Author's Note: Well, at long last I'm finally coming back to this fan-fiction. Big thanks to anyone and everyone who's been so patient and held in for this long after such a crazy delay. I'm sorry to say though that that's not a coincidence or accident. Between among other things the demands of College I can't promise regular updates anymore, but at the very least, here's a new (and incredibly long) chapter for you after an over-four month long hiatus.
"Crisis grips a nation! The Fire Nation has fallen to Azula and her army of Avatars, and Avatar Korra has fled back to Republic City with Bolin and the Fire Nation princesses in tow! Meanwhile, Zaheer and his followers successfully liberated P'li, and in Republic City Hiroshi Sato was murdered by a spy for Yanwu's followers! With the Fire Nation having fallen and Republic City in turmoil, all eyes now fall on the Earth Kingdom!"
By the time the boat Korra, Bolin, and the Fire Nation Princesses had commandeered came within sight of Republic City, over two days had passed, and the four passengers had thusly all gone an entire day without food, what few provisions were on the boat having been consumed on the first day of the journey despite efforts to ration them out. Seeing Republic City up close, more than anything else, just reminded Korra of her hunger and the gnawing pain in her belly akin to being stabbed in the stomach, and how frankly all she wanted at the moment was just to eat something.
She wasn't the only one either. "Uh…never went so long without food before…" Bolin whined as he saw Republic City and then breathed a sigh of relief as fantasies of elaborate banquets filled his mind.
"Perhaps we should have eaten your pet for nourishment." Ursa suggested, which in turn caused Bolin to clutch Pabu as he looked at the Fire Nation Princess indignantly. "Hey! Pabu's a friend! He's for hugging and playing and dressing up, not eating!"
At this both of the princesses chuckled, while Korra allowed herself a faint ghost of a smile. Were she not starving, consumed with anxiety and a sense of urgency, and also still very much emotionally and spiritually burned out, she would have been chuckling too. But she couldn't. She couldn't urge a sense of humor out of the cave it had retreated to and refused to come out of. So that one small smile would have to suffice.
As it was, it took another twenty plus minutes for the boat to actually reach Republic City, and when it did Bolin practically leaped off of it as though a whip were cracking at his back. In contrast the Fire Nation Princesses descended from the ramp in calmness and elegance befitting their royal status, though just a bit less so where Tianshi was concerned, for in all truthfulness she too was famished and also sick of the boat. And then Korra brought up the rear.
Korra's presence among the four ensured they got to the police department relatively quickly, and no sooner were they inside did Lin Bei-Fong greet Korra with a look that, while not as hostile as ones Korra had received from the cantankerous daughter of Toph in the past, was still one that displayed suspicion and annoyance.
"Where've you been? This city's still in a rut, and we could have used you."
Korra returned Lin's frown with one of her own. "I went to the Fire Nation to stop Amon. Didn't Tenzin tell you?"
At this, the harshness in Lin's demeanor largely dissipated as she said: "Sorry, been out of the loop until fairly recently. No, I didn't hear about that. Since you're back now, I'm going to guess things either went really well, or really bad."
"The latter." Korra said, bitterness and weariness filling her tone in equal amounts before she added: "Azula's returned to take back the Fire Nation. And she succeeded. The Fire Lady's in hiding, and the whole Fire Nation is now Azula's again. I was sent back to get help for them."
"Well, they're not going to get it here." Lin said before adding: "After everything that's happened here recently and is also happening right now, there's no way we can spare the kind of manpower needed to take back the Fire Nation."
Korra nodded. "I know. That's why we're going to the Earth Kingdom instead."
At this, Lin raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She turned to look at the two Fire Nation Princesses. "I see you brought some friends back from your field trip."
"These are the princesses of the Fire Nation." Korra explained, before stepping to the side and allowing Ursa and Tianshi to step forward and introduce themselves. Ursa bowed respectfully and said: "We are both grateful for your hospitality and for taking us in."
Tianshi's greeting was less formal than her sister's, the nineteen-year old instead holding out a hand for Lin to take. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Tianshi, and this is my sister Ursa."
Lin eyed the hand for a moment before taking it and shaking it, though Korra could tell by looking at her that she was not entirely comfortable with the gesture. Afterwards, she turned back to Korra and said: "I take it you kids are going to talk to Tenzin next?"
Korra nodded. "Yes. If we're going to the Earth Kingdom, I'd like it to be more than just me and the princesses here…no offense."
"None taken." Tianshi said.
"But before we go, I was hoping to see how Mako's doing." Korra added.
At this, Lin's demeanor changed again, this time to one of almost regret, itself a sight Korra was unused to seeing on the older woman's face. "You…you're going to want to wait a little while before doing that. Now's really not a good time."
"Why, what happened?"
"Hiroshi Sato was killed." Lin explained. "His daughter's a mess, and Mako's mostly been taking time off these last few days to be with her. Give her a shoulder to cry on."
Korra was left speechless by this revelation. That Hiroshi Sato was dead was enough of a surprise, as Korra hadn't seen or heard of him since the end of the first Equalist Crisis, but what made it truly something to render her speechless, what caused it to hit her as suddenly and painfully as a lightning bolt, was the fact that Asami, one of her best friends, was now as Korra herself was: without a father. Without the man who had raised her, and, for all of Asami's estranged relationship with him, was still someone she evidently had love for. But now she had been forced to confront that last fact in the worst way possible. Thinking about all of this and remembering even more profoundly her own father's recent death made Korra fight to keep back tears, and also made her feel strongly tempted to seek Asami out and comfort her as Mako was doing.
But, Korra knew that now was not the time. Now, as much as it pained her, further steps needed to be taken to help ensure the survival of a nation and then the world. And truth be told, Korra found herself doubting that anyone but the man Asami loved could give her the comfort she needed at the moment. Not that Korra still wouldn't try the second she was able.
But again, that would have to wait. Right now, the next stop was Air Temple Island, where Tenzin would hopefully be waiting for her.
-X-
In the three days that had followed Hiroshi Sato's death, Asami had barely eaten, slept, or did much of anything. She spent most of the time sequestered in her room. When Mako opened the doors to see her, the sight he was greeted to was like someone had run a searing hot blade right through his chest. In fact, he wondered if perhaps he wouldn't have preferred that kind of pain.
Walking over to Asami, Mako said nervously: "Asami…I…I came to check up on you. See how you were doing…"
Asami said nothing, but after a few moments of keeping her back to Mako she turned around to face him. Truth be told, Mako almost wished she hadn't. The whites of her eyes were red, the make-up surrounding her eyes was ruined, loose locks of black hair hung in her face, and her cheeks were wet with tears. Seeing the look of absolute pain on her face made Mako close the distance between them fully and take Asami in his arms, where he held her tightly.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
Asami shook her head. "I don't…" she sighed before finishing: "…I don't know why it's affecting me so much. I hated him. I was so angry with how he'd betrayed me and hurt so many people, I wanted him to be hurt. But…"
Asami buried her face in Mako's chest for a moment before finishing: "…I guess, somewhere deep inside me, I still…I still loved him."
"And he never stopped loving you." Mako pointed out.
Asami nodded. "No, he didn't. I guess…I guess that was maybe why I never stopped either. Because I knew, deep down, that he still cared about me, even when he was…" Asami trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
It was then that Mako chose to speak: "Asami…I hate seeing you like this. I hate seeing you like this so much I can't stand it. Just knowing you're in so much pain kills me inside. It's like a poison running through my veins. Please don't make me see this any longer. I'm here for you. I always will be."
Asami allowed another sigh to escape her as she rested her head on Mako's shoulder. She shut her eyes for a moment, and then said: "It took me this long to figure out why it hurt so much. But now, now I know what I'm going to do." Asami looked up at Mako, and when she did, he realized that, for all her still having the same face and eyes, this was a different Asami Sato that he was looking at. He could tell just by one look. One look into her green eyes. Gone from them were the warmth, brightness, and compassion that so characterized them, the bright and inviting twinkle. Now, they were cold. Hardened. Bereft of the twinkle and containing in them nothing but purpose. Clear, unflinching purpose. And anger.
"…I'm going to find the man who killed my father. And I'm going to hurt him."
-X-
"Korra!" Tenzin said, surprised to see her in front of him again after less than a week after her going off to the Fire Nation. More surprising still was the presence of two young women who the Airbending master identified immediately as being of Fire Nation royalty.
"I take it from the presence of the two young ladies with you that something went wrong?" Tenzin said sadly.
Korra nodded. "Azula's taken over."
No sooner had the words left Korra's mouth did Tenzin's demeanor become utterly mortified and his eyes become heavy-set. In all truth he looked almost as though he'd seen a dead body propped up in front of his home as a means of discouraging would-be visitors, and the tone in his voice once he finally got words out was no less cheerful: "That…this is a terrible turn of events."
"No kidding." Tianshi said, before adding: "Our parents are in hiding now and Azula's probably doing who-knows-what to our people. We need to go back and help them as soon as we can!"
"Yes, I agree. We cannot let Azula remain in power for any stretch of time if we can help it. But…" Tenzin's face became apologetic but also no less grim: "…this is also likely the worst possible time it could have occurred. After the war with the Steel Empire, I don't see President Jishi Tou as being in any rush to send more troops abroad…"
"We know." Ursa said, before adding: "And that's why we have a different plan for reinforcements."
"Oh? What is it?"
"We need to go to the Earth Kingdom." Korra said resolutely, which in turn caused Tenzin's expression to change again, this time the elements of apology being replaced with elements of nervousness and uncertainty. "That…that may be a problem."
"Why's that?" Korra asked.
"Well, I've never met her, but I've heard the Earth Queen can be quite…demanding."
"Well, she may 'demanding', but we need her Earth Kingdom on our side." Tianshi said, unconvinced and her tone even more resolute than Korra's. As she herself heard it, Korra found herself realizing just how much Tianshi sounded like her, or at least her as she had been roughly a year ago, before she'd seen and experienced what she had and before she'd been left what she was now.
And as she realized this, Korra found herself hoping desperately that Tianshi didn't suffer as she did.
"Well, if you intend to go to the Earth Kingdom to get it's support, then I ought to accompany you."
"I thought you wanted to stay and train Bumi?" Korra asked curiously.
"I can bring my brother with me. Neither of us was there for you when you went to the Fire Nation, I don't want to let you down a second time. And besides that, I actually do think our going to the Earth Kingdom may yield one benefit, if nothing else, and that is the recruiting of new airbenders."
"What?"
"Bumi's becoming an airbender was not an isolated incident. While you were away, we found another man who had developed airbending powers. I was able to convince him to allow me to train him in how to control his new powers. I believe there are more new airbenders out there where him and my brother came from. And some of them could very well be in the direction of the Earth Kingdom."
"How is it new airbenders are suddenly appearing?" Korra asked, to which Tenzin shook his head. "At present, I have no idea. I wonder if perhaps the current state of the world being so out of balance has something to do with it."
"Well, it's not Yanwu's doing, at least not by choice. He'd never give anyone that's not working for him bending ever again."
"No, of course not." Tenzin said, nodding in agreement before adding: "But whatever the cause, I do wish to locate as many of these new airbenders as I can, and in so doing hopefully, bring back the Air Nation."
"Terrible timing for something like that." Korra pointed out, to which Tenzin sighed and nodded. "I'm well aware of the dire threat facing us all. But, should we prove victorious, and there are in fact more airbenders out there, I see no reason why we should not bring back a lost culture in full. It would mark a new beginning for us. My family would no longer be the sole airbenders in the world."
"What about me? I'm an airbender."
"You are. But as I said, airbenders other than my family."
Catching on to what Tenzin was getting at, Korra allowed herself a smile, and this time a much better one than the faint ghost of a smile she'd given previously. And for a rare moment since her father's death she felt something in her heart other than pain. She felt something better.
"Thanks, Tenzin."
"So then it's settled!" Tianshi said happily. "We go to the Earth Kingdom, you find your new airbenders, Ursa and I get help for our parents, and Azula gets knocked right off mom's throne! Everyone wins!"
"Hold on now, sister." Ursa said, raising a hand as a symbolic gesture to reign her more eager sibling in. "We still need to procure a means of transport."
"We could all fly there on Oogi." Tenzin suggested before adding: "Though that will take some amount of time."
"I think I can help with that." Came a familiar feminine voice. Turning to the source, Korra saw Asami walk up to the group with Mako following behind her. "I can get us to the Earth Kingdom. Just leave it to me."
As Asami said this, Korra got a good, long, look at her. To her credit, Asami had gone to some lengths to recompose herself and re-glamorize herself now that she was standing in front of everyone again, and upon seeing Korra look at her, Asami stood up even straighter and her demeanor became even firmer still. And yet, for all of that Korra could still see just by looking into her eyes how fresh the pain of losing her father still was, and from her own ongoing grief knew the wounds would stay fresh for a long while more.
"Asami, you're…"
Asami nodded and cut Tenzin off, itself something that struck Korra as uncharacteristic of her. "Yes, I'm back on my feet. And I'm going to stay that way."
Tenzin nodded in response to this, but his demeanor remained one of worry and concern. Ursa turned to Asami and asked: "How long until your means of transport is ready?"
"It shouldn't take long." Asami said. "About a day, maybe a little longer."
Ursa nodded. "That is acceptable."
"I was sort of hoping we could have gone right now…" Tianshi muttered. If Asami was at all offended by the princess' impatience, she did a remarkable job of concealing it. Instead, she said evenly: "I'll do my best to get it up and running as soon as possible."
"That's all we can ask for." Tenzin said.
"Are you alright?" Korra asked, walking over to Asami and daring to place a hand on her shoulder, a gesture Asami seemed to wince at. "I…I heard what happened."
"I'm fine." Asami lied, nodding as she did before adding more truthfully: "…or at least as fine as I can be right now. Don't worry about me; I'll have your back, and I'm still just as good at what I do."
"I know what you're going through." Korra said, her gaze never leaving Asami and the anguish she went to some lengths to hide.
"I know you do." Asami said softly, before then hugging Korra tightly and saying: "I'm glad you're back."
"Yeah, so am I. I just hope the Fire Nation holds together while I'm gone…"
-X-
Most did not know it, but Dragons were among the swiftest beasts of all.
The reason for most being ignorant of this fact was, of course the simple reality of how dragons had been all but extinct for nearly two centuries, Fire Lord Sozin being responsible for both that and of course many other reprehensible acts besides. The crimson and burgundy colored beast that Zuko and his grandson now rode atop of in their mad dash to get back to the Fire Nation they both called home, was one of the very last of it's kind. Hatched from an egg Zuko and Aang had received some seven decades ago, and, Zuko suspected, the offspring of the two Firebending Masters that Zuko and Aang had been exposed to on the same day they received the egg.
Iroh had been all set to take one of the new planes the URN military had received in large numbers from one Future Industries, but Zuko had assured him that his dragon would be faster. And it was. As Iroh desperately clung onto the dragon's saddle, he felt the wind fly into his face much harder and faster than it ever had when he was in a plane of any sort. Really, such swiftness was unheard of in any other creature, never mind how the dragon could even take off at all with it's being as heavy as it was. But of course, dragons were not solely part of the natural world. They need not obey laws of the natural realm that governed it and it's native inhabitants. Rather they played by their own rules.
And yet, for all of that speed, it was already pitch dark out when the dragon and it's two riders reached the Fire Nation capital from the Northern Water Tribe, the actual trip having taken over a day as was. And all the while, Zuko and Iroh's thoughts were on their family as much as they were the Avatar's. Neither one could explain it, but they feared that something had already happened in their homeland in their absence.
As it was, when the dragon neared the island that was most of the Fire Nation, Zuko and Iroh could see small beacons of flame that grew a good deal bigger the closer Zuko and Iroh's dragon got to the island. Zuko however, frowned and his gaze became intense and critical as he looked at the sight. Then, as the dragon drew even nearer still, Zuko narrowly swerved it out of the way to avoid the barrage of fireballs sent in their direction. The fireballs, launched at them by catapults that's design had changed very little since the Hundred Year War, went sailing through the air before falling into the sea as Zuko's dragon did what it could to avoid them all and keep from being hit, scorched, or burned. As it was, it was very doubtful that any amount of man-made fire could kill or injure a fully grown dragon, but the direct blunt force of the projectiles were a different story, and in any event, Zuko and Iroh were guaranteed no such protection should one of the burning projectiles connect.
Again and again the dragon evaded the shots sent it's way, and in turn farther and farther back it was forced as more projectiles were unleashed. By this point in time, ships had also sailed out to meet the battle head-on, and they too launched projectiles at the dragon and it's occupants.
"What's going on?" Iroh wondered aloud. "Why are they opening fire on us!?"
Zuko knew the answer to this desperate query immediately, and in turn why he had been so nervous and worried before.
"Azula."
"What?"
"Your grandaunt's taken over the Fire Nation." Zuko said grimly. "It's the only explanation. We can't stay out here in the open. We need to fall back."
"But what about my parents!? My sisters!? We need to go down there and help!"
"We'll be shot down before we could ever reach them." Zuko snarled through gritted teeth as yet another barrage of projectiles was only narrowly avoided by the dragon. "We need to pull back!"
Iroh was tempted to argue, but as a military man he recognized the wisdom and common sense in his grandfather's words. So it was that Zuko urged his dragon to pull back, which the beast did with a roar of acknowledgment. Turning around, the dragon flew off in the opposite direction, and away from the place it and it's riders called home. Seeing them flee off into the distance from her place down below on the Fire Nation's island, Azula smiled.
Soon, brother. Soon you and I can meet in battle once again. And your little whelp of a grandson too…
-X-
It was early the next morning when a large airship arrived at Air Temple Island before then landing on it. As the massive ship touched down with assistance from Air Acolytes pulling it in with ropes, Korra, Tenzin, his wife and daughters, Kya, Bumi, Bolin, and the two Fire Nation princesses all stood together to behold it's arrival in full. As the airship touched down, the doors slid open and Asami could be seen standing just inside the vehicle. Mako stood at her side.
"Did someone order a fully equipped Future Industries airship?" Asami asked with a gentle smile. No sooner had she was Korra first up the ramp to shake her hand in gratitude. "It's perfect. Thanks, Asami."
"I figured if we're going to Ba Sing Sae to search for airbenders and also get help for the Fire Nation, we should do it in style."
As it happened, Ikki was the first on board after Korra, using an air-scooter to zip up the ramp and then into the airship's interior. As she did, Kya said: "While you guys are gone, Pema and I can hold down the fort."
Tenzin nodded. "I'm glad you decided to come and help look after Kuzon." He said in an appreciative tone. "I know it couldn't have been easy, with reconstruction of the South still underway…"
"I wanted to spend some time with my nephew." Kya said with a smile before picking Kuzon up and gently bouncing him up and down. She turned to look at Tenzin again: "I'll be going back to the South when you get back."
Tenzin nodded wordlessly in response to this while Mako spoke to Korra: "You'll be happy to know that concerning the new airbenders I've been making contact with various locations within the Earth Kingdom."
"And?"
"Tenzin's belief that there were more airbenders wasn't wrong. There are reports of airbenders popping up all over the Earth Kingdom. I've marked the villages on this map." As Mako said this, he took off the map slung over his shoulder. As he took to showing Korra the different locations, Pema kissed Tenzin on his cheek. "I'll miss you, sweetie."
"I'll miss you too. Once we find the airbenders and with any luck get help for the Fire Nation, I'll send word. You can join us at the Northern Air Temple then."
As Tenzin said this, Ikki descended from the airship on her air-scooter, only now her ecstatic look had changed to one of great annoyance and discontent. "Hey! How come Jinora gets to go with you but I don't? That's so not fair!"
"Because if airbenders show up here, they're gonna need some guidance from you. It's a very important job."
Upon hearing this, the look on Ikki's face brightened considerably. "Really? Me, as a teacher?" She began to spin and jump in place. "Yay!"
"Remember; go easy on them, dear."
As Tenzin said this, Bolin spoke to Mako: "Won't this be great, Mako? We're going to Ba Sing Sae, where Dad grew up! I can't wait to meet our grandmother for the very first time!"
Mako nodded. "Yeah, it would be nice…but how do you think we'll be able to find any grandmother of ours though? Ba Sing Sae is a big place. Bigger than even Republic City, or at least just as big."
"Oh, I'm sure we'll do just fine." Bolin said, brushing off Mako's question.
"I hope this detour of recruiting airbenders doesn't take too long." Ursa said. "The situation with our nation is urgent."
"You took the words right out of my mouth, sis..." Tianshi admitted before adding: "…or would it be my brain?"
Ursa shook her head and then smiled warmly upon seeing Bumi present. In fact, her face began to get a bit red as she saw him. And when Bumi returned her gaze her face grew redder still. His face too became one of awkward embarrassment as he slowly made his way over to her.
"Heh…hey, Ursa. It's…it's…uh…well…"
"It's good to see you again." Ursa managed to say, to which Bumi nodded vigorously.
"Yeah, yeah, you too. It's been a while since, well…the…wedding."
Bumi said that last word with such awkwardness it might as well have been a word he'd never heard before and was only now just learning to say, like a small child first learning their native language, or perhaps a second one.
"Yes, it…has, been a long time. A very long time. I've missed you."
"So have I." Bumi admitted. Some of his usual confidence began to return as he added: "I mean, you were always the one who laughed at my jokes. Now I'm usually my best audience member. I miss having someone who really got me."
"I wish things had been different." Ursa admitted before adding: "I wish things had gone differently. That we could have stayed together."
Bumi made a chuckle that was a bit more self-deprecating than usual. "Well, you know what they say, Ursa: age before beauty. And I guess that's what happened to us."
"I'm pretty sure that's not the right use of the phrase." Ursa said, but her smile showed she was amused rather than annoyed. "I'm glad we can spend some more time together though."
"Same here." Bumi said, taking Ursa's hand in his own before giving it a good shake. He'd have certainly loved to have done much more, and she as well, but no marriage plus the age difference Bumi himself had brought up ensured a chaste handshake was all that would be occurring between them.
As most of the remaining members of the party got onto the airship however, a surprise addition ran up to it, catching everyone's attention as he finished making his way to the ramp of the airship, black cape billowing behind him and distinctive blue mask as always worn over his face. Slung over his shoulder was a sack containing various tools, weapons, and supplies, and worn over his back as always were his grandfather's hook swords.
"Shaobing! What are you doing here?"
"I should think that's obvious." He said, before then stopping to catch his breath and adding: "I'm going with you. Call it a hunch, but I suspect there may be trouble where you're headed, and I want to be at your side when it comes."
"I thought you'd be staying here in Republic City." Korra said.
"I was planning to." Shaobing admitted, before adding: "…but something tells me you might need my help. And as much of a bad state as the city's in, now that the Equalist presence has been pretty much snuffed out and most of the gang presence along with it, I think I can afford to be absent for at least a little while."
"Are you sure?" Korra asked. "I know how much protecting Republic City means to you."
"It means a great deal." Shaobing admitted with a nod before adding: "…but so does standing by the side of my friends, you most of all. And I wasn't there for you at the Southern Water Tribe. So I'm with you on this."
Korra nodded. "Alright. Welcome aboard."
It wasn't long after this that everyone who was going off got on board and then the airship took off. Bumi, Asami, Korra, Tenzin, Jinora, Bolin, Mako, and the princesses waved back through the green-tinted glass window as the airship went higher and higher up into the air. Soon, it was off.
-X-
"So what's our next move?" Iroh asked as he and Zuko looked out once more in the direction of the Fire Nation capital from the relative safety of the island they'd fled to. Said island was sufficiently far away that they could not actually see their homeland, but they knew where it was in relation to where they were now. And besides that, they're not being able to see their home meant Azula's forces in turn could not see them.
"I do agree that we need to get back there." Zuko said before adding: "…but, that being said, we obviously can't fly in. We can't exactly swim either for obvious reasons. It seems that as of now, we're barred from entering our own homeland."
"Our family's still there."
"I wonder." Zuko said before adding: "Your parents most certainly are, but knowing my daughter I suspect she'd have tried to get your sisters out." Zuko shook his head before turning to look at Iroh: "I think it might be best if you go to Ba Sing Sae."
"Ba Sing Sae? Why?"
"To get reinforcements. We cannot ask either of the Water Tribes or the URN for help, as they're still recovering from the war with those 'Steel Empire' people you mentioned. The Earth Kingdom is the Fire Nation's only hope for reinforcements now. And, if my hunch regarding your sisters being smuggled out is correct, Tianshang will have likely tasked them with going to the Earth Kingdom to do exactly what I am suggesting you do now." His wrinkly lips formed into a knowing smile as he said: "Great minds think alike."
"But how am I to get there?"
"Why, on her of course." Zuko gestured to his dragon before adding: "…and with her as your mount you should get to Ba Sing Sae relatively quickly."
"I think I'd like to rendezvous with some of my men first." Iroh said. "It won't hurt to have some men at my side for when I reach Ba Sing Sae."
Zuko nodded. "No, it won't. But don't take too long. The longer Azula sits on the throne, the more the Fire Nation suffers."
Iroh nodded. As he got on the dragon, Zuko added: "And of course, once you do get there, make sure my girl here comes back for me."
-X-
"…so as of now, these are the towns where we've gotten reports about airbenders. It looks like we can hit up most of them before we get to Ba Sing Sae." Mako noted.
Tenzin nodded approvingly. "Good, good. Hopefully things will go by smoothly."
"Some of these people might not want to drop everything and just become Air Nomads." Korra pointed out.
"True enough..." Tenzin conceded, trying to keep the sadness out of his tone and demeanor both. "…but that doesn't mean we shouldn't still try to convince these people all the same. I'm confident that with you and I both making a case for it, we can convince at least a few people to sign on."
"Sign on? HA! That's hilarious!" Bumi said, smacking his knee for emphasis as he did. "…you sound exactly like the guys who convinced me to join the army!"
Tenzin frowned. "I thought you said some men stuffed you into a potato sack and threw you onto the boat?" In truth, Tenzin didn't believe a word of the story that he was now throwing right back at the original narrator, but he did want to see what Bumi's reaction would be. As it was, it was as dismissive and flippant as he had been expecting.
"Did I? Hm. Guess those details slipped my mind…"
Tenzin sighed and rolled his eyes at this before turning back to Korra and Mako and seeing which town on the map would be the first that they'd come to. As he did, Asami chose to take a moment to excuse herself from the room everyone else was in and went off in search of Shaobing, who's arrival had sparked an idea in her head. Of course, the idea itself was one Asami had been slowly forming prior to the group's leaving Republic City, but now that Shaobing was right with her she realized she could expedite the plan.
Asami found Shaobing in a meditative posture, legs crossed and gloved hands resting on the sides of his knees. His black cape remained draped around his shoulders and effectively obscured most of his body, to the point that only part of his arms were visible. The black head-cover that obscured the part of his head that his mask did not faced Asami, a sight that Asami felt did an even better job of unsettling one who looked at the man than his distinctive blue mask, especially now that Asami and the others had come to associate that mask with a friend.
"Yes?" Shaobing asked, his voice flatter and less threatening than a dulled sword blade.
"I…uh…" Asami swallowed hard, recomposed herself, and said with much more conviction: "May I please come in?"
"You may." Again, Shaobing's voice was neutral, calm. Taking this as a good sign, Asami walked into Shaobing's room in full.
"I take it you have some sort of question for me?" Shaobing asked, the Blue Spirit all the while maintaining his meditative position and neutral tone both, his back still to Asami, who nodded in response. "Yes, I do. But not just a question. More like a…request."
Shaobing raised an eyebrow behind his mask, not that Asami would be able to appreciate the gesture of course. "And…what request would this be?" Now, Shaobing's tone had shifted. A subtle shift to be sure, but one Asami still picked up on and from that she found herself wondering if the Blue Spirit had any inkling as to what exactly Asami was about to ask of him. If so, he said nothing of it.
Asami breathed in deeply, as if she were about to take a dive into a pool of bitter salt-water, before she said: "My father is dead. He was killed, by a member of Yanwu's cult I think. And now I'm an orphan. I want…" the last words of Asami's sentence caught in her throat for only a moment before Asami finished: "…I want to hurt him. I want to find the man who killed my father and I want to make him pay. But I also want to be ready for when the time comes. I want you to teach me. Train me."
For a moment, Shaobing said nothing. But then, he remarked: "Ah. I see. You want me to help give you a better chance of getting revenge."
"I hate him." Asami said coldly, the same icy fury manifesting in both her eyes and the tightening of her jaw as the words came out of her mouth.
"I wouldn't expect you not to..." Shaobing replied earnestly before adding in a more severe tone: "...but I fight for justice."
"But you also fight to avenge! I know you do! Korra's told me and I've seen it myself! You avenge those who have been wronged! Well I've been wronged. My father's been wronged! Help me avenge him, the way you've avenged so many others!"
This, Shaobing seemed to consider. After a few moments, he turned around to face Asami, the familiar blue mask that got him his title finally becoming visible once more and Asami in turn feeling a greater sense of comfort. Standing up fully, Shaobing said: "Very well. I will train you. I will teach you as I was once taught. You can face down six men, I can train you to beat sixty. You can fight with that electrical glove of yours, I can teach you to make it an extension of yourself. I can teach you stealth, ambushes, how to fight with various weapons, everything you wish to know. But before I do, I must warn you of two things."
"Which are?"
"The first, is that my training is not instantaneous. It will take time. Likely too long for you to face your foe in time."
"Then speed it up." Asami said. "Or just teach me as much as you can. I don't care. I will avenge my father."
"Which brings me to warning number two: I may avenge, but I also believe in certain moral principles that govern and dictate my actions in place of the formal law. And that includes not lowering myself to my enemy's level. While I do not oppose killing in the acts of war, self-defense, or the defense of the innocent, murder is something I won't abide by. Not even if the victim deserves it. Murder is their way, not ours. So if I am to train you, it is with your solemn word that you will not use what I have taught you to murder this man who killed your father."
Asami bit her crimson lip and nervously looked away. "I don't know if I can promise that." She admitted.
"Then I in turn cannot promise to train you. Again, murder is their way. Not ours. We're supposed to be better than that."
Asami sighed deeply. "Fine. I promise I won't…kill him. But I will hurt him. That much I will do. Have to do. You can't stop me either."
Next thing Asami knew Shaobing had grabbed her and pulled one of her arms behind her back. Asami forced herself free but then Shaobing tripped her and pinned her.
"…actually, I can stop you. And I will if I feel it's necessary. Do not waste the gifts I give you, Asami. I know you're better than that. Don't give into your anger. It doesn't lead to anything good."
Once Shaobing was done saying this, he got off of Asami and then held out a hand for her to take. She eyed the black gloved hand for a moment and then looked up at Shaobing's blue mask, a look of clear hurt and anger present on her face. Whether it was directed against him, her father's killer, or perhaps both, Shaobing didn't know. He kept his hand extended for Asami to take, and eventually, she did.
"When do we begin?" she asked.
"Well, since you're in a hurry, why don't I say right now?"
-X-
"Avatar Korra!" greeted the head of the first town the group visited, hand already outstretched for her to take it and shake it. "Oh, it's such an honor to have you come to our humble village."
"…thanks." Korra said awkwardly in the face of the town head's over-eager greeting. But then, looking out at the town and how it indeed fit the label of "humble" rather perfectly, Korra could understand the man's excitement. Likely her and Tenzin's visit and recruitment of the new airbender was going to be the only wink of historical notoriety this small town would ever have, and clearly it's self-appointed head at least wanted to make the most of it.
"I hate to get down to business…" Tenzin began apologetically, "…but is the airbender here now?"
"Kuon and his family will be joining us shortly for a special dinner. Please, right this way."
Korra, Tenzin, and the rest of the company (save Shaobing, who had elected to stay on the airship and Asami to train with him), followed the town head to one of the larger buildings in the area, and once inside they were greeted to a table filled with quite the collection of food of all types. As everyone took their seats, the same townsman who had first greeted Korra and her company said: "Kuon has been the talk of the town ever since he got airbendening. He's like a local celebrity."
It was then that Kuon entered, and Tenzin turned to face him, smiling as he did. "I just want to say that it's an honor to meet a fellow airbender."
But Kuon, who to Korra's ears sounded just a bit like Shiro Shirobi, brushed this off as he said pleasantly: "Oh, I still think of myself as a simple farmer. Just one who can airbend now!" As he said this though, a small gust of wind inadvertently launched out of his hand, and the next thing Bolin knew one of the pies on the table found it's way into his mouth (and face) a bit differently than he had intended.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I still don't have any control..."
"No worries!" Bolin said, trying to brush it off even as his face turned as red as the pie jelly when he saw both of the watching Fire Nation princesses' amused reactions to his predicament, Tianshi for one having to go to some lengths to smother laughter. "…I love pie. And so does Pabu." At this, Pabu licked at Bolin's face and took to eating most of what was left of the pie.
"Well, you're so much more than just a farmer now. You represent the future of a culture that is being reborn. You're going to help rebuild the Air Nation."
At this, Kuon blinked a few times and looked at Tenzin as though he had just told him to take off his clothes and dance about for everyone's amusement. His verbal response too had the same incredulousness to it. "I'm gonna do what now? The only thing I'm planning to rebuild is my barn."
"…But you must come with us to the Northern Air Temple, after we've recruited others like you."
"Well, sorry, but I can't do that. I have a family and a farm."
"What? Of course you can come. This is of the utmost importance." Tenzin turned to a woman that he assumed was Kuon's wife, looking to her for assurance that her husband would relent. "…surely your wife would understand..."
But Tenzin's almost pleading look made no difference. "No, I don't understand." She said, shaking her head. And evidently, neither did a little girl who sat next to Kuon on the other side.
"Daddy, where are you going? Why does the bald man want to take you away?"
"No one's going to take Daddy away, sweetheart." Kuon said reassuringly.
Realizing immediately that he was rapidly starting to look like the villain in a bad stage show, Tenzin looked to Korra for assistance, who caught on quickly and said: "Look, we don't want to 'take him', but it's for an important cause. Your dad is an airbender, and he should learn about his culture."
"Culture?" Kuon repeated before frowning and saying in a tone that did little to mask his rising irritation and exasperation: "I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I'm not going with you. I might be able to airbend, or at least make air come out of my hands, but I'm no Air Nomad. I'm no monk."
The sheer contempt Kuon put into the word managed to strike just a bit of a nerve with Tenzin, who felt it like a slap across the face. Struggling to control his breathing and remember mindfulness, Tenzin said as evenly as he could: "Sir, you must understand that as you're an airbender now you have certain responsibilities. There are thousands of years of culture that you must learn about, skills you must master…"
Kuon shook his head. "You expect me to abandon my entire my life? My family? No sir. I'm not going anywhere, and I think it's best that you leave."
There was a tense silence before Tianshi tried to bring some levity back to the dinner the way one might try to force oxygen back into a dead body that's long since stopped breathing: "Okay, maybe we should just have some dessert, huh? Who's up for dessert?"
-X-
"…well, I have to admit, in my head I saw that playing out very differently." Korra said as the group returned to the airship.
"As did I." Tenzin confessed, the look on his face one of absolute defeat, but then in essence that's what he was at that moment. "…and it's not as though we can coerce people to come with us…" he turned his gaze to his brother as he finished: "…or stuff them into potato sacks."
Bumi had to suppress a snort at this before saying in a tone that was the complete opposite of his brother's: "No worries, Tenzin. From what you and Mako have told me there's a ton of other new airbenders out there, just waiting to be grabbed up! I'm sure we'll get at least some of them to join once we show them what the Air Nation's really about!"
"I hope you're right." Tenzin said, but the fact that his tone and expression remained every bit as melancholic and rueful as before made it clear that his hopes and expectations were not high.
As it was, the next couple days did little to raise either one. Six stops later, and the new Air Nation still had only one new recruit, all of the prospective new airbenders giving Tenzin the same response of a slammed door once they learned of the many different caveats to the Air Nomad life: tattoos all over the body (that kept a small boy from joining up), no red meat (which kept a man in desperate need of exercise and a more controlled food intake at bay), Air Nomad clothes only (which ended before it had even begun the tenure of a woman who valued her collection of clothes the way most people might value their heart and lungs), and a relative lack of both hair and possessions (which had yielded similar reactions to the ones already expressed). As for the sixth…
"…I really thought I had that last guy." Tenzin grumbled before adding: "Who doesn't want a bison as their best friend?"
"It's okay, Tenzin." Bumi said, once again trying to lift his brother's spirits. "I still want to be an airbender."
"Sorry, Tenzin." Korra said. "I guess most people aren't as excited about coming with us as we hoped."
It was then that Bumi interceded again: "Well, maybe you gotta do more to get them excited. You need to add a little…razzle-dazzle."
"Yeah, razzle-dazzle! We could put on some sort of airbending street performance!" Bumi suggested.
"I was gonna say we could cover Tenzin's robe in sequins, but that's even better!"
"Honestly, I'm willing to try anything at this point." Tenzin admitted.
"Yes! That is the kind of enthusiasm I like to hear!" Bolin said.
-X-
"So to start…" Shaobing said. "…what do you wish to learn first?"
Asami considered. As she did her legs, arms, and most all other muscles in her body ached from the many, many push-ups, sit-ups, and other kinds of exercise Shaobing had forced her to do. It had filled most of last night after Shaobing had agreed to take her on as a student. Truth be told, Asami found it rather difficult to so much as stand, but she kept that to herself. The last thing she wanted was to appear weak on just her second day of training.
"Well, I want to make sure I'm good enough to fight and beat whoever killed my father. But I already know hand to hand. I want to…I want to know how to fight someone with a knife."
"A knife?"
Asami nodded. "Yes. My father was killed by someone with a knife. I want to be prepared."
Shaobing nodded. "Ah. Well then, lucky for you I do have a knife on hand. I don't use it for fighting granted, but it should suffice for training purposes." Shaobing took out a knife from his sack of supplies and held it menacingly at the ready.
"The most important thing to remember when facing an opponent with a knife, aside from keeping a good eye on the knife itself, is to always keep your chest area protected. Your chest area is not only the largest part of your body, it contains more than a few weak points, especially for a piercing weapon. Generally, trying to block a knife with your hands will only get you cut. You want to always stay to the side when your opponent thrusts, and then jump back and out of the way when an opponent slashes. Most knife fighters tend to attack in this way: an opening stab or thrust, followed by slashes that go horizontally and then vertically and then back again. Keep your distance, and wait for them to thrust again. Then side-step, and aim for the arm and if possible, the shoulder area. The face is also a viable target."
Shaobing walked up to Asami and placed the knife in her hand. "Attack me with this, and I'll show you what to do yourself."
Asami looked at him with uncertain eyes. "But…are you…?"
"Go ahead." Shaobing said. "I've faced people with knives before, I know what to do."
Asami looked at the knife that she now held in a brown gloved hand with uncertainty. But then, next thing she knew she was on the ground, Shaobing having grabbed her knife arm and twisted it behind her.
"What are you doing!?" Asami demanded as she tried in vain to get free.
"You should have attacked first." Shaobing said, before remarking off-handedly: "…not that it would have made much of a difference in the end I suppose." He released his grip on Asami, then kicked the knife over to her. "Try again." He said.
Asami grabbed the knife and held it at the ready. She went at Shaobing, and in mere moments she was in the same position as before.
"Your attacks lacked anything resembling conviction. I've fought boys younger than you with more bloodlust."
"You want me to have bloodlust!?" Asami asked incredulously.
"I suppose bloodlust was the wrong word." Shaobing admitted before adding: "…but I do want you to have conviction. And in fact I know you do. I've seen you fight enough times to know."
"Those times were when I was fighting the bad guys. You're a friend."
"That I am." Shaobing said with a nod before adding more sternly: "But while we train, while we spar, you must not think of me as such. When we spar, you must go at me as you would any enemy. Hold nothing back. I assure you, I can handle myself just fine."
Asami frowned. "You sound pretty confident."
"Call it a healthy and realistic awareness of my own skill level." Shaobing said with a dry smile behind his mask. "Now…let's try that knife attack again…"
-X-
"Come one, come all to witness the Amazing Airbenders! The airbending show that will leave you breathless!" Bolin called out to the inhabitants of the latest in a string of towns the group had come to, this one being the town right before Ba Sing Sae. As it stood, the state of both the buildings and the residents made it pretty clear that the town's relative proximity to Ba Sing Sae did little to improve their own economic standing. In fact, were Bolin not in the midst of putting on a show, he might have pitied the shabbily-dressed folk that came out to see him. They made his and Mako's childhoods look positively affluent.
"…first up, the tattooed master himself, you know him as the son of Avatar Aang, he shaves every hair on his head, every single day! It's the one, the only guy with an arrow pointing to his nose, Tenzin!"
It was then that Tenzin stepped forward, shirtless for what Bumi and Bolin had assured him would be dramatic effect, and airbending a large wheel that he drove around in front of an awed crowd. The crowd in turn cheered as Tenzin stopped in the middle of the half-circle the audience had created, throwing his hands up in the air as he did to greater applause.
Smiling as he saw just how the crowd had already been won over, Bolin continued: "Now, now ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet. I have some serious news: we've heard that an escaped firebending convict has been spotted near here. Now, I don't want to panic anyone, but if you see a firebender with a red scarf…"
Almost immediately after Bolin had given this basic description was Mako swiftly identified amidst the crowd, which in turn elicited a sigh from the young firebender who had been cast as the "villain" in his brother's scheme. Doing his best to look intimidating rather than embarrassed, Mako advanced, assuming the most threatening posture he could manage as all the while he tried to keep his face from turning red with indignity.
This had better be worth it…
Knowing that mere posture and demeanor alone wouldn't cut it, Mako shot a blast of fire into the air, which prompted the crowd to gasp and most of them to fall backwards as they tried to put more distance between themselves and the "dangerous convict".
"Who will save us?" Bolin asked, doing a credible enough job of seeming terrified. "Who can possibly stop this criminal?"
"I will." Korra said, stepping forward, the confidence she'd once had in ample amounts returning in full for however brief a moment as she too slipped into her designated role. "With my airbending skills!"
Upon making her grand entrance, Korra wasted little time in creating a small tornado with her airbending that enveloped Mako and soon had him aloft, spinning about helplessly. Korra caused the tornado to dissipate then, which in turn caused Mako to fall…right before Korra caught him with a second airbending blast followed by her bringing him up in another tornado.
"Ah! Hey! Let me go! This is not what we rehearsed! Korra!"
But in the face of her friend's predicament Korra just chuckled, a smile forming on her lips. Right as Mako was, Korra was having far too much fun to stop so soon. As she continued to make Mako miserable, Oogi appeared next, flying through the air and even performing different aerial maneuvers to the awed crowd.
"As you can see, with the power of airbending even this beast can float like a feather!" Bolin then turned to Bumi as he entered the scene next and began to perform a few air blasts. "Look at what can be done in only a few short weeks of practice!"
And then after Bumi came Jinora, flying over the crowd on her glider as Bolin continued to narrate the spectacle: "Don't worry, folks. She may be young, but she is in full control!"
Jinora landed, and the crowd was by now going wild. Grinning ear to ear at how his plan had gone as well as he'd hoped and then some, Bolin said: "Ladies and gentlemen, if you, or anyone you know is an airbender, please send them our way! Master Tenzin and Avatar Korra would love to teach them all they know!"
In response to this declaration, a young boy who's limbs could have been sticks ran up to the group. He was taller than Jinora by only a slim margin, and even thinner. He had a large grin on his tan-skinned face, eyes just as large, and messy and poorly maintained dark hair on his head.
"Hey! Hello. If you're looking for airbenders, you just found one." And to prove his sincerity, this boy proceeded to shoot out a few gusts of air in different directions.
"I wanna join you guys." He said, keeping up his smile as he did. Despite his young age, the boy had confidence, shown clearly in both his posture and tone. The look on his face also did little to suggest fear or insecurity.
Bolin turned to the others and grinned. "See? I told you my plan would work!"
Korra smiled and nodded in agreement. "We finally got our first…" she paused as she looked at Bumi "…second recruit."
"Third, actually." Bumi said. "Remember, we found someone else down in Republic City."
Korra nodded. She then turned to the boy and looked right at him. "Just to be totally clear, we're going to be heading to Ba Sing Sae, then the Northern Air Temple, where you and Bumi over there will be living as monks and rebuilding the Air Nation. All that sound good to you?"
The boy nodded vigorously. "Yeah, Ba Sing Sae, rebuild the temple, monk, I'm in. Let's go right now."
His extreme eagerness, and clear sense of urgency, did not go unnoticed by Korra, or for that matter Tenzin, who's brow furrowed in disapproval. Mako too, looked suspicious. Bolin though, was still ecstatic.
"This is going to be so great! You're going to love it, er…ah…real quick, what's your name?"
"Kai. So when do we hit the road?"
"Now hang on a second, Kai. Where are your parents? We can't have you come with us without their permission."
At this, Kai's self-assured and confident air vanished in an instant and his face fell as he said: "My parents are…gone."
"You're an orphan?" Bolin asked, his own happiness similarly vanishing as he realized he was face-to-face with a kindred spirit of a tragic kind.
"It happened about a year ago. My home town was raided by outlaws, but my parents fought back against them. I was so scared, but they told me not to worry. They said they would protect me. And they did. They saved the entire village, but…at the cost of themselves. My parents meant everything to me. They were my whole life."
By this point, Bolin was fighting to keep the tears out of his eyes, Mako's expression had also become one of sympathy, and even Tenzin's previous look of suspicion had disappeared as though it had never even been present. All the while, everyone listened intently to Kai's story as he finished: "Ever since then, I've been on the run. Some of those same outlaws are still after me."
"Well, you don't have to run anymore." Bolin said resolutely, putting a hand on Kai's shoulder as he did. He then turned to look at the others for support. "Right guys? Tell him he'll be safe with us."
"I'm so sorry about your parents." Tenzin said before adding: "I know we could never replace them…but we are here for you."
"We'll keep you safe." Korra said with a nod.
Smiling widely as he saw that he had the support of the others in the group, Bolin turned back around to Kai and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "When you board this airship, you're going to leave your old life behind and start a new path. That's big brother advice. Because from now on, you can just think of me that way. As your big brother."
At this, Kai smiled, but his happiness was cut short when Mako announced trouble up ahead. Turning to where he was pointing, the company could see a group of motorcycles making it's way to them at a fast pace. Soon, the riders could be very plainly seen, and still faster they came. Soon, they were right in front of the group. The one at the very front of the gang of men got off his motorcycle and stepped forward, taking off his helmet as he did.
"Release the boy, or we'll take him by force."
As the man said this, his cohorts got off of their motorcycles and all entered earthbending fighting stances. All of them were dressed in similar clothing of very dull and faded greens that looked closer to gray, and all of them had brown helmets on their heads and green goggles covering their eyes that reminded Korra and most of her friends a bit too much of the Equalist Chi-Blocker's goggles. In fact, the same could be said of their appearance in general, and it only served to make Korra more inclined to engage them head-on. What Kai said next only cinched it.
"The outlaws! They're here! Let's get out of here!"
"Don't worry, Kai. You won't have to run from them anymore." Then, she turned to the group of men and shouted: "If you want Kai, you'll have to go through me!"
What followed was an intense exchange of earth and air between Korra and the earthbenders before Bolin and Mao joined in with elemental attacks of their own, and then Tenzin soon after that. With such back-up, Korra decided to switch from air to waterbending, and between her and her friends the earthbenders found themselves attacked by every single one of the elements at once. Suffice to say, they didn't last terribly long, with the unhelmeted leader of the group being the last to go after Korra dodged the large rocks he hurled at her before then using a jet of water to blast him backwards and up against the nearby fountain in the center of the town.
"You're days of harassing an innocent boy are over. You outlaws are going to prison."
"Outlaws? Innocent boy!?" As he staggered to his feet, the leader of the men said: "I'm a sheriff. And these men you and your friends just assaulted and thrashed are my deputies. The kid is a thief. Whatever he told you was a lie. We've been chasing the little scoundrel for months now."
Upon hearing all of this, all of Kai's sense of urgency suddenly made perfect sense to Korra, and she turned around to see where Kai had gone off to. That she couldn't find him only gave further credence to the sheriff's story. "Where's Kai?"
"Right here." Mako said as he walked into view, holding Kai by the seat of his pants in one hand and the sack Kai had with him in the other. "I found him slipping away."
"I…I was just going to the bathroom." Kai said weakly, for indeed, his was the absolute weakest excuse of them all, even if, Korra remembered, she herself had been guilty of using it at least a few times.
"Right, with your stack of gold." Mako said harshly as he then threw the sack of gold to the sheriff, the force of it causing some of it to fall out and reveal that there was jewelry inside as well as gold coins.
"Hey, hey! I told you, I found that stuff on the road."
"Enough with the lies, kid. I want the truth."
"We all do." Korra added to make it clear that she was no less inclined to let Kai off the hook than Mako. It was then that the sheriff explained: "The truth, is that he's an outlaw, plain and simple. Parents left him at an orphanage when he was just an infant. He spent his whole life there, right up until he got adopted by a real nice family six months ago. How did he repay them? By stealing their entire life savings, along with another woman's jewelry box on the side. We've been after him ever since."
"Is this true?" Korra demanded to Kai, who realized immediately from Korra's tone and the scathing look on her face both that this was one time when he'd do well not to lie. But that didn't mean he couldn't still try to fall on his sword and gain the sympathy that would (hopefully) entail: "Look, the person who stole that stuff was the old me. But once I got airbending, I realized I could change. And for the better! I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like airbending chose me for a reason. Like I'm a new person."
Seeing that of the members of the group the only one who looked the least bit sympathetic to him was Bolin, Kai's tone grew more desperate, and his choice of words followed suit: "I'm sorry! Please, you have to listen to me…" But Kai's protests seemed to go unheard, and two of the deputies that were now back on their feet had grabbed him and were leading him to the motorcycles.
"Uh, question..." Bolin said to the sheriff. "…is he going back to the orphanage?"
"No, he's headed to jail."
"Wait." Korra said, holding up a hand. "You've got the money and jewels Kai stole back. You can return it to their rightful owners. But let us take Kai."
Tenzin turned to look at Korra as though she'd suggested they all jump off the nearby cliff and into the gorge. "Korra..." He began in a tone that tried to sound more reasonable and rational than incredulous and angry: "...do you really want one of our first new members of the Air Nation to be a liar and a thief?"
"He just needs some guidance." Korra insisted before adding: "And who better to give it to him than us? Than you?"
"Look, do you want this boy or not?" the sheriff asked with a frown, clearly wanting to rid himself of Kai as soon as he could. In response to this question, Tenzin first stroked his beard and thought the issue over for a few moments before finally nodding and saying: "Yes, you can release the boy into our custody."
At this, the deputies released Kai and he ran up to Korra and hugged her tightly. "Thank you!"
"Don't make me regret it." Korra said in a tone that made it abundantly clear that Kai would not be getting a third chance if he squandered his second. With this in mind, Kai breathed in deeply, straightened himself up, and did his very best to look like he could be trusted.
"Welcome to the family, little bro." Bolin said, still smiling at Kai and looking supportive, which in turn gave the eleven-year old hope that he had at least one person on his side no matter what.
His brother though, was a different story.
"I just want you to know that I'm going to be watching you, kid." Mako said sternly. "I know exactly what you're all about, 'cause I've been there. You don't have me fooled."
Kai was tempted to frown in the face of this, but of course with his very future on the line, maintaining a good appearance was critical, and he wasn't about to take any chances by being petty or giving Mako even the slightest grounds for condemning him.
"Hey, lighten up." Kai said breezily. "I'm turning over a new leaf, making a change. You don't have to worry about me."
"Just so you know…" Jinora said to Kai as the two walked up the ramp and onto the airship. "…if you need any help with airbending, I could show you what I know."
"Thanks, that's real nice of you." Kai said with a smile, as he did thinking: Looks like I've got two allies now.
-X-
"I'm glad you could accompany me on this trip." General Iroh said to the slightly older but still subservient man in a crimson and white uniform sitting next to him. "I always feel better having at least one good man at my side."
"Of course." Captain Wing said with a nod. "Anything for you, general. With things in the Fire Nation as dire as they are, I doubt that even the infamous Earth Queen's heart will be so black that she will refuse us assistance."
"I wish I shared your optimism, Wing." General Iroh admitted as the two's satomobile continued it's drive through the mostly barren lands leading to Ba Sing Sae. Two other cars carrying additional URN soldiers brought up the rear, and Iroh had also sent word to the Kyoshi Commandos to go to Ba Sing Sae as well. Just in case.
"You think she'll refuse aid?"
"It's a possible outcome, I'm sorry to say." General Iroh replied in a tone that showed his dismay and pessimism quite clearly, the words coming out of his mouth like bitter salt-water on rubbery lips. "Not one of the stories I've heard of that woman has been good, and more than the mere hearsay, there's also the fact that Ba Sing Sae in particular has little reason to care about the Fire Nation."
"But surely they won't hold against you and your people 70-year old grievances?"
"Hundreds of men, women, and children dead by my nation's hand is a difficult thing to forgive." Iroh pointed out before adding: "And again, this Earth Queen, Hou-Ting. She's…not a forgiving sort by nature."
"Ah. Then perhaps we should consider alternative solutions to your nation's plight."
General Iroh shook his head. "Impossible. The Southern Water Tribe was nearly wiped out by those horrid Steel Empire zealots, the North's got it's resources wrapped up in rebuilding it's sister tribe, and the URN's still licking it's wounds from being caught in the middle of it all. No, the Earth Kingdom are the only ones we can turn to for help now. And with Omashu having been without a clear monarch for the last thirty years, the Earth Queen is the only one who can bring to bear the manpower we need. The only one with the power to grant us the necessary reinforcements."
"And also, by all accounts, the one least likely to do it."
"Yes." General Iroh agreed sadly before adding: "But at this point I'm so desperate as to try anything. I'd cut my sword arm clean off if it meant saving my Nation. And my parents."
"And you know I would do so as well, sir." Captain Wing said before adding, almost as an afterthought: "Both arms even."
General Iroh nodded in silent approval at this but said nothing. Nothing that is, until the satomobiles came within sight of the great city at last.
"We're here. And with any luck, my visit will go a bit more smoothly than my predecessor's did."
-X-
"Light on your feet, Uncle Bumi. Remember, you want to be quick and evasive."
"Don't worry about me, little lady." Bumi said with his usual confidence. "I've been in my share of scraps you know, and that includes a few good old-fashioned fist fights!"
Opposite Bumi was his opponent, who for all his being less than a fifth of Bumi's age had every bit as much swagger.
"No need to go easy on me." Kai said confidently. "I can take your best shot."
Bumi chortled. "Is that so? Alright then, youngster, here comes an airbending beat down!"
But as Bumi said this, Kai slid to the floor, and fired an airbending blast right at Bumi's legs. The older man tried to move out of the way, but in the end he was too slow, and the blast did it's job of knocking Bumi to the ground.
"…ow."
Jinora shook her head. "Airbending's not like fist fighting, Uncle Bumi. You've got to work on your stance changes." She then turned to Kai and nodded approvingly as she said: "Kai, that was just...really good."
"Thanks, Jinora. Guess I'm just a natural."
"Well, you've still got a lot more you can learn, especially since there's a lot more to airbending than just using it to fight. Being an Air Nomad is an entirely different life."
As Jinora said this, Bumi had gotten to his feet, but was now patting his body, looking about for something that he had clearly lost. His words only confirmed it. "Hmmm…did I drop my wallet? I can't find it!"
Jinora began to chuckle as she saw that Kai held Bumi's wallet in his hand, a self-assured smile on his face as he confidently strolled past both Bumi and Jinora.
"Hey! Give me that, you little thief!"
As a chase ensued between the two, Korra, Tenzin, Mako, and Bolin all kept their eyes open and looking out at the horizon, waiting for the moment when Ba Sing Sae would come into view.
"I wonder how many airbenders will be in the city?"
"I'm so excited!" Bolin exclaimed. "We'll finally get to see the place where dad grew up! We'll get to see if we have any other family!"
Eventually, the airship's occupants did indeed come to see Ba Sing Sae on the horizon, and then they got closer and closer still, until finally they were within range of the walled city that had stood proud as the Earth Kingdom's biggest and grandest city since well before Aang's birth. Since before Roku's even.
"Yes! This is it, Mako! We made it!"
Indeed, it was not long after Bolin's declaration that the airship flew right over Ba Sing Sae's high wall (how fortunate it was, that the Fire Nation had had no such airships over a hundred years ago!). However, as the airship continued it's flight over the lower ring of Ba Sing Sae, the thick clouds of smoke rising from the tops of many buildings did well to make Korra and the others inclined to go back inside the airship.
"Ugh. The Lower Ring looks…and smells awful."
"No kidding." Bolin said, holding his nose and also doing his best to keep from inhaling smoke by pulling the top part of his shirt over his mouth.
"No wonder dad left." Mako said, as he did making his way back inside. Past the smoke though, Korra and Bolin could see the Lower Ring's buildings and inhabitants down below. Obviously, they couldn't make out the latter in the best of detail from where they were, but they could still see clearly just how many people were down there, shuffling through the overcrowded streets like a stream trying to flow through a narrow pass. The filth that littered the area was also clearly visible, even from on high, and Korra for one drew immediate parallels between this place and the streets of the Steel Empire's capital; the towering smoke stacks, the tightly grouped together buildings, the overcrowded and badly unsanitary streets filled with hundreds of people who going by one glance clearly did not possess adequate clothing, money, or much of anything. And this comparison in turn reminded Korra of the Steel Empire in general, which of course reminded her of all of the pain and loss she'd suffered at their hands.
Korra's hands balled up into tight fists, and her muscles tensed. Her face too took on a scowling look. But fortunately, the airship did not remain over the lower ring for long before at last it passed over the Inner Wall and from there entered the Middle Ring.
"Finally." Bolin said, taking a deep breath of the fresher and cleaner air as he stared down at the equally fresher and cleaner streets down below. "Hello, Middle Ring."
Korra said nothing in response, instead still thinking about the similarities between the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Sae and the streets of the Steel Empire's capital. Perhaps it was just because metal was the one element shared between two nations, but it seemed to Korra that there was a striking similarity between the people that had taken her father and so many of her kinsmen from her, and the people she was now attempting to solicit the support of. And that realization caused Korra's heart to sink into despair like a poor, small, frightened animal trapped in quick-sand and unable to do anything but sink to it's doom.
Eventually, the Middle Ring gave way to the Upper Ring as the airship continued it's flight, at last coming within view of the royal palace itself. Of all on the airship who got to beheld the building that was well over thirty times the size of most of the other buildings in the city, Kai was the only one who voiced his astonishment: "Wow. Now this is more like it."
The Airship began it's descent, and soon it had landed right in the middle of the courtyard in front of the palace, a place that was mercifully big enough for the airship to land successfully. As the ramp lowered and everyone disembarked (with the exception of Shaobing), a shorter man in mostly white robes came out to meet them. He bowed respectfully the minute he saw both Korra and the Fire Nation princesses.
"Avatar Korra, Princesses of the Fire Nation, Master Tenzin. It's a pleasure to welcome you all to the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Sae. I'm Grand Secretariat Gun."
"Thank you." Korra said, mirroring Gun's own gesture of respect.
"It's nice to have so many visitors coming by for a change. We haven't gotten really any for so many years now, and now they're just flooding in."
"What do you mean?" Korra asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hello again, Avatar." Came a voice Korra recognized. Turning to face it, she and the others saw General Iroh and Captain Wing walk up to them, the former man making a bemused smile as he saw Korra and her company.
Grandfather was right: great minds think alike indeed...
