Ch 3

The Avatar tossed and turned violently on the ragged fainted red seat of the train. Beads of sweat broke through her skin as she dreamed.

She was in a dark ally, only the light green roofs of the surrounding buildings gave away its Earth Kingdom identity. She tried to turn but some mysterious force prevented her from doing so. Suddenly there was a shift and she was trapped in a tunnel, a bright light shining from its end. Korra panicked, thinking for a moment that this was the end. Then a figure appeared in the center of the light. She tried to make out who it was, but couldn't tell.

Slowly she crept closer and closer to the figure. It remained shrouded in void as she drew nearer. Finally the figure was in reach. The avatar swallowed hard, staring at the shape. She knew it was a person, and she had a sinking feeling she knew them, but she just couldn't tell who. As she reached out to touch them, they faded into a swirling white design. She recognized it as the symbol for the White Lotus, and immediately became calm.

A voice came from behind her. "Trust no one Korra."

An icy chill washed over her as she watched the symbol change, and blood red filled the previously white symbol.

"Beware the Red Lotus"

Korra shot straight up, the image of the Red Lotus still fresh in her mind. Who was that shape? And the Voice? Questions racked her thoughts as she looked around the train car. The seats were ripped and faded, the walls smudged with dirt, a picture of the Queen hung flawless on one of the walls, and except for Korra, the car was utterly abandoned. She slid open the door to the car in front of hers.

"Asami?" She called out loudly. The occupants of the car stirred and glared her way. She smiled uncomfortably and snuck back into her train car. Korra frowned and looked around at the empty seats as if suddenly Asami would appear in one of them. There was a flash from outside that illuminated a silhouette on the caboose.

Korra mentally slapped herself for being so stupid and moved outside the car to stand on the caboose with Asami.

"I thought I lost you." She joked half-heartedly. Asami uncrossed her legs and turned to greet the avatar. "Hey! Never thought you'd wake up. For the Avatar you get tired out pretty easily."

Korra leaned over against the railing and stared at the tracks as the train passed over them. She clenched her jaw as the voice played over and over again in her mind.

"Trust no one Korra. Beware the Red Lotus."

"Are you ok Korra?"

The Avatar shook her head. "I had a dream, and I think it was a warning. A bad warning. It was about the Red lotus, and someone told me not to trust anyone. I don't even know what the Red lotus is."

Asami frowned. That dream certainly didn't sound good. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. You fought in Harmonic Convergence and won, I'm sure you can handle whatever gets thrown at you."

"Yah." Korra sighed. "I guess so."

Lin stared at the reports on her desk, desperately searching for some connection. She just couldn't wrap her mind around why all these airbenders were appearing from what seemed like nowhere. A fast knock disturbed her concentration. "Come in." She barked, cringing slightly at the harshness of her voice. She had tried to make that one seem a little nicer.

A young officer stumbled into the room. He adjusted his helmet and nervously began to speak. "Chie..Chief Beifong….I um…There's …I know you said tt..that you didn't want disturbances…b…but.."

Lin rolled her eyes. "Out with it."

The officer's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. "Right. There's some visitors here for you. They say it's urgent. From the sound of it something bad has happened."

The Chief of Police clenched her fist. "Tell the Avatar I'm not about to clean up whatever mess she made when she left to gallivant around the Earth Kingdom."

The young officer shook his head, eyes still wide. "It's not the Avatar." Lin relaxed a little, but an uneasy feeling began stirring in her stomach.

"It's Lord Zuko. The Avatar's father Tonraq and the chiefs of the Northern Water Tribe are with him." He paused for a moment. "There's a dragon here too. It's really cool."

Lin sighed. "Dismissed. Go play with the dragon." The boy's face lit up immediately. "And send them in immediately."

The young man smiled wide and removed his helmet, bowing rapidly. "Thank you Chief Beifong, thank you!" He said before skipping out of her office.

"You'd better put that helmet back on!" Lin called after him, doubting he heard it. She glanced around the office, checking to make sure everything was in order. She straightened the files on her desk before turning to greet her visitors. She gasped when they entered.

"What the hell happened to you all?" She demanded, rushing over to them to check for any serious injuries. Lord Zuko gently waved her away with his bruised hand.

"Don't worry about us Miss Beifong." He assured her, "Just some minor scrapes and bruises."

Lin bended over some extra chairs for everyone and urged them all to sit. "I'm still going to have a medic check all of you after this meeting."

The ex Fire Lord took a seat while Lin moved behind her desk. Eska and Desna followed his lead. Desna began fiddling with his sleeve. The battle had messed up his cuffs even further and now they were just irritating him. His sister reached over to help. Tonraq was the only one to remain standing. Lin reached behind her and gestured to a tea pot. "Anyone want some? It's still hot." She offered. Zuko was the only one to indulge.

Tonraq waited till the tea was poured to begin. "We don't have much time." His deep voice sounded hoarse and unsure.

Zuko sipped his tea. "Zaheer had escaped, and he's an airbender."

"NO!" Lin slammed her fist on the table, her pencils scattered and rolled onto the floor.

"And he has friends. We battled them at the North pole." Desna added.

Eska straightened herself up in her seat, her usual demeanor of boredom breaking. "Did you know we had a secret prison underground? I think that's something we should have been told of a long time ago."

Lin ignored the kids and turned her attention back to the issue at hand. "He managed to break out the others too?"

Zuko nodded solemnly. "Yes. Ghazan, P'li and Ming Hua are all free now. Where is Korra?"

"She must be protected at all costs." Tonraq demanded.

"She's with the Earth Queen in Ba Sing Se searching or more airbenders."

Tonraq began to move for the door. "We need to go get her and bring her back here immediately."

"No." Lin commanded. "You all stay here and recover. I'll retrieve Avatar Korra."

Tonraq moved to argue but Zuko intervened. "She's right. We need our rest if we are to face what is up ahead. We can watch over the city while Lin retrieves Korra."

"Fine." Tonraq agreed. "But make it quick."

"WHAT?!" The Earth Queen shrieked at the guard, her hat sliding of her head.

"The Avatar and her female friend left the upper ring." He squawked out.

"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME." She screamed, her face red from lacking oxygen.

"I'm sorry my Queen."

"APOLOGIES DON'T CUT IT I WANT HER ARRESTED FOR TREASON AGAINST THE KINGDOM." She stopped to stare at the new guard entering the throne room. "AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?" She spat. Her anger faded slightly when she saw that the newcomer was not a guard but a Dai Lee agent.

The Agent waved off the guard, who ran out of the room apologizing all the way. Once the door was safely shut he spoke. "We won't have to worry about the Avatar for much longer."

The queen leaned forward, eyebrows raised. "And why is that?"

A faint smirk appeared on the agent's lips. "There are only two things that speak louder than words."

The Queen rolled her eyes, searching for a point. "And what is that?"

"Fire and Blood."

Silence fell over the room as Queen and Agent stared at one another.

The Queen nodded happily at the opportunities now presented before her. "Release the prisoner. You know which one." The agent nodded and turned to fulfill the request. "And no matter what happens, do not act upon this scenario. We will sit and pull the strings from the outside."

The agent smirked as he headed to the underground facility where the new airbenders were being held. He pulled back his robes to stare at the red insignia on his wrist. "What is dead may never die. The time has come."

Ok and that's a wrap on this chapter. Short I know…I apologize. But I've got a lot of plots points im trying to develop and set up. And yes…..that was a game of thrones reference….