"It's not over, it's just the beginning."
As she looks across the city, Chief Lin Beifong finds it hard to really believe the words that the wise Uncle Iroh once spoke. She never met the man, but hard heard enough stories from her family and read enough books to know he was, indeed, a wise man. However, the words ring hollow in her mind as she sees buildings broken down, roads completely crushed, just general chaos all round.
"It's not over, it's just the beginning."
Across Yue Bay, the tallest of buildings in the heart of the city helps her recall a memory from when she was a young child, before her mother's legacy bore down on her shoulders, before Su began to run wild, before the tall buildings came to be. From when a day she was over on Air Temple Island as she watched Uncle Sokka, Uncle Aang, and Uncle Zuko talk about the progressing of the city.
She was sure she wasnt supposed to be spying on them from the crack in the doorway, but Aunt Katara was busy with baby Su, Tenzin was with practicing his bending, and Kya and Bumi were off pranking people.
Lin remembers the warrior's face lighting up as he unrolled a giant paper and showed the other two the plans he had for the city- the pretty lights, many roads, and tall, oh so tall, buildings. She remembered their joy, as well.
As she sees those crumbled buildings now, it's as if she can see the lights dim in her that beloved man's eyes.
"It's not over, it's just the beginning."
Most of her metal benders were helping get people out of the city and the last were told to watch over the prison. She had made sure that they were okay following the battle, after securing Kuvira in a cell.
The prison was on the brink of collapsing.
All the prisoners had been moved to the underground, secure area with only a handful of guards while the rest of her force was above ground, trying to save when they could of their building - the building her mother built.
The chief took a deep breath, thinking of how the sadness would show on her mother's face if she had to see (feel) her pride and joy in a heap.
"It's not over, it's just the beginning."
After Kuvira was put away and the adrenaline wore off, everyone had began to feel the pains from the battle. The better off of the lot had carried those who couldn't walk to the nearest hospital - the one Aunt Katara worked at when she wasn't chasing kids around or helping with the city or even helping her husband with his Avatar duties.
As she had carried a very weary Wei in her arms, Lin had been partially distracted by looking the the used to be beautiful building, a sign of hope for those who were in pain, wounded, or worst. The great white structure was now tinted with various shades of gray from the dust and had scorch marks all around from the canon's blasts. The silver plaque - the one Aunt Katara had wrote herself - that used to stand proud in front of the courtyard was dented and melted.
The woman's eyes closed for a moment, picturing her Aunt's heartbroken expression.
"It's not over, it's just the beginning."
She remembered a lot the passed few days. She remembered her uncles, her aunts, her mother - she remembered them as they build the city and all that was in it for years and years and years.
She remembered trying to continue to build it by joining the police force, by working hard to take the position her mother held, by running the force after her mother left.
She remembered rebuilding after that stubborn new Avatar destroyed roads and buildings, she remembered helping people get to safety after the vines took over.
She remembered all these things.
"It's not over, it's just the beginning."
She smiles. As she can hear the music from the wedding in the background, as she watched the couples dance on the floor, as she sees all the happiness despite the utter destruction around them, she thinks she understands now.
No, the tall buildings that her uncles planned, the police station her mother built, the hospital her aunt made to be, they wouldn't be coming back. There will be new statues and plaques and new buildings, and that's okay.
Her officers will never forget the pain they felt this day, nor the day after they lost their bending, or when those vines showed up. She'll never forget the pain in their eyes as they worked through it all, but she'll also never forget the pride that showed - when they got their bending back, when they were able to get people to safety, when they saw that though it was in bad shape, the city was still standing after the canon's blasts.
The city will never be what it was, but that's okay. The people will never be what they were, and that okay. Things were changing, and that's completely okay.
The woman took a deep breath and let her eyes sweep across the party. She saw joy in the midst of chaos, she saw happiness in the midst of destruction, she saw forgiveness in the midst of heartbreak. And as she turned back to the city, her city, she saw the large pillar of light in the midst of darkness.
"It's not over, it's just the beginning."