Korra sprinted into the meeting chamber at full speed. If Kuvira and Lin were fighting off the Red Lotus to protect the prime ministers, they'd need the backup as soon as possible. When she neared the end of the chamber, she slid to a stop and stared, eyes wide. No Kuvira or Lin. No prime minsters. No government officials of any kind. No tables, no chairs, no podium. Only an empty, torn patch of earth in the floor where they should have been.

"What in the world?" she uttered.

Asami arrived moments later, her face twisting with equal confusion. "Where is everyone?"

"The Red Lotus pulled them below ground," Toph stated, as she joined the other two. "I sensed it earlier. Probably that Dai Li of their theirs, Avan. There are caverns beneath the state house. Or were. Looks like the entire thing caved in."

Anraq stepped onto the dirt, looking downward. "Then, the prime ministers, all the other officials?"

Toph said nothing. She simply shook her head and exhaled a heavy sigh.

"We failed..." Korra sank to one knee. She raked her fingers through the dirt, curled them into a fist, and punched the ground. The entire room shook, large fissures rupturing across the floor. "Damn it, Zaheer! I swear, when I get my hands on him, I'll—"

"We'll stop him, Korra." Asami lowered a hand to her girlfriend's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "This fight isn't over yet."

Kya turned to Toph, a flicker of worry in her eyes. "What about Lin? And Kuvira. Where are they?"

"Give me a second." The old woman hummed out a quiet breath, as she focused on the earth beneath her feet. "Ah, they're right here."

A small patch of dirt churned a short distance away, softening and swirling as three figures burst into the chamber. Kuvira fell back, plopping herself on the ground. Yula fell with her into her lap. Lin dropped to her knees and huffed, pulling her hands back through her hair.

"Oh thank spirits, you guys are okay," Kya said, as she knelt next to Lin. "What happened down there?"

"We were too late, that's what happened," Lin muttered. "That damn lightningbender of theirs fried the entire Earth Republic governing body. We barely got Yula out of there alive."

Korra grimaced, holding a hand over her face. All that planning, all that fighting—all for nothing. The Red Lotus had succeeded, and now they were no doubt on their way to their next targets. "We should regroup. And we need to find Opal, Bolin, and Bumi, make sure they're okay."

"In the meantime, we should start asking some questions," Anraq said. He looked over his shoulder, towards the chamber doors and the corridor beyond. "I know a certain someone we can interrogate."

"You think he'll talk?" Kya asked. "These Red Lotus types generally don't give up information."

"Oh, he'll talk." Anraq's eyes sharpened with an uncharacteristic viciousness. "I'll make sure of it."

Lin stood up and put an arm around Kya's shoulder. "Well, no use waiting around here. Let's get moving."

As Team Avatar grudgingly turned to exit the state house, Kuvira lifted Yula into her arms and stood straight. She brushed back loose strands of the younger woman's hair, and held her close. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. A little shaken, though." Yula rested her head against Kuvira's shoulder, a distant glaze glossing over her eyes. "They killed everyone. All of them. I could have been..."

"Shush," Kuvira whispered, with a gentle smile. "You weren't. You're safe, just like I promised."

Yula tightened her hold against Kuvira, hugging closer. "You were really going to give yourself up to save me?"

"If I had to," she said, with a nod. "I said I'd protect you, and I meant it. Fortunately, because of you, I didn't have to."

Yula's lips curled into a subtle smile. Her eyes gleamed, welling with pride. "Did you see what I did? I totally got them both."

"Yes, I saw." Kuvira returned the smile, and kissed the younger woman softly on the forehead. She cradled Yula close and followed the rest of her team out of the chambers. "You did great, Yula. I'm proud of you."

Avan grunted, pushing away the earth above their heads until they cleared through to the surface. He looked around to make sure the coast was clear, before pulling himself out of his self-made tunnel. Judging from the hedges and flowered bushes nearby, they were in the gardens behind the state house. No sign of the Avatar's team anywhere.

"Again!" Aoi climbed out of the tunnel behind him, scowling. "That wretched little brat got the better of me again! Nobody does that to me! Nobody!"

"Calm yourself," Avan muttered, as he pulled back the singed sleeve of his shirt to examine his burn. "She surprised both of us. Besides, who are you calling a 'little brat'? You're younger than she is, and far more childish."

"Watch your mouth!" she snapped, with a heated glare. "Because of her, Kuvira got away!"

"There will be other opportunities to take down Kuvira," he replied. "In the meantime, we need to regroup with Zaheer and the rest of the Red Lotus. Soon as I take down the walls, we'll be leaving Ba Sing Se."

Aoi huffed a sharp breath and turned to march in the opposite direction. Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms so tight they drew small trickles of blood. "You go on ahead. There's one more thing I have to take care of before we leave this city."

Korra exhaled, setting her hands on her hips as the cabin door opened. "How are they?"

Kya looked back over her shoulder inside the room. Bumi and Opal lay on separate beds, both unconscious. Bolin sat at Opal's side, holding her hand, while Pabu sat on next to her, resting his furry head against her cheek. Bum-Ju had curled next to Bumi's head on his pillow. "Pretty banged up, but they'll be fine as long as they rest a while." She closed the door behind herself, and followed Korra down the airship corridor. "We should count ourselves lucky Zaheer didn't stick around to finish them off."

"Everything Zaheer has done..." Korra tightened a fist, head hanging. "He has to be stopped. He has to pay."

"We will stop him, one way or another," Kya replied. "Lin and I are with you."

"Thanks. We'll need all the help we can get."

The pair made their way to the atrium of main deck. Since the battle against the Red Lotus, Team Avatar had returned to their airship, although they had yet to make a new plan. They had spent most of that time recovering and trying to gather their thoughts.

As soon as Korra and Kya entered the atrium, Asami approached in a hurry. "Guys, I have some bad news. I just got word that the prisons in Ba Sing Se have been emptied. Criminals are flooding the streets and causing a panic."

Korra's eyes flared. "How many?"

"Um, all of them? So, a lot."

"It's bad." Lin jumped down from the second deck above them, slowing her descent with a metal cable. "There are more than thirty prisons in this city, and each one was packed near full. I'm talking thousands of prisoners each."

"Oh dear spirits," Kya uttered. "With no government or anyone to enforce the law, they'll take over the city in days."

"And the more violent ones will probably fight amongst themselves for control," Korra said, swallowing the growing knot in her throat. "Countless innocent people are going to be caught in the middle of it!"

A hiss of static interrupted their conversation, as the airship radio sparked to life. Moments later, a strikingly familiar voice rang out over the speakers. "Attention people of Ba Sing Se."

Korra stiffened. She scowled, curling her hands into fists, arms shaking. "Zaheer..."

"Some of you may remember me, others may not." Zaheer's voice echoed crisply, no doubt reaching every citizen in Ba Sing Se who owned a radio. "Eight years ago, myself and my band of brothers and sisters freed you from the control of a tyrannical queen, and in the process restored the power to each and every one of you to control your own destinies.

"Unfortunately, that didn't last. Shortly after we set you free, you were drawn under the control of an even worse dictator, and even after she was defeated, again you were subjected to another form of rule. They changed the name of your nation, changed the system, changed the leaders, but what they didn't change was the distribution of power, no matter what they would have you believe otherwise. They pretend you have choice, that you have a say in things through elections, but in the end you still don't have the power to change anything. You're still segregated by borders and walls, even in this very city. The only difference this time is the coat of paint.

"That's why I'm speaking to you today. Just as I did eight years ago, I have freed you all from the antiquated notion of rulers and governments. Just now, my brethren and I have removed your entire governing body from power, permanently. You have no more leaders telling you what to do, no more oppressive force to hold you down. Now, your fate lies in your own hands. Take back your lives, show allegiance only to yourselves and those you love. The time has returned to show the world exactly what it means to be free." With another static hiss, the radio cut out.

Lin frowned. "As if things couldn't get worse."

A deafening boom erupted in the air, followed by a deep, quaking tremor that ripped through the ground. The entire airship shook and rattled. Kya stumbled off her feet, but Lin caught her and steadied them against the table. Asami reached out to hold onto a chair, while Korra fell backwards onto one of the couches against the wall. The quaking grew stronger, more violent, as if the entire world were splitting to pieces. Moments later, it subsided. The rumbling softened, the ground stopped shaking, and all was silent.

"What in spirits name was that?" Kya questioned, running towards one of the windows.

Lin joined her and gazed outside, off into the distance. The only thing visible above the buildings was a massive cloud of dust billowing into the sky, thick and heavy like a storm cloud. Her dropped her jaw. "The walls. The walls of Ba Sing Se are gone."

"Gone? All of them?" Asami approached the window, watching the dust cloud loom higher. "What do we do?"

"We have to help!" Korra ran forward. Urgency sparked in her voice, an eagerness for action. Back when the Red Lotus first toppled Ba Sing Se, they'd opened breaches in the wall. That had caused chaos all its own. This time, they'd taken the entirety of each wall, in one fell swoop. The pandemonium would be immeasurable. "There will be riots, looting—people will die!"

"And what are we supposed to do?" Lin questioned. "That would take time and resources we don't have."

"I don't know, but I'm the Avatar. That's my job! To help people."

Lin hissed a breath through her nose and glanced back at her. "I know, but right now our job is to stop the Red Lotus. The more time we waste, the bigger advantage they have."

"Well we can't just leave the city to fix itself!" Korra countered. "It's only a matter of time before the turmoil here spreads throughout the entire Earth Republic, and if that happens..." She huffed a frustrated groan, bringing a hand to her forehead. With a few soft, steady breaths, she calmed herself. "We'll have to call Raiko, see if he can send the United Forces in and set things right. They can help Ba Sing Se's military while we go after Zaheer."

"In the meantime, we need more information on the Red Lotus," Kya said. "How's the interrogation going?"

Korra shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't checked on them since they started. Hopefully they'll have some better news for us."

"I already told you, I don't know anything," Yuruk grumbled, leaning back in his seat. He flexed his arms, as if trying to break free of the chains that bound him to the chair. They didn't budge.

"And I already told you, I can tell you're lying," Toph said, with a blank, unamused stare.

"Damn it, Yuruk, make this easy on yourself!" Anraq sucked in a quivering breath, and clenched his jaw. Deep breaths. Deep, easy breaths, or he'd lose himself again. "What is the Red Lotus planning next?"

Kuvira stepped next him, lowering her brow into a heated glare. "And where are the Beifongs?"

"Hmph." Yuruk sat up as straight as he could in his chains. "What was that you told me last time, Annie? Oh yeah." His gaze narrowed. "Go screw a wolf bat."

"You hog monkey swine!" Anraq shouted, lashing a hand out to grab Yuruk's collar. "I swear I'll—"

"Anraq, calm down!" Kuvira pulled her friend away from the prisoner. He tried to break free of her hold, but she tightened her arms around his, restraining him until he finally relaxed. "Toph, can't you do something to make him talk?"

"I can tell you when he's lying," Toph said, with a simple shrug. "I can't magically make him tell the truth."

Yuruk laughed. "Doesn't matter what you try. Torture me if want, I'm not talking."

Anraq made a fist, his arms shaking at his side. The heat in his chest burned brighter, warping his senses with building hostility. "Don't tempt me."

"Who are you trying to kid, Annie? You won't torture me—don't have the stomach for it, never did." A wicked grin slashed across his face. "Even when it came to Kanna, you were weak."

"What did I say about her!" Anraq shoved Kuvira away and lunged at his cousin. Knuckles cracked into Yuruk's jaw, spraying blood into the air as a tooth tore clean out of his mouth. "You don't get to say her name!"

"Anraq!" Kuvira grabbed him again, and bent a pair metal strips around his wrists to yank him away. She moved in front of him, pushing him towards the door. "I think we need to take a break and clear our heads. Maybe let him sweat it out a little."

Toph yawned, and hobbled off her seat to follow them out the door. "Good idea. I need a nap anyway. My back is killing me."

"I'll be waiting for you when you get back, Annie!" Yuruk called, as the door slammed shut. "I look forward to our next chat!"

Anraq marched down the airship corridor, body stiff and rigid. A low, seething breath pushed out his throat. The heat built, raged hotter. He tried to swallow it down. No good. The heat exploded, and with a furious shout he threw a furious punch at the metal wall next to him. The instant his knuckles impacted, he recoiled with a pained shout, blood dripping down his fist.

Muttering curses under his breath, he called a glob of water out of his hip flask and pressed it to his knuckles. The water glowed, soothing the injury.

Kuvira approached, but didn't say anything at first. She stared at him, caution in her eyes. Not that he could blame her. He'd never lost himself like this around her before. Hadn't lost himself like this before at all, not in over eight years. With as laid back and easygoing of a front he put on, it was no wonder he concerned her. Hopefully, she wouldn't push too much on the matter.

"Hey," she said, stepping next to him. "You okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," he retorted, with an irritated bite in his tone. "I failed protecting the prime ministers, I failed stopping the Red Lotus, I failed in Zaofu..." Another shout surged from his throat. Fury guided his actions, letting the healing water fall away as he smacked his palm against the wall. "I always fail!"

"Anraq, we failed. All of us. We're in this together."

"Right. We."

Kuvira's gaze softened. "This isn't about what happened today, is it? Is there something else you want to talk about?"

There it was. A mournful pulse beat through his heart, shocking his core with a cold snap of frost. "No."

"You know you can tell me anything," she insisted, taking a step closer to him. When Anraq didn't reply, she breathed deep, voice teeming with caution. "Who's Kanna?"

The frost intensified, snapping through his entire body with the force of an arctic winter. His throat knotted. "I don't want to talk about it."

Again, Kuvira came closer. She brought a hand to his shoulder, and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Anraq..."

"I said, I don't want to talk about it!" He tore from her grasp, swatting her hand away. The ice vanished, melting into heated anger. He smacked his palm against the wall once more, and marched down the corridor. "Just leave me alone!"

Kuvira pushed open the door to her cabin, rubbing her fingers against her eyes. Anraq... She didn't blame him for his anger. Far from it. From what she gathered, whoever this Kanna was had been someone important to him. Someone he'd lost. She knew that kind of pain all too well. It ate at you, cold and gnawing, consuming every last sense of peace you'd ever had. Still, she wished he'd share it. That kind of pain needed to be shared before it could begin to heal. Keeping it buried inside, trying to fight it, would only make it worse. Either way, she couldn't force him to open up. Someday, perhaps he would, but right now she could only give him the space he wanted..

"Hey, Kuvira?"

Kuvira looked up to see Yula sitting on the bed. The younger woman leaned forward, hands clutched together, legs bouncing up and down nervously. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's just, with everything happening in Ba Sing Se right now..." Yula glanced at the floor with a sigh. "I'm worried about my mother and sister. The last time this happened, we almost got caught in a fire during the rioting. It was worse out in the streets."

Kuvira sat down next to her and held a hand to the younger woman's knee. "You want to go help them?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, please."

"Alright." Kuvira gave her a kiss, and took her hand. "We'll go together."

"Thanks," she replied, with a gentle smile. "Actually, I think my sister will like you. My mom might take some warming up to, though."

Kuvira offered a quiet laugh. "Well, I look forward to meeting them."

"Mom, it's happening again," Shayu said, gazing out the window of the small apartment with wide eyes. The dust cloud from the collapsed walls had grown so large it filled the sky, blotting out the sun to spill dark shadow across all of Ba Sing Se.

Jaya shuffled towards the window and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Come away from the window, Shayu. Everything will be fine."

"But this is just like what happened last time!" she insisted, looking back to her mother with panic brimming in her eyes. "What if we lose our home again? What if we're back out on the streets?"

"That won't happen," her mother assured, giving the girl a gentle kiss on top of her head. "We'll be okay, I promise you. Your sister too, you'll see."

A knock at the front door drew Shayu's attention away from the window. "That has to be her!" Her heart raced as she ran across the apartment and threw the door open. "Yula! You're—oh." The person on the other side of the door wasn't her sister at all. The girl was younger than her sister, perhaps around the same age as Shayu herself. "Can I help you?"

"Possibly," the girl replied. "You have a sister named Yula, is that correct?"

"Yes." Shayu's heart lurched. "Oh spirits, is something wrong?"

"Well, I'm afraid there was an attack on the state house earlier today."

Shayu's eyes widened. She squealed a frightened gasp, hands coming to her mouth. "What? But Yula was there!"

Jaya hurried to the door, joining her daughter. "What happened? Is Yula okay?"

"Oh, she's fine, no need to worry," the girl said, with a simple wave of her hand. "But there are some other concerning things I should speak with you about."

"Yes, yes of course, please come in," Jaya said, ushering the girl inside. "What's your name?"

"My name?" The girl made her way inside and closed the door behind her. Her gaze shifted around the apartment briefly, before settling on the mother and daughter. A large smile curled across her face. "You can call me Aoi."