Mako walked past the flower shop for the fourth time that morning. "Dammit Kai." He muttered to himself. "He couldn't have gotten THAT far!" The firebender sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow before shaking his head and heading back to the airship.

Tenzin was out front trying to teach Bumi to make an airball. He demonstrated the exact form and hovered atop the spinning ball. "Now you try."

Bumi furrowed his brow in concentration and held out his hands. "Alright airball! You can't get the best of me!" He spun his arms and drew the surrounding air into a tight spinning ball that resembled Tenzin's. With a smug grin of satisfaction he jumped onto the ball, but instead of sitting atop it like his brother, the ball dissipated and he landed flat on his ass. Kya laughed from her spot watching in the background.

"Oh Phooey!" Bumi exclaimed.

Tenzin hopped off his airball and helped his brother up. "Perhaps next time it will work better if you don't try to tackle it." He was about to have Bumi try again when he saw Mako approach.

"Ah Mako. Good to see you. Any luck finding Kai?"

Mako shook his head. "No. There hasn't been any sign of him since he tricked us onto the train. I can't believe that little punk." He sneered.

"We'll just have to keep looking. But I'm sure as soon as he is in trouble he'll come crawling back." With that Tenzin turned his attention back to a disgruntled Bumi, who was now being harassed by three giggling airbending children circling him in their fast airballs.

As soon as he entered the ship he was nearly toppled by his younger brother. "Hey Mako! Were you out looking for Kai? Did you find him?"

Mako brushed Bolin off gently. "If I found him he'd be here."

"Oh." Bolin's shoulders sagged and he plopped onto the couch.

"Is something wrong Bolin?" Mako Began. "You've been sitting on that couch doing nothing for hours."

"Oh no I'm fine." Bolin tried to play it off cool. "Nothing wrong here."

"Bro." Mako stated flatly. "I know you, and I know when something's bugging you. Don't tell me you're this upset over Kai."

"Yah Kai." Bolin reluctantly agreed. "That's it."

Mako rolled his eyes. "Honestly Bolin you need to get over it. He probably isn't coming back, and I don't think he is that big of a loss to begin with."

Bolin didn't reply. Mako exhaled deeply. "Fine. I'll keep looking for him."

That seemed to cheer his younger brother up a bit, but Mako couldn't shake the feeling that something was still bugging him.

He suddenly noticed that the airship was unusually empty. "Hey, where are Korra and Asami?"

Bolin folded his arms and pouted. "They're probably off somewhere. Together. Alone."

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Um, okay?"

"Maybe they're with the Earth Queen. I don't know." Bolin continued.

Mako made his way towards the bathroom. "Alright, well I'm going to go shower. Let me know when they show up."

Bolin crossed his arms a little tighter and looked down at his feet. "If they ever come back. They probably ran off together and forgot all about me." Bolin got to his feet and began pacing.

"Oh Bolin, let me just wake you up because I need you." He mocked, his voice high and feminine.

Hopping over to the left he deepened his voice to reenact himself. "Oh of course Asami, you need ME to relay your feelings to! Why I'd be happy to listen as you confess whatever secrets you have."

"Oh thank you Bolin I am so glad I can talk to you." He pretended to flip his hair, much like Asami typically does.

"Sure, sure what's going on?"

"OH I'M IN LOVE WITH KORRA." He yelled, whipping around wildly, and froze when his eyes met the person he had just been mocking's. "Oh god, Asami, I-" He stopped, at a loss for words. The pain in Asami's eyes was too much for him to come up with a good excuse. "How much of that did you hear?" He asked quietly.

"Enough." She answered coldly.

Bolin reached out gently to her. "I'm really sorry."

"Save it." She said storming out of the room.

"Wait please!" He called out after her. "I don't want to screw up our friendship." Bolin was left to take in the situation, along with the three pairs of ears that had heard it too.

"OOOOOOOH WE'RE HALF WAY THERE. WOOOAH, LIVIN ON A PRAYER!" Korra threw her head back singing wildly into the air. She pressed down harder on the gas pedal of Asami's satomobile and zoomed down the Earth kingdom streets. Citizens shook their fists angrily at her as she whipped past. She reached down and turned up the radio for the solo closing her eyes and jamming out in the driver's seat.

Naturally it wasn't long before there was a loud crash and a sudden jerk and the sinking realization that she had just smashed head on into a building.

"Oh god." Korra said, staring at the smoking hood of the car. "I did it again! How could I crash Asami's car again!?" She exclaimed, her hands tightly wound in her hair.

"Hey Avatar!" A passerby sneered. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with the building you just smashed into?"

"The building is fine look at this car!" She sneered back. She hopped out of the car and moved to the front to look closer at the hood. She slowly reached over and lifted the lid and a huge flame erupted upwards.

'AH!" she shrieked. An old lady walked up next to her and shook her head. "Oh no, now that's a shame. " She said.

"Than-"Korra began, but what cut off with a swift whack in the head by the old woman's cane. "Serves you right." She muttered before wandering back to her business.

"Mmmm." Korra grumbled and stamped her foot.

"Three hours." Korra groaned as the peak of the airship came into view. "Three hours."

Naga came bolting over to greet her, but received only a glare back. "And you?" She jabbed a finger into his snout. "Where were you when I needed you? I had to walk all the way back here by myself."

She stared intimidatingly at her companion. She stared back for a moment before swooping in and giving Korra a big kiss.

"Yah yah alright." Korra patted Naga's head and walked with her into the ship.

Korra walked straight into dinner time on the ship. Everyone was enjoying some fresh Earth Kingdom gooey duck that Kya had spent the latter half of the day learning to cook.

"Nice of you to show up for dinner Korra." Tenzin said passive aggressively.

"Hey!" Korra balked. "I had to walk back from three hours away! A whole 'nother ring!"

"Didn't you have the satomobile?" Mako asked.

Korra's eyes widened. She touched her fingers together gently. "Yes, you see, there WAS a car. But I um, It uh…"

Bolin finished the thought for her. "You crashed it didn't you?"

"Yah." She said, looking down at the floor. She glanced quickly up at Asami and then back to her feet. "Sorry about that."

Asami smiled comfortingly. "It's ok Korra, accidents happen." She patted the spot next to her at the table. "Come join us. You've got to be starving."

Korra jumped into the seat and began shoveling food in. "Ugh god yes I'm dying."

"Now that everyone is here, we can get down to business." Tenzin began.

"Aww business at the dinner table? I miss vacation Tenzin." Bumi whined.

Tenzin reached over and pulled out the mini map they had made plotting out all the reports of airbenders in the city. "We've gone to each of these spots and no one has agreed to come with us. I think we need to revisit the locations we already hit and see if we can convince them to come with us a second time around."

"And maybe this time instead of "hey come rebuild a nation you had no connection to until now," Kya suggested, "We take a different approach."

"Yah," Mako perked up. "We could try just telling them that they are going on a vacation. We just leave out all the details about the learning and the lifestyle and tell them it's a vacation across the world. Free!"

"No one can resist free stuff!" Bolin exclaimed.

"We aren't recruiting these benders for a good time! We are recruiting them to rebuild a nation. They need to know their responsibilities so that they can properly learn the customs of the nation." Tenzin boomed angrily.

Bumi rubbed his chin. "You can't be so stern Tenzin."

"I'm not stern, I'm honest." He retorted.

"Bumi has a point." Kya said. "Surprisingly."

"Hey!" Bumi balked.

Kya punched his arm. "I'm kidding. But he is right. For people to truly appreciate the culture they have to love it, and love isn't something that is forced down their throats."

Tenzin's face grew red with frustration. "Well if you think you can do a better job than you two can go and do it yourself!"

Kya and Bumi exchanged a quick look. "Okay." They shrugged enthusiastically.

"SO um Asami," Mako asked awkwardly. "Where'd you go off to today?"

"I just felt like doing some shopping." She shrugged. "I actually got you guys some stuff. I put it in your room."

"That was really nice." Bolin said meekly. Asami sent him a forlorn glance. "Yah. I guess."

The meal continued normally with blurts of casual conversation until Bumi and Tenzin began arguing over an ancient proverb Aang had told them about. Asami took the opportunity to ask Korra a question.

"Hey, did you figure out an excuse?"

Korra's eyes jolted open. "Um, Yes. Yes I did."

"Oh good. What is it?" Asami asked expectantly. Korra twirled her fork around her plate, gently scraping its sides.

"It's uh…li….we….i…..lin-"

"Lin?" Mako interjected, and Asami kicked Korra under the table. "Is she coming here? Now?" He asked, his forehead suddenly coated in sweat.

"Are you doing okay?" Kya asked him, waterbending his forehead dry with the flick of her wrist.

Bolin leaned over the table and used his hand to cover his mouth from Mako. He whispered, not so quietly, "He's just nervous because she's his boss and he has a track record of disappointing her."

"Not true!" His brother objected.

Tenzin brought the attention back to Korra, much to her dismay. "Is Lin coming?"

"Yah Korra." Asami teased. "Is she?" This earned her a sharp glare from the Avatar.

"No Lin isn't coming here. She um," Korra looked around the room for something to distract them. Or give me an idea. Wall, wall, chair, painting, letter, Bumi's sword, a picture of Omashu. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. "I got a letter from Lin today saying that there have been an increasing amount of reports of airbenders in Omashu, and she wanted me to check it out."

Tenzin scratched his well shaven head. "That's strange. Usually Lin sends a person with news like that, or she comes herself. She isn't one to trust letters."

"Where is the letter?" Kya asked.

"The letter?" Korra's voice cracked.

"Yah the letter." Bolin confirmed.

Korra looked over at Asami as if to say you gunna help me out here? She received only a smug grin in return. Dammit Asami. "I lost it."

"Eh makes sense." Bolin shrugged, only to receive a strong elbow from his older brother. "What it's true."

"We'll help you look." Mako offered.

"No!" korra objected, a little too loudly. The other members at the table were taken aback. She began to clarify. "What I meant was, thank you, but the mission here is too important. I think most of us should stay here, and Asami and I can go to Omashu."

"I like that idea." Asami agreed.

Finally she speaks, Korra thought to herself. Bolin's expression turned sour, something only Asami noticed.

Asami continued. "Bolin, you and Mako can stay here and search for Kai. Tenzin, you Kya and Bumi can all continue looking for airbenders here. And the kids can choose whichever objective they want to help with."

There were murmurs of agreement from every member of the table, and then a sudden collective realization.

"The KIDS?!" They all exclaimed. Somehow, the three airbending children's absence at the dinner table had gone unnoticed until just then.

"Kya I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on them!" Tenzin yelled to his sister as the group split up to search.

She retorted quickly. "I'm not a babysitter Tenzin. And besides I thought they were with you!"

Tenzin went beat red. "Don't place the blame on me. Bumi was playing with them earlier!"

"Hey!" The eldest child barked. "YOU'RE their father! I haven't seen them since YOU told them to go play elsewhere because you" he quickly shifted his mannerisms to mock his brother "were having a serious perplexing time training uncle Bumi."

Before any more interjections could be made there was a loud screech from outside the ship.

"What was that?" asked Mako, who had nearly fallen down the stairs from surprise at the sound. The group quickly traveled outside to see Ikki jumping out of the remains of a smoking, dented satomobile.

"Land! Solid Land!" She said, taking the earth into her hands. Jinora sat in the passenger's seat, her head in her hands, and Meelo sat proudly behind the wheel.

"Look Daddy!" He said through his missing teeth. "We brought back the car!"

Tenzin hastily scooped his children up from the wreckage. Kya checked to make sure they were all right.

"You mustn't run off like that without telling anyone!" He scolded.

"Sorry daddy." Ikki murmured. "We just wanted to help you guys out on this mission."

Bumi gawked at the totaled car. "So how much of this was Korra, and how much of it was Meelo?"

Jinora looked apologetic. "Strangely enough, Meelo is actually a capable driver." After receiving many confused looks she added, "Compared to Korra anyway."

Korra groaned in disbelief. "How is Meelo a better driver than me?"

"That is pretty bad." Mako laughed.

Bolin turned to crack his back and then yawned loudly. "Ok well that's enough excitement for one day."

"Going to sleep already?" Mako questioned.

"Yah probably. Doing nothing all day is tiring."

Meelo jumped about 10 feet in the air and yelled "Sleep is for the weak!" Tenzin caught him on the way down.

"And for the children." He said, causing them to sigh with disappointment.

As the group began to go back into the airship, Korra let herself drift to the back of the group and then pulled Asami towards her.

"What was that in there?" She whispered harshly.

Asami let the group go inside and leave them alone before she answered. "What are you talking about?"

"I was drowning in there!"

"Hey, stop yelling." Asami coo'd. "And if we are going undercover you need to learn how to lie. I was giving you practice."

Korra folded her arms and exhaled sharply out of her nose. "Well, don't do it again. I can totally lie."

Asami raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh yah?"

"Yah. Watch me. Ok, um, one time, I set my pants on fire!"

Now it was Asami's turn to fold her arms. "You did. I was there."

Korra pouted. "Ok so I'm not a good liar. But that's all the more incentive for you to help me out."

"Alright Korra." Asami said softly. "I just hope they don't run into Lin."

Korra waved the idea off. "They won't. She's off in republic city being a tight strung douchebag."

"Harsh."

"Eh. Her and I don't get along so well."

"hmmm." Asami hummed sarcastically. "Two stubborn oxe-mules can't get along. I wonder why that is?" Korra punched her lightly on the arm.

"Knock it off."

The two chuckled to themselves while they entered the airship. "Wanna take a night train to the lower ring?" Korra asked.

"Sounds like a good idea. The sooner we get in there, the better."

Korra went up to her room to fish out the tickets she had bought earlier. "I know they're in here somewhere. I put them in my sweater." She said, staring at her sweater covered floor.

"Dammit."

Meanwhile, Asami was finishing packing both girls bags when there was a light knock on her door. She opened it eagerly, expecting to see Korra. Instead, Bolin stood there, holding a piece of paper with a poorly drawn rose on it. There were some scribbles in different colors all across the page.

"I made you this." He said holding it out. "Ikki, Meelo, and Jinora helped."

Asami took the paper from him. He pointed to the Rose. "Jinora said I should give you a rose, but there weren't any around, so I drew one." He rested his finger on the bulb. "Ikki colored the bulb. Jinora colored the stem." Asami followed his finger, noticing that the stem was of a higher quality than the bulb.

"And Meelo did these." He concluded, pointing to the various random scribbles. "He said these long ones were like your hair." He finished his explanation and looked up at Asami's face.

Asami looked up at him, and then back at the picture. He had put a lot of effort into this gesture, and even if it wasn't high quality in physical value, it certainly was in sentimental value.

She pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks Bolin."

"I'm really sorry about earlier. That was no way for a friend to act." He apologized.

"It's ok Bolin." Asami began, but Bolin cut her off.

"No." He said firmly. "It wasn't okay. There was no excuse for how I acted."

Asami looked away from him. She knew very well what it was like to be hurt and stepped on. She wanted to hold a grudge. She wanted to refuse to forgive him, but she couldn't. She just wasn't that person. She was fire nation for heaven's sake. Being cold hearted just wasn't in her nature.

"Why don't we try on some of our new clothes? I have a little while before we leave." She suggested.

Bolin immediately perked up. "Oh yah! I love modeling!" Asami stood smiling in her doorway as he tore off towards his room to grab the clothes.

Mako lay on his bed, staring up at the blank ceiling of the airship. He wanted desperately to sleep, but there were so many things nagging at him. Where was Kai? Why had Kai lied? Who was Kai really? Why do I care?

Kai wasn't all that was bugging him. The whole situation with Lin had managed to get under his skin. He was the chief's assistant and closest officer. She should have asked him to do it, or at least told him about the mission. Mako didn't have long to dwell on the issue, as his brother barged into the room, knocking over the lamp on the dresser.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Mako asked in an irritated tone.

"I'm trying on clothes with Asami before she leaves!" He answered quickly.

Mako sat straight up in his bed. "They're leaving tonight?"

"I dunno," He said grabbing the clothes and making his way back to the door. "Probably, I didn't really ask. Not my mission."

Mako scratched his head. "Well, I guess if I want answers I should ask now." He jumped out of bed and made his way down the hall towards Korra's room. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Korra?" He slid open the door just a crack and poked his head in. Scanning the room, he noticed it was empty. He also noticed that it looked like a hurricane swept through. I hope she cleans this before she leaves.

A loud shuffling of paws brought Mako outside. "Playing fetch with Naga one more time before you leave?" He called.

Korra jumped in surprise. "Oh Mako! I didn't know you were out here."

"I just got here. I was hoping to talk to you before you left." He cursed under his breathe as his face grew red.

"Sure." Korra agreed, throwing the ball again for Naga to chase. "What did you want to talk about?"

Mako shuffled his feet. "Uh, well,"

Korra walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to be so awkward ya know. Sure things got complicated, but that's all behind us now. You can talk to me just like you would before all.." She paused, "THAT happened."

Mako nodded, but he couldn't grasp how it was so easy for her to act like nothing happened. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and got back to business. "I was wondering about the message Lin sent you." He didn't fail to notice Korra's momentary panic. "Did she say anything about me in it?"

"Uh no. Nope. Just down to business stuff. Ya know..cuz she's Lin. She's very serious." She crossed her arms and donned a stern face to mimic the chief.

"Right." Mako nodded, unconvinced. "Korra, was there really a letter?"

Korra immediately grew defensive. "WHAT?" Her fists clenched and Mako could practically see the steam coming out of them. "We finally start having a normal conversation and you decide to think I'm lying!?"

"Woah, Korra calm down." He said, reaching for his scarf. His hand scraped the part of his neck where his scarf would usually rest and the sinking realization hit him that he no longer HAD his trusty scarf. "I just, think it's weird Lin wouldn't say anything about me."

"She didn't, so. Yah." Korra said sternly. The air was thick with irritation. Why do things always have to be like this between us? Mako asked himself. Thankfully, Naga came back with the ball to break the silence. He dropped it at the avatar's feet and stared expectantly. Korra picked it up, waterbended the saliva off and offered it to Mako.

"Wanna throw?"

Mako reached out to it hesitantly.

"Sure."

"This was a terrible idea."

Asami sat on the curb just outside the train station, staring down at the road. Korra paced in front of her. "Stupid earth Queen and her stupid earth rules." She muttered.

"I mean who does she think she is! Telling me, the Avatar, that I can't leave this part of the city. I should just fly outta here. Yah I bet she'd like that."

Asami sighed and buried her face in her knees as Korra ranted. "This is her city. Technically she can keep you from traveling somewhere else within her territory."

Korra plopped down next to Asami on the curb. "She could at least tell us we are on lockdown. I mean, who does that anyway? Who just puts people on lockdown and doesn't tell them? Every official in the city knows not to let us go." She perked up suddenly. "Maybe it was the clothes! They are a dead giveaway. Let's try again but this time in our disguises!"

Asami felt the excitement stirring. This could work! "Oh..wait. The passports."

The two girls sighed, and Korra lay back across the curb. "This couldn't get worse."

A flash of lightening. The boom of thunder. And a sudden downpour.

Asami rolled her eyes. "You just had to say something."

Korra sat back up and watched, trying not to laugh, as the rain began to wash away Asami's makeup. "Stop smiling." The older girl commanded. Korra reached up and used the rain to make a bubble of water above them, shielding them from the rain.

"I wish I could metal bend. That'd make this so much easier." She said apologetically.

"It wouldn't be a problem if the stupid guard would just let us on the train." Asami muttered.

Korra laughed. "Now you're starting to sound like me."

"I think we're spending too much time together." Asami jeered. "Hey, maybe I could sneak onto the train as a raccoondog. I certainly look like one."

Korra offered up her sleeve. Asami shook her head. "It's ok Korra. That's your favorite sweatshirt."

The avatar shrugged. "I've got 15 more back on the airship exactly like it." Asami stared in disbelief. "No really." Korra continued. "I had to search through all of them to find the tickets. Took forever." She moved her arm closer to the heiress. "Here."

"Even if it's not your favorite, sweatshirt, its mine. But thank you. I probably have a tissue somewhere." Asami checked all her bags and pockets, but didn't find a tissue. "or not."

"Do you want it?"

Asami squinted in confusion. "Hm?"

"My sweatshirt." Korra said pulling lightly on the hood. 'You said it was your favorite, so do you want it?"

"Oh no!" Asami answered wide eyed. "I mean thank you but, it's my favorite on you. You look great in dark blue."

Korra blushed and looked down at herself. "I didn't think it was that great." She said bashfully.

"It is."

Korra moved to place her hands behind her to lean on the sidewalk, but it landed right on top of Asami's. "Oops, Sorry." She quickly whipped her hand away, and in the hurry she let her guard down, letting the water umbrella fall down on them. "Shit."

Asami turned her face away from Korra, hoping to conceal her blush. "It's fine."

Korra rebended the umbrella.

"Maybe we should just sneak on." Asami suggested. "Jump on from a rooftop or something."

"What?" Korra exclaimed. "People only do that in movers."

Asami's eyes lit up. "Let's do it."

The two girls spent fifteen minutes scouting out the perfect route to get onto the train. They could use the ally to climb up onto the nearby restaurant, and then jump across the next two buildings to the top of the station. From there, they just had to time it right, and they could jump onto the caboose unseen by the guards. They walked nonchalantly towards the allyway, making sure no one saw them enter. Korra stared at the dumpster and then the roof. "This building didn't look so tall from across the street." Asami sighed.

Korra wrapped her arm around Asami's waist and pulled her close. "Hang on." She whispered, as she readied herself to airbend them up. The heiress could feel her heart beating wildly. "k." She said, almost so quietly that she couldn't hear herself. It was over before she knew it, and they were on the roof.

"Let's go." Korra said, removing her arm from Asami's waist. Asami's heart dropped a little at how quickly Korra had pulled away. She quickly disregarded it and followed her across the rooftops. They rested on the edge of the station, looking down on the train. It was a straight drop to the caboose, they just had to wait for the guard to get off. For the past 4 trains, he would stand on the caboose, get off as it started to move, and talk to the ticket booth guy until the next one came.

"They're firing up the train, get ready to jump." Asami said as the wheels began to hum. The train whistle blew, signaling it was about to rev up and go, but the guard didn't move. The wheels started turning slowly, and he hopped off.

Korra got up to jump. "Now's our chance!" She began to push herself off but Asami reached out and stopped her. "Not yet!" She warned. Korra followed the girls gaze and noticed that the guard had deviated from his usual route, and was watching the train intently.

"Shit! We're gunna miss the train if we don't go now." Korra hissed.

The train started pulling away from the station. Korra began to panic, but Asami kept her cool. She dragged Korra towards the back of the building. "Where are we going? The train is that way!" She stared towards the station and watched as the train pulled away.

"Asami?" She hissed, the train speeding up.

"Asami? Come on!" She could feel the sweat building up. The train was going to leave and they weren't going to be on it.

"Korra?" Asami said, eyes focused forward.

"Yah?" Korra asked annoyed and confused at her friend's behavior.

"Run."

Before Korra could question it Asami took off, running across the rooftop towards the leaving train. "Come on!" she called back. Korra watched as Asami leaped off of the building and finally understood her plan. She booked it across the roof after her using her airbending to help propel her. She saw Asami land hard on the caboose, and with a final push leapt, flying through the air towards the train. She landed with a thud on the caboose, and Asami grabbed her to stabilize the landing. They stared back at the landing as it drifted away from the track, laughing at the screaming guard.

"We did it!" Korra cheered.

"I thought you weren't going to make it." Asami said, looking back at the rooftop.

"I did too for a while. I had no idea what you were planning."

"Sorry. I just kinda got an idea and rolled with it." Asami said casually.

Korra pulled the heiress in for a tight hug. "Well it was awesome."

The two girls hugged it out for awhile, and then went inside to find seats on the train. Despite the adrenaline rush, neither girl could shake the feeling they'd forgotten something.

...

"THE BAGS!"