Chapter 1

On The Wall

"We are two sides of the same coin, you and I."

"Here we are."

Asami looked up from the ground, taking in the landscape before her. It was a valley. A huge, twisted tree stood in the center of the valley, hallowed out. The North and South spirit portals were glowing pillars of light.

"What do you think?'

Asami glanced over at Korra. Her blue eyes reflected the light of the spirit portals and Asami had to repress a small smile. "It's beautiful," she assured her. "Just like the rest of the Spirit World."

Korra looked over at her and grinned, the lightest of blushes dusting her cheeks. "Come on," she said, grabbing Asami's hand. "I want to show you something."

She led Asami towards the center of the valley, stepping over streams and rows of rocks, taking her time. Despite how much time they'd already spent in the Spirit World, neither of them was eager for their vacation to be over for good.

They stopped at the base of the gnarled tree. "This is the Tree of Time," Korra explained. "Inside it is where I made that giant me Bolin was telling you about."

Asami smiled. "The one with all the sound effects?"

Korra laughed. "Yeah, that's the one." She gazed up at the branches and Asami saw a small, sad glint in her eyes. "This valley is where I fought Unalaq and Vaatu during Harmonic Convergence."

Asami squeezed her hand and Korra sent her a fleeting, grateful smile. Korra nodded her head up at the opening in the tree and started climbing up to it, tugging Asami up the roots. She sat sideway at the edge of the opening and Asami placed herself opposite of her, leaning back against the wood so she was facing the Avatar. The two of them gazed over the valley. To either side of them lay the Northern and Southern spirit portals.

"You know," Asami spoke. "We should probably go pretty soon. We told your dad we'd be to the tribe by tonight. If we don't leave soon, we won't get there before dark. He'll get worried."

"I know," Korra sighed. "I just…" She puffed out a breath. "I'm gonna miss this."

Asami bit her lip. "Me too."

"It doesn't help that we had to keep putting it off," Korra grumbled.

Asami suppressed a smile. She knew Korra was still upset about that. The two girls' vacation had been interrupted on several occasions, for months at a time. Asami had been needed in restoring Republic City and Korra in restoring the Earth Kingdom. That was what had caused their originally two-month vacation to stretch out for a year and a half. But now both the Earth Council and uptown Republic City were on their way to completion.

"But we still got to see so much," Asami reminded her. "Thank you Korra. This whole vacation…it was amazing. Even if we did have to take a break every now and then."

Korra didn't reply, and Asami looked across at her to see her staring out into the distance, her brow furrowed. Asami followed her gaze and felt her eyes widen. She and Korra both stood quickly.

Crowded at the edge of the valley were hundreds of spirits, all of them heading straight for the Tree of Time. When Asami looked to her left and right, she could see spirits coming in from all sides.

"Follow me," Korra murmured urgently to Asami. She followed without question as Korra stepped down the swollen roots of the tree and moved a hundred yards away. There they stopped. Korra grabbed Asami's hand, and though her body was wound tight, she stayed stock still as the wall of spirits surged past them and onto the Tree of Time. The spirits mobbed the tree, some of them frantically scratching the wood and other lying miserably beside it. A few of them paused to zip around Korra, making indistinguishable, panicked noises.

"It's happening again," Korra whispered to Asami. "This is the fifth time."

Asami swallowed hard, a feeling of déjà vu coming on. Korra was right. This had happened before, all in different places in the Spirit World. Spirits would crowd together in a panicked mob, as if they sensed a danger and were seeking strength in numbers. All throughout the Spirit World had been a slight sense of unease, like there was an invisible storm on the horizon. But Asami had never seen this many in one place before, and never in this bad of a state.

"It's getting worse." Asami voiced her thoughts.

"And it's only going to keep getting worse."

Korra and Asami both jumped and whirled towards the voice behind them, crouching into their battle stances upon seeing a the stranger behind them. It was a man who looked to be in his early thirties, with dark hair and a lean frame. He smiled disarmingly.

"Avatar Korra, right?" the man asked.

"Yes," Korra answered warily.

The stranger crooked a finger at Asami. "And you must be Miss Sato." He nodded, almost to himself. "I've heard a lot about the both of you."

"Who are you?" Asami demanded.

The man shrugged. "I've got a lot of names. But I suppose you can call me Aquarius."

Asami furrowed her brow. "Like the constellation?"

Aquarius shook his head, smiling like she'd just made a funny joke. "Yeah, sure."

Korra and Asami exchanged a glance, and with a sort of telepathy that they'd developed over the past eighteen months, they both straightened up.

"So…" Korra glanced awkwardly at Asami. "What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I came her to talk to you, Avatar," Aquarius said.

Immediately, Korra's expression snapped from awkward to suspicious. "Why?"

Aquarius sighed and walked past them, towards the Tree of Time. He stopped a few yards from where the spirits were still swirling around it and gazed up at the gnarled branches. Korra and Asami watched him warily.

He began, "As I'm sure you've noticed the spirits have been acting strange lately. They're panicked and frantic, like they know something bad is about to happen but they don't know how to stop it." He glanced backwards over his shoulder at the two of them. "And I know why."

Korra let out a loud breath beside Asami. Ever since the fist mob of frantic, panicked spirits they'd encountered, Korra had been trying to communicate with them. But all she had gotten in return were those indecipherable noises from before.

"Why?" the Avatar asked tensely.

Aquarius turned to face them. "Something is coming," he explained. "Or rather, someone. The spirits know who it is, and they have a right to be scared."

Korra's fingers curled into fists down by her sides. Asami had to resist the urge to reach out and grab her hand. "Who's coming?"

Aquarius shook his head. "I can't tell you. I've been sworn to secrecy." He paused. "At least…for now. But I can give you a clue that might be able to give you some answers."

Korra raised her eyebrows in a silent inquiry.

Aquarius crossed his arms and stared at the ground, chewing his bottom lip as he considered what to say. Then he looked back up and Asami was struck by the intensity of his eyes, like he was weighing the fate of the world on his next words.

"Kuvira."

Korra's eyes widened. "What?"

"Go visit Kuvira," Aquarius said. "Tell her about the spirits. Give her something to think on while she sits in that prison cell of hers."

Asami took a step forward, and despite herself, her voice came out harsh when she asked, "What does Kuvira have to do with this?"

Aquarius looked at her with glittering eyes. "You didn't think her story was over already, did you?"

Asami stopped and Korra stepped up next to her, putting her hand on her shoulder. She looked at Aquarius when she asked, "How do you know all this? Who are you?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," Aquarius answered, looking truly regretful. "I'm sorry." He paused and looked back towards the Tree of Time and the mob of spirits surrounding it. Then he turned to face Asami and Korra completely. "Whatever you do, don't let Kuvira know you met me." He held up a hand to stop their questions. "Just don't. If nothing else, at least trust me on this."

Korra took a deep, steadying breath. "Okay."

Aquarius nodded like that satisfied him and turned away. "I have no doubt we'll see each other again before all of this is over," he said. Then his form faded away, back to where Asami knew his body was meditating somewhere in the physical realm.

Asami and Korra watched the surging crowd of spirits in silence for a moment. Then, Korra said, "We need to get back. As soon as possible."

Asami nodded in agreement. She definitely didn't like it, but it was the best chance they had at getting answers.

"Come on," Korra grabbed Asami's hand and the two of them walked towards the southern Spirit Portal.

"Are we ready?" Mako murmured lowly to the man beside him.

"Almost," he replied. "We're waiting for confirmation to move in from your brother and command."

Mako nodded and leaned his head back against the concrete wall. Currently, he and a unit of the Republic City Police Force were tucked against the side of a warehouse. After months of hard work, Mako had finally managed to pinpoint the base of the Terra Triad. They'd had an upsurge of activity recently, and with Mako assigned to the case, Lin had been confident they'd finally bust the triad. Now, all they were waiting for was the order to move in.
Suddenly, someone slid into a squat beside Mako, and he nearly fried them until he realized who it was. "Well?" he demanded.

"We're all good," Bolin gasped, out of breath. "I covered all the exits. If they try to get away, they'll be driving right into a lava pit."

"Not to deep?" Mako had to make sure. "We need them alive."

Bolin glowered at him. "We've been over this a thousand times. Yes, they'll live if they get dumped in."

"Mako."

The detective turned back to the officer next to him, the commander of the unit accompanying Mako and Bolin in this bust. They'd worked with Commander Haku and his unit several times before and by now, Mako trusted them more than any other in the force. The commander nodded to Mako that he'd gotten the call. They were ready.

Mako elbowed Bolin and the two of them snuck around to the front of the warehouse, where they crouched on either side of the large closed doors. They'd done this exact thing a countless number of times in the past year and a half, and when Haku nodded at them, their moves were fluid and practiced.

Bolin slammed the warehouse doors open with a heave of earth and Mako dove inside, sending flames out in every direction. He heard yells and knew he'd made contact with at least a few of the triad's men. When he rolled to his feet, several of them were laying groaning on the ground. A few others were ducking behind the stacks of boxes that were strewn about the warehouse. That was just near the front entrance. Hundreds of men and women froze with boxes in hand to stare at Mako.

"It's the Detective Brothers!"

In one mass flurry of movement, boxes crashed to the ground as the triad scattered like a flock of startled birds. They poured out of the niches and holes in the walls, but Mako knew Haku's unit from all of their times working together, and he was confident they would catch each escapee if Bolin's lava traps didn't.

Mako spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and dove to the side just as a boulder slammed into the space he'd just been standing in. He leaped to his feet but Bolin had already moved in and taken the earthbender out. The man was laying at his brother's feet, unconscious.

"Thanks, bro," Mako said.

Bolin turned towards him. "You need to be more careful. If I wasn't covering you for this past year, you'd be..." He trailed off mid-sentence, his eyes widening as his gaze caught on something behind Mako. Wordlessly, he lifted his arm and pointed. Mako turned and felt all the air whoosh out of his lungs.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bolin asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah," Mako replied breathlessly.

Just then, Haku came rushing in. "Mako, we got 'em all. Bolin's pit stopped the gamble ring from escaping again. We're rounding them up now." He stopped and took in their faces. He turned to look at what they were staring at and his eyes widened.

"Haku," Mako told the commander. "Get the chief down here. She needs to see this."

The Republic City chief of police stood staring at the back wall of the warehouse, feet planted wide and her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"You were right to call me Mako," Lin grumbled. "This is…" She didn't finish her sentence, simply sighing and running a hand through her hair. Beside her, the two detective brothers shuffled on their feet. Bolin glanced up at the wall and suppressed an ominous shiver.

Painted onto the back wall, so large it covered nearly the entire wall was a red circle with petals around the edges: the symbol of the Red Lotus.

Lin grumbled, "And here I was thinking we'd have an easy week." She rubbed the back of her neck and groaned, turning to face the rest of the warehouse. Boxes were being opened and checked for explosive and other weapons before being loaded into the evidence trucks. Outside, officers were still logging triad members and shoving them into the cage trucks. The leaders had been loaded up and logged into the station hours ago.

"Haku!" Lin yelled, her voice booming across the warehouse.

The commander ducked around from a nearby stack of crates. "Chief?" he inquired.

"Make sure you get the ring leaders into interrogation as soon as possible. We need to find out why they're working with the Red Lotus."

Haku paused, "Um…no offense, chief, but I don't really have the jurisdiction to do that. Mako's in charge of this project."

"Not anymore." Lin dismissed him easily. "From here on out, I'm leaving this one in your hands."

"Wait, what?" Mako's eyes went wide. He stared at Lin.

Lin nodded firmly at Haku. "Get to the station and take care of that."

Haku swallowed hard, eyes darting to Mako, then to Lin. He saluted to Lin and then turned on his heel, marching out of the open warehouse doors.

"Um…chief?" Mako said tentively. Bolin twiddled his thumbs silently. Wherever he and Mako went, they went together, and the last time Bolin had said something to the chief of police, they'd ended up in a pile of dead fish on the dock. Ever since, he'd preferred to stay silent in this kind of situation.

Lin ignored them both, turning to gaze up at the Red Lotus symbol on the warehouse wall. She was silent for a long moment before murmuring, "What to gain?"

"What?" Mako asked.

"Well, think, Mako," Lin said, sounding frustrated. "The Red Lotus is a terrorist organization. The try to stay under the radar, to ensure they leave no trail behind them wherever they go or whatever they do until it's time for an attack, so we can't predict what they're about to do. They must have known the triad was in danger of being busted. They always are. So why leave a huge sign on their main warehouse that points right to them?"

Mako paused, rubbing his face as he considered her words. Beside him, Bolin bit his lip. "I thought we took down the Red Lotus," the earthbender said.

"You mean Zaheer and the others?" Lin shook her head. "They were only a single branch of the Red Lotus. I assume there were considered rogues after their capture and that's why they worked solo. Regardless, there are a lot more members, though we don't know exactly how many. At least hundreds, if not thousands. Those four were only the tip of the iceberg. And if the Red Lotus has managed to recruit the triads…" She trailed off, dreading silence replacing her words.

"But we wouldn't know they were working with the triad if it weren't for this." Mako motioned to the red symbol on the warehouse wall. "They've given us a huge clue as to what they're doing, and that's dangerous for the secrecy of their next mission. So why put it there? And so obviously, no less?"

Lin's eyes narrowed. "Unless they want us to see it," she murmured.

Mako's eyes widened. "What?"

Lin turned towards the two brothers. "I have a new mission for you two. It's going to take you out of the city and you'll need to keep it quiet. No bragging. This will be a matter of international security. You think you're up for it?"

Bolin and Mako exchanged a glance. In one moment, an entire conversation passed between them. Then the two brothers looked back Lin and nodded firmly.

"Good." Lin crossed her arms. "Then pack up. You're leaving tomorrow morning. I'll brief you both tonight. Once I do that, there's no turning back, do you understand?"

"Whatever you need, chief," Bolin replied. Mako nodded his agreement.

Lin put her hands on their shoulders. "Then go home. I'll see you two in my office tonight."

"Hey, food?"

"Thank you, Katsu," Kuvira panted, arms trembling. "Yes. Just leave it there."

"It's on a tray today," Katsu replied. "You know I'm not allowed to do that."

Kuvira huffed, irritated, but unfortunately, the young man was right. She let her feet down off her mattress and lowered herself down to the floor. Then she stood, and as was per usual, turned to face the back wall of her cell, lacing her hands behind her head. Behind her, she heard the slot built into the floor of her cell slide open as Katsu slid the food through it. After he slid it closed, Kuvira lowered her arms and turned to face him, eyebrows raised.

Katsu nodded. There was a wooden tray tucked beneath his right arm. "Go ahead."

Kuvira nodded in kind and made her way across the cell to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of her food, a wooden bowl of mixed rice, stale bread, and fatty meat. It was the leftover rations, so the slightly foul state of the two meals she received every day never really surprised her.

"I don't understand," Katsu said as he watched her scoop the slimy mix into her mouth. Kuvira briefly wondered if they'd still have a guard watch her eat when she was sixty, but she raised her eyebrows at Katsu over the rim of her bowl for him go on.

"You were just doing push-ups," Katsu said, brow furrowed beneath his helm "You're going to be here for the rest of your life. There's really no need to stay in shape. So, why do you still work out like that?"

Kuvira didn't answer at first. She finished her meal and set the bowl down before the platinum bars of her cell. She gazed up at Katsu from her position seated on the floor. He was in his younger twenties, around Korra's age. Though it was invisible to her at the moment, Kuvira knew he had shaggy black hair hidden beneath his helm and the golden eyes of a firebender. She knew the guard's face by heart. She'd been staring at it for the past year.

"It's a habit," Kuvira finally answered as she stood and turned to make her way back to the opposite end of her cell. "I've been doing it almost all of my life. Plus, it keeps me busy. I have nothing else to do in this place." She motioned to her surroundings, a fifteen foot platinum cube with three solid walls and one of platinum bars. Then she stepped up to the back wall and laced her fingers behind her head.

The slot slid in and out, along with her empty bowl. "Makes sense," Katsu mused. There was a short pause before the young man said, "Yao is upset with me, so I can't stay. I'll see you tomorrow with your next meal."

Kuvira nodded and heard his footsteps echo across walls. Outside the single wall of bars of her cell was another room of solid platinum walls, a second layer of sorts with a single doorway leading in and out. It squealed open and closed as Katsu left.

"You really are lucky."

Kuvira whirled around and nearly kicked out where the voice had come from before stopping herself at the last moment. She immediately calmed when she realized who had spoken. "Why do you say that?" she asked.

Mamoru shrugged from his spot where he was seated on her mattress. "You got stuck with that guy Katsu for your guard, at least for a while," he elaborated. "He's probably the nicest guard here. You could've been stuck with Yao…"

Kuvira fingered the ragged ends of her hair, jaw tightening at the notion that she might have been stuck with Yao any longer than necessary. It had just grown long enough for her to start pinning it into a bun again. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Kuvira placed her palms on the floor and lowered herself down to her stomach. "When did you get here?" she asked to change the subject.

Mamoru shrugged again. "About five minutes ago. Give or take."

Kuvira nodded, propping her feet up on the mattress beside Mamoru. Katsu hadn't noticed the blonde man inside the cell with her, but Kuvira wasn't surprised. As a normal person, he would be hard to miss. He had the lean, muscular build of a fighter, and unnatural red eyes and pale skin that Kuvira attributed to the fact that he was supposedly a spirit. Not to mention he was in the cell with her. But ever since he had first appeared eight months ago, Katsu hadn't noticed him once, no matter how attentive the man seemed. Neither did any of the other guards.

Kuvira was the only one who knew Mamoru was there. She was the only one who saw him and the only one who heard him. Kuvira had wondered several times if she was going crazy. Even if she was, did it matter? Crazy or not, she wasn't getting out of this cell, and that was as it should be, she supposed..

"Well, Mamoru," she puffed, starting her push-ups again. "Stay as long as you want."

Mamoru barked a slight laugh. "As usual?"

"As usual."

"One and the same."

So as I'm starting this story in a busy time, the updates are going to be slow. Just a warning in advance. And yes, don't worry. There will much more Kuvira and much more explanation of what's going on.