AUTHOR'S NOTES: While I'm not going to go off on full chapters dedicated to Probending, it's going to inevitably appear in Korra's life as she hits Republic City. This is the end of the Red Lotus' training montage, and the precursor to adventures elsewhere. We get to meet the last (and most notorious) Interregnum Avatar this time, as well as Mako and Bolin for a little bit (and that Wolfbats waterbender, while not named, is definitely who you think it is). While their roles are small in this chapter, rest assured they will get much more deserved attention very soon.
Happy Reading!

BOOK ONE: POWER

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE PRISON BREAKERS

The final piece of the puzzle was finally hers. Korra couldn't believe it.

"Zeruda…" She whispered, feeling the letters on her lips, "was that her name?"

"Aye," Zakura crossed her arms again, "The Avatar that Enslaved the World."

"You're… you're kidding, right?" Korra's jaw dropped as she processed this. Her entire life she had been led to believe that the Avatar was always a force for good. The Interregnum Cycle had shaken this belief, and now with Zeruda—the culmination of this villainized cycle of men and women, here was an Avatar that seemed straight-up evil.

"I wish I was." Zakura shook her head, "Zeruda would have been a better fit for the likes of Vaatu himself. She was arrogant, powerful, and amoral, which was when and why she began her conquest of the world. The Fire Nation was the first to fall, followed closely by the Southern Water Tribe, and the Northern, Southern, and Western Air Temples. The Earth Kingdom fell next, including the great city of Ba Sing Se. Soon only the Northern Water Tribe and the Eastern Air Temple stood against the unified world under Zeruda's iron fist."

"Unified?" Korra tilted her head, "if she was just uniting the world, what made her so bad?"

"She was a dictator and a control freak," Zakura explained, "it was her way of preventing conflict, really, but she made a public example out of anyone who dared oppose her. She had a vast array of powers much like your own: lightning, metal, combustion, lava… tools of destruction. She was a bloodbender of the highest caliber as well, able to bend people's bodies without the help of a full moon. She was a monster and she knew it, but during her conquest she revelled in it. Honestly, I think her similar abilities are why she is reaching out to you."

"I don't want to enslave the world!" Korra recoiled, falling onto her back and scooting away from Zakura as if expecting the spirit to attack her.

"I hope not," Zakura offered her hand to help Korra back up. "I do not know what she wants with you, but for better or worse, we need her connection to stay intact if we want to tap into the power of any of our past lives before her."

"Do you think she might just need peace?" Korra asked, "Is there more to her life than just her reign of terror, or was she slain on her throne?"

"There was definitely more to it than that," Zakura explained, "especially since it took an entity twice as old as she is now to finally stop her. Perhaps that creature also seeks peace, but that is not my story to tell."

"So you want me to contact the evil overlord Avatar that enslaved the world," Korra pouted, "all just to make sense of this Interregnum crap?"

"Making sense of us in the Interregnum Cycle," Zakura offered, "is one of the keys to peace. Many of us did lasting damage that we still spot in one form or another as we see the world from your eyes, Avatar Korra. "Finding the good in us, and solving the unanswered mysteries of a group of Avatar Incarnations that reigned for collectively over 2000 years would definitely bring forth peace—both to you, and to the Avatar Spirit."

Korra was somewhat frustrated with the cryptic message that yet another past life had left her before once again vanishing and leaving her alone. She was much too proud to admit it, but the idea that she could be forced into the Avatar State against her will frightened her more than it should have. The notion that her spirit could hijack her body like that instilled a solid belief in her that while she was at her most powerful in this state, that it was also her most vulnerable state.

Day 548: I still don't know how I did it this time either, but I went into the Avatar State again last night and tore up half of a nearby peak. I wonder if anyone saw it from the distance. I don't know how to break it to them that the only way I'd be able to actually repeat that would be through sheer dumb luck, but with my teachers rewarding me with a trip to Republic City, I'm not going to argue it. I want to see Asami again, and I want to see other people again. I wonder how much has changed since I left a year and a half ago. I also wonder if Kwan's going to take me to an actual probending match. I've never actually played, but I still remember her explaining the rules to me. I wonder if I can at least show off my other skills between matches. There's a lot of things I wonder about though, and so they're just going to have to deal with me being excited about it."

"Avatar," Nakkoa approached her as they prepared Kwan's truck to head back down the mountain, "A word, if you will."

"Twist my arm," Korra sighed. Nakkoa was still… difficult. Korra felt like there was an internal struggle this firebender was hiding from the world, and that she was taking it out on Korra—but at the same time, she felt like there was no proper way to bring this up with her, even if Korra would be willing to try and help. She didn't even contemplate the notion that Nakkoa had just been in her room, let alone what she did there.

"I've overheard your conversations with Kwan about probending, and more importantly, about reviving The Prison Breakers" Nakkoa explained, "I just wanted to inform you that despite our… differences… I would welcome you to the team. Just make sure you stick to waterbending during the actual matches. If you get us fouled or disqualified I'm gonna shank you."

"So did you finally get over that weird enmity you had with me?" Korra raised an eyebrow.

"So it would seem," Nakkoa put her hands behind her back. "One more thing."

"Hmm?" Korra looked at Nakkoa, her eyes drilling through the firebender's face as if she was trying to find a chink in her armour; a lie in her claim.

"You'll wanna wear a headband," Nakkoa gestured towards Korra's tattoo, "it's not technically illegal, but you'll scare a lot of people, and you're no use to anyone in prison."

"Alright then," Korra turned to go back to her room to collect her scant possessions.

"Anyways, get that ball of fluff of yours and get in the truck. We're heading out to Republic City."

Much like her initial trip up there 548 days ago, the trip back down there was fairly uneventful other than Korra dozing off halfway there after snuggling into Naga's soft fluffy warmth. She was awake when they stopped however, and this time they were situated outside of a huge golden building that Korra could only guess was something significant; the Probending Arena, perhaps?

A few minutes later her suspicions were true. She, Nakkoa, and Kwan went straight to registrations, where they earned a few funny looks.

"Butakha," Nakkoa turned to a sharply-dressed man in a bowler hat, which he used to conceal his bald head, "Guess who's back?" She flashed the wealthy man an ear-to-ear grin.

"So you made it out of prison, eh?" The man smirked, "and dragged Kwan along with you. What ever happened to Kotu then, hmm? The kid with the headband is a new face."

"Kotu went and got infected with a severe case of death," Kwan shrugged, "this is our replacement waterbender, Korra."

"A pleasure, Korra," Butakha shook Korra's hand, "Are you new to probending? You have that look about you of someone in awe of this amazing facility."

"I am," Korra crossed her arms, "but I'm pretty sure I can hold my own."

"So can you fit us in somewhere?" Nakkoa pulled out a fat wad of cash, "because you know how I am when it comes to getting what I want."

"Well, the championship playoffs aren't for another 6 weeks," Butakha explained, "but there's always plenty of upstart teams looking for a bit of extra cash. You in for that?"

"If there's money involved, we're totally in." Kwan laughed, elbowing Korra, "Our little waterbender's candy habit doesn't pay for itself, y'know." Korra pouted but did not reply.

A few minutes later, and the three women were gearing up in preparation for their first match.

"So something to consider, Avatar" Nakkoa almost seemed an entirely different person in the Probending ring, to the point where Korra wondered if she truly was hiding something, "waterbenders are the only ones who can do headshots. All those focus lessons you got from archery and combustion bending? Those are about to come in real handy here. The size of your projectiles might be limited, but there's nothing about how hard you throw them. Aim fast; aim true; hit hard. I plan to go undefeated tonight."

"Anything else to know?" Korra asked as she picked up her helmet, which had a large blue stripe down the middle to denote her bending, but was otherwise silver, gold and (primarily) black like the rest of her uniform.

"My advice?" Kwan suggested, "play a few rounds before showin' off. Wait until we go against some legit assholes, and then after we beat 'em, go all out in a vulgar display of power. Think of the kind of reveal that would be for showing people you were the Avatar."

"Ha!" Korra laughed as she put her helmet on. "That's brilliant!"

"Also," Kwan added, putting on her green-striped helmet, "Nakkoa's a REALLY sore loser, so you'd better help us win!"

"I am NOT a sore loser!" Nakkoa barked, "I just like winning and when I don't win I get furious!"

"Well then," Korra licked her lips and cracked her knuckles, clearly hyped about the upcoming event, "let's get in there and show 'em what we can do, hmm?"

"My thoughts exactly," Nakkoa flipped her hair, "most teams are either kids or young adults anyways… it's been too long since they've seen some actual talent."

"What am I, a turtle-duck?" Korra looked slightly offended by the jab at her age.

"You're the Avatar," Nakkoa winked, "And you gotta deal with it…"

45 Minutes Later...

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Announcer Shiro Shinobi was as enthusiastic as ever, "welcome back to another exciting episode of Republic City's favourite pastime! The championships might be a ways off, but there's still plenty of money matches in the meantime, and they're gonna knock your socks off! Speaking of 'welcome back', we're witnessing the rebirth of one of Republic City's oldest and most notorious Probending teams today, folks! That's right, after 14 years of inactivity, the Prison Breakers make their return, with a promising young waterbender in tow! Folks, put your hands together for Nakkoa, Kwan, and Korra!"

The Prison Breakers, including Korra, all swaggered out onto the stage as if they had been doing this their whole lives. All three of them showed off with their respective elements, Korra managing to restrain herself from using anything but water for now.

"Back in our day the uniforms weren't half this protective, and helmets weren't even a thing," Kwan laughed as the announcer gave the name of their first opponent: the Harbor Town Hog Monkeys, "Pretty sure Nakkoa disabled a few people permanently… might've even made them succumb to the injuries sometime after the games. She never came clean with me."

"Touché, sister," Nakkoa winked.

The moment the bell rang, however, Korra took Nakkoa's advice and jumped in with a hyperaggressive approach, slinging water like a hooligan towards her opponents' heads.

"She may be young," Shiro Shinobi commented, "But the Prison Breakers' new waterbender is just as feisty as her teammates! And, WHOA, they've done it! The Hog Monkeys are in the drink in what has to be one of the fastest knockouts in Probending history!"

"Huh," Nakkoa smirked as Korra and Kwan bumped fists, "you're a natural at this, kid. Here I was mentally preparing to tear you a new one once you had climbed outta the drink."

"Fight me, bitch." Korra punched her playfully. "I'm the Avatar, remember?"

The subsequent knockouts were not as swift as the first one, but the Prison Breakers successfully toppled four teams in a row before a name came up that gave Korra brief pause.

"...a new but promising rookie team, The Future Industries Fire Ferrets!"

Future Industries… Asami wasn't a bender so there was no way she could be part of the team, and when two teenaged boys and a fairly young man appeared on the field across from them, that suspicion was swiftly put to rest. Still, Korra recognized the logo—which meant either Asami or (much more likely) her father had sponsored these young men. Korra wondered what the story was behind that, but she wasn't about to ask during the match.

"Prison Breakers, huh?" the earthbender exclaimed, "oh man… try not to kill us, okay?"

"Bolin," the firebender lightly smacked him upside the head, "Don't be so dramatic."

"That waterbender did crack the last guy's helmet in case you didn't notice, Mako." The waterbender behind them called out. Korra simply crossed her arms and smirked.

"Then go ahead and focus on her, Hasook," the firebender shrugged.

"We're going to have to," Hasook countered, "Did you see how fast she was?" Her attack cracked the dude's helmet for a reason, bro."

"I'm sure you'll have bigger fish to fry than worrying about a kid your age busting your helmets," Korra teased, popping her knuckles and flexing her arms as she stepped back towards her appropriate section. "Live it up, boys."

Despite their ages, Mako, Bolin, and Hasook proved to be at the very least, elusive. Nakkoa and Kwan kept up their vicious assault, while Korra was forced into a more defensive position due to the Fire Ferrets trying to focus their attacks on her.

"Self-control, Korra…" she told herself as she bent backwards to avoid taking a stone disk to the chest, "bend the other elements and we're out, and if we're out, Nakkoa's gonna bitch at me till the Sky Bison come home…"

She was able to get her offensive edge back, however, when she was knocked back into the final zone right before the edge. With a corkscrewing flip, she used all four of her limbs to simultaneously draw up bolts of water and slung them at her attacks with enough gusto to put them back on the defensive. Even from her distant position, Korra was still able to help her team, and ultimately, after what had been a much longer fight than either Kwan or Nakkoa had expected, the Prison Breakers were once again victorious.

"Well-fought…" the earthbender complimented them after they were fished out of the drink.

"Hey, you too." Korra might have been aggressive, but all in all it had been good clean fun. Unalaq's lessons in meditation and patience had paid off. She did mentally remind herself to try and find Asami at some point though. She wanted to know the story as to why she and her father had come around to sponsoring these young men.

For now though: Probending. Defeating the Fire Ferrets had marked their 5th victory, and the following three matches were more proficient players that were more Kwan and Nakkoa's age. Despite being easily the youngest player on the field for any of these three matches, Korra's team emerged victorious. Nakkoa was the first one of them to fall into the drink, but all three took their share of plunges during rounds 6, 7, and 8. Despite these shortcomings, the remaining teammates always managed to claim the victory, and so even Nakkoa couldn't get mad at Korra for falling in a few times, especially not after she pulled a hat trick involving her singlehandedly took out all three of the Rhino Lions in Round 9.

"And would you look at that!" Shiro exclaimed, "That wily little waterbender the Prison Breakers found just carried the match! She's strong, but I've never seen a player move that fast before! Ladies and gentlemen, we've definitely got a rising star on our hands!"

Korra wondered when she would find "a team of assholes" that she could taunt with a vulgar display of power against, but the 10th round put those questions to rest rather swiftly. These 'White Falls Wolfbats' were smug and pretentious, and even gave Nakkoa negative vibes. In what was possibly the most profound connection the two had ever had, Korra glanced at Nakkoa, who simply nodded and smirked.

"Oof, you boys smell that," the waterbender leered, "it smells like angry women mixed with the scent of sore losers."

"Sore?" Korra immediately snapped back, "sure. Losers? I'd like to see you bastards try!"

"Darling, no, no," the waterbender retorted, "losing is *not* our style. You seem to like water enough though… let's arrange a meeting."

Much to Korra's extreme chagrin, this arrogant man managed to throw Korra straight into the drink early in the 1st match, but all this really did was successfully piss the hotheaded Avatar off to the point where her team won the 2nd round extremely quickly, and the 3rd rounded ended in a vicious but decisive deadlock, requiring a tiebreaker.

"You down for taking that smug bastard out, Korra?" Kwan put her hand on Korra's shoulder. The Wolfbats had sent up their waterbender, which meant the Prison Breakers were required to do the same in turn.

Korra stretched and smirked, licking her lips. "I'd be pissed if I was denied the chance." she quipped, "He's about to learn just who exactly he picked a fight with..."

PAST LIVES DISCOVERED:

Zeruda (Fire Nation, Female): The 17th Avatar of the Interregnum Cycle. A menace from the Fire Nation notorious for being the culmination of the Interregnum Cycle's misdeeds, and the inspiration centuries later for many warlords and conquerors, including Fire Lord Sozin himself. At the peak of her power, she controlled the entire world apart from the Northern Water Tribe, where she instead met her end by the hand of an unknown entity that even she does not quite understand. By far the most mysterious and least understood of the Interregnum Avatars, at this point, Zeruda seeks for nothing but peace for her soul.

TOTAL PAST LIVES MET: 26