It was hard for Mako to say goodbye to Asami and his brother. They'd all be on their own. He couldn't protect them and he wouldn't have them at his back. It would make the journey to Crater City just a little more dangerous and a little more lonely. After some further debate, they'd decided to have Rei and Ty Lee accompany Asami back to Republic City. They thought a known threat was better than an unknown one even if no place would be perfectly safe. Ty Lee was convinced Ember Island was in danger.

With the party now split, Mako made his way deeper into the Fire Nation. Evidence of the war with the Red Lotus was everywhere. Early on he passed a crashed airship on a hillside, it's hull split open from Red Lotus weapons. Dozens of refugees camped along the road and he had to force himself to continue on instead of help. There was time to think, and he turned over several plans and their current situation in his head as he walked.

When he reached the capitol, he was shocked to find the main gate had been smashed open. In the skies above loomed four Red Lotus airships, including one that was larger than the other three. Mako cautiously snuck through the city. The Red Lotus seemed to have carved out the southern section of the city for themselves, and a massive barricade separated them from the city's defenders. It was make-shift, and the defenders had managed to down one of the enemy airships, using it as part of the barricade.

Mako could see United Forces fire-bender cannons had been set up around the palace and several districts in the city. The remaining airships were currently staying on their side of the barricade as a result. The fighting here seemed to have come to a standstill, and from what he could tell, it had turned into a full on siege.

Even with the automatons that Asami had suspected increased their numbers, Mako wondered what the Red Lotus plan actually was. They were stretched too thin, trying to attack every majir point at once. The bulk of their forces seemed to be in Republic City and possibly Ba Sing Se. The attacks in the Water Tribes looked like small numbers of terrorists, and what he'd seen in the Fire Nation made him think that they'd assumed Azula was a pacifist like her mother and so hadn't taken her as seriously as they should have. But what was the plan.

Or maybe they were planning on bringing in reinforcements once the other nations had been crippled. Kill the leaders, destroy the infrastructure, and then what? Nothing the Red Lotus did made sense. Even with Zaheer it had looked like they'd had no goal past step two of breaking the Avatar Cycle. In Mako's mind, nothing was adding up and he'd had plenty of time to think on the trip here, and then more time to think as he snuck through the city. Obviously the Avatar was a target. President Tuyin had been a plant and Republic City was left leaderless. The Northern Watertribe had lost half their leadership and all contact with the Southern Tribe had been lost. The Fire Nation had only three members of the Royal Family left and much of its council had been killed. They could lop the head off the leadership in the Fire Nation if they killed Azula and bring down the North's with Esna. That would just leave Korra, and the new leadership in Ba Sing Se.

"Assuming they succeed," he muttered. "What then? What's the end game?" Did Amaya intend to do something to the Spirit World? The portals? She was tearing down the power structures of the world but she clearly planned more than that. Like Zaheer, step one was to remove leadership from power and step two was to eliminate the Avatar. And he remembered things that Amaya had said, about returning power to the people. She wanted to even the playing field. Was her end game really to return the world to how it had been in the past? Was that closing the spirit portals, or was that to return the world to some nebulous society that no longer existed? Mako summed up Amaya's plan in his head: Remove leadership, remove the Avatar, something unknown, balance. Her sister hadn't provided any new information, either. But Amaya's family was a weakness. Not just the power siphoning, but also the fact that she'd demanded they help her get her sister back as well as capture Korra.

He approached the palace slowly. It was heavily defended and he didn't want to get attacked for his trouble.

He held his hands up, hoping one of the guards or soldiers would recognize him. Luckily, one did. The soldier's eyes lit up with recognition, and she clasped her hand on his shoulder. "Mako! What are you doing here? The Fire Lord is currently in war council."

"That sounds like a sentence that no one has said since before we were born," Mako replied, trying to place her. She had been at the coronation and had always seemed to be around when Azula had been in Republic City. Her name was Min. Mako nodded his head. "I have some information but I don't know if it's news she's heard or not."

"They should almost be finished. You look like you could use something to eat." She said.

Mako put his hand over his stomach. "Thank you, Min. That's probably a good idea. I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded"

After a quick meal, Mako felt human again. He paced in the throne room, pausing to make note of new damage. Scorch marks on the wall, a gouge in the floor. Water damage to the tapestries. There'd been a battle here and he was busy trying to reconstruct it when a voice called out to him.

"Mako."

He turned at the sound of Azula's voice, and his eyes widened. Her right eye was bandaged and she walked stiffly, as if there were other injuries hidden in her robes. Spots of dried blood dotted her cheek. He stopped just short of hugging her for fear of causing her pain, instead putting a hand on her arm. "What happened?"

"Two assassination attempts, one bombing, and a full scale battle in the throne room," She replied, tone unchanged from how she'd greeted him. But they were alone, so she let herself lean into Mako. She'd barely had a moment to center herself since everything had started, and she was relieved to see him unharmed. "It's good to see you. My brother is missing, too." It was just her now. But worry about her brother had to go to the back of her mind, in the exact same compartment that grief for her family resided. The same place that worry about Mako had been, until she'd heard he was waiting. "But at least I have one less thing to worry about, knowing you're all right. What about your friends?"

"The General is tough, I'm sure he'll turn up." Mako rubbed Azula's back, relaxing a little when she brought her hand up to stroke his cheek. He hadn't even had a chance to trim his mustache or shave his cheeks in days. "They're all okay."

Azula straightened, and the Fire Lord returned as his girlfriend stepped out of his grip. "We can.. catch up later. We need to share news. This siege must be broken. It's all I can allow myself to focus on."

Mako nodded, his own expression growing business-like. "To start, the last news we got was the bombings in the Water Tribes, and an attack on Ba Sing Se. Republic City was swarmed by many more airships than you have here, carrying mecha tanks that Asami believes are automated. Jinora contacted us via Spirit projection. The Red Lotus have about half the city. We have the New Equalists on our side, or at least most of them. President Tuyin is one of the Red Lotus."

The Fire Lord stared at him, her composure slipping.. "Tuyin? I liked her." She brought her hand up to her forehead. "We knew about the attacks, we got word shortly before the radios went down. My brother managed to contact the United Forces, and the plan was to liberate the city before sending aide elsewhere. But we lost contact yesterday. We don't know if he's alive, or what the statues of the United Forces are."

"Obviously something went wrong. But we can't worry about that right now." Mako led Azula to a window, and pointed at the airships in the distance. "If we take out the one on the middle left, that will throw them into enough chaos that we can retake the city. We uh… rammed our airship into one like it and that threw the entire Red Lotus attack off. We think it's some kind of command ship."

"I wish I understood what this technology was or how it worked."

"We don't really know yet. It could operate like a Sato-mobile, or it could be some kind of Spirit Energy. Once she or Varrick takes one apart we'll know more. That's the plan for when she gets to Republic City. I think if they can figure this out we'll be able to make a weapon against them."

"I like the idea of having something to focus on." Azula sighed, and stepped away from the window. "My mother would be having a fit if she could see the state of things right now. She prided herself so much on reeling this Nation back from it's Imperialistic days."

"And you can continue her work, but there's a difference between attack and colonization and defending yourself from a threat."

Azula nodded, and started to walk out of the throne room. They needed to come up with a plan and she wasn't content to wait for help. "First we free my city, then we help yours, and then we help the Earth Republic." She stepped into her chambers, undoing her robe despite the fact that Mako had followed her. It was nothing she hadn't shared with him before, anyway.

"Azula, what are you doing?" Mako watched her, concerned. He could see where her injuries were now. A long gash in her side, recent burns on her back, but she stubbornly ignored the pain she was obviously in.

She pulled on a pair of loose red pants and a golden undershirt. Picking up a piece of armor from a display, she looked at him. "I have watched my family and my friends die. My people are suffering. I've probably lost an eye. I can't let myself think about any of that and yet, somehow, I must let it fuel me so that I can steer us all through this crisis. Mako, I was born for this, and I will not be a leader who stands in the back and sends others to die for me." She pulled the chest piece on, and nodded for him to help her.

Mako frowned, but stepped forward to help her into the armor. If he couldn't dissuade her from this, he could at least make sure she was secure. "What happens if you die? We met your niece. But she's just a little girl. That would be a lot of weight to put on her."

"She's safe?"

Mako nodded. "Yeah. Ty Lee insisted they go with Asami, she seemed to think Ember Island was no longer safe."

"Okay. That's good. We can trust Ty Lee's judgement." Azula closed her eye for a long moment, and Mako's hand hovered near her shoulder before gently squeezing it.

"If I fall, there are measures in place for Rei to take power when she is older, and to keep a government going for the Fire Nation in the interim." She tilted her head, pointing at the leg armor. "But we have presidents in two nations now, leaders selected by the people or by the representatives of the people. The Fire Nation is increasingly becoming anachronistic in this new age" Her voice grew quiet. "Perhaps the time of Monarchs is over. Absolute power in the hands of one person…" Her whole life, she'd wanted this. Wanted to rule, to guide her people and be the kind of leader Lord Zuko had become. To step into her mother's shoes the way she'd stepped into his, but to do it better. She'd loved her mother, but she hadn't entirely agreed with Izumi's politics. Maybe it was her ambition. She'd had the ambition for rule where her brother's ambition had led him elsewhere in his life. But power was a heady thing, easy to give into and hard to let go. "We've seen how power in the wrong hands will haunt us for generations. Maybe tis is something that I will need to think about, when the Red Lotus is defeated."

She regarded herself in the mirror, fully armored, with Mako standing beside her. "When the battle resumes, will you be at my side?"

"Why do you think I came?"

Azula turned to him. "It was hard for me, to open up to you. I just don't let anyone close, but you've come to mean a lot to me." She touched his face again, the scruff on his cheek maybe her favorite texture on his body. "Thank you for helping. You didn't have to come."

"Even if we weren't together, I still would have come."

"And that is just one reason why I love you."

"The last time I was on an airship," Ty Lee exclaimed, face pressed against the window. "Was when Iroh and Azula were children. My Azula's health was beginning to fail, and it would be the last chance for her to see her grandniece and nephew so we took a trip back to the capitol. I hadn't been there in many years"

She smiled at the memory. "Little Azula was about four years old. Iroh was nine. They were just adorable, and they seemed to bring new life to my Azula. I think...she saw in them a chance for her own redemption, and she was sorry it would be Izumi and Iroh's generations that would have to pay the price of her crimes."

"What did their grandmother think of this?" Asami asked. She shifted around, careful of the girl who was sleeping with her head in Asami's lap. The little hold they were in was cramped, but it was better than nothing and easier to hide in. The airship was a small, fast one and its owner didn't ask questions as long as they didn't ask any questions about the other cargo she was running. It had been smooth so far, at least, and she'd spent the past several minutes watching Ty Lee's old eyes light up with wonder and excitement.

"It took years of seeing Azula interact with Izumi to convince Mai that there was something good inside her. But forgiveness… that was hard. Mai was stubborn and she could hold then the day came that we found Azula telling little Azula the reason she wouldn't teach her blue fire."

Asami leaned against the window, trying to mask how curious that statement had made her. "Why was that?"

"To properly wield blue fire," Ty Lee explained, gesticulating with her hands as if in demonstration. "You must close yourself off from your emotions. It's the hottest burning fire but it's also the coldest fire because of the place you had to take your heart to to use it. She didn't want little Azula to make the same mistakes she had. She wanted her to invite people into her heart and keep them warm, not shut them out and freeze her emotions."

"I've never seen blue fire, in all the years I've watched firebenders at work. I've seen lightning, but blue fire seems to have disappeared from knowledge. I don't think I've even heard of anyone ever using it." Not even in Pro-bending, where benders would train themselves to do everything they could to win. No match had featured blue fire and no team had ever learned it.

"Azula would be happy about that." Ty Lee still had her eyes pointed out the window. She spotted what she thought was a bird and stood up to try to get a better look. "...though more because it would make her feel extra special. As much as she had regrets, there were still things she was proud of and Azula without arrogance would simply not be Azula."

Ty Lee chuckled. "Azula of the blue flame, the first and the last."

Careful to not disturb the child, Asami shifted in her seat again, to try to get a better look out the window. "I don't think I could ever be that cold. I want… I've always wanted closeness and intimacy, to open myself up to someone and have that person open themselves to me. I can't imagine not letting myself feel anything. Even when I keep my feelings to myself, I still feel them. I just don't let them control me." Or she tried not to, at any rate. Asami had always been a little analytical.

"We all wear masks to keep the world at bay." Ty Lee's smile was suddenly fragile and sad, all the happiness seeming to drain out of her. "Azula wore her pride and arrogance like armor. Mine was my good cheer. The masks are the part of us that we let the rest of the world see, but sometimes special people learn to see past them and see the rest of us. They are as much armor as they are a part of us."

Asami remained silent, mulling it over. There was so much going on that it felt a little wrong to think about anything else but the crisis at hand. But she could only plan out contingencies so much before she was just rehashing scenarios, and there was something about Ty Lee's words that kept hitting close to home. How often had she worn her make up like some kind of war paint? The old woman was looking out the window again, and Asami could almost see the young woman who'd once appeared to be so carefree. As quickly as the sadness had come, it had gone, and Asami understood what Ty Lee had meant about masks. People had underestimated Ty Lee her whole life, and now Asami had too.

"I don't think I wear a mask around Korra, or Mako and Bolin. But I think at first all they saw was the spoiled rich girl. And I think a lot of people still see that, only add CEO and wife of the most powerful person on the planet. No one sees me for who I really am. But I enjoy wearing make-up, and I think that it disarms people a lot of the time. But I didn't always take advantage of that. I was so naive and I let people take advantage of me."

"Hard lessons to learn. Always use that to your advantage, but never let it take you over." To Ty Lee, Asami was a woman who was nothing at all like Azula in most ways. She was kinder, and in some ways reminded Ty Lee more of herself than Azula. Yet in some ways Asami was the same as Azula. Like Azula, Asami was cunning, intelligent, and determined. And ambitious. She thought Asami would deny that, but what other word could describe a woman who'd turned Future Industries into a world-wide power house and married the Avatar? You couldn't really set your sights higher than that, even if it hadn't been what Asami had set out to do with her life.

Ty Lee finally tore her gaze from the sky outside, so she could focus more on Asami and Rei. She could easily see Asami as her and Azula's grandchild, almost. "Tell me about you and Avatar Korra. The Avatar and a non-bender, the spiritual and the technological. It seems so unlikely that it must be a fantastic story."

Rei stirred, yawning and looking up at Asami with a curious expression that matched Ty Lee's. Asami laughed. "Okay. I don't mind talking about it. But it all started when I ran Mako over on my moped."

There was no way that they could get into Republic City from the air. The Red Lotus would see them coming and shoot them out of the sky, so they disembarked from the airship at a makeshift port ten miles to the North. Asami paid the smuggler a little extra for her silence, and then exhausted the rest of the money she'd had on her to pay for a Satomobile to get them the rest of the way to Republic City.

From a distance, everything looked normal. The city skyline looked as it had for the past decade, the portal shooting up to the sky, the buildings of new down town a little to the south and east. The closer they got, the less normal the city looked. Hazy smoke hung over the skyline, and Red Lotus airships held position in a perimeter around the city. A long line of Satomobiles, trucks and people on foot led out of the city and towards the Earth Republic. It was starting to get dark when Asami pulled over to talk with someone in a Future Industries vehicle. When she returned to Ty Lee, her expression was neutral. "Fighting came to a standstill a few days ago. A lot of the city is damaged from those tanks and the cannons on the airships, and people have been evacuating the city during the lull. Everyone seems to expect fighting to start up again soon, but there's apparently a lot of friction between the different factions of defenders"

Twice in ten years. So many things had happened that Asami worried the city wouldn't recover this time, at least not as quickly. Who would want to live in a place that didn't feel safe? She started up the Satomobile. At least there was no traffic heading into the city. They were the only ones foolish enough to go in that direction.

"How are we going to find anyone?"

She glanced at Ty Lee. "I can think of a few places that Korra could be, and from there we can find out where Pema is so we can keep Rei safe." They were probably underground, but the others would be holed up in a sturdy building planning a counter-offensive. There were a few candidates for one, and Asami started driving them towards her first guess - Mako's apartment complex. It was a tough building with five floors, innocuous but close enough to the police station to be able to coordinate the defence. The police station was also on Asami's mental list, but she wanted to look at the apartments first, as the police would be a prime target anyway.

They abandoned the vehicle a block away. Ty Lee secured Rei's little bag to the girl's back, then hefted her two medium sized bags over her shoulders with surprising strength. Asami cautiously led them through backstreets until they reached the apartments. There were no lights in the windows, and she scanned them, searching for any sign of movement. She saw someone move a curtain and a brief second of light spilled out. "People are definitely in there. Come on."

Ty Lee took Rei's hand and squeezed it. "Look at this. We're having an adventure."

Asami climbed the stairs, and then walked over to the apartment where she'd seen the light. She hesitated, thinking it could be a trap, then knocked. There was no response. She rubbed her chin. Her gut told her this was the place. So she knocked again, whispering loud enough for someone on the other side to hear. "Special delivery from Future Industries."

The door swung open, and there was Korra standing on the other side. She looked as rough for wear as Asami was. She stared at her wife for a brief moment, then pulled her into a painful hug. "Don't you know it's dangerous to be out alone at night?"

Hugging her back and in no hurry to ever let go, Asami replied. "Yes, that's why I'm not alone."

Korra set Asami down, and ushered Ty Lee and Rei inside. She shut the door and locked it once she was sure that no one had noticed them. "We've got this whole floor set up for the injured, and the floor below us for planning." She glanced at the newcomers, and smiled broadly at the little girl. "Hello."

"This is Ty Lee, and the girl is Rei. Jinora should have filled you in on her?"

"She did." Neither woman wanted to say Rei's name or lineage out loud. "Pema has a lot of the younger children who are still in the city. We're planning on smuggling them all to a safe location before we make our final push at the Red Lotus."

"Guess I got here just in time for the excitement," Ty Lee said, planting her hands on her thin hips. "I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves. I promise."

Korra nodded at her. "Thank you." As much as she wanted to talk to Ty Lee, she was still reassuring herself that Asami was really there.

Eyes twinkling, Ty Lee looked between Korra and Asami as both women seemed to have problems looking away from each other. "I'll take Rei and make sure she gets settled, it looks like you two have some catching up to do."

Asami's face tinged red, and she turned back to Korra as Ty Lee ferried Rei out. "I'm so glad you're alright. Jinora told me you were but seeing you, it just means-"

Korra closed the two feet between them, cupping Asami's face and kissing her. It was long and deep and a little desperate, filled with a thousand fears. Korra guided her until Asami's back hit a door, then turned her around, opening it so they could stumble inside. Vaguely, Asami realized they were in a closet and this probably wasn't an appropriate time, but that was the farthest thing from her mind as Korra's mouth crashed into hers again. There were a hundred things they needed to talk about. A dozen plans to make and a battle to fight, but for these few, emotional moments the only thing she wanted to hear was her name on Korra's lips.