...you cannot trust your future to those who will exploit you, those who will imprison your loved ones, send your neighbours to camps, send your children to camps to work as slaves…
Kai's thoughts were clouded with thoughts of Jinora as he flew to the pole. Jinora, helpless in the spirit vines. Jinora, struggling, eyes wide. Jinora, screaming voicelessly, her fists beating weakly on the inside until they unclenched and went limp. He had to save her, even if it meant going through the portal into the unknown. Hell, she would do the same for him.
Urging the sky bison onwards, he almost missed the expanse of white that rolled below him. The south pole had more snow than he had ever seen in his life. The villages in the mountains north of Ba Sing Se got some snow in the winters, but nothing like this. If theirs was a scattering of snow on the ground, like rice before a shrine, the pole was a warehouse stuffed full of dead clouds. He landed the exhausted Pepper at the edge of the spirit forest by the portal, half falling from her back in his haste to dismount.
... The woman who calls herself the Uniter is no different than those who came before her. There are no good kings, no just queens. There are only tyrants, imposing themselves on the people…
Mako held an umbrella above Varrick as they listened to the broadcast, his face fixed in a scowl. It was an utterly futile act, as both of them were already soaked, but one Varrick appreciated. The kid was no Zhu Li, but at least he knew his place.
The man in the mountain had a knack for the wireless, Varrick had to admit it. Maybe once all this was over, he could get him his own show, where he interviewed world leaders between anarchist diatribes. Radio Zaheer. It would be a great opportunity for advertising, too- with a voice like that, he could sell anything! Bison manure-based bending enhancers! Medicinal elbow leeches! Of course, getting any world leaders to appear would be tricky, after what Zaheer had done to the Earth Queen.
"Wait…" Varrick lifted a headphone from his ear, frowning. "I thought we were with the royals. Weren't you and Prince Wu...?"
"I'm his bodyguard," said the surly kid, not looking Varrick in the eye. "Appointed by Republic City police."
"Really?" Varrick raised an eyebrow, leaning in. "I heard he lives with your family."
"Yeah," The kid turned to Varrick, scowling. Was he even capable of other facial expressions? "It's for security."
"Shame," Varrick wrinkled his nose. "For a moment there, I thought you had connections."
... And for generations, we have not spoken. We have stood aside, letting the greedy take from us, letting the powerful dictate if our families eat or starve. We have been silent too long…
The physical journey to the spirit portal was nearly complete, the men and women of the Water Tribe laden with packs and supplies, but now they had stopped, standing round in a curious half-circle as Kai talked to their leader. The trees of the sacred forest seemed to shift in the half-light, their dark branches curling towards the gathering.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let a child go with us." Korra's father, Tonraq, looked down at him, his face serious. "The spirit world is dangerous. Unpredictable."
Kai bristled, bringing himself to his full height. "I'm not a kid. I'm a member of the Air Nation. Who do you think's been keeping order in the Earth Kingdom the last few years?"
"A member of the Air Nation, huh," said Tonraq. "Tenzin didn't say anything about sending anyone."
"Well," Kai folded his arms across his chest, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe he forgot."
"I can radio him and check. You want that?" They locked eyes, and Tonraq snorted. "I thought not."
"No! Please," Kai cast his eyes round the gathered tribespeople, his hands outstretched. Most of the averted their gaze. "I can airbend. I would be useful. Surely some of you can see that!"
Tonraq narrowed his eyes. "I'm expedition leader, and my say on this is final. You're not coming."
"Fine." Kai gritted his teeth. "I guess I'll go."
He snatched a pack of supplies from Tonraq's sled and leaped away, lifting himself with the cold southern air, Tonraq and the others shouting after him. If he had to go by himself, he would. For Jinora.
The southern spirit portal seemed to grow larger as he flew towards it, until its blue glow touched the highest point in the sky.
... but together, we are stronger, our voices louder than our oppressors care to remember...
"Enough," Kuvira snarled as she looked up from her desk. "Turn that garbage off."
Baatar frowned, fiddling with the knobs on the radio. "It's on every frequency," He adjusted his glasses. "I… can't. It's-"
Kuvira growled, making a claw motion with her hand, and the little radio flew backwards, crumpling as it hit the wall of their carriage. Baatar flinched back, his hands clasped, and shot her a reproachful look. Their radio smoked softly, but the broadcast was still audible, faintly, through the speakers scattered around their army's camp.
"We can triangulate the signal," Baatar offered, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. "Find out who's broadcasting and send someone... to deal with it."
Kuvira shook her head. "No need," she said. "I recognise that voice, and there's only one place it could be coming from." She allowed herself a small smile. She had been there for his capture, after all. "Have the team prepare the weapon."
...rise up, and destroy your oppressors. Use your bending if you have it, and your body if you have none. Rise up, for those who cannot. Rise up, for those who have already fallen...
When Asami stepped from the elevator, there were six White Lotus staring at her.
"What is the meaning of this?" The guard captain, a stocky metalbender named Daruka, jabbed a finger at the radio.
The white lotus guarding Zaheer's prison had a radio in their break room. Of course they did. And Zaheer's speech was piping steadily through it. She could have kicked herself. Pursing her lips, Asami scrambled for an explanation.
"Korra- I mean the Avatar- she convinced him to help against-"
"Zaheer is a very dangerous man," Daruka interrupted her. "And his ideology is a poison. The Avatar would never be so foolish as to spread it."
Asami brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Well, maybe you should go talk to her about that."
"I will," said Daruka. "Just as soon as you're safely in custody."
They squared off, Daruka blocking the way. Asami breathed in. Even with all of her training, it was hard to see how she could hope to face this many earthbenders, especially inside a mountain. They were still eyeing each other up when another White Lotus came charging along the corridor. "Excuse me. Sir."
"What is it?" Daruka snapped, turning his head.
"Kuvira," said the messenger. "Earth Empire forces have been spotted nearby."
Asami felt a shock run through her. Mako and Varrick were still outside with the transmitter, in clear view on the side of the mountain. She took a step back, prompting a startled glance from Daruka.
"Hey now! Not so fast-" A cable shot from the earthbender's armoured sleeve, but Asami caught it and activated her electrified glove.
He recoiled from the shock, teeth chattering "Sorry," said Asami, as she slipped past him. "But I really gotta go."
...there is nothing that can stop you. The only chains that bind you are the chains of fear.
She wasn't afraid of him, damn it. She had beaten him. She was over that. Korra's jaw clenched and unclenched. The worst thing about hearing Zaheer was that it all sounded so reasonable. Like something she should want. Not like the man who had tried to murder her. Who had crippled her, ruined her, in pursuit of some half-baked idea of how the world should be. Korra blinked, and caught a flash of him bearing down on her, but when she looked up, he was sitting where he had been, his long, filthy hair half covering his face.
"One broadcast won't be enough, you know," he said, matter-of-factly. "If Kuvira is all that you claim, the people will fear her too much to act out right away."
"Ugh." Korra shook her head. "I'm not taking advice from you, Zaheer."
"Why not? Our interests are aligned, and-" Zaheer paused, frowning. "Wait. Do you feel that?"
"This better not be some kind of trick," said Korra, getting to her feet. There was no telltale rumble of earthbending, but neither was there any sign of the disturbances and pressure changes that came with an airbender's work, and Zaheer was very still, his gaze fixed on the far wall.
"No." The airbender's tone was firm. "Reach out with your senses. The spiritual energy."
With a sideways glance at Zaheer, Korra put her palm to the wall, opening her spiritual senses. Zaheer was right, she realised with a gasp. There was a wrongness there, as if something had been warped. Not the sense of a dark spirit, as Vaatu had been, but something totally unnatural. Spirits, stretched and twisted together, like fibers of a rope, each one pleading to be released.
"What-" Korra snatched her hand back. "What is that?"
The Earth Empire army had already been mustering close to Republic City, so the detour north to Kuvira's target took next to no time, metalbenders laying tracks as fast as the convoy could move.
Kuvira stood before the troops on her stage, and she looked good. At peace. Like nothing in the world could stop her. The weapon loomed behind her, barrel level with her shoulder, but she showed no fear of it, her mouth set in a grim line. It made Bataar's mouth a little dry just watching her like that.
If the troops had been disturbed by the strange broadcast, none of them showed it- each stood to perfect attention as Kuvira began, her voice carrying easily over the crowd. "Those of you who know me, know I have worked tirelessly for peace. For order. You know that I would never condone senseless chaos, or death."
She paced the length of the platform, taking time to look the regimental commanders in the eye. There were murmurs of assent from the troops, and some relaxed their stance enough to nod along. From the back, some fool shouted "Uniter!" and was not reprimanded.
"Republic City has defied us," said Kuvira. "But they are ignorant of our power."
She paused, looking back to the weapon. "Each of you has seen with your own eyes what the Earth Empire can do," she said. "And today, the people of Republic City will get the chance to see it for themselves." Kuvira gestured to Baatar. "Fire it."
Baatar pulled the switch to start the process, and the air was filled with the familiar smell as it consumed the spirit vines inside it, like copper and tree sap. He counted down the seconds as the cannon charged, harsh purple light emanating from deep within the barrel. The gathered troops turned as one towards the mountain as the weapon fired, their faces sallow in the eerie light of the beam.
As far as warning shots went, he supposed, you could do worse than a giant, smoldering hole through a mountain.