Yula breathed inward, hoping to steady her nerves. "Okay, now promise not to laugh or anything. I'm telling you I'm not very good."

"I'm not going to laugh." Kuvira sat down and crossed her legs, watching the younger woman take a firebending pose. "I'm sure you're much better than you think."

Her nerves fluttered again. Silly. Kuvira was being encouraging, trying to give her confidence. So why couldn't she settle her stomach? She took another deep breath and forced her eyes closed. "And you're sure no one is going to see me?"

"It's just you and me up here," Kuvira affirmed.

Finding a hidden place to train had been simple enough. The viewing deck atop Team Avatar's airship stood higher than

any building in all of the Upper Ring aside from the state house, and with as far away as the state house was, no one looking out at the airfield would be able to tell who was blasting jets of fire into the air. Still, Yula couldn't help but swallow the possibility.

"Okay," she said, with firm nod. "Here I go."

Yula opened her eyes snapped her fist forward with a swift punch, releasing a burst of fire from her knuckles. The flames burst forth with a distinct ferocity. She followed through with a second punch, a second jet of fire. A whirling kick next, and the flames burned brighter, scorching across the viewing deck with a blinding orange glow. Spinning with a double punch of both her fists, she maintained a constant stream of flames for several seconds before extinguishing. A swift shift of her stance, and she leaped forward with a spinning kick. The resulting flames blazed across the deck, roaring forth in the form of a curved, burning blade.

When Yula shifted into her next attack, her foot slipped across the slick surface of the airship. She tripped, catching herself on her hands and knees with startled yelp. "Oh, shoot. I always mess up at that part. I told you I wasn't very good."

Kuvira offered an encouraging smile. "On the contrary. For someone with hardly any formal training, that was actually quite impressive."

"It was?" Yula stood straight again and glanced back at Kuvira. "You're not just saying that?"

Kuvira nodded. "I mean it. Being honest, your form itself could use some work, but the intensity of your fire is great. Better than most I've ever seen, actually."

"Oh, wow." A surge of warmth welled into her chest, fueling her with a jittering sense of accomplishment. If Kuvira was being that earnest, then maybe she wasn't so terrible after all? "Thank you, so much."

"Of course, I'm not really one to give a proper critique," Kuvira said, with a casual shrug. "Seeing as how I'm an earthbender. My knowledge in firebending is pretty limited."

"It's okay." Yula exhaled a gentle sigh. "I don't think I'll ever find another firebender to actually train me, so I'm okay with what I can do now."

"What if I told you you could have a firebender train you?"

"Oh, well yes, that would be amazing." Yula's heart jumped, a wonderful, fleeting moment where the possibility set her nerve alight. Seconds later, the moment faded, crashing back to reality. "But there isn't anyone. I don't know of any other firebenders in Ba Sing Se. If there are any, I've never met them."

Kuvira stood up with a grin, as her attention shifted towards the viewing deck elevator. "Well, I actually already invited one to join us. She should be here any minute."

"What?" Yula stiffened, snapping her own gaze towards the elevator. "Who?"

The light atop the elevator dinged when the doors opened, revealing an impossible to mistake figure stepping out onto the viewing deck. The woman made her way forward with a wave of greeting, prompting Yula's heart to leap into her throat. "Hey there. Someone told me you were looking for some firebending lessons?"

"A-Avatar Korra?" Yula shrieked, covering her mouth with her hands in shock. "Is this real?"

"Oh, it's real, alright." Kuvira put a hand to Yula's back and pushed her close to the Avatar.

Jelly filled her legs, as she stumbled to remain standing upright without fainting. Her breathing quickened, chest heaving with quick, rapid breaths. "I—I can't believe this. The Avatar is going to teach me firebending?"

"If you want," Korra replied, with a friendly nod. "Right now, Bolin, Opal, Lin, and Kya are guarding the prime ministers, so we have plenty of free time for some lessons."

Yula grinned, a wave of excitement straightening her posture. "Yes! I'd love some lessons, thank you!"

"In that case, go ahead and show me what you can do."

Yula repositioned herself in her bending stance and sucked in a deep breath. Alright, she could do this. This wasn't just anyone about to watch her. This was the Avatar. She had to get this right. After a moment's pause to collect her nerves, she went through her forms, scorching the air with swift, crisp shots of fire. She didn't trip this time. She kept going, adding a new series of powerful punches and kicks, each one erupting with heated waves of fire. The world around her faded. She lost herself, becoming one with her bending, as she began shouting intensely with each each attack.

Within several minutes, her actions slowed. Exhaustion flooded her muscles, forcing her to drop out of her forms and double over, hands pressed to her knees as she sucked in deep gulps of air. Sweat poured from her brow. "I'm sorry, that's all I can do. Still don't... still don't have much stamina."

"That was great," Korra said, giving a congratulatory clap. "You seem to have most of the basics down, but there are a couple of things you should keep in mind."

Yula wiped the sweat from her brow and looked to the Avatar. "Oh, yes, of course. What kinds of things?"

"Well, I noticed you were putting a lot of effort into your attacks," she explained, "which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it will tire you out faster. That goes especially for firebending, which is already a very fast, offensive style. Because of that, the longer a fight goes on, the greater a disadvantage a firebender finds herself."

"Oh, yeah," Yula said, with a deep sigh. "It's just, I know I'm not very physically impressive. I mean, certainly not like you. So, I try to put everything I have into my attacks to make up for it."

Korra chuckled. "I get it, but that's the great thing about firebending: it doesn't rely on physical strength. That's not where a firebender's power comes from." She stood straight and lowered her hands down by her abdomen. "Your power comes from complete control over your breathing and chi flow." She breathed in deep, slow, raising her hands higher as she did. Then, she released the breath in the same steady rhythm, hands lowering again to her abdomen. "Your breath becomes energy, and that energy extends past your limbs to become fire." With a swift punch, she released a powerful jet of flames into the air. "Your muscles have nothing to do with it."

Yula watched intently at Korra's demonstration. She attempted to mimic her, breathing in deep, and out again. Slow, controlled. When she had her breathing under control, she snapped a punch forward. Despite the reduced physical effort of the strike, the flames that erupted from her fist burned larger than before.

"Wow," she uttered, with a wide-eyed look down at her fist. "Did you see that?"

Korra smiled. "That was excellent. Just remember to keep your breathing under control like that at all times. It won't just help with your fire generation, but you should also be able to last longer without tiring."

"Right, I'll remember."

"Okay, and the one other thing we need to work on is your form." Korra raised her hands into a basic firebending pose. "You're a little stiff in your stances, and your attacks are a bit wild and uncontrolled. Just watch me and try to follow."

Korra guided her new pupil through several different firebending sets over the next hour. Yula paid close attention, ensuring she did everything possible to mimic the forms to perfection. Her strikes were wild at first, as Korra had pointed out, but with time each new punch, each kick, grew steadily more crisp and fluid. Yula had always been smart, always picked up new skills quickly. Memorizing bending forms came naturally, and before long she could perform them without the need for the Avatar to guide her. Eventually, Korra stepped away and simply watched the younger woman practice.

Kuvira stepped next to the Avatar, arms crossed across her chest.. "So, how is she, really?"

"Honestly? She's pretty remarkable," Korra replied. "And a fast learner. You said she's never had formal training before?"

"Only briefly. Her father taught her some when she was a kid, but other than that she's only learned from books."

Korra kept her attention on Yula, watching her continue the forms with an increased, but more controlled, intensity. "And she can redirect lightning, too? You know, with more formal training like this, I think she could become an incredible firebender."

"I know she'd like that," Kuvira said, with a soft exhale. "But we won't be in Ba Sing Se much longer, so you won't be here to keep training her. And I won't be here, either."

Korra glanced at her, raising a curious eyebrow. "You two have gotten pretty close over the past couple of days, haven't you?"

Kuvira offered an unwitting chuckle, keeping her eyes averted from the Avatar. She focused on Yula, as another jet of flames burst into the air. Leave it to Korra to fluster her. "We have. I don't know how to explain it. I know we only just met, but I like her. She makes me happy, you know? A kind of happy I haven't felt in a long time."

"And I'm happy for you," Korra said, patting a hand against the other woman's shoulder.

"But it can't last." Kuvira huffed a deep breath, letting her gaze fall. No matter how many times she reminded herself, the reality of it continued to gnaw away at any possible excitement that thought to show its face. "We'll be leaving soon anyway, and after this mission is over I'll be back in prison."

"Hey, don't worry. If it means that much to you, we can figure something out, I'm sure. And if not, then enjoy the time you do have together."

Kuvira's smile returned, soft and barely noticeable. "I am enjoying it. I really am."

Daru tilted his head back and uttered a long yawn. "Man, why do we get the night shift?"

His fellow guard, Bhu, glanced back at him with an apathetic stare. "Does it really matter? Same job, just a different time."

"I suppose. Would still be nice to get some proper sleep."

The pair continued their patrol around the state house. Several other patrols passed by them along their route, and they gave simple waves in greeting on their way by. No time to stop and chat. Ever since the news of an imminent Red Lotus attack, the prime minsters' personal guards had been on higher alert than ever, and security at the state house had nearly doubled.

Daru yawned again, holding a hand over his mouth. As he and his partner rounded the corner of the state house gardens, he heard Bhu grunt and collapse next to him. "What the—Bhu?" He looked down, expecting to see his partner on the ground. No one there. "Bhu, where are you?"

No answer. A painful crack ripped across the back of his skull, exploding a burst of colors in his vision. He fell flat on his face, unable to move, and soon his entire world went dark.

Avan called his earth glove back to him, pulling along the limp guard with it. When they were safely out of sight behind the hedges of the garden, he released the hold on the guard and returned the glove to his hand. "That should be the last of them."

"Good work, Avan," Zaheer said. "Yuruk, alert our other members that it's time to get ready. We should be prepared for the council summit tomorrow."

The waterbender hissed out an unenthused sigh. "Ugh, fine, but after that I'm getting some sleep. You have any idea how exhausting it was to bend an entire underground lake out of those caverns?"

Zaheer nodded. "I understand. You'll need to be well rested for tomorrow, anyway. We all will."

A short distance away, Aoi scoffed in frustration, arms folded tightly across her chest. "I don't understand why we aren't attacking right now. We have all their guards incapacitated. The prime ministers are ripe for the picking."

"Because we're not only after the prime minsters," Zaheer said, turning a glare towards the younger girl. "The summit meeting will bring together the Earth Republic's entire governing body—prime ministers, secretaries, advisers, everyone. If you bothered to listen, you'd have remembered that."

"I listen just fine, thank you very much."yu*/

"And that's why you directly ignored my orders when you attacked Kuvira?" Zaheer's glare intensified. "I told you to follow her, not to engage. We could have learned exactly who she and the Avatar had arrived with, but instead your impatience cost us a potential advantage."

Aoi's brow twitched. "I had her! If it hadn't been for that mousey little twit redirecting my lightning, Kuvira would be dead!"

"That's no one's fault but your own," Zaheer replied, exhaling a deep breath. Deep, steady breaths, or this girl would run through the last of his patience. "If you can't learn to listen, you will deal with whatever consequences your defiance brings. Either you start following orders to the letter and act like a member of the Red Lotus family, or you won't be here much longer. Am I clear?"u*

Aoi deepened a frown, turning her gaze away. "Crystal."

"Good. Now, remember your role and get ready. We have a big day ahead of us."

Yula huddled closer to Kuvira in bed, resting her head on the older woman's chest with a content sigh. The feel of Kuvira's chest rising and falling against her with each breath eased a calming peace through her heart. In those quiet moments, time stood still.

Kuvira hummed quietly, stroking her fingers through Yula's hair. "You still awake?"

"Mmhmm," she replied, with a gentle giggle. She tilted her head to look up at her. "Even though we should probably be asleep."

"Probably." Kuvira smirked, and leaned in for another kiss. "But I don't want the night to end just yet."

"Me neither." Yula sighed, nuzzling closer. "Are you worried about tomorrow?"

"I don't know if worried is the right word. I don't know what I am, to be honest. We know the Red Lotus is here, we know they'll be attacking, and we know we have to stop them, one way or another. I'm ready for them, at least. We all are."

Yula nodded, squeezing her arms tighter around Kuvira's midsection. "I'm a little worried. Or maybe afraid, I don't know. I'll be at the meeting. I have to be, as Secretary Guan's assistant."

"You don't need to be afraid," Kuvira assured. "We'll be there to protect you. I'll protect you."

"Just like you are now?"

Kuvira smiled, stroking her fingers lightly along the younger woman's cheek. "Just like now."

Ever since Aoi's attack two nights prior, Kuvira had urged Yula to stay with her at Team Avatar's suite. No telling how spiteful that Red Lotus girl would be, but better to not risk sending Yula back to her own apartment where she might be attacked. Aoi had clearly been following them that night, which meant she knew where Yula lived. Until this Red Lotus business in Ba Sing Se was solved, she wouldn't be safe.

Yula smiled, planting gentle kisses along Kuvira's neck. "I know we haven't been together very long, but I'm glad we are. Together, I mean."

"So—ohhh..." A hot gasp escaped Kuvira's lips, as she tilted her head so Yula could continue her line of kisses. "So am I."

The younger woman giggled, and rolled herself on top of Kuvira. She glided one hand down along the older woman's side, slowly, teasingly. "Still don't want the night to end just yet?"

"I..." Kuvira's words stopped short, lost in a sharp, pleasant gasp at the sudden, intimate touch between her legs.

"I'll take that as a yes," Yula said, with another giggle. She pressed her fingers deeper, and leaned in for another kiss. All the while, Kuvira squirmed beneath her, moaning back against her lips.

Korra squinted at the sky, holding a hand over her eyes to block out the sun. With the day of the United Earth Republic council summit meeting having finally arrived, Team Avatar had gathered into position to protect the entire governing body from Zaheer and the Red Lotus. The Avatar, Opal, Bolin, Bumi, and Asami stood guard outside the state house, while Toph, Kuvira, Anraq, Lin, and Kya provided additional defenses within, standing guard in the main hall outside the council meeting chamber. Dozens of additional Earth Republic guards had joined them, all prepared to fight off any Red Lotus attack.

Shifting her gaze away from the sky, Korra looked around the state house courtyard, a vast expanse of pristine white stone with a central path carving its way down the middle towards the state house entrance. Several guard patrols marched around the perimeter in the distance. Looking over her shoulder, she noted another team of guards standing in front of the towering doors that led inside. No sign of the Red Lotus yet, but there was still plenty of time. The summit wouldn't conclude for another ten hours.

"Any sign of them?" Asami approached, adjusting her Equalist glove tighter over her arm.

"Nothing yet," Korra replied. "But don't let your guard down."

"Trust me," Asami said, with a confident grin. The palm of her glove briefly sparked with a crackle of electricity. "I'm ready."

Korra nodded. "Good. We'll need to be."

"Uhhh, hey guys?" Bolin called, holding his hand above his eyes. He squinted into the sky and pointed at something in the distance. "Is that what I think it is?"

They followed his gaze. A tiny spec flew into view against a backdrop of clear blue sky, growing larger as it neared. A human-shaped spec. The figure swooped above them, diving straight towards the state house. It was a man, with a bald head and clean-shaven face, a scar cutting above his left eye, dressed in tan monk robes. He landed with his hands held behind his back, a calm expression on his face. Impossible to mistake who it was.

"Zaheer!" Korra ran forward and slid into a defensive stance.

The Earth Republic guards responded in kind, half of them springing into position to surround him. The other half took up defensive stances in front of the state house doors. Zaheer raised an eyebrow, glancing back and forth between the guards and Team Avatar.

"Avatar Korra," he stated, in that distinct, calm tone of his. "I must say I'm not surprised to see you here. Unfortunately, our meeting is premature. My business lies elsewhere today."

"Yeah, we know you're here to assassinate the prime minsters." Korra stomped a foot against the ground, raising a massive chunk of stone into the air. It hovered above her head, awaiting further command. "But if you want to get to them, you're going to have to get through us first."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh believe me, Korra, I intend to."

"You must be pretty confident to come here alone." Korra darted a cursory glance around the remainder of the courtyard. "I don't see the rest of the Red Lotus anywhere."

"You don't see them because you are blind," Zaheer said, a subtle grin twisting onto his otherwise calm face. "Didn't you know, the best place to hide is in plain sight?"

Korra frowned, muscles tensing. "What are you talking about?"

Zaheer said nothing. He merely hovered ten feet into the air, as the state guards surrounding him turned towards Team Avatar. They shifted into offensive stances, some lifting earth from the ground, others creating daggers of flames from their fists, and others still pulling water from the fountain at the center of the courtyard in preparation to attack.

"What?" Korra's eyes flared. She took a step back and looked over her shoulder. The guards near the state house doors had readied themselves too, turning their sights onto Team Avatar. The revelation crashed through her like a tidal wave. "These aren't Earth Republic guards!"

"No, we took care of them last night," Zaheer stated. "Did you think we wouldn't have a plan to deal with you? We aren't the same as you remember. The Red Lotus has grown mightier than ever, and not even you can stop us this time."

Team Avatar moved back against each other, forming a defensive circle to cover all sides as the Red Lotus surrounded them.

"So, I'm guessing this wasn't supposed to happen," Bumi said, with a nervous look around at their advancing attackers. "Don't suppose anyone has any ideas?"

"Yeah, I got one," Opal replied, already whirling her arms to create a powerful cyclone of air. "We fight."