A/N: Wow, 5,000 views! That makes me so happy.

Surprise early chapter! I update this fic weekly and plan to finish it, so no worries. I had a light work week so I was able to get this out sooner. And yes, I will be continuing An Unwavering Heart, it might not be as long as this story but the next chapter will be out soon. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Aang reached for his phone in his pants pocket. The ringing of his phone alarmed him because the only person who called his phone was Gyatso, who was in the kitchen with him, so it had to be someone else. He pulled the phone out and furrowed his brow at the screen. "Zuko never calls me, this must be important," he pondered to himself. He decided to answer as he was walking around his kitchen trying to grab some semblance of breakfast before school.

"Hey, Hotman, I'm gonna see you in like 20 minutes what's so important that-"

Zuko caught him off in an irritable tone, "Aang, listen to me! This is very important. I won't be at school today and neither will Azula. We had some..family stuff go down. I need you to get Suki, Sokka, Katara, and Toph to meet me at a location after school. Do you have a pen?"

Aang's head was spinning from all of this information, "Whoah, just text me the address, alright. Calm down."

Zuko yelled into the speaker, "DON"T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! I can't text you the address, people could be monitoring our phones. I don't want anything getting hacked. Just follow a direct order for once in your life, okay?"

Aang's smile turned pensive, "Okay," he exhaled and found a pen and an old piece of mail. "Shoot."

After Aang wrote the address down, he became impatient, "Zuko, I still don't understand. What is going on?"

Zuko's tone became quiet and stern, "You'll find out today. Just get everybody here after school and everything will become clear. Oh, and make sure you're not followed!" Click. Aang just had even more questions now. There was something different in his voice but he couldn't place it. His gut after this phone call left him feeling uneasy. As he inhaled a bagel and cream cheese on his way out of the door, he tried to take his mind off of the weird conversation he just had with Zuko.

Suki, Sokka, Katara, and Toph waited by Aang's car in a state of unbridled confusion. "This is all so weird. What do you think this is about?", Katara asked the group. "I don't know, Sugar Queen, but the way Aang talked about it seemed like he was nervous about something. I'm preparing for the worst." Sokka chimed in, "Yeah, especially since Mai was asking if I had heard from Zuko or Azula. It's not good when your boyfriend leaves you a cryptic text and bounces." The three friends shook their heads in deep thought.

Finally Aang arrived at his car as everyone got in after he unlocked it. Aang noticed the scared look on Katara and looked behind his seat at the worried faces of his friends in the backseat and decided to be upfront. "Look, I wanted to say thanks for coming with me with so little information. I barely have any information myself. All I know is that we can't tell anyone where we're going and it's very important." The group was silent as Aang drove through windy back roads leading up to a mansion. Katara squeezed Aang's hand and gave him a sympathetic look. He smiled back at her, marvelled by how she was always so understanding and supportive.

Per Zuko's instructions, he drove around the back of the house and waited to be greeted by a man in a robe before exiting the car. The friends could feel a pin drop amongst them. After a few minutes, Zuko's Uncle Iroh in a long white robe approached the driver's side window. Aang had even more questions but somehow felt safe with his firebender teacher. He remembered laughing at the look on Zuko's face when he told him he knew his uncle quite well. The confusion in the care was palpable. Aang's door opened and a smiling Iroh spoke quietly, "Were you followed?" Aang replied with raised eyebrows, "No, no. We're in the clear." Iroh nodded and motioned for everyone to exit the vehicle. Sokka's fear and curiosity took over, "So, what is this about? Is this a cult? Because I am not into-" Iroh cut off the Water Tribe boy with a glare, "Do not speak until we are inside and speak only when I say so." Sokka furrowed his brows at being scolded, trying to avoid the smirks of Toph, Aang, and Katara. He felt less embarrassed by Suki rubbing his back with a smile.

Once inside the mansion, the gang followed Iroh down narrow stairs into a basement. Everyone's eyes widened to not only see Azula, Zuko, and their mom, but Master Piandao, Master Bumi, Master Jeong Jeong, and Master Pakku in white robes that matched Iroh's. Iroh cleared his throat, "We are the Order of the White Lotus. We have been a secret society for centuries that seeks beauty, philosophy, and truth. We became aware of a dangerous threat from my brother, Ozai, who wants to gain control and bring destruction and chaos to the world. What we do know is that he has a council of dozens of people that are trying to wipe out all non-firebenders across the world. Our job is to help stop his council and guide the Avatar in defeating Ozai."

The gang stared in disbelief at all of the new information that was just spoken. Sokka scoffed, "Okay, so if you're the great secret society then you should have all this covered and we can just leave, right?" Master Pakku turned to face his grandson, "No, we will take care of the council members, but the Avatar will need support and friends to help make sure he is safe until the time comes to kill Ozai." All the teens nodded in agreement with Pakku, but Aang raised his eyebrows in shock. "Kill Ozai? I can't kill anyone! I respect all life, even people that do bad things. Can't we just arrest him and send him to jail?" Jeong Jeong laughed, "Do you really think someone like Ozai, with all of his resources and power, would not continue to plot from a jail cell?" Aang yelled, "We have to figure something else out, because I'm not killing him!" Jeong Jeong retorted, matching Aang's anger, "Then you are not ready. You are too weak!"

Katara felt like her skin was on fire, "Hey! Don't talk to him that way! You have no idea what Aang has gone through and what he is capable of! He's lived for a thousand lifetimes keeping balance and he WILL do it again!" She breathed heavily and rapidly, eyes fixated on Jeong Jeong. Aang could not have been more surprised, with his mouth wide open. Iroh walked in between Katara and Jeong Jeong in an effort to diffuse the tension. "Jeong Jeong, the girl has a point. He not only has the capability of immense power, but the knowledge of thousands of Avatars to access for this problem. As the head of the order, I will allow Aang to find an alternative way to defeat my brother. In the meantime, we will discuss alternative options," he walked over to where Aang was standing, "Are you able to go into the Avatar State?"

Aang immediately felt eyes staring at him intensely. He noticed his heart race increasing and knew he was about to have a panic attack. He inhaled slowly and exhaled slowly, keeping the panic at bay for the moment. "No, not on my own. I've only entered it when I was extremely angry," he looked at the ground in shame. Iroh's demeanor remained stoic but kind, "Then I think you need to go see a friend of Monk Gyatso. Ask him about Guru Pathik, he comes from a line of energy healers that have helped past Avatars master the Avatar State for centuries." Aang's eyes met Iroh's, and was happy to see understanding and not anger. "Thanks, Iroh," he looked around the room, "And thanks everyone. I promise to find a way to stop Ozai. This is my responsibility and I won't let you down."

Iroh nodded at Aang, "Good, good. So, Zuko tells me you will be putting surveillance on Zhao this weekend?" Aang nodded as Iroh continued, "I want you to train with Jeong Jeong on how to handle Zhao if you end up in contact with him." He smiled and looked at the Water Tribe twins, "And that means he will need the both of you for safety in case Zhao is not alone. I know you were going to the United Forces base, but we have inside intel there already. All of you will come back here tomorrow after school to start training." Sokka wrapped his arm around Suki's waist with a confused look on his face, "What training are we going to do? We're not benders." Piandao walked over to stand next to Iroh, "Son, you don't need to be a bender to fight other benders. I will train you both to be warriors. Come prepared to use swords."

Sokka jumped up and down and giggled, "Yes, this is so cool!" Hugging Suki a little too tight, his girlfriend spoke quietly, "Sokka..you're...crushing..me…" He let go quickly and frowned, "I'm sorry! I just got excited!" Suki placed her hand on Sokka's chin, raising his face to meet hers, "I know you are. I am too, just try to let me breathe, okay?" Sokka smiled and kissed Suki softly on the lips. She returned the kiss, briefly forgetting where she was. Katara coughed loudly with her eyes narrowed on his brother and his girlfriend. They either chose to ignore Katara or didn't hear her. Toph decided it was time to be direct, "Yo, lovebirds! Break it up, we're in the middle of meeting here." Sokka and Suki broke the kiss as they both laughed nervously. Iroh grinned, "Ah, to be young and in love. Well, we're done for today. Whenever you're ready to leave, let us know and we'll escort you out."

Aang was ready to go home but he also needed to find out why Zuko was here. He looked around the room and saw Zuko's mom pulling an unhappy Azula upstairs. The airbender walked over to his friend, who was on a couch looking at his phone with a frown. "Hey, Zuko, what's going on?", he asked as he sat down next to him. Zuko reluctantly looked up from his phone, not meeting Aang's eyes. "Remember how I said my mom was so different and nicer than my dad?" Aang nodded slowly. "Well," he turned his head to look at Aang, "she packed everything up and left him, us included. We're staying here until he's defeated." Aang's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, Zuko...I'm...I'm sorry. How are you holding up?" Zuko felt his jaw tighten as he pushed his anger deep inside, "It's weird. All I've wanted since I was little was to be away from my dad. I hoped for years my mom would divorce my dad and just leave. But, it's still hard, even though my dad is evil," he laughed, "I thought I would be happy but I'm just angry."

Aang smiled sympathetically, "Zuko, that sounds normal. I can't understand, but I imagine it will take some time to adjust. You just went through a lot of changes in the last day. But I wanted to let you know that I'm here anytime you want to talk, and I will take your dad down. I promise." Zuko noticeably relaxed, "Thanks, Aang. I hope you will, I don't know another way besides death." Aang frowned, knowing that Zuko was right. He really had no idea what to do, and it seemed like everyone else knew that. He hugged goodbye to Zuko and his teachers. He tried to hug Azula but she promptly snapped at him, "Don't even think about it!" Aang then talked with Zuko's mom for a little bit before shaking her hand, he really liked Ursa and felt a warm, comforting energy from her. Aang began leaving with his friends. After walking out of the mansion with Iroh's elaborate safety measures, the gang got in Aang's car and began to drive away. There were a few moments of silence in the car. Toph was more than happy to break the silence."Well, that was weird!" Everyone laughed, grateful for the much needed ease in the air. Aang dropped everyone home before arriving at his house. Before dropping her off, he told Katara he needed to mediate and so he spent the rest of the night alone in his bedroom.

The following school day was mostly uneventful except for when Mai told Aang Zuko her everything and she didn't envy Aang. The training at the White Lotus location went off without a hitch. Aang smiled as he got to watch his friends train with these masters. Azula brought Mai and Ty Lee to join Sokka and Suki for warrior training with Piandao. Mai took a shine to throwing stars, delightfully surprising Zuko with her precision. Ty Lee's background in gymnastics and knowledge of acupressure came in handy to make her agile and hit the meridian points that temporarily blocks someone's chi. Piandao swore she must have airbender ancestors but Ty Lee denied it. Suki picked up the sword fighting faster than Sokka, who cheered on his girlfriend in spite of him struggling at first. Piandao saw tenacity and creativity in Sokka, which meant that he had much promise to be a great warrior.

Toph didn't feel like her training was too tough but had fun anyway throwing boulders at her teacher. After their battle, Bumi bowed to the petite earth bender, "Always a pleasure to spar with my best student and master of neutral jing." Toph smirked, "I think you mean, THE greatest earthbender, but I forgive you." Aang laughed at Toph's unwavering confidence. His heard raced as he saw his girlfriend begin to spar with Pakku. Katara was used to training with her grandfather, but instead of the role of the teacher shadowing her work, he was to battle her as an opponent. Katara was innovative and quick, much to the surprise of Pakku. She had won 10 out of 10 battles against him, prompting Aang to cheer "Go, Katara!". She gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled at his blush. Pakku rolled his eyes at his granddaughter and her boyfriend, "Okay, great training today, Katara," he bowed and looked at Aang, "Jeong Jeong is ready for you."

From the start of his training session, Aang felt like Jeong Jeong didn't like him very much. This was much different than his firebending training with Iroh earlier this year. In Aang's mind, Iroh was an understanding teacher who was honest but also incorporated different ways to look at fire than just destruction. Jeong Jeong, on the other hand, only saw things in black or white. Although Jeong Jeong saw fire as only death and destruction, he did have a salient point about how a lot of restraint needs to be cultivated to wield fire as it can grow and breathe on its own. "When I taught Zhao, he had no control. He was sloppy and just thought firebending was only for attacking one's opponent. This is where you can excel, with patience and swiftness as an airbender." Aang was annoyed that he had to hold a leaf and keep the fire in the middle from reaching the edges, but he understood after 30 minutes of this exercise. Jeong Jeong kept a scowl on his face as he ended their time together with a stern, "good". It was almost dinner time so Aang and all of his friends except Zuko left for the evening.

Suki and Sokka left together for a date night at Suki's house. Aang and Katara accepted an invite to Toph's house to watch movies. Aang instantly wanted to challenge this idea but remembered that Toph uses audio descriptions for movies. Even though their friend said she liked being alone, she couldn't hide her smile when she asked them to come over. Aang had never been to Toph's house before and was overwhelmed by the size of it. He knew that her parents had money, but he didn't think they were the richest family in town. "I know this goes against all of your monk ways, Twinkle Toes, but know that I hate it, too. When I graduate I'm out of here." Aang nodded at his friend, understanding that her living situation was out of necessity. It made him feel a bit better knowing that the excess of her home was not something she valued. She gave him a tour of the house, wherein he lost count of how many bathrooms there were.

The Beifong house, or castle might be more appropriate, had a private movie theater complete with a popcorn maker and concession stand. Aang excitedly grabbed fresh popcorn and snacks while Toph and Katara went to one of her kitchens. Aang jumped in his seat at Toph yelling in the back , "Let's get turnt, Twinkle Toes!" He turned around to see Toph and Katara carrying a bucket filled with ice and beers. Aang sighed and the two of them sat on opposite sides of him, "Toph, while I admire your commitment to fun, I'm driving and I also don't drink." She groaned, "Okay, Twinkle Toes, more for me and Sweetness!" Toph grabbed two beers and passed one to Katara, who reached over Aang to graciously accept.

Aang placed his left arm around Katara's shoulders as he turned to face Toph, "I can't believe your parents let you drink here." She scoffed, "I barely see them. It's all maids and servants who don't say anything. My parents are diplomats always traveling." Aang murmured, "Oh, right. Sorry to hear that, Toph." The earthbender hardened her face, "Don't worry about me, Twinkle Toes! I get what I have always wanted. I live alone without people hassling me. This is the sweet life." Aang and Katara rolled their eyes at each other. Katara reassured her friend, "Sounds like it, I know you hate people hassling you." The couple smirked as Toph put her headphones in as the movie started. The three friends enjoyed the scary movie Toph picked out, save for a few times Toph yelled at her friends for their annoying fast heartbeats and heavy breathing.

Aang and Katara said goodbye to Toph as Aang drove Katara home. She could tell something was on his mind by his unusually serious demeanor. She tried to make small talk on the drive but Aang would only give her half smiles and "uh huh"'s. Aang parked in front of her house, staring absentmindedly at the road ahead of him. Katara cupped his cheek with her hand, "Aang, what are you thinking about?" His attention was brought back to the car and his girlfriend. Her face was full of concern and it made him feel guilty. His voice cracked, "I don't want to let you down, and I don't want you to worry about me." Katara's hand moved to gently squeeze his hand. "You can never let me down. I may worry about you but that's because I care, not because I don't think you're not capable."

He swallowed hard, still not fully believing her words. "Yeah, thanks, but I still have to take Ozai down and I have no idea how to do it. I won't kill him...but I don't want more people to die." Katara smiled, "You will figure it out. I know you will. I believe that you can save the world, just trust in yourself like I trust in you." Aang finally smiled and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. She always knew what to say and how to make him feel better. He loved her and wondered if she loved him. He shook these thoughts away as he leaned in to kiss her. As their lips touched, a small tear rolled down his cheek. He didn't want to say goodbye. The road ahead for him was scary and it made him uncertain about himself as a leader. While he had his friends to support him, he alone would have to face Ozai. He didn't want this moment to end. He felt safe here.

A/N: To everyone who guessed White Lotus, congrats! Let me know what you think, I love reading all of your reviews. Next chapter will have a little action as we're reaching the halfway point in the story.