Meanwhile:

The situation in Republic City was dire. All of the key influential figures of the city had been imprisoned or detained for questioning. It had all happened so fast.

The Red Lotus had infiltrated the city en masse over the last twenty years and established themselves within the very heart of the city. Furthermore, they had even infiltrated the White Lotus, bringing the group to their knees. Tenzin did not see a way out of this. Even before, when things had looked so bleak, he had always known that justice would prevail. How he had not seen the signs, he did not know. 'Fool', he thought to himself angrily.

His hands were handcuffed behind his back and the escort did not seem willing to give him a moments rest, driving him into the city without pause. It had seemed like they had a chance for a moment, until Jahn had burst from the building and caused absolute carnage. The pure rage and pain evident on the young man's face had hit Tenzin hard; his father had mentioned how horrible the Avatar State could be uncontrolled. For the first time up-close, Tenzin had seen what he meant.

His age had finally got the better of him. Never one to back down, Tenzin had tried his hardest to protect his family, but the Red Lotus had been too many. Knocking him from his air-scooter, it had not taken long before he was encased in an earthen prison with only his head free. All the other benders he had known before, such as Toph or even his mother, had been far stronger at a more advanced age than just seventy-five. What was wrong with him?

"Come on, get moving you," a Red Lotus said, pushing him along slightly with a nudge. Where they were going was anyone's guess. The other White Lotus, including Zukoh, had been taken elsewhere. He had not seen Kai or Jinora. Worry swirled in his stomach.

They walked a while before reaching a large intricate building; the Police Headquarters. Tenzin sighed. Lin would not be pleased that the new Chief put up such a weak fight against the Insurrection. She'd only be even more grumpy than usual. If possible.

Instead of entering the building as Tenzin had thought, the escort stopped him in the plaza outside the building. They formed a circle and the Red Lotus from earlier forced the Airbender to his knees. He landed heavily, jarring the bones. Nothing happened for a few moments, allowing Tenzin to gaze around. The Headquarters seemed perfectly normal, albeit more defences on the windows, with only small specks of light shining from behind metal bars. Maybe they hadn't yet managed to take the building?

"Beifong! Come out and surrender! If you don't, we kill the Airbender!" shouted one woman with red hair, holding a megaphone. Dread gripped Tenzin; his life was in Lin's hands and if she had truly managed to hold out in the Headquarters, then she might not be willing to risk her police just for his life.

He would soon find out.


Kai grimaced. He and the other Airbenders that had reported to the rescue of the Avatar had been captured by the Red Lotus. What was worse, however, was seeing numerous Airbenders that had had met from the different Air Temples before helping the Red Lotus. They even wore the uniform. Traitors.

"Hey, could we get some light in here? It's a bit dull in here, like your personalities," he laughed at the guard. One sentry guarding four Airbenders all locked in one metal cage? Not exactly fair.

The guard turned and used Metalbending to slam the extra cell door shut, leaving them in pitch blackness. Kai was left with just the sounds of breathing and the feeling of extreme worry. He had not seen Jinora captured and so assumed she made it to the Spirit World. Their own situation, however, was far worse.

"Kai, that one was just terrible."

"Yeah well I wasn't trying my best Auri, why don't you try?" Kai replied snarkily. Despite their predicament, it was always best to stay positive and enjoy the experience. Ever since he met Avatar Korra, Master Tenzin and Jinora all those years ago, this had been his outlook on life. "It's not every day we get arrested! Who knows, we might be able to plan a cool jailbreak!"

"Kai, leave it. There's literally nobody left; even the White Lotus are down. Our wings have been clipped," Auri replied. In the darkness, Kai could not see her but he knew what she looked like. She was one of the few Airbenders willing to shave her head, which only drew more attention to her head. Kai was not usually one to judge people's appearances but she was not exactly a looker; her nose had been broken years earlier, her complexion marred by broken and pockmarked skin from an illness as a child and her eyes were a little too small. They did, however, shine a brilliant shade of green.

Kai pulled a face. "True, we're a little bruised and battered, but we still have our bending. If we can get out of here, we can start to round everyone up and take back the city."

"Seriously? I love your enthusiasm but even Master Tenzin was taken. The Avatar has vanished and your wife along with him. Hey, maybe they ran off together…"

Kai pushed his arms out quickly in a sharp burst of anger. A gust of air flew towards the sound of her voice, resulting in a mess of noise including the sound of someone being pushed against the wall. "Hey!" she protested angrily. "I was only kidding!"

Kai shook his head, which he realised was useless given the low light. "Look, I know it's all fine joking around but my daughter is still out there. She's only in the city because we were. We need to get out of here and find her; Jinora can look after herself for now."

Another voice piped up, a slightly younger one. "Yeah Kai's right! Those dunderheads out there don't know what we're capable of!" One of the other Airbenders in the cell was only a kid, Rui. He reminded him of Meelo somewhat.

Kai pondered. "The only thing is, how do we get through the door? Air can't twist metal."

"I have an idea. If we're really going ahead with this. But it could be dangerous," Auri said quietly.

Kai laughed. "Dangerous is kinda my speciality. What's the plan then?" he asked.


"Oh hey there sweetie. You're not looking so good."

"Hm? Where….where am I?"

"Aw well you decided to fight against us. Not such a good plan there, my ickle platypus-bear."

"…..Ah."

Scarlett rounded the desk and slammed her palms on it loudly. "Yes. Ah. Glad to see the years haven't made you lose your memories of me."

Zukoh leaned back and laughed weakly. He felt terrible. Some internal injuries maybe, definitely a few external facial ones. One eye was swollen shut and his entire right side felt as though it had been hit by a Satomobile. "How could I? Nobody could…forget that figure," he chuckled. It hurt to even breathe but it was worth it just to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. The Red Lotus had taken the City without even so much as a whisper of their presence, the Order of the White Lotus had fallen and Zukoh had been totally helpless to stop it.

"What's so funny Zu-Zu? You're under my control now, instead of the other way around. For years, I followed you and you chose a stupid promotion over my love?" Scarlett asked aggressively. Her tone was harsh and questioning, as though baiting him for a response.

Zukoh obliged. "Yeah. Well, my father was never a fan of your apparent love. He chose the United Republic Armed Forces at an early age and had no regrets. Neither do I with my Order."

"An Order which has been defeated. First, you lot. The next, all the World Leaders. Well, what can I say hunnybun, the plan hasn't really changed since Zaheer was in charge."

Zukoh was silent for a moment. "You know, the terrible thing about you was your cooking. It was just awful."

Scarlett faced him, anger on her face. He knew he was hurting her deeply. Although he was the one tied to a chair in some room. He was pretty damn hurt too. No point being formal about the situation. "You….you…." she spluttered, speechless.

"Yeah. Me. Your husband. The one you've locked up because of your stupid beliefs. Why are you doing this?"

Scarlett breathed deeply and turned away from him. "To help the world recover after Harmonic Convergence. To help spirits and humans live together as equals. For liberty. Now, husband dear, tell me. Where is the Avatar?"

Zukoh raised an eyebrow. "He got away? Hm. Underestimated that kid."


Aana was scared. The City was in big trouble and even the spirits were scared. She huddled in her room in the Air Temple, clutching the fur of her young sky bison, Leemi. The bison was still only half-grown and still fit through the wide window and was Aana's greatest comfort when she was upset. She lay on the floor, paws spread out, enjoying Aana's company.

Her parents had left the Temple in a hurry with Grandpa Tenzin and a lot of other Airbenders. She didn't know why but she knew in her heart that they had gone to stop some bad guys. After a while, though, explosions had rang out from across the water and she had watched as the City fought a battle. Spirits rose in their hundreds and made their way from the City across to the Island, where they swarmed restlessly. Something had driven them out of the City. Or someone.

A small spirit was hiding with Aana in her room. It was a cute little thing in the form of a baby flying boar, sprouting tiny tusks under a short little snout. Flapping its wings restlessly, it paced up and down. It was this spirit that told Aana of the events.

"But they said they wanted to help the spirits. I don't know why they forced us out," it said with a sad little grunt.

Aana sniffed. "Maybe they're just liars. My Dad told me that some bad guys tried to stop Korra once. Maybe it's them again. They're bad people."

The spirit looked even more worried and curled up against Leemi. "I hope not. I want to go back home."

Aana nodded. "I know. Hey, why don't we play a game to make us happy again?"

The spirit looked up hopefully, its snout twitching. "A game? I could teach you a spirit game but you'd have to be in the Spirit World."

"Why?"

"I don't know. My friends used to play it there. I wish I could see them again."

The young Airbender sighed. Her head was hurting and she didn't feel very well. "Well how about a nap? We might wake up and everything will be ok again."

From the window came a roar. Far above their heads, a huge dragon spirit had landed on the top of the temple. With infernal eyes he gazed at the city in anger. The surrounding spirits all gazed at the newcomer, who was clearly more powerful and wise than them all.

"It's Qi-lóng. The dragon spirit of air…." the little boar spirit said with a gasp, looking up from the windowsill. Aana made her way over, craning her neck out to catch a glimpse of the white dragon spirit. "One of the great air spirits. Why is it here, little boar spirit?" she asked in reply.

"Maybe to help you all. Maybe just to see the world," it said rather unhelpfully.

Aana made a quick decision. "I need to talk to it. Please fly up there and ask it to come down here," she asked sweetly. She knew the boar spirit would not want to do so but she could hardly jump onto the roof.

The boar spirit flapped its wings and jumped from the window with a sad little grunt. It descended quickly before rising once more, struggling to keep itself aloft. Rising higher, it left Aana's view. She could only hope the dragon spirit would be curious enough to speak to her.

It was. A mass of scales slid past her window and came to a stop as a great eye opened. Large enough to fill the entire window which even Leemi could squeeze through, it blinked once and a deep voice echoed, "Air child. This is not the best of times."

Aana bowed. "I know. The bad guys have trapped my family and friends, haven't they?"

Qi-lóng blinked once more. "The Red Lotus seek to create balance, but in doing so create only chaos. Balance does not come from chaos, just as peace can never come from war. The humans are misguided and must be stopped. I, Qi-lóng, will observe the humans, to see their true motives and desires. If they truly wish to destroy the order of this world which the Avatar helped to create, then the spirits may yet go to war."

Aana shook her head. "No! The spirits can't fight, that won't help anything! Even you just said the fighting is bad!"

Qi-lóng began to retreat. "It is a waiting game, dear child. We shall watch. But you should instead focus on healing, instead of the turmoil that grips this world. A great evil has its claws around you, child, one which must be cleansed." The nose of the dragon spirit vanished from view, leaving her alone with Leemi.

Aana was silent. All she could do now was wait and wonder what the Great Spirit had meant.


The Avatar was asleep. Nestled in a bed of flowers, he had landed and immediately collapsed. Surrounded by rocks and drenched from the water which had fallen on him, he could have been dead were it not for the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders. Lying on his front, he had not been moved.

The other young man sat a few feet away had been startled out of his skin only a mere half hour before. Taking a tour of the Spirit World, he had chosen to enlighten himself by travelling from the Northern Water Tribe to the South. Having heard about the new portal….well, who could resist a slight detour to see such a sight?

The woman had fallen through first. Flying backwards, she had landed in the grass quite heavily, her hands clasped to her stomach. Sporting Airbender garbs, she also had a bright blue arrow tattoo on her hands and forehead. She too was unconscious.

This was not even the surprising bit. Honestly, women threw themselves at him quite a lot. Never quite in this fashion, but still, he could tick it off the bucket list. He'd only been at the portal for like five minutes and already it was kicking off.

The next part shocked him to his core. All of a sudden, a huge wind knocked him off his feet and he watched through parted fingers as he shielded his eyes from the soil being kicked up. A figure emerged from the portal, floating in mid-air, supported by nothing except a whirling tornado under its feet. It hovered there for a moment, illuminated by the bright glow of the portal and the fierce white light of its eyes. Something sparked like lightning and the figure was blasted sideways like a rag doll, falling face down in the flowers nearby. The portal itself began to change; instead of a large beam of light, it shrunk in on itself and became a bright green ball of energy. The portal was closed.

Anik Pallaya was stunned. The Avatar had just burst through the portal, closed it, fainted and left him stood there like a baby Otterpenguin. He'd seen many weird and wonderful things in the Spirit World but this was probably the strangest. He'd cautiously checked the Avatar before making sure the woman was ok.

She was very pretty, with long black hair that fell to her shoulders, despite the signs of wear on her. The Airbender was covered in dirt and had soot on her cheeks, as well as a smouldering patch on her stomach. Had the Avatar attacked her? Anik wanted answers. Taking some water, he bent it into a small sphere and applied it to the woman's burn, making it glow with healing power. Once he had finished, he unpacked his backpack and set up camp. These two clearly needed some help.

"Well Anik, you've done it again mate. Managed to find trouble even when backpacking alone. Impressive stuff…" he mumbled to himself with a rueful chuckle. "Ah well. Better than trekking alone. Maybe something interesting is gonna happen, eh Whiri?" he said aloud. The ground began to shake slightly and a few metres away, a creature emerged from the ground. About the size of a baby flying bison, it crawled from the dirt, shaking off the dirt from its shell. Three wavy lines on the forehead creased in confusion and the creature rolled its huge shoulders.

Anik patted the young lion-turtle on its back. "Well Whiri, looks like we're camping here for the night buddy."