Mako

It seemed as if half the city had turned out to the train station in Ba Sing Se to await the return of the Great Uniter.

As the sound of the approaching train began to grow steadily louder, the King stood at one end of the platform, with Mako and another guard flanking him. In his hand, he held the largest bouquet of flowers that Mako had ever seen, to the point where he was sagging under its weight.

"Do you need some help with that?" Mako whispered.

"No!" Wu replied, "I have to do this."

He shifted it up again, just as the train came into view around the corner. It was a long, sleek, silver thing, that looked like a giant metal caterpillar-beetle as it began to slow down. Before it had even stopped, one of the doors opened and Kuvira herself leaned out, waving enthusiastically to the crowd. She was greeted by equally enthusiastic cheers.

Finally, the train came to a stop, its brakes hissing as water was poured on them to cool them. Kuvira stepped off, waved at the crowd again, and moved towards where the King was standing. Wu bowed his head at her approach, giving the great Uniter a distinctly strained smile, and Kuvira bowed deeply to him in turn. Then she was up, and Wu presented her with the flowers.

"Thank you," she told him, as Baatar disembarked behind her, followed by Varrick and Bolin. Mako smiled to himself at the sight of his brother, being unable to wave because of protocol.

Kuvira turned back to the crowd, and stepped towards them. She gestured for the King to stand on one side of her and Baatar on the other, before gesturing for everyone to be quiet. Then, she began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she began, "three years ago I came to you with a mandate. A mandate to restore peace and prosperity to the Earth Kingdom. It hasn't always been easy, but I am pleased to inform you that my task has been completed! The pretender King has been defeated, the bandits have been vanquished, and rebellious regions have been brought back into the fold."

She grinned at Baatar.

"I couldn't have done it alone," she told them. "I have to thank King Wu, for lending me his support, and Varrick, for building engines of war and peace that helped to accomplish our goals. Most of all, I have to thank Baatar, for standing by me through thick and thin. He is my rock, and I'm not sure if I could have done it without him."

The crowds cheered as Baatar blushed, and smiled at her.

"At long last, victory has been achieved, and so I look forward to a long and peaceful future for our people. To start that off, I am declaring a national week of celebrations, for Reunification Day- the newest National Holiday our Kingdom celebrates. Soon I will meet with the leaders of the other nations, to tell them what I have told you, but until then, I invite you all to make merry. We all have a bright future ahead of us."

The cheers the crowd gave were the most enthusiastic so far. Kuvira gave them another wave, and then their party began to move towards the exit. Kuvira led the way, with Baatar beside her, and soon Bolin was walking beside Mako.

"We won!" He told him happily.

"I saw!" Mako replied. "I took the job."

"We can work together then!" Bolin grinned. "We're getting the gang back together! It'll be just like old times."

"Yes," Mako considered telling Bolin what he and the King had seen, but decided not to do so until they were in a more private place. There was movement on his other side.

"Who's this?" Wu asked, gesturing at Bolin.

"Your Majesty, this is my brother, Bolin," Mako told him politely. "He's been helping Kuvira."

Wu's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Is he... you know, trustworthy?"

"Of course he's trustworthy, he's my brother."

"I'm very trustworthy!" Bolin added.

At the front of the station, a row of Satomobiles stood waiting to take the important arrivals up to the Upper Ring. The first car was reserved for Kuvira, but the second was the King's. It was also Mako's, because the King had insisted on making him his driver. He got in and gestured for Bolin to get in on the passenger seat in the front.

Slowly, the motorcade moved off, and Mako realised that they were alone in the car. But before he could speak, Bolin got their first.

"I'm not sure about her," he said.

"About who?"

"Kuvira." He said it quickly, glancing at the Earth King. "Do you know how she won?"

"No," Mako answered, truthfully.

"She made a spirit bomb and blew up hundreds of people."

Mako heard Wu gasp.

"Was my uncle..."

"Yes," Bolin told him. "She also blinded and deafened hundreds of her own men, she didn't give them protection."

"A spirit bomb?" Mako questioned him. "What's that?"

Bolin shrugged. "I'm not sure. All I know is Varrick built it and it involves putting electricity through spirit vines. And it vaporised an entire mountain."

"Varrick," Mako cursed.

"You're not going to tell her I said that?" Bolin asked cautiously.

Mako shook his head. "We're brothers, remember?" He reminded him. "Besides, we're not so keen on her either."

"Why?"

"She's been having lots of people arrested for no reason," Wu told him. "We saw them come and throw children in the back of a van. And she's not telling their families."

"Oh," Bolin seemed as if he didn't know what to say. "How do you know it was for no reason?"

Mako shrugged. "What possible crime could a ten year old have committed against the state?"

"I don't know," Bolin conceded. "But she must have had some reason. She's never done this sort of thing before..."

But he didn't sound very sure of himself. As the Satomobile drove past legions of adoring people, waving banners with the symbol of the Earth Monarchy and pictures of Kuvira's face on them, the atmosphere inside the Satomobile was significantly grimmer.