Katara hummed pleasantly as she raised the steaming glass of tea to her lips. The warm beverage soothed her old body, and would make getting to sleep easier on a night when her joints were flaring up even more then usual. Toph sat across the table with a cup of her own. The old earthbender hunched close over the cup, letting the steam hit her face for added warmth. While Toph had bundled herself with a heavy coat, as unused to the Southern cold as she was, Katara remained comfortable in a much lighter robe.

"So, what did you think of my officiating speech?" Katara asked. "I like to think it went well, but I worry it might have been a little too complicated for people's tastes."

"Oh quit your worrying, it was fine," Toph replied. "Those two couldn't have asked for a better wedding. At least, as far as I could hear. Can't exactly rate the decorations."

Katara smiled and took another sip. "I wonder how they'll proceed with their lives. They have a lot still to do for the world, and for each other."

Toph gave a shrug, and gulped down the last of the tea in her cup. "I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. Right now, I get the feeling they just want to concentrate on their honeymoon."

"Now that I know they'll enjoy," Katara said, with a soft chuckle. Memories of her own honeymoon danced through her mind, and warmed her smile even brighter.

As Katara raised her glass to take another sip, the door to the small guest bedroom burst open with a bang. A figure dressed in a red and gold robe raced inside and slammed the door shut behind her. The figure was a woman, framed by long dark hair and carrying a young girl in her arms. Recognition lifted a gasp into her throat, as she realized who it was.

"Azula?" she said, giving the firebender a curious stare. Kanna, the poor girl, was nearly in tears, clutching tight onto her mother's shoulder with her face buried against the robe. "What's going on?"

Before Azula could answer, Toph set her cup down on the table and gave a blank stare towards the doorway. "What's the big idea, barging in here like this? Don't you have any manners?" The old woman paused, uttering a quiet scoff. "I know I'm not one to talk, but still."

"I just needed a place to hide for a minute." Azula turned around and crept into the room. A wild look flared in her eyes, a look borne of panic and fear. The kind of look Katara hadn't seen from her since the end of the Hundred Year War. "To get away from him."

"Get away from who?" Katara questioned. "What's wrong?"

Azula swallowed a knot in her throat, giving a wide-eyed stare. "It's my father. He's back."

Toph raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Come again?"

"My father," Azula repeated. "You remember him. Powerful, crazy ex-Fire Lord you fought 80 years ago? Well, he just showed up and tried to attack me and Kanna."

"You mean Ozai?" Katara straightened herself in her seat as much as her old back would allow. "He just showed up?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Now hold up a second," Toph said, with a disbelieving chide to her tone. "Ozai died fifty years ago, still in prison. Even if he hadn't, he'd be over a hundred and twenty years old today."

"I know that," Azula insisted. "Don't ask me how he's here, he just is. I know I can handle him if I have to, but not with Kanna in the crossfire." She glanced down at the young girl in her arms. Kanna held on tight to her, face still buried against her shoulder in fright. Azula swallowed, and raised a pleading stare towards the other two women. "Katara, Toph, I know we don't get along, and I know we'll never be friends, but please... protect my daughter?"

Katara paused a long moment. To say her feelings about Azula remained wary would be a vast understatement. There was still a lot of bad blood between them that had never been resolved, and likely never would, but the sincerity in Azula's tone spoke to Katara's compassionate side. Even if it hadn't, she wasn't about to let an innocent child fall into harm's way.

"We will," she said, with an earnest nod. "You have my word."

"Okay, Kanna," Azula said, as she set the girl down. "You're going to stay with Master Katara right now."

"Mommy, I'm scared," Kanna whimpered, wiping back her growing tears.

Azula offered a reassuring smile, and brushed her fingers gently through Kanna's hair. "I know, sweetie, but don't worry. Everything will be fine, I promise. Mommy will be right back." She gave Kanna's forehead a gentle kiss, and with one final look back at the room she hurried out the door, closing it shut behind her.

Kanna sniffled, and glanced up at Katara. "Mommy won't get hurt, will she?"

"Of course not," Katara replied. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Hmph, you got that right," Toph muttered. "If Azula has anything going for her, it's that she's one tough bender, and if you ask me, she was always more dangerous than her father. She'll kick his ass."


Azula crept through the empty palace corridors, hands poised in a readied firebending position. In spite of the confidence she held in her own abilities, her heart thrummed steadily against her chest, threatening to bounce into her throat. For so long, so many decades, her father had only ever been able to haunt her in her own mind. He could scold her there, insult her, bring her to the edge of breaking down, but nothing else. Nothing but a memory. A ghost. She had been able to conquer him in that way, able to move beyond the pain of his abuse. She had beaten him, in that regard.

Now, he was here physically, where he could hurt her all over again, and not just her. He could hurt those closest to her, as well. Deep down, that one thought frightened her far more than anything he could ever do to her. No matter. She only needed to stop him before he had that chance. She could beat him, undoubtedly, and she could do it alone if she had to. Still, would have been nice to have some backup as insurance. For a palace full of powerful benders including the Avatar, the entire place was suspiciously empty. No guards, no Avatar, none of her friends. Only quiet, empty corridors.

The sound of a far off explosion drew her attention. Her father? If so, then where was he, and what in spirits name was he doing? She had to get there, had to find him. Before she could take two steps, the wall behind her cracked outward and erupted with a violent burst of fire. Azula spun around in time to bend away the flames to clear the air. As she did, her father leaped through the flickering embers, driving a blazing kick against her chest. She slid backwards across the floor, managing to keep her balance and shift into a defensive stance.

"Father," she spat, with venom in her tone.

"Azula." Ozai scoffed, frowning at her. "You chose poorly, Daughter. Now you suffer the consequences."

Azula's eye twitched. "You mean like the consequences I faced whenever I didn't live up to your expectations? Whenever you thought I wasn't perfect enough, or devoted enough? I still have the scars. You've done so many horrible things to me... I could never see it before because of how blindly devoted to you I was, but my eyes have long since opened. It's about time I return the favor."

"As if you have what it takes," he countered, with a smug cackle. "You were always afraid of me. I can see it now, too. You still are."

Azula flinched at the accusation, but only for a moment. With a steadying breath, she cocked her legs in preparation to dart forward and attack. "No, now it's your turn to be afraid of me."

"When I'm through with you, I think I'll teach that brat of yours a lesson." A vicious sneer carved across Ozai's face, as he ignited flames in the palms of his hands. "The same kind of lesson I taught your brother. A permanent one!"

Azula wasted no more time with words, as the threat to Kanna seared unrestrained fury through her very soul. She leaped forward with a lunging kick outlined in bright blue flames. Oazi countered with flames of his own, meeting hers in an explosion that shook the entire corridor.


Eska and Desna attacked in unison, sliding backwards atop the ice and firing a pair of frozen blocks at their father. Unalaq swatted away both projectiles with a cutting whip of water and coiled the stream around himself. With a push of his arms, he snaked the water through the air and wrapped it around Desna's ankle. Eska broke the connection with a slicing arc of her own water, before Unalaq could tug his son off balance. She swirled the water back around both herself and her brother, and together they rapidly slapped their hands against the liquid. With each strike, a storm of icy blades erupted forth.

Unalaq took a step backwards and lifted a frozen wall in front of himself to absorb the barrage. Another shift in stance, and he launched the wall down the length of the corridor, forcing the twins to scatter to either side. Unalaq never slowed. He crossed his arms in front of himself and raised his hands upward. A pair of icy pillars burst from the frozen palace floor, each colliding with one of the twins in mid-dodge. Eska and Desna both flew airborne, and crumpled to the ground with wheezing, pained breaths.

"The both of you are pathetic," Unalaq chided. He swept one of his arms through the air, unleashing another cutting arc of water. "To think I ever had faith in you. You fight together and yet still you are weak!"

Eska threw herself away from the slicing liquid, suffering a grazing cut along one of her arms. "Father, stop this!"

Desna countered by tossing a frozen spear through the air, but Unalaq evaded the strike with a simple sidestep. "Do not attempt to reason with him, Eska. He wishes only to hurt us. Again."

"I can't hurt either of you more than you've already hurt me," Unalaq said, as he shifted his stance. "But I can certainly try!"

With a whirl of his arms, the former Water Tribe Chief shook the frozen walls of the corridor with rupturing fissures. Ice shifted outward and crumpled, as part of the ceiling caved downward upon Eska. She slid aside with a desperate lunge to avoid the collapsing debris. Successful, but she left herself wide open. Unalaq struck with perfect timing, launching a frozen projectile into the center of her chest. At the exact moment of impact, he spread his fingers and split the block apart in a shower of icy shards that cut through flesh like knives through ribbons. She hit the ground with a pained shout and curled inward into a ball, coughing blood on the floor.

"Eska!" Desna ran to his sister in a panic he seldom ever showed. A simple glance revealed how severe the injury was, and his momentary panic morphed into a flare of anger. Bolting forward across the ice, he blasted a torrent of water at his father. "You do not get to hurt my sister!"

Unalaq waited patiently for the attack. With a simple swipe of his arm, he parted Desna's water into two separate streams. Continuing his fluid motions, he coiled the streams around his body, joined them back together into one, and redirected the water straight back at his son. The impact lifted Desna from his feet and sent him crashing next to his sister. "The both of you are finished."

As Unalaq stepped forward to deliver the final blows, a hazy mist sifted into the air. He blinked at the haze, curious and uncertain. Not snow, or frozen fog from the rupturing ice. It was gritty, and coarse, like an earthy dust of some kind, and there was a lot of it. The dust thickened in an instant, coalescing into a solid band in front of his face. Without further warning, the coarse mass flooded into his eyes. He shouted in fury as the earthen grains blinded him and forced him to stumble backwards.

Sand.

A larger mass of sand materialized, streaming through the air as though made of water. It shifted and undulated, taking the noticeable shape of a massive earthen hand. The hand reached forward and wrapped its fingers around Unalaq, squeezing tight. With a single swipe, it threw the man clear down the entire length of the corridor. Unalaq hit the ground with a grunting thud and slammed into the far wall. He floundered, sluggish to get up. Meanwhile, the grainy hand became shapeless once again, as the sand floated into a stone jar strapped to the shoulders of a young man standing in the open bedroom doorway.

"Hari!" Desna proclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Protecting you both," Hari replied, as he hurried towards the twins. "I am your bodyguard, aren't I?"

Desna offered a slight smile, before snapping focus towards his sister. Eska lay sprawled out on the ground, bleeding from the wounds on her chest. Her breathing rasped out, weak and fading. "Eska is hurt. We need to find a healer."

Hari nodded, and guided his sand back out of the stone jar. The sand floated beneath Eska and became solid, forming a soft cushion for her to lie upon as it lifted her into the air. "Alright, let's go."


Another explosion ripped into the side of Korra's ice wall, shattering the outer layer into little more than frozen splinters. She immediately reinforced it again, only for the same thing to happen moments later. Mako and Bolin kept their heads down, huddled low behind the wall. Every now and then they attempted counter attacks, but their efforts were futile. As long as P'Li rained down combustion explosions upon them, they could do little more than hunker down and defend themselves. Even that didn't last long, as both Mako and Bolin suddenly lurched upright, their bodies controlled by Amon and Tarrlok's bloodbending.

"Oh come on!" Bolin exclaimed. "This is so not fair!"

With a simple tug, they both flew out from behind the wall. Ming-Hua lunged in to greet them, her icy scythe-arms pulled back to cleave them both in half. Korra cut her off with an explosive blast of wind. Solid air collided into Ming-Hua's gut, knocking her away before she could strike.

A spinning lava disc carved through the air. Korra twisted to the side seconds before it sliced into her chest, and countered with another pair of wind bursts fueled by the rage of her Avatar State. The first launched Amon and Tarrlok off their feet and sent them spinning head over heels, allowing Mako and Bolin to break free from their grip. The second slammed both Ghazan and P'Li through an ice sculpture along the side of the corridor. That should have been enough to take them out. Should have. In midair, P'Li managed to turn her head at the right angle and release another popping combustion blast from her forehead.

Korra was a second too slow. The ice wall she lifted to block the explosion was rushed, not as strong as it could have been. The explosion ripped it to pieces and launched her clean off her feet. Her head slammed against the ground, flashing bright colors into her vision. Every color except white, as the glow in her eyes flickered and died, unable to maintain the Avatar State any longer. When her head stopped spinning, she managed to sit upright, in time to see Mako and Bolin running to her side.

"We can't keep fighting them like this!" Bolin said. "We have to retreat!"

"Retreat to where?" Mako questioned. "They're just going to follow us!"

"I don't know, but we can't just stay here like sitting turtle ducks!"

Korra groaned, holding a hand against the side of her head. "Bolin's right, we have to get out of here."

As much as she wanted to fight back, and as much as they needed answers about what on earth was happening, the odds were far too stacked against them. The Red Lotus would be bad enough, but throw in a pair of bloodbenders and even the Avatar wasn't sure of their chances. Blinking her vision clear, she swiveled her gaze around the branching corridors of the palace, searching for a clear path to make their escape.

Pop pop...

Korra spun around, thrusting her fists upwards. Another ice wall surged into place, seconds before the following explosion. She held firm this time, losing only bits and pieces from her protective barrier. At least, for the first blast. Before she could repair the wall and strengthen it, a second series of pops echoed towards her. A second explosion. Her wall ruptured, and she went spinning through the air, a high pitched ringing in her ears. Mako and Bolin landed somewhere next to her, but they were vague and out of focus, a thousand miles away beyond the pounding in her skull.

"I told you, Avatar." Amon's callous voice filtered into her mind, barely audible over the ringing in her ears. He and Tarrlok approached from one of the branching corridors, while the Red Lotus advanced from the other. "We will destroy you. Even you cannot match all of us."

"Yeah, well maybe she just needs some help!" A new voice, this time. Not Amon, not Tarrlok. Not any of the Red Lotus.

Before anyone could turn to locate the source, a spark of electricity surged through Amon's body. He screamed, stiff and rigid until the electricity ceased, as he crumpled unconscious to the ground. Tarrlok spun around on the defensive. Not fast enough. The same electrical burst zapped him screaming down to the floor. When both bloodbenders were down, a new team emerged from behind them. Asami led the pack with her Equalist glove clad over her right hand. Sinn, Tonraq, Tenzin, and a swarm of palace guards trailed close behind.

"Push them back!" Tonraq shouted, as he led the guards towards the second corridor.

Ghazan lifted his eyebrows and took a step backwards. "Well shit, that's probably not good."

P'Li concentrated a combustion blast at the front line of guards to slow them down, but there were too many to hold off for long. The Red Lotus fell on the defensive, backing down the hallway.

Tenzin looked to Sinn and Asami, while pointing to Korra and the others. "You two, get them out of here! We'll hold them off for now!"

Sinn took a knee at Mako and Bolin's side. Both brothers lay unmoving on the floor, barely conscious. "They don't look so good. We need to get them out of here."

"Asami?" Korra uttered, as she pushed herself up to her knees.

"Hey, we're here for you." Asami offered a reassuring smile, as she and Sinn lifted Mako and Bolin upright.

Korra scrambled back to her feet, holding a hand against her pounding head. Her gaze settled on the glove on Asami's hand, causing her brow to raise in confusion. "You... brought your shock glove to my wedding?"

Asami chuckled. "Never leave home without it. Now come on, let's get you guys out of here."


Kuvira clawed at the cold, hard ground, attempting to drag herself forward. She made it only a few inches before her muscles seized with blinding pain. She fell limp and screamed, curling into a ball. Blood gushed from the gash Suyin had cleaved into her backside. Warm and viscous, it drained out of her body as though a free flowing river, and her life along with it. Her vision darkened with each passing second. Dark spots sprang in front of her eyes, and her fingers tingled numb.

Was she dying?

Spirits, she was dying.

"Su... please... stop," she uttered, with a wheezing, hissing breath. "This isn't... isn't you... can't be you."

"Of course it's me," Suyin insisted, from somewhere behind her. "What's the matter, can't accept the truth? The reality of it is you never deserved a second chance. Oh I went along with it, sure, but that's only because I felt guilty. Well, guess what? I don't feel guilty anymore. Now I just feel disgusted. I should have put you down ages ago."

Kuvira glanced up in time to see Suyin standing over her with the whip-like blade poised for another strike. She made a desperate attempt to protect herself, but her arms flopped limp against the ground. No use. No matter how hard she tried, her muscles wouldn't respond. She could only wait, and watch as the blade slashed down at her. This was it. This was how she died. Killed by the woman she would have gladly called her mother.

Before the blade could find its mark, a metal cable zipped through the air and wrapped around it, yanking it off course. A second cable lashed out seconds later and coiled around Su's wrist. The cables tugged, and Su stumbled backwards. Kuvira stared, confusion warping her senses. Her gaze followed the cables, where she found them attached to the wrists of a familiar middle-aged woman with a pair of scars along her right cheek: Lin, with Kya at her side. While Lin held Su in place, Kya rushed to Kuvira's side to check her injury.

"Su...?" Lin's voice trailed out in a pale whisper, a look of pure shock flaring across her face. "Is that... is that you?"

Suyin huffed out a sigh, glaring back at Lin with rapidly waning patience. "Well, if it isn't my stuck up, overachieving sister. So good to see you, Lin."

Lin stared with widened eyes, managing to keep the metal cables taut even in her daze. "I don't understand. How is this possible?"

"I don't know," Kya said, as she called a bubble of water around her hands. She pressed the bubble against Kuvira's gash, and the water began to glow. "But she really did a number on Kuvira. I need to treat this immediately."

"No, I... I'm fine," Kuvira uttered. Even as she said it, her voice faded. "Really, I..."

"Shhh, take it easy," Kya urged. "Don't move."

Lin glanced briefly at the injured Kuvira, before focusing again on her sister. "Su, what is this? What happened to you? I know you well enough to know you wouldn't hurt Kuvira like that if you were in your right mind."

"Really? That's what you're going with? How well you know me?" Suyin rolled her eyes. "How well is that, exactly? You spent more time ignoring and hating me than you ever did as my sister. You barely know anything about me, let alone how I feel about Kuvira. Or you."

"No, this isn't you talking," Lin countered, lowering her brow into a stern glare. "Whatever brought you back, it must have changed you. Or... or something."

"Think whatever you want," Su sighed, "it doesn't change anything. I still have a job to do. Now, let me go."

"No."

"So, that's how it's going to be, huh?"

Lin's glare hardened into steel. "I guess so."

With a sudden lurch of her arm, Suyin yanked her blade free from the cable and whipped it towards her sister. Lin ducked, and in the same motion reeled the other cable around Su's wrist inward. Suyin stumbled forward off balance, and Lin ran to meet her with a vicious left hook to the jaw. The former matriarch dropped like a brick, falling face-first unconscious against the ice. As soon as her sister was down, Lin removed all metal from her and threw it across the courtyard, as far away as she could. With that taken care of, she sank to the ground with her legs crossed and a hand pressed against her forehead.

"You okay?" Kya asked.

"I... I don't know," Lin replied, as she stared at the unconscious Suyin. "I just... I need a minute."


A loud bang thudded against the door. Not a violent bang, or an alarming one. More of an aggressive knock. Still, Katara eyed the entrance with caution. She had heard the explosions from deeper within the palace. Whatever was going on, they couldn't afford to let down their guards. If Azula had been correct, and Ozai really had somehow returned from beyond the divide, there was no telling who else might be out there.

"Who do you suppose that is?" Toph muttered, as the knock sounded again.

"I don't know, but we shouldn't take any chances. Kanna, dear, come here." Katara led the girl over to a small storage box underneath one of the beds. She opened it, emptied out the folded blankets within, and ushered Kanna inside. "I want you to hide in here where it's safe. Just be quiet and everything will be alright."

Kanna gave the box a long look. With a reluctant sigh, she climbed inside. "'Kay..."

Once Kanna was safely in the box, Katara closed it behind her. The knock rang out a third time. Before answering it, she grabbed the waterskin hanging from a hook on the wall. She hadn't done any serious bending in many years, but she'd be ready if she needed to. With one final, cautious breath, she made her way to the door and pulled it open.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the face staring back at her. That face... How long had it been since she'd seen that face? Quite a bit younger than how she last remembered it, but unmistakably familiar all the same. The man looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties, hair tied back in his signature wolf tail, and a boomerang hanging on his back.

"Well hey there, Sis. Been a while, hasn't it?"

Katara dropped the waterskin. "Sokka?"