A/N: This is my first fanfiction. Like, ever. I just felt like I needed to spend a little bit more time with the characters in Korra because, well, they're freaking awesome. Anyway, this is the first chapter in this story, and I hope you like it! Don't go too hard on me! Also, two notes: Bolin will most certainly be in this story; the whole cast will. He just didn't fit in the four possible character slots given; he'll be just as central as Mako. Also of note is that, while romance is not the main focus of this story, there will be some of it (starting in the next chapter), and it will be Korrasami. Just FYI if that turns you off or on or whatever.

Kuvira sat in her prison cell, which was made entirely of platinum. To her, though, it was a palace. Her face was expressionless, but at that moment she had the greatest sense of satisfaction which she had ever felt, in her entire life. Heh. "The Great Uniter." While no one would ever know, she was one of the few people in history with the title of "The Great" who actually deserved it.

She was basking in her glory. She'd done it. There were times when she'd wanted to pull out, when she'd wanted to just end it all, but, against all her own instincts, she'd kept a cool head and carried out her work. All the pieces had fallen into place. The Avatar had shown up just in the nick of time, and restored balance.

Balance. It's a fickle thing. When is the world balanced enough? It's the Avatar's job to restore balance to the world when it is threatened, but whose job is it to continually and diligently make a somewhat balanced world more balanced? Sometimes the imbalance isn't a bloodbending radical, a spiritual madman, or an anarchist, but it's an idle government. It's widespread poverty and inequality. It's the status-quo.

Kuvira knew this, and she had taken it upon herself to be the one to orchestrate the change the Earth Kingdom needed. It was her cross to bear, and she had borne it alone.

And now she was truly alone. She had no company save the knowledge of what she had done. Kuvira had never been one for reminiscing, but she allowed herself the indulgence now. She no longer had a life to live, so she might as well re-live her former one.

"May I?"

The ballroom was decorated in classic Zaofu style. The room was clothed in green and grey, and the sheen of metal was everywhere. The sun was setting, and it shone through the windows in just the right fashion to add a glimmer to every piece of metal, lighting up the whole room.

Su had organized a party to commemorate the victory against Zaheer. There wasn't that much to celebrate; Zaheer had barely been defeated, he had thrown the Earth Kingdom into chaos, and Korra was so badly injured that she couldn't walk. But Su thought people needed something to lift their spirits, and she was right.

Kuvira looked up at the Prince. A look of disdain crossed her face, which she did not even attempt to hide.

"Oh yes, your Majesty, your Highness, please sit down," she said, her words dripping with sarcasm.

He sat down, unfazed by her comment. They were alone at the table. People bustled around them, dancing, mingling, but the two of them sat at that table motionless, almost isolated from what was going on outside of their bubble.

"The Earth Kingdom is in disarray." Wu finally said.

"Yes, it is. And we have people like you to thank for it." Kuvira said boldly. As much as everyone hated to admit it, Zaheer had succeeded in plunging the Earth Kingdom into anarchy. Bandits roamed the countryside freely, Ba Sing Se was still being pillaged by its own citizens, and every man had to fend for himself. Yet Zaheer was trying to solve a very real problem: the Earth Kingdom had a government which did not serve, or even care about the Kingdom. The sheer magnitude of the opulence of the royalty, and the clandestine tactics of the Dai Li demonstrated this clearly. No one in Zaofu liked the central Earth Kingdom government, and everyone hated the royalty.

Wu smiled. "You haven't even met me yet. Here:" he said, raising his hand as if to shake Kuvira's. "I'm Prince Wu. And am I correct in saying that you are Kuvira, captain of the guard here in Zaofu?"

"That is the case," Kuvira said, begrudgingly shaking the Prince's hand.

"There. That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Before Kuvira could interject and get any more annoyed at him, he softly said, "I don't want to take the throne."

Kuvira opened her mouth to whip back a retort, but she was caught completely off guard, and said nothing, intrigued. He continued:

"I agree with you. The Earth Kingdom is the way it is now because of the royalty. Almost never in recorded history has the monarchy voluntarily done what would steer the Earth Kingdom along the right path."

Kuvira sat there, unable to comprehend. The Prince of the Earth Kingdom was telling her about how he hated the monarchy.

"I need your help, Kuvira."

She was completely absorbed in their conversation. The world continued to turn around them, but time stood still in the middle of that ballroom.

"What could you possibly need my help with?"

"I've heard four things about you, Kuvira. The first is that you are one of the most powerful metalbenders in the world. The second is that you are a very effective leader. The third is that you love your country and hate to see it in ruin. The fourth is that when Suyin Beifong refused to unite the Kingdom, you advised her to reconsider."

"Those are true." She said.

"Are you willing to sacrifice your life to return balance to the Earth Nation?"

Kuvira was stunned by the rapidity at which this conversation was escalating. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I have a plan. The Earth Kingdom will become a single Nation. We will have peace, equality, freedom, and democracy. We will be whole. But I'll need you to sacrifice your life for it."

Kuvira was taken aback. Of course, she didn't want to die, but she let herself entertain the thought for a moment. She'd been worried lately that she was just whiling away her life as the captain of Suyin's pet army, in a city where there was virtually no crime. She felt like she had mattered in the fight against the Red Lotus, that she had, for a split-second, done something worthwhile. Everything since had paled in comparison. Open the domes up in the morning, close them in the evening. That was her life now. She even looked forward to dancing with Su and her troupe, a break from the monotony of it all, though she was painfully aware of how frivolous it was. But sacrificing her own life to do something that mattered? That was preposterous, wasn't it?

Her eyes narrowed. "Let's find a more private area."

Suddenly, time started to chug forward again. The ballroom was still bustling. They both got up and left. Kuvira led the Prince to the courtyard outside. No one else was there.

"Sit down." Prince Wu said. Kuvira obliged.

"The Earth Kingdom is no longer a nation. A nation is a country which houses those who identify with a certain nationality. Members of the Fire Nation associate themselves with that nationality. The people of the Water Tribes identify with either the nationality of the north, or the south. Even those who live in the United Republic feel a national connection with the country they live in. But those in the Earth Kingdom do not. A person from Zaofu, is, first and foremost, a citizen of the city of Zaofu. Those who live in Omashu regard those who live in Ba Sing Se as foreign as those living in Republic City. Everyone is tired of the centralized Earth government, and everyone wants to be on their own. But as terrible as the monarchy was, centralized government keeps order. A centralized government would keep its people safe, and guarantees a certain degree of stability. But it must have the consent of the people. It must be democratic. And we won't truly have the consent of the people until people identify with the Earth Nation again. Even if we were able to create an Earth Republic, it would fall apart in months. There is simply no common bond among the people now. We must reunite the Earth Nation not only politically, but also in spirit. We must bring people from the furthest reaches of this vast continent together under one banner."

"And you claim you have a plan to do this?" Kuvira said, laughing at the pomposity and far-flung nature of the clearly carefully prepared monologue just bestowed upon her by the all-knowing Prince. Turns out Wu was just crazy after all.

"Nothing unites people like a common enemy." Wu said, dead serious.

A week had passed since that night in the ballroom. Kuvira had dismissed the Prince, placating him with a terse "Yeah, sure" to his pleas of at least thinking about what he said. She had intended to not spend another thought on such things, but she couldn't stop herself from letting her mind wander during the long days of being a soldier with nothing to fight. Wandering became a fixation, which became an obsession. What was up with Wu? She was sitting in her office as she thought to herself.

Democracy. He had said it was the key. But a precondition for democracy was a willing people, and no one wanted a central Earth government again. Stripping the flab from what the Prince had said, she realized she agreed with it - wholeheartedly. She desperately wanted a thriving, prosperous, safe, and free Earth Nation.

She rubbed her temples. What was this about sacrificing herself for the cause, though? Was she to be the common enemy he had briefly mentioned? She rubbed her temples harder. Why was she still stuck on this? She thought that it was simply the allure of the unknown, of this mysterious plan of his which would unite the people. She thought if she figured out exactly what it would take for her to submit to such a plan, she would see it for its insanity and finally dismiss it. She jotted down a question.

What, exactly, is this plan?

She thought a moment before adding another question, writing more softly and tenderly than before:

How will I die?

She jotted down a few more questions designed to show herself this was a stupid idea, but, at the end, she sighed in disappointment. This hadn't helped; she was still as curious as ever. She needed answers, not questions. Her eyes gazed over at the phone on her desk. She knew the number of Wu's hotel in Republic City. No, she couldn't. Could she? Kuvira was startled when the phone started ringing of its own accord. A second later, after recollecting herself, she picked up the phone. "Kuvira, we have an 845 at Suyin's home."

"I'm on my way."

An 845! A robbery, at Su's home, no less! She finally had something to do! Kuvira was excited, running out the door of the station, arriving at Su's home a few minutes later. She was very confused - there were no cars from the city guard. She walked up to the door, which she realized was open. She entered, and walked around, asking loudly, "Su? Is anyone home? A robbery was just reported here."

She walked up to the door of the ballroom she'd been in a week earlier. "Su?" No answer. She entered, and she was, once again, startled.

"SURPRISE!"

Su's family, half the guard, and a few people Kuvira didn't even know burst out at her. What was all this? Su walked up to her, put a hand on her back, and said proudly,

"It's been twenty years to the day since you came to Zaofu and I took you in. Since you took command of the city's guard, Zaofu has continually been the safest and most prosperous city in the Earth Kingdom." She turned around, raised her glass, and exclaimed to the crowd, "To Kuvira!"

"To Kuvira!"

Kuvira stood there, mortified. She had expected a nice juicy crime, but she had gotten a surprise party in her favor instead. Now she had to sit around, eat cakes, and mingle with people, instead of catching a thief and actually doing something productive.

The hours past. Eventually, it was time to leave, and Kuvira gracefully thanked Su and the rest of them for the wonderful party, though once she was out the door she rushed back to the station, barged into her office, and locked the door. She picked up the phone, dialing the number for Prince Wu's hotel. "This is Kuvira, captain of the guard of Zaofu. Get me Prince Wu!" she barked into the phone. The line was connected. Not giving him a chance to respond, she said, "I'll be in Republic City in three days. Meet me in the plaza in front of Central City Station at noon, sharp." She hung up the phone.

Luckily for Kuvira, she actually had business in Republic City which gave her a pretext to be there. She, Lin, and a handful of other law enforcement leaders convened on Republic City annually to share information and coordinate strategy on joint cases for the upcoming year. Or at least that was the idea. She and Lin always showed up, but there were maybe five other captains across the Earth Kingdom who had ever come. In any case, that wasn't the true point of her coming to the City this year.

Wu was waiting for her as she stepped off the train. "Kuvira. It's good to see you."

"Lets go outside." She said, not even looking at him.

"Yes, ma'am." They walked outside, found a bench in the corner of the plaza, and once Kuvira was sufficiently convinced that no one would hear, she asked,

"So what is this plan of yours?"

Wu looked relieved. "You would become the Great Uniter. You would lead an army across the Earth Kingdom and reconquer it, with the guise of turning power back over to me when you are finished. You won't wage war on every region; I suspect most will begrudgingly submit to your rule if you offer protection and basic necessities in return. After that, you refuse to turn power back over to me, and you rechristen the Earth Kingdom as the 'Earth Empire' or something like that.

"In order to make sure you are universally hated, you have to rule with an unforgiving iron fist. You'll have to create prisons where you put people in arbitrarily. And you'll have to imprison a lot of people. And you should probably expel all citizens of other Nations, just for good measure."

Kuvira shifted in her seat. This was bad. She would have to imprison her own people, for no reason. It was exactly the opposite of what she wanted to do. But she saw where this was going.

"Then you'll have to march on Republic City, saying you are trying to reunite the Earth Empire, and that the United Republic is stolen land. Hopefully, your support will be down to just a handful of ultranationalists by then. During the attack on Republic City, you must force the Avatar to kill you."

Kuvira was taken aback by that final statement. She had known going into the conversation that it would end with her death, but she was alarmed by it nonetheless.

"The people of the Earth Nation will be united in their hatred of you, but will absolutely refuse to have another supreme leader, whether it be a king or an empress. I'll play the clueless and spoiled Prince who doesn't really care for ruling a nation while you are executing the plan. I'll make sure the transition to democracy is smooth after you die."

Kuvira couldn't stand sitting there in the muck of what he had just laid out. She took a deep breath, got up, and walked off precipitously, saying "You'll hear from me soon."

Kuvira was staring at herself in the mirror of her hotel room. It was just before dawn, the pitch black of night just beginning to lift, bathing the whole room in a deep blue. She hadn't even tried to sleep. Her bloodshot eyes were wider than they had ever been, and her breath was heavy, as if she had just been in a fight with the Avatar. A million thoughts had been zooming through her mind every second since Wu had stopped talking and she had abruptly left. She'd thought it over and over, and was convinced she could do it.

She kept turning it over in her mind, staring into her own red eyes. This was insane. It was preposterous. But she couldn't shake the feeling that this is what she was meant to do. That this was the ultimate purpose of her life. To unite the Earth Nation and usher in a new age of democracy and prosperity for its people. That thought rang through her mind while the sun crept into the sky. Eventually, she tore herself from that mirror, and looked out the window. She looked out across Republic City. This is what democracy looked like. She saw the cars bustling below her, and looked off into the distance to see city hall, the Future Industries Tower, and a police airship docked above the station. She couldn't argue with it anymore. She saw the innovation of the modern city, and all she wanted to do was spread it across the Earth Nation. It was her destiny to do that. She was destined to create the Earth Republic by whatever means necessary.

Kuvira lay on the floor of her cell. She'd managed to do more than unite the Earth Nation. She even managed to essentially ban spirit weaponry. She saw how destructive it could be, and thought that if she brought it to bear in a big way in her attack on Republic City, that the world leaders would sensibly outlaw the use of spirit energy. She saw that it was truly a perversion of the natural balance humans had struck with spirits, and it needed to be stopped. Varrick wouldn't have done it on his own, so she had to take it into her own hands. She'd razed Republic City with it, but she had also made sure it would be the last time a city would ever be razed by it again. She was sure Republic City would be able to be rebuilt. It had gone from nothing to the biggest, most modern metropolis in the world in just seventy years, and it could be done again.

However, she knew she'd done unspeakable things. She'd imprisoned innocent people, leveled a city, and had played the part of the worst dictator history had seen since the days of Fire Lord Ozai. She was able to justify all of that, though, to herself. She was happy with how all of that turned out. But there was one thing that she had loathed herself for doing, one thing that she couldn't justify. And that was ruining Bataar's life. They'd been together since before Kuvira decided to play the role of the Great Uniter, and she loved him too much to let him go. She knew bringing him with her and forcing her fake ideology on him was the worst thing she could possibly do to him, but she wanted to stay with him so badly that, showing uncharacteristic weakness, she couldn't force herself to end things with him, so as to stop him from coming with her. Her punishment was to watch as she systematically twisted the man she loved into a monster, and ultimately had to try to sacrifice him for her cause. As she fired the spirit cannon at him, she felt numb, and simply thought, "I'm so sorry, my love." She thought that she wouldn't have to bear the agony of what she had done much longer. Soon the Avatar would kill her, and balance would be restored.

But Korra hadn't killed her. More than that, Korra had actively saved her. She thought she knew Korra. She'd seen how she went after Zaheer and was sure that she would have ripped him to shreds if it weren't for the poison. When the spirit cannon was about to fire on her, she was relieved. She was done, and she had accomplished her goal. But then Korra intervened, creating the spirit portal. Kuvira was frantic, not sure what to do. After gaining her bearings and adjusting to the spirit world, she realized Korra wasn't going to kill her, so she had to settle for the next best thing. She surrendered herself and became a prisoner. But it hardly mattered now. Whether she was executed, sentenced to life in prison, or even eventually let go, her life as she'd known it was over, and her goals accomplished. Kuvira, for the first time in a very long time, was content. She thought that it was only just that she would have to bear the knowledge of what she'd done to Bataar for at least a little longer.

"Wait, what are you doing? Wait, you're not Akira! Who are you? AAH!"

Kuvira heard a thud, like a body hitting the ground. Someone dressed in the garb of a White Lotus sentry came to her cell, opened the door, and whispered,

"All hail the Great Uniter!"

A/N: I intend this story to follow both Team Avatar and Kuvira. This chapter was centered around Kuvira especially so just to set up the backstory - you can expect more stuff with Korra, Asami, Mako, Bolin, and the rest of the cast in the coming ones. I was careful to make sure that everything in this chapter was compatible with the canon, but it is a pretty big departure from what was shown onscreen. So you may or may not consider it AU by your standards.

I did this for a few reasons. For the most part, I always found it odd that Kuvira would rule her people with an iron fist. At the beginning, I thought she would turn out to be a benevolent dictator to her people, but would ultimately go to far with her power (i.e. invading the United Republic). And I hated Prince Wu's existence. He tied up Mako the entire season, and served almost no purpose. All but maybe 5% of his lines could have been cut, and he could have had someone else babysit him, so Mako could go do other, more important things AND NOT HAVE THAT FUGLY HAIRCUT. So, I decided to make Kuvira more akin to what I would have liked her to have been, and I completely changed Wu's character because I hate him. I tried to keep a lot of Kuvira's character intact, though. She still sees the problems with Earth Kingdom, and assumes absolute power in order to fix them, with an attitude of, "the ends justify the means." She, perhaps, embraces that motto even moreso in this story than in what was shown onscreen.

I got the idea for this arc from another show (I won't say the name because it will spoil the ending). After seeing how successfully AirbenderNK incorporated elements of "Baccano!" into their story, "The Legend Of Korra: The Elixir of Life" (go check it out: it's excellent!), I thought I'd try the same. So, credit where credit's due: basically nothing in this story is mine. I didn't create the characters, the central arc of this chapter, or even the idea to steal the central arc of this chapter from people with much more storytelling talent than myself.

Anyway, I'd really appreciate reviews. Thanks for reading!