Danny wakes up, expecting to be on the airship back to Republic City. He half-expects for Korra to be there by his side, but he is wrong. His left arm feels a bit heavy. He looks at it and receives quite a surprise: his arm is covered with green bandages. He feels a slight stinging sensation, which triggers his memory of Aiwei's treachery and the explosion. The nurse sees that he is awake and brings him some breakfast. He eats quickly and goes outside to find his friends.
Just when he closes the door, he hears shouts. It sounds like two women. 'I wonder who that could be,' he questions, already knowing the answer. He follows the voices to the training grounds. Lin is red-faced with fury yelling at the top of her lungs while Suyin is trying to calm her down. He pieces the conversation together: Korra and the rest have gone after Aiwei and have not yet returned.
Suyin tries to reassure Lin. "Everything will be alright. The kids will come back soon. Don't worry. They're strong. They can handle anything."
Danny begins to worry. What if they found Aiwei and Zaheer? He gulps. He does not want to think what Zaheer could and will do to Korra.
"I think you're confusing them with me!" retorts Lin. "But even I can't handle Zaheer! You just sent them to their deaths! Congratulations! You killed the Avatar!" She throws up her hands in exasperation and takes a deep breath. "I'm going after them."
Danny runs up to her. "I'm going with you."
Lin rebuffs him. "Like hell you are."
He presses on. "Korra's my friend. I don't want her to be in any trouble. Just think of me as backup."
"Danny's right Lin. You can't do everything by yourself," Suyin chimes in.
Lin shoots her sister a very dirty look. Then she turns her attention to Danny. "Fine, you can come, kid, but don't be a nuisance," Lin complies angrily. She stalks to a jeep and gets in. "Hey, kid, are you waiting for special invitation?" she gruffly asks. Danny shakes his head. "Well, then GET IN!"
Danny turns to Suyin. "Thanks for everything. Your city's awesome."
She gives him a hug. "Be careful and don't let Lin get to you. Say 'hello' to the others for me, okay?"
"I promise." He runs to the jeep, where Lin waits impatiently, tapping her finger on the steering wheel. He hops in the car. She hits the gas and they drive off.
The drive is uncomfortably silent. Danny knows Lin is neither a talker nor a sharer. He is not going to pry into her life and force her to talk. He is going to enjoy the silence and the landscape. He tries not to think what - if anything - has happened to Korra. 'Think positive, hero boy," he tells himself.
They halt at a rest stop. Danny decides that it is better to take care of business now instead of asking Lin to pull over at some random spot later on. She will definitely not appreciate that and he does not want to inconvenience her because an unhappy Lin is a dangerous Lin.
Five minutes later, the drive commences. They are following two sets of tracks: Naga's and a jeep's. They take a right and the tracks stop. Lin finds Aiwei's jeep while Danny is ambushed by Naga and Pabu, who assault his face with their tongues. Lin throws the critters some snacks to calm them down. Her eyes and Danny's connect; they are thinking something is wrong. Korra would not just leave Naga behind.
Lin begins making some calls. They make their way to a seedy little bar and they order drinks. Danny gets some fruity cocktail that tastes like a smoothie. They wait for a while, which feels like days, and then they are joined by two men. One happens to be a middle-aged man and the chief of the Southern Water Tribe, Tonraq, Korra's father and someone Danny has not seen for weeks. They smile and shake hands. The other man is old, very old with snow white hair and a long white beard. He sports a scar on his left eye. Danny has an inkling who this man is. Korra has told him stories about how this man helped end the Hundred Year War with her past life, Avatar Aang, and became a wonderful Fire Lord, adored by millions.
Danny bows. "Fire Lord Zuko, it... it is an honor to meet you."
Zuko chuckles and extends his hand, which Danny takes. Zuko wonders out loud who this young man is.
Tonraq replies, "This is Danny, a visitor, and a friend of Korra's."
Zuko smiles. "Any friend of the Avatar's is a friend of mine. Danny, it is a pleasure."
The men order drinks and they sit down. The atmosphere is tense and they sit in silence, sometimes broken by a cough or a sniffle or a feeble attempt at conversation.
"It's so hot here," Tonraq starts. "You never get this kind of weather in the South Pole. I don't know how you can stand this heat." He waterbends some ice to cool himself off.
"Well, it's the desert. What do you expect?" retorts Lin.
Zuko chuckles. "It gets this hot in the Fire Nation and sometimes even hotter. Of course, we don't have ice to cool us off."
The conversation ends. Silence lingers on for some time again. Tonraq takes another stab at discussion, "So, Danny, you and Korra, huh?"
Danny's eyes widen as everyone stares at him, waiting for his reply. He takes a sip of his drink and chokes a little. He clears his throat and chuckles nervously. 'Is it just me or is it really hot here all of a sudden?'
'I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean, Chief," he replies.
"Kid, how slow can you be? He's wondering if you and the Avatar have some kind of romantic connection," Lin says.
"I know what the Chief is implying, but I don't know where he got that idea," Danny explains.
"You guys were always together in the South Pole so I assumed that...you and she... that, uh, you two...you know...uh, never mind," the Chief finishes lamely.
"Nothing is going on, Chief," Danny says. "We're just friends, nothing more."
"Ah, young love is full of mysteries," Zuko says, taking a sip of his tea and winking at Danny, who does not know how to respond to that.
Nothing is going on between him and Korra. 'Why can't a girl and a guy just be friends without people always thinking that something more is going on?' Korra and Danny are just close and they understand each other, but they do not feel anything romantic towards each other. Nothing can happen anyway - not that they want it to; they hail from different worlds and he has to go back to his, which he will when he gets the chance.
They have reached the topic of Korra, which prompts Tonraq to wonder when his daughter will arrive.
"I can't tell you when or if she'll come," Lin responds. "All I know is that Korra's missing and has left Naga behind."
Tonraq eyes flash with fear. Lin continues,"I called you guys here so that we can strategize. We all know how dangerous Zaheer is and we don't want Korra in his clutches. So we have to get her back. Any ideas?"