Author Notes: Thank you to ToasterMarketingBoard for editing this chapter!

Korra and Jinora once again found themselves outside the last door before Kuvira's cell. This time, though, they had Bolin and Opal with them. Jinora was glad they had decided to join the visit. She sensed Opal had some unresolved feelings about Kuvira. As an airbender, it was in their teaching that you practice forgiveness, even to the worst of criminals. Jinora had discovered over the past three years of knowing Opal that she could hold a mean grudge. She had to remind herself that Opal had not been raised an airbender and, more importantly, she was a Beifong. It was strange to think about, but they could have been cousins if life had turned out a little differently.

The Air Master looked over at Korra. She could tell the Avatar was nervous, their last visit gotten surprisingly emotional for her. Jinora now knew it was important to make sure Korra kept her emotions in check. She was prepared to step in as soon as she saw any signs of Korra losing her cool.

Kuvira's trial was set to start the following day, so this would be their last chance to talk to her. Jinora still wasn't sure what Korra was trying to get from this visit with Kuvira. They agreed that the death sentence was not fit for anyone and Jinora was comfortable publicly defending Kuvira on that fact alone. Korra had mentioned wanting a sign of remorse from the former dictator, but Jinora knew the kind Korra was searching for was not there. She doubted if Kuvira had ever experienced true remorse.

What Korra was looking for was the ready-to-be-rehabilitated Kuvira. That woman was perhaps five or ten years down the road from now. Whatever the case may be, Jinora was here to help ensure the Avatar got whatever it was she needed to move forward with the defense.

After being checked for metal one last time, they entered Kuvira's holding room. The guards filtered out and with a clank of the door they were alone with her.

"I didn't think I'd see you again, Avatar... And look, you brought the whole gang this time," Kuvira said dryly. She was sitting on her bed, facing away like before, her eyes unenthusiastically locked on the wall across from her bed.

Korra stepped forward towards the bars. "May we speak with you again?"

"Do they also have questions about my love life?"

"No, and I'm sorry about last time," the Avatar said curtly.

Kuvira turned towards the group. She appeared to be a bit surprised by Korra's apology.

"Alright, but I'd like to talk to you alone first, Avatar."

The Avatar turned to her companions and gave them a shrug. Bolin and Opal headed towards the door, but Jinora hesitated. She gave Korra a look in an attempt to silently convey her concerns about the idea. Korra smiled and motioned to the door.

Jinora paced impatiently outside the door. Opal and Bolin had found a bench to sit on.

"Maybe it was a bad idea for us to tag along?" the earthbender thought aloud.

The door shut with a loud thud. "Okay, we're alone."

Kuvira readjusted her position on the bed so she was facing Korra. "You sound so expectant; you came here to talk to me."

"Why did you want them to leave?" Korra asked, walking up closer to the bars.

"I want the truth of the situation from you first."

"We are here because we don't want you executed. The reasons why might not be the same, but we're all here to help."

"Is that so? And what is your reason?"

"My reason?" The Avatar started to pace back and forth along the wall of platinum bars. She had too much energy to just stand still.

"For wanting to help me, you could barely contain your contempt for me last time we spoke."

"I know… The subject was a little sensitive for me, but I'm not here to talk about it."

"You know Avatar, I was disappointed with you after that conversation… When I surrendered to you, I had a deep respect for you. Your strength and conviction had matched my own… And… I thought maybe you understood me. Then you show up and start chastising me about betraying Baatar of all things? You got a little boyfriend's heart you're afraid of breaking?"

Korra hesitated for a moment and then fully stopped her pacing. She was on the fence about disclosing any personal information to Kuvira. Part of her felt she should, since the dictator had been honest, brutally honest with her. The other part sensed that there was still a shadow of danger Kuvira could inflict on her, even through those bars. All Kuvira had left was words and information.

"Your betrayal of Baatar Jr., it was hard to watch. I felt some responsibility since I forced you both into that situation," she finally answered, then resumed walking the length of Kuvira's prison.

"Threatening to keep him away from me forever? I must say I was surprised by such a dark threat from you, Avatar. But I think that little incident shows why love is a foolish emotion to have for people in power. It's too easy to sway someone's emotions, just look at yourself."

Korra stopped and turned to Kuvira. Her fists clenched at her sides. "You're wrong, love saved me. When I was injured, I thought pushing everyone away was the only way I could become strong again. It wasn't until I let the people who loved me back into my life that I was able get the strength I needed to defeat you."

Kuvira's face reddened. "What can love do for me now? What could it have done then? 'Okay sweetie, let's call off the attack and go home. The United Republic will leave us alone if we leave them alone.' It had to be all or nothing. It would only have been a matter of time before the rest of the world would try and interfere." She grabbed fistfuls of the blanket on her cot and squeezed until her knuckles turned white. Her eyes burned from the unblinking contact she held with Korra. "My nation is broken; no one comes to its aid. My nation is being put back together with the sternness of a parent and then the rest of the world starts putting in their two yuans on how we should handle our business."

"You had way more going on than just putting your nation back together and you know it. You took your ideals too far, so the world needed to put you back in balance, I needed to put you back in balance." Korra kept her hands forcefully at her side, puffing out her chest and shoulders. She felt the surge of energy through her body that usually came right before she went into the Avatar State.

The both fell quiet and eventually broke eye contact.

During the shared silence Kuvira's own gaze had moved to the tangle of hands and fabric in front of her. "You still haven't told me why you want to help me."

'Why am I here?' Korra pondered looking at the woman in front of her. She did know one reason though. "Well, in spite of everything you've done, no one deserves to be executed."

"Spending the rest of my life in a dark room behind bars sounds just as miserable. I know they will not grant me any less than life. They want my life one way or the other. At least death is quick."

Korra shifted on her feet. She didn't want to bring up what she was about to say. Kuvira had a point though; if she was in her place, what would she prefer? "I bet we could get you a lesser sentence if we uh… If I took away your bending…"

Kuvira looked at the Avatar for a few moments. Her expression was hard to read, a mix of shock and deep thought. She was considering it, Korra could tell that much.

"Life in prison where I will never get the chance to bend again, death, or a long time in prison then the rest of my days free, but unable to bend." Kuvira bowed her head down and shook it. "The thanks I get for rebuilding my nation..."

"I know it's not ideal, but you need to pay for what you've done. You rebuilt your nation, and then destroyed it. A monarchy or a dictator, it's the same thing. Now it's going to build itself back up, the right way this time. You did inspire them, by showing the people what they don't want. Prince Wu is going to disband the monarchy, and allow the states to function like the United Republic."

"A fool's errand, the Earth Kingdom is too big to function that way."

"I think you've given up your right to comment on what is right for the Earth Kingdom."

"Korra if you hate me this much just let them kill me and be done with it. Or are you too scared of losing some public favor?" Kuvira said, throwing her hands up. She got off her cot and walked towards the bars.

As Korra saw the dictator approaching and her first impulse was to take a few steps back, but she forced herself to hold her ground.

"I don't hate you and defending you will probably cost me some public favor."

Kuvira reached the bars and grabbed one with each hand. "Then why are you trying to help me? I know it's not just the hippy dippy Airbender crap."

"Because I thought you understood me too. I know how you feel, and having gone through it, I want to help you move past it too. Because you can get better, but you have to let people in."

Korra waited to see if Kuvira had anything to say in response.

"I can call this all off, and let them execute you if that's what you really want, but I don't think that it is." The Avatar turned to the door and slammed it shut behind her.

Korra opened the door from Kuvira's cell and everyone looked up. Her brows were furrowed but she had a smile on her face.

"Okay Bolin and Opal, I think she's ready for you."

The couple got up from their seats and headed towards Korra.

"Bang on the door if you need backup, I'm gonna hang out here for a bit with Jinora."

They looked back once before shutting the door behind them. Once they were gone Jinora rushed towards Korra.

"So what happened in there? Why did she want to talk you alone? Have you made your decision?"

Korra put her hands up. "Whoa, one at a time."

Kuvira was still seated on her bed again, with her back to the bars when Bolin and Opal entered the room. Opal started to wonder if Korra was being sarcastic when she said 'she's ready for you.'

What the hell was she thinking anyways, coming to talk to Kuvira. Clearly Kuvira was just as thrilled to talk to them as they were to her. Opal looked over at her boyfriend, but he had already stepped up to the bars.

"Hi Kuvira, it's me Bolin. I wanted to let you know that I plan on supporting your defense against the death penalty. I don't think it is something you deserve…"

He fidgeted in place as he waited for some kind of answer, but Kuvira remained silent. "I actually was thinking about you the other day. Thinking about the work we did together. You helped me out of a low point in my life when you let me join your cause. I had no job, my friends were scattered and I really didn't feel like I had any value. When I was out there, delivering supplies to the ravaged towns, I saw the good we were doing. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had some value. Like when I was fighting alongside Korra.

"I now know what else was going on and I'll admit I feel a little used because the good we did masked what was really going on. I wish I had known, maybe I could have convinced you to change your plans. Probably not, I was pretty intimidated by you, still am a little. I don't really know where I am going with all of this, I guess I just want to say I'm going to try to support you, and uh, thank you."

Once Bolin finished he looked back to Opal and shrugged. Kuvira had not moved from her spot nor said a word. He started to head over to the door.

"Maybe we should just go?"

Opal felt heat rise to her face and she turned towards the bars. "Kuvira, we came here to talk with you, not at you. My dear boyfriend just thanked you, a gesture that is completely beyond me. You could at least have the decency to say something in return, because he is likely going to be the last person to ever thank you again. There is so much I wanted to say to you, I thought about it over and over last night, how I would calmly knock you down several pegs. But what's the point? You're defeated and chewing you out about what you did to my brother, my family, my home or my boyfriend… Isn't going to make a difference and it isn't worth it. I guess I should thank you too, thank you for making me realize I'm ready to let you and what you've done go. C'mon, let's go."

Opal reached the door first and started to make her way out. Bolin trailed behind her and then dared a glance back. He saw that Kuvira had finally moved a bit so she could see them leave.

"I'm sorry Bolin…"

Opal was out, but Bolin stopped when he heard his name and let the door slip from his hands.

"I'm sorry for betraying your trust… I used you because how genuine of a person you are… The people… They really responded to that."

Bolin walked back over to the bars and grasped them. He peered into the cell where his former boss sat. An intimidating dictator, she was no more. She now looked more like the villagers they had saved together.

"Kuvira, are you sorry for what you've done?"

"That's what everyone wants to know, isn't it? That's what will make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy about defending me."

"I mean, pretty much," Bolin said, scratching the back of his head. "So… are you?"

Kuvira moved on her cot, so her feet were now on the floor. She rested her elbows on her thighs and leaned forward on them with clasped hands. "It's complicated. You're not the type of person with a deep sense of pride Bolin, and I am envious of that."

"Sounds like you're at least sorry about some things."

"Yes. I'm sorry I let myself get carried away; I'm sorry that I am no longer a part of the Earth Kingdom's progress; I'm sorry my life is over when it should be really just beginning… But me being sorry for myself isn't what they want to hear."

"Yeah… Well, let's think here for a minute..." Bolin started walking around the room. "It was never your intention to hurt anyone, right?"

"No, it just happened to be incidental," the former dictator said dryly.

"Okay, okay, so are you sorry about those you hurt both physically and emotionally?"

Kuvira looked at the wall for a moment. Bolin made his way back over to the bars to get a better read of her face.

"All of us here today were hurt by you and we're still willing to stick our necks out to defend you. You broke up Opal's family, you nearly killed Jinora, your spirit energy engine thing nearly killed my brother and you actually killed Asami's father…"

"Who's Asami?"

"Asami Sato, owner of Future Industries, Korra's girlfriend. Her Dad was in one of the hummingbird suits when you smashed it."

"That Asami… I didn't know a there was still someone in there… I also didn't know the Avatar had a girlfriend…"

The earthbender's stomach tightened. "I probably shouldn't have told you that... Please don't say anything."

"She's here trying to defend me even though I killed her girlfriend's father…"

"Yeah, she is. I wouldn't be here if you did that to anyone in Opal's family," Bolin said crossing his arms. "So are you sorry?"

"Is a 'sorry' you have to wrestle out of me what you really want?"

"It's a start towards the real thing."

"I am sorry."

To be continued...