Earth

Fire

Air

Water

Only the Dual Avatars master of all four elements can bring balance to the world.

Book IV: Balance

Chapter V: Battle of Zaofu

Pepper flies past mountains and trees, it is dawn. Wan watches the entire way, holding on to his only keepsake, his journal. He wants so badly to even take a small pen and write but he lost it, along with other things. Korra is right next to Wan, asleep, and strangely enough cuddling into his chest. Jinora glances back at them for a moment, the young master Airbender slowly realizes what is going on and looks back. But Ikki, as per her usual self, points out the interaction. "Do you like Korra?" Ikki blurts out, Wan blushes as he averts his gaze, "Ugh...What do you mean by like ?"

"You like her like her!" Ikki claps, almost sending Wan on a nostalgia huffs dismissively "Of course, not-"

"Not so sure about that Wan," Jinora smirks while guiding Pepper, "I saw the way you look at her, it couldn't be more obvious that you're in love."

"No, I'm not! I'm not in love with her…" Wan refutes as Korra cuddles on his chest, yawning and groaning. Wan blushes, looking down at her and stroking her hair, once he glances up, the airbenders all look at him with wide grins. Jinora's eyebrows arch, "Right...I'm sure you don't feel that way," she remarks sarcastically. "No friend strokes a girl's hair."

Wan gives a long sigh as Korra yawns, stretching her arms and legs. She sits up next to Wan, "Morning." The male Avatar quickly changes the subject with the airbenders from his crush to Kuvira, as Korra fully wakes up from her slumber. "So, Kuvira is currently taking over the Earth Kingdom and is headed to Zaofu, correct?" Wan asks. "Yes," Jinora responds, "Well, we should go too."

"Are you sure we should be going to Zaofu? Dad wanted us to bring you guys back to Republic City," Jinora asks.

"If Kuvira's heading to Zaofu, so are we," Korra agrees with Wan, who smiles in the process. "She needs to know that the Dual Avatars are back. The world needs to know," Korra finishes. Meelo stands up excitedly, "Whoo-hoo! Avatar fight! This is going to be awesome!" Korra chuckles, "Meelo, there's not gonna be a fight. Kuvira saved my Dad. She was a captain in Su's guard. I think she can be reasoned with." Wan shrugs, grinning, "True, plus being the Avatar isn't all about fighting, it's about finding peace. So, might as well talk things over but...I must admit I am worried that she isn't to be reasoned with, I mean she's on her way to becoming a dictator." Wan glances down, his thoughts now going to what he heard about Kuvira during his travels, he heard some rumors of her taking city-states by force, some were good, and some were bad. The first Avatar reborn is concerned about what might happen.

Soon they reach Zaofu, Wan's eyes bulge wide as he sees an entire army before the city. "I hope we're not too late," he gulps with concern in his voice. Korra glances down as well, "This isn't good. Wan what should we do?" Wan freaks out as he glances at her, "I don't know? Look I haven't dealt with Armies and Warlords ever since well, I died and frankly I didn't do so well back then."

"Well do you know how to be a good talker?" Korra sasses as she pinches her nose. "Well yes. I think," Wan chuckles nervously as he then looks down. "This is going to be fantastic," he mouths as the air bison lands.

Wan and Korra walk into Su's study room, the airbender kids behind them. As the Dual Avatars walk in, they catch the attention of Suyin and her family. Su gasps as she looks at the duo's changed appearances, "Korra? Wan? I can't believe it." Su quickly hugs both with separate yet embracing hugs, "Where have the two of you been? You both disappeared. Everyone was so worried."

Wan and Korra glance at each other, Wan brings his attention back to Suyin, "Long story, but we need to stop Kuvira as soon as possible," Wan replies. Su nods, as she gestures the duo to follow along to which they comply. Soon they walk into the metal bending courtyard, Korra starts the conversation, "How did things get so bad between you and Kuvira? I thought she was your protege?" Su glances down sadly, "She was more than that. She was like a daughter to me. I took her in when she was eight years old and nourished her talents. Kuvira was smart, a natural leader, and quickly rose through the ranks. I saw myself in her."

"So, what happened?" Wan asks, leaning a comforting hand on the matriarch, who's expression hardens as she starts her story. "Three years ago, after the fall of the Earth Queen, with you both being in recuperation, Raiko and Tenzin came to see me. They wanted me to reunite the Earth Kingdom and take control. I refused. Kuvira however stood up and I quickly denied her, but she went on anyway. I didn't realize at the time, but that moment created a rift between us. Kuvira turned my own son against me. And together they plotted behind my back. Kuvira and Baatar left that day with Varrick, my security force, and a few of Zaofu's wealthiest citizens. After Kuvira proved herself by stabilizing Ba Sing Se, Raiko and the other world leaders made her the provisional head of the Earth Kingdom. Once she refused to step down, I knew it was only a matter of time until she made her way back here." Su finishes. Wan shuts his eyes wincing at the story, "We need to fix this."

"There is a way, go into the Avatar State and demolish her army. Remove Kuvira from power once and for all," Su replies, the dual Avatars glance at each other with worry, both not knowing what to say. Wan speaks up,"I don't think that's the right move. Kuvira has the upper hand here. She has credibility and a lot of loyalty within the Earth Kingdom , and she currently has us surrounded with an army. I wouldn't take that type of move yet," he reasons.

"Fighting is something the old me would do, but that always made things worse. Let us talk with Kuvira. Maybe we can reason with her," Korra adds. Wan turns to Korra surprised at this, somehow his heart skips a beat at that phrase. She really has changed...but his love for her remains.

In the morning, the duo go to Kuvira's campsite, guided by Baatar Jr. Wan can almost taste the tension in the air, he sees soldiers training and talking, bringing him back to when he would try and fail to ask a warlord to stop or if the warlord wanted him to join his cause. Wan honestly thought that this was a thing of the past, oh how wrong he was. "We have an unexpected guest." Kuvira turns pausing her talk with general Aiwei, who bows knowing his time was for later. "The Dual Avatars is here to see you."

Kuvira smiles as she greets the duo, "Korra and Wan, it's such an honor to see you both again. The last I heard; you were still healing at the South Pole."

"Well, we're all better now," Wan shrugs, trying to hide his unease from Kuvira. Her entire demeanor is sending him back to those days. Warlord. Warlord. "That's wonderful news," Kuvira smiles. Korra as usual, cuts to the chase, "Look, we're here to ask you to back down. Please take your army and leave."

Kuvira seems unaffected by at this,"I think we both know that's not going to happen."

Now, Wan's warlord signal is going haywire.

"We can't let you take Zaofu," Korra holds herself firm, and Kuvira relaxes her posture,"I was tasked with bringing stability to the Earth Kingdom. Why should I treat it differently than any other state? I understand you are both just trying to do Su a favor, but you cannot come to me as I'm on the verge of reuniting my nation and tell me to stop. The world was descending into chaos while you both were gone. To fix it, I had to make some tough decisions." Wan winces at this, Korra glances down ashamed.

Wan glances down as his eyes narrow and he faces Kuvira, "But we're back now. I understand that you had to make tough decisions, but so does any leader," Wan retorts.

" Exactly, if you really want to help, go back to Su and try to talk some sense into her. Let's call a temporary truce . I won't make any moves until one of you talks to her and gets back to me,"Kuvira states, Wan glances at Korra as she contemplates. "Maybe that will be for the best,"she says. Kuvira turns to Wan, "Do you agree with your partner?" Wan closes his eyes and nods slightly in silence. "Good."

The walk back is silent. Korra looks down, her voice low as she confronts Wan with the truth. "You didn't agree with me, didn't you?" Wan sighs as he rubs his back, "I would be lying if I said I did. Korra, I understand what you're doing, and I applaud you for it. Trying to solve this with peace. I get that Kuvira saved your father. I thought I could reason with her too, but somethings off. She sounds like those warlords who would just say they're trying to unite but the way I see it they're all the same, they get corrupted and inflated with power. I just wish-" Wan simply sighs at this statement, "I just wish I would've done more. What she said about us being gone…I feel like all of this, is our fault? I know we were sick, and stuff happens, but this is our responsibility."

"Wan," Korra's hand gently touches his cheek, the first Avatar lets out a small gasp, "We can fix this." Her cyan eyes glance down, and a small sweet smile graces her face, "You know, I missed you. I mean, I missed you a lot."

"I-I missed you too," Wan is flustered and stutters over his words.


At nightfall, the dual Avatars rush up to Baatar Sr who paces around anxiously. "Where's Su? We have to talk to her," Korra says hastily, Baatar glances at them worriedly, "She's not here. She took Wing and Wei. They're going to sneak into Kuvira's camp to try and put an end to this."

"She's a fool!" Wan blurts out, "No disrespect, but she's been out of her mind! Now this will lead to an invasion of the city!" The male Avatar begins to fume in anger, small fire breaths flare in his nostrils. "Wan, calm down," Korra puts her hand on his shoulder, and Wan slowly but surely relaxes. He takes a few deep breaths to find his center again. Later, Jinora, Opal and the dual Avatars meet in the square.

"You have to go stop Su before she does something terrible," Jinora says to which Opal retorts,"Stop her? We should be helping her."

"We have no idea where your mom is, or what her plan is. If we go charging into Kuvira's camp, we could get you all captured, or worse. All we can do now is wait," Korra responds, Wan massages his temples as he hears the confrontation, choosing not to say what's on his mind. His thoughts are interrupted by the speakers of Zaofu turning on. "Attention citizens of Zaofu. Your leader, Suyin Beifong, attempted to attack me tonight while I slept, breaching the terms of our truce. Luckily, I now have her and her assault team in custody. Rest assured that I will not take revenge on the peaceful citizens of Zaofu if your remaining representatives meet me outside the city at dawn to offer the full and unconditional surrender of your city. That is all." With that, the speakers go silent, and once again Wan is cursing mentally. In his view, Su was stupid for doing what she got but him saying that would blow up Opal. Korra is being the most peaceful she can be.

"She was going to attack our city! I can't believe you're both refusing to fight!" Opal yells. Wan grumbles as the door opens and Meelo and Ikki wake up from the speaker then Korra says, "Jinora, Wan and I will go talk to Kuvira at dawn, and, maybe, we can work something out. I promise we'll do everything we can to keep the peace."

Opal hesitates then looks up, "I'll go with you."

"We'll go, too," Ikki pipes up. "No! Dad told us to find Korra and Wan and we did. Now you need to stay safe,"Jinora says firmly. "Come on! Let us help!"

"I can't risk anyone else being captured. You can stay with Baatar and Huan while me and Wan work things out with Kuvira,"Korra says. Wan nods to this and turns to Baatar," Make sure they get back to Tenzin if anything goes wrong."

"Aw, man! When am I gonna see some action ?" Meelo pouts.


The sun rises above the horizon, Kuvira's army stands ready for battle, the banners of the Earth Empire flapping in the wind. The Dual Avatars and the two airbenders walk to a meeting ground, and in front of the army is Kuvira, who stands waiting for them. Behind her is Suyin, and her twin boys are imprisoned in massive steel cases behind her. Opal yells at Kuvira, "Release them!"

"If Su agrees to bow to me and turn over Zaofu, she and the rest of your family will not be harmed. I have already laid out my terms, and I think they are very reasonable. After all, Su did try to take me out during our peaceful negotiations."

Wan knew this would happen, he is getting his body ready for a fight. "Now turn over Zaofu ," Kuvira demands. Wan cracks his neck, already knowing how this is going to end. "We can't just let you take the city!" Korra yells.

"Dual Avatars, you are both 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 am here to distribute those resources fairly throughout the nation. This is about equality. The only way you are going to keep me from marching into Zaofu is if you physically stop me. Now, what are you both going to do?" Wan cracks his knuckles, "Well then, looks like we have no choice."

Kuvira smirks at this, "Fine." She turns to address her troops, "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 Dual Avatars myself . Korra and Wan, if you win, then you can do whatever you want with Zaofu. But after I beat you both , I want you two out of my business for good. I am the one who brought peace to the Earth Empire. You're both not relevant here anymore."

Something about that very line sets the first Avatar off, he glares at Kuvira with anger.

"Fine you want to fight the Dual Avatars!" Wan shouts as he pulls off his poncho, exposing his bare chest," We're right here!"

Korra turns her attention to Wan, her heart skips a beat as she bites her lips. A wave of arousal washes her in the most unexpected and embarrassing way. She quickly ignores this and gets in her fighting stance. "Are you guys really ready to fight her?" Jinora says with worry, Wan cracks his knuckles, "Trust me, I have too much pent-up rage that I have been waiting to direct," Wan says with a low husky voice. Meanwhile Korra is sweating out of her mind at the way Wan sounds and his body- Korra gulps, trying to keep herself focused, "Just stay back and let us handle this."

"Don't mess around. Just go into the Avatar State and get it over with," Opal says, Wan rolls his eyes at the Avatar state being mentioned , "No, that's our last resort."

"Be careful," Jinora says as the two airbender girls step back. "Somethings up with Korra," Opal whispers.

"You two can use whatever you want, all the elements, the Avatar State, anything you need," Kuvira gets into her stance, smirking confidently, "I know you two are rusty ."

Wan attacks first, blasting fire at Kuvira who evades it with ease. Korra steps up and attacks with air which she also easily evades. Korra runs up and attacks with an arch of fire but Kuvira instantly notices that the dual Avatars are completely out of sync. She's heard of how fluid and synchronised they were, now they are completely fractured. Kuvira quickly takes advantage of this, first she attacks Wan with a strike to the stomach with a small rock. Using the metal slabs to blind him to throw him off. At the same time, Kuvira throws two metal strips which latch onto Korra's wrists and ankles, she flings her off as well.

Korra and Wan get up, and the first Avatar throws the metal slab off his face. Kuvira laughs while she bounces on her feet. Wan glares at Kuvira once more. The duo get back into fighting stance. "She wants you both to make a mistake!" Opal yells.

The dual Avatars go in with their own movements and combat not even working in sync with each other, Kuvira smirks as she dodges and evades the three elements the Avatars have available to them and hits them with several attacks and retractions. Wan is once again thrown back, and this time he struggles to get up. It seems as if every time he would try to strike, Kuvira was one step ahead. "Come on, Dual Avatars. Get up! Show me what you've got," she taunts. Wan is now a bit bruised up.

"We have to help them," Opal cries out but Wan puts his hand shaking his head, "No." Wan's hand is incased with fire. Kuvira smirks as the duo gets back up, she goes back into her fighting stance. It is painful to witness the most powerful duo be beaten left and right by Kuvira, while the army cheers in the background at the dual Avatars decline. Wan and Korra pant as they're both tired and beaten. Su yells at them, "You both have to go into the Avatar State! Do it!" Wan sees Kuvira landing for the final blow. His eyes snap open, pure white. Korra's eyes turn white as well. Wan lands an air slash at Kuvira and it flings her back. Wan and Korra attack with more power, the duo rises on an air sprout. Korra hauls a giant boulder as Wan has a fist full of fire in his hand. Wan's eyes widen as he sees Kuvira slowly start to look up, but as she does her face is revealed to be Wan's ghost. Wan snaps out of the Avatar state and at the same time Korra does as well. Dropping to their knees.

Kuvira stands up, "I knew you both were weak." She uses her metal slabs to capture the duo by the wrists and pull them up mid-air. Wan lowers his head in shame. Kuvira slams the duo down, then trapping them back to back near the shoulders. Kuvira walks towards them shaping her slabs into razors. Opal and Jinora send a wave of air at Kuvira before she can land the killing blow. Kuvira is knocked back and lands at her soldiers' feet. She is helped up as she yells, "You broke the agreement! Attack!"

The airbending girls step in front of the Dual Avatars, bending a huge wind barrier to block out anyone who dared come at them. Jinora meditated to get help and help did arrive with Meelo and Ikki on Pepper. Opal and Jinora stop bending and quickly get the duo out. As soon as they do, they rush out of the scene.

Kuvira watches their escape and turns to her army raising her fist up in victory, "Zaofu is ours!"