Kuvira stared at the other woman for what felt an eternity, stunned disbelief coiling in her core. Her heart pounded, slamming against the inside her chest like a drummer beating in frantic rhythm. The room spun, and she began to feel light headed. Her lips floundered. Words were lost to her. An absolute impossibility stood before her. Suyin Beifong, alive and well, and at least twenty years younger than before she died. If ever there were a time Kuvira was certain she had to be dreaming, this was it.

"Su, is that...?" She took a cautious step forward, as her mind raced to find the right words. "Is that really you?"

"Of course it's me," Su replied, with that signature smirk of hers. "Who else would it be? I know I look a little different, but hey, I'm not about to complain about another chance at youth."

Kuvira continued staring, and swallowed the hard knot tightening in her throat. Her gut began to churn and bubble, a maelstrom of wonder and elation mixing in noxious tandem with dreadful uncertainty. "I... I don't understand. How...?"

Su offered a simple shrug. "Who knows? Honestly, who cares? I suppose the world saw fit to give me another chance. Whatever the reason, I'm back now, and that's all that matters."

Kuvira swallowed again. The knot bounced several times in her throat before going down, raw and painful. A part of her couldn't bring herself to believe what she was seeing. Not because she didn't want to believe it. Oh spirits, did she want to believe it. No, fear was what tempered her belief. Fear that if she did believe what she was seeing, she would come to find it was a trick, or a dream she would wake up from, or perhaps some kind of hallucination. "This is impossible."

"Oh, hardly," Su countered, with a flippant wave of her hand. "The same happened with that friend of yours. What's her name? Azula? Not to mention Anraq's daughter. I don't see why you'd question it happening to me."

Kuvira paused, lifting a confused brow. "How do you know about that?"

"Just because I was dead doesn't mean I stopped paying attention to what went on in the world." Su flashed a loving smile, reaching forward to hold a gentle hand against her daughter's shoulder. "It doesn't mean I stopped watching over you."

That touch was what finally melted away Kuvira's disbelief, and allowed her to give in to the obvious reality. A quivering, sobbing breath surged out her throat as she lunged forward and pulled Su in for a tight, warm embrace, her face buried against the woman's shoulder. "I... I don't believe this."

"Well, believe it," Su said, holding her own arms around Kuvira in return. "I'm back."

Kuvira held her mother for a long while, unwilling to let go. She stood there in quiet embrace. She sobbed, her breaths choked and rasping. Suyin held her in return, fingers gently brushing through her hair while she uttered soft reassurances. Perhaps 'impossible' was no longer the correct word to use here. Miraculous. Yes, that was the right word.

"Korra..." The word hissed from Kuvira's throat in a breathless gasp, little more than a pale whisper. She pulled away and looked over her shoulder, back into the bedroom where her wife lay sound asleep in bed. "Korra!"

Suyin silenced her with a gentle finger against her lips. "Oh shush, let her sleep. How about we take a walk for now, maybe catch up? Would you like that?"

"Yes..." Kuvira wiped the corners of her eyes dry, and gave an eager nod. "Yes, I really would."


The Royal Palace dining hall had nearly emptied at this hour, long after the wedding reception. Only a handful of guests remained, some sitting and chatting in late night conversation, others stealing a last bit of wedding cake, while several overzealous drinkers had passed out with a bit too much alcohol. Anraq sat at the far end of one of the many tables, munching on the final few bites of his cake. Azula sat next to him, straight and proper as she sipped from a wine glass, while Kanna slumped against the table with her head held against her arms, exhausted and nearly asleep.

Anraq swallowed the last bite of his dessert and turned an amused glance towards his daughter. "Looks like someone got a little tuckered out."

"Nuh uh..." Kanna mumbled, as she broke out into a deep yawn. "I'm not... not tired."

Azula eased a gentle sigh, setting her now empty glass down on the table. She promptly stood up and lifted the tired girl into her arms. "Come on, sweetie, let's get you to bed."

"'Kaaay..." Kanna rested her head against her mother's shoulder, letting her eyes close.

"You two go ahead," Anraq said, as he stretched his arms up over his head. "I'll stay a while and help clean up here."

"Alright, but don't stay too long," Azula said.

He smiled, and stood up to give her a parting kiss. "I won't. See you soon."

The guest wing of the palace was only a few minutes' walk from the dining hall. When they arrived at their room, Azula made her way straight to the bed and set Kanna down on the mattress. Once the girl was in place, she retrieved the stuffed bison off the floor and placed it next to her. Kanna immediately grabbed the toy and hugged it tight against herself with a smile.

"Now, I know I should make you wash up before bed," Azula said, as she reached up to undo the half-knot in her hair. Her long dark locks spilled free down her shoulders. "But I can see how tired you are, so I suppose we can skip that for tonight. Just don't tell your father."

Kanna giggled. "'Kay."

"Now, lie down and get some sleep while Mommy changes out of this horrid dress." While the dress had been appropriate for the wedding, she had been wearing the thing all day now and needed out of it for something far more comfortable and less restricting.

Again, Kanna giggled. She slid under the covers and snuggled into the sheets, stuffed bison held close against herself . Once she was sure her daughter had settled in for bed, Azula made her way over to the dresser and slipped out of her dress. A shiver rippled up her spine as the nighttime chill seeped deeper into her body. She really wasn't fond of the Water Tribes, cold as they were. Thank the spirits they would be leaving in a short couple days.

With a tired sigh, Azula wrapped her red and gold robe around herself and tied it closed with the sash. When she looked back up into the vanity mirror, she noticed Kanna in the reflection and immediately huffed a groan. The girl had seemingly forgotten that she was supposed to be sleeping, and was instead bending a quivering ball of water above her head.

"Kanna, what did we say?" Azula folded her arms and glared at her daughter in the mirror. "No bending in the bedroom. It's time for bed."

"Sorry, Mommy..." Kanna sighed, and gently placed the liquid back inside Anraq's waterskin on the bedside table. "I just wanted to practice."

"Well, you have lessons with Avatar Korra and Master Katara in the morning. You can practice then."

"Fiiiine." With a huff, Kanna flopped back against the mattress.

"That's alright," Azula said, with a soft shake of her head. Pulling open one of the drawers on the dresser, she reached inside and pulled out her hairbrush. Once she had her hair neatened, she could get some sleep herself. As she glanced back up to the mirror, she nearly dropped the brush when she noticed another reflection standing behind her. A new reflection. A familiar reflection.

"So, you went and had yourself a waterbending brat," Ozai said, with a disgusted scoff. "How disgraceful."

Azula's fingers tightened in a death grip around the brush handle. Her hand trembled, as a dry, knotted coil tightened into the core of her throat. "No... No, this isn't possible. You shouldn't be here. You can't be here. I'm over you."

This didn't make any sense. She had been rid of her hallucinations ever since Anraq helped her through her last breakdown. Why was she seeing them again now? She had no cause to. She wasn't paranoid anymore, she no longer suffered delusions. She was happy with her life. So why had the shade of her father come to torment her again? And why did his presence cause such a shudder within her? Such a hot, violent lash of fear?

She had her answer moments later, when Kanna sat up in bed and gave a curious stare across the room. "Mommy, who's that?"

"W-what?" Azula stammered, glaring at her father's reflection with wild eyes. The fear ignited, searing through her veins with convulsive fury. "You... you can see him?"

"Of course she can," Ozai said. "You didn't think I was one of your hallucinations, did you? No, dear daughter..." The former Fire Lord stepped forward and leaned close, bringing his mouth just inches away from Azula's ear. With a sinister whisper, he added, "I'm really here."

Azula bolted away at the sound of her father's hissing tone, retreating towards the bed. She stared back at the dresser, and sheer, unrelenting terror tore through her chest like claws ripping into flesh when she saw him. Not a reflection, not a hallucination. Actually, physically there. "No, no... How?"

"What does it matter? It makes no difference." Ozai scowled at her, and took another step forward. Azula instinctively stepped back, keeping herself between him and Kanna. "What a disappointment you turned out to be, just like your brother. I raised you to be my prodigy, my legacy, and what do you do? Abandon your claim to the throne, ally yourself with the new Avatar, cavort around with some filthy, Water Tribe peasant man, and have a pitiful, worthless, waterbending child!"

The terror in her heart abruptly soured and revolted. The heat intensified, burning into something stronger than her fear. Something fierce, and feral. Anger. Hatred. Pure, seething, unrestricted rage. Confidence surged, compelling her to take a step forward towards her father, a scowl twisting across her face. "You don't talk about them that way! Say whatever you like about me, but my family is off limits to you!"

"Your family? What a disgrace! I am your family, the only family you ever needed! You served me, you lived for me. Now, you're nothing but a weak, pathetic, useless little girl!"

"Shut up!" Azula shrieked, tightening her fingers into her hair. She shook her head back and forth, as if trying to thrash away the chiding of her father's voice from her mind. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Kanna squealed out a frightened cry of her own, pressing her hands over her ears. "Stop yelling!"

"I see your mind is still as feeble as I remember it," Ozai scoffed. "What a waste of a daughter. But don't worry, I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Azula hissed out a shuddering breath and eased her eyes open. The sour taste of nauseous bile lifted into the back of her mouth, but she swallowed it down. "What are you talking about?"

"Leave this paper family of yours." Ozai's voice twisted, rising with an eager tone, almost deranged in his delivery. "Come with me, join me, and help me end these miserable fools. We'll pick up where we left off and take our rightful place as rulers of the world, together as father and daughter!"

"Mommy, what's the bad man talking about?" Kanna asked, with a frightened whimper. "He's loud, make him stop!"

Azula held a hand back to reassure the girl, all the while keeping her attention locked Ozai. "Just be quiet, Kanna. Everything will be alright, I promise."

"Such softness. Such weakness." Ozai glowered, twisting his lips into a deeper frown. "It really is unbecoming of Fire Nation royalty. You need to make a decision now, daughter. Me, your father, or them, your meaningless lie of a family."

"You don't get to force me into a decision like that," Azula shot back. "Not after everything you did to me!"

"They're a lie, Azula. Meaningless. They're nothing but a facade you hide behind, in desperate attempt to convince yourself that you can be normal."

Azula's glare intensified. Any dread she'd once felt had long since evaporated, replaced by unyielding resilience. "You abused me. You used me. My whole life, I was just a tool to you, nothing more."

Ozai ignored her and continued his rebuke. "You can't ever be normal. You can't hide from what you are: cruel, heartless, manipulative, merciless. You are my daughter."

"I was never a daughter to you! You never loved me, you never cared. I could have died and the only thing you'd have been sad about was losing an asset. A weapon!"

"Forget these simple people," he urged. "Forget this worthless daughter of yours, that mangy boyfriend, the Avatar... Embrace who you truly are and destroy them all!"

She shook her head, darkening her expression with deep, hostile loathing. "You don't get to do that to me anymore. You don't get to tell me what to do. You don't get to abuse me."

"Make the right decision, daughter!"

Azula's jaw clenched tight, hissing out her next words between clenched teeth with such ire they could have slain a dragon. "And you do not! Get to threaten! My family!

Blue flames erupted from her palms. They collided with Ozai's chest, lifting him off his feet with a grunt of surprise. He slammed into the dresser behind him, lost in a spray of shattered splinters and broken glass. Azula spun around and ran to Kanna, not a moment to hesitate. She couldn't fight her father here. Not now, not with her daughter to protect.

"Mommyyyy!" Kanna yelled, on the verge of tears. "What's going on?"

"Nothing sweetie, don't you worry," she assured, as she lifted the girl into her arms and raced towards the door. "We just have to leave now."

"Wait, my bison!" Kanna pleaded, making a futile reach towards the bed, where her stuffed toy remained behind.

"We can get it later. We have to go!"

Azula took one last look at the room. The last thing she saw before disappearing around the corner was Ozai bursting free from the broken dresser in a whirl of flames and a furious scream. Her gut bubbled, as she tore her gaze away and sprinted down the hallway. She could worry about fighting him later, and she could wonder how in spirits name he was still alive later. First, she had to get Kanna to safety.


Eska awoke with a sharp chill tingling down her spine. She sat straight upright in bed, staring out into the darkness of the bedchamber. Nothing but shadows. By all accounts, she should ignore this strange sensation and lie back down to sleep. Should, but didn't. This was not an ordinary chill brought upon by a too-cold night. This was something she hadn't felt before. Something creeping, tingling, like spindly fingers tickling along her flesh. Unnerving.

With a heavy sigh, she glanced across the wide bed. Desna lay on the far side of the bed beneath a heavy blanket, turned over on his side with his arms wrapped around Hari. The two were joined closely together, Hari with his back pressed to Desna's front. Both were calm, quiet, deep in slumber. She hated to disturb them, and yet...

"Desna, wake up," she whispered, gently nudging her brother's shoulder.

Almost immediately, a tired groan eased from her brother's throat. Although normally a heavy sleeper, their twin connection woke him with little difficulty. "What is it?"

"I sense something."

"What do you mean, you 'sense something'?" he asked, pulling away from the sleeping Hari so he could sit upright.

Eska frowned towards the bedroom door. "I am uncertain, but it feels... spirity."

Desna raised an eyebrow at her. "You sense a spiritual presence? But you do not possess any connection to the spirits. Neither of us do. Father neglected ever to teach us that, before he betrayed us for a dark spirit."

"I know, but the feeling is still there. We should investigate."

"Very well," he muttered, with a reluctant sigh. Looking back down at the mattress, he reached out to awaken the sleeping Hari.

"No, let him sleep," Eska said, as she crawled out of bed and grabbed her robe. "It is probably nothing."

Desna obeyed, leaving their bodyguard alone as he slid out of bed. He did the same and pulled on his chieftain robe over his pajamas, before following his sister out of the room. An empty corridor greeted them, darkened by the late night hour. Any wedding guests or usual palace residents would have long since retired to bed, leaving the twins to stand there alone in silence.

"Nothing, indeed," Desna sighed. "You were simply imagining things."

"I suppose I was," she replied. In spite of their fruitless endeavor, that tickling quiver continued to crawl along her spine, stronger now than before. No matter the evidence to the contrary, something was not quite right. "Perhaps we should return to bed."

As they turned to make their way back into the bedroom, a chiding voice called from behind them. "Hello, children."

The twins spun around in unison, both gripped in a genuine, uncharacteristic moment of shock. They stared down the corridor at the lone figure standing there, watching them. The man was poised straight and rigid, his arms held casually behind his back, with a smug, almost disdainful leer carved across his face. A face that they hadn't seen in over ten years. A face that, in spite of its unmistakable familiarity, appeared younger than they remembered, perhaps only a few years older than they were now.

"Father...?" Desna uttered.

Eska blinked, her mouth hanging partially open. "You are alive?"

"Yes, I am," Unalaq replied. "No thanks to the two of you."

The twins shared a brief look, one in which they communicated an entire conversation to each other without words. Eska returned focus to her father, confusion wrought deep in her gaze. "We do not understand. How are you here? You were destroyed after Cousin Korra—"

"I know what happened to me," Unalaq countered, with a biting tone. "That is of no consequence. With my connection to the spirits, is it really a surprise that I found a way to return? Just as Vaatu will again be reborn from Raava, so too was I reborn into the world."

"No... this isn't right," Eska said, with a quick shake of her head. The tingling in her spine had morphed into a shuddering quiver, shaking her to her core. "This feels wrong."

Unalaq scoffed, and began a slow march towards his children. "The only thing wrong here is you two. If not for your treachery, I could have achieved my goals. Instead, the Avatar stopped me, destroyed me, and you two didn't even care."

A stern scowl creased across Eska's visage, fueled by a rising anger beginning to churn within her. The kind of anger she had seldom ever felt before, or ever let show. "You mean like how you 'cared' about us? Like when Desna was injured? You would have let him die."

"Indeed," Desna chimed, lowering his brow into a glare. "Why would we have cared about the fate of the deplorable man you became? We looked up to you. We believed in you with everything we had, but you turned to madness and attempted to end the world."

"Worthless, the both of you," Unalaq muttered, as he shifted himself into a fluid waterbending stance. With an angry shout, the former Water Tribe Chieftain cast his arm forward and tore up the ice from the floor, rippling it outward in a wave of razor sharp spikes directly towards them. "Unambitious, useless, traitorous children! I made a grave mistake ever placing any trust in you. Now, I rectify it!"


Anraq stretched his arms over his head with a deep yawn, as he made his way down the palace corridor. As much fun as he'd had at the wedding, and as much extra dessert as he had managed to devour before leaving the dining hall, it was long past time for him to get some sleep. Only a few more days of relaxation here in the South before they returned to Ember Island, so might as well make the best possible use of it.

The Glacier Spirits Festival would still be going until the end of the week. Perhaps they could visit the carnival again tomorrow night. Kanna did love those otter penguins. Should probably pay another visit to his parents, too. While they had visited quite a few times during the past year, Kanna never tired of seeing her grandparents, and they likewise with her, especially considering the whole coming back from the dead thing. That was a lot of lost time to make up for.

When he entered the bedroom, he froze. He should have walked in to find Azula and Kanna already asleep in bed. Instead, he found an empty mattress with the covers thrown back, and a lone stuffed bison sitting next to the pillows. The bathroom door was open and the lights were off, so they weren't washing up, nor had either of them fallen ill and unable to sleep. So where were they? Had they taken a detour on the way back? Gotten lost, maybe? It was a pretty big palace.

His initial confusion warped with unrestrained panic when his gaze found the dresser. Or at least what was left of it, now nothing more than a pile of charred wood and broken glass littering the far side of the room. His panic surged, forcing him right back around towards the door. Something had happened here. Something terrible. He had to find them and make sure they were alright. He had to—

"Hello, Anraq."

The sudden appearance of a shadowed figure blocked his path out the doorway, while the lingering echo of a voice crept into the back of his mind with distant, flaring memories almost forgotten. Memories of Republic City. Memories of himself as a much younger man, fresh off the boat in a new, wondrous place. Memories of meeting a beautiful young woman. Of falling head over heels for her. Of having a child with her. Watching her die, shortly after giving birth to their daughter. Standing over her grave, rocking a sobbing newborn baby in his arms while desperate to hold in his own tears.

"Megumi...?" His own voice cracked out in a hoarse whisper, as his eyes adjusted to the darkened hall to take in the features of the woman standing before him. Unmistakable. This was Megumi, Kanna's birth mother. His first relationship. His first real experience with loss. He'd seen her die, had gone to her funeral, had stood over her grave more than once, and yet here she was standing in front of him looking exactly the same as she had back then, a youthful, round-faced woman with bright blue eyes and long straight dark hair, nineteen years old. No, twenty years old. She'd turned twenty a month before Kanna was born. He stared at her, a coarse dryness beginning to scorch the inside of his throat. "I don't... I don't understand. What are you doing here? How are you here?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter," she insisted, taking a step closer. The grin she gave was the same as he remembered, the same one he had fallen so hard for all those years ago. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Tell me, how's our daughter? She should be about twelve now, right?"

"Kanna, she..." Anraq blinked, unable to form the words. His mind reeled, sluggish in its attempt to grasp the reality of what he was seeing: Megumi, returned from the dead. Had Azula's method in bringing back Kanna done this? Some sort of unintended side effect? "She's... I mean..."

"Oh, that's right. She's not twelve." Megumi's expression darkened, shifting from one of playful intent to one of disgust and anger. "Because you let her die."

Anraq's heart froze at the center of his chest, skipping a beat. "What? No, I... I didn't let her... She's alive."

"Oh sure, she is now, thanks to that Azula person." Megumi scoffed, rolling her eyes. "If not for her, Kanna would still be dead."

"How... how could you know that?" he asked, narrowing his gaze with caution. Aside from the fact that Megumi should be dead, something else wasn't right about this. Something off.

Megumi took another step forward and deepened her glare. Her eyes ignited with seething ire, a hate Anraq had never before seen on her face. "I know many things. Like what a savage, vile woman Azula can be. How can you let her around our child, Anraq? How can you let her raise our child?"

"No, you... you don't know what you're talking about." Somewhere in the distant mire of his stunned confusion, he found the resolve to push back. No matter who it was, no matter what was happening, he wouldn't stand there and allow someone who knew nothing about Azula insult and belittle her. "Azula has been nothing but wonderful with Kanna. She loves Kanna. She—" He stopped himself, shaking his head with a disbelieving scoff. "Why am I even arguing with you? You're not real. You can't be. You're dead."

"Oh, Anraq..." Megumi hissed out a gentle sigh and calmly shook her head back and forth, as though disappointed with him. "If I were dead, could I do this?"

Megumi struck so fast, shifting back a step with a whirl of her arm. Before Anraq realized he was under attack, a spike of solid ice shot up from the floor and skewered through the side of his chest. He was sure he screamed, but he didn't hear it. He didn't even feel himself react. His senses warped, only vaguely aware of the floor beneath Megumi bursting upwards and throwing her across the corridor into the opposite wall. His own instincts, reflexive and involuntary in defense.

Anraq's senses returned with a blinding flare of pain. Gritting his teeth, he yanked himself free of the frigid spike in his side and stumbled down the corridor as fast as his trembling legs could carry him. Thick streaks of blood gushed out of his wound, leaving a trail of crimson in his wake. He clenched his jaw tighter. Couldn't let that slow him down. With a simple wave of his hand, he called a bubble of water against the puncture in his side and froze it into ice to stop the bleeding.

"Shit," he muttered, with a cough of scarlet mist. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

He never slowed, never looked back. He had to find Azula, had to find Kanna. Had to make sure they were safe. Maybe then he could figure out what in spirits name was going on in this place.


Korra squeezed her arms tight, expecting to pull Kuvira closer to herself. When instead she found herself grabbing at empty blankets, a tired grumble surged out of her throat. She blinked her eyes open and pushed upright onto her elbow to get a better look at the other side of the bed. Empty. Nothing but rumpled sheets next to her, no sign of her wife anywhere.

"Kuvira?" She sat upright, rubbing her eyes as she slid out of bed. Where in spirits name had her wife gone? And on their wedding night?

Spirits.

The thought of spirits sent a powerful shiver racing down her spine. The sensation stiffened her up to her feet. Dark, clawing dread gripped the center of her gut, squeezing tight with sinister intent. Her breathing shuddered, uneven and fearful. What was this feeling? So cold, so foreboding. A feeling that should have no reason to be there.

"Korra, be wary. There is something strange happening within this palace."

"Raava?" Korra's heart jolted at the sound of the voice echoing within her mind. Her Avatar Spirit did not often speak to her like this, and certainly never for idle chitchat. No, Raava only connected with her in dire situations. "What's wrong?"

"I am uncertain, but I sense something sinister. An ancient presence I do not recognize, and it is powerful."

Korra steeled herself, a sudden pulse of alertness driving any lingering sleep from her mind. Now wide awake, she worked her way into the corridor with a stern, hardened demeanor. If there was some kind of powerful, ancient spiritual presence here, she needed to deal with it fast, before anyone got hurt.

She made her way swiftly through the palace, keeping her eyes focused on every darkened corner she came across. Nothing but shadows and empty corridors. Certainly no dark spirits. Even so, the farther she went, the stronger that foreboding chill in her spine became, until her stomach began to bubble with sickened nausea.

As she worked her way towards the guest wing of the palace, a sudden shift occurred in her body. Something crawled beneath her skin, like invisible worms slithering through her veins. Her legs ceased moving, and her limbs lurched violently to the side, twisting under some unseen, iron-like grip. A pained cry burst from her throat, as her arms wrenched out of place and threatened to snap. Her legs followed, and soon the force bent her down to her knees. She knew this feeling. She'd experienced it far too many times before, unmistakable in the way it puppeted her body against her will.

Bloodbending.

And there was no full moon tonight.

"W-what... what is this?" she uttered, gasping out her words between choked breaths.

The answer presented itself in the form of a harsh, gravelly voice. "So, we meet again, Avatar."

Korra's eyes widened at the figure that stepped out of the shadows. A figure who didn't need to so much as twitch his fingers in order to bring her to his mercy. He needed only his eyes, eyes that glared at her from behind a hauntingly familiar mask and hood. "Amon? No... what are you... doing here?"

The last time she had seen Amon had been when he had made his escape after his defeat in Republic City, over a decade ago. After that, no one had seen or heard from him, or his lesser known identity of Noatak. Had he been waiting all this time for the perfect moment to strike, just to get his revenge on her?

"You may have defeated me before," Amon stated, as he stepped closer. "You may even have destroyed my revolution, but I told you once that I would destroy you. I'm here to make good on that promise. This time, I take your bending away permanently."

Korra's limbs twisted harder, yanking a defiant scream from her lips. That was the last time this deranged man would ever have control of her. A surge of white light flashed in her eyes, glowing with Raava's energy. Amon's bloodbending grip shattered, powerless against the full might of the Avatar State. Korra stood upright and cast a vicious whirlwind from her palm. The air blast thudded into the man's chest and sent him rolling across the floor.

"You are no match for me," Korra declared. "You cannot win!"

Amon groaned as he pushed himself back up to one knee. His gaze narrowed behind his mask, sharpening with distinct caution. Still, his eyes never lost their confidence. "Same old tricks, Avatar. Unfortunately for you, I have some new ones."

Korra prepared herself, watching as Amon stood up and held his hands out in attempts to bloodbend her. She knew it wouldn't work. No matter his power, no one person could manipulate a fully fledged Avatar. To her own shock, the creeping of invisible worms returned beneath her flesh, and her limbs slowly, gradually began disobeying her own will. Even with the full might of the Avatar State behind her, Amon could still bloodbend her? No, that couldn't be. That wasn't right. With a sharp, violent lurch of her body, Korra again fell to her knees. Pain returned, searing through her body with an anguished scream. The glow faded from her eyes, no longer able to maintain the Avatar State.

"What?" she uttered. "No... How... how are you doing this?"

"Because he's not alone." The voice belonged to a different man, this one also familiar. Another figure appeared from the shadows, walking around the side of Korra with his own hands raised in a vice-like bloodbending grip. "Hello again, Korra. How have you been?"

"Tarrlok?" A litany of questions flooded her mind, not the least of which was how Tarrlok had regained his bending. The last she knew, Amon had taken it away. "Why... why are you... working with Amon?"

"Noatak is my brother," Tarrlok stated. "We are a team, and together we will accomplish what neither of us could by ourselves. You can't resist us both, not when we're more powerful than ever."

Korra's limbs twisted harder, threatening to snap. "N-no!"

"Yes, Avatar," Amon stated. "Today, we end you!"

Before the two bloodbenders had a chance to finish their work, a flying clay pot exploded at their feet, scattering shards instantly melting into globs of lava. They lunged out of the way, watching as the molten earth sizzled and melted the frozen palace floor.

"Not on your life, creep!" called a voice from the other end of the corridor.

Mako and Bolin appeared down the hall, racing towards the scene. Mako led with several blasts of fire and a shot of lightning, while Bolin attacked with the only source of earth he had available to him—the series of clay pots that lined the hallway atop icy pedestals. Each of those pots liquefied into molten globs on the way to their targets. Caught off guard from the sudden attack, Amon and Tarrlok were forced back on the defensive against the relentless barrage, swiftly dodging each attack that came their way.

"We got your back, Korra!" Mako said, as he arrived at her side.

"Of all the times for these two to show up again, they just had to pick a wedding, didn't they?" Bolin groaned. "They don't have any decency."

Seconds later, both Mako and Bolin seized up in a violent, twisted manner, their bodies under the spell of the two bloodbenders. By all accounts, Amon and Tarrlok should have been able to end them there. Not so. With their attention now split between three individuals, Korra felt their hold over her weaken. Only a little at first, but enough. Bright white light exploded from her eyes once more. This time, she powered through their combined bloodbending efforts with every ounce of fury she could muster from the Avatar State within her. With a firm thrust of both her palms, she released a pair of spiraling wind blasts that launched both bloodbenders airborne down the other end of the corridor.

"It seems the Avatar has some help," Tarrlok muttered, as he pushed his way back to his knees.

Amon grunted, lifting a glare down the hallway. "So it does. We might not be able to take all three of them, as long as she can resist our bloodbending."

"Then perhaps we should have some help as well." A mocking grin snaked along Tarrlok's face, as his gaze shifted towards a separate corridor branching away from the Avatar's left.

Korra almost didn't register the familiar pop pop. Thank the spirits she realized what it was before the resulting explosion ignited the air around them. With a lurching whirl of her arms, she spun a wild dome of air around herself, Mako, and Bolin, shielding them from the concussive blast of fire. When the flames cleared, three new arrivals appeared at the mouth of the branching corridor.

"Hey, remember us?" said a burly, mustached man, framed by long dark hair and bushy eyebrows.

Two individuals stood at either side of him, one a towering woman with a long braid and a third eye painted on her forehead, the other a ragged looking woman with long matted hair and coiling whips of water in place of arms. All three of them familiar, all three of them unmistakable. Ghazan, P'Li and Ming-Hua, respectively, former members of the original Red Lotus.

"Oh come on!" Bolin cried, staring wide-eyed at the former Red Lotus team. "How is this fair?"

"How is this even possible?" Mako added. "They're all supposed to be dead!"

Korra glanced from the Red Lotus to Amon and Tarrlok. In spite of the Avatar State burning untold power within her, a sinking stone crashed into her gut, exploding with unshakable dread. What in spirits name was happening here?

"You think Zaheer would mind missing out on this?" Ming-Hua asked, as her water-arms hardened into icy scythes.

"Who cares?" P'Li replied. "We don't work for him anymore." With a stern scowl, she concentrated her chi at her forehead and released another combustion blast down the hallway.

Pop pop... BOOM!


The palace courtyard was quiet as Kuvira and Suyin made their way outside. The night was calm, cool, lit up by the brilliant display of spirit lights in the sky. During the entire walk from the bedroom, Kuvira had been lost in a haze, as though wandering about in a dream. Her heart fluttered, beating against her chest as though a furious flock of wolf bats struggling to break free. Part of her feared she would turn to look at Su only to find the woman gone, a mere figment of her imagination. Remarkably, each time she did look, there was Su looking back at her with a warming smile. Spirits, what a miracle.

Su really was alive.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Suyin said, gazing up at the sky.

"It really is." Kuvira smiled briefly at the spirit lights, before turning again to look at the other woman. At the mother she had lost so long ago, and who had now returned to her. "Su, I don't even know what to say right now. I never imagined I would see you again like this. It's... it's amazing. Unbelievably so."

Su offered a soft chuckle. "It is, isn't it? To think, I was actually dead. Now, here I am, better than ever, even back in my prime."

"I just wish you could have gotten here a day sooner. You could have been here for the wedding."

"Well, I guess you can't have everything," Su replied, with a simple shrug. "Besides, it's not as though your wedding was worth seeing."

Kuvira started to respond, only to stop herself in a sudden moment of confusion. "What was that?"

"Your wedding. It wouldn't have been worth seeing, even if I had been there. I mean, imagine, you getting married? As if you deserve to be happy, after everything you did. And to Korra?" Suyin hissed a disappointed sigh and shook her head. "I can't even begin to wrap my head around that one. Why would she ever forgive you, let alone fall in love with you? And over Asami? Goodness, it's like a bad joke."

"Su, I... what?" Kuvira's stomach bottomed out, crashing with an acidic burn. Bile lifted into her throat, sharp and acrid on the back of her tongue. This wasn't right. Su would never say these things. She couldn't be saying these things. "I don't understand. What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're a horrible woman who doesn't deserve to be running around free, let alone enjoying a happy life with the Avatar." Su glowered, her expression abruptly darkening with seething hatred. The same kind of hate she had shown so many years ago, back during Kuvira's time as the Great Uniter. "And becoming Matriarch of Zaofu? Taking over my former role? Well, I can't imagine a better way to spit on my legacy."

Kuvira balked, clutching a hand against her chest. A knife thrust through her heart, deep and twisting, wrenching her voice out in quiet gasps. "Su, you don't mean that. You... you can't mean that."

"Of course I mean it. You're a disgrace, Kuvira, and a waste of my efforts. How I ever put up with you for as long as I did..." Suyin uttered another sigh, shaking her head. "We'd all have been better off if you'd just died on the streets after your parents abandoned you."

"No... Su, please. Please don't say that. Don't..." An unwitting sob bubbled into her throat. She took a step backwards, legs trembling to hold herself upright. She tried to steady herself, tried to stay standing. No use. Her body quivered like jelly, and seconds later she collapsed to her knees, slouched forward staring at the frozen ground beneath her.

"Look at you. Pathetic. You don't deserve to be in this world any longer."

Kuvira almost didn't sense the metal, too lost in her wallowing despair. By the time she felt it coming, she couldn't avoid it. Not completely. Even as instinct drove her to lunge out of the way, the blade cleaved into her backside with a spray of crimson across the ground, opening a deep, crippling gash from shoulder to tailbone. She screamed, and crumpled to the ground, unable to move against the paralyzing agony carving through her entire being.

"Don't try to resist," Su urged, as the individual plates that composed the blade along her arm spread farther and lengthened, becoming flexible and whip-like. "It's time I finally do what I should have done when I first found your miserable eight-year-old self huddled in the street: put you out of your misery!"