The shore was so close now, and yet it took almost an entire hour before they finally washed up on the beaches of Ember Island. Mako needed the rest, and could only give them the occasional burst to keep them moving towards land. But by the time they stepped out of the yellow raft he thought he had regained some of his energy.

Bolin helped Asami out of the raft while Mako surveyed the beach. It was mostly devoid of people. The sky was overcast and the sand turned to mud from rain. He looked back towards the ocean and the way they'd come. In the distance, the skies were even darker and wind was starting to pick up and push the waves. He was certain he'd managed to push them ahead of another storm. He didn't like to think about what their odds would have been if the storm had caught up to them. He opted to not share that thought with the others.

"Some vacation spot," Asami said, taking in the view. She was pretty sure that this beach had been the one that she and Korra had sunned themselves on a few years ago. "I don't think I've ever been on Ember Island during a storm before."

"We should find shelter, and help." Mako started off at a jog, and Asami shared a look with Bolin before following him. Three people washing ashore was unusualy, and there might be questions that they wouldn't want to answer. There was no telling if anyone on Ember Island was with the Red Lotus or not, but Asami didn't want to find out. They might have fallen from one trap and right into another.

But Korra was at the forefront of her mind. "And a radio. Korra must be so worried."

There was a large, two story beach house, high up on stilts. It was lavishly designed in Fire nation style and didn't look like a typical tourist home. It clearly belonged to a local. Mako started towards the stairs and a girl suddenly swung down from a railing and hung upside down in front of Mako.

She was about nine or ten, with long, jet-black hair, and a gap in her front teeth. She looked at them with intelligent and eager golden eyes. "Are you mermaids? Gran says mermaids come from the sea and you came from the sea. You're kinda weird looking for a mermaid though and I've never heard of a mermaid in a yellow shell though." She straightened her legs, dropping to the ground and rolling acrobatically. Bouncing up, the girl planted her hands on her hips and decided they looked even weirder from this angle.

Asami stifled a giggle behind her hand when the girl told them they looked weirder from that angle. "We're lost. Do you think maybe your Gran could help us?"

"Sure! She's on the roof." The girl cupped her hands together and shouted, "GRAN! THE MERMAIDS WANNA TALK TO YOU!"

A head of wild white hair peered over the edge of the roof, and then to Mako's horror and dismay the old woman did a handstand before swinging her body over the edge. She latched onto a gutter pipe and slid down it. The woman that landed in front of them was thin and wirey, wearing pink shoes, a red tunic and a billowy pair of pink pants. She landed in a stoop, then groaned as she straightened. Her voice sounded more fragile than she looked. "Oh I'm going to feel that in the morning. Now what's this about mermaids, Rei?"

"I think she means us," Mako said. "Miss..?"

The old woman looked at each of them in turn. When her eyes centered on Asami, her face lit up. Spry didn't begin to describe the woman as she bounced past Mako and right up to Asami, seeming to ignore the others in her focus on the other woman. Asami watched curiously as the old lady took her uninjured hand and patted it. She was a good six inches shorter than Asami, even without a slight stoop to her posture.

Her hands squeezed over Asami's, and her voice cracked with emotion. "It's so good to see that aura again. Has it really been so long? Thirty-one years, almost! Your aura, so pure, and so clean! Such a beautiful golden glow. Not pink, no, rarely pink, but such a beautiful glow."

Asami stared at the woman in confusion, then looked up at Mako, then back down at the woman who was clearly starting to tear up. Suppressing a panicked flail, Asami squeezed her hand. "I uhm. Thank you?" A glowing aura was good, right?

"My eyes might be old, but I'd recognize that aura anywhere." She stepped back, finally letting Asami's hand go. "My name is Ty Lee, and I just know you were meant to find me."

Bolin started making hand signals at his brother as though trying to say Ty Lee it's Ty Lee do you realize it's Ty Lee do you even know do you even know!

Mako waved his hands to try to get Bolin to calm down. He had his own set of questions. Did Ty Lee know what she knew about what chi-blocking had become, or how she'd ended up on Ember Island with a young girl. Or what she meant by Asami's aura.

Ty Lee took Asami's hand again. "We best get inside before the storm comes. I'll call up a healer, it looks like you've been through a lot. Oh, I've got so many memories coming up. I should tell you about the time I accompanied Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang on an accidental spirit cleansing. Poor Zuko wasn't able to sit comfortably for a week!"

Ty Lee's home looked as well lived in inside as it did outside. There were colorful tapestries hanging off of the wall, circus memorabilia, and other things from Ty Lee's long life. Bolin was drawn to Kyoshi Warrior armor displayed on a dummy. It looked pristine, meticulously kept in perfect condition. The dummy's head had even had a mask placed on it that was painted with traditional Kyoshi face paint. He squeezed his hands into fists and barely contained a high pitched sound. "This is so awesome!" This was his life. His life was awesome! He'd met Katara and Zuko and TOPH and now Ty Lee and okay there wasn't many of the original Team Avatar left but he'd nearly collected the whole set!

"Cool it, Bro." Mako said. He was looking around as well, but little Rei kept following him around. She tugged at his sleeve. "Uh…" He patted her head, unsure of how to deal with her attention. She was cute, for a kid.

"You're not really a mermaid are you." She looked incredibly put out by this realization. "You're some kind of fake mermaid. False advertising!"

"I never said I was a mermaid, kid! You just kind of assumed that."

"Well, you could have corrected me sooner, now you made me look like a fool!" She threw up her hands and stormed off.

Chuckling at Mako's predicament, Asami moved around the living room. Aside from the copious evidence of Ty Lee's adventursome life, there were hints of someone else's influence. A subtle touch that permeated the very floorboards and walls of the home. The choices of reds to offset all the pink and decorations that didn't quite seem to match Ty Lee's aesthetic. Fire Nation royal symbols etched into the wood. Asami passed the hearth, and then stopped. There were many pictures there, faded by age but well cared for. Some of them were recent, but most of them were decades old. Asami looked through them.

There was Fire Lord Zuko and Mai, holding a young Izumi. The original Team Avatar. Avatar Aang with a goofy smile on his face and baby Bumi on his knee. Several of Ty Lee and the Kyoshi Warriors. There had to be nearly a hundred years worth of memories on this mantle.. And there was another face too, always apart even in group shots. Azula when she was not much older than Asami had been when she'd first met Korra. Azula again, years later at Asami's current age with distant eyes and then Azula a decade later. Another one with Ty Lee squeezing Azula in an enthusiastic hug. They looked like they were closer in age to Tenzin, then. Asami rested her fingers on the mantle, not knowing what to think about the woman. She only knew what was written in the history books, and from one time when Tenzin had shared story time with everyone. There were a lot of contradictory stories, but by all accounts she'd disappeared for a quiet life away from everyone, a victim of her father like so many others. Zuko's hand in history, perhaps painting a kinder picture of his sister than was really necessary.

"She never quite got better, you know." Ty Lee's voice startled Asami. Gnarled hands picked up the picture with the two women hugging. "But she tried. At first just to win me back, I think. But she had to heal for herself, she had to face the demons, both those forced on her and the ones she created herself, before I could even begin to trust her again. And I don't know if Mai ever truested her, not entirely. It kind of took a lot of coaxing from Zuko to let Azula see her niece, but that turned out well."

"That's what family does," Bolin said. He thought back to Amaya and her sisters, and how they'd been willing to die for her. "They help each other, they heal each other. Family shouldn't be ruled by fear."

"Even the family that isn't related by blood," Asami murmured. Her family had shrunk, and then grown again, thanks to Korra and the others.

"If fear is the only way to get someone to love you, is that really love?" Ty Lee placed the picture back, then rocked on her heels. "The day she died, Azula asked me if I was still afraid of her."

"Were you?" Mako asked.

"No." She shook her head. "When we were young, Azula was a different kind of woman. A very unwell one. It took her the rest ofl her life to come to terms with that, and even then we both knew that she would never make up for the things she'd done in just one lifetime." Ty Lee touched Mako's shoulder as she passed him. "But no, I stopped being afraid of her when I realized I was the one that held all the power between us. If I had told her to leave and never return, she would have."

Asami glanced at the pictures again. It was obviously what Ty Lee had implied, and connecting the Aura comments with the multiple lifetime comments was making Asami come up with a sum she wasn't sure she was ready to think about. "I actually have like a thousand questions all of a sudden, but we really need to make contact with Republic City. Korra was hurt, and the entire Republic was in disarray"

"I tried, right after I called the healer." Ty Lee settled into a comfortable looking chair. "I couldn't get through, I don't know if it's the storm or if it has anything to do with the siege. I was able to reach Crater City. The new Firelord has her hands full there, I don't think they'll be able to send any help. I couldn't reach a friend in the Earth Republic, either, and all news from the Water Tribes stopped two days ago."

Sinking into a couch, Asami hugged her stomach with her good arm. "So we have no way of contacting Korra until at least the storm passes, and that's if we're lucky and the Red Lotus isn't blocking the radio."

"Maybe we should go to the capitol," Mako suggested. "They could use our help and I did tell Azula I'd try to help her any way I could. They'd have stronger transmitters, too."

"That's not a bad idea," Asami agreed.

"Can I go?" Rei bounced over to Ty Lee. "Please Gran? I haven't seen my dad in forever!"

Ty Lee pulled the girl into her lap. "Your dad is busy defending our country and helping your aunt."

"Aunt?" Mako started. "Wait. Wait."

Ty Lee laughed. "I'm not supposed to say anything but I think I can trust Team Avatar of all people. Rei is General Iroh's daughter." She ruffled Rei's hair. "Now, the healer should be here soon and we'll get a good look at your injuries, then it's a warm meal and bed. For all of you." She fixed them all with a stubborn glare. "No exceptions, I remember what I was like at that age."

Even Mako had to agree that it was impossible to argue with the woman. For all her reputation as a ditz, she was a lot sharper than anyone had ever told him. Once the healer arrived, he made sure that Asami got looked at first, then went into the kitchen to help Ty Lee with the meal. He was too wired to just sit there, even though his body was running down. It went well, until Rei realized he was dating her aunt and she started badgering him with questions until Ty Lee made her go to bed.

He watched Rei sulk up the stairs, then turned to Ty Lee. "You know,she seems like a handful, the scary thing is I think I actually want one of those."

"She's a lovely child. Most days. But that can be said of just about any child." Ty Lee smiled fondly. "It took all of us to raise Izumi. Sure, she is.. was… the calm, steady type, but when she was younger she was a little terror. Now, her daughter inherited the family stubborness, but she was always a bit more like Mai than Izumi."

Mako chuckled. "I'll take that as a warning."

"As well you should."

The healer was good, as far as healers went. Asami had a slightly warped view of water healing, between being married to the Avatar and having seen Katara in action, so her general exposure to the skill had been to experts.

But broken bones were a 'simple matter' according to the healer. Asami still worried, though. It wasn't that she didn't trust the healer. It was just that short of losing Korra or their friends, her greatest fear was be losing the ability to tinker and work. Asami spent most of the night torn between worrying about her wife and worrying about her hand. She didn't really have the energy to worry about the situation past that and was too exhausted from the day to give it much thought. Despite how tired she was, she ended up tossing and turning most of the night.

It was still dark when she gave up on sleep, and exited the small room she'd ended up sharing with Rei. Mako and Bolin were asleep in another room, and she quietly slipped past Ty Lee's room, not wanting to wake her. Rain pattered at the roof and a light wind knocked at some shutters. Asami secured the shutters, then opened the door and stepped outside. The chill in the air sank right through her night gown and into her skin, but the view was spectacular.

The ocean looked wild, wind whipping up the waves into frothing white caps. Lightning flashed in the distance and the clouds churned in the night sky. Somewhere on the other side of this storm and far away was Korra, with Republic City in danger. There was nothing she could do, not here and not right now. She wished she could have gotten a better look at Amaya's airship. She should have taken the time to pick through the airship that Korra had wrecked. Maybe there would have been more answers. She desperately wanted to learn how they ran the airships with so few people. Asami hadn't needed anyone for the last flight of her own ship, but that had been a short, one way trip.

It would be hours before daylight, and probably some more after that before the storm had passed. Then they could try again to reach Korra. Asami didn't hold much hope for the idea. Even if Kai and Jinora had disabled the block on transmitters, it was likely that the Red Lotus had put it back up, and the rest of the world seemed to be just as cut off. It was like the days a hundred years ago.

She stepped back inside and closed the door, jumping when lightning illuminated a figure on the stairway. She calmed down when she realized it was Ty Lee. "Oh! You startled me."

"Couldn't sleep either?" Ty Lee finished coming down the stairs, and made her way into the kitchen. "Usually I'm up early anyway, but I never could sleep through a storm." She smiled as she got down a tea-kettle. "Suki never really understood it, but she tolerated it. Mai understood."

"Lightning?" Asami guessed.

"Mmhm." Ty Lee fell silent as she went through the ritual of preparing morning tea. She wanted to make sure she had the right words, for what she wanted to say. "We associated lightning with Azula, for a long time. It was only natural. It was one of her signature moves and she never lost the ability to control it."

Asami winced. "I'm sorry, but she doesn't really sound like a nice person."

Ty Lee laughed. "No, no she wasn't." With the water boiling, she took down two cups. Once everything was settled, she carried a tray into the living room and set it on a table. The table was covered in a rich red table cloth, and the tea-set was meticulously painted porcelain. She gestured for Asami to sit, then sat down herself. "People can change, you know. Sometimes for the worse, and other times for the better. But that core, that defining center of who we are, that doesn't change, not entirely. And inside of Azula, deep down, was a good person."

Pouring the tea for both of them, Asami settled back in her chair and looked down into her cup. "It's natural to want to look for the best inside of a person. Every enemy we've faced wasn't always evil. Toph once told Korra that they'd simply crossed a line and gone too far. Amaya and the Red Lotus, what they wanted isn't entirely bad. But they're willing to destroy everything and hurt people to get what they want."

"You can't excuse their actions, just like I can't excuse Azula's. But…" She gestured towards the window. "It was a storm like this. I couldn't sleep, and Azula woke up from a nightmare. We sat, much like you and I are now, and we talked. She asked - demanded, really - me to tell her why I was still there. Why I hadn't abandoned her like everyone else had. She loathed herself, you know. More than she hated anyone else, she hated herself."

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth. She'd hurt me, many times. I even listed them out. I told her about how she'd hurt Mai, and Zuko. I reminded her of her attacks against Team Avatar. All these things that she'd done for her father. She needed to understand her actions and the parts she'd played and the consequences." Ty Lee paused, lifting her cup up and taking a sip. She placed it back down. "The younger Azula, the one I'd grown up with, would have lashed out. Attacked me with words or threatened me with fire. Instead, she deflated. And she looked at me and wished she could be better, because she didn't deserve anyone's forgiveness or sympathy."

Asami tried to picture the haughty Fire Princess admitting defeat or giving up. It was tough to imagine. "But you said she never got better."

"She never healed completely, no. Her demons haunted her until the very end. But she did get better. With determination, and patience, and by pushing herself to her limits and beyond. And a little firm guidance when she needed to be reminded of where the line was."

"What would you have done? If she'd hurt you again. On purpose I mean, I don't mean any accidents." Asami had once gotten a bruised lip when Korra had thrashed during a nightmare, but that hadn't been Korra's fault and she'd never held it against her.

Ty Lee sounded proud of her answer. "I'd have left, or kicked her out and she knew it. I loved her. I loved her so much." Her voice wavered. "But my own health was important too and it wasn't like I didn't have places to go if I had to. Zuko had a space for me. The Kyoshi Warriors, too." There had been a time when she would have given into anything Azula demanded. The day she'd saved Mai's life had been the first day she'd done something on her own, and she'd never wanted to go back to the way things had been before. Not even to keep Azula in her life. So there had been terms and conditions. "But If there was a bad day, and there were more than a few, Azula would put space between us. Not just to avoid physical hurts, but also emotional ones. Sometimes words can't be taken back."

It sounded like it had worked for them, and Asami was rarely one to judge. She couldn't ever imagine not feeling safe around Korra, though. Or being afraid of constantly walking on broken glass or egg-shells. But it made her think, that if there was a chance they could reason with Amaya, they should try. "Do you think anyone is redeemable?"

"No." Ty Lee shook her head, voice firm. "You never met Ozai, you've only read about him, but he was a monster, through and through. Maybe when he was a little boy, he wasn't one, but his father and grandfather twisted him into something terrible, and by the time Avatar Aang defeated him, he was too far gone, at least for this life time."

That made sense. Asami nodded, gripping her teacup tighter. "You said something like that yesterday. Do you really think I'm Azula's reincarnation? That people other than the Avatar can reincarnate?"

"Yes!" Straightening up, Ty Lee could barely contain her enthusiasm. "The Avatar is the only one that can remember their past lives, though with the right kind of meditation I think a spiritually aware person could remember flashes and hints. But we all reincarnate. Some of us have more to make up for than others, so it may take many, many life times."

She touched Asami's hand, her eyes soft. "Azula, in her life, hurt people. She was insensitive to most others feelings. She let her father twist her and she used fear to control her friends and abuse her brother. She was fourteen and already well on the way to turning into her father and she came damn close to the point of no return. She spent the better part of 40 years trying to overcome that part of her once she wanted to and was ready to change. But you, I look at you, and at the way you interact with your friends. I look at the things I've read about your Team Avatar in the news, at this great company you run and at the kind of woman who didn't become what her father might have turned her into. Your life could have followed Azula's all over again, or worse. But because you're who you are, it didn't. The sum of your life experiences and the influence of the people around you have created a compassionate loving woman, worthy of the heart of our Avatar."

Asami thought that her life could have taken a different turn. What if her father had let her in on the Equalists. What if he had been killed instead of her mother? How would her life had turned out different and what would have happened if she'd been a different person. But Ty Lee's words shook her out of that thought and the compliments made her face heat up.

Ty Lee lifted a finger and waggled it playfully. "And your aura is suddenly very pink."

"I thought it was gold."

"Most of the time." Ty Lee laughed.

Asami didn't know if any of this actually would help with their current situation. But she'd seen Korra find a way to reach Kuvira, once. And if they could reach someone like Kuvira, maybe they could end this without more bloodshed. But she honestly didn't know if Amaya would listen. Or what they'd do if she didn't.

"Everything will happen as it's meant to," Ty Lee assured her. "And in the end, the good guys usually win."

"It just hurts so much while we try to get there. I really thought Korr-we'd paid out our sweat and blood already. Because we don't always win. Sometimes we lose."

"I've got a good feeling, Asami. All will turn out good in the end."

She smiled, and hoped that Ty Lee's good feeling was accurate.