Author's Note: for the love of Mankind, where have I been?! To all those who have been awaiting an update since Christmas, I apologize. Many things conspired against me. First there was my laziness, then a bit of writer's block. But the biggest pain in the derriere was that the motherboard in my computer finally fizzled out after ten years! I was sucked into a dimension of pissed off I have never been before in my life! Thankfully, an IT guy at a local computer repair shop was able to save all my data! And after months of research and second guessing, I pulled the trigger on buying a new computer. And it finally arrived yesterday, just in time for WWE Wrestlemanina!

Now to more serious matters. I know everybody out there is nervous about this COVID-19 pandemic. I too, am nervous and frustrated at everything being cancelled and the lack of progress we are making against it. But I have it worse than most people who have to work from home. I am what everyone is calling an essential worker, given the fact I work for a regional supermarket chain. My mother and stepfather are in the same boat, as they work for a statewide utility company.

All we can do in this situation is try to stay calm, take one day as it comes, be cautious around others, wash and sanitize properly and only leave your home if you have to! And for the love of mankind, STOP BUYING UP ALL THE TOILET PAPER!

Back to our regulary scheduled story. Last time, Avatar Korra headed back home with her parents after being restored to her normal self, and now, Mako and Keira can begin their lives anew with Candyman Bumi in his chocolate factory. But little do they know, a certain heiress isn't finished holding a grudge...


"Oh…Mako, you were right…I shouldn't have eaten all that candy," Keira moaned as Mako carried her back to her room. The two had enjoyed their first full dinner in ages, but now Keira was regretting gorging on so much candy in the Chocolate Room. Mako smiled in exasperation and scooped Keira up and took her to her new room for bed.

"Well, you know the age-old saying, 'live and learn," Mako kidded. "At least you lived!"

"I'm sure Korra felt way worse than I do when she turned into a giant blueberry," Keira remarked.

"You're definitely right about that, Keira," Mako said as they reached Keira's new room. The walls were a cool shade of blue, and all of her belongings had already been properly placed throughout. Mako then sort of swung Keira up and slid her into bed, something he had done since she started living with him and Toza.

The little waterbender continued to moan in discomfort, and Mako added, "Don't worry, you'll feel better in the morning. You've just had a long day, that's all. You sleep tight, okay?"

Keira nodded, and Mako drew the covers up to her shoulders. He then turned to leave, but Keira called after him.

"Mako, I'm really scared…"

This took Mako by surprise. He turned back and knelt beside Keira. "Why are you scared? You just had probably one the best days of your life."

Keira blinked back tears and continued, "I'm scared that this will all just go away someday. Just poof! Vanish without a trace. I don't want things to end up going back to what they used to be."

Mako smiled kindly and smoothed down Keira's hair. "You have no reason to fear, Keira! None of this is ever going to vanish on you. Just because the past may have hurt, doesn't mean the future will, too."

"Still, I can't help but think…"

Keira trailed off, and then asked, "What if the real Rocksworth comes around, looking for you, or for me? And…"

"Hey now, Rocksworth can't hurt you, nor will she or any of Bumi's other rivals be able to get in here," Mako continued reassuringly. "You're safe here, Keira."

He paused, and then added, "Hey, I learned a new song today from Bumi. You want to hear it?"

Keira still looked scared, and nodded immediately. Mako began humming the bars of the song, and then said, "Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three…"

"Come with me,
And you'll be,
In a world of pure imagination!
Take a look, and you'll see
Into your imagination!

We'll begin with a spin,
Traveling in the world of my creation!
What we'll see will defy explanation!

If you want to view paradise,
Simply look around and view it!
Anything you want to do it,
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it!

There is no life I know,
To compare with pure imagination!
Living there, you'll be free,
If you truly wish to be!

If you want to view paradise,
Simply look around and view it!
Anything you want to do it,
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it!

There is no life I know,
To compare with pure imagination!
Living there, you'll be free,
If you truly wish to be!"

Slowly, Keira began to smile and lulled her head from side to side as she listened. She also slowly began to get drowsy, and as Mako neared the end, she drifted off to sleep.

After finishing the song, Mako pressed a kiss to Keira's forehead and finally turned to leave. He turned out the lights, and whispered a good-night to his surrogate sister before gently closing the door. He then headed off to his own room to turn in.


It was as if Mako's words had put Keira at ease. A week had passed since she moved into the chocolate factory, and Keira had never felt happier. She was the talk of her whole class at school, and everybody wanted to know what it was like living with the greatest candy maker in the world. Keira, however, could never say much, as Bumi had sworn her to secrecy. She still kept her paper route due to Mako's insistence, claiming it would be a good learning experience for her.

Returning back to the Bumi Factory a week after moving in, Keira made her way to Bumi's office. She had gotten an idea for a taffy that would hold its flavor for a long time, and she wanted to run it by him. But when she got there, Keira found Bumi, Mako, Lin, and Rusty all gathered together inside the office, with somewhat sour faces.

"Whoa…why does everybody look so serious," the little waterbender asked. She then gasped as she pondered, "Did one of the police department's dirigibles crash?!"

"Why would you think that," Lin asked warily, being a former police chief.

"Um…no reason," Keira said uneasily, before explaining, "Some dumb punkish kids like to shoot bottle rockets at them."

Lin continued to eye Keira with a quirked eyebrow, then finally replied, "Well, luckily for you, this doesn't involve bottle rockets and childhood pranks. It seems a certain heiress in this city has a grudge against Bumi here."

"You mean Asami Sato," Keira asked. "Why do you think she has a beef with Bumi?"

"We don't think, we know," Rusty replied. He then showed Keira a long tan envelope personally addressed to Bumi, with Future Industries as the return address. The lead Oompa-Loompa opened the envelope carefully, making sure there wasn't any potential dangers inside.

"As for the why, well, I'm certain Miss Sato is still peeved about not getting a golden duck-goose that lays golden chocolate eggs. And the fact that she fell down a garbage chute."

"I told you she was a bad egg," Bumi said to no one in particular. Rusty reached into the envelope and pulled out a letter. It was typed on ornate stationary, but as the Oompa-Loompa skimmed through the letter, the words were anything but.

"Well, Miss Sato isn't suing Bumi," Rusty began. "She already knows she'll never have a case after that contract signing."

"I take it there's something more," Mako said grimly, his arms crossed.

Rusty nodded. "There is. Asami claims that she is going to spill the secrets of the factory and not care if it makes us - that is, my brethren, Bumi, Lin, and any of the other tour goers - look bad."

Upon hearing this, Lin scoffed. "As threatening as that may sound, who would believe her?"

"Any one of the tabloids, that's who," Mako threw in. "I mean, Asami is one of the top people in local society; even if her words sound farfetched to the public, they would have some merit just by her position alone."

"Wait a minute, there's more," Rusty continued. "She says 'If you don't believe me, then the attached photograph will convince you.'"

Rusty peeked back into the envelope, and sure enough, found a large photograph inside. He pulled it out and said with a grimace, "It seems Miss Sato's merit-laced words aren't her only weapon."

He handed the photo to Lin and Bumi, whose looks became both appalled and frustrated.

"How bad is it," Keira asked as Mako took the photo. She was surprised to hear him almost cursing under his breath.

"That spoiled little rich snob is going to regret this," Mako growled angrily as he handed the photo back to Rusty, who now showed it to Keira.

The little waterbender was frightened at what she saw. It was a black and white photograph of Avatar Korra, assuming the shape of a giant blueberry. She was flapping her fat arms and looked petrified and on the verge of tears.

"How did Asami get a picture of this," Keira asked incredulously as she continued to stare at the photo.

"According to her letter, and I quote," Rusty stated. "'This is just one of several photographs I took during the tour with my spy camera. I plan on giving my story and these pictures to the Republic City Chronicle. If you truly wish to keep the wonders of your factory just that, you will give me what I want; because I always get what I want.'"

Rusty then brought his gaze back up to the others. "She obviously wants more than her lifetime supply of chocolate."

"She shouldn't be getting squat," Lin grumbled. "There's no doubt she's doing this out of spite!"

"And she's willing to humiliate the Avatar to do it," Mako raved. "Korra will become a laughing stock if people find out what happened to her!"

Keira handed the photo back to Rusty, and then turned to the Candyman. "What are you going to do, Bumi?"

The Candyman looked thoughtful, before walking to his half-desk and sitting on his half chair. "Until we can think of something else, I'm afraid we have no choice but to go along with Miss Sato's demands."

"What, no," Keira cried in protest. "You can't just give in to this rich girl!"

"There has to be something else we could do," Mako said, trying to be reasonable.

"I may be the most successful chocolate and candy maker in the world, but Miss Sato's company is far bigger, and she has more resources at her disposal," Bumi explained. "Even if we fought this, we would never be able to keep up with her."

"But that's just our point, Bumi," Lin jumped in. "Let's say that we agree to Asami's demands. We give her exactly what she wants. Who's to say she won't go back on her word and release the photographs anyway?"

"Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place," Rusty remarked.

Mako was now looking thoughtful, too. So many secrets would be blown if Asami followed through with her threat and released the photographs to the newspaper. The firebender knew that the Republic City Chronicle would distribute the story and photos to other media outlets, not just in the city itself, but around the world. The Bumi Chocolate Factory could shut down again, this time for good. And the lives of the other golden ticket winners would be put under a microscope.

But all of that wasn't what Mako was dreading the most. He kept thinking about Korra. Even though she was returned to normal, he knew that the blueberry incident would haunt her for the rest of her days. And if the story was broken to the public, it would reopen old wounds almost every day.

"Wait," Keira suddenly exclaimed. "I just got an idea!"

Everyone turned to look at the little waterbender, who locked eyes with Lin. "You never showed yourself to Asami after her trip down the garbage chute, right?"

"Yes," Lin answered in an unsure tone. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm asking because only me, Mako, Bumi, Korra, and all of the Oompa-Loompas know your true identity," Keira explained with a small grin. "That means Asami must still believe you're Rocksworth!"

"But how would that help us, Keira," Mako asked his surrogate sister.

"Asami may not be able to sell her Everlasting Gobstopper since she lost it in the trash," Keira elaborated. "But what if she could sell those photos and her story to one of Bumi's 'rivals'?"

At this point, Keira wiggled her eyebrows at Lin, who after a thoughtful realization, replied, "By golly, you're right! I could convince Miss Sato to give those photos to me! And while that's happening, Bumi could contact her to say we would give in to her demands. All she'll have to do is return to the factory, and the second she enters the front gates, the police will immediately jump her!"

"So, we're basically setting up a sting operation," asked Bumi, who had been intently listening to the conversation.

"I can call up my successor at police headquarters," Lin said confidently. "He'll be willing to help us set up the whole thing."

"And Keira and I ran scams on the streets back when we were younger," Mako agreed, actually sounding a little excited about the potential operation.

"It's up to you, boss," Rusty said. "Shall we go through with this?"

Bumi appeared thoughtful, and looked around at everybody else. Finally, he gave a small smile and replied, "Alright. Operation Ambush is a go!"


A/N: it seems Asami is attempting some kind of blackmail! Will Keira's plan work in stopping the heiress?