to keep an eye on things, and make sure that any chaos does not result in the guards turning on the normal people in the confusion. We do not want a riot."

Jiang said, "Right. The gathering the black headbands is a gold idea. Even if everything goes perfectly, such a major political arrest could send things spilling out of control. Do you really think the Fire Nation government are going to automatically believe this story?"

Mizumi shook her head, "They will not. At least not at first. But once Representative Tailang is in Earth Kingdom custody then Fire Safe Huitzlan will be able to tell what he knows of the conspiracy and that will begin to convince people. However, that first night will be dangerous. The arrest might even be seen an act of war."

Ayika nodded, "This whole idea is risky. And that is why there will be five of us inside the playhouse. I will go with Mizumi as her lady's-maid, Lili will bring Zhangyi and Jiang."

Zhangyi started to say something to the effect that propriety would indicate the man escorting the woman but he caught sight of Ayika's expression quickly enough.

She continued. "Right, it sounds like a lot of important people are going to be there for this ritzy play, so we will have plenty of witnesses all ready. Three citizens pressing charges against a foreigner should be enough for an arrest. Though I am worried about the guards being able to keep hold of Tailang if he gets scared enough to put on a mask, if he has one with him."

Ma'er stood up. "You are right to worry. But I...have contacts. I will send a message that will ensure the Public Safety Agency has a presence at this performance."

"Won't that spook Tailang and the other Islanders into not coming?"

Ma'er leveled a dark look at her. "Agents will not be seen. They will only reveal themselves once affairs threaten to slip out of control."

"That's pretty damn certain to happen." Mua muttered half to herself, half to the group at large. She turned towards Ayika. "Have ya felt it? The spirits are creepin' out through every crack, messin' with all the minds they can reach out to touch. It's all out of whack. Don't expect people to be actin' normal."

...

The Silver Snake playhouse sat in the Kuang Harbor Town south of the hulking, green-roofed dockside customs building that marked the elevated tram line terminus. Near the neighborhood of varied and aged government funded architecture on Temple Street, the playhouse was home to a different type of worship. In the dark after sunset the structure appeared to have burst up from the buildings around it, large, square, and gleaming with ten thousand lamps shining off brilliant decorations of silver and green paint. It was loud, garish, and exactly what it intended to be. This was the exuberance of new money, loud even on this night when city guards were stationed out front watching the endless chain of carriages attempting to drop off passengers just as they watched the murmuring crowds of harbor-dwellers who had been gathering on the nearby cross-streets in every direction.

The silk swathed theatergoers who stepped down from their foreign-made carriages were for the most part not residents of the harbor. They were drawn from the culturally disparate sources of the distant Middle Ring, the nearby Exclusion, and everywhere in between that might be home to money. There were even a scant few noble aficionados who had chanced the long ride out from the Inner Ring to see this theater troop from the newly named United Republic. Such disreputable outsiders were banned from performing within the city proper, so the draw of the exotic was irresistible. After all, with the current political climate it was impossible to say when another foreign troop would arrive. As the patrons swept into the theater's shining grand entranceway they shared excited murmurs about the fright they had experienced seeing all those black headband wearing ruffians out in the street.

Tetzamatl Miohuito entered the building just ahead of his daughter. Mizumi had tried to gain his permission to attend the performance with only a servant chaperone but with all the disruptions that were sweeping the city her father had listened to none of her arguments. Still, it was evidence of his love for her that he agreed to take her to the play himself, and that he had hurried to hire her the lady's maid she had selected as both a companion and a second set of protecting watchful eyes.

It was under that auspice that Ayika stepped into the carpeted mezzanine lit by a hundred glass housed lamps. Despite her best efforts she still felt very conspicuous in the dark blue dress she was wearing. It was unadorned and nearly black, as benefiting a servant, but still far finer than any uniform she had worn before and cut in the Fire Nation influenced styles of the current high fashion that emphasized certain parts of Ayika could have done without without the focus. It had sewn into its top a very short vest-like cape that was artfully cut in the front and lower down at her hips there was another superfluous bit of cloth like a half skirt that flared in the back. Of course it would have been suspicious to see Mizumi Miohuito's companion dressed any less well. Not that Ayika imagined anyone should be looking at her. At home in the Exclusion Mizumi might prefer to wear the loose silk trousers and military cut tops that so many of the Islander women chose, but for an event out in the Kingdom she had ordered something special.

In light of their mission tonight, Mizumi had evidently chosen to make a statement of solidarity with the local population. What she wore could be considered a traditional golden yellow brocade qipo of the Kingdoms' fashion, though Ayika had to imagine that any traditional Kingdoms lady who saw this might have fainted on the spot. The collar fastened high on Mizumi's neck but then split for quite a while before it rejoined just above her chest. The rest hugged tightly to her skin, and though the lower hem reached down to her ankles it seemed a rather futile effort since the walking slits extended up a foot above her knees. Her arms were bare to above the shoulder, save for Islander-style armbands around her forearms which were studded with enough gold plated ornaments and thick enough to disguise something sharp hidden under them. Ayika still raised her eyebrows from time to time at Mizumi's father in amazement that he was this permissive with his daughter's costume, but his bland acceptance of this outfit only raised questions as to what exactly was normal dress in the Fire Nation. In the back of her mind, Ayika thought that those islands might be a nice place to visit.

The Miohuito party just had come from the nearby Exclusion but even so Lili had managed to arrive before them. Ayika spotted her across the room, wearing a shimmering pale green dress and having an exaggeratedly normal conversation with Zhangyi and Jiang who both looked unusually well-outfitted. Lili must have taken it upon herself to provide them with costumes for the mission since they could not wear their customary black and white university uniforms here. The two boys looked uncomfortable in their own skin. Of course, they were about to accuse a powerful foreign dignitary of murder, sabotage, and spiritual malfeasance so it was possible they were not worried about the new jackets.

Lili had been watching the theater's main door and so quickly called out when she saw the others enter, "Oh, Mizumi Miohuito! How good to see you! I haven't seen you at the school in weeks."

Mizumi gave a quick look up at her father who frowned but nodded his head. As Mizumi stepped away Miohuito met Ayika's eyes with a commanding stare to which Ayika nodded in response. Then she hurried to slide after Mizumi.

"All right," Lili said as the conspirators joined together, Ayika standing slightly behind Mizumi and with lowered eyes as benefited an employee. "Tailang has not arrived yet but the place is crawling with city guards. There are also one or two particularly dour looking men among the guests who might be Public Safety but of course there would be no way to know. Unfortunately, for our little confrontation plan to work we need to know where the Representative will be sitting and none of the servants seem knowing or willing to tell me. Zhangyi and Jiang will be apprehended if they go wandering around the halls to burst into random viewing boxes."

The two boys had been hanging back together but now Zhangyi mimed having received some invitation from Lili to join her and Mizumi. As he came up he spoke seriously despite keeping a wide smile on his face for appearances. "Jiang and I can't remain here in the front. Tailang met with us during the festival and would recognize our faces in an instant. Even if he does not think we know that he is behind the Initiated he might guess that something is up. We need to already be in position before he arrives."

Jiang was keeping track of the bigger picture involved in their scheme tonight. He looked over at Ayika. "Are your friends, Xiaobao's people, stationed outside in case things start getting out of hand or we need to make a run for it?"

She nodded. "Xiaobao's guys are there and Xinfei's with the two benders." Actually the number of black headband wearers Xiaobao's neighborhood watch had been able to gather on such vague terms of explanation as they had been able to give was slightly alarming. Somehow the headbands had made it all seem more dangerous. Like the harbor was arming its self for war. But she did not mention these worries that might give the university boys yet another reason to distrust the poor.

Mizumi murmured in approval. "That is good. And as for finding Tailang..." She looked around the lobby. "Lili, by any chance do you know where the entrance to the behind stage is?"

When met with a circle of raised eyebrows, she elaborated. "The Representative is to be the most highly ranked personage in attendance, correct? I believe that in such cases the performers know in advance which location will hold the most important viewer so that they may direct their acting towards that spot. The actors will know, and they generally have less concern for rules of privacy than the staff out in the front might."

Ayika nodded, recognizing an ingenious idea. "Right. Lili? Stash the boys. We can't risk them being seen before we make our move. Public Safety might still be looking for those student nationalists who got away. Mizumi and I will find out the info and then get it back to you to tell the boys so neither of us are gone from view for too long. All right? Let's go."

What she declined to mention was the incredible sense of trepidation that had settled down in her stomach. Everything was coming to a head.

...