BOOK FIVE: GROWTH

by Nullin Void

This is meant to be an entire new Season/Book, picking up the saga right after the Fabulous Finale. All of our heroes must deal with new opportunities and pitfalls... and a new, insidious threat rises to upset the balance of the world. Korrasami and other canon pairings. Romantic fluff, with a very slight citrus flavor! OCs! Narrow escapes! Thrilling fights! Attempted wisdom!

4. All The Glowing Embers

Earth… Fire… Air… Water: Only the Avatar can master all four elements, and bring balance to the world.

"After attending the funeral of the legendary hero Suki on Kyoshi Island, Avatar Korra stuns the world with the announcement of her romance with industrialist Asami Sato! How will the public react? Elsewhere: Tenzin schools arch-criminal Zaheer in Air Nomad wisdom, Mako and his new squad hit the streets of Republic City, and Bolin and Opal are a force for good worldwide!

BOOK FIVE

GROWTH

CHAPTER FOUR

ALL THE GLOWING EMBERS

In mid-air:

"When I said I wanted to be open about our relationship, I wasn't expecting you to hold a press conference!" said Asami.

Korra grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She could tell that the heiress's accusatory tone was a sham; she was smiling and her green eyes sparkled with happiness.

Zuko and Katara, sharing the airship's cockpit with them, laughed.

"Sorry, it was just a snap-decision." said the Avatar. "It just seemed like the... what's the word? The opportune moment."

Behind them in the passengers' lounge, Zuko's three security guards played some game that involved both dice and cards. Small amounts of cash were exchanged regularly, but everyone seemed calm and friendly.

Asami's airship plowed through the skies, on course for Ember Island off the northern coast of the Fire Nation.

"Well, you know I'm glad you did." The tall woman glanced over from the pilot's seat. "I just wish I'd had some warning, first. When you pulled me out to face the reporters with you... I thought I was going have an 'accident' right in front of the cameras!" She reached out to squeeze Korra's hand. "And I think that would have spoiled the grand gesture."

"Either way, I'm sure we would still have made the front-page." Asami's pressing hand released and delivered a playful swat to Korra's knuckles.

"But, what made you change your mind so fast? Just the day before we were almost fighting about it."

"It was Suki; something she said." Now Korra seemed uneasy.

"Really? I'd been meaning to ask what she wanted with you. She wanted to talk about us?" The young pilot was confused.

"No! Look, I can't really talk about that, yet: sorry. Suki swore me to secrecy until... certain conditions are met. Maybe never. There was nothing about me or you specifically... but at the same time, a lot of what she said was about secrets; and the distorting effects they can have on people and their lives." The Avatar saw Zuko and Katara exchange glances fraught with speculation. "Ugh, I'm talking too much! Let's just say it got me to thinking about our situation in a different way."

"It's OK, Korra. I don't need to push on this. Let's change the subject, OK?"

For a few moments, silence reigned.

"Miss Sato, I want to thank you again for giving us a ride to Ember Island." said Zuko.

"Yes, Asami, thank you. I hate the seats on commercial airships: This is so much nicer." Katara smiled with benign gratitude.

"You're both very welcome. Thank you for inviting us to come with you."

At the wake after Suki's funeral, Katara had declared a wish to make visits to some of her other old friends. Zuko, who had lived in retirement on Ember Island for most of a decade, had told her that Tye-Lee also resided on the tropical island paradise. A trip was promptly proposed and planned.

Now as the airship sped north-west towards their goal, Zuko cleared his throat.

"Actually girls; I have a mistake to own up to, and an apology to offer." the old noble spoke to the two younger women. They eyed one another, and then Korra replied.

"What for, Zuko? Is something wrong?"

"Well, my house on the island is large – it's been in the family for generations – but I've been living there alone and without live-in staff. Most of it has been closed-up and under dust-covers for years, and isn't ready for visitors. I realize now that after housing Katara and my guard-detail, I won't have sufficient room for any more guests. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it's a hotel for you two. Ember Island has many fine resorts... my treat, of course."

Zuko made the offer with casual ease, and Asami reflected that Zuko's personal wealth – amassed by generations of the Fire Nation's ruling dynasty – almost certainly exceeded her own by an order of magnitude. He could certainly afford to pay even the most lavish hotel bill without strain.

"Thank you, Zuko. That's very generous." she accepted on her and Korra's behalf, after a quick look to the Avatar for agreement.

"Besides, you don't want to be cooped up with two old codgers like us." said Katara. She was speaking to the girls, but her smile and fond gaze were on Zuko. "We'd only slow you down."

"So, this Tye-Lee you are visiting... is she the acrobat you've told me about?" Korra asked her old waterbending master.

"Oh yes. Tye-Lee was many things: acrobat, martial-artist, circus performer, Kyoshi Warrior, teacher, wife, mother.. probably a grandmother by now."

"One of my self-defense teachers had been one of her pupils, actually." Asami spoke up. "He always quoted her. It was plain he adored her."

"Wait, Tye-Lee was a Kyoshi Warrior, too?" asked Korra. "I thought she was Fire Nation?"

Zuko said "She was, and is. She was one of the few non-natives to ever become a Kyoshi Warrior. She was even eventually granted dual-citizenship. It was quite an honor."

"I think that's what stung Suki so, when Tye-Lee chose to leave that life behind." Katara mused sadly. She added in a tone of explanation. "After twenty years of serving with Suki, Tye-Lee met a man – while on vacation on Ember Island, actually – and they fell in love. Eventually they decided to marry and have a family, and Tye-Lee resigned from the Warriors and moved away."

Zuko put in: "Suki wanted Tye-Lee's husband – Baozi's his name – to relocate to Kyoshi Island so that Tye-Lee could continue her career there. But he wouldn't: he had just opened his restaurant – he's a chef – and didn't mean to give up his dream. It was quite a tug-of-war, with poor Tye-Lee in the middle. Suki lost, and they didn't talk for years."

"So... what happened with Tye-Lee?" Korra asked. "Did she live happily-ever-after?"

"Oh, yes." Zuko said, smiling. "She and Baozi adore one another, and have made a wonderful home and family. The only sticking point early on was that Baozi actually likes larger women, and Tye-Lee was always slim and athletic. But, as she quite liked his cooking; the problem was self-correcting."

Katara laughed. "You never saw a woman so happy to gain fifty pounds!"

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Republic City, the Spirit Portal:

"Things are beginning to look quite different, now." said Tenzin.

The master airbender, Pema, President Raiko, and General Iroh stood at the edge of the vine-carpeted crater, looking down and in at the Spirit Portal. A raised toroidal metal platform had been erected around the swirling sphere of green/yellow light which formed its base, and a sloping metal walkway now connected that ring-like platform to a paved area where the group was gathered. It would obviously now be possible to simply walk to the Portal without having to climb down into the crater and pick one's way through the thick vines.

On the other hand, the walkway was now the only way to easily access the Portal. A ten foot chain-link fence now surrounded the whole crater, and the gate that lead to the walkway was guarded by a pair of United Forces soldiers. Around them all, earthbenders and military engineers with heavy construction and demolition equipment worked to remove the rubble of demolished structures and streets destroyed by Kuvira and her army. In the empty spaces already cleared, temporary buildings and tents were already in place: the beginnings of an eventual permanent military base.

"It's coming along." said General Iroh, a note of pride in his voice. "Nothing compared to what it will be when completed, of course. But we are already having an effect. My people apprehended a suspected burglar two days ago; he was trying to scale the fence and escape into the Spirit World to avoid capture by the police. And we caught a Triad member trying to smuggle prickles just this morning."

"Why would anyone smuggle pickles?" Pema asked in perplexity, and the firebender laughed.

"Not pickles, Pema." Iroh spoke with fond familiarity. He was Lord Zuko's grandson, and his family and Tenzin's had been friends his whole life. "I said prickles. It's slang: the street-name for an illicit drug. It's a green powder derived from the juice of some cactus. When you snort it or eat it it's a powerful hallucinogen."

"Do spirits have an appetite for such?" inquired Raiko as Pema nodded in understanding.

"We're not sure, yet." said Iroh. "Police Sergeant Mako says they'll be looking into that angle. But he also said it was just as likely that the crooks were simply looking for a quick way to move their product to market in the Water Tribes while bypassing the normal port inspectors."

"So, you are restricting access to the Spirit World; and searching people who use the Portal?" Tenzin asked. He sounded troubled by the idea.

"Tenzin, I know you Air Nomads like to move freely, without regard to borders and rules." Raiko's voice, while polite, held a mildly admonishing tone. "But that notion, romantic and attractive as it is, simply can't be applied in the real world to the general public." He smiled, but Tenzin felt no real warmth. "We aren't all as noble, trustworthy, selfless, and unworldly as your people. Besides, what we are requiring of Portal users isn't actually as formal and restrictive as what we put folks through at border-crossings into the Earth states, or at the sea- and airports."

Master Tenzin, who rode a sky-bison and went where he liked, had nonetheless heard many other people complain about the invasive rigors of international travel. "I'm not sure that saying 'this limitation of freedom isn't as bad as these other limitations we impose' is something to proud of, Mr. President."

"Well, if you have some ideas to improve the situation without compromising public safety or national security, I'll be happy to sit down and discuss it." The President said, cooly. "Until then, we should simply agree to disagree."

"Of course." Tenzin's reply was equally frosty, though calm.

An uneasy silence prevailed for a few moment.

"So, Pema: how are you feeling these days?" General Iroh inquired. "I heard that you took ill a while back."

"Oh, it was nothing really." said the Air Acolyte, waving her hands dismissively. "I was working in a hot room on an empty stomach while I was tired and short on sleep, and I had a little fainting-spell; that's all." She glared mildy at her husband. "Some people just overreact and worry too much."

Tenzin smiled at her, unrepentant, then turned back to Raiko. His expression warmed and softened. "And how is your wife, Raiko? I haven't seen her in the papers or out at public appearances for a while."

The politician nodded, accepting the 'olive branch'. "She is doing well. Buttercup is resting at our country place, out by Daoyan. Since she got out of the hospital, she hasn't felt up to resuming public life. We thought it best she recuperate in more peaceful surroundings, but she should be ready to return soon."

"That's good to hear. Please, pass on my best wishes." Tenzin made a gesture of blessing, and Raiko bowed slightly in return.

"So, Iroh?" Pema said brightly, changing the subject. "How do you manage the spirits here at the Portal?'

The soldier laughed. "Not so well yet, I'm afraid. We need to work on that. But so far it's been hard to regulate beings that can mostly become invisible and intangible at will..."

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Ember Island Airfield:

As Asami skillfully brought the airship to ground, Zuko asked the Avatar "So, you've never been to Ember Island before?"

"No, but I've always wanted to. I've heard the beaches are incredible!" Korra enthused.

"They are." said Asami. Everyone looked at her. "I've been a few times, but not for a long while. I still remember. My parents and I used to come here on vacations, back when we were all together." Her tone was tinged with sadness, yet she smiled.

"That's something we have in common, Asami." said the old man. "My own family had its troubles... but some of my earliest memories are of us all happy together here on the island."

"Ember Island is a magical place." said Katara. "It has a way of bringing out the truth for people; and revealing secrets, for the better. Particularly for the newcomers." She smiled at the two younger women, who glanced at one another uncertainly.

"At this point, I don't think we have any secrets from each other." said Korra.

Asami nodded. "Everything's already on the table."

The two older people looked at each other. Katara raised an eyebrow, and Zuko half-smiled.

"Well, then." said the ex-Firelord. "I suppose the magic can have a vacation of its very own."

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At the airport terminal, Zuko helped the girls go through a stack of hotel brochures to make a selection for their stay. Finally, they decided on 'The Lemon Grove Inn': a smaller, intimate place a few blocks from a public beach. Asami in particular was enchanted by the description and photos of the vintage building and its antique furnishings and décor.

A pair of taxis were engaged: Zuko's guards in one vehicle; and Korra, Asami, Katara, and Zuko in the other. Soon they were motoring through the light traffic of Emberton, the island's only settlement. Zuko pointed out various sights as they passed.

Once, they went by a large building prominently marked 'The Ember Island Theater.' Zuko didn't speak, but nudged Katara with an elbow and pointed with his chin.

Suddenly, the old woman flung up her hands and raised her eyes to the cab's roof.

"Honoooooooooooor!" she declaimed, pitching her voice several octaves lower than normal. Then she slumped back on the seat, her head lolling and eyes rolled back; feigning death.

The young women looked at her, amazed. But then Zuko joined his hands before him, and wrung them piteously.

"Oh! All these feelings of hope are making me tear-bend! Boo-hoo-hoo-HOO!" The ex-Firelord screeched in an agonizing falsetto.

The two older people abandoned their poses and collapsed against one another, giggling like children.

Korra and Asami watched them, and then turned to each other.

"Senility?"

"Has to be."

Zuko sobered, and said with mock severity "Girls, it would still be a long walk to the hotel if I put you out right here."

"Sorry." They chorused in unison, and then everyone was laughing again.

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Ember Island, the Lemon-Grove Inn:

Korra and Asami approached the front-desk. The thirty-ish clerk's eyes widened behind horn-rimmed spectacles as they came.

"You're Avatar Korra, aren't you?" she asked. Looking past, her lips pressed together thinly and her nostrils pinched. "And... companion."

Korra frowned a little at the woman's frosty tone. "That's right. We don't have a reservation, but we'd like a room, please."

"Wouldn't two rooms be more... appropriate, Miss Korra?"

The Avatar stiffened, and she heard Asami suck in a breath through her teeth. The women exchanged a glance, and then Asami's eyes flicked to a folded newspaper on the desktop beside the clerk. There on the front-page of Fire Nation Today was a photo of the two of them: side by side with Korra's arm around Asami's waist. The shorter woman was smiling broadly, while the taller looked wide-eyed and a little dazed. The headline screamed "WE'RE DATING!" SAYS AVATAR OF LADY-FRIEND SATO.

Asami placed her hands on the desktop. "One room will be fine, thank you..." she read the woman's name-tag. "... Burinda." Her eyes had turned to chips of green ice.

Burinda climbed down from her stool. "Will you 'ladies' excuse me for just one minute? I apologize for the delay." she said with no apparent sincerity whatsoever. Then she vanished through a curtained doorway into a back-office beyond.

Korra was doing a slow burn. "This is wrong! We shouldn't have to put up with this. I should -"

"We should stay calm, and behave like polite and civilized people... who won't be trifled with." said Asami. "We knew this would be coming, you know. This might be the first time... but it won't be the last. We won't give in... but we can't go nuts, either. OK?"

"OK. But I don't have to like it."

Burinda came back with a middle-aged man wearing nearly-identical spectacles, and also a nearly-identical expression of disdain.

"Avatar Korra? Miss Sato? I am Babitu, the general manger. I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding: we can't give you a room."

Korra clenched her jaw. "A minute ago she offered us two rooms. Make up your mind."

Babitu looked down his long nose at the brunette. "There is no discrepancy, I assure you. Let me be clear. The Lemon-Grove prides itself on being an old-fashioned establishment, where the highest standards of propriety and public-decency are observed. We have no room for you. However, we would be happy to book you into two rooms... on the understanding that your behavior will remain above reproach while you are our guests. One hint of deviant behavior and our tolerance will be revoked, and you will be ejected."

Now Korra clenched her fists, and she took a step forward -

Asami placed a firm hand on the Avatar's shoulder, restraining her. Her face was impassive. "We'll be going now, Mr. Babitu."

"Good day. Enjoy your stay on Ember Island." The hotel-man virtually radiated smug satisfaction as the two women picked up their bags and headed for the spinning-door to the street, Korra glaring back over her shoulder.

Out on the sidewalk, the Avatar rounded on her girlfriend.

"What was that?! You just want to take that lying down? I could've-"

"Done what, Korra? Punched him? Airbended him into the lobby-fountain and then froze him there? Gone into the Avatar-state and brought the whole building down? What would any of that helped?"

Korra stared down at the pavement, still seething. "We can't just let it go."

"We won't." Asami said, steel in her voice. Korra looked up, startled. "This situation calls for strength. For a show of force. But this time, it's a different kind of fight." While the heiress spoke, she was scanning he nearby buildings and storefronts. "There. That'll do. Come on." She pointed across the street at a jewelry boutique. She led the mystified Avatar into the establishment, and asked to speak to the manager.

"If your office has a telephone, I will pay you five-hundred yuans for its use and an hour of privacy, please."

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Slightly more than sixty minutes later, Korra and Asami swept back into the lobby of the Lemon-Grove Inn and approached the front-desk. Burinda looked up, startled.

"What-"

"Get Babitu out here. Now." Asami's voice was cold and commanding. The desk clerk glared, then fled to the back. In a moment she was back, trailing behind the hotel manager.

"Avatar. Miss Sato. Have we reconsidered our options? I'm sure -"

"Shut up, Babitu." The heiress smiled without humor. The middle-aged man's face began to redden with anger.

"Now see here! You can't talk to me that way! And that's MISTER Babitu to y-"

"I'll call you whatever I want, and talk however I like." Asami said. "I'm your boss."

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"No, it really isn't. I just spent some time making some very pricey trans-oceanic phone calls. First back to my offices in Republic City, where I had my people do some quick research. Then to the Fire Nation mainland, where I eventually wound up speaking directly to Hikaru, owner and CEO of Jadetree Hospitality, Inc. I assume you've heard of him? This morning he owned this hotel."

Babitu's face had gone pale. The young businesswoman went on.

"His lawyers and mine will draw up contracts and eventually Hikaru and I will both sign... but as of right now we have a... ahem, 'gentlemen's agreement': I have bought the Lemon-Grove Inn from him. Go make some calls and confirm that, if you want. I'll wait." Her green eyes bored into his brown ones, and he blinked.

"That... that won't be necessary, Miss Sato. I believe you."

"Good. Do you have an assistant manager? Get him out here, please."

Babitu picked up a phone at the desk, and paged a 'Mori' to come to the lobby at once. Mori turned out to be a young man only about ten years older than Asami or Korra.

"Mr. Mori, I'm Asami Sato: the hotel's new owner." Mori looked startled as the heiress shook his hand. "Congratulations. You are the new manager. Mr. Babitu's employment is terminated immediately. Please have someone help him clean out his things: I want him off the property inside thirty minutes."

Mori's jaw dropped, but he recovered quickly. He bowed to Asami, and then shot a look of poorly-concealed satisfaction towards Babitu, who looked close to passing out. Plainly there was no love lost there. "Right away, Miss Sato. Will there be anything else?"

"Two things." Asami's pitiless gaze settled on Burinda the desk-clerk. "All this started with you. All you had to do was check us in... At your next job, try just doing your work without passing judgment on the customers. Now, hit the bricks." The woman glared impotently, picked up her purse, and stomped from behind the desk towards the exit, pausing only to shout "Perverted freaks!" venomously over her shoulder as she left. When she entered the spinning door, Korra suddenly airbended the apparatus to whirl about in a sudden strong wind that dumped Burinda unceremoniously onto her rear on the sidewalk outside.

"And, one more thing." Asami sounded weary. "Can you please find us a new desk clerk, so my girlfriend and I can finally check in? I'm tired, I have a headache, and I really want a shower now."

Mori smiled, and his tone exuded admiration. "Miss Sato, Avatar Korra... it will be my great honor to attend to that personally. Welcome to the Lemon-Grove: I hope you enjoy your stay with us!"

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Republic City, the Four Elements Hotel.

Wu's chin slipped off his cupped palm and the king nearly smashed his face into the conference-table before catching himself and jerking upright. He realized that once again he had dozed off; lately it had become a familiar sensation.

Around the long table the dozen odd delegates of the former Earth Kingdom provinces – now essentially independent states – seemed not to notice his gaffe. They continued to wrangle over the latest political bone of contention; struggling to develop a framework for a new central government for what was being tentatively called the Earth Confederation.

At issue today was the exact numbers of voting members that would make up the EC's legislative body. Some delegates favored a scheme whereby each state/province would be represented based on the population of the state. This had sounded perfectly straightforward and reasonable to Wu… until it was pointed out that this could result in the interests and priorities of the smaller states (such as Yi) being completely ignored or even trampled upon by the larger states (such as Ba Sing Se).

An alternative idea that would avoid that problem was that each state simply have equal representation, Again, this sounded fine to Wu… until it pointed out that it would mean that a lawmaker representing a mere 100,000 people (from, say, Yi) would have the same power and influence as a lawmaker representing a million people (from, say, Ba Sing Se). The unfairness of this was obvious to Wu, too.

It had all given Wu a headache. After he had swallowed some willowbark-concentrate the pain had eventually faded, to be replaced by intense boredom. It was obvious that the two opposite visions had to reconciled some way, but he had no idea how… and obviously neither did anyone else, so the talks just kept going around in circles.

"Are you feeling alright, Your Majesty?" whispered Delegate Taori, sitting to Wu's left. His inquiring look managed to be both wryly knowing and stickily-ingratiating all at once. The Earth King was beginning to loathe the man... not least of all because he was the leader of what Wu was beginning to think of as the Royalist faction: those who wanted to Wu to be an active part of leading whatever government coalesced from these proceedings, despite his protestations that he wanted no such thing and couldn't abdicate soon enough to suit him. Thankfully the Royalists were more than balanced by the Egalitarians (who wanted to abolish all titles of royalty and nobility in the EC) and the Moderates (who advocated for Wu remaining a ceremonial figurehead with no real powers or responsibilities.

"Just peachy, Taori. Thanks for asking." To discourage further sotto-voce conversation, Wu took up the pen and notepad in front of him and began sketching whatever came into his head. He drew caricatures of the delegates. He drew some of his musicians. He drew Ginger dressed in a chainmail bikini, riding a badger-mole.

His thoughts drifted every which way while he doodled, and soon he found himself thinking about Korra and Asami. When the news had hit the front page, he had been totally surprised. In retrospect though, it actually made a lot of sense: it explained why each of them had been so impervious to his charm. Still, who was he to judge, right? He was still happy to call both ladies his friends. He worried that they might get a cold reception from some quarters when they got home from vacation, and resolved to do something to show his support. Maybe write a song to honor them and their new romance? He was glad for them; after all, from what he had pieced together from Mako (sigh...poor Mako...) and others it was plain that the two women had waited a long time to be together... a long, looong time.

Hmm. That might be the beginning of a song-hook right there! Wu flipped to a fresh page and began roughing out some lyrics and musical-notations, humming softly to himself as he worked.

Around him, the meeting went on unnoticed.

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Ember Island, the Lemon-Grove Inn:

In their room (the Royal Suite, no less) Korra casually tossed her pack onto the huge four-poster bed, waited for Asami to do the same, and then immediately enveloped the young engineer in a nearly-crushing embrace, kissing her passionately until they were both out of breath.

"... Not... complaining... but... wheew! Head rush! What was that for?" The newly-minted hotelier collapsed back onto the embroidered coverlet, arms stretching langorously above her head.

"Are you kidding? You just just did more with a couple of phone calls than I could've done with every bending trick I know! You are the most terrific person in the whole history of terrific people being terrific." While she spoke, Korra knelt by the bed and grasped Asami's right calf and ankle, and began wiggling off the coal-haired woman's boot.

"Korra, what are you doing?"

"Well... you said you wanted a shower. Since you've already done so much for us today, I thought I would spare you all the labor and exertion of getting undressed." Korra kissed her girl's naked sole. Asami shivered once, and then sighed with contentment as the Avatar began tugging on her left boot.

"I have a good feeling about this hotel. So far, the room-service is first rate!"

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Asami stepped from the shower after wringing her long hair semi-dry, and wrapped a towel around her head turban-fashion. Attending to the rest of her long, toned form; she slipped into her black/red nightgown and began to open the bathroom door. The heiress stopped halfway as she heard Korra's voice speaking softly.

"...and I hope that you can see that so much of your original dream has come true, and that the world has moved more into balance and harmony with the spirits. Although I still believe you lost your way, I hope you can take comfort in knowing that in the end things moved in a positive direction because of you..."

The Avatar fell silent, and Asami paused until she felt sure she was done. The young industrialist had wondered when Korra had declined her invitation to shower together... now she knew, although she still didn't quite understand why.

She stepped out into the bedroom, and the Avatar relaxed her cross-legged meditative posture without turning.

"Korra... what are you doing? Who were you talking to?"

The brunette hesitated.

"Unalaq."

"What do you mean? I thought Unalaq was dead. He died when you destroyed Vaatu."

"Vaatu can't really be destroyed as long as Raava exists. The two are inseparable reflections of each other. The Spirit of Darkness and Chaos is just... greatly diminished now, maybe for ten-thousand years or so."

"OK... and Unalaq?"

"I've been thinking about what Iroh said to you... about how the dead can sometimes hear us when we remember them, talk about them... talk to them..."

"I remember."

"Well, I started thinking about a lot of my adversaries, now passed: Amon, Tarllok, Unalaq, Ai-wei, P'li, Gazhan, Ming-Hua..."

"And...?"

"Well, at least Unalaq has his children and his widow to think of him... although the twins don't seem to think well of him anymore. But the others... does anyone mourn Amon? Did Ghazan have a wife somewhere? Did Ming-Hua ever bear children, who miss her?"

"I... I guess never thought about it."

"Me neither, until recently. But now I wonder what it must be like to be... passed on, and have no one left among the living who cares about you."

Asami cupped her chin thoughtfully. "I know that different people believe different things about life-after-death. Some think everyone gets to be reincarnated, not just the Avatar... but unlike you used to, no one else ever had any reliable memories or strong connection to the past selves. Some people think you stay in the world as a ghost and linger near your home and family and even down the generations with your descendants. Some think you go to a paradise- or punishment-dimension based on how good a person you were in life. Some people think that when you die you just... end: that this one life is all you ever have."

"What do you believe, Asami?"

"I don't really know. Maybe different things happen to different people? We can't really know for sure, whatever that some people – Element Sages, gurus, etc. – claim to have the one true answer. But so far what I do know is that I've actually met two people who would seem to have a good claim to an authoritative opinion: you, the Avatar; and Iroh, an actual dead man. And neither of you seems to have all the answers, so I don't really worry that I don't either."

Korra smiled. "That sounds like a kind of wisdom to me. Anyway, on the off-chance that they can hear me and gain some solace or peace, I mean to take some time when I can to talk to the dead I've left behind me. It seems like the least I can do for them."

The heiress looked at her girlfriend, face full of soft wonder. "Korra, please don't take this the wrong way... but you've come so far and grown so much since I met you. I can't imagine that girl from Tarrlok's party – glaring at me over a boy – ever talking or even thinking about such things. It's incredible."

The Avatar took Asami's face in her hands and pulled her down for a brief kiss. "I'm not offended. Everybody changes as life goes on. I'm glad you think that I've changed for the better."

For a while they just stood together in a soft embrace, occasionally sighing in contentment. Finally Korra broke away reluctantly.

"OK, time for my shower; and then I say we get to sleep early. We've got Ember Island to explore tomorrow!"

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Former southern Earth Kingdom, the Yan-jhung Highway, near mile-marker 745:

Chun was beginning to think that becoming a bandit had been a bad career decision.

Over a month ago, after Kuvira had surrendered to the Avatar, she and her squad-mates from the 7th Mech-Infantry had ignored the orders that came down to lay down arms and submit to local authorities. Instead, she and her buddies had taken their armored suit-vehicles, repair-tools and spare parts, and all the other supplies they could carry and retreated into the hills. Since then they had staked out a stretch of the highway where it hugged a steep hillside, and begun robbing the big freight-trucks and occasional luxury-satos that came by. The lightly-armed local militia and police forces had not dared to oppose them.

But today was turning out differently. It had begun well enough, when their lookout had radioed that a big tractor-trailer marked 'Fujimori Furriers' was headed their way. Chun had almost salivated at the news: she had a cousin in the fur-coat business back in Omashu that would be happy to buy the stolen goods: everyone would make out like... well: bandits.

The ambush had unfolded like clockwork. The doomed truck had rounded a bend in the road only to screech to a halt before several mechsuits. Several more armored robbers had emerged from a earthbended cave in the hillside behind the vehicle, cutting off any escape. They closed in to accept the driver's surrender and begin looting the cargo.

Instead, the driver (a slender young woman) had jumped down from the cab to rush them, yelling "Juicy: now! Now!" and a freakin' ten-ton monster sky-bison had flown roaring from out of hiding in the back of the trailer. Between the ferocious tail-swipes of the giant beast and the gale-force winds produced by both it and the girl (plainly an airbender; the distinctive jumpsuit only confirming the obvious), most of Chun's companions had been knocked clean off the road to tumble helplessly down the steep hillside to a exceedingly rough landing hundred of yards below.

So now here she was, trying to chase down the airbender to deliver some payback. But the girl kept retreating down the road, staying just out of range of her flamethrowers and arc-bolters: it was like she knew the suit's specs in detail! And she kept scooping up grit and gravel from the road with her bended wind and sending it at the suit... the armor took no harm, but her tempered-glass helmet visor was getting cloudy and pitted from the constant abrasion.

Perhaps it was her impaired vision that kept her from seeing the deep hole that suddenly opened directly in front of her, but for whatever reason the suit halted and she felt the jolt from her feet and ankles up through her neck and skull as she fell chest-deep into the pit.

Shaking her head to clear it, Chun tried to plan her next move. But her scrambled thoughts were disrupted even further by the sudden pingpingping of her suit's temperature gauge warning of danger-level overheating. But that made no sense: the mech could operate for over an hour at full capacity before-

With a thrill of terror, Chun realized two things: she could feel the heat radiating into the suit's interior most intensely from her feet and lower legs, and that the pit she was trapped in was rapidly filling with molten lava!

Panicked, the bandit reached out and hit the ejector-switch: the explosive bolts blew her canopy away even as a charge under her seat sent her sailing up and back out of the whole. Parting ways with the seat in mid-air, she tumbled in free-fall and tried to brace for impact.

Instead, she found herself caught and cushioned to a safe and soft-ish landing in the strong arms of a man. A large, muscular man. A large, muscular man with eyes like grass in the summertime; smiling at her with teeth as white and sparkling as pearls from a face that put her in mind of the finest-

"Bolin, I don't much like seeing you holding another woman like that."

"Sorry babe. Just didn't want her getting hurt." The man – Bolin? The Bolin? – set her down gently on her feet.

"It's OK. You: I'm going to tie your wrists and ankles. Don't get any smart ideas." The airbender girl addressed this last to Chun. Knowing she was beaten, Chun submitted meekly.

Later, after she and her comrades (all bound, and most unconscious) had been bundled into the back of the trailer, Chun overheard her captors through the metal doors.

"So, let's press on to the next town and turn these creeps over to the local cops." said Bolin. He sounded so resolute and heroic, just like Nuktuk!

"Of course." said the girl. "And then what?"

"I dunno... lunch?"

"Sounds good to me. And then maybe find a quite place to lie down?"

"Seriously? I'm not really that tired, are you?"

"Nope."

"But then why...?... Ohhhhh...!"

As the voices moved away and out of earshot Chun heard high-pitched giggling, which became a surprised yelp just after what sounded suspiciously like a broad palm impacting a firm backside. Then, more giggling mingled with deeper laughter…

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Ember Island, The Lemon-Grove-Inn:

The next morning as they waited for their room service breakfast to arrive, Korra darted down to the lobby in her bare feet and red hotel-provided bathrobe. After finding the Inn's gift-shop/newsstand, she returned to the suite laden with magazines, newspapers, and brochures just as a server was laying out their tray of round-loaves, buttercheese, and smoked pinkfish. A pot of hot tea and a carafe of chilled fruit-juice rounded out their light meal.

"Your 'rivet-porn', m'lady." the Avatar drawled, placing copies of Aeronatics Monthly and Engineering Digest down in front of Asami The heiress stuck her tongue out at the Avatar. Korra held up her own copy of Pro-Bending Illustrated: the lead-article featured on the cover promised all the secrets of 'the new Fire Nation League teams turning up the heat!' in the sport. "At least my fetishes involve actual people, Sato."

"Keep talking that way, watergirl. We'll see if you ever make it past 'Zone One' again." The girls exchanged teasing smirks and pouts for a few moments. Then Asami excitedly dove into an article about next-generation miniaturized firebender-driven steam turbines, while Korra began paging through a copy of the Republic City Recorder.

After a minute she exclaimed "Hey! Mako's in the paper!" and Asami looked up from her magazine with an interested expression.

"Today Police Chief Lin Beifong officially announced the formation of a new Spirit Crimes Unit." read Korra, attempting – badly – to imitate Shiro Shinobi's distinctive voice and delivery. "This fresh branch of law enforcement is tasked with addressing the new challenges arising from the ever-increasing spirit presence in Republic City." The Avatar went on "Blah-blah-blah law and order blah blah blah civic stability blah blah blah... Leading the new unit is Mako, newly promoted to the rank of Detective-Sergeant – Go Mako! Woo-hoo!" Korra pumped a fist in the air. " – who is an experienced veteran in spirit-affairs due to his association with the Avatar. In advance of this official announcement, Chief Beifong confirmed that the new SCU had already been active on the streets for nearly a week, already credited with quelling several disturbances and solving several cases... And again: Woo-hoo! Go Mako! … The SCU has also been actively consulting – what does that even mean, exactly? – in the murder case of Patrol Officer Du-Fei, founded garroted near the new Spirit Portal, although spirit involvement has yet to be definitely confirmed in that killing."

Asami smiled. "I'm happy for Mako. This is a great opportunity for him: I'm sure he'll do well."

"Me too." said the Avatar. She was silent for a few moments, and then she spoke again, with an air of hesitant shyness. "Asami... it's none of my business I guess, but... you and Mako...?"

"What are you asking?" Asami had put down her 'rivet-porn' and was paying attention with a neutral expression.

Korra was blushing, and looked down as she mumbled "Did you two ever... you know...?"

"Oh yes. More than once." said the heiress matter-of-factly. "What about you and him?"

"I... we... yeah." The brunette stammered. "Kind of a lot actually, for a while. Until things started downhill for us during all that trouble with Unalaq."

The two women regard one another; Korra flustered and embarrassed, Asami calm and composed.

"So, is curiosity satisfied there?" said the engineer finally. "Or should we start comparing notes, drawing diagrams, etc...?"

"No! No, I'm good. Sorry I asked, kind of." The Avatar picked up her newspaper and began flipping its pages again. Asami returned to her magazine.

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After breakfast, Asami announced a desire to go shopping for bathing-suits and other needed items for enjoying Ember Island's beaches and other attractions. The girls made a pact to each select the other's swimwear, and had a couple of wonderful hours modeling for each other in the changing-rooms of various clothing boutiques in Emberton's downtown retail district.

Soon after lunchtime they were sauntering onto a large public beach lightly crowded with other vacationers. Even surrounded by so many other scantily-clad people, the couple drew attention and admiring glances… and not because of their celebrity status: both women were wearing wide-brimmed straw sun-hats and big sunglasses that worked to conceal their identities.

Once again Asami had selected white (speckled with tiny blue dots) for the basic color of Korra's outfit: her skin seemed even darker by contrast. The Avatar's form was showcased by a two-piece suit that displayed the muscled ridges of her abdomen, and also revealed daring expanses of her firm rear. Draped over one arm was a white robe with an attached hood; for if the tropical sun later proved to be too intense for the polar-bred girl.

Korra had chosen a one-piece suit for Asami of stretchy black fabric that looked painted onto the heiress's curves. Thin red vertical pinstripes accentuated the tall woman's torso, and the bottom of the suit was cut high on angles to reveal her jutting hipbones and make her milky legs seem even longer than normal. Her whole body was also covered – but not at all concealed – but a scarlet gossamer wrap that seemed little more than a red haze floating around her in the sea-breeze.

In short, they were stunning and they knew it. While the rest of the beach-goers ogled them, they ogled each other; giving flirty looks over the tops of their dark glasses.

Suddenly Asami tripped and measured her considerable length along the beach. In her distraction the young industrialist had stumbled over a large and perhaps overly-ambitious sand castle. The structure's architect and builder, a boy of perhaps eight, immediately began howling with rage; jumping up and down and pointing his accusing finger at the ruined edifice as his face reddened.

"I'm sorry!" the green-eyed woman said, recovering from her face-plant climbing to her feet. "Sorrysorrysorry!" She waved her hands ineffectually as the kid began to wail, his face screwing up into a gnarled mask of misery. A small crowd began to form as nearby loungers wandered over, curious to see the source of commotion.

"Everybody relax: I've got this." Korra's voice was reassuring and full of confidence.

The Avatar set her feet firmly, wiggling her bare toes into the warm sand. Then abruptly she fell to one knee, driving a clenched fist into the beach. A swirling cyclone of sand sprang up and then subsided, revealing the fallen castle restored to its full glory.

"Yay!" crowed the little boy, rushing over to hug the brunette around the waist. "Thankyouthankyou!"

"Yes, thank you." said Asami "My hero." The heiress smiled as she observed that Korra has added a slight embellishment to the structure: atop the tall central tower now could be seen two small human figures embracing. They were simple and lacking in detail; but they were both obviously female, and one was noticeably taller than the other...

Korra heard one of the onlookers say her name, and then began to pick up words like 'earthbending' and 'Avatar' beginning to circulate. She disentangled herself from the boy and took Asami's hand.

"Happy to help out." she said to the boy, and to the surrounding people in general. Then she muttered aside to the engineer "Let's move on before we get mobbed by fans."

But the couple had only made it a short ways down the beach when they were accosted by a pretty woman of about thirty. She was dressed causally but not in swimwear.

"Excuse me?" she said, also waving a hand to draw attention. Once she had it, she lowered her voice a little. "Are you really the Avatar?"

"Yes, I am. Can I do something for you?" Korra replied.

"Yes, if you would!" said the woman. "I'm Meili-sah, by the way. My husband and I are doing an art project, and we'd love it if you – and your friend, of course – would participate."

"What kind of art project?" Asami sounded interested, but a little skeptical.

"Please, it will be simpler to explain once you're seeing it. Will you follow me? It's not far."

The couple eyed one another over their sunglasses. Asami gave a slight nod and Korra smiled.

"OK, lead on."

Meili-sah conducted them down the beach to where a large group of several dozen people of all ages and both sexes were arranged in loose lines with their backs to the ocean. Facing them all was a lone man in his mid-thirties; apparently trying to demonstrate and teach a simple dance routine. A gramophone, its speaker amplified with a trumpet-like attachment, provided musical accompaniment from where it sat on the sand. Nearby, an unattended mover-camera stood on its tripod.

"Matsu!" Meili-sah waved her arms to attract the man's –her husband, apparently – attention, and beckoned him over. He came striding across the sand to them. He had pleasant, regular features and was of slightly more than average height. His attire consisted of a black undershirt and red shorts.

"I hope I've found some special dancers for us." Meili-sah indicated the couple with a flourish of intruduction. "I want you to meet Korra, the Avatar! And her friend… umm… I'm sorry? I didn't get your name."

"Asami. Asami Sato." said the heiress, bemused. She reflected that perhaps not everyone in the world was aware or even interested in Korra and she's personal life.

"Thanks, Asami. No offense. Anyway, this is my husband, Matsu." The man bowed.

"It's quite an honor to meet you, Avatar. And I've heard of you too, Asami." Matsu's bearing was respectful and interested, but not overly so. He plainly had a lot on his mind.

"Nice to meet you too." Korra answered politely, and then went on with curiosity. "So… dancers? You're filming a bunch of random people dancing on the beach?"

Matsu laughed easily. "Pretty much. But it's a little more involved than that. Of the footage we shoot today, probably only ten seconds or so will actually show up in a piece that should be four or five minutes long. But I'm traveling all over the world and filming different individuals and groups of people wherever I go, trying for as much variety and diversity as I can."

Asami raised a perfect eyebrow. "No offense, but that sounds like a lot of trouble just to make a dancing mover-short."

"I know what you mean." Matsu grinned. "But I like seeing different places, and meeting new people. I think it's worth the effort. We've already done a lot of shooting in the Fire Nation, of course: the capitol and some of the major cities, but also some out-of-the-way places like the Sun Warriors' old city and a Yuyan Archer training-village. Mostly we've shot with ordinary folks, but we also got this year's entire graduating class of the On Ji Dance Academy to join us."

"And you're going to scour the whole world, just to dance with people? Why?" Korra tried not to sound negative; she didn't want to offend or discourage.

"Who doesn't like music and dancing?" Matt smiled again, but his eyes were serious. "I mean it. It is something we all – people of all nations and cultures – have in common. Something we share. Something that connects us, even when the particulars of the dance are different. That's what I want to show, and remind people of. So I'm looking forward to dancing – badly, I'm afraid – with both Northern and Southern Water folk… and when I get to the former Earth Kingdom: wow! I'm going to dance with swampbenders, sandbenders, singing nomads, Gan-Jin-Zhang tribesfolk, Zaofu metal-clanspeople, and beetle-headed merchants! I'm going to dance on the slideways of Omashu, with Kyoshi Warriors, and in every ring of Ba Sing Se. And when I get to Republic City, I want to dance on Air Temple Island with Nomads and Acolytes, in the great Pro-Bending Arena, and even in front of the new Spirit Portal – maybe with some spirits!"

Matsu's enthusiasm was infectious: Korra and Asami were both smiling broadly by this time.

"Right: Let's get to it, then!" Korra pumped a fist. "What do you want us to do?"

"For now just join the crowd and learn the dance. It shouldn't take long for you to get it down. Then when we shoot I'll want you up front and on either side of me, while Meili-sah runs the camera. Don't worry: since I dance really badly, you two should look great! That's all… just be part of the dancing crowd. Later on though when I am talking up this mover to people – about distribution and such - I'm sure it will mean a lot to have had the Avatar dancing in it: so thank you in advance for that."

Thirty minutes later, it was all done. Korra felt that she had acquitted herself well; and Asami was, as usual, poetry in motion. As the vacationers-cum- dancers dispersed, Korra and Asami remained to chat with Matsu and Meili-sah as they packed up the camera, gramophone, and other equipment.

"That was fun, Matsu. Thank you for inviting us." Asami said, shrugging gracefully back into her filmy wrap. Korra, who had just acquired a meat-filled bun from a vendor and stuffed it whole into her mouth, simply made a thumb-up gesture.

"You're welcome. And I hope everyone enjoys the finished product, later." Matsu said. "But it's really about more than that. After all that's been going on in the world the past few years… I mean: attempted revolution in the Republic, civil war between the Water Tribes, the disintegration of the Earth Kingdom, and then the rise of Kuvira's Empire, less dramatic troubles here in the Fire Nation… I think that with all the chaos it's easy for people to feel lost and disconnected. I just want to remind people that we are all lost together; remember we're the same. We are connected. Forgive the stereotypical metaphor, but we are all the glowing embers of a distant fire."

Matsu chuckled, and rubbed his neck with an embarassed expression. "Sorry. I just keep talking, don't I? Glad to have met you, Avatar Korra; and you too, Asami. Enjoy the rest of your vacation."

A little later, as the couple strolled away down the beach, Korra remarked "All things considered, it's probably a good thing our trip will be over in a few more days."

"Why is that?" asked Asami, frowning a little.

Korra smiled. "Because if I don't get back to work soon, that Matsu guy might just restore balance to the world before I can!"

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Zaofu:

Bataar Jr. sat on a metal bench overlooking the Powerdisc court, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Silently he watched his youngest siblings, the twins Wei and Wing, as they competed against each other. His mouth quirked in a smile occasionally at the self-congratulatory whooping and viciously-amiable smack talk that floated up to him from the teenagers, punctuating the continuous wung-wang-clang of the flying metal game-pieces.

The engineer reflected that despite his problems – he still faced criminal charges, after all – he was feeling better than he had for weeks; since before the disastrous invasion of the Republic. He had his bad hours – and days – full of pain still, but the wholly unexpected support and love of his family was slowly healing him.

He saw his parents coming down the garden path towards him. He waved to both of them, and his mother waved back with a smile. Her husband merely nodded, and Junior suppressed a frown. Somehow, his father had just seemed off recently. While it had been he who had most tirelessly campaigned to extract his son from self-imposed isolation, since Junior had emerged he had seemed sightly... distant. It was odd.

"So, who's winning?" Su asked, seating herself next to him.

"Hard to tell. They forgot to continue keeping score about fifteen minutes ago. The one on the left, maybe?" It was a running-gag in the family that Bataar Jr. couldn't tell his 'identical' brothers apart.

"That's Wing, dear." his mother said, knowing that he knew.

"If you say so."

After a moment he turned his attention to Bataar, Sr.

"Father, are you still headed for Republic City tomorrow?"

The older started a bit as if he had been lost in thought, then gave his eldest son a smile and nod. "Yes. I have some sketches and preliminary plans for the new City Hall, and need to present them to the central planning committee for their consideration and approval."

"If you want, I can go over them with you later." the engineer said, almost shyly. "You know, you have a tendency to overestimate the shear-strength of ferro-concrete."

"That would be very helpful, son. Thank you." Bataar Sr. reached into his pocket and pulled out a postal envelope. "Oh, I almost forgot. This came for you in the morning mail."

Junior took the letter, glancing at it curiously as he began to tear open one end. He froze when he saw the handwriting of his own name and address. Then, hands trembling, he pulled out the single sheet of paper within. All the color had drained from his face by the time he finished reading the short paragraph.

"What is it, sweetie?" Suyin asked, concern plain in her voice. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's Kuvira." Bataar Jr.s voice held a mix of emotions too complex to describe. "She wants to see me."

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Ember Island, the Lemon-Grove Inn:

"Hey, this tofu is really good. The chef really got the spices just right. Want a bite?" Asami obligingly leaned forward across the table to allow Korra to chopstick some of the food into her mouth. The heiress made an appreciative mmmmm sound, then offered up her own mushroom risotto for the brunette.

Both women had dressed for dinner; as the Inn's dining-room, while not overly stuffy, was obviously no place for either swimsuits or their worn travel-garb. Once again, Korra and Asami had dressed each other from the selections available in Emberton's clothing shops. Korra's dress was a blue so deep it was nearly black, which lightened her dark complexion by contrast. The neckline was deeply scooped to showcase her decotellage, and the loose, flowing sleeves artfully concealed the muscularity of her arms and shoulders. The Avatar felt more 'girly' than she had in a while, but really had no complaints.

Korra has chosen an equivalent-but-opposite strategy for Asami's outfit. The engineer usually seemed quite fair-skinned in her customary black... so the Avatar had decked her in a shimmering white sleeveless top with a matching short skirt, and voila: an amber-fleshed dream-vision appeared as if by magic

"Mmmm... nice mushrooms. The menu said they were 'wild-gathered', not cultivated. I guess that makes a difference!" Korra enthused. "This place is great. Are you going to keep it?"

"I'm not sure." said Asami. "I mean... hotels aren't exactly in my line: there's not a rivet or a pressure-gauge to be seen. I had been meaning to re-sell it as soon as I could get a decent offer and recoup the purchase price, or even make a little profit. But now I'm not sure. As long as it keeps making money... and it might be nice to have a place we can count on, when we come here again. So we don't have to worry about another scene like with Babitu."

Korra frowned at the ex-manager's name, and Asami smiled apologetically. Then the Avatar's expression grew thoughtful.

"You know... we might not be the only ones to appreciate a friendly and safe place; like this could be."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there have got to be other women – and men too! – like us, who have trouble when they travel. Who have to lie, and hide who they are... but would rather not."

Now it was Asami who looked pensive. "I get what you are saying. If we could get the word out that the Lemon-Grove is a haven, a welcoming place for... different people, like us... hmmm, it will probably lose the hotel some business, from 'traditional' minded customers..."

Korra's face fell, then brightened again as Asami continued.

"...but we might make it up again, and more, from the specialty-niche market of people like us, AND their friends. I mean, think about it: if we come here again with the whole gang, do you think Mako, Bolin and Opal, Tenzin and Pema, are going to stay somewhere else? No: the Inn will get us all!"

"This could be really great." agreed the Avatar. "I hope it works out that way."

The couple ate and chatted for several minutes about trivial topics. Then suddenly Asami gasped and her eyes widened as she looked at something behind Korra.

"Oh! Oh my! Oh oh oh oh oh!" The young industrialist's hands fluttered in agitation. Korra began to twist and turn around to see what was going on, and Asami hissed at her.

"No! Don't look!... Well, OK; look, but be casual." the heiress said, anything but casual in her intensity.

Mystified, the Avatar turned slowly as though to check the time displayed by an antique grandfather-clock across the room. Then her pose of nonchalance dissolved instantly as she beheld the single most handsome man she had ever seen.

Seated alone at a small table, he was perhaps five-to-ten years older than she or Asami, and tall enough that even the engineer would have to look up at him in close quarters. His broad shoulders, rounded with muscle, strained the white fabric of his shirt. The shirt tapered to his narrow waist, vanishing into soft-looking black trousers that clung tightly to his athletic hips and legs. A red leather jacket was slung negligently over the back of his chair.

His smooth and flawless skin was as dark as Korra's, but his large golden eyes indicated Fire Nation blood as well. His features were nearly perfect in their symmetry; his nose was aquiline and almost too big, his jaw angular with a dimpled chin, his mouth full and sensuous-looking. He had soot-black hair that fell in loose waves down to his collar.

Korra and Asami sighed together, then eyed one another almost guiltily.

"You know who that is, right?' the taller woman said, her voice hushed.

"Nope, sorry." said the Avatar, reassembling her 'cool.' "Who?"

"Really? That's Shiroda."

"The mover-actor? I know the name, but I've never seen him in anything."

"Seriously? Not even 'Blaze' Bandai: Void Captain?"

"The adventure-serial? I've heard Bolin talk about that. He doesn't think much of it, I guess: calls it 'Nuktuk In Space.'"

"Pfft. Professional jealousy. The production-values are just as good, and the writing is better because it's not meant to be a political propaganda-piece like 'Nuktuk' was." Then the heiress's green eyes drifted over Korra's shoulder again, and she said "And, it's got him."

"Wow, you sound like his number-one fangirl." Korra's tone was amused, but surprisingly Asami didn't rise to the bait.

"I guess so. I've got all of his movers at home. His breakout role was in Army Of Scholars... even though it was just a supporting character, he stole every scene he was in. Oh! If he's here now, he must be done shooting Crossing The Ruby Khan! That's supposed to be a historical drama-romance about Jei-Wun; a legendary Sun Warrior from ancient times. I've been reading about it in the magazines."

"Wow." said the brunette, again."I had no idea the Fire Nation's mover-industry had built up so far, so fast."

"Oh yes. Kitsune Pictures – Shiroda is signed with them – in particular is really starting to give Varrick's people and the other Republic City studios a run for their money."

Something Asami had said finally clicked in Korra's head. "Wait. You said you had this guy's movers at home? What does that mean?"

"What? Oh, that's right... you've never made it over to my place-" said the millionaire, airily referring to her enormous estate with its huge mansion and numerous outbuildings."- since you came back. I did some remodeling a while back, and had a few walls in a couple of guest-rooms torn out to make a home mover-theater. It's nice for me- I host mover-parties sometimes- and for Granny Yin and her clan too. I have an arrangement with some of the Republic City theaters to borrow their reels before they return them to the studio distributors... although some films I like enough to just buy outright. I own all of The Nuktuk Chronicles, of course-" she said loyally, and then her gaze wandered past Korra again. "-and also all of his work."

"Right. You said that." The Avatar was trying to stay amused, but was starting to find Asami's devotion to the actor.. unsettling.

Then the engineer's face assumed an expression close to panic. "He's coming over. He's coming here! He must've seen us looking. He's coming over!"

"Relax. Breathe. He's just an actor. A few weeks ago you helped fight Kuvira and her Colossus."

This advice seemed to steady Asami, and the two women produced calm expressions of mild interest when the man approached their table.

"Please excuse my interruption, ladies. Miss, are you by any chance Asami Sato? Of Future Industries? My name is Shiroda."

"I- I- Yes, I'm Asami." The heiress looked down suddenly, her cheeks flaming red. She seemed unlikely to say more anytime soon.

Korra took the initiative."I'm sorry, my girlfriend is a little shy with strangers. We recognized you too, and Asami is a big admirer of your movers." Korra checked, a bit surprised at herself. Why had she come down so heavily on the word 'girlfriend'?

Neither the actor nor Asami appeared to have noticed anything unusual. Shiroda turned to the shorter woman, and his eyes widened a fraction.

"You're Korra, aren't you? The Avatar?" The golden-eyed man bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you from the back. It is is a very great honor to meet you. Like everyone else in our world, I owe you my life: thank you."

Despite herself, Korra felt herself flushing at the handsome man's praise. "You're welcome, of course. Just doing my Avatar-duty."

By this time, Asami had recovered her composure. "Nice to meet you, Shiroda. Would you like to sit with us?"

"Well, just for a minute, thank you.. My food should be coming shortly." he said, gesturing back to his own table. With graceful and economic motions the actor pulled out a chair and seated himself. "Asami, I hope you don't mind me intruding, but I just needed to tell you that for years I have been totally in love-"

Both Korra and Asami stopped breathing.

"-with satomobiles!"

Normal respiration resumed.

"I started collecting pictures and models when I was ten, and by fifteen I think I had read everything ever written by or about your father – may he rest in peace – and his company. Your company, now. Before I got into acting, I even thought about being a professional sato-racer! That didn't work out... although I still like to open it up and pretend when I'm on the highway with no one around." He laughed, and both women found themselves laughing with him. Korra had no idea why.

"So, are you through with filming Ruby Khan? Are any of your co-stars here with you?" Asami seemed much more at ease now.

"No way!" the actor snorted. "I mean: yes, we are done with that. But no, nobody else is here on Ember. Don't get me wrong... most of them are great people, and I made some new friends... but after twelve weeks of shooting, I don't want to see any of them again for a while. We compared vacation-plans halfway through... I don't think anybody in the cast is within a hundred miles of anybody else for the next few weeks!"

Korra and the others saw a waiter hovering near Shiroda's abandoned table uncertainly, balancing a dish-laden tray on one palm.

The actor pushed his chair back. "Well, nice to meet you both. I should go-"

"No! There's no reason you should eat alone... why don't you join us?" said Asami, with a quick glance at Korra. The Avatar had no time to respond before the taller woman was already gesturing broadly to the server to bring Shiroda's meal to their table.

The ensuing dinner conversation was lively, interesting, and funny… for Shiroda and Asami.

Korra barely managed a smile the whole time. And Asami seemed not to notice.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A White Lotus Prison, near Republic City:

Tenzin and Zaheer faced each other within arm's reach, each comfortably sitting lotus. The younger man's face betrayed frustration and embarrassed annoyance.

"Master Tenzin, I have been meditating on the new koan you gave me last time – 'Show me the face you wore before your grand-parents were born.' – and I confess I have made no detectable progress with it."

"How have you approached the challenge?" Tenzin was calm and placid.

"It is well-known that the Avatar can somehow communicate with his-or-her past incarnations; to seek guidance, insight, or information. I thought that since I can already match the Avatar in spirit-projection, with effort and intent I might be able to imitate that other ability as well. So, I meditated and visualized myself regressing in age; and tried to feel and think like I did as a young man, a teenager, a boy, a toddler, and finally an infant... and then push beyond to a past life."

"And?"

"Failure." Zaheer said flatly. "I had no visions or insights but what were obviously self-created fantasies."

"You were working too hard." said the Air Nomad. "And also looking in the wrong place."

"Yes, plainly." the prisoner complained. "Care to offer any hint?"

Tenzin sighed. "You are like a thirsty man treading through the desert, vainly searching for an oasis... all the while forgetting the bulging water-skin hanging by your side."

"Speak plainly for once, monk."

"Very well, although I''m not really doing you any favor by doing so. Some few people – apart from the Avatar - throughout the ages have been able to do what you attempted: recover memories from past lives or commune with former personalities. A handful – we call them tulku – have even been essentially merged with a past self... this usually only happens to spiritually-precocious children: the result is a composite-being, and it is definitely a mixed-blessing."

'I take it that such rarities are not what the koan is about?"

"Right. What the koan is meant to prod you to discover is... well, to illustrate I shall again invoke the example of the Avatar. Both my father and Korra have seen in visions an apparition of a Higher Self, a vast cosmic being that seemed like a giant version of themselves... Aang, speaking of it to me much later, referred to it variously as 'That One Shining Alone' or 'The True Person Beyond Rank or Post.' Korra went one step further in a time of great crisis and actually became one with her vision, and manifested in the human world as a glowing blue giant."

"To defeat the fusion of Unalaq and Vaatu."

"Exactly."

"Are you suggesting that I can do the same? Have you done so?" Zaheer sounded skeptical.

"Nothing so dramatic on my part. Your experience may vary... but you shouldn't get your hopes up. But I have, more than once, glimpsed and touched with my heart what the Avatars I have known have described: That One Shining Alone. And I believe that you can, too."

"And that is what is meant in the koan?"

"In part. So you see; you don't have to go looking into the distant past, into your former lives... the face you wore before your grandparents were born is still with you, but just out of sight: like a mask pushed up on your head and then forgotten. Reach up for it."

"Hmmm... you said 'in part.' what's the rest of it?"

Tenzin smiled as he climbed to his feet. "Sit with it, and find out. I'm not going to do all the work for you."

Zaheer held up a hand as the older airbender began to turn away.

"Tenzin, before you go..."

"Yes?'

"I took your advice to heart: I have been spending more time meditating and less wandering the Spirit World. But I haven't stopped going there entirely, and I have learned some… interesting things recently."

"Such as?"

"Such as an entire community of spirits which appears to have vanished, virtually overnight."

Tenzin paused, then sank smoothly into a kneeling posture.

"Go on."

"There isn't much more to tell. I passed through a spirit-village, apparently abandoned. Later, in other settlements, I asked about it. I was told that the inhabitants of that place had all simply left en masse, about a month ago."

"A month ago… right after the new Portal was opened?"

"That's exactly what I wondered. So I kept inquiring. The older spirits... wiser, more knowledgeable… declined to speak with me. But the younger ones… well, all they knew was that these spirits kept to themselves; not mixing with others more than absolutely necessary. They called themselves the Prataraka. No one seems to know what the name might mean. The spirits who would talk about them merely said that they were 'unclean' or 'impure'… but no one could or would explain what they meant by that." Zaheer fell silent.

Tenzin considered for a few moments.

"Is there more?"

"No. That's all I've learned. Would you like me to keep digging?"

"Yes… this feels important. Please do."

"Yes, Master Tenzin."

"But, Zaheer… don't slack off on the meditation."

"...Yes, Master Tenzin."

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Ember Island, the Lemon-Grove Inn:

Things were better the next morning. To Korra, Asami seemed to have shaken off her star-struck fixation on Shiroda and was back to normal. She even seemed a little extra affectionate; holding the brunette closely to her and showering her with kisses, caresses, and whispered endearments for longer than normal.

Lying with limbs entwined, the tall woman looked at the blue-eyed Avatar with a serious expression.

"Korra, can I ask you something… personal?"

"Anything."

"Before me, were you ever… with another girl?"

"Heck no!" Korra laughed, but then sobered when Asami didn't join in. "Hey, lighten up…" She kissed the heiress. "Remember, I spent most of my life cooped up in a White Lotus training compound. There weren't a lot of people my age there."

Asami's heart broke a little at the unconscious note of remembered loneliness in the Avatar's voice. The dark-skinned girl went on.

"So, there I was with bending-masters, sparring partners, and support staff; all at least ten years older than me... most much older. Not many chances for romance, with boys or girls. I think that's part of why I went so crazy over Mako back when: I was actually fresh off the boat and he was literally the most handsome guy my age I'd ever seen."

"Don't feel bad… Mako did it for me too, and I wasn't a love-starved home-schooled shut-in."

"Ha, cute! So anyway: no, I never even thought about other girls that way before. It took me forever to figure out what was happening with us; why I was thinking about you all the time, why I would get so happy when you were around, and sad when you were gone. And it wasn't til after I was poisoned, and you helped care for me… and later after I'd been with my folks for a while and missed you so much. They were right: I must have read your letters dozen of times, just to imagine that you were there and talking to me."

"Oh, Korra…." Conversation stopped for a time. But then Korra pushed Asami away just a bit, and fixed her with a shrewd gaze.

"But I think you must have already known – or at least guessed – most of that. I think you asked me so that I would ask you the same. Am I your first girl?" The raven-haired woman looked away.

"No..." she confessed, and then braced as though expecting an angry outburst from Korra. Instead, the shorter woman gathered her in and they kissed again.

"Thank you. For being honest with me. Actually, I'm kind of grateful."

Asami drew back and gazed at the Avatar in amazement. Korra continued.

"All along with us, you've been the one leading... and sometime pushing, when necessary. I know that. And I've always known, somehow, that it was because you'd been down this road before. And that's good… because if we were both absolute beginners… if it had been up to me… we'd still probably just be making eyes at each other over tea. And this is better. Way better."

The two kissed yet again.

"So, tell me about her?" asked Korra. Asami sighed.

"Her name was Shulei. When we met I was fifteen and she was seventeen. She was the daughter of one of my self-defense tutors. Yahla was a veteran of the United Forces, and she would sometimes bring Shulei along to spar with me. Eventually we became friends, and she would come over by herself just to hang out. That… eventually turned into more."

Korra nodded, smiling encouragement. Asami went on, eyes downcast.

"I thought I was in love. I was sure of it. But then she came of age, and decided to join the military like her mother had. I wanted us to write each other, and keep in touch… I told her I'd wait forever for her. But she said no. She thought it was best to just cut it off cleanly, so we could both go on with our lives… so she just left, and I never heard from her again."

"Oh, no. That must have been so hard for you."

"It's all right. It wasn't too long after that that I met Mako… and then you. It all worked out in the end."

"Whatever happened to Shulei? Do you know?"

"...Yes. Her mother wrote me: she was was with General Iroh's fleet in Yuei Bay, when Amon's new bomber-aircraft attacked. She didn't survive."

"Oh, Asami… I'm so sorry."

"I cried for days. Of course, I was already crying about my father's betrayals, and about losing Mako to you… yeah, it was a rough time. In some ways it was a blessing – to me, at least – when the Water Tribes Civil War started up, as well as my problems with Varrick. It gave me things to do and ways to be useful; it broke me out of that depression."

Korra captured Asami's face in her dark hands and kissed her tenderly. "It's all going to be all right from now on."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Republic City, Police HQ

Mako sat in a hard wooden guest-chair near the office of Captain Yoru, head of RCPD Homicide. His scheduled meeting with the man should have begun five minutes ago, but apparently the captain's previous sit-down was running long. Around him the open squad-room bustled with activity as detectives and uniforms left or arrived on various errands and milled from desk to desk. But nearly everyone seemed to manage to find some time to send him a sideways look, often accompanied by a smirk or a sardonically-raised eyebrow.

The young detective had been getting this treatment for several days, every since the papers had broken the story about Korra and Asami. His former relationships with both women had always been common knowledge and fodder for gossip on the force... now that the 'scandal' was public Mako found himself the brunt of some hilarity, except from a few particular friends and his own squad-mates... and even they seemed to be walking on eggshells around him.

He was starting to get pretty tired of it.

Right now, one group in particular was working his last nerve. He recognized Detective-Sergeant Boroh, but not his two cronies. Boroh, a firebender, was a beefy, red-faced bruiser about twenty years Mako's senior. He had a reputation as a good, effective cop... but also as a jackass and a bit of a bully. Now he and his buddies were hanging out by the tea-urn, and giving Mako frequent sly glances as they talked in low tones, occasionally barely concealing their laughter behind raised hands.

Mako narrowed his eyes, slowly rose from his seat, and ambled over... to get some tea. The three other cops saw him coming, and Boroh said something that had them all openly guffawing.

"Pardon me, fellas." said the young firebender, shouldering past them to get to the cups and urn. Adding a bit of honey to his tea, he remarked in casual tones "Everybody has seemed so happy and cheerful, lately... yukking it up wherever I go. Y'know... I could use a good laugh, too. Want to let me in on the joke?"

Boroh smirked at his two pals before answering. "You don't read the papers, kid? The front page and the society columns have been funnier than the comics section, lately."

"Really? So, any stories in particular that are tickling you? And it's 'Mako', not 'kid.'"

"I'll try to remember. And yeah: I like the story about how Korra and her girlfriend are adding more fiber to their diets. Y'know... like carpet-fiber." Boroh's flunkies chortled at this like adolescents, as Mako continued his slow burn.

"That's the Avatar you're talking about. And Asami's done more for this city than you, and ten more like you." Mako's voice was as taut as a strung bow. "Show some respect. Stop talking dirt about them."

"I talk how I want, kid. And I can't show what I aint got none of." The older man grinned as Mako visibly gritted his teeth. "Y'know, for two dames to just give up on guys like that... they must've had some real disappointments in that department, I guess."

Since that was pretty-much what Mako himself had been thinking for weeks, Boroh's taunt flicked him on the raw. He couldn't keep a growl of anger from escaping him. The other detective pretended not to notice, but slapped his own forehead as if 'suddenly' remembering something.

"Oh, that's right! Didn't you date both of them broads for a while, Mako? You must know them pretty well, right? Maybe you can settle a question me and the boys were wondering about?" The bulkier man leaned into Mako, and lowered his voice like a conspirator. "When your pals Korra and Asami get together, do you think it's more 'licketty-split' action., or... " he held up the first two fingers of each hand and twitched them like scissors, before interlocking them together in an unmistakably lewd and vulgar gesture. "... is it more like this?"

For an instant Mako saw nothing but red, and when his vision cleared Boroh was flat on his back with blood on his mouth. The young detective became aware of a painful throbbing in his right hand, growing worse by the second. He glanced down to see that his knuckles were scraped and swelling rapidly.

All noises and activity in the squad-room stopped for an instance, and then resumed at double-volume as everyone began talking – or shouting – at once.

Boroh climbed to his feet, fingering his jaw. He hawked and spat out a tooth. "Nice sucker punch, kid." He clenched his fists, which promptly caught fire. Mako dropped back a step and produced twin flame-daggers of his own.

Suddenly, as if sprung from the floor-tiles, Chief Lin Beifong was simply there.

"Great day in the morning! What is all this? Explain yourselves, now!" Both men turned to her, extinguishing their firebending.

As Mako fumbled for a reply, Boroh spoke first. "Nothing much, Chief. Just an accident. I asked Mako here to show me some of his moves; and he must've slipped and socked me for real, by accident. I was sore at him for a second, and he got scared and lit up to protect himself." The older man turned to Mako. "It's OK, kid. My wife hits me harder than that when I come home late for dinner." Boroh's voice oozed good-humored sincerity... but his bronze eyes told a different story; drilling into Mako's with burning ire.

Face unreadable, Beifong looked at Mako. "You got anything you want to say, Mako?"

The young detective looked down, avoiding eye-contact. What he'd just done was grounds for suspension, or worse.

"No, ma'am."

The Chief glanced around at the surrounding officers. "Anybody else?" A few shuffled their feet or looked away, but most just gave back perfectly-blank 'cop face.' "I didn't think so."

Turning back to Boroh and Mako, she said "Well, I'm glad nothing serious happened." Her voice dripped disbelieving sarcasm. "But why don't you guys take the rest of the day off? Go your separate ways and cool off. Or maybe go have a... drink, together. Either way, I want you back here tomorrow ready for business-as-usual, get me? No lingering grudges. Am I clear?"

"As crystal, ma'am." said Boroh. Mako simply nodded. Beifong stalked off without a backward glance.

"Well, let's go... buddy." the older cop said. "I think we're parked in the same lot. After you."

The two policemen walked together silently through halls and down stairs for a time, emerging into the late-morning sunshine near where their satos waited.

"Thanks for not ratting me out to Beifong." said Mako. "Don't get me wrong: I still hate your guts. But that was cool of you."

"I handle my own business." snorted Boroh. "No need to tattle to momma. But hear me, kid. Nobody pops me like you did and gets away with it. Watch yourself, payback is coming."

"Uh-huh. And nobody insults my friends like you did and gets a free ride either. But I don't want to wait to settle this: Beifong's right about that. We both have work to do."

"Waddya got in mind?"

"First let's get one thing straight: you aren't fooling me. You talk and carry on like an uneducated street-ape, but I've heard people talking. You come from money, you've had schooling." Mako arched an eybrow. "I hear your family were some of the original Fire Nation colonists back in the day, and that you can trace your blood back to some noble families there. So drop the act."

"You don't miss much, do you?" Boroh's voice had smoothed out suddenly. "The 'street-ape' mask, as you call it, is useful in dealing with a lot of the trash we have to talk to every day: they open up easier with whom they think is one of their own. I'd appreciate it if you kept what you know to yourself."

"No problem. That's your business. But I hope some of that old aristocrat blood will help see us through our argument quickly and finally."

Boroh's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?"

"Agni Kai."

"Agni Kai?!" The older man laughed in amazed derision. "Are you insane? Mako, duelling is illegal in the Republic, and we are policemen. We'd be ending both our careers, and maybe putting ourselves behind bars as well."

"Not necessarily. I think I know a way around that. If I can work it out, are you in? One decisive fight, with honor, and then we put this behind us?"

Boroh was silent for several seconds. "Yes. Pending your brilliant solution to keeping us on The Job and out of prison, I'm in." He quirked a small smile. "My dad and grandma will be so proud. They believe in the old ways."

"Great. I'll call you later with the details."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Republic City, the Fire Nation Embassy:

Ramamitu, the Fire Nation's Ambassador to the United Republic, was a middle-aged man of slightly more than average height. He wore his graying hair long, and sported both a neat goatee and a gold-rimmed monocle. Now he walked sedately down a red-carpeted hallway in his Embassy, flanked on either side by two younger men.

"Thank you very much for agreeing to to allow this, sir." said Mako.

"Etiquette, Mako, etiquette!" chided Wu. "It's 'Your Excellency', not 'sir.'"

"It's quite all right, Your Majesty." Ramamitu interjected before Mako could apologize. "I know that the Detective-Sergeant here isn't a diplomat or politician. I don't mind imperfect manners from him. Mako, when you were shadowing Lord Zuko I thought you were an interesting fellow… I had a feeling you'd pop up again somehow. And I'm actually looking forward to witnessing the upcoming contest: it's been years since we've had an Agni Kai on the grounds."

"Me, too!" enthused Wu. "I've actually never seen a real fire-duel before, even when I did the Grand Tour through your country a few years ago, after I graduated University."

"So, you're sure this 'extra-territoriality' thing will stand up?" Mako sounded uncertain of his own notion, and in need of reassurance.

"Oh yes." said the ambassador. "It's a well established 'legal fiction.' Within the Embassy's walls, we are technically on Fire Nation soil. The laws of the Republic do not hold sway here. And in the Fire Nation, the Agni Kai is one of our oldest traditions and certainly legal."

The trio emerged into a large courtyard; an empty space paved in rounded cobblestones. At the opposite end stood Boroh and an older man that resembled the detective greatly; Mako assumed this to be his enemy's father. Around the periphery of the area were numerous people that seemed to be embassy staffers; gathered to watched the spectacle.

As Ambassador Ramamitu left them to pace to the center of the courtyard, Mako began unbuttoning his jacket. Soon he was stripped to the waist, his bare torso gleaming in the sunset's light until Wu draped a shawl-like garment around the firebender's shoulders. The young detective turned his back to Ramamitu and went to one knee; one fist pressed to the stones. Across the courtyard, Boroh did the same.

As he waited, Mako scanned his surroundings. Lifting his gaze, he saw a RCPD airship hovering at a distance. He fought down his unease at the thought that the duel was being observed.

"Mako, thank you for asking me to be your second: I appreciate the privilege. But part of that privilege is a duty to ask you: is there is any other way for honor to be satisfied? If I can negotiate with your opponent's second for an apology or other reparation?" Wu sounded sincere, but also seemingly already resigned.

Mako sighed. "No. I told you what he said… and more than said… about Korra and Asami."

Wu's face hardened. "I had to ask. Now, go burn his butt."

The Earth King turned to face the center, nodded in response an unseen signal, then murmured "And… now."

Mako stood, the ritual dueling-shawl (on loan from the Embassy) falling from his shoulders. He turned to face his opponent, seeing Borloh completing the same formal movements.

Ramamitu was already withdrawing from the center of the courtyard. As he reached the edge he raised a red fan over his head, and from a nearby guard tower a deep-toned gong sounded.

Boroh immediately sprang to the attack, lunge-punching a gout of flame that Mako crisply blocked with X-crossed forearms before his chest and head. The flaring flames that were deflected and dissipated by his bending still obscured his vision however, and the young detective lost sight of his opponent briefly.

Instinct, honed by experience in the pro-bending arena and in many more serious battles, made Mako leap into the air. Below him a line of fire raced atop the paving-stones as if following a trail of gasoline: Borloh's main attack. The wily older bender had hoped his feint would blind Mako to the danger, but Mako landed safely after the ground-hugging fire had passed on by.

The ex-Fire Ferret launched his own flaming barrage in retaliation, a jab/front-kick/palm-strike combination that flowed swiftly from long practice. Mako hoped that the sheer speed and volume of his assault might overcome his foe's defenses, but Borloh turned the fireballs back and aside with efficient flicking-motions of his fists and forearms.

Mako saw that the other detective's moves showed signs of the same classical training that Zuko had displayed, leavened with the hard and pragmatic lessons of Republic City street-fighting. Boroh was plainly a force to reckoned with: Mako had to acknowledge that the older man was better trained and more experienced than he. With a sinking feeling, the young firebender began to doubt his chances in this fight.

Gritting his teeth as he fended off another attack-chain from Borloh, Mako tried to shake off his defeatist thoughts. He, Bolin, and Korra had been in much tighter spots than this; both in battle and in the arena. The arena… Mako flashed back to the very first match he and his brother had played with Korra: a qualifying round in the Championship Tournament. They had faced the Pinnacle Palace Platypus-Bears, a tough team of experienced players. The ex-probender immediately saw the parallels with his current situation, and a new tactical plan formed in his mind.

He began dodging Borloh's attacks – bobbing, weaving, sidestepping, even dive-rolling - in preference to blocking, whenever he could… and counter-attacked very sparingly; just enough to keep the other cop 'honest' and not allow him to slack on his own guard. Mako was younger and more fit than his enemy, and he could afford to spend his physical energy freely while conserving his chi. Much as when he and Bolin had been overmatched by the PPPs, he intended to let Borloh 'punch himself out.'

Wu, not understanding, called out urgently. "Mako! You have to fight back! Don't give up, you can do it: I believe in you!"

Mako smiled at his friend's show of support, but kept to his plan. Soon the new strategy began to bear fruit. Boroh's attacks lessened both in frequency and intensity as both his body's stamina and his chi became depleted from exertion. The older man's face and torso began to pour sweat, and his footwork became both slower and more erratic.

A thick rivulet of sweat escaped from Borloh's hair and ran down into his eyes. The detective rubbed at them quickly with a forearm, trying desperately to clear his vision, and Mako saw his chance. He began rapidly chain-punching fireballs at quickly as he could, and advancing with wide cross-steps as he attacked. He was sweating now also, but breathing well; and though his muscles were feeling the beginnings of fatigue from his evasions, his chi was still strong and plentiful.

Boroh, half-blinded still, was driven back; barely able to block Mako's assault; each defensive move further sapping his nearly depleted energies. As the combatants approached a sidewall of the courtyard, the onlookers there scattered to each side to give the duelists room and to avoid their bended fire.

The older man, retreating, put a foot wrong and stumbled back, knocking his head lightly against the brick wall. Stunned, he fell forward onto his hands and knees. Shaking his head in confusion as he recovered, he reared back to an upright kneeling posture; plainly intending to rise again. Borloh stopped in sudden shock as his vision cleared and he saw Mako standing over him within arm's reach, both fists blazing and raised over his head; plainly poised to deliver a devastating final blow.

"Stop!" Borloh raised both of his own hands towards Mako, opened in a gesture of supplication. "I yield!"

Mako smiled in triumph, but the smile never reached his eyes. "No." His opponent's eyes widened with shock as his face filled with new fear. "That's not how this works, today. I could accept your surrender, but I'm not obligated to."

The young detective reached out swiftly and grasped at Borloh, capturing the first two fingers – those nasty scissor-fingers – of each of his foe's hands. His own hands were still wreathed in fire.

"This duel ends the old-fashioned way." said Mako over Borloh's cries of agony. "I think you need to carry a reminder – and a message to everybody else – of what disrespecting me and my friends can cost."

When the victor released his hold at last, the vanquished fell backwards in unconsciousness: the skin of his burned digits charred and smoking.

"Stop!" Ambassador Ramamitu called loudly, raising his red fan. "This Agni Kai is concluded, with honor for all. I proclaim Mako the victor by right of might and valor. Let none dispute this!" The old man smiled grimly, and added in less formal tones. "Well fought, young man."

As Borloh's father and the embassy's resident physician attended to the fallen man, Wu gazed at Mako as if he were a stranger; his dark face slack with horror.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aboard the police airship, Lin Beifong lowered the binoculars and stepped back from the windows of the observation deck. Grimacing, she turned to her companion, who was doing the same.

"The kid is a lot harder than he used to be." The Chief plainly had mixed feelings about this fact. "Angrier, too."

"Yeah." grunted Detective 'Nick' Yemana. "I don't think even a water-healer can fix those fingers without scars – bad ones." The thickset man absently stroked one of his own facial scars.

"Still, I expect there will be a lot less gossiping about the Avatar's love-life around the station after this." Lin glanced sideways at her one-time partner, now her subordinate. "That is, if the gory details get around."

Yemana's mouth briefly twitched in the slightest smile possible. "I imagine they will, somehow."

"Keep an eye on the kid, will you? He's under several kinds of pressure right now, and he could crack up. We've both seen it before."

"You care about him, don't you?" Nick looked at her shrewdly. He had known Lin Beifong for almost thirty years… and for a brief while they had been partners in more ways than one.

"What I care about is the force." The iron-haired woman made a dismissive gesture that fooled neither of them. "We can't afford to lose promising young talent. Eventually old relics like you and me will have to step back, and it will be up to today's 'kids' to be tomorrow's leaders. If we can keep them on track and in one piece, that is."

"Maybe I'll start spiking his tea." said Yemana. "That used to keep you calmer."

"Fine, fine." Lin muttered, plainly not listening anymore as she raised the binoculars to her eyes again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ember Island:

For Korra and Asami, the next few days passed quickly.

Most of one afternoon was passed on the beach playing kuai ball, after being invited into a pickup game by several strangers to make up the numbers. Both women's athleticism made them forces to be reckoned with on the round court: Asami's height made her fearsome up at the net, while Korra's strength rendered her serves difficult to return. Several times during the series of games the teams were scrambled and reformed for the sake of variety, and the couple found that they enjoyed competing against one another nearly as much as being on the same side.

One evening they joined Zuko and Katara at the Ember Island Theater to view a performance of the classic Love Amongst The Dragons. At dinner later, the quartet dissected the production. Lord Zuko shared what he recalled of what his mother Ursa – once a stage performer herself – had told him about the craft of the actor. Korra found herself united with Katara in support of a mover-adaption of the play, against Zuko and (surprisingly) Asami; who thought that the worlds of live-theater and movers should not mix.

Sailing a rented catamaran one afternoon, the couple passed near a large yacht bobbing on the waves. To their surprise they saw Varrick and Zhu Li on the deck, waving their arms and shouting at one another in what appeared to be a fierce argument. After a hurried conference the two women simply sailed on, unwilling to intrude.

Asami wanted to acquire souvenirs and gifts for Korra's parents, Zuko, Katara, and all their friends back in Republic City... as well as what seemed to Korra like a whole new wardrobe for herself ("Varrick is right: they make the best red stuff here!") This led to a shopping-spree of truly epic proportions: with Korra following the heiress from boutique to boutique balancing a stack of boxes that grew and grew and grew to reach over her head.

Another evening saw them climbing the steps up from the beach towards Zuko's home. The pair had just finished a moonlight swim and found themselves near their friend's dwelling; they decided to drop by and surprise them with a visit. But three-quarters of the way up the zig-zag path the two women were stopped by Zuko's guard-detail.

"Avatar Korra. Miss Sato." Timmu the leader spoke politely. "I'm sorry, but Lord Zuko isn't receiving any more company this evening."

"Really?" The Avatar looked up at the house, seeing lights burning through several windows. "It looks like he's still up. Aren't we on his 'friends' list?"

"Of course you are." Timmu said apologetically, coughing into his fist. "But Lord Zuko – and his guest Katara – are sharing dinner, and have requested… privacy… until tomorrow morning."

Korra and Asami glanced at one another, eyes widening just a little.

"I... well... OK, then. We'll be going now." managed the Avatar.

"Please tell them we passed by, and will try to visit again. And, we'll call first." Asami said, sounding mildy amused.

"Certainly. Good night, ladies."

Heading back down towards the beach, Korra gave a low whistle.

"Wow. I didn't see that coming."

"Really? It's not that surprising to me. I felt some chemistry there the first time I saw them together. Plus, they've been friends for over seventy years, right? And now they've both been alone for so long, too."

"I guess. It's just that I've known Katara my whole life: she's like my Gran-Gran. You don't think of older people being… like that. Or I don't, anyway."

"Well, I think it's sweet." The heiress sobered. "I'll bet it was Suki's passing that did it. They were vulnerable; their defenses were lowered while they grieved and comforted one another. And, sad-but-true, it must have reminded them both that their time in this world grows short. I don't blame them for wanting to make the most of it."

The couple walked in silence for a minute, before Korra spoke.

"I totally want to be there when Tenzin finds out."

"Me too! His head will spin around and then explode."

What exploded then was the girls' laughter as they headed back to the hotel.

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The women split up in the Lemon Grove's lobby. Asami was eager to get up to the suite, get out of her swimsuit, and start cleaning up and dressing for a late dinner. And Korra wanted to hit the gift-shop before it closed; to get some more postcards in hopes of mailing them first thing in the morning.

After a few minutes spent pawing through the racks of colorful, cheery pictures, the Avatar made her purchases and mounted the steps up to the hotel's higher floors. Suddenly she paused, as she heard low voices murmuring ahead and above as she approached a shadowy landing.

"- come on…come down later, and we could take a little walk on the beach. Just you and me." The first voice was deep and male, and vaguely familiar to Korra. His tone was persuasive, and seductive.

"It's nice of you to ask… really. You're very charming. But… I shouldn't." A woman's voice. She sounded reluctant, but also uncertain of herself...

It was Asami's voice.

Her blood turning to ice, Korra took another step up so she could see.

The engineer and Shiroda, the mover-actor, stood close together on the landing. Shiroda, like Asami and Korra herself, was clad in beach-wear. His red sun-robe hung open and unbelted; that and his swimming-trunks did little to conceal his magnificent bronzed body. He seemed to not have an ounce of extra flesh anywhere: he was hard and sleek with muscle from his powerful legs to his flat ridged abdomen, defined chest, and thickly-thewed arms and shoulders. He was flawless.

Asami looked up at him like a bird hypnotized by a cobra-jackal.

"Actually, you really should. Let me explain why..." and then the actor grasped Asami by her upper-arms and drew her even closer, and bent to the coal-haired woman, plainly intent on stealing a kiss. And Asami didn't pull back, or even turn her head away.

Their lips met, and after widening in surprise the heiress's green eyes closed as she leaned into him.

For Korra, a millenium passed.

The handsome man and beautiful woman drew apart at last. Asami's face was slack, her lips still parted slightly, Her eyes when they opened hardly seemed green at all, but black as her pupils expanded to swallow the colored irises.

The Avatar heard a strange noise rising and beginning to fill the stairwell. It was a low moaning, as from a tortured animal near death. Then she realized it was emerging from her own throat.

Asami finally turned at the sound, and saw the smaller woman. Her hands flew to cover her mouth as her face registered a mixture of shock, dismay, and shame.

"Korra! No! Wait, I-!"

Howling in anguish, eyes streaming; Korra turned and fled.

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Korra ran blindly, at full speed, and without care. She ran through the lobby and out into the street. She ran down the lanes and through squares and plazas, and onto the beach. She ran on the sand and in the pounding surf, and she ran along hiking trails overlooking the ocean. She ran to escape, and kept running because escape was impossible. She ran and ran and ran until her strength failed her, and then collapsed half-conscious on the ground.

A light rain fell, bringing her back to herself. She was near a cliff's edge, overlooking the beach and the darkly roiled sea beyond. Korra checked her surroundings and saw the overgrown foundations of what had once been a large building, perhaps a beach-mansion. Many of the stones were still faintly blackened as though by fire, suggesting the cause of the dwelling's destruction.

She rose to her knees, and stared hopelessly out over the turbulent ocean. Unbidden, the image of Asami passionately clinched with Shiroda filled her mind again. Her face contorted, and she lowered it into her cupped hands as wracking sobs escaped her, only to be torn away and shredded in the rising wind.

She was a fool. How could she have been so blind? So stupid? To think that this affair could work with so much against it… How had it all come apart so suddenly? And now here she was: broken, humiliated, and alone.

She wanted to curl around herself so tightly she'd simply vanish. Perhaps she should. She could just disappear into the mountains, or the desert, or some empty island somewhere. Be a hermit like Toph and live in seclusion, emerging only when the world most needed her; when she must to fight the latest terrible threat. The solitude would be good for her… it would make her strong and steel-hard, immune to pain…

And again the memories of Asami and Shiroda rose like a tide of acid to engulf her heart, and she knew despair. No place could ever be so remote that she could hide from this…

"Korra!"

The brunette turned to see Asami at the top of a path leading back down towards the beach. The heiress's face showed a mix of relief and sorrow. Like Korra herself, the young engineer was disheveled from the rain and from exertion; it was plain from her flushed face and panting breath that she had also been running for some time. As the Avatar watched, the wind took the torn remnants of her gauzy red wrap from her shoulders and carried it away. The tall woman, black hair plastered to her head and neck, rushed forward with arms wide.

"Oh, Korra… I am SO sorry! I just-"

"No! Get away!" the shorter girl backed away, raising her arms in a warding gesture. "Don't TOUCH me!"

Asami continued her approach, hands outstretched and face pleading. Abruptly Korra's eyes shone with pure white light.

"No!" she thundered.

The heiress drew back in sudden alarm as the ground began to tremble slightly beneath her feet. The wind picked up to gale-force, and the rain began to hang in the air and swirl chaotically.

"How could you? You betrayed me! You hurt me! How DARE you?!"

"Korra! You have to calm down! Look at what's happening: you're dangerous right now!"

The Avatar squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head, breathing heavily. The ground stilled, and the other disturbances subsided as well. When Korra looked at Asami again, her blue eyes simply looked tired and forlorn.

"Why?" she asked simply.

Asami came closer, and this time the dark woman made no protest.

"I didn't mean to. It wasn't planned." The tall woman looked at the ground. "I just ran into him on the steps and we started talking. He started flirting with me."

"Yeah, I'll bet. It was all him." Anger stirred again in Korra's face and voice. "And what I saw was more than flirting. A lot more."

"I know. It got out of hand. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Is that all? How can I trust you, now?!"

"I-"

"You still like men!" Korra's tone was both furious and accusatory. "How can this possibly work between us if you still like men?!"

"Shiroda just caught me by surprise; I was off-guard!" Asami was defensive, but now anger was creeping into her voice as well. "Besides, you still like men, too!"

"What?!"

"Don't deny it. I saw you melt a little when you first saw Shiroda. And before that, in the Spirit World when we saw 'young Zuko': your tongue was hanging out half-a-foot!" Asami bared her teeth. "I guess we both really like the Fire-boys, eh?"

"So what?! I never did anything! Not like you! If I hadn't come along when I did, how much further would things have gone with Shiroda?"

"Nothing would have happened!"

"How can you say that? I saw you: you were out of control! Is this how it's going to be? Am I going to have to watch you every minute? When you're out of my sight do I have to worry that you're sneaking around with the latest guy who's caught your eye like some cheap sl-"

Asami slapped her face, hard. The sound was sharp as a whip-crack and Korra's head spun to one side. A livid palm-print plainly showed even on her dark skin.

Growling like a tigerdillo, Korra bunched her fists and stepped forward. Asami fell back a pace and gracefully assumed a fighting stance. Korra drew back a powerful arm to strike… and stopped. Her shoulders slumped and her hands fell open and to her sides.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." Korra still sounded furious, but in control.

But now Asami's emerald eyes burned with rage, too.

"I'm not afraid. You want to go? Let's go! Take your best shot!"

"I can't. I'm no bully."

"Bully?!" the heiress almost screamed. "You arrogant little- you can only bully people who are weaker than you, Korra! And that's not me!"

"Asami, I'm a bender. I'm the Avatar."

"And you think that makes you better than me? Maybe my father wasn't actually wrong about everything, after all!"

"Asami-"

"I am not your… your little sidekick, your hanger-on, your accessory! I'm your equal!"

"I never-"

"Come on! I need some exercise, and you surely need a good butt-kicking!"

"Don't be ridicul-"

Moving almost too fast to see. Asami's fist drove up into Korra just under her sternum. The brunette doubled over as her lungs were emptied as efficiently as by airbending. Hunched around herself, the Avatar attempted to focus through the shock and pain. She was aware of the tall woman spinning around her with quick footwork, staying barely in sight, and quickly peppering her all over with light jabbing blows from her fore-knuckles and stiffened fingertips. The attacks didn't hurt much, but the shorter woman was humiliated that she couldn't evade or block them effectively. Finally, with a roar of frustration, she whirled her arms around to airbend the heiress away from her.

Nothing happened.

Asami cross-stepped back a short distance as Korra straightened and recovered her breath. The Avatar with mounting consternation quickly ran through a brief series of bending moves. No earth stirred. The rain fell unhindered. No fire appeared.

"What did you do-?" Korra's face cleared of confusion as understanding took hold and anger returned. "You chi-blocked me! You chi-blocked me! RUAARRGGH!"

Enraged, Korra charged with her head down.

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Korra's head butted into Asami's middle as the Avatar grasped the heiress around the waist and straightened convulsively. Her intent was to throw the taller woman over her head and back a distance to a stunning crash on the ground. But the brunette felt strangely weak, and Asami only flew a few feet before rolling smoothly to her feet unharmed.

Korra closed and threw a front-kick, which Asami blocked effortlessly; and then the green-eyed woman grasped the Avatar's foot and ankle as she launched them both into a cartwheeling dive which left Korra sprawled on the ground as Asami, upright, again re-took her combat-stance.

Surging to her feet, Korra lunged to the attack. She drove the heiress back towards the cliff-edge with a flurry of punches and kicks, and thrilled as she sensed victory within her grasp. But them the pilot rushed Korra and suddenly leaped into the air to somersault over the Avatar, once again landing in a rolling maneuver that brought her to her feet as the shorter woman turned to face her. Pivoting on one foot, Asami drove a brutal side-kick into Korra's chest that sent the smaller woman hurtling backwards- over the side of the cliff.

Korra instinctively sought to arrest her fall with airbending, to no avail. Instead, she plummeted for several eternal seconds to plunge with a resounding SPLASH in the rain-pocked surf. Clawing her way up to the surface, gasping for breath, she swam ashore. Staggering onto a narrow, isolated strip of sandy beach, the Avatar saw Asami descending; leaping acrobatically from rock to ledge to outcrop to land on the sand. She rushed the heiress, shouting incoherently.

The two came together in sharp, savage combat. Korra learned a few things very quickly: in theory, the various bending-moves she knew were also useful in hand-to-hand (and foot, and knee, and elbow…) fighting... but in practice, she had almost never used them so: and there was a wide gap between theory and practice. Now she found herself at a decided disadvantage. Korra swung and thrust punches and kicks at the heiress, which she slipped and blocked with ease.

Asami, by contrast, flourished in a conflict with a relatively unskilled non-bender. She struck the Avatar seemingly at will; doubling her up with another kick to the gut, and then sending her tumbling to the gritty ground with an elbow to the back of the head.

Korra, recovering, made a scything movement with her leg that caught the engineer behind the knees. When her foe joined her on the beach she sprang astride, gripping ebon hair with both hands to lift and pound Asami's head repeatedly into the ground.

But the wet sand was relatively soft and yielding, and the green-eyed woman took no real harm. She linked her hands behind Korra's neck and flexed her own steely abs, driving up into a head-butt that knocked the Avatar back and off her with blood gushing from a possibly-broken nose.

Both women climbed wearily to their feet. Each had been running, and now both were growing winded from prolonged fighting, Still they squared up to one another, swaying in the rain. They were filthy, bruised, and bleeding from small scrapes and cuts; and their swimsuits were torn and disarranged to the point of indecency… not that either of them cared.

Korra swung a heavy fist like a common brawler and connected, mashing Asami's perfect lips against her teeth. The heiress, spitting bloody phlegm, countered with a backhanded chopping blow that almost crushed the shorter woman's larynx; the Avatar fell back a pace, clutching at her throat. Asami seized the opportunity to stoop and bring one arm up between Korra's legs while placing her other open palm against her chest. Straightening, she scooped the brunette completely off her feet and whirled her overhead to slam her back down onto the ground. Korra cried out as she descended and then lay face down, briefly stunned by the impact.

Asami knelt astride Korra's hips and rear, and took the Avatar's right arm into both her own hands, gripping at wrist and elbow to pull the limb back and up into an agonizing arm-bar submission hold. The shorter woman thrashed and bucked but could not dislodge the engineer, who hauled back on the trapped arm; straining the joints until Korra screamed in pain.

"It's over, Korra! Give up! Say it!"

Fr several seconds the Avatar continued to struggle fruitlessly, and Asami kept up the punishing pressure until it seemed the arm must surely break.

"I give up!" Korra shouted hoarsely, suddenly going limp on the sand. "I give up!"

Asami released her, and rolled off and away. She wound up a few yards away, seated on the sand hugging her own legs to her with her head down on her knees. Her face was hidden, but her shoulders shook.

Korra shifted onto her side and propped herself up on one elbow. She winced with pain as she used her other, injured arm and hand to wipe wet sand and blood from her face and slick back her filthy, sodden hair.

"I mean it. I give up." The Avatar's voice was already returning to normal, but her tone was dull and hopeless. "Our fight was pointless; it changes nothing. This can't work. You were right, Asami. I still like men. You still like men. We can't go on."

The heiress lifted her tear-streaked face from her knees, and her green eyes met Korra's blue as the shorter woman continued.

"It's over."

Asami laboriously unfolded her long body and climbed to her feet. She stepped back towards Korra. Her hands were clenched by her sides and anger was rekindling on her face.

"Korra… I just can't believe how stupid you are sometimes."

The Avatar rose as well to face the engineer, sick at the idea of resuming the fight. Still, she couldn't let that comment pass.

"I'm not stupid! Just realistic. It can't continue."

"Korra, how can you miss what is right in front of you?!" Asami's voice had risen with agitation and frustration. Abruptly she was right up in the Avatar's face.

"It doesn't matter that we LIKE men!"

"How can you say that?!"

"BECAUSE WE LOVE EACH OTHER!" Asami screamed.

And, just like that, it was out.

Asami fell back a few steps, all the anger draining from her face. Eyes wide, she covered her mouth with her hands.

Korra just stared. Around them the wind stilled and the rain stopped, leaving the pair in a world of sudden silence.

Asami let her arms fall limply and spoke, her voice trembling.

"I mean… don't we? I love you. I… Oh, I've wanted to say that for months, ever since you came back. I've been close so many times, and imagined it so many different ways…." She gestured ruefully at their bruised and battered bodies.

"… never like this, though. Korra, I love you... I love you, Korra…. I love you, I love you, I love you."

The tall woman's whole soul was in her eyes.

"Do you love me?"

Korra's answer was action. In two long swift steps she was on Asami, crushing her in an embrace and drawing down her head to capture her mouth in a passionate kiss. Asami groaned faintly at the pain from her split lip… then groaned again as other feelings rose to greater prominence. Their knees gave way and they fell together onto the sand. Their lips remained sealed, the women gasping and growling as their hands began moving over each other, urgently pulling and tugging and finally ripping at one another's already tattered clothing.

Some time later, the sky had cleared and starlight glimmered on the breakers of the rising tide as they swept rhythmically back and forth across two entwined bare figures: one fair, and one dark.

ROLL CREDITS

Author's Notes:

Welcome back! I apologize for the extremely late update: the real world sucks sometimes. Work, illness, tax-season, and some real-life relationship angst got in the way. Again: sorry. I'll try to do better. Look for the next chapter towards the end of May, 2015

The characters of Matsu and Meili-sah are based on the awesome Matt Harding and his wife Melissa. You can learn more about them and see their 'dancing around the world' videos at dubya dubya dubya dawt wherethehellismatt dawt com.