Iroh's head looked like it was mounted on a swivel as he followed Korra through the airship. "This feels strange to me, everything looks so...plush here. Are all of Future Industries airships like this?"

Korra shrugged "I'm not really sure, I think this is the most expensive model Asami's company builds though."

"I think I've spent too much time on battleships if this feels alien to me. There's no room for any luxury on those, it's all about using space efficiently. This is definitely something I'm looking forward to getting used to once I retire."

Korra stopped and gestured towards a door "So this is where your room is. Asami and I are one floor up and there's a mechanic and a pilot on the bottom floor. It takes about a day and a half for this ship to make the trip from Republic City to the Fire Nation capital."

She started to walk away but stopped and turned back for a moment "And if you're looking for something to do, there's some books in the lounge." Korra gestured down the hall "It's off that way up the stairs."

Iroh glanced down the hall as she pointed before heading off that direction. Korra waited until he was out of sight before adjusting the strap on one shoulder. Asami had cinched it tight enough that Korra could see a red mark where it was digging into her skin.

It took her some time, but Korra found Asami standing outside on the upper deck looking out over the ocean. She started to walk over to her but was ambushed halfway through by a large furry creature.

"Naga! Where did you come from?" Asami turned towards them, a small smile on her face "I think she must have been getting lonely or tired of being left behind. I found her trying to hide in the engine room this morning."

The polar bear dog whined and licked at Korra's face again. "I'm sorry girl. I've just had too many things on my mind lately." Naga huffed in response but rubbed her head against Korra before trotting off to the deck's edge, her tongue dangling out in the wind.

"Are you doing all right Asami? You seemed kinda ...bossy about us wearing parachutes." Asami shook her head "I'm just worried about things right now. The car bomb yesterday and that dream you had about Republic City being destroyed is scaring me."

Korra put her hand on Asami's shoulder "It scares me too, but we know how to stop that from happening. I'm more worried about the spirits, we have bending now, but the lion turtles are gone. We can't ask them to protect us like they did during Wan's time"

"What are you talking about? Lion turtles? You mentioned Wan once before, was he one of your past lives?"

Korra stiffened in surprise "You mean I never told you about this? I thought you knew. Jinora and Tenzin never said anything either?" Asami simply shook her head looking puzzled yet curious.

"These visions I've had the last few days aren't the first ones I've had. I had one during the civil war between the Water Tribes. I met the first Avatar, a man named Wan in it. I saw how he became the Avatar and what life was like for humans back then."

"We were scattered, living isolated on the backs of the lion turtles. Spirits roamed freely everywhere else. People would travel into the wilds looking for food, but it was dangerous...the spirits could be cruel. Some of the things I saw them do to humans was horrible."

"I've spent time thinking about what I saw back then. As near as I've been able to tell, we didn't always live on the lion turtles. There was a group in Wan's city who had metal weapons. I'm guessing that humans had cities and villages like we do now, but the spirits forced us to retreat to the lion turtles."

Asami rubbed at her chin "And you said the lion turtles are gone now, so we wouldn't have anywhere to hide if the spirits started attacking and we lost. But we have benders, mecha suits and other things. Would we lose with all of that?"

Korra leaned forward as she put her hands on the rail "I'm not sure. We have all that stuff, but what do we really know about the spirits? I'm the Avatar and they're something of a mystery even to me. Anyways, I just wanted to make sure you're all right."

"I'll be fine. Just promise me that you're going to take care of this." Korra reached over taking Asami's hand in hers and squeezing it "I promise I'll get rid of the lab Asami, don't worry about it." Asami gave a hesitant smile in response before leaning her head onto Korra's shoulder as they stood and watched the ocean pass beneath them.

The three of them took the opportunity to relax while they could and the rest of the flight passed by uneventfully. As they started landing, Korra noticed a small group of people standing near their docking area. "Someone's waiting for us out there. Did you tell anyone we were coming Iroh?"

The general looked out the window, a surprised expression appearing on his face "No, I didn't want to call my friends on the phone. I was waiting until I could talk to them in person."

Korra looked out the window again as the airship touched down and turned off it's turbines. All three people were wearing cloaks with hoods draped over their heads. "Well, let's go see who it is, I have a feeling they already know that it's us on this ship."

She headed down the ramp, a mix of unease and curiosity beginning to brew in her stomach. Iroh was behind her while Asami was off letting Naga out through the cargo hold. After her feet left the plank, a gust of wind came through carrying a faintly familiar scent on it. Korra frowned inwardly as she tried to place it.

The shortest of the people waiting for them moved away from the other two and threw her hood back "Avatar Korra, it's ... a pleasure to welcome you back to the Fire Nation."

Korra recoiled a step at Ginger's sudden appearance, dyed red hair and all. The polite thing to do would be to respond, but her mouth felt frozen. She glanced over her shoulder at Iroh, looking for help but the general seemed equally startled.

A slow smile worked it's way onto Ginger's face at their reaction. "Allow me to introduce my companions." She lazily waved one hand back behind her prompting them to remove their hoods as well. Both of them had a tattoo of an eye on their foreheads. It took her a second, but Korra felt a chill when she recognized them as being identical to the one P'Li once had. "This is Wei Xie and Li Kai, some assistants of mine."

"So Avatar Korra, what brings you back to the Fire Nation? I thought you would be attending the convention that Raiko has scrabbled together in Republic City."

Her thoughts froze again and Korra blurted out the first thing that came into her head. "There was a bombing."

Ginger's smile wavered before fading away. The answer clearly hadn't been anything like what she was expecting to hear "What?"

Korra recognized her chance to improvise a cover story and ran with it "Someone planted a bomb on the car that we took to the meeting. It exploded before any of us got in, but Lin Beifong caught the perpetrator. After questioning, the man confessed to being a member of the Red Lotus."

Ginger was quick to recover her poise as Korra spoke "The Red Lotus? That sounds familiar but I can't quite place it."

"They're an anarchist group responsible for killing Queen Hou-Ting. We think they were after General Iroh so we brought him here for his safety."

Ginger frowned at the Avatar as if she were daft "But all of the world leaders are there, why would they go after the Prince? There's more desirable targets there or they could have tried to get everyone at once."

Korra threw her hands up "I have no idea what the Red Lotus is thinking, but Raiko asked me to get Iroh out of Republic City so I decided to bring him here. "

Ginger shook her head as she seemingly held back a laugh "I...see. Well then, best of luck with that Avatar." She turned around heading off into the city.

After they had left, Iroh fixed Korra with a bemused look "Either that was smart thinking or you scared her off with nonsense."

"Ginger's trying to brag about how smart and well connected she is by being here when we landed. If she thinks she's so much smarter then me, I'll play into her hands by acting like an idiot. I don't know how long it'll work, but this gives us some time before she realizes we're going after the lab directly."

Korra glanced back seeing Asami and Naga approaching. "Do you have somewhere we can stay? I don't think any hotels here would be able to handle Naga."

Iroh crossed his arms and put one hand on his chin "One of my friends can put you up. You can stay there while I go visit my friends. Once they find what we're working for, I'll send word. Until then, lay low for a day or two."