Mako wasn't entirely sure what he had expected, as the train took them to the camp, but the place looked more like a town than a prison, many of the inmates seeming to live in small, flat-roofed houses. The tall wooden doors of the pallisade parted to let them in and closed smoothly behind them, the team of workers on the walls mopping their brows in the heat.

"Welcome to camp fourteen." Their assigned escort, a middle-aged earthbender with close-cropped hair, walked a little ahead of them, her black boots raising dust from the track. "You might think you're special, but we get pretty much everyone in here; reactionary leaders, petty warlords, supporters of the… previous regime. Trust me, you don't stand out." They passed a row of tattered canvas tents, the occupants staring out at them with thin, weatherbeaten faces. "Here are your meal tickets," she said, and her assistant, a well-built soldier with a ponytail and a handsome moustache, handed each of them a booklet with thin, perforated pages. "You can exchange these for food at the big building at the south end," she continued, still walking. "You want more tickets, you sign up for a mining detail."

"What are you mining here?" Mako asked, and the guard shot him a withering look.

"A word of advice," she said. "You might be here on the orders of the Great Uniter, but she isn't here right now. We get a lot of leeway in how we treat you. So keep your head down, and don't ask too many questions." She stopped abruptly, and Mako had to catch himself to not walk into her.

At the side of the track, there was a patch of bare earth, deep grooves in the soil marking a square.

"This is yours," said the officer with a shrug. "Do what you like with it."

"We're not earthbenders!" Mako protested, as the woman turned to go.

"You'll figure something out." She gestured to the ramshackle tents and buildings that dotted the camp. "All the others did."

"Mako," Varrick stalked to the middle of the plot, turned sharply, and sat down. "Give me your ration book."

Mako stared at him. What was the inventor thinking?

"We're about to get mugged," said Varrick, a note of impatience creeping into his voice. "So give me your tickets."

Mako felt like he was twelve years old again, one of the older kids prying yuans from his hands, and his grip on the little booklet tightened. "I grew up on the streets," he said. "I know how to handle myself."

"You're going to fight, then?" Varrick's eyes gleamed as he looked past Mako and down the path. "You might be a pro-bender, kid, but I don't rate our chances highly here."

Turning, Mako saw the group approaching them. Dressed in traditional earth kingdom greens, the gang was five strong, all of them powerfully built, with geometric tattoos around their arms and shoulders. They didn't look friendly.

He frowned, glancing back at Varrick, who smiled grimly, his usual mania bubbling just below the surface, and thrust his booklet into the nonbender's hands. "Your plan better work this time," he grumbled.

Varrick turned away, tucking the books under his shirt. "Watch and learn, kid," he muttered, brushing his moustache into place with one finger. He turned on his heel again, all smiles. "Gentlemen!" he said, stepping brightly up to the gang. "Can I interest you in a business opportunity?"

Mako stood back as Varrick talked, his fists balled tight at his sides. He'd expected the violence to start quickly, but Varrick's approach had put them off balance.

"Name's Varrick," said Varrick, extending his hand to the largest thug. "Iknik Blackstone Varrick." He lowered his voice, conspiratorial. "You might have heard of me."

The big guy reached out his hand to shake Varrick's, but the leader of the group, a man who was about Mako's size, batted it out of the way.

"We're not here to make friends," he growled.

Varrick gave the leader a withering glance before turning to the big guy. "Does he always treat you like that?"

With a grunt, the smaller guy stepped between them. "I'm the leader," he snarled. "You talk to me."

Mako couldn't see Varrick's face from where he was standing, but he could imagine it- the slow grin that spread practically from ear to ear.

"The deal is simple," said the self-proclaimed leader. "You hand over your ration books, all peaceful like, and we leave you some tickets. You resist, you get nothing. So hand them over, both of you."

"I think not," said Varrick, mildly. "You see, my assistant here is an accomplished firebender. Former pro-bender, in fact. You try to take our tickets off us, and-" Varrick turned his head. "Mako, do the thing."

For once, Mako understood exactly what Varrick wanted him to do, and turned his hands skyward, bending fire from his palms.

"You so much as lay a finger on us? No-one. Gets. Anything."

"You're insane!" The leader spluttered, his face going red. The prisoners in the tents and huts around them peered at them curiously. Even the warden's assistant had lingered behind, bending himself a seat from the earthen track so he could sit and watch. Mako edged closer, extinguishing the flames in his palms.

Varrick, however, ignored the outburst, instead sidling round so that he could put a companionable arm around the shoulders of the other thugs. "But we're all grown-ups, am I right? This doesn't need to end in tears. I think we can cut a deal," he said, pulling a row of tickets out between his fingers and waggling them. Suddenly he had the full attention of the thugs, and there was a murmur of assent.

Their leader spun on his heel. "We already told you the deal. You don't get to make another one."

"Is he always this rude?" Varrick's face dropped in a moue as he looked side to side to his new friends. "I bet he doesn't even give you your fair share of your little racket here. What do you get, ten percent?"

"Five," one of the thugs mumbled, and Varrick shook his head sadly.

"Here at Varrick Industries, we treat our employees with respect. And Varrick Industries needs earthbenders right now like a polar leopard needs hibernation."

The thugs looked at each other in confusion.

"They do need to hibernate," Varrick clarified. "And right now, Varrick Industries needs you to bend something on this plot."

"Just wait a minute here," said the former leader of the thugs, but Varrick was already leading the team past him, congratulating them on their new jobs.

When the dust had cleared, their shelter was done, a squat, square structure. Not the prettiest house in the camp, but it would protect them from the heat and the wind. Mako followed Varrick inside, and saw the man's back slump as soon as they were out of sight.

"Hey," Mako clasped Varrick's shoulder. "Good job out there."

"Good job? Good job?" Varrick's voice was strained. "Do you have any idea what time it is? No? Because neither do I!" Varrick tapped his wrist. His timepiece had been confiscated by the earth empire soldiers, along with the rest of his equipment. "I've got no idea if I should be coming, or going, or brainstorming, and-" he breathed in deeply, his shoulder shaking under Mako's hand. "No-one here is bringing me tea."

He looked practically pitiable. Mako closed his eyes, reaching for the chi reserves deep within him, and feeling their levels. His firebending peaked at noon, and he hadn't used much since then. "It's just past one," he said.

Varrick stared at him. "How do you know?"

"Firebender."

"Oh." Varrick's face split into a tremulous smile, and he put his hand on top of Mako's. "Thanks, kid. You're a good assistant."

Mako sighed. "For the last time, Varrick, I am not your assistant."


Zaheer had watched Korra as she earthbent herself into exhaustion. What was going on behind his eyes was anyone's guess, but he hadn't said anything. Probably good, too. She might have punched him if he'd sat there and dryly quoted dead airbenders at her. Instead, he had waited for her to tire herself out.

"I'll be here when you're ready to try again," he'd said, as she sat back, panting on the rocky ground, and brushed earthbending dust from his clothes as he went back inside. Korra felt the exhaustion wash through her, purer and cleaner than what she had felt trying to get back into the spirit world, the pain in her aching limbs overriding the remembered sensation of the poison.

"Hey, Avatar," the leader of the bandits took a place on the edge beside her. He was less intimidating without his skull facepaint, though his eyes were still fierce.

"It's Korra," said Korra.

The outlaw looked at her a second, then nodded. "Gombo," he said, extending his hand.

They shook. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Why would you think that?"

Gombo gestured to the ravine. "The guys have one-to-five odds on it being a lovers' quarrel. Just saying."

Korra shook her head, too tired to protest more strongly. "It's not like that. Where is he now?"

"Giving orders. He wants to know where the nearest internment camp is. It's like he thinks he's in charge."

Korra looked out at the side of the chasm. That sounded like Zaheer. "Is he?"

Gombo gave her a sidelong glance. "He's got a point," he said, carefully. "And the guys respect him."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself you're okay with this."

"I just don't want the anyone to get hurt," said Gombo, frowning.

Korra wanted to take the big guy by the shoulder, tell him she would do everything in her power to protect him and his men, but without access to the avatar state, her power didn't amount to much.

She leaned back, looking up at the sky. For the first time since Zaheer had pulled her from the collapsing mountain, it was clear, and the stars shone a cold white. Squinting, she made out the constellations; Tui's candle, the lantern spider and the north star. She might not have learned much about the world in the south pole, but navigation was one thing she had been rigorously drilled in. The great platypus bear was low in the sky, with Tui's candle near the zenith, putting them near the border of United Republic territory.

"You're a long way from home, Gombo."

"Yeah, well," The big man gave a sigh. "You gotta do what you gotta do if you want to stay alive. Sometimes you gotta run. Sometimes you gotta fight the avatar."

Korra leaned forward, hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry about what happened, back in your village. I was trying to-"

The big earthbender interrupted her with a snort. "You got reasons. Sure. I'm sure they seemed real important to you at the time."

Korra made a face. "I was trying to apologize to you."

"I never came asking for an apology," said Gombo, scratching his beard. "Do I wish you had joined us when I asked? Sure, but you didn't, and it's no use crying over what might have happened."

She found Zaheer sitting cross-legged in the common area, part of a ring of outlaws who sat round what looked like a crude map in the dust. Some of the younger men were tidying or cooking, putting some semblance of order back into the place, and filling the space with the smell of boiling rice.

"Avatar," Zaheer greeted her as she walked in, his attention momentarily lifted from the map. He gestured for the outlaws to make space, and she sat down opposite him, Gombo taking his own place between two of the strongest-looking men.

"What are you planning?" Korra asked.

Zaheer's gaze was frank. "Are you planning on helping us?"

"That depends," said Korra, folding her arms. "On exactly what your plan is."

"Good." Zaheer nodded. "I need another airbender for this." His hand hovered over the dust on the floor, and for a moment it heaped up into hills and valleys. Korra could just about make out the subtle movement in his fingers that maintained it. "Most of the supplies for Kuvira's army are coming from Yi province right now, either by airship or train-"

"No." Korra interrupted him, and a wave of silence went through the room, the outlaws behind her stopping mid task. All eyes were on Zaheer. "I need to find out where my friends are first."

Zaheer withdrew his hand, and the dust he had raised with his airbending collapsed. He frowned, and for a moment Korra thought he was about to scold her. Instead, he turned to Gombo. "You said there was an Earth Empire checkpoint near here."

The bearded outlaw nodded cautiously. "A few miles to the east, beyond the river."

"If Kuvira has your friends, the post might have some record of their transport," said Zaheer.

"And if she doesn't?"

Zaheer looked somber, and Korra felt her stomach turn to ice as she realised what he was thinking. It had been days since their escape, and it was unlikely that anyone would survive being buried alive for that long if they weren't some sort of earthbender. "Then they will find us," he said. He met her gaze, and for a moment she felt like she was falling, his dark eyes bottomless. "Don't doubt it."


Thousands of people had fled Republic City in the wake of Kuvira's attack on the mountain, and now they were flooding back, many of them like Asami, dirty and with no papers. She'd returned to the city in the back of a cabbage corp pickup, two toddlers arguing over a stale bun at her feet as their tiny grandfather droned on about the time he'd won his Pai Sho league. The earth empire soldiers on the road to the city barely looked twice at them before waving them past.

They stopped in nose-to-nose traffic where a section of spirit vine had detatched itself from a building and blocked the road ahead, vehicles of all makes sounding their horns in frustration. As they inched past a streetside stall, Asami made out her picture on the front page of the papers. It looked like Kuvira was hunting for her. And Korra. She borrowed a headscarf from the family's grandmother, and pulled her goggles down over her eyes before she hopped out of the little truck and out into the crowds. Not much of a disguise, but it would make her harder to recognise. Walking round Republic City was totally different to driving, too. People jostled past her, or hassled her from the sidewalk, shoving cheaply printed pamphlets into her hands. The Dark Spirit Vaatu speaks, one read, another; The children of the moon walk among us. Maybe she'd make the sidewalks wider next time she rebuilt the city. If she ever rebuilt the city.

Spotting a squad of soldiers heading in her direction, dressed in Kuvira's green and grey, Asami looked at her feet and turned down a residential street, stopping with her back to the wall as soon as the soldiers were out of sight.

"Ma'am, can I interest you in Cabbage Corp's latest innovation in haircare?" A slight man in a smart-looking suit stood a few doors down, talking to the little old lady who had opened the door. He opened his briefcase for her, smiling, but the lady slowly shook her head, and he turned away, crestfallen.

Asami watched over her goggles as cabbage corp salesman steadily worked his way up the street. He knocked on every door with three smart taps, but it was the middle of the day, and even if anyone was home, he got a door slammed in his face when the occupant realised he was hawking cabbage corp brand hairdryers.

"Excuse me, ma'am, have you heard of Cabbage-" The door slammed in front of him, and he was left standing there, his black briefcase held stupidly at chest height. "Cabbage corp- everything a waterbender can do and worse," he muttered.

Asami bit back a laugh, and he stalked over to her, lip curling. "Think that's funny, do you?"

"No, I-" Asami shook her head, frowning. There was something familiar about the man, something she couldn't quite place. She looked up at him, studying the angular lines of his face. She'd seen him before, from her box at the pro-bending arena. "You're Tahno," she said. "From the White Falls Wolfbats."

"Formerly of the White Falls Wofbats," Tahno corrected with a twist of his hand. "Regrettably, I-" he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes narrowing. "Asami… Sato? Aren't you wante-"

Before Tahno finished speaking, Asami had him up against the wall in an arm lock.

"Listen closely," she growled into his ear. "If you know what's good for you, you're going to forget I was ever here."

Before the waterbender could respond, a barefoot girl with a bag barreled round the corner, narrowly avoiding crashing into them. She was followed by three soldiers in earth empire colours, and she got halfway up the road before one of them bent the earth under her feet and tripped her and she went tumbling.

Asami turned to watch, loosening her grip on Tahno's wrist.

The three soldiers stood in a loose circle round the girl, who lay on the ground, hands covering her head.

"Please," Asami heard her say. "I didn't do nothing."

"Yeah?" The soldier with the officer stripes leaned down, smirking. "Because I'm informed that someone who matches your description was seen loitering around City Hall. And if that's the case, I'm going to have to take you to central command for questioning."

The girl's expression was incredulous, her voice panicked. "That wasn't me."

Stepping in was dangerous, but she couldn't just leave someone who was in trouble like that. Asami took a step towards the altercation, and then another. She released Tahno, and he stared after her in disbelief.

"Maybe not." The officer smiled, the corners of his eyes creasing. "Come to think of it, there have been a lot of cases of mistaken identity lately. A few yuans would clear this all up."

The girl looked up, glancing at each of them in turn. "I don't have any money."

"Oh?" The officer tilted his head. "Then what do you have in that bag there?"

"No!" The girl scooted back, clutching the bag to her chest.

"Hey," Asami called, slipping her electro glove over her hand. "How about you pick on someone your own size."

The two soldiers span to face her, while their superior took a second or so to pull himself up.

"What have we here?" he said, glancing down at the girl. "A friend of yours?"

"No," Asami sank into a fighting stance. "Just passing through."

Asami jumped and rolled past the first two rocks, closing the remaining distance between her and the benders. The girl scrambled to her feet and fled as soon as their eyes were off her, and Asami was glad. Benders lost a lot of their advantage once they were in close combat, and she caught the first soldier in the middle of bending a wall to hem her in, grabbing his arm and administering enough shock to knock him out. The battery gauge on her glove glowed red. One more shot. Asami leapt and somersaulted midair, dodging a rock, and landed beside the second soldier. Her glove was round his neck, but the officer's bending hit her before she could discharge it.

There was a sound as the earthbending hit her arm, an almost deafening crack. It reminded Asami of the moment when the suspension in a car snapped, resonating through to her skull. She rolled, letting the momentum of the hit carry her, but when she tried to raise her arm to block the next attack, it hung there uselessly, and the rock hit her on the brow, hard enough to draw blood. Groggily, Asami crawled to her feet, only for the ground to ripple underneath her, and she fell again, hard enough to knock the air from her lungs.

"Assaulting imperial troops," said the officer, just in her peripheral vision as the two remaining soldiers swaggered up to her. "That's a pretty serious crime."

He might have wanted to say more, but something hit him across the face. A long, silvery tendril of water, as fast as you could blink. The officer cried out, clutching his cheek, red seeping between the fingers of his gloves. Asami pulled herself into a sitting position as Tahno stepped forward, frowning with concentration as he span a ring of water loaded with detritus from the street around one arm.

The officer frowned at his subordinate, both of them settling into earthbending stances, but Tahno was faster than either of them, sending his water lashing out with a twitch of his shoulder. It made contact with a sound like thunder, bowling the officer over as it impacted on his chest, and he gasped for breath. The other soldier turned pale as he watched this, hesitating only a second before he turned tail and ran.

Tahno took another step forward, but the officer was still conscious, and he made a sequence of quick stabbing motions with his hands as he bent the rocks out from Tahno's stream. Stifling a whimper of pain, Asami ripped her glove from her useless arm, using her teeth to pull it onto her good one. Tahno swore, throwing himself to one side as the small rocks pelted down around him, and the officer used the time to bend the road beneath his back, lifting himself to his feet. Tahno lashed out again, this time with a whip loaded with fragments of ice, but the officer raised a block from the road, and the attack landed with a noise like broken glass.

The officer's focus was on Tahno as Asami leapt, her broken arm trailing behind her, her gloved hand outstretched. She hit, her fingers clutching at the man's shoulder as she discharged with a crackle of yellow-white light.

Asami stood staring at Tahno, both of them bleeding, both of them panting. His hat had fallen from his head at some point during the fight, and his long black fringe was flopping loose.

"They're gonna be back soon-" he said, his expression apprehensive as he looked around. Every door on the street was quite definitely shut. "And I don't know about you, but I have no plans to be here when that happens. If you need somewhere to lay low, you can always come to my place."

The way he said it made it seem like a cheap come-on, but the look on his face was serious. Asami's eyes widened, and she clutched her injured arm to her side. "But… I just attacked you."

"Don't sweat it." Tahno turned, rubbing the large bruise that was forming on his cheek. "You'd be surprised how often that happens, doing this job. It's like one in three housewives is a martial arts expert, I swear."

"Why did you help me?" Asami asked.

"A pretty thing like you, I-" Tahno started, but raised his hands defensively as Asami took a step towards him.

"Don't test me."

"Okay, okay. I was kidding. Sheesh. You're her friend, right? The Avatar? I mean, you sponsored her team?"

Slowly, Asami nodded.

Tahno leaned down to pick up his hat and briefcase. "I owe her, big time," he admitted, his lip curling down. "I told myself that if she ever needed my help, I'd be there. I think this counts." Tahno held out his hand. "So what do you say?"