Chapter 15

Korra has a tiny smile on her face as she watches her girlfriend giggled at one of her stories. Huh, girlfriend? That word seemed so foreign to her before. She didn't think that word could roll off her tongue so easily. It felt right to say it. Her whole body felt warm and fuzzy, like a cloud floating passed the Sun on a spring day thinking about the person who proudly has that title. It was crazy to think that only a couple of years ago she thought Mako was the one.

"The whole kitchen?" Kuvira asked for clarification.

"Yup, the whole kitchen."

Kuvira snorted a short laugh, shaking her head in amusement before sipping her tea. "At least we know who is going to be the chef in the relationship."

The Avatar was about to refute that statement but held her tongue. It has been awhile since she last cooked, and she kind of botched that meal as well. She really doesn't want to test fate again. And besides, she wouldn't mind partaking in her girlfriend's homemade dishes.

They continued with their idle chit chat, passing time as they traveled to Republic City. Truly getting to know one another, and finally being able to answer those questions that her mother bombarded her with years ago. Korra was quite pleased with the down time they were having. From her past experience, usually something goes wrong by now.

Suddenly the airship rocked violently, causing Kuvira to drop her tea and her almost falling on the floor.

It seemed she spoke too soon.

Once the shaking ceased, they jumped to their feet and raced to the cockpit. Korra was the first to arrive, noticing the frustrated expression on their pilot's face.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"It's Baatar's army." Chen huffed, annoyed about their enemy's interference. "Here, listen."

He reached over to his right and turned the volume of the radio all the way up. "I repeat, that was your last and only warning. This is restricted air space. Turn around now, or you will be shot down."

"That put a damper on our plans." Kuvira remarked before looking at Korra. "What should we do?"

"I can outrun them ma'am. I put a lot of heart in this beauty."

She shook her head. "Even if you could outrun them; we're a huge target for them to easily bring us down. We need to react quickly. If they haven't already, they will alert others in the vicinity about us. Baatar will know we are coming."

Korra clicked her tongue in aggravation. She knew the metalbender was right. Even if on the off chance they could outmaneuver their attacks, others like them would be vigilant about their airship. Maybe going as far as sending bi-planes to take them down if they so desire.

Chewing on her thumbnail, she gauged her options. She could either keep on their track and hoped they wouldn't get shot down, risking Baatar being informed of their whereabouts, or turn around and double back on foot, possibly being too late for the oncoming conflict between the two nations. Both have terrible end results for her and Kuvira.

"Korra, do you have any ideas?"

With a heavy sigh, she gazed out the window one last time before casting her decision. She made sure to savor the beautiful landscape just in case they do get shot down. Based on the tabs she kept on Baatar's army, she was surprised they didn't even touch the majestic large lake that was off in the distance as a means for production. Wait, lake?

Korra blinked once, and then twice at the crazy thought that ran through her mind. An almost certainly suicidal thought mind you, but one that may be advantageous in her situation.

She turned to her left and faced her partner. "Vira, can you swim?"

"Yes, why?" She asked with a confused expression.

The only reply the metalbender got was a playful, almost too playful of a smile from the Avatar.

You know, now that she was actually here, she was starting to get second thoughts about her plan.

"You sure you had done this before?"

"Yeah, plenty of times back on Air Temple Island." A nervous chuckle escaped Korra's lips. "Just not this high up before." She mumbled.

The young woman squinted her eyes as they were pelted with heavy winds. She placed a hand on the bulkhead to steady herself. Her eyes zoomed in on her target; the lake. If all ends well, they would just be a little wet. If not, then well, at least she doesn't have to worry about the Earth Kingdom anymore.

She swallowed her nerves down. "You ready?" She asked as she got a better grip of Kuvira's rear.

"No." The metalbender simply answered as she tightened her hold around her girlfriend's chest by locking her arms together, and her waist with her legs.

"Yeah, me neither." If only Chen hadn't forgotten to store parachutes before they left.

"Remember, hold on tight."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Releasing a breath that she did not realize she was holding, she jumped out of the airship. She was immediately welcomed with the sound of Kuvira screaming in her ear. Or was it her own screams of terror that she was hearing? Probably both of them knowing they could die if she messed up in the slightest.

Speaking of that, they were falling at a faster rate than she had anticipated. Korra spread her arms and legs wide to somewhat slow their descent and to help her guide themselves to their goal. Sucking in a huge amount of air through her nose, she then blew out a gust of wind through her mouth, greatly slowing their fall. She repeated the action until she became light headed.

With only a few hundred meters left between them and a painful entry to the lake, she started to animatedly move her arms in a circular motion. She increased her tempo when seeing no effects of her waterbending.

"Come on, come on, come on." She muttered to herself.

A hint of a smile appeared as the water started moving towards them. A tendril of water greeted the duo, followed by many more soon after.

"Hold your breath Vira!" She yelled as the tendrils started covering them both.

Like a rock being dumped in a puddle, a gigantic splash occurred soon as they entered the lake. The refreshing cold water engulfing the two soothed Korra's adrenaline pumping hearts.

Feeling her girlfriend's grip loosen, she quickly wrapped an arm around Kuvira's waist and she struck her hand down, propelling them both out of the lake and onto solid ground. As soon as they reached land, Kuvira started coughing and gasping for air. She tried to ease the process by rubbing her back.

"Never…never again." She breathed, calming down from her coughing fit.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Korra joked with a cheeky grin.

"Me almost drowning said differently." With a grunt, she stood up.

Korra chuckled at her response. She made a mental note not to go to the beach with her anytime soon. Kuvira placed a hand in front of her. She accepted and was helped to her feet. With graceful movements of her hand, Korra bent the water out of their clothes, leaving them as dry as before they jumped.

"We should start moving. I'm sure they had spotted us exiting the airship."

Korra nodded in agreement. They do not dare to underestimate their foes. The only reason she suggested the ridiculous plan was because she didn't want Chen getting caught in the crossfire. She surveyed the area, remembering what direction they needed to travel to reach Republic City. Now that they were on foot again, it should take an estimate of half a day to reach their destination. Less, if they booked with no rest, but that foolish of them to do so. They needed to be well rested for the conflict that would surely ensue with their interference.

"There." Korra pointed east. "If we keep straight, and avoid any of Baatar's soldiers, we should be good."

"Then let's hurry. We must stop Baatar." Kuvira started lightly jogging eastward with Korra following closely behind.

Korra cursed under her breath as she tripped over a fallen branch. She caught herself with ease; no way would a simple branch take her out after everything she'd been through.

Kuvira paused in her step, having heard her stumbling. She craned her head over her shoulder to inspect her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." That being said, Kuvira and her were going too fast of a pace. She knew they needed to be quick or risk being found by Baatar's soldiers, but they needed to slow down. "Vira we should rest for a few. We're going to exhaust ourselves if we keep this rate."

"I…" She let out a defeated huff. "You're right, sorry. Let's find a place; we shouldn't be out in the open just in case."

Korra agreed with her statement and they searched for a suitable resting area. After a couple of minutes, they found a nice plot of land surrounded by tall thick oak trees and shrubbery. She plopped down on the ground with a huff, and then proceeded to take her shoes off. Now they have a moment to rest, she could feel the aching feet of hers. Massaging them with her calloused hands, she let out a tired groan.

"Here, let me." Kuvira waddled over to her.

"It's fine Vira, really. I –eep!"

Kuvira snatched her feet out of her hands and started massaging them. She tried to stop her from continuing but was shut up by a pointed glare from the metalbender. Her shoulders sagged, feeling the tension being lifted away as Kuvira worked her magic. Before she even realized it, a content moan left her lips. She immediately sat up straight, her cheeks were beet red. She wondered what the chances that Kvuria didn't hear her moan was.

"Enjoying yourself, I hear." She heard the playful tone in her words.

Korra wished she had died from the fall now. Anything would be better than this embarrassment. Her girlfriend seemed to adore her embarrassing expression based on the teasing smirk she has on.

"I guess I should've warned you, I was told I have magic fingers." She proved the point by applying pressure causing an even louder moan from the Avatar.

"P-please stop." She was going to faint from embarrassment if she continued for a second longer.

Her smirk turned almost predatorily with the Avatar's begging. "Hmmm, I don't know." She started going between her toes making Korra squirm from her touch. "I kind of like the look you're wearing."

Korra bit her bottom lip to stifle another moan that wanted to escape. She didn't picture the metalbender being the teasing type.

"Aaaaand I think that's enough for now." Kuvira gave her a knowing look. "Feel better?"

Feel better? Spirits she felt bloody amazing. Korra covered her face in shame; it's even redder than before. She doesn't know what's even more embarrassing, the fact that she moaned twice during a simple foot massage, or that she wanted her rough hands to explore more of her body. It has not even been a day into their relationship and Kuvira has already laid her hooks in her.

"I'll take the silence as a yes." She quipped with a chuckle.

Korra dropped her hands, a pouting at the teasing woman. "I hate you."

"Oh, well, that's disappointing, since I quite fancy you Korra."

She avoided looking at the metalbender. She knew she had her cheshire like grin donned, pleased to see how she could make her heart skip a beat. "I really hate you." With a couple of breaths to steady her racing heart, she faced her girlfriend. "Can we talk about something else instead?"

"Good idea, and I was about to suggest the same." Her playful demeanor vanished in an instant, replacing it with deadly seriousness. "What's our plan once we reach Republic City?"

Korra was caught off guard from the sudden mood change, but was able to cover her shock with her usual go-easy expression. "Simple. We go in, find President Raiko, then stop Baatar together."

"Korra, be serious."

She rolled her eyes. She was just playing. She wasn't the same gung-ho girl from before who wanted to solve all her problems with bending. "I'm just over simplifying it. Once we reach Republic City, we try to make contact with the United Forces. They should already be deployed in the area. They would give us the means to contact President Raiko, and then from there we can plan out how to stop Baatar."

Kuvira nodded in approving manner of her answer. "What if we are too late?"

"Planned mostly stick the same, just we are not going out of our way to contact Raiko. We are going to mount a counterattack and strike Baatar."

"…I see." She stared at the ground.

Korra noticed the sullen look she has. "What's wrong?"

She was quiet for a second before looking up at Korra again. "What about afterwards? What will happen to my nation if we succeed in stopping Baatar?"

"Well first, there's no if. We are going to stop him." She promised with a confident smile. "Second, I'm not really sure what would happen to the Earth Kingdom. I'm sure the other world leaders would put the crowned prince in charge."

She noticed the disgusted look she has at the mention of the Earth Kingdom's royal line. "I thought as much." She spat angrily.

Korra knew how much the Earth Kingdom meant to her. How could she not base on how they arrived at this very moment? No doubt she was infuriated with the idea of having someone who didn't lift a single finger to help their anarchy ridden nation become leader.

"What would you do?"

"Excuse me?"

The corner of her lips curved slightly upward. "I asked, what would you do? If you were in the position of President Raiko or Fire Lord Izumi, what would you do with the Earth Kingdom?"

Kuvira cupped her chin in deep thought, tapping it. She watched with great curiosity as the metalbender pondered her question. After everything she saw and done, Korra was mildly curious about her input. She was sure her thoughts would be quite valid, and if it was better than what the other world leaders may have planned, she would make sure to toss Kuvira's idea to them.

"I…I want the Earth Empire to st-"

"F-freeze Avatar!"

Korra and Kuvira jumped to their feet, ready to defend themselves as two individuals from Baatar's army came bursting out of the woods. They were a peculiar pair to say the least. Both were men around the same height but opposite builds. One was more physically fit than the other, with the latter being a more rounded fellow and having a thick curly moustache.

Though the soldiers have their guard up, Korra could see their hesitation in their faces, especially from the skinny one, who was sweating slightly. If his body language wasn't telling any lies, then she would guess it was because of nerves or fright. They were about to go toe-to-toe with the Avatar and a master metalbender after all, so it was quite warranted to be scared.

The skinnier of the two, squinted his eyes at Kuvira. His eyes became wide as saucers, his skin suddenly turned sickly pale. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"G-G-Great Uniter?" He stammered.

Korra was mildly shocked from the soldier recognizing her lover. She looked completely different from how she was in the army, with her shorter hair, water tribe clothing, and having a bit less meat on her bones.

"Yes, I am." Kuvira confirmed his suspicions. "I'm here with the Avatar to stop the upcoming battle."

"What? But why? General Baatar-"

"Don't listen to her Pao." The rounded individual warned, his knees shaking from fright. "She's obviously not Kuvira. She would never stand in the way of the unification of the Earth Empire." He got into a simple earthbending stance.

Korra quickly got into a fighting stance of her own, preparing for a brawl. "She is Kuvira, and we have to stop Baatar before it is too late. We do not want to fight, but we will if we must."

Kuvira slid her right leg back and brought both her hands up in front of herself, the back of them facing her opponents. "I will do as I must for my nation, even if it means fighting against my own men."

Pao eyes widened momentarily as if he recognized Kuvira's stance. Korra knew it was a stance rarely used by earthbenders due to the user having to wait and react to their foes attacks. Toph Beifong was the infamous user of such a form that made it more widely known. She was not surprised in the slightest by the fact Kuvira used the challenging stance due to her time with the Beifongs.

That look of surprise on the young soldier was quickly washed away; an expression of unwavering resolve surfaced and took its place. He went into a horse stance, his arms protecting his body and ready to strike against them.

Korra and Kuvira glance at one another from the corner of their eyes. It was only a glimpse but it was enough for both of them to formulate a plan. She would strike out with a stream of fire to distract them from Kuvira ushering in a cloud of dust to blind them. From there, they should be easy pickings.

The four inched towards each other. The only sound one could hear was the calls of nature around them. Korra smirked at how her opponent's brave facade was diminishing. She lunged forward, ready to send a fiery stream at them but stopped once she saw Pao turning to his partner.

Pao swiftly brought his hands up, causing rocks to protrude out from underneath his partner's feet. Stones surround the rounded individual hands and feet, leaving only his head locked in place. He relaxed his stance and faced the two.

"What are you doing Pao?!" He demanded an answer as he tried wiggling his way out.

"What is right Gao."

He graced Kuvira with a crisp salute. "Ma'am, there's not much time. We were told to investigate the area by our commander for he spotted you two jumping out. He sent twenty others to look for you two. You must hurry and evacuate the area."

Korra briefly looked at Kuvira with raised brow before gazing upon the soldier, their guards relaxed. "Why are you helping us?"

"I realized you were telling the truth ma'am. Your, uh stance gave it away." He chuckled nervously. "I learned that only the Beifong were known to use that form. I put one and one together." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I never thought I would be talking to you, ma'am."

"Kuvira. Please call me Kuvira." She said with a smile.

His face beamed like a child experiencing the Spirits' Friendship Festival for the first time. "Kuvira..." He whispered, testing the waters before shaking himself out of his fanboy mode. "Kuvira, you must go. I can inform my squad you are heading in a different direction."

"He's right." Korra agreed, grabbing onto her girlfriend's hand, urging her to hurry. "Thank you Pao."

"Of course, Avatar Korra." His face turned sullen. "Now go."

Pao watched as they both sprint away. He walked to Gao, his head down in shame for betraying him. "I'm sorry brother."

"...was that really Kuvira?"

He looked up in his eyes, not even seeing a trace of hatred or betrayal in them. "Yes, it was."

"I see." Gao smiled at his younger brother, proud of what he has done. "Then you made the right choice."

"Thank you, Gao. Now, let's get you out of there."

Author's Note: Surprise update. Today is my birthday so I decided to upload this chapter as thanks for following this fic. Original this chapter was going be way longer, including the next chapter along with it but I relaized it was getting tiring to read all of it so I split it into two. Pao and Gao are the two soldiers who captured Ikki in season four, though I don't think I did a good job in capturing their personailties from the show. The next update is still slated for the 7th of November.

Till Next Time