This will have several flashes of Season 3. I admit I take inspiration from Behind Closed Mouths from Illustrious Unknown. In case you are wondering, Books 1 and 2 went the same way outside those flashes last chapter.
Korra had known she was pregnant for a month, but she didn't know what to do. So far, only Katara knew. She had considered telling her parents but as mixed as her feelings for Mako were, she didn't want her dad to kill him. Mako himself was still trying to avoid talking to her after their breakup, and she wasn't sure how he'd react. Or if a child was enough to keep them together, even as they worked to rescue Kai and the other Airbenders the Earth Queen had conscripted. But when a Dai Li agent started strangling him with one of his detached rock gloves, Korra's eyes glowed with the Avatar State and sent the agent flying away in a massive fire ball, releasing Mako from its grip. As they flew away in their airship with the rescued Airbenders, he blushed when thanking her.
After Zaheer escaped, and helped his three friends do so, they were quite happy to have finally reunited after so long. Zaheer himself was downright enthusiastic at his new status as an Airbender. Ever since he heard that Air was the element of Freedom, he had studied all he could of Air Nomad history and culture. Having grown up so close to the Southern Air Temple, there was no shortage of artifacts to find. And when he had studied what he could from them, they made excellent bartering tools. As Zaheer hated governments, he hated formal currency, instead preferring to barter for what he needed if he couldn't steal it.
"Well, the Avatar has certainly given you the best present for your breakout," Ghazan remarked. "And she handled that traitor who stuck us in hell for a dozen years. Too bad we have to kill her."
"Indeed, it is unfortunate," Zaheer agreed. "If only Unalaq hadn't been corrupted by delusions of power, Korra would be as much a part of this family as any of us. Nonetheless, we will do what we must. First, we will go to Sholing, to retrieve the crystal that leads to the world of spear-throwing frog people."
"All we need is Mercury, which we already have," Ming-Hua remarked. "Stick it inside her, it rips up her insides, the pain forces her into the Avatar state, and when it reaches her heart, she dies. No more reincarnations after that."
"There is a problem with that, however," P'Li reminded the shorter woman. "She's in the Avatar State, at her most powerful. It doesn't matter what she's restrained with, she's going to break free. And the Metalbender police chief from Republic City? She's one part aunt, one part bodyguard to Korra. In addition to Lin Bei Fong probably being close by, there is the Airbending royal family, the rich pretty girl, the Probending brothers, perhaps Korra's father, and anyone they've befriended since then to worry about. If there is a Metalbender close by, they could rip the poison out before it kills the Avatar."
"Exactly," Zaheer complimented his girlfriend for understanding the plan. "We toss her into a place where her allies can't help. There, she will be free to thrash about before dying, all alone with no one to help. That is what will make Korra the last Avatar."
"Of course, we need to catch the Avatar first," Ghazan noted. "I heard the Queen in Ba Sing Se is having trouble with the Avatar. Shall we play the role of bounty hunter?"
"Excellent idea," Zaheer replied. "And afterward, we can handle one of the rulers of the world."
In the Fire Nation Royal Palace...
Fire Lord Izumi and her daughter, Mizuki, were reading a letter from her husband, former Commander Bumi of the Republic Forces. After Harmonic Convergence, Bumi had become an Airbender, and had joined his brother Tenzin in looking for new Airbenders to help revive their culture.
"If there is something you inherited from me, it's patience with the man you love," Izumi's mother, Jin, remarked. "It took a long time for your father to finally become who he was meant to. Often, he would go on a quest of self-discovery. And it looks like Bumi is doing the same thing. It's a good thing your father is off, dealing with those Red Lotus people."
"Dad just wrote back from the North Pole, Mom," Izumi replied. "That Combustionbender has escaped, as well as her friends."
"Oh," her mother said, sounding surprised with a hint of worry. She then regained composure and talked hopefully, mostly for her daughter's benefit. "Well, all he has to do is toss a pebble into her forehead, and the rest will take of itself. How is your father doing, Mizuki?"
"Dad just helped a bunch of Airbenders escape Ba Sing Se," said Mizuki. "The Earth Queen was forcing them to join her army. To presumably attack the URN?"
"Sadly, that wouldn't surprise me," Jin said to her granddaughter. "People like her ruined my homeland. If they had their way, they would also ruin the world." Jin hadn't been able to return to Ba Sing Se, the city of her birth, in over seventy years after she first met Zuko. There was a chance with the prior Earth Monarch, but that chance died with him.
Hou-Ting, the new queen, had done her best to revive resentment over the hundred-year war to distract her populace from how she was the single greatest cause of all their misery and hardship. One of the main things she focused on was the "Gutter Queen" of the Fire Nation, as her propagandists dubbed Jin. They loved talking about the apprentice seamstress of the lower ring who became the Fire Lady, implying that she had willingly betrayed the Earth Kingdom to the handsome Fire Prince sent to conquer it. Such a narrative conveniently ignored that Zuko was simply hiding there, that he was dating someone else when he returned to the Fire Nation, and that he only married her years later.
But Hou-Ting didn't care about the truth, just as she didn't care about the Earth Kingdom. She only cared for her own vices. The only thing related to the state that she truly funded was the Dai Li, after having revived many of the organization's worst practices, including conscripting Earthbender children into their training program, so they would have no family outside the agency. Unlike the Dai Li of Jin's youth, who had hidden the existence of the war so well that she didn't even know it was happening, the current Dai Li seemed to be entirely loyal to Hou-Ting. Ironically, her father was a much better man, despite his flaws, and the Dai Li betrayed him to the Fire Nation.
"Well, this is interesting," Mizuki noted as she read her father's letter. "It sounds like the Avatar's Firebending ex-boyfriend might not be an ex for long."
"You know what, that is good news," Jin smiled at her granddaughter. "When love is real, it finds a way." Avatar Aang had told her and Zuko that. He had heard it from the ghost of Avatar Roku, the Great Grandfather whose footsteps Zuko had decided to follow.
Many people thought it was impossible for a poor textile worker from Ba Sing Se to be with the king of the Fire Nation. But ultimately, Zuko married her. Some speculated that, if Lady Mai had survived the Sons of Sozin bombing, that she would have been Fire Lady, but Jin didn't dwell on that. Everything she had heard about the Avatar indicated that, whoever it was that cycle, they only fell in love once. That is when they heard a door open, and a messenger walked toward Izumi with a sealed communique.
In Zaofu...
Korra had just finished meeting Opal when the new Airbender called over to another woman in gym clothes.
"Kuvira, come say hi!" Opal called out to the other woman. "Come on, dance practice can wait." After a bit of reluctance, the woman called Kuvira walked over. She was muscular, though not as buff as Korra herself, her long black hair was tied in a braid, and she had a small mole directly under her right eye.
"A pleasure," she said in a friendly but reserved manner as she shook Korra's hand.
"Kuvira's an orphan, but now we're sisters," Opal said. Korra noticed that Kuvira bristled at Opal's remark.
"Well, it is nice to meet you," Korra smiled back. "Maybe we can practice Metalbending together." Kuvira gave a more genuine smile at Korra's offer before walking away.
"Are you sure you are sisters?" asked Asami, having noticed Kuvira's demeanor at Opal.
"Yes," Opal replied, in a somewhat regretful tone. "I just spent too long denying we were. She was what Mom didn't get with me, and I was a real brat to her. Then, when I met Aunt Malina, she told me how much Kuvira just wanted acceptance. It took years for that lesson to sink in. Afterward, I learned just what Kuvira had gone through before coming to Zaofu. Those are her secrets, and I won't repeat them but when I did learn, I was ashamed of having treated her the way I had. I've been trying to make amends, but Kuvira doesn't exactly trust me."
"Well, at least some people can realize when they've hurt their families, and try to repair the damage," Asami replied, bitterly thinking of how her own father tried to kill her when she wouldn't join the Equalists like he had.
"So, Hiroshi hasn't tried talking to you, yet?" asked Bolin.
"No," Asami replied. "There is less of a chance of him admitting he was wrong, than there is of the Obsidian Knight befriending everyone." At that, Korra, Mako, and Bolin's hearts skipped a beat, though the only one to notice was Kuvira, who'd stayed behind a pillar to hear what Opal had to say behind her back. In addition, her seismic sense was getting a strange reading from the Avatar. A sense that Kuvira had never experienced before. Then she went to dance practice, and wondered how good Korra could be at Metalbending.
Mako and Bolin had gone back to Ba Sing Se, to try to get their grandmother to leave before the Earth Queen took her and the rest of their extended family hostage. They decided to go incognito without Korra, in the hopes they wouldn't be recognized. Lin and Suyin were airing their grievances at each other privately, with Tenzin present so things didn't go too far, so Korra decided to occupy herself and went to Kuvira to practice Metalbending with.
"So, just Metalbending, right?" the other woman asked.
"I won't even bend any rocks," Korra agreed. As they started, Korra's new seismic sense helped her discern which metals in the room could be bent. Eventually, she found one and Metalbent a restraint at Kuvira. The other woman quickly deflected it, and tossed a restraint of her own around Korra, binding her wrists. Korra quickly broke free, before one of Kuvira's flechettes bound the Avatar's right foot to the floor.
"You're a fast learner," Kuvira admitted. "Not as good as me, though."
"I'm still learning," Korra smiled back. "Still, you are more than just a dancer, like I was told."
"I'm not just a dancer," Kuvira said, correcting the misconception Opal had created. "I'm the guard captain. The only one I can't defeat is Su herself. Wei, Wing, and Huan have all tried on their own as well as together in the hopes of beating me, and I win every time, to their resentment." Korra was surprised by that last statement.
"I thought you were their sister," Korra said, as they began the Metalbending spar again, this time with Korra on defense.
"Su couldn't technically adopt me," Kuvira explained, as she tossed the flechettes at the Avatar. "On a good day, I am a helpful classmate to them. Most days, I'm their greatest rival." She then nervously blushed before continuing. "Well, except for Baatar, and he doesn't love me as a sister." Korra understood, she and Mako had never been in a relationship before they met each other. Hopefully, Kuvira and Baatar would do better, since they had known each other for over a decade and grew up together.
"Why couldn't Suyin adopt you?" Korra asked as she deflected one of the flechettes but failed to stop the other from grabbing her left wrist.
"Because my parents had already given me away," Kuvira replied bitterly. "The Dai Li prefer little kids to recruit, since they are the easiest to indoctrinate into the organization." Korra was shocked, the Dai Li conscripted children? And there were parents who gave them away to the secret police agency? "Before you ask, they have done it that way since Kyoshi's time," Kuvira continued. "The king she trained them for wanted them to have no life outside their duty. Though, he supposedly kept that a secret from her."
"I grew up hearing the Dai Li were just an enemy of Aang, not that another Avatar created them," Korra admitted, thinking back to what schooling she had outside of fighting. "I guess the White Lotus wasn't as honest as I thought. I've been learning a lot of things I was taught are false. So, Suyin couldn't admit she was harboring a fugitive?"
"They knew, and tried to drag me back with them when I was twelve," Kuvira explained. "She noted how the Dai Li doesn't have any ladies in uniform and accused them of having...other intentions for me. Rather than let that rumor spread, they agreed to ignore it if she didn't flaunt her defiance of them. So, I'm just Kuvira, not Kuvira Bei Fong. Now I have some questions of my own, since we're getting to know each other."
"Name them," as Korra effectively stopped all but one of the dozen flechettes that Kuvira sent her way.
"I heard that you tried to humor the queen into giving you the Airbenders," Kuvira said. "From what I heard, you never did that anywhere else. If someone got in your way, you bypassed them, one way or another."
"That attitude hasn't helped me get people like President Raiko into helping me," Korra explained. "I thought I would try a more diplomatic approach with the Earth Queen."
"If your teachers had told you anything, you would have known diplomacy was a waste of time," Kuvira noted. "She brought back the Dai Li's worst practices and heavily taxes the lands she can for her own indulgence. She has stifled the Earth Nation for far too long, so no one develops new ideas that threaten the monarchy that she has no interest in outliving her. And occasionally, Hou-Ting rants against the Air and Fire Empire of Lost Territories, as she calls the URN. Because dwelling on tradition and ancient history is a good way to trick stupid peasants. None of this is a secret, and its stuff you should have known before coming." Korra was shocked at that rant Kuvira gave. But then she realized how accurate it was.
Negotiating had been a waste of time, Korra did have to fight through the Earth Queen's forces. The queen had so thoroughly brainwashed people like Mako and Bolin's grandmother, that the old woman kept a picture of the despot in her own living room. And then there was what the queen had been doing with the Airbenders. Bumi had called it conscription, a legal right of a sovereign ruler, but that was inaccurate, as none of these people had received a draft notice in the mail. In truth, it was slavery, since Kai and everyone else in the program had been kidnapped and dragged to a secret training facility. And that raised another question.
"If Hou-Ting was trying to make an Airbender army, do you think she would try to reclaim the 'Lost Territories' as she calls the Republic?" Korra asked.
"I think she would pretend to," Kuvira answered. "But the war would really be about distracting everyone from her incompetence at home than righting a historical wrong. The only way for the Earth Nation to become what it should be is if the monarchy was overthrown, and replaced with a far more enlightened government." Korra knew Kuvira was right. Given the queen's hostility and actions, the young Avatar would certainly come to blows with her again. And given how the Hundred-Year War only ended when Aang removed Ozai from power, regime change was an entirely valid thing for the Avatar to do. Before the conversation could continue, however, they were interrupted by a man with a chain attached to piercings on his face. Korra heard Su call him Aiwei.
"Something's come up, the Avatar needs to go to the radio room," he said, looking unpleasantly at Kuvira.
"If it is important, the guard captain should hear as well," Kuvira retorted venomously as she followed Korra out of the room. After they made it to the room, they saw that Tenzin, Lin, Su, her husband Baatar Sr, and Opal were all clustered around the radio.
"We're all here, Mako," Lin said. "What were you going to say?"
"Bolin and I got our family out in time, but the queen isn't the problem," Mako explained. "She's been assassinated."
"What?" everyone asked in surprise.
"She was meeting with some bounty hunters or whatever they claimed to be," Mako continued. "There was a disagreement, and they killed her. Then, they shouted the news across the city as one of them somehow turned the inner walls to lava, setting off a riot."
"Wait, did you say lava?" asked Tenzin. "Mako, could you describe these people for me?"
"One's a long-haired, bearded Earthbender, another's an armless Waterbending woman, then there's a giantess with a combustion tattoo, and the leader is a bald guy," the Firebender detective explained, as the three adults all looked rather worried. "Tenzin, there's a rumor the leader killed the queen with Airbending."
"Forget about how he killed her, City Boy!" Korra shouted to her ex-boyfriend. "Get out of there!"
"The airship has just taken off, Korra," he reassured her softly. "Bolin's just gotten Grandma on board. We'll see you soon, don't worry." At that, the transmission ceased. Before anyone could say anything, Kuvira spoke up.
"Su, I think we should wake the next guard shift early and send the sentry blimp up to keep watch for anything approaching," the guard captain told Suyin.
"Yes, of course, good thinking," the Zaofu matriarch agreed. As her new friend left to attend her duties, Korra stayed behind and looked at Tenzin.
"You know who these four are, don't you?" the Avatar stated, before another thought clicked. "They are the people who tried to take me as a toddler, aren't they?" At that, Tenzin nodded in confirmation. "How long have they been out of their cells?"
"About six weeks," Lin confirmed. "It's why I came, actually. The White Lotus, however, asked I not reveal it until they became an active threat." Korra was again disappointed in the order that had trained her in isolation. Hadn't she proven herself at this point? And if she didn't know there was a problem, how was she supposed to guard against it?
Several nights later, the Red Lotus attacked Zaofu, having somehow bypassed the outer defenses. Kuvira found herself fighting Zaheer himself, while Korra was fighting Ming-Hua. Korra Firebent a great wall of flame that quickly eliminated Ming-Hua's water arms, so P'Li sent a blast at Korra to protect the armless Waterbender. Korra propelled herself away from the explosion with Airbending. At that, she activated the Avatar state, sending hundreds of rocks flying at the Firebending giantess. P'Li quickly retreated, as there were too many for her to guard against.
Korra then saw Mako being overwhelmed by a half-dozen powerful Red Lotus members, two of each a different element. Mako was doing well, dodging one Waterbender before hitting an Earthbender with a fire blast, and then kicking a Firebender in the shin. But another Earthbender restrained his right foot, the second Waterbender froze his hands, and the next Firebender prepared to burn his face. But before they could, Korra Metalbent a club and smashed the Waterbender in the forehead, uppercut the Firebender with her own flaming fist, and kicked an icicle into the Earthbender's thigh.
Mako broke free with his Firebending, blasting the other Waterbender in the face, causing him scream in pain, covering both his eyes. He then grabbed the first Firebender by the neck and blasted flames down the man's throat, burning him from the inside out. The original Earthbender knocked him backward but before he could do anything, Mako sent a bolt of lightning directly into the man's forehead.
"Are you alright?" Korra asked frantically as she helped him up.
"I'm okay," he reassured her, thinking that maybe having the occasional argument was worth being with Korra. Noticing that the last Red Lotus member was getting back up, clutching the icicle he'd yanked out of his thigh, Korra sidestepped him and knocked him flat on his face. The icicle he was holding upward pierced his throat.
Meanwhile, Kuvira tossed one flechette after another at Zaheer, but his Airbending, crude as it was, protected him. So, she Earthbent two great boulders and sent them flying at Zaheer from opposite sides. He managed to break one with a powerful Airbending strike and dodge the second. But that was what Kuvira was waiting for and lashed his legs together with one of her flechettes. Before he could recover, she bound his wrists with another flechette, and then tossed another to bind the anarchist's mouth, in case he could Airbend through it. But an Earthbent wall rapidly appeared in front, stopping it. A long-haired man, Kuvira believed he was named Ghazan, charged forward and turned the rock into lava to toss at her. She dodged it, but one piece of magma hit Wing, who was helping his mother against several Waterbending assailants. Distracted by her son's plight, she didn't notice an ice block was about to hit her, breaking her left leg so hard it bent in the wrong direction.
As Suyin screamed in pain, Kuvira Metalbent the restraints she'd already placed on Zaheer, tossing him close to a raging fire his girlfriend had started. Ghazan rushed to save his best friend, while Kuvira charged to help Huan and Wei, who were struggling against the Water and Firebenders in Red Lotus uniforms. Creating a long and sharp whip, Kuvira swung it so hard that three of them were sliced in half in a shower of blood. She then Metalbent a disc and tossed it at two others, beheading them. Rushing forward, she turned to Huan and yelled for him to help her get his injured mother and brother to the hospital. If only he was as interested in fighting as he was in sculpting, Kuvira thought, this might not have happened.
After the battle, which ended when the Red Lotus retreated with their Metalbound leader, many of the combatants were gathered outside the emergency room as Suyin and Wing were attended to by Kya and several other doctors. Unable to stand the tension, Wei had joined Kuvira in securing the perimeter of their city. Mako and Bolin decided to help their grandmother and cousins get settled into their new home, while Korra, Lin, Huan, and Baatar Jr sat in the waiting room, with Baatar Sr inside, sitting beside his wife and son. Opal had already left for the Northern Air Temple alongside Tenzin at that point. He'd said something about how he needed to secure it. But Korra suspected that, in truth, he didn't want to leave Jinora alone with Kai for too long. After a long wait, Kya walked out.
"Suyin is going to need crutches for at least six months, and a lot of rest," Kya explained hopefully. Then her face turned sad and sympathetic. "Wing, though, the magma has burned all the way down to his bones. Both of his legs will have to be amputated." The Bei Fong children all cried upon hearing that, while Lin remained stoic outside, but on the inside, upset. After everyone else had left, Korra approached Kya.
"Can you do an examination for me?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly.
"You look fine, Korra," Kya replied.
"Not on me," the Avatar answered, touching her belly, still rather flat. After a moment of surprise, Kya granted the request, agreeing to keep her patient's secrets. She soon confirmed that everything was fine but recommended she return to the South Pole until the baby was born.
After the Red Lotus had managed to infiltrate Zaofu, Kuvira had started looking for how the Red Lotus had gotten past their defenses unnoticed. At first, it appeared to be a guard named Hong Li, but Korra realized he was too young to be a Red Lotus infiltrator. Kuvira confronted Aiwei, the lie detector who accused the guard, and he quickly panicked and ran, revealing himself as the traitor.
Korra had decided to stay behind and help Kya with Suyin. She'd claimed it was because Wei, Mako, and Bolin (Kuvira would have come if Suyin was in better shape) could handle Aiwei alone, but Mako suspected it was something else. They caught up to Aiwei, but he appeared to be in a comatose state when they found him. Taking him back to Zaofu, they brought him to the healing house, only to be met by Korra.
"There's nothing we can do for him," she said. "He can talk to Zaheer in the Spirit World but that's a problem."
"Why is that a problem?" Bolin asked.
"Zaheer decided he wasn't an asset but a liability," Korra said. "So, during their Spirit World conversation, he tossed Aiwei into the Fog of Lost Souls." Everyone shuddered at that. Jinora, Kya, Bumi, and Tenzin had briefly been trapped in the eternal prison for sacrilegious humans during Unalaq's plot to merge with Vaatu. They all described it as a particularly hard and terrifying experience, where they were slowly being driven mad before Aang's ghost freed his children and granddaughter.
"So, what happens to him, now?" asked Bolin.
"His soul can't return to his body, it is trapped in the Fog forever," Korra explained. "As such, he will never wake up, even as his body rots to nothing."
"Serves him right," Baatar Jr interjected, followed by a nod from his two brothers on their feet. Kya, who had been listening, would normally have said it was too terrible a fate to wish upon anyone but she knew Suyin's children wouldn't agree after Aiwei's betrayal.
Korra was still in Zaofu, learning Metalbending with Kuvira, when she heard her parents were coming. Having heard the people that tried to abduct their daughter years earlier had just attacked her and her friends, of course they would come. Korra had decided to stay in Zaofu, helping heal the injured, as Kya was at the Northern Temple and while things had improved between Su and her little sister Malina, the Kyoshi Warrior was in the North Pole, trying to reconnect with her own children.
At two and a half months along in her pregnancy, Korra couldn't ignore it any longer. Today, she was going to tell Mako how he'd soon be a father. She loved him, and at this point, she knew she couldn't live without the handsome Firebender. Hopefully, he would feel the same way. Then, she would reveal it to her parents and return to the South Pole with them. Hopefully, her father wouldn't lose his temper against Mako.
But the day before her parents were set to arrive, they saw a strange sight. A Sky Bison being flown by Ryu, one of the most reluctant new Airbenders Korra and her friends had recruited.
"It's a little early to be learning that, isn't it?" asked Bolin.
"Well, I have no choice," he said exhausted. "Zaheer forced me to." That statement shocked everyone. Zaheer and his three friends had gone to the Northern Air Temple, overwhelmed everyone with their own followers and unconventional powers, and taken them hostage. And now, they were going to kill one Airbender every day that Korra didn't surrender to them. Specifically, if Korra didn't ride back on Ryu's bison with him. This set off panic among everyone. After a moment, Korra spoke up.
"Well, I guess it's time to give Zaheer what he wants," she said.
"Kid, Zaheer doesn't want you to join his cause, at this point," Lin spoke up.
"He doesn't want me dead, either," she replied. "They weren't here to kill me. They need me for something."
"Whatever it is, it's bad for you," Mako added, with loving concern. "And he's not going to let you live afterward."
"Neither was Unalaq," Korra noted. "Look where he is now. Also, you are going to follow me back to wherever it is they are holding Tenzin and the rest." After a moment, Mako understood. They would take Naga along with them and follow Korra's scent back to the Red Lotus stronghold.
"What if you need to break free?" asked Asami. "I don't think they will take any chances with you bending, so it'll be platinum restraints."
"Korra's been a great student," Kuvira spoke up. She handed Korra a small metal disc, roughly the same size as a button. Korra then bent it into various shapes, including a small lockpick. After that, she cut a small hole into her armband, and placed the disc inside. After that, Mako's grandmother helped sew it back up.
"Okay, then it's settled," Suyin spoke up from her wheelchair. She didn't want to go along with this plan, but her own daughter's life was on the line, so she reluctantly agreed. "Kuvira will take the blimp and fly over with Korra's friends. She will set them down, out of sight, and they will follow Korra to Zaheer's lair."
"I will then touch down, saying I'm there for the Airbenders," Kuvira added. "We then rip Zaheer's head off if he doesn't show us Opal and the rest." Lin didn't like this plan, especially as it put Korra, who'd become almost a daughter to her, in far too much danger. But her sister's daughter was in just as much danger. After finishing their preparations, they began their flight to the Northern Air Temple.
Inside the Red Lotus hideaway...
Kya was restrained alongside her brothers, nieces, nephew, sister-in-law, and all the Airbending apprentices. Kya had arrived right before the Red Lotus did. Despite their best efforts, they were captured alongside all the Airbending apprentices. No doubt, they had already sent word to Zaofu demanding Korra's surrender.
"You should really reconsider your position, given how your boss treats anyone outside his club," Kya began, trying to reason with the guards standing down the hall. "Unless you want to wind up like Aiwei."
"Aiwei knew the risks when he joined, and accepted them," intruded Ghazan, who walked up to them alongside Ming-Hua. "Which is why he crunched the pill you found in his mouth when he couldn't escape." Bumi then turned his head up. Maybe they couldn't convince these guards to give up, but he and his family could still learn something.
"You can't win," Bumi boasted at the two Red Lotus leaders. "Whatever you want from the Spirit World, you'll have to let Korra out of her chains. She'll then beat you senseless for all you've done, and you'll regret ever leaving that cage." Ghazan had already walked away, but Ming-Hua had stayed behind.
"Oh, there's nothing we need in the Spirit World," taunted Ming-Hua. "We're just going to kill her."
"You can't kill Korra!" Ikki yelled at the threat.
"Of course, we can," Ming-Hua gloated. "True, we can't kill the Avatar, since it'll just reincarnate." She then dramatically paused, as if she was thinking of something. "Unless, what if she was in the Avatar state?"
"You couldn't handle her at Zaofu," Kya continued fishing. "No way can you overcome the Avatar at the zenith of her power."
"Oh, we don't need to overcome her," Ming-Hua taunted. "After we chain her up here, we'll stick a vile of Mercury into her." That shocked everyone, as Mercury was known as a deadly poison. "While she's thrashing about in pain, she'll go into the Avatar state. It'll happen, no matter how much she fights back. Don't worry, we're not monsters. As soon as her eyes start glowing, we'll slit her throat. That, will certainly end the Avatar." At that moment, Zaheer came in and scolded her for revealing their plan.
"You claim to fight for freedom, but you are murdering the one who protects that freedom!" an enraged Tenzin yelled at Zaheer.
"Korra would be protecting that freedom, if I had been able to take her thirteen years ago," Zaheer retorted. "But no, you had to raise her to worship order when the natural state is disorder! You made this necessary, not me!" That earned a flash of anger from the children of Avatar Aang. They had heard another murderer blame them for what he had done. He claimed that if they stood against him for murdering people in his way, it was their own fault for everything he did afterward. Then, he killed their father for possessing something he wanted, alongside many others for being in his way.
"You'll be murdering innocent life, even by your own demented standards," Kya said, gritting her teeth.
"If any of you come after us in vengeance, we'll just be defending ourselves," added Ghazan, who had come back alongside P'Li.
"And what about Korra's baby?!" Kya exclaimed in a rage. "You'll be murdering a child before it can even crawl." At that, everyone was stunned to silence. No one had even suspected the Avatar might be pregnant.
"Then at least she won't die alone," Zaheer replied coldly. Then he turned to his inner circle. "Grab the first sister and the metal princess. And put a gag in their mouths so they don't reveal anything." At that, the Red Lotus leaders grabbed Jinora and Opal, and joined Zaheer for the meeting with the Avatar.
I thought I would show a bit of how the Earth Queen, despite her terrible rule and attitude, stays in power. It is very common throughout history for many tyrants to use these strategies.
You might have wondered why I had Kuvira beat Zaheer, and the truth is, the Red Lotus quartet are not the unstoppable powerhouses you think they are. What they are is a bunch of unconventional fighters who are dangerous because their powers are so uncommon. As soon as they encounter someone who isn't dazzled by their gimmicks, they run into trouble. Their greatest strength is subterfuge, which they aren't even that good at. The reason why Opal didn't return after hearing of her mother and brother's injuries is because there isn't a radio at the Northern Air Temple.
As for Zaheer himself, he was almost overcome by Kya, after he made himself suspicious and his lackluster lying fell through. And he could only defeat Tenzin when all three of his sidekicks were backing him up.
I am writing Zaheer the way I saw him: a pretentious thug who heard that Air was the element of Freedom, and just ran with it. Having said that, I'm trying to be fair and portray him in a nuanced way. For example, I don't think Zaheer would have tortured Korra to death if he had managed to abduct and raise her. I'm also trying to show how Zaheer and his friends were changed for the worse in prison, such as making Ming-Hua rather sadistic, and Zaheer's willingness to toss an ally into hell out of convenience.
I also think that Korra should be smart enough to come up with a plan in case something goes wrong. Her agreeing with Kuvira's desire to force the Earth Nation (Kuvira hates the monarchy too much to call it a kingdom) isn't that surprising, either. Her attempts at diplomacy went nowhere, both here and with the URN. Instead, the queen tried to trick her into doing a menial chore, and Raiko blamed her for a mess she warned would happen if he didn't help.
My decision to portray the Dai Li as conscripting children is based off the Ottoman Janissaries, another royal guard detail that frequently abused its position for personal gain. They were just as self-destructive in their reactionary attitude as the Dai Li. In addition, Avatar Extras says they start training at thirteen, at least during the time of the original series.
Korra's anger at the White Lotus has always been there, first by locking her away from the world and then not respecting her enough to inform her of new problems. All of this is like how Anakin felt toward the Jedi Order. The main difference is that her parents were allowed to be a part of her life, along with a pet.
Next chapter, the Red Lotus is defeated but Korra goes to a new world she doesn't understand. Her only hope for survival in her most desperate hour? Darth Vader.