Lin stared down at the map of Republic City with a heavy sigh. Another day, another pile of problems that weren't going away. She and the others needed to come up with a plan that actually worked, before things spiraled too far out of control. Or at least, further out of control than they already had.
"Alright, let's go over what we're dealing with here," she said, glancing up at the others around the table. "Things have only gotten worse since earlier this week."
Mako, Bolin, Kya, and Tenzin looked back at her, each of them standing around the table. Several of her more trusted officers had joined them. For now, they had been using Air Temple Island for their base of operations. With the turmoil that had taken over the city, the island was currently the safest place to be.
"What? Worse?" Bolin uttered a groan of disbelief. "Man, how is that even possible?"
Lin pointed down at the map. "The Triple Threats have expanded the most since the president was killed. After the prison let out, their numbers nearly doubled. They've spread out from Downtown into Dragon Flats, and they're currently fighting with the Red Monsoons over the industrial sector."
"Meanwhile, the Terras and the Agni Kais have actually merged together," Mako said. "They're calling themselves the Terra Kais now, and they control everything from the city's port over to Kyoshi bridge."
"We've been trying to stop as many of them as we can, but there's too many." Lin breathed deep, pinching the bridge of her nose. She really should get more sleep at some point, but there was too much to do right now. Sleep could wait. "The police force only has so many officers, and those numbers are falling every day with more injured. We're spread way too thin to have much of an effect, even with the squads General Iroh sent us." She pulled her hand down and leaned against the table. "That Red Lotus attack was everything the triads needed to become emboldened. They're not hiding from the police anymore. They're attacking and controlling."
Kya moved next to her, offering a comforting touch to her shoulder. "How are evacuations going?"
"We've managed to evacuate roughly half the neighborhoods unaffected by the conflict so far." Lin raised her own hand to join Kya's on her shoulder. The touch tightened, and their fingers locked together. "The others are more difficult since they're in the middle of triad turf wars, but we're doing the best we can."
"My airbenders and I can continue our efforts in locking down various neighborhoods long enough to get civilians to safety," said Tenzin. "If we concentrate our efforts on a single block at a time, we should be able to make some progress. It's certainly not an efficient method, but we don't have many options."
"Especially with most of the United Forces already in Ba Sing Se," Mako added. "We don't have any backup coming."
Bolin eased out a long sigh. "Things aren't really looking good here, are they?"
Mako gave a slow nod of agreement. "We need help, and we need it soon."
"Everyone!" The door burst open. Opal raced inside, beaming with an excited smile. "They're back!"
"What?" Lin lifted an eyebrow at her. "Who's back?"
"Korra and the others!" Opal exclaimed. "Their airship is coming in now!"
Renewed life lifted in the eyes of everyone in the room. What had been dour and dismay brightened, replaced with a surge of hope.
"If they landed at the police force airfield, they're right in the middle of Triple Threat territory," Lin stated, already marching towards the door. "We'd better meet them there with an escort. Everyone, let's move!"
Korra made her way down the airship ramp with Kuvira at her side. Toph and Bumi followed close behind, all four making marching down to the landing zone where their escort waited. Lin, Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, Opal, and an entire squad of police officers stood at the ready to greet them. Bolin broke away from the group first, running towards the others with a laugh.
"Ha, Korra!" He lunged at her and pulled her in for a hug. "You're back!"
"Well, it's good to see you, too," she replied, with a soft laugh of her own.
Mako approached, offering a warm smile. "It's great to see you're all okay. I'm sorry I couldn't go with you."
"It's alright, really." Korra turned to him and pulled him in for a brief hug as well. "I know you've had your hands full here."
"Please tell me this means what I think it means," said Lin. Her eyes glimmered, eager and hopeful, anticipating the only possible good news that could have come with their return.
"You're darn straight it does!" Toph announced. "We kicked Zaheer's behind and took down the Red Lotus for good!"
Opal's eyes widened, flooding with relief. "You guys actually did it. I knew you could."
Lin breathed in deep and let it out slowly to compose herself. Still, she couldn't hide the growing satisfaction in her smirk. "Excellent work, everyone. In that case, let's get Zaheer into custody and lock him up, for good this time."
"Um..." Bumi cleared his throat, while giving an awkward glance over to Bum-Ju on his shoulder. "That might be a little difficult."
Lin's gaze narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, thing is, we don't actually have him with us," Korra said.
"What?" Tenzin approached, eyes flickering with concern. "Why not? Where is he?"
"And where's Anraq?" Kya asked. She looked towards the gangway, as if expecting someone else to exit the airship. "And Yula?"
Kuvira looked between the two groups, heaving a deep sigh. "A lot happened up at the North Pole. We should explain."
Anraq leaned against the railing of the airship's viewing deck, staring out at the world below. They were over the ocean again, now well on their way to the Fire Nation. Once Yula's family was set up in the royal palace, they'd be heading back to raid the Red Lotus bases. Such a simple objective on the surface, but then nothing was ever simple with Azula.
"Hey." Yula arrived next to him, resting her arms against the railing. "The captain said you wanted to talk to me?"
"Yeah, I did." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were alone. No one else on the viewing deck. Good. Focusing his attention on Yula, he continued, "I just wanted to know how you were doing?"
"Oh." Yula raised her brow, as if surprised at the question. "I'm doing great. Perfect, even. After what happened in Ba Sing Se, I thought my family was dead. Now, I have them back." She leaned closer against the railing and looked out at the ocean, a faint smile curling across her face. "I never actually thought I'd see them again. I'm happy. So, so happy."
Anraq shifted, returning his own gaze to the ocean. "You do remember that Azula is the one who took them in the first place, and made you think they were dead, right?"
"Yeah, I remember." Yula sighed, bowing her head. "And I won't forget it, either."
"So why are you still with her? You have your family back. You could just leave."
"Because I'm also trying to move past it." Yula eased a deep breath, shifting her focus towards Anraq. "Look, I know what Azula did was horrible, and I'm still angry about it, but we were enemies. That's what enemies do to each other: horrible things. But we're not enemies anymore. She's my teacher, and I really am learning a lot from her."
Yula's eyes softened, and her smile grew. "Plus, she's giving my family a better life. For most of our lives, we've had to struggle just to scrape by. Even when our lives were finally in order, Ba Sing Se fell apart again and we lost everything. If I stay with Azula, I don't have to worry about that anymore. We'll have a good life in the Fire Nation. That's more than I ever dreamed of."
Anraq looked back at her, twisting his brow in confusion. "Yula, you can't be serious. I mean, alright, I can understand wanting to give your family a better life, but don't you see how Azula is taking advantage of you? How she's changing you? That whole thing at the town was all part of her plan to see how far she could push you. She's trying to force you into becoming sometime you're not. Becoming like her."
"Yeah, I know."
"You... what?"
Yula leaned backwards, hands holding onto the railing. "I know I might be shy and a little timid sometimes, Anraq, but I'm not stupid. I'm actually quite smart. That's how I got my position as Secretary Guan's assistant. I figured out Azula's motives shortly after I met with my family. It wasn't that difficult to put together the pieces." She pulled herself inward again, elbows propped against the railing. "And I know she's trying to harden me, and mold me. Why wouldn't she? I'm her student. Honestly, maybe I do need an edge. I've always been so afraid to stand up for myself and go after what I want. I don't want to be that way forever. I don't want to be a pushover. I want to be strong."
Anraq balked, mind racing to process what she was telling him. "But Yula, you tortured a man. Azula tried to make you kill him."
"I know. I went too far. I'm not ready for those kinds of methods." Yula shuddered, deepening a frown across her face. "I'm going to do this at my own pace, not any faster. If I am ever ready to step up like that, and do what I need to when the moment calls for it, it'll be because I decide I am, not because Azula wants me to be. She's not going to force me into it, either. You were there, remember? We talked her down."
Anraq frowned, lowering his gaze to the ocean. "Well, yeah, but I don't think..."
"Azula is a cruel, manipulative, unforgiving person," Yula insisted. Her eyes sharpened, stern and fierce. "I know that. We all know that. By any account, she's horrible." Her expression gently relaxed, as she eased a deep breath. "But I don't think she's evil, like we keep imagining her to be. I think there's something more to her. For me, I think that's worth seeing through."
"Maybe..." Anraq drifted off into his own thoughts. Maybe Yula was right. As cruel as Azula was, as vicious, and manipulative, and downright terrible, he had seen flashes of something else in her. Something hidden deep, something painful. "It's just so easy to hate her, with everything she does."
"Yeah, I know. Believe me."
"So, you're really okay with all this?" he asked, looking squarely into her eyes. "Everything she's putting you through?"
"At the very least, I can endure it. I appreciate you looking out for me, Anraq, I do. That's why I wanted you to come with me. But I think I'll be okay, really." Yula offered a gentle smile, and brought her hand to his shoulder. "I know you don't want to be here. If you want to go, you should go. Azula might not want to let you, but I can probably talk her into it."
Anraq looked away, tapping his fingers against the railing in rapid succession. "No, I think I'll stay."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's like you said: there might be something more to her, and it's worth figuring out."
Especially if that meant coming up with a way to stop her.
Lin rubbed her eyes, doing her best to wrap her head around the information they'd just received. Kuvira hadn't been lying when she said a lot had happened at the North Pole. "Okay, that's a lot to take in."
"Yeah, I'm not even sure I got it all." Mako said, with a confused grimace. "At least the rest of you were there during the first half of the mission. I don't have any idea what to make of it."
"Weeell..." Bolin took in a deep breath, preparing a long-winded explanation. "It sounded to me like that crazy Red Lotus lightning girl really turned out to be Lord Zuko's long lost sister, Azula, who's somehow still as young as she was eighty years ago. She challenged Fire Lord Izumi to an Agni Kai and won, so now she's the Fire Lord, and then she went up to the North Pole to help stop Zaheer, where she somehow convinced Yula to become her student. So theeen, after they beat Zaheer, Azula made a deal to send her military to Ba Sing Se in exchange for taking Zaheer as a prisoner, and Anraq decided to go with them for some reason before they left, so that's why they're gone and we don't have Zaheer." He paused, sucking in another breath before adding, "Oh, and that Uhara guy who Lin picked as her replacement Chief of Police turned out to be a Red Lotus sleeper agent, and he's the one who killed the president. Did I miss anything?"
Korra blinked at him. "Uh, no, I think you got everything there."
"Oh man, my brain hurts now," he muttered, holding a hand to the top of his head.
"Why don't you take it easy, Bolin?" Opal rubbed his shoulder and pulled him away. Never a good idea to let him think too hard like that.
Lin held a hand to her chin. "Well, I suppose as long as Zaheer is locked up somewhere, it doesn't matter. I'm more concerned about this new Fire Lord."
"Yes, I heard stories about Azula when I was growing up," said Tenzin, stroking a hand through his beard. "I can't imagine she's any better now."
Toph scoffed. "Please, I knew Azula back then. If anything, she's worse now."
"We're all worried, believe me," Korra insisted. "But until we figure out what to do about her, we have to play along. She is the Fire Lord."
Lin nodded. "I agree. We have more important things to take care of right now, like getting Republic City back in order. We should get a move on and come up with a plan, now that we're all together. Having the Avatar back can only help us."
"Wait, hold on." As the group turned to leave, Kuvira stepped next to Lin. "You can take me back into custody now. I'm ready."
"Kuvira, I'm not sure now is the time," Lin said, with a curious glance. "We could use all the help we can get right now."
"Lin, you don't need to go easy on me, or protect me," she said, with a simple shake of her head. "I'm not going to run from my responsibility. The agreement was that I'd receive parole until we took down Zaheer. Well, we took him down. It's time for me to continue my sentence."
The entire group went silent, all eyes on Kuvira. Lin shifted her gaze around the room, as if looking to them for help. No one voiced any additional suggestions.
"Well, alright, if that's how you feel." With a brief sigh, she motioned to several of her officers. "Take her into custody."
Kuvira made no resistance as the officers came forward and placed a pair of platinum cuffs around her wrists. She glanced down at the cuffs, and forced herself not to smile. "I'd suggest a wooden cell, though. I can bend platinum now."
Lin's brow slowly lifted. "Right..."
"It'll be okay, Kuvira." Korra moved next to her, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. "Once everything is sorted out, I'll talk to the world leaders about your sentence. I promise."
Kuvira smiled. "I know. Thank you."
Korra returned the smile and leaned close, planting her lips firmly against Kuvira's. No point worrying about the reaction they were about to receive. After all, people would find out eventually. Might as well be now. Toph and Bumi already knew, of course. The others recoiled, staring at the two women completely dumbstruck. Tenzin especially looked paralyzed in his shock, jaw hanging open.
"Alright, take me away," Kuvira said.
Lin shifted a confused stare between her and Korra. When she finally managed to snap to her senses, she motioned to her officers to lead Kuvira away. "Right, okay then.
When Kuvira was gone, Bolin crept forward with a puzzled stare, eyebrows lifted high. "Uhhhh, Korra? What was that?"
"Are you two...? You and Kuvira?" Mako sputtered, barely able to force out his words. "I mean, you just—what?"
Opal, at least, managed to put together sensible thoughts. "Korra, what happened with Asami?"
"Wait, she didn't say anything?" Korra asked.
Kya answered with a slow, steady shake of her head. "She definitely didn't mention anything that would have made us see that one coming. What on earth is going on?"
"It's a long story." Korra uttered a frustrated groan, holding a palm against her forehead. "I promise I'll explain later. Right now, I really need to see Asami. Do you know where she is?"
"Uh, yeah, try her office," Mako said, still staring with his mouth partially agape. "She's been spending most of her time there lately."
"Thanks." Korra gave them a parting wave and ran off across the airfield. "I'll catch up with you guys later!"
Korra stood frozen outside the door to Asami's office, at the top floor of Future Industries Tower. Oh dear spirits, why couldn't she move? She'd come all this way to see her. She had to talk to her. Just take a step forward and open the door already. No use. Her nerves pulsed, wrapping tight coils around her legs to root her in place. Her mind raced with other thoughts. Insignificant thoughts, like 'why would Asami be up in her office, when the tower wasn't even operating?' In fact, most businesses were closed with the chaos running rampant throughout the city. The streets were dangerous, people had been evacuated, and the various triads controlled more than half the city. No one was getting any business done like that.
"Stupid, stupid," she muttered. Stop delaying with pointless thoughts like that. Just open the damn door already and go inside.
Several minutes later, she finally worked up the courage. She sucked in a deep breath, slowly eased it out her nose, and relaxed her nerves. Alright. Time to face the music. Easing the door open, Korra slowly poked her head inside the grand office beyond. The room was enormous, more like a small meeting hall than a personal office, nearly thirty feet across from the door to the far wall, where tall, arching windows overlooked all of Republic City. Asami sat hunched over her desk, pouring over various sheets of paper, so focused on her work she hadn't even noticed the door open.
Korra cleared her throat to announce her presence. "Asami?"
Asami stiffened in her seat, snapping a look towards the door. When she noticed who it was, she fell back against her chair and relaxed. "Oh, hey. You're back."
"Yeah, I'm back. Can I come in?"
"Uh, sure," Asami said, as she began straightening out the papers on her desk into neater piles. "Of course."
Korra slipped inside and gently closed the door behind her. She stood still briefly, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. With another deep breath, she approached the desk and sat on the sofa in front of it. "We stopped Zaheer."
"Oh, that's great." Asami visibly brightened at the news, but the moment was fleeting. Taking down the Red Lotus should have been cause for celebration, and yet any excitement she gleaned from the news disappeared soon after. Awkwardness lingered between them, thick and heavy in the air. "Really, really great."
"So, um, what are you doing?"
Asami sighed, gesturing to the stacks of paper on her desk. "I'm just going over plans for the city. Things that will have to be fixed after this mess is sorted out, repairs that need to be made, the election we'll have to have for the next president... You know, boring stuff."
"Ah, right." Korra bowed her head and went silent. Her nerves burned, churning dread in her gut. She tightened her fingers against the fabric of her pants and breathed deep, fighting against that dread. When she finally began to settle down, she looked up again. "Asami, I'm sorry. For what happened, for how things went between us... I never meant for any of that to happen."
"I know." Asami stared down at her papers with a deep sigh. "I might have overreacted, too. I was upset, and afraid, and I didn't know what to do. I don't know, I thought that was the best way to handle things at the time. Those things I said—I didn't mean them."
"No, I think you did."
"Korra—"
"It's okay, really. I get it. I lied to you, and I hurt you, just like I always said I wouldn't. But more than that, you were right." Korra closed her eyes, tilting her head down again. "About Kuvira. I realized that over the past couple weeks. I do care about her, and I do have feelings for her."
"Oh. I see." Asami stiffened again, fingers clenching together against her palms. She swallowed, easing out a deep breath in attempts to remain calm. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, I decided to let it play out," she said. "To explore those feelings, and see how it goes."
Asami's recoiled, eyes widening. "Wait, you mean you're—with Kuvira? You two are...?"
"Yeah," Korra said, with a slow nod. "We are."
"Korra, I said I wanted to take a break, not..." Asami's expression flickered, warping with shock. Anger followed. Her gaze narrowed. Not enough to hide the pain, the hurt, quivering in her eyes right beneath that anger. "I didn't want to break up. I wasn't... and now you and Kuvira are together?"
Korra froze, a cold knot sinking into her chest. "Wait, but you said—"
"That we needed some space to think! Not that I wanted to end things. Not that I wanted you to go jumping into another woman's arms as soon as I left!"
"It—It wasn't as soon as you left," she uttered, her mind still half-paralyzed in confusion. She'd been so sure Asami had broken up with her that night. So convinced things were over between them. Had she been wrong? "Asami, I spent a lot of time thinking about this. About you, about Kuvira, about how things went between us. You can't really think that I seduced Kuvira as soon as you were gone."
"How much time did you really spend, Korra? It's only been a couple weeks. That's a little quick, don't you think?"
"Asami, I—"
"So what exactly went through your mind?" Asami bolted to her feet, hands planted flat against her desk. "You break up with your girlfriend of five years, so you replace her the first chance you get? Did I mean that little to you?"
"Of course not!" Korra stood up to match her. Heat burned into her face, sizzling away any lingering confusion. Now was her turn to rant, to open up, to defend herself. Her turn to be angry. "Asami, you mean more to me than my own life! That's never going to change, no matter what happens between us. But you left, Asami. I needed you, and you left me. You think that didn't hurt? Because it did. I was shot with lightning, and that didn't hurt half as much as you leaving! Instead of staying to work things out, you ran away and let me ache!" She swallowed down a growing knot in her throat. Tears misted at the corners of her eyes, but she swiftly wiped them dry. "I was angry, broken, I could barely sleep. After everything we'd been through together, I thought... I thought you didn't care anymore."
"Korra, of course I still cared," Asami shot back. "I'll always care about you. I love you!"
"Well what was I supposed to think? You were gone! I was in pain, and you weren't there!" Korra quivered out a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Her arms trembled, shaking at her sides. "But you know who was there? Kuvira. I needed someone to help me, I needed someone to cry on, someone to support me, and tell me things would be alright, and she was there. After I came to terms with my feelings about her, is it really that surprising we started something together? I thought you'd ended things with me, what was I supposed to do?"
"You could have waited! I was still here. I just wanted you to sort out your thoughts, Korra, I didn't..." Asami paced out from behind her desk, fingers raking through her hair. "I didn't mean for you to get involved with my father's killer!"
Her anger jolted, sharper than before. Korra slammed her fist down on the desk cracking the wood on impact. Words poured from her lips without thought, without restraint. "Stop saying that like she's some heartless murderer! Yes, she's made mistakes. So many mistakes. No one knows that more than her, and no one thinks she deserves to suffer more than she does. There isn't any horrible thought anyone's had about Kuvira that she hasn't already thought about herself, and she has tried so hard to make up for the things she's done, to be better. She's not that person anymore."
"I know!" Asami whirled around, wet makeup streaking down her cheeks. She exhaled a shuddering breath, but it did little to calm her. Her voice faltered, cracking with barely repressed sobs threatening to burst from her throat. "I know, and that's hard enough for me come to terms with. I keep trying to hate her, to be angry with her, but it gets harder every day. I'm more upset now over her feelings for you than anything she did in the past, even to my dad. How pathetic is that?"
Asami held a hand to her face and sank back into her seat. She sat there, shoulders slouched, tears steadily building in her eyes. Her makeup ran further, dark lavender lines staining her face. She went quiet, aside from the gentle sobs she failed to hold down. Korra watched her. Her own anger evaporated, swiftly warping with knotted grief.
"It's not pathetic." Korra reached out across the desk. She hesitated, before gently placing her hand atop Asami's. "It just means you're healing. Moving on."
Asami took a deep breath. Her fingers tightened around Korra's, desperate for any sense of comfort and familiarity. Lowering her other hand from her face, she looked up at Korra and let out her breath. "Look, I get she's different now. I get that she's changed, but that doesn't suddenly make it easy to think of you two together. I never wanted to lose you, Korra. I... I still love you."
Korra heaved a deep sigh, falling back into her seat in front of the desk. "What are we doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why are we fighting? I don't want this to be how things end between us. I don't want to be angry at you. I don't want this to be what destroys our relationship, whatever that happens to be."
"I know." Asami pulled her hand back, and let her gaze drift away. "Neither do I."
Korra paused, holding her arms around herself. "We really screwed things up, didn't we?"
"Yeah, we really did." Another pause, as Asami lifted her focus back to Korra. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you when you needed me. I was scared, and upset, and I made a mistake. A big mistake, and now I can't take it back."
"We both made mistakes, Asami. I should have been honest. With you, with myself..." Korra huffed, dropping her hands into her lap. "Maybe things would have gone differently. Maybe we'd still be together. I'm sorry."
"So, what now?"
"I don't know." Korra met Asami's gaze, staring deep into her eyes. Those same eyes she had once lost herself in with love, and passion, and comfort. The same eyes that now looked at her with grief and regret. "I know how hard it must be for you, and how much it probably hurts, but Kuvira and I are together. I don't know how, or even if, things will work out between us, but we're going to give it a real shot."
Asami stared back at her in silence. The grief strengthened with a renewed mist of tears. She quickly blinked them away, and closed her eyes. "Does she make you happy?"
"Does she...?" Korra blinked in surprise. Of all the things she could have expected Asami to say next, that wouldn't have been on the list. "Yeah, she does."
"That's all I want for you, Korra. To be happy."
"You made me happy, too."
"I know, but I guess that ship has sailed." Asami swallowed, dropping her face back into her hand. "Maybe things will work out better for you two than they did for us."
Korra stood up from the sofa and made her way around the desk. She stood next to Asami's chair, leaned close, and held a hand on her shoulder. "Asami, no matter what happens, I still want you in my life. I need you in my life. I don't want us to be bitter at each other, or hate each other, or anything like that. It might be difficult for a while, and take some time for things to settle between us, I know that, but can we please still be friends? You are so important to me. I don't want to lose you anymore than I already have."
Asami reached up to join her own hand with Korra's. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she managed a smile. "Of course. We'll always be friends, Korra. And I'll always love you. No matter what."
"Thank you." Korra returned the smile, and wrapped her arms tight around Asami. "I'll always love you, too."
