Sometimes Kuvira forgot just how beautiful Zaofu was. It had been a labor of love, painstakingly crafted to Suyin's exquisite taste, and that was obvious in every elegant curve and edge of metal. She had lived there almost as long as she could remember, and it seemed as though every bright open square, every garden, every graceful building held a memory. In her childhood she had played on that street, raucous and laughing, annoying the residents who sat quietly in their houses. When she was older, she had danced in that theater and glowed with pride when Suyin had praised her. As a guard she had patrolled every inch of the city until she knew it like the back of her hand. It was home, and that made it more beautiful still. She would miss it.

So it was only natural, if embarrassingly sentimental, that she wanted to bid it a proper goodbye, to lay her eyes on all those dear old places one last time. It was a bittersweet task, but she might still have enjoyed it had she not been followed.

Judging by the vibrations in the ground, her shadow was a tall man of medium build, and he was not very good at what he was doing. His footfalls were much too heavy. Any fool should have known better than to stomp after a master earthbender like that; he may as well have been shouting at her. This particular fool did not know better. He was not even aware that she had sensed his presence more than half an hour ago, and persisted in his feeble attempts at stealth like he was some kind of Dai Li agent.

His incompetence meant that Kuvira was more annoyed than she was genuinely concerned. She doubted that she had been compromised—Suyin was too smart to send a single clumsy oaf after her protege—and even if she had, it was far too late to stop her now. The provisions had been stocked, the airships were ready, and her troops were poised to begin the operation at a moment's notice. She could have left yesterday, if she'd wanted to, but she'd chosen to give herself and the rest of the guards a little time to settle whatever affairs they had. The idiot following her, however, was making it very difficult to focus on her nostalgia. That was a pity. She'd hoped the final hours of her stay would at least be fairly pleasant ones.

Her shadow followed her into an alley, suspecting nothing. Kuvira sighed to herself that he really was an idiot. It was almost insulting how bad he was. Two swift movements of her arms pinned him to a wall by the wrists. She turned to face—was that Baatar?

Suyin's eldest son stood completely stunned, his breathing heavy and his wide eyes darting back and forth between Kuvira and the bands of metal on his wrists. He struggled a little. When his bonds did not budge, he made a visible effort to collect himself and opened his mouth. Kuvira narrowed her eyes and held a sharp shard of metal poised in the air, pointed at his throat. Baatar wisely chose to remain silent.

This did not make sense. Suyin could not have sent him. If she wanted to stop Kuvira, she would have sent her best men after her, or even come to do the job herself. Or perhaps this was an appeal to her emotions? If so, why Baatar? Why not Suyin herself? Maybe he knew nothing after all, and this was just a bizarre misunderstanding. How was she even supposed to know? It wasn't as if she could just ask him without giving away her position.

Kuvira sighed and released him.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Especially people like me, she added to herself. "What on earth were you trying to do?"

Baatar rubbed his wrists gingerly. When he finally spoke it was with a strange, careful precision, as if he were working from a script.

"I know what you're planning, Kuvira," he said.

"And what would that be?" Kuvira began calculating the most efficient way to incapacitate him without leaving him to die.

"Betraying Zaofu. Taking our guards and our airships. Reclaiming Ba Sing Se."

"And I suppose you're going to stop me?" Her voice was a blade, sharp and cold.

"On the contrary, I'm going to help. You need me. I built most of your equipment. I know it better than anyone."

"Do you think this is some kind of joke?" Kuvira scowled. Her fingers twitched. Baatar missed neither of these things.

"I'm tired of Zaofu," he explained, eyeballing the deadly steel that would put a quick end to him if he said the wrong thing. "I'm tired of my talents being wasted on my parents' vanity projects when I could be doing something meaningful with my life."

There was a bitterness in his voice that was alarmingly sincere. She recognized it. It was the same bitterness that had eaten away at her heart in the long nights she had lain awake, feeling powerless and betrayed, thinking of blood-red earth and Suyin sleeping soundly.

She believed Baatar. She pitied him. She wanted to see him stand strong and proud as he fought for what he knew was right. But that did not mean that trusting him was wise. He may have wanted this more than anything now, but that was no assurance that he would be loyal forever. He did not have the iron discipline of the men she had trained and fought beside; she did not know if he could bear the long, hard journey they had ahead of them. She could not control him with money, as she did so many of their 'benefactors'; Zaofu was his wealth. Neither was he bound by duty and love to anyone in the Earth Kingdom; his family was here, and if he left they would hate him, as they would hate her. And Suyin...Suyin would have her heart ripped from her chest. She may have been a coward, but she had been kind as well, and Kuvira did not want her to suffer any more than she had to, if she could help it. What Kuvira had to do would hurt her more than enough.

"Baatar," she said, taking a step towards him. She was startled by how soft and sad her voice was. "You don't need to do this. The Earth Kingdom will be fine, I promise." She placed what she hoped was a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know you mean well, but think of what you're doing. Think of what you're going to lose. Think of your family."

Baatar's eyes went hard. He raised himself to his full height and squared his shoulders, sending her hand sliding back down to her side. She could not stop herself from blinking once or twice in sheer surprise. In all the years she had known him, she had never seen Baatar quite like this. It was like he was a completely different person from the sullen man she knew.

"They're your family too," he said forcefully. The words were like a knife twisting in her gut. "But the fate of our country is far more important than that. You, of all people, should understand. I'm going with you."

Somehow, she found herself very grateful to hear that.

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Before the sun rose, the central square of the Zaofu's largest dome was buzzing with activity. Lines of guardsalthough they couldn't really be called that anymoremarched neatly into the waiting airships, conducted their final head counts, and took off to circle the city until their small fleet was complete. Many of Zaofu's richer residents boarded their own ships, accompanied by small honor guards and the many chests of their belongings. The other citizens stood on the edges of the square in their nightclothes, looking on in alarm.

The rescue of the Earth Kingdom had begun.

From the docking platform, Kuvira surveyed the proceedings with satisfaction. Her men, as expected, executed their duties with perfect efficiency. Even the rich families shuffling along with their bleary eyes were moving at a respectable pace, likely driven by the need to be out of the way before they had to face Suyin. Beside her, Baatar listened to a report over the radio on the speed and stability of their long-unused airships, nodding every so often in satisfaction. Everything was going precisely to plan.

Three shiploads until everyone was safely in the air, the crowd parted to admit a fuming Suyin. Kuvira was not particularly taken aback by this development.

"Continue loading," she told the captain of the vessel that was currently docked. He saluted and obeyed. Suyin's eyes bored holes into his back as she approached the platform, but the full brunt of her fury soon found its true target in Kuvira.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Suyin hissed. The pure rage she wore did not suit her normally gentle features.

"What you should have done," Kuvira answered her calmly. "Saving the Earth Kingdom."

"How dare you? After everything I've done for you? Those are my ships, my guards"

"Those ships are mine, too, mother," Baatar interrupted. Suyin did a double take as she recognized her son. Her mouth fell open. For a moment she was so stunned that she forgot to be angry, and simply stood gaping at him. Kuvira thought that he seemed oddly gratified by this.

"You, too, Junior?" Baatar's satisfaction melted right off his face.

"Don't call me tha—"

Kuvira silenced him with a hand on his shoulder. This was not the time for petty family squabbles. If possible, it was better not to antagonize Suyin any more than they already had.

"Those guards have chosen to serve their country and their people, and so has your son." Kuvira descended the platform and presented Suyin with an outstretched hand. "You can, too, Suyin. It's not too late. Come with us. We can rescue our nation together."

It was, in truth, a plea to save their family, but Suyin slapped Kuvira's offered hand away.

"What you are doing will destroy both the Earth Kingdom and my family." Suyin spat it like venom, her lips curled back in the most hateful expression Kuvira had ever seen. Her eyes went from Kuvira to her son and back again. "If you leave now, you will never be welcome in Zaofu again."

Kuvira had hoped against hope that it would not come to this, but she knew the Suyin was not likely to change her mind. She had prepared herself. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and when she opened them again Zaofu was no longer her home.

"If I do come back, it will be on my own terms," she said quietly. "Goodbye, Suyin."

"Goodbye, mother," Baatar called as he followed Kuvira into their airship.

Suyin watched the ship rise with her hands balled into fists and tears welling in her eyes. She watched the fleet circling her city follow it and disappear into the horizon. But Kuvira did not gaze behind to look as the dome closed and Zaofu shrank into a gray speck beneath them. She did not weep. Instead she turned clear eyes to the sun rising over the clouds, to the golden glory of the new morning that fell on their country, to the beginning of a bright new era.

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A/N: It was fun posting manic daily updates while it lasted. Unfortunately this will be the last. Alas, back it's back to work for me, and the rest will have to come more slowly. They will come, though. Promise. I'll try to do one per week.

Next stop: Ba Sing Se.