Azula stared at her uncle a long while before saying anything. How long had it been since she'd last seen him? She couldn't even remember, but she was sure she'd tried to kill him then. Spirits, that had been so long ago. Her heart sank deep into her gut at the sight of the old man. How cruel of the universe to place one of her final remaining regrets in front of her. To mock her. That had to be why he was here, wasn't it? She'd never been close to her uncle, and she'd only ever been horrible to him, in spite of his good-willed nature. A coward and a traitor—that was what she'd thought of him.
So why would he have come to her now?
"I don't understand," she said, forcing her words through strained caution. "How are you here?"
"Ah, you mean how am I in the Spirit World?" Iroh said.
"Well yes, that is what I mean. How are you still alive?" Azula swallowed, as she thought of the likely reason. "Did Sen bring you back to torment me, too?"
Iroh merely chuckled, and renewed his smile. "No, no, don't worry, Azula. Nothing like that, I assure you. When I died, I left my physical body behind and my spirit came here, to the Spirit World. I've been living here ever since."
Azula squinted at him. "So you're a spirit?"
"I am. Unlike you, isn't that right? It's been nearly ninety years, and yet you still look just how I remember you."
"Yes, well… that's a long story," she muttered, with a small frown. How was she to even possibly begin explaining everything that had happened over the past near-century?
Again, he merely smiled at her. "I know. Katara already filled me in. A lot has happened to you over the years, hasn't it?"
"Yes…" Her gaze drifted, trailing down towards the bed sheets. That was an understatement, if ever there was one.
Katara glanced back and forth between them, and slowly backed away towards the door. "I think I'll give you two some time alone for a while. I'll just be outside." She waved, and shut the door behind her on her way out of the room.
When they were alone, Iroh made his way over to the table near the bed. He paused a moment, breathing in deep through his nose to take in the scent of the steaming pot. With a gentle hum, he began pouring the pot to fill two separate cups. "Would you like some tea? I know you never cared for it, but it's only polite to offer."
"Well, I…" Azula's initial instinct was to refuse the tea. She'd never cared for it, only ever putting up with it for special occasions, but what was this if not a special occasion? And a bizarre one, at that. "I suppose I could have some."
Iroh smiled as he passed her one of the steaming cups. "There you are."
She stared at her own reflection in the tea, breathing in the scent of jasmine through her nose. When she couldn't bare looking at herself any longer, she raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. The flavor was better than she had anticipated, and warmed her body without scalding the inside of her throat. "Hmm, I suppose it's actually not that bad."
"And because it's from the Spirit World, you don't have to worry about gaining any weight from it," Iroh added, with a chuckle. "Not that tea is much of a danger to one's figure in any case."
Azula raised an eyebrow. "I see you haven't changed much at all."
"But you have." Iroh focused on her, somehow making his expression both welcoming and stern. He took a step closer to the bed and pulled up a chair to sit. As he did, his smile returned, but it was different this time. Not just friendly, but satisfied, as if admiring the young woman in front of him. As if… proud. "I heard about it from Katara when you were out, and I can see it now just by looking at you. You're a different person from the last time we met. You seem happier."
"I... suppose I am. It's still something I'm growing used to, I'll admit. Not having to be perfect all the time. Not terrorizing people. Not being so cruel. Having people who actually care about me, people I don't have to frighten into liking me." She raised the teacup back to her lips, as her thoughts drifted to the past few years and how her life had changed. Her life had been corrupted by so many horrible memories that having pleasant ones to look back on now was both wonderful and frightening. "It's nice."
Iroh watched her a long while, remaining quiet as he sipped his own tea. Eventually, he eased a deep sigh and lowered his gaze in shame. "I feel I should apologize, Azula."
"What?" The rather absurd claim snapped her out of her thoughtful daze. She stared at her uncle with a puzzled look, scrunching her brow together. "What exactly for? I'm the one who tormented you and Zuko. I nearly killed you. Several times."
"I need to apologize for not being there for you the way I was for Zuko. I knew what my brother was doing to you, how he was raising you. I could see the problems it was causing, and how it was affecting you. After your mother left, you no longer had a positive influence in your life. I should have tried to be that influence. Instead, I sat back and watched as Ozai further corrupted your childhood. Eventually, I simply wrote you off as crazy. Foolish thoughts of a foolish old man." Iroh hummed a deep breath, and lifted his eyes to look at her again. "For that, Azula, I am sorry."
Words escaped her, as she continued to stare at the old man. What could she say? Words, feelings, apologies... She had never been good with any of it. All she could do was turn her head away and sigh, while her heart went numb inside her chest. The numbness spread into her throat, until she swallowed down another knot and closed her eyes.
"It's just as well," she said, with a simple shrug. "We both know my father never would have let you influence me, and by the time my mother left I was already too far gone to listen to someone like you. I probably would have just insulted you and tried to set your beard on fire."
Iroh coughed out a soft chuckle. "Yes, well even so."
"Still, thank you. And, well… I'm sorry, too." The words sounded strange even as they came out of her own mouth. She had made more apologies in the past year than she had during her entire life previously, and still she wasn't used to it. Even stranger to be apologizing to her uncle, a feat she never would have thought possible. This entire conversation so far had been utterly surreal.
"Please, you have nothing to apologize for," Iroh said, raising his hand as if to stave off her apology. "You, like so many others, were a product of your upbringing. Had you been raised differently, I believe you would have turned out a different person, and perhaps things would have gone better for you."
Azula merely shrugged. "Well, there's no use crying over spilled tea. I can't change my childhood. I can't change the things I did. All I can do is try to be better going forward."
"I think you're off to a wonderful start." Iroh smiled, and made his way over to the table to refill his teacup. "Working with the Avatar, I hear?"
"Oh, um, yes," she replied, with a defiant clear of her throat. She knew the irony of it, working with the new Avatar after having done so much to torment the previous one. "Circumstances demand it, you know. It's not like I'm friends with her or anything. I mean, not like best friends. More like acquaintances. We tolerate each other."
"Oh, I see, of course." Iroh offered a simple smirk, but he didn't press the matter. The look on his face spoke plainly enough that he saw straight through her denial. "So, a baby?"
"Oh. Yes."Azula lowered a hand to her abdomen, a light smile curling across her face. "A baby."
"And who is the lucky man?"
"His name is Anraq." She paused a moment, widening her smirk with a quiet chuckle. "Heh, I call him Annie. He hates that nickname usually, but not when it's from me."
Iroh sipped his tea and smiled. "Well, I believe you'll make an excellent mother."
"I already am," she insisted, with a more genuine smile than she'd intended to give. "At least, that's what I've been told. Annie already has another daughter from a past relationship: Kanna. She's the sweetest little thing you've ever seen, I swear. I guess I've sort of adopted her over the past year. She really is wonderful. They both are." Even as she said it, painful reality clawed into the back of her mind, souring her expression with creasing agony.
Iroh noticed her shift in demeanor and took a step closer, lowering himself again into the chair. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that I've probably lost them both for good. Sen got to them, stole their spirits, and now they're… If we don't stop Sen, they're both dead. Everyone is dead."
"Sen…" Iroh hummed thoughtfully and slowly stroked his beard. "I can't say I've ever heard of this spirit before, but I've seen the changes around the Spirit World. These changes aren't normal, and now I understand why that is."
Azula nodded. "Sen is causing this. He'll destroy everything if we don't stop him, which means I can't afford to sit here and rest." She promptly set her teacup down and threw the blankets off herself to get out of bed. As soon as her feet touched the floor, her legs buckled and she stumbled forward.
Iroh reached out to catch her before she fell. "Easy, Azula. You still haven't fully recovered."
"I'll be fine. I have to be." She held onto her uncle a moment longer before pulling away to stand under her own power. "I appreciate your help, Uncle, really, but the longer we take in the Spirit World, the less time we have. We have to find the Avatar and get back to the physical world."
"I understand," he said, with a nod. "Katara mentioned that she and the others found something from the Spirit Library to help, but it won't be easy. Just be careful."
Azula scoffed, making her way towards the door. "I'm always careful. Mostly."
Iroh nodded in understanding, as that familiar smile of his once again warmed his face. "And Azula, when all this is over, please come back and visit. I'd be happy to make you some tea any time."
"I…" She had to stop herself before she answered. She'd already been adamant about never returning to the Spirit World. She hated it here, and she hated spirits. Even so, perhaps visiting her uncle every so often wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. With a gentle sigh, she glanced back at him and offered her own small, partial smile. "I guess we'll see. Goodbye, Uncle."
Korra squinted in the darkness of the tunnel. The only source of light they had was the gentle mist of glowing spirit orbs that floated aimlessly through the air, seemingly following them wherever they went. The lights were quite dim, but were at least enough to see with. Korra remained close behind Kuvira, allowing the earthbender to continue digging further through the solid rock around them. Same as the past several hours. At this point, there was no telling when or if they would ever find their way to freedom.
How deep below ground had they fallen?
"I really wish I could still firebend," she muttered. "It's so dark."
"Well, it's not like we have to worry about bumping into anything," Kuvira said, with a quick glance over her shoulder. She took another step forward and pushed her fists through the air, causing another section of tunnel to dig farther ahead of her. "As long as I keep this up, anyway."
Korra eased a soft sigh and continued following. "I don't suppose you have any idea where we're going? What does your seismic sense tell you?"
"I've been feeling out vibrations in the ground since we started," Kuvira said. "As far as I can tell, we're in solid earth. That's why I've been tilting the path upwards. I figure if we're underground, we have to reach the surface eventually."
"If only the Spirit World was that simple. For all we know, we're heading farther towards oblivion."
Kuvira raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's a comforting thought."
"Some honeymoon this turned out to be, huh?" Korra managed a soft chuckle to try and lighten the mood. "Here I wanted to surprise you with a trip to a tropical island. Instead, we're trapped in the Spirit World and fighting a dark spirit trying to destroy humanity. It would be funny, if it weren't so horrifying."
Kuvira offered a partial smirk. "I suppose the good news is that when this is all over, we'll be able to take a real honeymoon together. A long one, just the two of us, relaxing, not a care in the world. I'm looking forward to it already."
"If we succeed." Korra's demeanor hardened, no longer able to keep up a pleasant charade. "It's one thing to be optimistic, but this is so much different. Our chances aren't very good, are they?"
"No, I guess they aren't." Kuvira shifted her stance, carving out a deeper section through the earth. "But that doesn't mean we're going to give up."
"I know. We can't give up. We won't. Sen has already hurt too many people. My parents, our friends..." Korra let her words trail off. Back when Jinora had contacted them, she'd done her best to hold her emotions together, to keep from falling apart for the sake of their mission. Right now, fighting those feelings proved a greater challenge than she could have anticipated. Too many people were at risk. People they knew, people they loved. "Whatever it takes, we have to end him."
"We will. As long as there's a chance, there's hope." Kuvira paused a moment to reflect on her words, coughing out a laugh under her breath. "There's something I never would have thought I'd say eight years ago. My life seemed so hopeless back then. Not so much anymore."
Korra paused, and gave a long, close look at her wife. Both their lives had changed so much in the past eight years, in ways neither of them could have expected. They had grown close to each other, come together, fallen in love, gotten married…and now all of that could be coming to an end. As much as she wanted to hope, as much as she wanted to be confident, losing to Sen was a very real possibility. Try as they might, they were only human in the end.
"Kuvira, if we fail, if we don't make it, I want you to know how much I love you." Korra swallowed back a knot in her throat and eased in a steady breath, trying to settle her stomach. "I never imagined my life turning out the way it did with you, but now I can't imagine it any other way. I know we haven't been together long, or had much time to really sit back and enjoy being together without something catastrophic to worry about, but the time I've been with you has been some of the happiest moments of my life."
Kuvira stopped, turning away from her work on the tunnel to face her wife. For a brief moment, they stared deep into each other's eyes. The spirit lights in the air glowed more intensely here, enough to clearly see the other's face. Taking a step forward, she took hold of Korra's hands and leaned close. "I love you too, and I'll be by your side to the very end. Whenever that end happens to be."
Whenever that end happens to be. In a perfect world, that end would be a long time away, and yet deep down they both knew it might be just around the corner. With a gentle breath, Korra gave her wife's hands a firm squeeze and pressed their lips together. They maintained the kiss a long while, melting into each other's embrace in a moment neither wanted to end. Deep down, Korra wished she could forget the horrors they had to face, forget about Sen, and forget about their impending struggle against him. If she could remain here like this forever with the woman she loved, she would be happy.
But it couldn't last. She knew that. Kuvira knew that.
They had to go.
When Kuvira finally pulled away, she pulled Korra forward to follow. "Come on, let's find the others and get out of here."
A flat metal disc pinged against one of the central posts of the arena and ricocheted towards the side wall. When it hit the wall, it redirected towards the net at the far end. Wei stood ready to kick it back towards his teammate. Wing promptly fired it clean across the entire arena towards the opposite net. Their opponent leaped into the air and met the disc with a flipping kick that sent it screaming back above Wing's head in a curving arc. He made a desperate leap to intercept the projectile. Too slow. The disc soared inches beyond his outstretched fingers, leaving only Wei standing between its path and the net. Wei shifted his stance and lunged towards it. Not quite enough. The disc's arcing angle curved it towards his face mid-leap, where it bounced off the side of his face and slammed into the back of the net, setting off the loud buzzer to indicate a goal.
Their opponent took the opportunity to stand tall and brush herself off with a confident smirk. "And that's how it's done, boys."
"Wow, Mom," Wing muttered, pushing himself up off the ground. "Competitive much?"
"Yeah, geez." Wei sat upright and rubbed the side of his cheek, where the disc had struck him. "Take it easy."
Suyin flipped her jet black hair and chuckled. "What can I say? I'm enjoying my younger body." She took a moment to strike a pose, flexing the toned muscles of her arms. "It's not every day you wake up thirty years younger than you used to be. Not to mention back from the dead."
The past few days had been a blur of emotions for everyone. While Su's family had at least had a brief time to adjust to her being alive again, her arrival in Zaofu had been nothing short of astonishing to the local citizens. She had been dead for nearly three years, and almost the entire population of Zaofu had attended her funeral to pay their respects. To have their former matriarch back from the dead, and much younger than she had been before, was nothing short of a miracle.
Su had tried to remain quiet and out of the public spotlight over the past few days, both for her own sake as well as her family's. Even with Kuvira's offer to retake leadership of Zaofu, she had thus far refused. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have been right to do so without Kuvira there to announce it. For now, she was content in catching up with her family and doing things her older body would have had difficulty with, such as playing power disc against her sons. Not that they'd been able to stop the visitors. More people than she could count had shown up to the Beifong estate to see her for themselves, not content with the flurry of rumors and gossip that had been traveling around the city. Their unabashed curiosity had been entertaining at first, but now Suyin wanted only to be left alone with her family.
"Whatever you say," Wei muttered, still rubbing the side of his cheek where a large red welt had begun to form. "Doesn't help my face much, though."
"What are you talking about?" Wing countered. "You look way better now."
Wei frowned. "Hey, it's your face too."
Wing punched him on the shoulder. "Says you."
"Ow!" Wei fought back with a rough shove, pushing his twin off balance.
"Ow, hey." Again, Wing gave his brother a punch to the shoulder, and this time Wei retaliated by attempting to tackle him.
"Alright, boys, that's enough," Su called. Better to stop their roughhousing before they hurt themselves. "Go on inside and get cleaned up. It's almost time for dinner."
Wing and Wei continued to shove each other on their way out of the power disc field, leaving Suyin by herself. She took a moment to stretch out, marveling at how much more flexible she was than the last time she had been alive. Physical youth really was a wonderful thing. As she finished her stretches, she looked up to see another one of her children standing nearby the edge of the arena, watching her with a smile.
"Hello, Opal." Suyin made her way over to her daughter with a smirk. "And what are you smiling about?"
"Nothing," Opal replied, unable to wipe the grin off her face. "Just you."
Su hummed in amusement. Cocking her hips to the side, she flipped her hair and said, "Well, I know I do look good, but please, I'm your mother."
Opal's face turned red, eyes widening in horror at the suggestion, even in jest. "Mom! Inappropriate." When Su broke out into a chuckle, she huffed a breath and tried to calm herself. "I guess I'm just still not used to it yet. You being back."
"Well, that makes two of us. It'll take a while to adjust." Su stretched again, and took a moment to look herself over. How very strange indeed, to feel the dexterity and strength of her younger self again. "Of course, your father is helping me with that."
"Mom!" This time, Opal's face twisted with disgust. "Ugh, I do not want to picture that!"
Su laughed harder, in spite of her attempts to downplay her amusement. "Sorry, Opal. I was a major teaser in my youth. Seems like some of that is coming back to me."
Opal grumbled her response. "Right…"
"Now, where is that grandson of mine?" Su asked. "I haven't seen him yet today."
"With his dad. Bolin took him over to the park earlier to feed the turtle ducks. Actually, they should be getting back pretty soon..." Opal's words trailed off, as she looked over her mother's shoulder to see someone approaching from across the estate grounds. "Oh, hey!"
As if on cue, Bolin strolled up to the pair with a beaming smile. San slept soundly in his father's arms, swaddled in a warm blanket. "Hey, honey."
Opal smiled and leaned in to give her husband a kiss. "How was the park?"
"Pretty good. San got a little fussy near the end, but I think he really enjoyed the turtle ducks. Pretty tired out now, though."
Suyin took a step forward. "Mind if I hold him?"
"No, not at all." Bolin carefully held out the child so Su could take him into her arms. San briefly cooed and fidgeted in her grasp, but remained asleep. "Actually, if you want to watch him for a while, so Opal and I could have some, uh, you know, alone time…"
"Excuse me?" Suyin looked up from her grandson to stare Bolin dead in the eyes, insinuating that she knew exactly why Bolin wanted 'alone time' with Opal.
Bolin immediately stiffened, a nervous expression creeping across his face. "Uh, I mean, if you want. You don't need to or anything. I was just... I mean…"
"Mom..." Opal muttered, shooting a glare. "Like you're one to talk."
Su maintained her glare another moment before pulling away with a delighted laugh. "Oh relax, I'm kidding. I'd be happy to watch him. Just after dinner."
"Oh, right, of course." Bolin visibly relaxed when he realized his mother-in-law had only been teasing him. "After dinner. Yes. That's good."
With a roll of her eyes, Opal took her husband by the hand and started to pull him away. "Come on, Bolin, let's wash up for dinner."
As they turned around to head back to the house, Baatar Sr. rushed into view from the other side of the power disc arena. The urgency on his face gave both Opal and Bolin pause, causing them to slow down to a stop until he reached them. "Suyin, dear?"
"Yes, Baatar, what is it?" she replied, maintaining her focus squarely on her sleeping grandson in her arms.
"We have a visitor."
Suyin huffed a deep sigh. Yet more people come to see that she was really alive, no doubt. "Well, tell them to go away. It's getting late and I'm not seeing anyone right now."
Baatar shifted awkwardly on his feet and cleared his throat. "Well, the thing is—"
Another voice cut him off, loud and impatient. "What's the matter? Don't have time for your mother anymore?"
"Mom?" Su blinked up from her grandson. Sure enough, Toph Beifong strolled up alongside Baatar. A much younger Toph Beifong, now no older than Suyin was herself. "What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"
Toph held her hands behind her head. "Long story. I think it's best you all come with me so I can explain."
"Of course," Su said, as she handed San back to Bolin. "We'll be right there."
"Well, hurry it up. We don't have all day." Toph turned her head to spit on the ground, and made her way back towards the mansion.
"There's something else I'm never going to get used to," Opal said, staring at the departing woman. "Grandma Toph being my age."
Ten minutes later, Suyin gathered into her office with her mother. Opal, Bolin, and Baatar Sr. joined them for the impromptu meeting. Four additional individuals sat on the long couch against one of the walls, each of them bound with metal restraints around their wrists and ankles, and a strip over their mouths. Su gave them a cursory glance before turning to her mother.
"Alright, fill us in," she said. "What's going on?"
"Wait a minute," Bolin said, staring at the four prisoners on the couch. "Is that...?"
"Yes, but don't mind them," Toph insisted. Someone like Bolin, who had read stories and been a fan of the exploits of the past Team Avatar, likely would recognize Sokka, Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee, but now wasn't the time to be worrying about them. "They have to be restrained until we figure out a way to free them from Sen's control."
Bolin shifted his focus slowly back towards Toph. "Okay…"
With a clear of her throat, Toph continued. "I won't waste time beating around the bush. It's bad. We've failed stopping Sen several times, our biggest lead went nowhere, and Korra lost the Avatar Spirit. Now, she, Kuvira, Katara, and Azula are in the Spirit World trying to find something to help."
Suyin's eyes flared wide. "What?"
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Bolin raised a quizzical brow. "She 'lost' Raava?"
"Sen stole Raava's essence," Toph explained. "Korra's connection to the other three elements are gone and now she can only waterbend. There's no more Avatar."
Opal's brow slowly lifted in dawning shock. "I... I don't believe it. No more Avatar?" The others echoed her sentiment, as a grim silence descended over the office.
Toph broke the silence with a scoff. "Well start believing, because it gets worse. Consuming Raava's essence finally restored him back to his full power, which means he's more dangerous than ever. Not only that, but before I got here Zuko radioed me on his way from the Fire Nation capital. Sen was in the middle of attacking when he got there and he barely got away. Almost everyone in the city is gone."
Opal stumbled, wrapping an arm around her husband to maintain balance. "Oh my spirits…"
"So, what happens now?" Suyin asked. "What are our options?"
"Well, chances are, Sen is going to keep going after heavily populated locations with the highest concentration of human essences for him to consume," Toph said. "Nation capitals are especially at risk, which means Zaofu. If he comes here, everyone in Zaofu is likely doomed."
Suyin's demeanor shifted with a hardened glare. "I will not let that happen. I failed Zaofu before, but never again."
Toph offered an unknowing shrug. "Look, I'm not here to tell you how to run your city, but what I can tell you is that trying to face Sen head on without a plan is suicide. That's why we should regroup with the others back in Republic City. I hear Asami and Varrick are working on something that might help us. Our best option would be to assist them."
"We can't just leave," Opal insisted. "There are still people here who need protection."
"So get them on a train and send them back to Republic City with us," Toph said. "My point is, we can't stay here doing nothing but wait for Sen to show up and destroy us."
Baatar stepped forward and held a hand to his wife's shoulder. "But we only just got Zaofu fully restored after what happened with the Dragon Empire. We can't uproot everyone again."
"I hate to say it, but maybe she's right," Bolin countered, meeting Opal's gaze. "We saw what Sen did back at the South Pole, and that was when he was still weak. Now that he has his full power back, what chance do we have?"
Suyin pushed back with an insistent tone. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't try."
"Well, we'd better make a plan soon," Toph muttered. "It's only a matter of time until Sen attacks."
"Alright." Su held a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Just give me some time to think about—"
Her words cut off at the sound of explosions ripping through the air. They sounded distant, and yet still the ground trembled with a noticeable quake. Suyin immediately ran to the window to look for the source, but before she could find it a second series of explosions followed. "What is that?"
The phone on the desk rang, pulling her away from the window. It was the emergency line, reserved for the city guard to contact the matriarch during a crisis. Suyin reached for it and raised it to her ear. "Captain, what's going on? What? What do you mean we're being attacked? A giant insect?"
Toph's expression darkened. "It's too late. He's already here."
