We're back on the next chapter.
REMINDER: I DO NOT OWN LEGEND OF KORRA OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.
Night had fallen over Kuvira's encampment outside Zaofu as the scene opens. A light breeze ruffles the flag over Kuvira's quarters and the small building was surrounded by mecha tanks.
At the side of the valley, the siege force and Zaofu itself. A lone guard patrols a path in the darkness. As he sweeps the flashlight beam left and right, a piece of metal suddenly flies from the brush on his left and covers his mouth.
He staggers, unable to yell, the flashlight tumbling away from his hand through the air. A metal whip cracks out at him, fastening around his ankles and dragging him into the brush.
Three cables fastening themselves to a tree branch above; three figures, dressed in black, rise into the tree, the cables in their hands.
Suyin, Wei, and Wing came to rest on the same branch, staring down at the encampment below. Wing, on Suyin's right, turns to speak in a hushed tone to his mother.
"Are you sure this will work? Even without Kuvira, they could still crush us." Wing said.
"Most of this army has been forced into service by Kuvira. If we take her out, they'll have no reason to fight. Tonight, we end her reign of terror." Suyin raises a black hood over her head, covering everything except her eyes.
Within the encampment; a mecha tank on patrol marches past a tank as Suyin and her sons hides underneath it. They quickly scramble out from their hiding place and take off through the maze of tanks.
As a beam of light from a watchtower sweeps past, they take cover behind another tank. When the beam has passed, they advance, finally coming to a stop behind a few stacks of boxes very near Kuvira's hut.
As another mecha tank passes, Suyin peers through a crack between boxes at the hut, still guarded by mecha tanks. Stepping back, she stomps forcefully on the ground, using seismic waves to see past the obstacles in front of them.
The waves radiate outward, traveling past the mecha tanks and throughout the hut, where Kuvira was asleep in bed.
"She's alone in there. Now's our chance!" Suyin whispered.
The three simultaneously bend the earth beneath themselves, twisting on the spot and disappearing into holes below them. In the hut, three holes open in the thin metal of the floor and the cloaked figures rise through them.
Bending cables from her hands, Suyin, in the middle, wraps the sleeping figure tightly with them, before rolling her over to look at her face. The terrified face, however, does not belong to Kuvira.
It was Zhu Li. "Don't hurt me!"
Suyin takes off her mask in surprise. "Zhu Li?"
Suddenly, a siren blares outside; the central support pole withdraws into the ground as the metal sides of the tent fall away and spotlights shine down on the three figures as soldiers and mecha tanks surround them. Kuvira and Meldora steps from between two mecha tanks.
"Thanks to Meldora's crystal ball, I knew you'd try a sneak attack. You were afraid to step up and lead the Earth Kingdom when you had the chance. You were afraid to join me when I became the leader, and now, you're afraid of a fair fight. You've always been a coward. Take them!"
As the two mecha tanks between which Kuvira walks shoot lightning at the intruders.
Later, the exterior of Zaofu's many domes, followed by the square inside, where Jinora, Opal, and Korra were talking to each other.
"Korra, you have to go stop Su before she does something terrible." Jinora said.
"We're thinking, we're thinking." Raava's imprint said.
"Stop her? We should be helping her." Opal said.
"We know that." Vaatu's imprint said.
"We have no idea where your mom is, or what her plan is. If we go charging into Kuvira's camp, we could get them all captured, or worse. All we can do now is wait." Korra said.
Opal looks down in dismay. The speakers around Zaofu goes on.
"Attention citizens of Zaofu. Your leader, Su Beifong, attempted to attack me tonight while I slept, ignoring the terms of our truce. Luckily, I now have her and her assault team in custody."
Opal was worried. "No."
"Rest assured that I will not take revenge on the peaceful citizens of Zaofu, unless your remaining representatives meet me outside the city at dawn to offer the full and unconditional surrender of your city. That is all."
As Kuvira's voice fades, Opal turns toward Korra, furious. "Korra, you can't let Kuvira get away with this! We have to go break out Mom and my brothers!"
Jinora was irked by Opal's aggressive stance. "You swore an oath of non-aggression when you became an airbender. You can't just attack Kuvira!"
"I don't care about the oath! I have to save my family!" Opal determined.
Korra puts a hand on Opal's shoulder. "No, Jinora is right. Your mom attacked the camp. Kuvira was just defending herself.
Opal angrily shrugged Korra's hand off her. "What? 'Defending herself'? She was going to attack our city! I can't believe you're refusing to fight!"
"It's not that, Opal." Raava's imprint said. "We'll find a way." Vaatu's imprint said.
The doors of a house behind the group open and Meelo and Ikki emerge wearing nightclothes, having been woken by Kuvira's announcement.
Meelo rubs his eyes tiredly. "Why is that loudspeaker lady talking when I'm trying to sleep?"
"Korra, what are we going to do?" Baatar Sr. said.
"Jinora and I will go talk to Kuvira at dawn, and, maybe, we can work something out. I promise, I'll do everything I can to keep the peace." Korra said. "But, what if she would attack me, hurting my babies?"
"Korra, I have been the Avatar Spirit for a long time. Every female Avatars before you with child were protected my me when any battles start." Raava's imprint said.
"And with my dark power, the twins won't get hurt as well. Us in your body are able to protect them." Vaatu's imprint said.
"Thanks, Raava, Vaatu." Korra said.
"I'll go with you." Opal said.
"We'll go, too." Ikki said.
"No, child. Your father told you to find Korra and us, and you have. Now you need to stay safe." Vaatu's imprint said.
"Come on! Let us help!" Ikki said.
"Vaatu's right. I can't risk anyone else being captured. You can stay with Baatar and Huan while I work things out with Kuvira. Make sure they get back to Tenzin if anything goes wrong." Korra said before Baatar nods.
Meelo was upset. "Aw, man! When am I gonna see some action?"
Meanwhile, an Earth Empire train was speeding along its elevated railway in the mountains, inside, Varrick lies on the floor, apparently having a nightmare.
"Cookie... jar... empty. No... hot... towels! Waxy... buildup!" Varrick suddenly bolted upright, yelling: "Zhu Li!"
Varrick fully wakes up, showing the interior of a prison car; Varrick was occupying one of the several cells. To Varrick's right, Bolin stirs briefly as Varrick looks around, downcast.
"Oh... she really is gone." Varrick said.
As he pulls himself into a sitting position, the doors at the end of the car slide open. Baatar Jr. and two other guards walk up to his cell.
"Up and at 'em, Varrick! Time to go to work." he said before one of the guards unlocks the cell door. "We have another lab set up for you. Kuvira wants the spirit vine weapon operational as soon as possible."
The guards slide the door open.
"Zhu Li always greeted me in the morning with a hot cup of tea." Varrick said with a smile crosses his face as he stares vacantly at the wall.
"You'll get your tea when you start working." Baatar Jr. said as a guard seizes Varrick by the shoulders, pulling him upright.
"Well, I'm really only productive for about fifteen minutes a day, usually in the afternoon around three-forty-five." Varrick said.
The guard glances at Baatar Jr., who nods. The guard slams Varrick roughly into the wall behind him as Baatar Jr. continues.
"You'll work now. I want you to show me how the device works." Baatar Jr. said.
A yawn from Baatar Jr.'s left interrupts the conversation; Bolin was in a sitting position, rubbing his eyes.
"What's goin' on?" Bolin asked.
"Go back to sleep. We only need Varrick. You'll need your energy when you get to the re-education camp." Baatar Jr. said.
"I can't be expected to work without an assistant! Without Zhu Li, I'm helpless!" Varrick said emphatic.
"One of the guards will be your assistant. I'll be supervising." Baatar Jr. said.
Varrick glances at the guard next to him. "Well, I guess he'll be fine. As long as he doesn't need his hands afterwards!"
The guard turns to Baatar Jr.; nervously. "What's he talking about, sir?"
Varrick slides slowly across the floor toward the guard. "The last time we worked with the spirit vines, it created an uncontrollable blast that burned through a wall and could still be blowing up comets in space, as far as I know! I wouldn't want to assist me if I were you!"
The guard turns his head toward Baatar Jr., pausing for a moment before speaking.
"Maybe we should just let the kid help him out." the guard said.
"Fine. Bolin can assist." Baatar Jr. said.
Bolin panicked as the guards advance on him. "Wait, what? I need my hands! Uh, hold on! Can we have breakfast first? While we still have hands?"
The guards pull a dejected Bolin out of the cell by his collar.
Meanwhile, at the valley floor in Zaofu, where Kuvira's army stands ready for battle, their banners flapping in a brisk wind. The figures of Korra, Opal, and Jinora walk toward the front line, where a single figure, detached from the rest, stands waiting for them.
Kuvira and Meldora were standing, and Suyin, Wei, and Wing were imprisoned in massive steel cases behind them. The three moving figures stop.
"Release them now!" Opal demanded.
"If Su agrees to bow to me and turn over Zaofu, she and the rest of your family will not be harmed." Kuvira said.
"Never! I'll never bow to you!" Suyin vehemently.
"Oh, you will soon enough." Meldora said.
"There must be some way for us to resolve this!" Korra said.
"I've already laid out my terms, and I think they're very reasonable. After all, Su did try to take me out during our peaceful negotiations." Kuvira said.
"You call bringing an army to threaten our city 'peaceful'?" Wei asked angrily.
"Where's Bolin? I know he would never go along with this!" Opal said.
"Bolin is with the Great Uniter's fiancé, working on something very important." Meldora said to an angered Opal.
"But, I assure you, he's on board with my plans. You two have been apart for some time. I guess you don't realize how much Bolin has grown up." Kuvira said. Now turn over Zaofu.
"I can't just let you take the city!" Korra yelled.
"Avatar Korra, you are interfering with internal Earth Empire business, and letting your personal feelings get in the way of reason. Zaofu cannot continue to rule itself. They have been hoarding their riches and technology too long. I'm here to distribute those resources fairly throughout the nation. This is about equality." Kuvira said sternly.
"You don't care about equality! This is about control!" Opal said before she turns to Korra. "Just take her down! You know it's the right thing to do! You have to stop this!"
"The only way you're going to keep me from marching into Zaofu is if you physically stop me. Now what are you going to do?" Kuvira asked bluntly.
"It looks like you're not giving me a choice." Korra said.
"This could be fun." Meldora said.
"Fine. I want you all to know that I would never ask any of you to do something that I'm not willing to do myself. So, rather than risk your lives, I will fight the Avatar one-on-one. Korra, if you win, then you can do whatever you want with Zaofu. But after I beat you, I want you out of my business for good. I'm the one who brought peace to the Earth Empire, not you. You're not relevant here anymore."
"Fine. You wanna fight the Avatar of the Balance? Then let's finish this, right here, right now." Korra said seriously.
The shot slowly closes in on Kuvira's serious face. The two parties stand facing each other silently for a moment. Kuvira were standing stoically with her hands behind her back, watching Korra. Korra, who looks determined, and the two airbenders. Opal glares at the army. As Jinora speaks, Korra glances down at her.
"Are you really ready to fight her?" Jinora asked.
"Just stay back and let me handle this. It's been a while, I got a lot of pent-up rage."
"Don't mess around. Kuvira is too good. Just go into the Ultimate Avatar State and get it over with." Opal said.
"No, I'm only going to use that as a last resort. Raava, Vaatu, protect my babies." Korra said while rubbing her belly.
"We will." Raava and Vaatu's imprint said.
"Be careful." Jinora sai.
As Opal and Jinora leaves Korra retreating to a safe distance, Korra cracks her neck and takes up a fighting stance. Kuvira steps forward to challenge Korra.
"Use whatever you want: All the elements; the Ultimate Avatar State; the two Spirits of Light and Darkness; anything you need." Kuvira said while smirking as she takes up her own battle stance. "I know you're a little rusty."
"Who said I'm rusty?" Korra asked bluntly.
"Korra's feeling like Frank N. Furter right now." Raava's imprint said.
Kuvira wides her eyebrow in confusion. "Who?"
The Avatar fires two jets of flame at Kuvira, who sidesteps the first and ducks under the second, slightly off guard. She spins back around to face Korra, who, jumps toward her opponent, flings an arc of fire at her.
Kuvira dodges again as another blast of flame misses her. Korra bends a stone up at Kuvira's face, but she swings her head out of the way barely in time. Dodging another fiery punch, she very rapidly bends a slab of earth between her and Korra, breaking the Avatar's attack and pushing her arm up, leaving her side unprotected.
Utilizing the opening she created in Korra's defences; she bends a chunk of rock right in Korra's stomach, but Vaatu's beam destroyed it. The Avatar flings two metal clasps at Korra's extended wrist and ankle and uses them to fling her tumbling through the air.
Korra crashed to the ground, tumbling to a stop and momentarily unmoving. The soldiers in Kuvira's army cheer loudly, Zhu Li, who was standing on the front line next to Meldora, was clapping unenthusiastically with a disinterested look on her face.
Kuvira straightens up, laughing as she resumes her fighting pose.
"Looks like the Avatar's a little off her game!" Kuvira said.
Korra struggles to get to her feet; as she finally rises, Opal calls out to her.
"Don't let her get you frustrated! She wants you to make a mistake!" Opal said.
Korra launches a fissure at Kuvira, but she rolls out of its way and also dodges Korra's airbending attack. The Avatar launches herself into the air and shoots an air blast at Kuvira, which she dodges once again.
Korra shoots fire, but the metalbender moves the earth under Korra, causing her to lose balance, and falls down. Korra shoots a couple more fire and air blasts, but Kuvira dodges them all and traps Korra's foot in a fissure before blinding her with a metal band and hitting her again with a rock.
Tearing the metal from her face, Korra rises to her feet once more, firing another fire blast at a waiting Kuvira.
Meanwhile, at Kuvira's train, it was racing through a valley, inside the train's interior, where Varrick was working on the spirit vine project under supervision of Baatar Jr.. Varrick was holding out a hand to Bolin, who stands behind him.
"Bolin, do the thing." Varrick said.
"What thing?" Bolin asked.
Uh, the-the thing. To be honest, I never had to tell Zhu Li what thing." Varrick said.
"I'm not Zhu Li, okay? Pretend I don't know anything about anything that's happening here, also pretend I don't want to build a super weapon or get my hands blown off."
Varrick walks over to the table and grabs a pair of pliers, demonstratively showing them to Bolin.
"This thing." Varrick said. "God, I really had to stop saying 'do the thing' and say something like 'get the pliers'. I'm getting tired of it."
He starts continuing his work on the stasis capsule. Baatar Jr. walks in a little closer, eyeing his work.
"Walk me through what you're doing. I want to know every detail of your work." he said.
Varrick puts a hand on Baatar Jr.'s chest and slightly shoves him away. "You know, when I started working with the vines, the point was to find a clean, unlimited source of energy, not develop some spirity death ray."
"Clean energy! Sounds great! Who doesn't like that stuff? Let's do that instead!" Bolin said enthusiastically.
Baatar Jr. was annoyed. "Quiet. You're here to help, not talk like you always do in your dim-witted life. And you of all people, should realize that once a discovery is made, it is our responsibility as scientists to pursue it as far as we can. Wherever it leads."
"How would you know? You couldn't discover a wolfbat if it was building a nest in your butt." Varrick said sarcastically before Bolin chuckles.
"You're pathetic. Wolfbats don't build nests." Baatar Jr. said.
"Ooh. You got me there, Dr. Science. You'll never know how it feels to give birth to genius, only to have it kidnapped, and raised by fools!"
"Are you done with your rambling, or do the guards need to encourage you to continue your work?" Baatar Jr. asked before a guard starts to approach Varrick.
Varrick raises hands in surrender. "Okay, okay." He walks back to the vine. "The last time we ran the current through the vine we couldn't control the power, so I'm trying something new to see if I can direct it."
Varrick winks at Bolin out of Baatar Jr.'s view as he walks past Bolin. Bolin, who looks confused by the wink.
Back to Kuvira and Korra fighting. The Great Uniter dodges a couple of blasts from Korra, before shooting a few metal plates at her, all of which miss Korra. The Avatar launches herself high into the air and tries to land a hit on Kuvira from there, but was knocked down again.
She gets back up, but continues to fail landing a hit on Kuvira. The metalbender traps her hand in a plate, launching her far away again. Kuvira shoots a few rocks, but Korra throws up a wall of cover for herself; the two opponents push the wall back and forth in an attempt to knock the other down, to no avail.
While Korra was holding the boulder at bay, close to herself, Kuvira disintegrates the rock, causing Korra to fall to her knees.
"Come on, Avatar, get up! Show me what you've got!" Kuvira said Kuvira smugly.
Opal and Jinora were watching Korra uncertainly. Opal suddenly rushes forward.
"We have to help her!" Opal said.
"No! Stay back! I can handle this." Korra said on the ground, she raises her head.
Kuvira gets back in a fighting stance, smiling as she does.
Back at the train, where Bolin was playing with a screwdriver and Baatar was closely studying the spirit vine weapon.
"So, I see how the current interacts with the vine, and here is a kind of directional tube, but that is baffling here at the base. It looks like that would only redirect the energy back where it came from. And what's that piece of equipment you're fiddling with now on the power source?"
"Hand me the... screw-turn-thingy, would ya?" Varrick said to Bolin, without looking.
"You mean the screwdriver. Ugh, I can't believe you're helping them, you know this isn't right." Bolin hands Varrick the screwdriver.
"Funny story, Bolin. I first got the idea for harnessing spirit power when I watched that killer storm attack the city from my jail cell. That giant storm set me free! Trust me, kid, I know what I'm doing."
Bolin gets a baffled look on his face, Varrick gets up.
"That ought to do it." Nothing happens. "Huh." Varrick taps the machine. "Okay, stand back." He walks back a few steps. Bolin moves out of the way. Baatar Jr. raises his eyebrow and nervously steps back.
Varrick gives the machine a good, hard kick and it comes to life, glowing purple all around, and a ticking sound was heard. Varrick aises his arms in triumph. "There we go!"
"What's that ticking?" Baatar Jr. asked.
"That's the timer." Varrick answered.
A suspicious Baatar Jr. looks unamused. "The timer for what?"
"For the bomb, of course!" Varrick said.
Bolin was worried. "What?! What bomb?"
"The bomb that's gonna explode in five minutes and destroy this entire train, all of the spirit vines, and everything else within a few hundred yards."
As Bolin looks around the train in a panic, Varrick addresses Baatar Jr. with a smug smile; Baatar Jr.'s expression grow progressively more angry as Varrick continues.
"You know what, I'd get out of here if I were you. This is the first time I've built a timer and it might run a little fast. Bolin and I are ready to go down with the ship, or train, in this case, but you seem like you have a lot to live for." Varrick said.
By now, Baatar Jr.'s face bears a look of barely suppressed rage.
Bolin, meanwhile, was completely panicked. "No, no, no, no! I'm not ready to go down with the ship, or the train!"
Baatar Jr. was not convinced. "You're bluffing."
"Stick around five minutes and you'll find out who's bluffing. You'll be sorry you left me, Zhu Li! When they write the history books, your name will be synonymous with betrayal! People will say, 'Hey, what happened to that guy? Oh, didn't you hear? He Varricked himself because some girl Zhu Li'd him!' Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned."
"Enough. What makes you think we would let you blow yourself up? You're working for Kuvira! You don't get to quit." Baatar Jr. said before he turns to the gaurds. "Grab him."
As the guards advance on Varrick, he pulls a detonator from his pocket. "You try to pull me away from this thing and I'll hit this remote, and blow it immediately!"
"Why the hell do you have a timer and a remote?" Baatar Jr. asked.
"Well, first, I built the timer, but then I thought, you could drag me off the train, so then I built a remote, but then I thought, do I really need the timer, because now I got a remote in my… Whatever! I'm covering all my bases! The point is, you're leaving, we're staying!"
Meanwhile, backt at Zaofu, where Korra was still losing the fight against Kuvira. She shoots fire, but Kuvira turns the ground under Korra's feet, so that she faces the other way.
Korra recovers and bends a boulder at her opponent, but she bends a metal plate around Korra's ankle, somersaulting her through the air, falling down a few yards away.
"You have to go into the Ultimate Avatar State! Do it!" Suyin shouts.
Korra watches Kuvira lunge for her and suddenly goes into the Ultimate Avatar State, stopping Kuvira and blasting her away with airbending. Kuvira gets up again, but Korra launches herself after the metalbender, blasting her even farther away.
Kuvira's hair untangles in the process; Korra rises up from the ground on an air spout, taking an enormous boulder with her, preparing to crush Kuvira. Kuvira pulls herself to her hands and knees, slowly raising her head to face Korra.
Meldora points to Korra's head and she begins to feel pain. Korra falls out of the Ultimate Avatar state, dropping the boulder as she falls helplessly to the ground.
"Oopsie." Meldora muttered to herself like a child with a smirk.
"I don't understand. What's wrong with her?" Jinora wondered.
"It must have been that witch's spell." Opal said.
"I knew you were weak." Kuvira said.
Kuvira shoots two plates at Korra and suspends her in mid-air by her wrists. The metalbender smiles, before slamming Korra into the ground and encasing all but her head in a mound of earth, trapping her.
She walks closer and, taking six metal plates and bending them to give them a razor's edge, prepares to kill Korra. Jinora and Opal, seeing what was about to transpire, send simultaneous blasts of air at Kuvira; caught off guard, she flies through the air, landing hard on her back in front of her troops.
Rising to her feet with the help of two of her soldiers, she angrily cries out at the airbenders.
"They broke our agreement! Attack!" Kuvira shouts out.
The army charges forward and Jinora and Opal create a tornado to hold them back. Several soldiers are blown away and the rest are rendered unable to do anything but brace against the raging wind.
"Keep them back, I'm calling for help!" Jinora shouts to Opal.
Inside Zaofu, where Huan was watching how Ikki draws a colourful, childish portrait of herself. Meelo, to her left, was also painting.
"Stunning work, Ikki. It hurts my eyes with its... raw, emotional power!" Huan said domestically before he walks over to where Meelo was painting and takes in his work.
Meelo's painting, which was a lifelike depiction of himself in a nobleman's cloak. "Ugh, pedestrian. I already know what you look like on the outside, I want you to show me, the inner Meelo." Huan said.
Jinora's astral projection appears before them. "Help! You have to get Korra and the rest of us out of here now! Hurry!"
Meelo kicks down his easel. "Finally! Let's get it on!"
Back at the train, where Baatar Jr. and his men were evacuating Varrick's lab.
"That's everyone, our half of the train is clear." Bolin said.
"That's good, we're almost out of time." Varrick said.
Baatar Jr. glares at Varrick. "You're insane."
"You knew that when you hired me!" Varrick said triumphantly. "Bolin, do the thing!" Bolin hesitates, not knowing what Varrick means; angrily. "Unhook the cars, oh, come on, that was an easy one!"
The cars were unhooked with a single pull of a lever, shutting the door of Varrick's lab, while the rest of the train pulls away from them.
"Man, that was great! I gotta admit, you had me going there for a while, I really thought you were gonna blow us up!" Bolin said. "Now, how do we turn this thing off?
"Ooh, we can't turn it off." Varrick said. "We're gonna blow up… but, we had a pretty good run, right?"
Bolin becomes horrified. He grabs Varrick by the collar. "What the actual hell are you talking about, 'a good run'? I'm still running, damn it! I like running!"
He runs over to the machine, looking at it from various angles, but does not know what anything does. He looks around the car and sees a hatch in the floor. He runs over and opens it, sticks his head through, and sees that it leads down to the tracks.
"I'll see you on the other side, Zhu Li." Varrick said poetic.
Bolin slaps Varrick in the face and grabs him by the collar again. "I want you to know by God, I hate you. So bloody much."
They jump down the hatch and Bolin catches them with his earthbending.
Baatar Jr. was looking through a spyglass at the train as it suddenly blows up in a bright purple flash.
I can't believe he actually blew himself up. That man was crazier than a sewer pipe elephant-rat." Baatar Jr. said before he turns to his men again. "Let's get back to Zaofu."
At the crater, where Bolin breaks through the wall, letting him and Varrick come out of a tunnel, coughing. Varrick starts laughing and lets out a victory roar.
"Yes!" Varrick shouts in victory. Bolin just looks at him angrily. "You did it, Bolin, you did the thing!" Varrick kisses Bolin on the forehead.
"I can't believe Zhu Li worked for you as long as she did." Bolin said bluntly.
Back at Zaofu, the tornado created by the airbenders was still going strong and even Kuvira's mecha tanks were struggling to move through the headwinds.
Korra wakes up and breaks through the wall surrounding her, but she immediately falls to the ground.
"Dive, Pepper, dive!" Meelo shouts before Pepper dives into the midst of the tornado. "Here comes a hurricane!" The tornado dies down, Opal and Jinora grabbed Korra and launch themselves onto Pepper's back, while Meelo airbends at Kuvira's tanks. "You can't handle all this Meelo!"
"We've got her, go!" Jinora shouts before Pepper takes off.
"We have to save them!" Opal prepares to jumps off to get her mother and brothers, but she was stopped by Jinora and Ikki.
Opal, get out of here, we'll be fine! Just go!" Suyin shouts.
Opal was tearing up. "I'll be back for you! I love you!"
Kuvira watches Pepper fly away and turns around to her troops, thrusting one arm into the air in victory with a smile. "Zaofu is ours!"
The army cheers into victory. Meldora smiles as her stunt to let Kuvira win the battle with the Avatar had done successfully and no one would suspect her putting a spell on her.
Inside Zaofu, where banners of the Earth Empire have been dropped down from high buildings.
Kuvira was addressing the crowd. "Bring the citizens of Zaofu to kneel before the Great Uniter! All who pledge their loyalty to me will keep their freedom and will be dealt with fairly as full citizens of the Earth Empire. The rest will be imprisoned as traitors, like Su Beifong and her sons. Now bow!"
Meldora was addressing the crowd. "And if anyone stands up against the Great Uniter, please let me know so I can make your punishments a little too painful for you to handle."
The crowd kneels down before her, save for Baatar and Huan. Baatar Jr., furious, walks up to his father.
"Bow to her! Do it! She is your rightful leader!" Baatar Jr. shouts.
Baatar turns his head in shame. "I am so disappointed in you, Junior."
"Take them away!" Baatar Jr. ordered two guards before they take Baatar and Huan away.
"Get your hands off me, you damn, dirty brutes! You're crushing my individuality!" Huan shout'.
"All hail the Great Uniter!" Baatar Jr. and Meldora shouts.
The crowd cheers, as Suyin lets her head hang in disappointment.
Suyin's garden, where Kuvira was playing with a piece of meteorite, contorting it into various shapes with one hand while talking to Baatar Jr. and Meldora.
"Are you sure there's no way they survived?" Meldora asked.
"Positive. But I think I can replicate his work with the spirit vines and get us back on track. I'll just need an assistant." Baatar Jr. said.
Kuvira looks over to Zhu Li and smiles.
"How would you like to help Baatar build the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen?" Kuvira offered Zhu Li.
It would be my honour, Great Uniter." Zhu Li said before she walks away.
"Begin dismantling the domes." Kuvira said.
"It will be my pleasure, Great Uniter." Meldora said before she turns away with her usual evil grin.
Next chapter will come soon.
Review if you enjoyed the story.