Korra stepped out into the dewy morning sunlight. There were still a few minutes before anyone expected her at breakfast and she wanted time to compose herself before facing her friends and family. Even with Asami's assurances that Tenzin and Pema had deftly preventing anyone from taking too much notice of her absence, she couldn't believe she stepped out invisibly. Breakfast would bring questions and while she was ready to face those questions, she felt no need to rush over to them.

She found herself drifting towards the meditation pavilion. In her first days on Air Temple Island, the meditation pavilion would've been the last place she'd go to find tranquility, but ever since she returned from healing in the South Pole and the Foggy Swamp, she'd found herself there more often. Just as Toph had taught her to feel the spiritual energy in the vines, she had learned to feel the energy in the winds the pavilion funnelled towards its inhabitants.

But then she paused. Not paying attention, she had nearly walked into the pavilion before noticing its current inhabitant. Her father sat cross-legged with his back turned to Korra. Since he seemed not to have noticed her, she quietly turned to walk back towards the house before his voice stopped her, "Korra, wait. Can we talk?"

The harsh edges from the previous evening had given way to welcoming gentleness, so Korra joined him in the pavilion, sitting beside him in silence, waiting for him to speak.

"Tenzin told me that you sometimes come here to meditate when something's bothering you, so I thought I'd wait for you here," he said, voice trailing off at the end as he realized the banality of his words. He took a deep breath and continued, "I guess I'm probably what's bothering you right now, aren't I?"

Korra wasn't sure how to respond. Both her mother and Asami had assured her that her father would come around, but she still felt anxiety's teeth gnawing at her mind. "After last night… yeah," she said.

Tonraq's head turned and Korra met his eyes. She could still see worry in the corners of his eyes, but it was no longer mixed with fear, instead she saw something that even looked like pride. "I want to explain why I acted the way I did last night. But first, I want to apologize. I love you Korra, and I'm so proud of the woman and the Avatar you've become. And I'm so happy that you've found someone you love and who loves you back."

A rush of emotions hit Korra and she couldn't resist springing forward to wrap her father in a warm hug. "I love you Dad." After a moment, they separated and Korra sat facing her father, then said, "But then, why? What happened last night?"

"It caught me by surprise. All I've wanted is for you to be happy," Korra winced at the echo of last night's words, "and when you told us, the first thing that came to mind was whether the tribe would accept you. I didn't want you to be cut off from your family and your people." Korra looked like she was ready to jump in angrily, but Tonraq held up a hand to stop her. "And because I wasn't thinking, I forgot that we're your family, and we choose how we treat you, we're not forced to treat you in any way. And I forgot that I have a duty as Chief to help teach the tribe what is right, so I must start by doing the right thing myself. I can't just reflect what I think the tribe is, I must demonstrate what the tribe should be."

"So, you're not rejecting Asami and me?"

Tonraq shook his head. "I'm doing the exact opposite. I'm not just going to accept that you're together. I'm going to celebrate that my daughter found someone worthy of her, just like a proper Water Tribe father should."

Korra could barely believe the change from last night, nor could she restrain the smile breaking onto her face. "Dad, that means so much to me," she paused, and her smile turned into a mix of amusement and inquisitiveness. "What exactly did you and Mom talk about that changed your mind so much?"

To Korra's complete bewilderment, she saw her father blush for possibly the first time in her life. "She reminded me about when we started dating, how her family didn't like her dating an outcast from the Northern Tribe. It helped me realize that even though I kept saying I wanted you to be happy, I was really just thinking about myself."

"And is that all you talked about?" Korra said, her needling rewarded by her father's ever-deepening blush.

"That's none of your business," he responded brusquely. "Come on, we should be getting to breakfast. Everyone should be waiting."

She couldn't help giving him an impish grin as she got to her feet.

As they walked into the main sitting room, every conversation faded, and every pair of eyes in the room went to Korra. Evidently their escape had not been as seamless as Asami thought. Korra glanced from her father to her mother, and finally to Asami. She reached out with one hand, silently asking Asami to join her by the door. As she came to stand beside Korra, Korra gazed into Asami's eyes, then turned to face the crowd. "Asami and I have something we want to say. As many of you know, it took me a long time to heal after I was poisoned by the Red Lotus. I don't think I would have recovered if it wasn't for Asami encouraging me every step of the way. She means more to me than anyone else ever could. That's why, ever since Varrick's wedding, we've been in a relationship."

She finished and only a few moments passed before the room broke into warm congratulations. She saw Bolin standing to applaud the revelation he already knew and caught Suyin wryly passing a grinning Lin a hundred-yuan note out of the corner of her eye. Tenzin came over and placed one hand on Korra's shoulder and the other on Asami's, "Korra, that was very brave of you. Let me be the first to say how happy I am for the both of you."

Korra blushed and muttered something about him already knowing, while Asami smiled and thanked him.

"I may have already known, but a kindness is not diminished by being repeated. Instead, bringing more kindness into the world only serves to multiply our happiness."

Even Asami rolled her eyes at this bout of airbender wisdom.

Lin was not taking any chances this time. A few weeks of negotiations had passed in relative peace and since the most fervent Earth Empire supporters had disappeared in the first attack, the delegates had even managed to reach several points of agreement. The Earth Kingdom wouldn't be reformed overnight; it probably wouldn't be fully reformed in Korra's lifetime, but it would be a start.

First, the United Republic would enter formal negotiations with the remnants of the Earth Empire army to discuss terms for a peaceful disarmament. The bureaucrats in Ba Sing Se had issued an official proclamation in Prince Wu's name to the army, but to nobody's surprise, they hadn't listened, responding that their only loyalty was to the Great Uniter and the Earth Empire.

Second, the richest Earth Kingdom states would send token reparation payments, donate building materials, and extend loans to the United Republic, to help them rebuild their city and armed forces. Republic City agreed in return to hire workers from the poor borderlands, open their rail system to a newly-established joint peacekeeping force, and send spare food to isolated towns that were once again threatened by bandits.

Third, while they couldn't remove everyone who worked with Kuvira, officials too closely associated with Kuvira's inner circle would be slowly eased out of power. Finding decent people to replace them would be a challenge but leaving Kuvira's entire administration in power was out of the question.

Finally, the remaining delegates had reached a tentative conclusion on the most contentious and most dangerous question: What would they do with Kuvira? Months after the attack, she still sat in a Republic City prison under strict guard. Korra had attempted to visit her several times, but each time Kuvira had refused to meet with her, leaving the guards to turn Korra away. The delegates decided that she should face trial in Republic City with a panel of five judges representing the four nations and the United Republic. Raiko had grudgingly agreed that if the court decided to free Kuvira, then he would let her go.

And that's what brought nearly the entire Republic City police department to the main courthouse. This was the first day that Kuvira would be leaving prison since her defeat, the first day her supporters would see their beloved Great Uniter in chains. When Korra arrived at the prison to help escort Kuvira to the trial, Kuvira had greeted her politely, if not warmly, unlike the guards she barely deigned to notice. Kuvira had promised that she didn't intend to cause trouble but told Korra she couldn't control her supporters' actions.

To Korra's dismay, the trial had turned into Republic City's biggest media circus; reporters from every paper and radio station in a hundred miles had converged on the courthouse, eager to watch the most significant political trial in nearly a century.

Inside the courtroom, Korra sat in the first row of guests, just a few feet behind Kuvira, and watched her confer quietly with her team of lawyers. She didn't know where Kuvira would've gotten the money for the lawyers, but she also realized that enough lawyers would want the infamy of defending the Great Uniter to make money irrelevant.

The buzz of conversation quieted as the five judges entered and took their seats. The bailiff announced each judge, finishing with the chief justice, an austere-looking woman from the Fire Nation. Korra noted with some pride that the judge representing the Water Tribe had come from the South. Once the hall was silent, the bailiff called the trial to order: "All rise, Chief Justice Noriko presiding."

The Chief Justice stood last and looked out over the room. "People of Republic City. It has been many years since the law has been asked to judge actions taken in war. The Great Uniter of the Earth Empire, Kuvira, saw defeat in the streets of this city. In the days of our forebears, defeat would be sufficient proof of her guilt. But justice of the strongest is no justice at all. By trying Kuvira according to the law, we reject the so-called justice of military might and replace it with order." She let her words echo in the silent hall, then picked up her gavel and struck it once against the bench. "The defendant will testify first."

Kuvira stood, her back still ramrod straight even after months in a cell. She stared straight ahead at the panel of judges, seeming unaware of the restless crowd behind her, tense as a string pulled to the edge of breaking. "I am Kuvira. Great Uniter of the Earth Empire. I will testify."

"You stand accused of breaking the peace between the Earth Kingdom and the United Republic by waging illegal war against the same, causing harm to the people of the United Republic and this city, usurping the throne to fulfill your vaunting ambitions, and destroying the liberties of the citizens of the Earth Kingdom during your tyrannical rule. What do you say to these crimes?"

"Chief Justice, I reject that my actions were criminal. I am sorry for the harm that came to the people of Republic City. But my choices were not crimes. Military tribunals have long recognized the legitimacy of pre-emptive war, so my attack on Republic City was justified and the casualties are the unfortunate reality of war."

The room grew even more tense and the hum of people's conversation rose. The chief justice peered over her glasses at Kuvira, her brow furrowed. "You claim that your attack on Republic City was an act of pre-emptive war. On what grounds do you make such a bold claim?"

"My spies within City Hall informed me that President Raiko had called a meeting with Fire Lord Izumi to plan an attack on the Earth Empire."

The audience gasped, leading Noriko to slam her gavel down and call for silence. "And did you have evidence that this attack was imminent?"

Kuvira paused before answering, "No, my sources told me that Izumi would not support Raiko's attack."

The judge from the United Republic spoke up, "Then you cannot claim that your attack was a pre-emptive strike. Based on precedent, we must–"

Noriko cut him off with a sharp wave of the hand. "The panel has heard your testimony on this matter. Please tell us why your theft of the Earth Kingdom throne should not be punished."

"Gladly. The Earth Kingdom was in turmoil. After Earth Queen Hou-Ting died, the kingdom fell to chaos and banditry. The very people who now sit in this room and call me a criminal asked me, no, begged me to bring peace back to my nation. They said that I should take any means necessary to pacify criminal elements in Earth Kingdom lands. And where was the kingdom's prince during this time? Hiding in the United Republic like a spider rat. If I had not intervened, he would not have a throne to pretend he deserved. I established my right to rule by bringing order to the Earth Kingdom. He forfeited his birthright when he fled Ba Sing Se in a cabbage truck."

"The court acknowledges that you were appointed provisional leader of the Earth Kingdom following your work to stabilize Ba Sing Se. But you knew this position was temporary. What gave you the right to declare yourself the leader of your Earth Empire?"

"As I said, I sought only to protect my nation and my people. I would not bow to the whims of other nations who want a weak and pliant Earth Kingdom. If I had ceded the throne, that feckless prince would have let my nation collapse back into darkness. My duty to my people supersedes any claim to the throne."

"On what grounds do you assert this duty?"

"The duty that all Earth Kingdom citizens have to protect the nation and its people against all threats, domestic and foreign."

Noriko leaned back in her chair, lacing her fingers together. "You have made a bold claim. Under your theory, any Earth Kingdom citizen could claim some threat to the nation that justified endless war against the rest of the world and use it to take the throne. Would you have accepted that Fire Lord Sozin felt the world threatened his Fire Nation when he launched a genocidal attack on the Air Nation?"

Korra felt a shudder travel through the room. Even after almost two centuries, mention of the attack that started the Hundred Year War chilled people's hearts. When Kuvira responded, the stiffness of her words revealed that the comparison had shaken her. "That's not the same. The Fire Nation was a powerful nation, at peace with the world. The Earth Kingdom was in clear danger, not some imagined threat from afar."

"Who gets to judge what threat is real or not? You felt the danger in the Earth Kingdom was real, but who can say what others have thought in the past. Every tyrant feels their cause is righteous, so who should we trust?" She sat forward and tapped the knuckles of her left hand on the bench. "I digress. The panel has heard your testimony on this matter. Finally, we turn to your actions within the Earth Kingdom. We have received reports of prison camps to hold waterbenders and firebenders, despite being Earth Kingdom citizens. You have had your own people committed to forced labour and coerced governors to join your Earth Empire."

"And?" Any hesitation had dropped from Kuvira's voice, leaving only the familiar cold confidence.

Even Noriko seemed taken aback by her response. "And you are on trial for these actions!"

Kuvira's words dripped with disdain as she responded, "These are domestic matters. Under Earth Kingdom law and precedent, as provisional leader of the Earth Kingdom and leader of the Earth Empire, everything you claim is legal." She made a noise of disgust, then continued, "If you actually thought anything you just described should be punishable, you were free to imprison the Earth Kings for generations. You did not because they were your dictators. Anything I did to Earth Kingdom citizens; the monarchs did ten times worse. But they are allies and I'm an enemy. That's the only thing that makes it different."

The room erupted in angry shouts. Korra sat, watching people jump to their feet, shoving each other and yelling their support or opposition over Kuvira. Yet through it all, she couldn't draw her attention from the calm, motionless figure at the front of the room.