When we finally got back to our temporary residence, I breathed an audible sigh of relief and rushed in, finally feeling my nerves settled from where they had been constantly pounding at the back of my mind ever since we got trapped on that train carriage yesterday. I ran inside to the courtyard where Pabu had already noticed us coming, Korra and Asami coming to greet us. "Korra!" Never feeling so glad to see my headstrong best friend once more, I jumped on her to tackle her with a hug.

"Whoa! Hey! What's the matter? Is everything alright?"

"I just missed you." I answered, giving Korra a squeeze before letting go as she then asked us where we'd been.

"We chased Kai. Train. Slipped away. Lower ring. Slept in trash pile. Met our family! Grandma tears. Mako's scarf. Earth Queen...lying." Okay, that was a little weird, even for Bolin. He sank to the ground, exhausted from where we'd run all the way back here and Korra gave me a sniff before retreating.

"You slept on a trash pile? Is that why you smell so…funky?" I glared at her before punching her arm, not wanting to talk about it as Asami asked Mako for a translation.

"The Earth Queen's been secretly taking air benders, and forcing them into her army."

"She was lying! I knew it!" Korra yelled, greatly incensed by the news as she clenched her fist so tightly it shook on its own. "I swear the next time I see her…"

"It's the queen." Asami warned us all and I quickly looked around to see the same, stern faced woman I'd seen hanging on Granny Yin's wall being carried in an open palanquin. Bolin hurried to hide Pabu, making him jump into his shirt as we all grouped together as the queen alighted from her transport and came towards us with a severe, displeased expression on her face.

"Good. You're here. Gun, tell her the news."

"We've received word from the Yang province. There have been reports of air benders there." Gun informed us despite us knowing very well that they were probably lying and that they had plenty of air benders here that they just didn't want to admit to or hand over. I remember my grandmother and great uncle talking about King Kuei and how he was such a nice, fair yet rather cowardly guy who loved his pet bear. How did he end up with a daughter like this?

"Wonderful, isn't it? It's the very thing you've been looking for."

"Thank you. That is just the most wonderful news. Ever. Yay." Korra forced the enthusiasm a little too much, making me clap a hand to my face. We need to work on her acting skills.

"So, I assume you and your…friends here will be leaving immediately…" Suddenly started to sneeze repeatedly, I nervously glanced over to Bolin where I could see Pabu moving around in his shirt so I slyly slid on over in order to casually hide him from sight just to be sure, whistling discreetly as the queen sneezed again and I sniggered inwardly. Serves her right. "Is there an animal in my presence?!" Panicking, Gun quickly tried to reassure her that this wasn't the case.

"No, Your Majesty. I would never allow an animal near you!" Continuing to sneeze, the queen sneezed so hard her headpiece started to fall off and I had to bite my teeth together to keep myself from laughing.

"If I find one within fifty feet of me, it's your head." The queen pointed at Gun and prodded him in the head before she then turned back to us, focusing on Korra. "Anyway, if you need any assistance packing, let Gun know. He'll see to it that you're on your way. By evening."

"Err…this evening?" Korra repeated, not expecting for us to be kicked out as fast as that. "I'm not sure about leaving so soon…" Thankfully Asami jumped in with a feasible excuse that would give us a little more time to figure out what was going on.

"Because our airship is having engine trouble. It'll take me until tomorrow to finish the repairs." Frowning at us with disapproval, the queen then sneezed again before she pointedly turned around and walked away, sneezing all the while with Gun worriedly following after her.

"Thanks for buying us some time." Korra said to Asami who smiled naturally. We all went inside where Tenzin came in from the back courtyard, looking rather tired but suddenly stopped when he saw me.

"Kanna!"

"Uncle Tenzin!" Strangely glad to see him, I ran forwards and we hugged one another, his robes naturally engulfing me as he gave me a tight squeeze before holding me back slightly, looking me over with worry.

"What happened to you? You were gone the entire night, I was so worried! I've been flying over Ba Sing Se trying to find you on Oogie." He paused and sniffed at me before frowning. "Why do you smell like bad food?" My face fell instantly.

"Long story short, we got stuck in the lower ring and we had to sleep the night outside. With a bunch of trash. Can I please go take a shower now?" Desperately in need of some time to get clean, Tenzin nodded his head and whilst the guys caught him up on everything, I went to wash. Meticulously. I even undid all my braids so I could wash my hair, getting rid of the smell and not getting out until I felt practically brand new.

Drying myself off by water bending the wet off me, I then got dressed in clean clothes, a similar cropped shirt, leggings and a blue skirt that sat low on my waist with two slits up the side and tribal designs along the hem. By the time I was done, Tenzin, Korra and Jinora had left and Asami filled me in on what they'd discussed, about how it was possible the air benders were being held under Lake Laogi. Bolin and Mako had also gone to wash and get rid of the smell of the lower ring, and by the time everybody had washed, eaten and rested for a bit, Korra came back with Tenzin and Jinora, Korra raging as she did so.

"The queen has the air benders locked up underneath her new temple in the palace. She's got Kai with them!" She ranted as we all came together. "I can't believe Miss Queenie Smug-face had them right under our noses the whole time!"

"We have to get into that compound tonight, and get those air benders out." Tenzin agreed as I reached for Jinora who looked worried, stopping into my arms so that I could hug her as Bumi rustled his hands together and began to make a plan for what we were going to do.

"Alright, we go in under the cover of darkness. Two small insertion teams and a third on the outside. Then all we'll need is twelve tons of blasting jelly, a medium sized bulldozer, and does anyone have a badgermole that knows morse code?" Okay, maybe we shouldn't leave the planning to Bumi, apart from the first bit, the rest was just total whack. Before anybody could say anything, a knock came at the door which made us all immediately on edge.

"Oh great. Not the queen again."

"Everyone, act normal, and Bolin…?" Looking towards Bolin he quickly got the message and had Pabu hide in his shirt like before as my uncle walked over the door in order to answer it, who looked back at us all to make sure we were ready before answering, but rather than the disapproving scowl of the queen, we got the disapproving scowl of Chief Beifong, Lin.

"Lin? What are you doing here?" Lin walked inside, looking as strict and severe as ever.

"We need to get Korra out of here immediately. Her life's in danger." Way to put it gently, chief. Korra looked up with alarm, clearly not expecting that kind of news, walking on over to ask what was going on. Ignoring Korra momentarily, Lin looked at Tenzin in order to explain to him what had happened that brought the chief of police herself all the way out here. "I just got word from Lord Zuko and Tonraq."

"Why is Lord Zuko with my dad?"

"Zaheer and the others have escaped." Who is Zaheer? I could see Korra getting visibly annoyed that everyone was ignoring her, but seeing the horrified look on my uncle's face, I knew something had to be really wrong so I went over and placed my hands on Korra's shoulders, giving her a look and shaking my head to make her relax for a second as my uncle demanded to know how it could be possible this unknown guy escaped. "Because Zaheer is an air bender now." I'm guessing that's bad news for Korra and the rest of us, whoever this guy is. My uncle staggered slightly from the shock, unable to believe this was happening.

"Alright, hold on. Will you quit ignoring me and tell me what's going on? Who's Zaheer? Why is my life in danger?" Korra finally questioned, her slim level of patience having finally run out.

"Shortly after we found out you were the Avatar, Zaheer and three others attempted to kidnap you." Tenzin revealed reluctantly, making my eyes widen as Korra and I looked at each other in shock. "Luckily, your father, Lord Zuko, Chief Sokka, and I were there to stop them. We apprehended the criminals and locked them away in prisons designed to impair their abilities. Actually, it was thanks to Kanna that we were able to rescue you Korra." I blinked.

"Me?"

"Yes, you and Korra had just become friends recently and you were staying at her house for the night. We had received information of Zaheer's intent to kidnap Korra and were already preparing to capture them but we were too late. It was you who raised the alarm when Zaheer and his follows came to steal Korra. You even tried to fight them off, trapped Zaheer in an ice prison which slowed them down and tried to follow after them. They went into a snowstorm but you were able to point the way so we could pursue after Korra." Wow, that all happened? Thinking back deep into my memories, I did seem to recall a night where I saw a lot of shadowy figures looming over me and taking Korra, was that it?

"I remember that as a nightmare and the people were just monsters trying to take Korra away. You're telling me all that was real?" Korra just looked at me softly, giving me a hug.

"I don't remember it at all, guess I owe you for that one."

"You sure do. Knowing you, you probably just slept through the whole thing and didn't even notice what was happening." I joked before Korra then turned back to Tenzin, thinking a moment before she frowned.

"So that's why you and my dad sheltered me away."

"It was for your own safety." Korra did not like that answer, growing irritated so I rubbed her arm to comfort her before she could blow up over the whole thing as Mako stepped forwards.

"Why were they tying to kidnap Korra?"

"We spent thirteen years interrogating them, but they never broke. To this day, no one knows what their motive was." Lin informed us all before looking pointedly at Korra. "Now we need to get you back to Republic City where I can protect you."

"Didn't President Raiko ban Korra from ever going back? She can't." I reasoned as Korra instantly tensed up and I knew she was going to refuse anyway.

"I'm not running." Called it.

"Korra, you don't understand. These criminals are like nothing you've ever faced before."

"Look, I'm not a little kid any more. You don't need to protect me. I came here for one thing, to find air benders, and I'm not leaving without them." Korra determined, completely adamant that she wasn't going to run away and hide in some fortress for the rest of her life. I mean, what was the point of being the Avatar unless you could deal with problems like this?

"Fine. Let's get them and get out of here. Where are they?" Lin asked, impatient to get going.

"In a military compound, and we're busting them out."

"Tonight's going to be fun." I grinned, lacing my fingers together and pushing them outwards so that they cracked, ready and flexed to beat some heads together. "The queen is going to be so majorly pissed when she finds out we stole all her air benders.

"Language Kana!"

"Sorry uncle." I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of anticipation and it only got better sneaking around after dark. Jinora helped us distract a couple guards so we could knock them out before we snuck into the compound together, all of us moving quietly as not to be discovered. I hung back at the entrance in order to keep guard of the way out, listening and watching for any guards that might come by whilst Asami and Lin got the airship ready to depart pretty much as soon as we busted out of here.

When I heard my radio go I picked it up and listened as Bumi informed everyone of our progress. "Tough Sight, this is Papa Bear. The Breezies are in the hole, cue the Balloons!" I had to admit, I rather liked Uncle Bumi's way of talking code, but Lin just seemed confused and thought that Bumi was asking for help because they were in trouble but he quickly retracted. "No, we got the air benders and we're headed out. Bring the airships!" I could just imagine him sitting there dejected that no one got his codenames so I radioed in.

"I liked your codenames Uncle Bumi, very clever." Hoping that cheered him up, I looked up as I heard the airship begin to hum, making its way over but then two patrolling guards came around the corner. They stopped short and stared at me, momentarily confused and surprised so I took the opportunity to take them out before they could raise the alarm. Bending fine needles of ice I sent them flying, hitting their pressure points and they both dropped to the ground with a thud and groan, unable to bend or move. I guess all that practice with the chi blockers really paid off. I'm glad I signed up for those lessons.

Quickly dragging the limp guards out of sight I dropped them down then dusted off my hands just as Korra emerged from the temple with the air benders all behind her. "Kanna?"

"All clear." I answered, seeing nobody around so Korra waved to the others to follow her and we all began to step out into the open. Before we got further than the stairs, the sound of rustling robes caught our attention and Korra immediately took up a defensive stance as we were surrounded by Dai Li agents.

"I thought you said it was all clear!" Korra hissed at me sharply as the two of us stood back to back naturally, taking up our bending stances.

"Well clearly I was mistaken." I snapped back at her before focusing on our rather intense looking opponents. We were completely surrounded now and I wasn't liking the look of our odds and I didn't have enough water to bend into enough ice to be of any help. There was only so much I could pull from the air and it still wouldn't be enough.

"So you've discovered my elite army." Hearing the queen's voice, we all looked over to see her royal highness approaching us with that really annoyingly uptight expression of arrogance. I hate that woman. "I see their loyalty still needs some work."

"These air benders shouldn't be used as weapons! They have a right to choose their own paths." Korra shouted to her so that her voice could be clearly heard as I nodded in agreement.

"They're a new generation of a nation that has been lost for almost two centuries. You can't just force them into an army to fight for you! It's not even the air bender way, they don't approve of violence!"

"These air benders are Earth Kingdom citizens and I am their Queen." She responded cruelly, clearly not caring for the livelihood of these people she had snatched from their homes and literally forced into servitude. "Taking them will constitute an act of war. If you disobey me, I will bear down on you with the entire force of my kingdom!"

"Your actions raising a secret army is already an act of war. You won't be getting away with this you miserable old crone!" I shook my fist at her angrily, feeling so deeply offended by her that Korra actually hold me back as the queen stared at me in shock. "My grandfather would put you over his knee if he were still alive, the air benders are his people and we won't let you use them like this!"

"Exactly. They're leaving with us."

"No, they're not!"

"Go choke on a prune you hag!" At my last insult, the queen turned away and swiped out her hand, silently ordering the Dai Li to finish us off. The air benders quickly defended themselves by bending the air into a powerful gust as rock gloves came shooting towards us but shattered as they collided. I water whipped several of my own, making them break before they could hit anyone and even broke one before it could hit Bumi on the head as his spirit friend fluttered around him nervously.

Thankfully Asami and Lin arrived just then with the airship, giving us our ticket out of here. Bumi directly the air benders to start climbing the construction rigging of the temple in order to reach the two ships, both Lin's and Asami's. Where were Mako and Bolin with Kai and Jinora? They should be here by now. As Bumi oversaw the escape, I helped Korra and Uncle Tenzin hold off the Dai Li, throwing ice shards in the form of throwing stars to hold them off and freeze their feet and hands down to things so that they were temporarily immobilised until I had no water left. "I'm out of water!" I yelled as a rock boulder came flying at me so Korra leaped in the way and broke it, covering me so that I could run for the airship.

"Hurry! Get out of here!" Bumi held out his hand and helped me up so I could start climbing, moving fast until the two of us were as high as we could possibly be but for me, it was way too big a gap to jump, I'd never reach it.

"Hold on sweet muffin!" My uncle yelled, grabbing onto me with an arm around my waist and I yelled as he jumped all at once with me hanging at his side, terrified as I suddenly saw the ground all the way down below us. Bumi propelled us both with his air bending, so thankfully we made the distance and when we landed on the deck with a heavy thud, I groaned to myself. I really don't want to try that again. Once we were all on board, Bumi called for Lin to take off, leaving Korra and Tenzin with Oogie down below so they quickly leaped on board after my uncle called for his bison.

Recovering from the flying lesson, I quickly got up and dove for the side of the ship, looking down to see Korra and Tenzin flying beside us before the broke off, having seen the others come running out of the temple with another group of Dai li agents rising up on huge stone pillars behind them, Bolin screaming in terror as they all ran with projectiles hammering down after them. When Oogie was close enough in range, Bolin earth bended them into the air with propelling force, allowing them to land in Oogie's saddle so I breathed a sigh of relief. We all made it. "Is that everybody? Did anyone get left behind?" I turned around, calling out to the air benders who all looked at one another before shaking their heads. "Oh great, that's good. No offence, but I wouldn't be all that keen on going back for anyone. Those Dai Li are real nasty."

Seeing to it that the air benders were taken care of, I got everybody some water and food since it looked like they hadn't been given all that much, rustling up whatever I could find before they went to sleep from exhaustion. Can't say I blame them, they all seemed to have a real rough time of late. Still, I hope things get better for them now. At least they won't be forced to serve in an army anymore.

Keeping an eye on things, I stayed up for a while in order to enjoy the feeling of victory, wishing I could see the look on that ugly queen's face right about now. I bet it's a classic.