Three years had passed since Korra had been attacked by Zaheer and Red Lotus. In that time, I had travelled more of the world than I ever thought I would. My spirit friends came to check in with me from time to time, Fang keeping me company all the while as he seemed to have rather taken a liking to me. He was about the size of Naga, and it was nice to have someone to share the journey with. We'd found more and more Red Lotus members, and I helped the White Lotus to defeat them whilst also travelling around the earth kingdom settling things where there was unrest.

The biggest problem was the rise in outlaws and bandits who preyed on smaller provinces to take their supplies and money so that they would start to starve. I wasn't willing to allow that to happen, and with Kuvira the so called Great Uniter, Ugh, that woman infuriated me. She had taken up the charge to bring the earth kingdom back into order but instead of protecting the provinces and states, she went in and subdued them by force, refusing to help unless they swore to serve her. Sure, she'd defeat the bandits and drive them off, solving all their problems and bringing in supplies, but it came with a cost.

I'd done some investigating and it turns out, Kuvira was nothing more than a tyrant. That's why I'd travelled around trying to help people as best I could, gathering earth benders from around the states to have them help drive off the bandits and outlaws. It meant that the governors didn't have to sign Kuvira's contract to submit to her, and for now I had secured around half a dozen states, having earth benders stay behind in order to continue to protect the cities and roads before moving on with Fang.

Right now we were in the state of Yi, where I'd once more found supporters who were willing to fight against the bandits as well as Kuvira's dictatorship. Most of them had escaped from prison camps she had set up across the earth kingdom, and several times we had raided them in order to liberate the wrongly imprisoned citizens. She viewed anyone who was not native to the earth kingdom to be intruders, so all fire benders and water benders had been taken from their homes and incarcerated.

That just made it easier for me to persuade them to join me in my own campaign, liberating other states out of Kuvira's grasp and generally being a pain in her backside. Yi State was one of the last that hadn't been yet taken over by Kuvira, but we knew she was in the area so as I sat atop Fang, looking at the bandit camp we'd finally located, I frowned deeply. "So what's the plan boss?" One of my fellow resistance fighters asked jokingly, calling me boss because she knew it annoyed me.

"I'm not your boss, Korrin, we're all fighting for the same cause." I said to her as I rubbed Fang's head, making him close his eyes and seemingly smile as he enjoyed the attention. "They've got a lot of sentries posted around the camp as well as what looks like land mines to keep people from entering anywhere except the main path. We can deal with those easily enough, and it seems like they've taken a lot of supplies they've stolen. Yin city really needs those supplies, they've been cut off for a while and they need our help."

"Let's take those bandits and the supplies, we can do it!" One of the younger members of our ragtag team voted, punching the air so I laughed lightly as I slid down off Fang's back, the spirit wolf-fox turning around to lay down beside me.

"Easy there Noatak, it's not going to be that simple. We've got benders and non-benders down there, and those land mines. That's our first problem, so we'll deal with that first. Earth benders, you guys will form a perimeter around the camp and detonate the mines with your earth bending. The bandits will probably scatter and try to escape, so make sure you keep an eye on anyone who tries to slip past you. They steal from the weak and vulnerable, and that makes them cowards, so they'll run before they'd willing fight all of us." I explained before laying out my plan.

It was clean and efficient, ensuring that we'd walk away with all the supplies which we could return to Yin city, but it depended on securing the supplies before the bandits could either destroy it or make off with the valuables. With everything ready, I mounted up on Fang then leaned down as he growled, taking off with a quick leap as everybody moved into position. He crouched low among the bushes of the treeline, focusing on the hidden camp as we waited until finally, we felt a rumble like an earthquake underneath our feet. Our earth benders collapsed the earth around the land mines, forcing them to explode which caused the bandits to be thrown in to a frenzy, confused at what was happening and once all the mines were detonated, we all charged in with battle cries. Fang was ferocious and scary, snarling and snapping at the bandits as he carried me in before I leaped off him with a turn, kicking outwards and sent a water strike straight against a bandit who I threw back and let him hit several others.

With the clean efficiency of my team, we had everything wrapped up in just a few short minutes, allowing me to dust off my hands and grin. "Well that was fun. A shame you guys couldn't put up more of a fight though. Guess you're not so tough when you're not stealing from innocent people, huh?" I asked, planting my boot against the bandit leader's face and making him eat dirt for a little bit as Fang growled as well. "You think you can just ruin other people's lives for your own gain? Well that's not going to happen anymore. You're lucky the Avatar isn't here to teach you a lesson. You'd be sitting pretty with a whole lot less teeth than what you have now."

"You damn brat! When I get out of here, I'm gonna…" I squished his face some more, cutting him off as he yelped.

"Yeah, I don't think so buddy. Hey Korrin! Hando, how're we looking?" Leaving the bandit leader alone, I walked over to my sort of second in commands who were securing the supplies and loading them up onto the trucks the bandits conveniently had lying around, preparing to take them back to the city of Yin.

"It's looking great boss. There's enough supplies here to see them through to the next season, and since these assholes are taken care of, they won't have to worry about the roads being blocked anymore." Hando said to me as I rolled my eyes at being called boss again. Seriously, I was like, one of the youngest people here. I'm not anybody's boss, I just help organise things a little.

"Good, let's get this back to Yin city, load them up too." I jerked my thumb at the bandits and soon enough we were on our way. When we rolled into town I rode on top of Fang, making people gasp and they started to gather, seeing that we had truck loads full of supplies for them all. To my surprise, I saw Kai and Opal standing with a short man who looked like an official, so I assumed he was the governer and he was looking at a piece of paper in Kai's hand. I recognised it instantly, I'd seen several of them before when Kuvira had forced them to be signed. "Wait!" I yelled, drawing all attention towards me. "It's okay now Governor Yin, we've brought supplies!"

"Kanna!" Kai and Opal both gasped when they saw me so I quickly jumped off Fang as the crowds started to cheer, rubbing his face before I walked over to the two air benders. Wow, was that really Kai? He's grown up a lot and he looks like such a handsome young man.

"Hey guys, it's good to see you-!" Both of them tackled me with a hug, almost knocking me over backwards until I recovered my footing. "I missed you too."

"Where have you been?! Nobody's seen you in three years, you just totally disappeared!" Kai practically yelled at me as Opal continued to hug me with tears in her eyes. "Did you do all this? How did you get through the bandits?"

"Oh, I kicked their butt that's how." I answered, smiling as I stroked Opal's hair before glancing at the governor who just looked stunned and like he was about to cry. "We found their base and hit them whilst they were at home with their guards down. My friends here helped me. We've been travelling from state to state helping liberating people. That's part of what I've been doing for the past three years."

"No way! So the person everybody talks about freeing the roads and fighting bandits on a big giant wolf-fox spirit is you?!" Opal gasped at me as Fang yipped, ears perking forwards and wagging his tail at the sound of his name.

"Yep, that's me. This is Fang. He and I have become great friends. Fang, these are my friends, Opal and Kai." I introduced and Fang sniffed them, making Opal giggle as he snuffed at her hair. "Governor, is that a contract from Kuvira in your hands? Please don't sign it. Your roads are safe now. You can resume trade and I've brought back the supplies that were stolen from you. There's food, medicine, your money, everything's there." I assured him whereby he then sniffed and bowed to me in thanks, Korrin and the others having already started to hand things out.

"Thank you, thank you so much for saving my people. Your name is Kanna, is it? I shall have a memorial tablet inscribed for you as a token of our deep gratitude for your help."

"Please, that's not necessary at all. My team here did most of the work, and they're going to stay here to make sure that your roads stay safe whilst I move on. We caught all the bandits, they're actually locked up in the back of that truck there." I informed everyone, making Kai and Opal drop their jaws at me. "But if it's alright, we would all really appreciate some rest and my friends could do with somewhere to sleep, maybe take a shower and get a change of clothes if it's possible? We've been sleeping rough for several weeks now and I know they'd appreciate some home comforts and a hot meal we didn't have to hunt and forage for ourselves."

"Of course! Of course! All of your needs will be seen to, it is the least we can do to repay you." The governor bowed repeatedly before leaving to make the arrangements, leaving me with Kai and Opal.

"So look at you two! All grown up and real air benders. How is everyone? What's been happening since I left?" Kai and Opal glanced at each other worriedly.

"Well, it's not great, to be honest." Opal said before they both filled me in on everything that had been happening. The air benders were travelling around the earth kingdom trying to help where they were needed, but they were stretched so thin they could barely help bring in supplies. "We tried to bring supplies in from the air on Kai's bison Lefty, but the bandits had an airplane and took everything. We thought the governor would have to sign his state over to Kuvira for help, but then you showed up. I guess he won't have to do that anymore. I'm glad, I don't like her at all. She made my brother Baatar leave with her after betraying mom and Bolin even joined up with her."

"What?! Bolin is with Kuvira?" Opal nodded her head, pouting angrily so I sighed. "Bolin loves to help people in need, he probably doesn't even know what Kuvira is doing."

"That's no excuse! If he wants to help people then he should help without having them agree to stupid conditions!" Understanding Opal's frustrations I rubbed her shoulder as Kai sighed.

"I doubt Kuvira is going to leave peacefully. You might have a fight on your hand."

"She can't fight us outright." I assured him, folding my arms as Fang ended up becoming a climbing frame for excited children, whining softly at me to save him so I ice bent a few animal figures and a roundabout for the kids, redirecting their focus so that Fang wouldn't have his ears pulled anymore. He licked my cheek gratefully, making me smile for a moment before he sat down beside me and I rubbed the glowing fur of his chest. "Not without coming under scrutiny from Republic City and the other nations. If she leaves her army here and occupies by force, she'll be revealing herself as the dictator she's become. Trust me, I've already dealt with her a few times, I know what I'm doing."

"Well whatever happens, we're here with you Kanna." Kai said to me determinedly before he softened and smiled. "I really missed you. Jinora too, she was really sad after you left but she found your letter. She said she understands why you left and hoped that you came back someday." He said to me so I ruffled his hair gratefully whilst Opal leaned in with a teasing tone.

"Kai and Jinora are a couple now. These lovebirds are totally infatuated with each other, it's adorable to see them all cutesy together."

"What?! No way! Haha, I bet Tenzin just loved that. Or haven't you told him? Come on Kai don't be stingy, tell me the details!"

"Hey! Cut it out!" Kai protested as I started ruffling his hair with more gusto, grabbing him around the waist and lifting him up so he couldn't escape. "What about you and Bolin, Opal? You two have been dating each other for three years now." Instantly Opal's face fell and she looked away.

"Yeah well, looks like we won't be dating much longer. I can't stand the fact he's with Kuvira and he just refuses to see her for what she is." Knowing that Bolin was the kind of guy who liked to believe the best in all people, I put my arms around the both of them so that we were standing close together.

"Once Kuvira slips up and shows her real scheme, Bolin won't take long to figure out what she's up to then he'll make the right choice. You just gotta hang in there Opal. I'm really glad you two have been together for such a long time, and I'm sorry I haven't been there for you all. Do you…do you know why I left?" They both looked a little guilty.

"Yeah, it's not really a secret. In fact, the entire city knows. Someone leaked the reason for your arrest warrant and President Raiko went nuts. He's already said if you were to ever show your face in Republic City again he wanted you arrested on sight." Kai said to me before his brow pulled together. "Are you really a blood bender?"

"Yes I am, and I'm not ashamed of it. I've used blood bending for the past three years to help heal people and save lives. There was this one guy who almost cut off his arm in an accident, and I kept him from bleeding out. I couldn't reattach the arm, but he didn't die when he would have done without my blood bending. His family were just glad that he was still alive, and I told him that there were a lot of advancements being made for prosthetics so one day he might have a functioning arm again, though it'll be metal." I recalled, making Opal blink at me.

"That's amazing. You know, we wouldn't have treated you any different Kanna, you didn't have to run away."

"I didn't run away exactly, I was just hiding from my family with Korra. I didn't leave her until I was sure she was getting better, then I started travelling looking for Red Lotus members with Fang here, then we started on helping the provinces of the earth kingdom stabilise after all that happened with the queen." Both of them smiled at me as Fang yipped lightly, putting his head over my shoulder so that Opal and Kai could rub his muzzle. "He's been a big help, I don't know what I'd do without him."

"He's really awesome, I can't believe you can talk to spirits like Jinora." We all smiled to each other before I then introduced them to the rest of my team. We stayed to rest for a while, Kai, Opal and I catching up over three years' worth of time having been lost. It was around dusk when Kuvira's train pulled up outside the city once more, obviously having come to seek the governor's final answer. At first she didn't notice the changes of the citizens, focusing on the governor first as Kai and Opal stood beside him.

"I've come for your decision. Will you agree to submit to me or leave your people to ruin, governor?" His voice tightened in anger.

"I will never submit to the likes of you! My people have already been saved, so your presence is no longer necessary. Leave Yin state and never return!" Kuvira showed momentary surprise until I pushed my way through to the front of the crowd, revealing myself. Bolin saw me, standing in line behind Kuvira alongside Opal's older brother, and when he saw me his face burst with shock and delight, beaming at me as Kuvira's face dropped into a furious scowl.

"Kanna! I can't believe it, it's really you!" He ran towards me and I couldn't help but feel a natural soft affection for Bolin, giving him a small smile as he came towards me.

"Hey Bolin." He grabbed my waist in order to lift me up and spin me around, grinning like a little kid before he then let me down and hugged me tightly.

"It's been three whole years! I got your letters but you never told me where to reach you. I wrote hundreds of replies anyway and kept them safe, you can read them when we get back to Republic City. Oh man, I can't wait to tell Mako, we've all been worried crazy about you!" Bolin gushed, pulling back to yell frantically only to hug me again and repeat the process as he barely paused for breath. "I can't believe you just left without even saying goodbye. We didn't mean for you to be upset or hurt, and Mako's been beating himself up over what happened everyday since then…"

"Bolin, it's fine." I cut him off before he could work himself up into a state, rearranging his hair so that it wasn't so neat and tidy and pulled the adorable little curl down just like it used to sit before I hugged him back. "I'm sorry for leaving for so long, but I needed to get away for a while. I…needed to figure out who I was." I said and Bolin smiled, seemingly understanding me. That's what I loved about Bolin, he always saw the best in people, me included.

"As touching as this reunion in, I'm afraid there is something I do not understand." Kuvira interrupted, earning a dry glare from me as Bolin ducked his head and backed away from me under Kuvira's scrutiny. "How is it that you were able to provide relief to these citizens? You may have gotten through the bandits this time, but can you continue to hold them off? Governor, please make the correct choice, the best choice for your people. My army's presence is the only thing that can keep your people continually safe."

"No. This young lady brought food and medicine to my people, and she did not force me with an ultimatum or conditions. She did not demand my surrender and loyalty just to feed my people. I will put my faith in her and her followers. She is clearly more fit to bring peace to this country, where all you bring is misery and subjugation. For the last time, leave. Or I shall have you removed from my state by force." Kuvira's eyes narrowed, clearly enraged that she had lost this time but knew full well she couldn't strike out. Not yet, anyway. She had no choice but to retreat.

"Very well, as you wish." She turned away then, ordering everybody to return to the train and Bolin looked at me and Opal hesitantly, like he was unsure he wanted to leave but then he turned and followed after her. His shoulders were slumped and I could see he was sad, but I didn't call after him. I just let him go as Opal turned away, biting back some of her tears so I pulled her towards me and let her rest her head against my shoulder.

"Wow, that Kuvira lady sure is a beast. I thought she was going to punch you in the face." Korrin said to me as my team wandered on over as the crowds dispersed. "So what's the plan boss?" I groaned.

"Boss?" Kai repeated with an amused smirk so I pushed at his head to make him veer backwards in play.

"You guys are going to stay here and protect the Yin state in case anymore bandits show up. Keep the peace and send word if you guys get into trouble. Keep an eye out for Kuvira. She'll definitely be back at some point." I directed them, naturally taking the lead as everybody listened. "I'm going to follow Kuvira's train and see what she's up to, do some recon. I know she's planning something big, the spirits have been keeping an eye on her for me but they don't like her energy so they don't get too close."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Opal worried, biting on her lip slightly. "What if she catches you?"

"Don't worry, Fang can run as fast as that train. He can even run over water and we'll be following behind. I'll only infiltrate when they stop, they won't catch me." I assured her confidently as I placed a hand on my hips. "It really is good seeing you guys again. I can't believe how much you've grown and how strong you've become. I promise, once Kuvira steps down from her campaign and the new monarch is crowned, I'll come back home." I hugged them both tightly, smiling into them before I hugged some of my closer friends on the team, saying goodbye before I swung up onto Fang's back. "Let's go Fang!" He howled in answer, releasing his voice into the sky before he took off with a giant leap, running to the tracks before he then followed after the train, carrying me away and out of sight as everyone waved and cheered to send me off, allowing me to smile and feel a sense of gladness.

Soon, it'll all be over soon, then I can go back to my family with my head held high, then maybe we could all sit down and finally talk.