"I don't see anyone out there, do you?" Anraq asked.

Kuvira peered over the wall. The only thing she could see in the darkened airfield was a line of looming airships, ready and waiting. No sign of the Red Lotus. Too early to tell, but perhaps for once luck was on their side. They'd already run into a few Red Lotus patrols on the way here, but Kuvira had been able to disable them quickly enough. Anraq wasn't in any condition to be fighting right now, so the fewer enemies they encountered, the better.

"Looks clear to me," she said, as she hovered the slab of metal they were standing on higher into the air, allowing them to gently float over the wall to the other side. "Hong Li should be waiting for us in the control tower now."

Anraq stole a glance over his shoulder. The control tower stood in the distance, overlooking the landing zone. "Which means once we're in an airship, those domes will open, and we get the flameo out of here. See one you want to take?"

Kuvira lowered to the ground and approached the line of airships. Her gaze caught a couple on the end—smaller, sleeker vessels, able to be manned with a minimal crew, and much faster than the larger models. "Down there, the speeder models."

She led the way, never dropping her guard. No telling when the Red Lotus might show up. Why on earth would they leave the airfield unguarded, of all places? Were they that complacent, or did they not feel the need because the domes were up? The latter made the most sense. The Red Lotus would have had more important things to take care of. Like Su's assassination... Kuvira flinched, shoving the thought from her mind. Couldn't think about that right now. Couldn't afford to get distracted. There'd be time to grieve later.

Kuvira opened the hatch on the nearest speeder ship, and ushered Anraq ahead. She stole on last glance around the airfield to make sure the area was clear before following inside. This model of airship was less than half the size of the larger transports—only one deck, a small cockpit, and enough standing room for ten passengers max. No seats, no tables, no separate rooms or quarters. What it lacked in amenities, it made up for in speed and efficiency, and right now speed was everything.

"So, it's probably a little late to ask this," Anraq said, as he stared down at the controls in the cockpit. His expression twitched with uncertainty. "But you do know how to fly this thing, right?"

"To a point," she said, sitting in the pilot's seat. "It's been a while, and I never actually flew myself a lot, but I know the gist. Enough to get us out of here, at least. Landing on the other hand..."

"Right, well, get this thing started."

Kuvira flipped a few switched on the dash, and soon the airship sprang to life. Propellers began to spin, the engine hummed, and the dashboard lights sparked with a steady glow. A creaking groan thundered through the city in response. Kuvira looked out the windshield, watching as seams began to form in dome, gradually widening as the individual segments parted. That was their cue.

"Just a couple minutes," she said, turning a dial at the center of the dashboard. "Then the airship will be ready to fly, and by that time the dome will—"

An explosion ripped through the airship's hull. The airship shuddered, skidding violently across the landing zone. One of the propellers erupted in a burst of flame. Kuvira and Anraq both lurched from their seats, thrown backwards across the open deck behind them. The airship came to a creaking halt moments later, allowing them to regain their balance.

"What on earth was that?" Anraq hobbled towards the hatch, and slammed his fist against the release button to open it.

A blue bolt of lightning ripped through the opening hatch and struck the ceiling. Anraq yelled, falling backwards. Sparks showered the deck, pipes bursting with hisses of steam. Several wires tore out from paneling in the ceiling and ignited with fire. Smoke billowed, swiftly choking the interior of the airship. With a grunt, Anraq forced himself upright, an arm clutched across his ribs.

Kuvira clambered towards the hatch. Some hundred paces away in the center of the airfield stood a lone girl dressed in distinct Fire Nation attire, her dark hair tied up in a topknot with a gold hairpin. The shoulders of her tunic were tipped into points, a gold trim interwoven through the black and crimson fabric. Even from this distance, Kuvira could see the grin spreading across the girl's face as her fingers charged with a sparking bolt of electricity.

"Off the airship! Now!" Kuvira grabbed Anraq's collar and yanked him out the hatch, onto the metal surface of the landing pad beneath.

Another lightning bolt exploded against the airship's engine. The entire structure erupted into a massive fireball, raining heated metal shrapnel in all directions. Kuvira rolled on top of Anraq and swept up a hand. A section of the metal landing pad peeled upward and wrapped over them, seconds before the burning shrapnel descended upon them. The air heated, pouring sweat down Kuvira's brow. Only once the explosion finally settled did she unwrap the metal shield and help Anraq back to his feet.

"So much for getting out of here unnoticed," she said, giving their assailant a glare. As if to mock her, the girl started marching towards them, her stride slow and casual.

Anraq groaned, leaning against Kuvira for support. "It's that girl. I saw her talking with Zaheer earlier. Called her Aoi, I think. Something tells me she's not like the other Red Lotus flunkies."

"Something tells me you're right." Kuvira's jaw tightened, as she watched the girl come closer. "She's young—barely looks eighteen."

"Yeah, well that teenager wanted to kill the rest of your family," Anraq replied. "Zaheer is actually the one who talked her out of it, as strange as that sounds."

She narrowed her eyes, and moved in front of Anraq. "Start up one of the other airships. I'll deal with her."

"Uhh, yeah, I don't know how to do that," he said, lifting a confused stare.

"There should be a manual underneath the pilot's seat." Raising her arms, Kuvira lifted several large slabs of metal from the landing pad and floated them in front of herself. "You can follow instructions, right?"

"Right, yeah, I'm on it." Anraq gave the approaching Red Lotus girl a brief glance, before limping his way towards the next airship. He didn't make it five steps before the girl fired off another lightning bolt.

Kuvira spun one of the metal slabs directly into the path of the lightning. Electricity hissed and sizzled on impact, only to disperse against the panel. "How about you try picking on a fresh opponent?"

Aoi tilted her head to the side, smirking. "Well, aren't you the spirited one? You do realize I can't allow you to leave, though. I imagine you're off to go warn people about us and all. We can't have that."

Shifting her stance, Kuvira twisted the metal slab into a giant spike. "You can try, but I don't think you know who you're dealing with. You're in over your head, girl."

"Oh, don't let my age fool you. You'll find I'm plenty capable. More than enough for you, Great Uniter." When Kuvira's brow lifted in surprise, Aoi let out a mocking laughter. "Please, you're remarkably easy to recognize. That mole is pretty distinct, you know." She smirked, and pointed a finger against her cheek, directly below her right eye. "But this is interesting. Last I heard, you were in prison."

Kuvira's eyes narrowed. Couldn't let herself get trapped in a conversation with this girl. Had to focus. She thrust a hand forward, launching the metal spike at her opponent—swift, accurate, on target. Metal clanged against metal, as the spike collided with the ground. Aoi spun out of its path with ease, her motions fluid and skillful. She finished her spin in a crouch, two fingers of each hand extended, one hand held forward and the other back. Her fingers ignited with electricity. With a simple step forward she fired another bolt of lightning.

Kuvira moved another metal slab to block the attack, and shot it forward at the girl. Aoi ducked away, with all the effort of a dancer twirling across a dance floor. Coming out of her spin, she blasted yet another stream of lightning. Kuvira flipped out of the way, slid her leg back across the ground, and pushed her arms forward. Several metal strips fired from her armguards, launching in rapid succession. She didn't need to defeat or kill this girl. Only needed to delay her long enough to escape. If she could just latch on one of the metal strips and throw Aoi far enough away, maybe—

Shock tore through her thoughts when she saw Aoi move. The girl's actions were almost inhuman. She ducked, spun, and evaded each of the incoming projectiles with ease. If she was making any sort of effort, she didn't show it. Each time she dodged, she countered with a lightning bolt, forcing Kuvira to bend another metal plate up from the landing pad to intercept the strikes. What in the world was this girl?

To use lightning, Aoi had to be a firebender. So why hadn't she used any fire? With each attack she made, there were no flames—only lightning. Kuvira would call it debilitating to limit oneself to only the sub-bending form of an element, and yet somehow Aoi played it as a strength. Kuvira had never seen anyone charge lightning so quickly, nor weave it into their style so seamlessly, as normally as though she were actually firebending.

The rumble of an engine filled the air. Kuvira's gaze shifted towards the airship. Anraq had managed to get it started, which meant only a few minutes of warmup before they'd be ready to fly. Only a few minutes remaining to get rid of this girl.

"Eyes on me!" Aoi yelled.

A sizzling jolt of lightning scorched the air. Kuvira's attention snapped into focus, in time to spin a defensive metal slab around to catch the bolt. Her reaction was quick, but sloppy, as her fingers grazed against the back of the panel in the same moment the lightning bolt struck. Should have been paying attention. Electricity surged through the panel into her body. She screamed, falling backwards. Numbness tore through her muscles, pins and needles spreading down into her fingertips. She dropped to a knee. Not a direct hit, but her body still trembled, stunned in the wake of lightning coursing through her, lungs gasping for air.

"Well, that was fun." Aoi strode forward, her fingers sparking with lightning. "But it looks like you're already done. Such a shame."

"You shouldn't be so smug." Kuvira heaved herself upright atop quivering legs. "We've only just started."

"Please, I can smell your humiliation from over here," Aoi replied. She waved her hand in front of her herself and contorted her face, as though fanning away a terrible scent. "For someone as renowned as the Great Uniter, I would have expected more from you. Oh well. Time to end this."

Kuvira waited, prepared herself. The moment Aoi extended her fingers, she raised her arms. The metal paneling between them peeled upward, causing the lightning bolt to strike harmlessly against it. Kuvira pushed forward. The paneling continued to peel towards Aoi, dropping the girl off balance. Only a momentary stumble, but more than enough. Before Aoi could regain her balance, Kuvira gave one more firm shove with her arms. The paneling peeled fully away from the ground and wrapped over Aoi, rolling her backwards in a long, metal cocoon across the launch pad.

With Aoi restrained, she raced towards the airship and jumped through the open hatch. "Get this thing off the ground, now!"

"Uh, you told me how to start it, not fly it!" Anraq said, shouting back over his shoulder.

"Disengage the landing gear and then pull back on the controls!" She spun around to face the open hatch. The metal paneling wrapped around Aoi had begun to glow red with heat.

Anraq uttered a deep groan, as he fumbled around the dashboard. "I should really not be the one doing this!"

He found the landing gear moments later, and flipped the switch to disengage. Grasping the controls, he yanked back on them. The airship lifted skyward, climbing rapidly into the sky. Too rapidly. The angle of ascent increased sharply, and Kuvira lost her balance. She stumbled forward, throwing out a desperate hand to grasp the side of the hatch. She held firm, but her body dangled free in the open air below. Snapping a look down at the landing pad, she watched as the metal paneling surrounding Aoi burst in an intense display of heat and electricity.

Aoi leaped to her feet and shot several bolts of lightning into the sky, one after the other. Kuvira let go with one hand, long enough to sweep her arm and bend a metal panel off the side of the airship—not enough to damage the vessel, but enough to put between herself and the shots of lightning. No way was she letting Aoi destroy this airship too. They were getting the hell out of here.

As the airship traveled higher, ascending far beyond Zaofu's boarders, Aoi's lightning bolts grew less accurate. Within moments, they ceased altogether. Kuvira returned the metal panel to the side of the airship and grasped onto the side of the hatch again with both hands. Her muscles strained, screaming with exertion as she pulled herself upward. When she was safely inside, she hit the button to close the hatch and promptly collapsed against the floor, chest heaving.

"We made it," she gasped, letting her eyes close.

"Yeah, I'd say that went about as well as it could have," Anraq said, with a steady nod. "But, uh, you want to take over the controls here? I only know how to ascend, apparently."

Zaheer floated high in the air, legs crossed in the lotus position, eyes closed. He breathed in deep, allowing his mind to clear and be at peace, to enter the void... until a frustratingly familiar voice called him back to reality.

"We may have a bit of a problem. If you care enough to come down from there, that is."

Zaheer exhaled and opened his eyes, gaze lowering to see Aoi standing there, her arms folded casually across her chest. "And what might that be?" When he received only an annoyed glare in response, he lowered himself to the ground.

"That's better," she said, with simple nod.

"What is the problem, Aoi?" His gaze lifted to the sky. "I assume it has to do with why the dome opened."

"Yes, quite. A couple of sneaky little weasel snakes took an airship out of Zaofu, no doubt to go warn people about us."

Zaheer's eyes narrowed. "And you didn't stop them?"

"Oh I tried," Aoi replied, with a dismissive wave. "Even blew up their first airship. But I couldn't stop them from leaving." She shifted her weight, a mocking smirk creasing her painted lips. "Not that they defeated me, of course. They only got away because they ran like cowards. How shameful."

"Do you realize what this means?" Zaheer swallowed the rising irritation in his tone, maintaining his inner peace. The absolute lack of care this girl expressed pushed at the limits of his patience. Talented though she was, her attitude needed work. A lot of work. "Our element of surprise will be gone soon, once they reach their destination. That will make our job more difficult."

"So what? I don't know what you're so worried about. After all, we just infiltrated the safest city in the world and killed their leader right out from under their noses, with only a handful of our members. Let them prepare for us—won't matter one bit."

Zaheer breathed in again, calming himself. "That may be true, but that will inevitably lead to other nations preemptively attempting to take us down, and I've no doubt the Avatar will lead that charge. I wanted to save her for later, when we were further along with our goals." He raised a hand to his chin, thinking. "We may need to prepare to deal with her sooner than I expected."

"Hmph, the Avatar," Aoi said, with a widening grin. "I do hope she puts up more of a fight than the Great Uniter. That was just sad."

Zaheer stared at her, brow furrowing. "When did you ever face Kuvira? You couldn't have been older than thirteen during her campaign."

"Oh, I meant just now," she replied. "Sorry, did I forget to mention that? My mistake. She was one of the two who took that airship."

Zaheer paused, pacing several steps back and forth. "That is concerning. I knew she was in Zaofu, but I thought she was still in prison. Her cell wasn't in one of the main blocks that would have been opened during the release..."

"Hmm?" Aoi lifted a curious brow. "And how would you have known that?"

"Don't worry about it." He frowned, still deep in thought. Kuvira being free only further complicated their mission. "Perhaps the world saw fit to give her a second chance and ended her sentence early."

Aoi shrugged. "Well, she definitely wasn't dressed like a prisoner. Full armor and ready for combat. Not that it mattered—she was still woefully disappointing. I didn't even have to firebend to match her."

"Whatever the reason, if she is free, she must be dealt with accordingly, before history repeats itself," Zaheer stated, with a determined bite in his tone. "In a short few years, she became one of the worst dictators the world has ever seen, and nearly destroyed any chance of freedom for the people of the Earth Kingdom. Such a thing is unforgivable, and as such she cannot be allowed a second chance. If the world has decided that punishing her is meaningless, then she will face our judgment. Otherwise, she will pick up where she left off, mark my words."

"Whatever you say." Aoi rolled her eyes, giving a flippant wave as she departed. "In the meantime, I need my beauty sleep."

Zaheer slowly levitated back into the air. "Before you do, find Avan and tell him to begin dismantling the domes. It's time Zaofu lost its foolish notion of shutting itself off from the outside world."

Yuruk tilted his head back with a deep yawn. "And how exactly do you intend to do this? The whole thing is made of platinum, and even you can't bend that."

Avan glided across the ground, towards one of the open sections of the Zaofu dome. "The plates are platinum, yes, but the inner mechanisms are not."

"Okay, but I still don't see how you're going to rip these things off by yourself," he muttered. "There's a reason why the dome is rigged to an automatic mechanism, and they don't just bend it shut."

"Have a little faith," Avan said, as he raised his arms.

The metalbender breathed deep, closed his eyes, and slowly began dragging his arms back through the air. The joints of the dome plate creaked and groaned, bending inward. Within seconds, the entire joint imploded, with a screeching eruption of twisted metal. Another pull of his arms, and the entire joint ripped away. The ground beneath the raised city thundered, as the platinum plate crashed free.

"Oh." Yuruk leaned forward, gazing over the side of the city at the fallen plate below. "Okay, I'm officially impressed. No need to show off."

"You should go, get some sleep if you wish," Avan said, as he moved to the next plate. "There are many more sections to go, and many more domes. This could take a while."

"You should be resting," Kuvira said, glancing at Anraq.

The waterbender let out a weak groan. "I'll be fine. Not even that tired, really."

"It's still a couple of hours to Republic City, and you're still hurt," she insisted. "You haven't been able to heal yourself that well, either."

Anraq stared out the airship windshield. The sun had begun peaking over the horizon, washing the sky with brilliant orange. "I'll live. At least until I can get to a hospital when we land."

"Anraq..."

He waved her off. "Just forget it. Besides, we should be in range for the radio to reach the city. You should probably call ahead and let them know what's going on."

Her gaze shifted down towards the radio on the dashboard. They were in range, true. With a simple click of the button she could inform Republic City of everything that had happened in Zaofu. Her hand trembled forward, but she pulled it back. "I can't. I have to tell them in person."

"But the more time we waste—"

"I know, Anraq. But I just—I don't want Lin or Opal hearing about it from someone else, some random official." She let her head drop, visioning blurring. "I should be the one to tell them."

Anraq sighed. "Yeah, I get it. Still, you should at least let them know you're arriving. Otherwise you might start a panic when you land. You know, former criminal dictator arriving in an airship, dressed in full combat gear? Probably wouldn't look good."

"Well I can't just call them up and say I'm flying in," she countered, with a pointed look. "They'll meet me at the landing zone with half the police force ready to take me out. Or just shoot us down when we get close."

"Okay, good point." Anraq glanced down at the radio. "Fine, let me. Should already be on the right frequency." He grabbed the radio and held it to his lips, clicking the button. "Greetings, Republic City air control. Don't know if anyone can hear this, but I'm coming in soon in a small speeder ship, going to need a place to land. Over."

Static hissed out of the speaker briefly, before a clear voice responded, "Copy, and where are you headed from? Over."

"Zaofu, actually," he said. "We're coming in on official business." He waited a moment, but when he received no reply he smacked his forehead with a sigh and clicked the button again. "Yeah, uh, over."

"Alright, we'll find a place for you to land. How far out are you? Over."

"About two hours, so no rush." Anraq paused exhaling a deep breath before continuing, "And if you could contact Chief Beifong to meet us when we land, I'd appreciate it. Over."

A pause, and then, "Uh, copy, but the police chief is a busy woman. Can't make any promises. Over."

"Like I said, it's official business," he replied. "She's going to want to meet with us immediately. Just tell her it's Anraq, she'll come. Over."

"I'll see what I can do," the air controller said. "In the meantime, have a safe flight. Contact us again when you're on approach, and we'll give you further instructions. Over and out."

Anraq replaced the radio on the dash and sank back in his seat. "See, just need to know how to talk to them."

Kuvira eased a deep sigh, slowly nodding her head. "I only hope I'm ready to face Lin by the time we get there."

"Hey, I'll be there, too," he said, bringing a hand to her shoulder. "You won't have to do it alone."

Kuvira cracked an ever so slight smile of appreciation. "Thanks. Now, let's get to Republic City."