Before heading for the South Pole, Tenzin divided his family among the Sky Bison present. Thankfully, Aphra and the others who had rescued them had saved every bison present at the Air Temple before its destruction. Jinora and Kai would fly one bison with Meelo, Pema and Rohan, while Tenzin and Ikki would fly Oogi with Ezra and Jonah riding beside them. Koko Partagaz and Sabine Wren joined Tenzin's group, as well, while Opal and Bolin would be riding in her mother's Zeppelin alongside Su, Lin, and Toph. Asami took her father onto the Airship shortly before takeoff, knowing Lin would want to keep Hiroshi in sight. The Airbenders who weren't coming would head for the URN.
"See, Ezra?" Ikki rapidly asked the blue-haired boy as they headed for the South Pole. "What do you think? And what do you think, Jonah?"
"It is...comforting," the red-eyed teenager smiled softly. "Thank you for this, Councilor Tenzin."
"It was the least I could do for the brave young men who saved my daughter," Tenzin replied. Of course, there was another reason for why Tenzin invited the four teenage Imperials along for the ride. He hoped they would be more open to telling the truth about the Empire than their older colleagues would be.
"So, I understand you gained your bending from Korra," Tenzin said after handing the reins to Ikki.
"Yes," Jonah answered. "Koko and I were there on Maridun when she and Mako came through the portal."
"After Jonah saved me from some Amanin, she healed the two of us with her Waterbending," Koko continued. "I admit, I never thought much of the Force before then, but learning Waterbending has changed my perspective."
"As for me, I had an accident at my academy," Sabine began, speaking through her helmet. "A stupid teacher tried an experiment I said wasn't ready, and I was burnt by the explosion. Korra was there, learning more about the galaxy, and she healed my leg, letting me shoot fire out of my fingertips."
"I'm a little surprised you are wearing your armor to Korra's wedding," Tenzin stated, addressing how she wore both her helmet and armor. "I doubt anything will go wrong there."
"That isn't very reassuring," Sabine said. "That attitude leaves you unprepared when things go wrong. Besides, I'm a Mandalorian, armor made from beskar is about as important to my people as arrow tattoos are to yours. Same with weapons."
"Well, that is...surprising," Tenzin said, worried by this piece of information. "What about you, Ezra? How did you meet Korra?"
"This captain supervising a patrol detail back on Lothal started hassling some friends of mine," the blue-haired teenager said. "He started ranting and threatening, waving his blaster around, so I decided to steal his speeder bike to give him something else to think about. He fired a rocket at me. I barely jumped off the bike before it exploded. Thankfully, Korra was there to help with any bruises, after killing Captain Crazy before he could do anything else."
"Wait, an Imperial officer did this?" Tenzin asked.
"Some bully who saw authority as an excuse for a power trip," Ezra explained. "When I woke up in the hospital, some old guy in a uniform explains what happened and how I should join this new training program in the military, so I won't have to be punished for stealing what I needed."
"Still, you don't have a problem working for the Empire?" Tenzin asked.
"Roddance was just one low-level officer," Ezra said. "That not even his colleagues liked. The Empire didn't have much of a presence on Lothal, though I hear that is changing. Every other Imperial I've met has been decent enough, I don't have to steal anything to get by, and I get to meet rather interesting people." He then directed a smile at Sabine, who, despite wearing a helmet, looked like she appreciated it. After a while, they landed Oogi on an island between the Earth Nation and the South Pole. As the bison rested for the second part of their journey, Ikki decided to ask the half-Zeltron cousins and their friends about their lives before meeting Korra. The rest of the Air Nomad family had set their own bison down, listening as well.
"Species wise, my mother is a human, and my father is a Mirialan," Sabine answered after taking her helmet off. "Mirial is an extremely cold world, and the human colonists who went there long ago adapted to it. A side effect was their skin turning green or gold." She gestured to her own face.
"And their hair bright red?" asked Meelo, noticing her almost volcanic bright hairstyle.
"No, that's just dye," she said back. "As for the armor, that comes from being a Mandalorian. Mandalorian is a culture, not a species. But that's a story for another day."
"My mother is an Arkanian, which is why I look this way" Koko said, gesturing to her snow-white hair and pale skin. "My father, a regular human, has worked internal security his whole life, and he helped build the Imperial Security Bureau."
"So, are you also an agent of this bureau?" asked Tenzin.
"No, I'm a combat engineer, as well as a Waterbender," Koko answered.
"So, Jonah, what's your home like?" Ikki excitedly asked.
"Terrible," he plainly stated, to her shock. "A cult took over Qree and imposed many harsh laws. My parents were teachers trying to warn people about the Order Of The Terrible Glare. The Order didn't like that." As Jonah paused with a look of sadness, Tenzin sympathetically asked how he joined the Empire after his parents' murder.
"After escaping the school for cannon fodder, I wound up with some Zygerrian gangster," he said. "He used me as an enforcer, and then he threatened Koko to get her father to do what he wanted. I befriended Koko, instead, then I killed him, her father then decided to help me and the other Qreenans that had been used by the Zygerrian. Koko and I have been partners ever since." He looked over to Koko with a smile and she smiled back. There was a brief look of disappointment on Ikki's face at the sight, a look shared by Meelo in the distance, before she smiled and said it was good Jonah was now happy. "Thank you, Ikki," he replied smiling softly. "The Empire has taken Qree and one day, I will destroy the last of the Order."
"What about you, Ezra?" asked Tenzin.
"My parents were journalists," he said. "They said everyone, especially the powerful, had something to hide. One day, when I was eight, they went out in the middle of the night to meet a source."
"Source on what?" asked Ikki.
"I don't know," Ezra said, bothered by reliving this unpleasant memory. "They vanished and no one on Lothal ever saw them again."
"How did you survive?" Pema asked him sympathetically.
"Sometimes, friends of my parents would let me stay with them, when they weren't dealing with money problems," he said. "But by the time I was thirteen, I was living in an abandoned communication tower and taking what I needed." Kai nodded at that, reminded of his own hardships before becoming an Airbender.
"Have you tried to find out what happened to your parents?" Tenzin asked the young Earthbender.
"About a year after they vanished, I realized they wouldn't be coming back," Ezra answered. "Searching for answers would be clinging to false hopes that they would."
"But now you have more powerful friends to help you find them," Ikki said. "Don't you want them back?"
"Did Opal and Bolin tell you about that Hutt world where Kuvira and her underlings were taken?" Ezra asked, more bothered than before. After hearing Tenzin confirm they had, Ezra continued talking. "Before Lord Vader arrived, Kuvira and the others escaped captivity thanks to my mother, a slave worker at the gladiator arena. But Mom...she didn't make it out."
"Oh, that's terrible," Pema said sympathetically. "What about your dad?"
"He'd been sent to Ylesia," Ezra said, a few tears forming in his eyes. "The T'Landa T'Il had hollowed him out with that hypnotic song of theirs. Just like every other person who'd heard it too many times, the only release he could gain was death. He finally got it during the liberation Korra led there."
"Ezra, I'm so sorry," Ikki said to her crush, while the other Airbenders looked sympathetically. Ezra thanked her for her sympathy, and then looked to the two Sky Bison.
"They're ready to continue on," he said. "Let's get going." Tenzin agreed, knowing Ezra wanted to move on from this unpleasant memory.
On the airship, Hiroshi had accepted being confined to quarters for the flight to the South Pole. Asami had joined Bolin and the Beifong family on the bridge after doing so.
"So, you gave your dad a second chance because you heard Korra and Mako might befriend Vader," Toph said. "Strange reason to trust your father after he almost killed you."
"I believe my dad regrets his past mistakes, including following Amon's road to Equality," Asami replied.
"Still, I'm a bit surprised you and Bolin would trust Vader after Hiroshi pretended to be your friend," Toph said.
"Hiroshi showed up out of the blue one day, said something about following your passions, and paid the Pro-bender championship entry fee," Bolin said. "Darth Vader looked after Mako and Korra for over a year, and saved mine and Opal's lives, along with Kuvira and Baatar's, while also rescuing a slave colony. He returned Asami, Tenzin's whole family and Lin home before he had anything to gain from it, after the latter had attacked him. Which of the two is more trustworthy?"
"I suppose when you put it like that, you can be forgiven for trusting a warlord who dresses to intimidate," Toph snarked back. "Yes, I heard how he needs that armor to breathe, but there's no reason it must be all black with the mask sculpted to look like a skull."
"I asked about that," Bolin replied. "He said people have always feared him, no matter what, so he decided to embrace it. He thinks it'll make them more wary of picking a fight."
"Well, I can't speak for other worlds, but when I see someone that scary, I assume hostility and fight," Lin said. "That's leaving aside how he was far too willing to threaten or kill a bunch of strangers who only had rumors about him. And the fact that his men joined in doesn't paint them in the best light either."
"I talked to one of the Stormtrooper commanders, named Appo," Bolin said. "He had a very...strange origin."
"Why was it strange?" Suyin asked.
"He is a clone, as it's called," Bolin explained. "Through the power of science, you can take some skin flakes, blood, hair, even spit, and create a perfect copy of the person it came from. Or an 'improved' copy so to speak." Even with everything they had learned, Asami and the others still found themselves surprised.
"And this Appo guy is a clone?" Asami asked.
"Yeah," Bolin confirmed. "Created in secret during the last years of that Republic, to be part of the perfect army which the Senate's gridlock would never approve for the war to come. In fact, he wasn't called Appo by his creators. He was called CT plus four numbers, just like all his brethren. Appo was the name he gave himself. He had no life outside training for war. And since they didn't think it would be twenty years before the next war, the cloning company altered him to grow up in half the time."
"That sounds like slavery," Su said, noticeably bothered by the story. "Or raising livestock."
"It was," Bolin said. "Then the Empire was formed and the Emperor rectified the problems that came with the clone army. Appo and the other clones now hold citizenship and age at the normal rate, thanks to this medical procedure. Cloning itself has been heavily scaled back, and it now sounds a bit more like Indentured Servitude." He then looked at Lin. "As for his attitude on what Vader and the Stormtroopers did when you first met them, chief, he considers it no big deal. He thinks that joining the police or army is volunteering for a chance to die, as opposed to him being created and trained his entire life for it, having neither a choice in joining nor really understanding what it entails or even if he wants it until it's begun."
"Do you feel that way?" Lin asked Bolin with a stern look in her eye.
"No, but I'm not a clone," Bolin answered, feeling her gaze. "I'm not sure any of us can properly relate to this."
"Probably not," Lin admitted. "But if he's so bothered by this, why would he stay on? It sounds like nothing is stopping him, so at least part of him wants it." As they progressed toward the South Pole, Suyin asked Bolin if he knew that Prince Wu was dead.
"Yeah, Mako mentioned it," Bolin answered. "To be honest, most of the EUA wouldn't care. Or even be relieved."
"Like you?" asked Toph.
"Honestly, I don't think Kuvira was ever going to relinquish power to him," Bolin answered. "And why should she? He was just some brat who didn't earn or qualify for the crown in any way."
"So, you were unwilling to accept him as ruler?" asked Toph.
"No," Bolin answered. "I doubt anyone would."
"So, that means he had to die?" accused Toph.
"I think Kuvira would have just rejected him and when Korra wouldn't back him, Wu would go back to being a lounge singer no one cared about," the young Earthbender answered. "Also, before you say anything, neither Kuvira or Baatar were there when he was shot by Besadi thugs. Or in contact with anyone who were."
"Well, that Krennic guy and his squad speaking radio static were there," Toph pressed. "How do we know they didn't kill him?"
"Because Mako and Korra were there and confirmed it was the Besadis," Bolin stated, noticeably more hostile than usual. Toph's insinuation had clearly angered him. He then turned to Lin. "Chief, do you think Mako and Korra are lying about this?"
"No," the Metalbender police chief. "Of course not. Still, with him dead, it leaves an important question: who will lead the Earth Kingdom now?"
"There is only one candidate," Asami noted. "And she has already made her desire to rule rather clear."
"Kuvira is open to sharing power," Su said. "It isn't ideal but it's the only option now. But for right now, we should relax, and attend Korra's wedding." Looking out the window, Bolin saw they were in sight of the South Pole. He then fastened his collar as he stood up.
"So, my niece and nephew are adorable and Mako will undoubtedly introduce you to them," he said smiling, before looking a bit nervous. "But they've also got a robot nanny named KayBee. KayBee takes his job very seriously, so be on your best behavior."
"Okay," Lin stated. "Why do you look so nervous, then?"
"Well, KayBee thinks I'd be a bad guardian, which means that, if I was charged looking after Harou and Saria, he'd have to kill me," Bolin said, surprising the others. "I thought it was a joke but I just learned droids don't joke. Also, a few more alien Imperials will be there, as well. One is a Twi'lek, which means she has tails coming out of her head, and another is a Trandoshan, a lizard guy who likes to hunt."
"Wonderful, I was wondering where all the animal people were in the galaxy," Lin quipped. "Though, I guess I shouldn't say that around them."
"Definitely not," Opal confirmed.
Krennic's shuttle arrived far ahead of the others. After landing, with the Fire Lord left tranquilized on the shuttle, Korra and her friends headed home. The young Avatar quickly went to her parents' house, hugging them after she came in. Mako picked up their son while Korra picked up their daughter. Looking about, Korra saw her old teacher, Katara, as well as Kya. Both had a small but warm smile.
"It's good to see you, again, Korra," Katara said. "When you disappeared, we feared the worst."
"But thankfully, that hasn't happened," Kya noted. "Despite befriending a mass murderer."
"We couldn't have gotten home without Darth Vader," Mako replied. "And in the interim, he proved to be a loyal friend who is very concerned about helping other people in the galaxy."
"It didn't look that way when I met him, but I suppose you would know him better than me," Katara admitted. "I understand the struggles of parenthood, especially when danger is a part of your life. I'm not sure I would have done differently in your position, Korra. It's a relief that you and your children are okay."
"Even if your metal friend gave us a headache," Kya noted. With that, KayBee walked into the room. Darth Vader had decided to personally build the new body for the droid guardian. Instead of looking like a standard KX security droid, he was slightly smaller, more streamlined, whose head was shaped like a gas mask with an infantry helmet as opposed to a rounded skull. He was still colored black, and in addition to his blaster, he had an electrostaff on his back.
"You were not listening," KayBee said with the same voice he had as a standard security droid. "I was doing what I deemed necessary to move you out of harm's way. And given how most people on this planet panic whenever they first meet me, I decided to stun you instead."
"Well, don't do it again," Kya said. "I'm a lot tougher than I look. So is Mom."
"Well, that won't be necessary," Korra said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding to prepare for." Her parents smiled at the reminder, while Katara and her own daughter congratulated her and Mako. Soon, their friends would arrive, and the wedding would be on.
After landing shortly after the Zaofu Airship, Tenzin met his mother. She was relieved at how he and the others were alive, but shocked when she learned of what Rohan had suffered. Katara then heard a familiar voice and smiled at the sight of Toph.
"I figured it was time I stopped ignoring the world around me," the elder Earthbender said, helped around by her younger daughter. Given the sheer cold, Toph had to wear socks and boots, greatly limiting her seismic sense, one of the reasons she never liked going to cold places. Still, she was happy to meet one of her oldest friends again, and hugged Katara. "Also, Korra made me realize I had hurt the people closest to me and that I should fix the damage."
"It's good to see you too, Toph," Katara smiled. Toph smiled back, then asked for directions to a hotel, as she hadn't slept in almost two days. An hour later, the wedding was underway. It was in a private area. Tenzin had agreed to officiate the wedding, while an enthusiastic Ikki served as the flower girl. Bolin was the best man, Asami was the Bridesmaid, while Kuvira was the Maid of Honor. On one side, was Korra's mother, Opal, the Beifong sisters, Katara, Senna, Tenzin's family, Kai, and Asami, with Naga and Pabu curled up close by. On the other was a very different crowd: Director Krennic, a collection of Stormtroopers, an officer named Sunber, a blue Twi'lek named Tivva Soot, Baatar, the Mandalorians Boba Fett and Sabine Wren, alongside Ezra Bridger and Jonah Mar, and a Trandoshan named Bossk. Standing at attention was the six-man Death Trooper team as an honor guard. KayBee was standing back with Harou and Saria in his arms. Korra began down the aisle with her father by her side, wearing a more formal dress with her hair in a small bun. Mako was waiting in his suit with his hair combed.
"Korra, Mako, do you, with these witnesses from far and near, come willingly to be married?" Tenzin asked.
"I do," Korra confirmed, followed swiftly by Mako.
"Do you promise to care for each other, through good and bad, whatever comes next?" asked Tenzin.
"I do," Mako affirmed with Korra following.
"Then say your vows," Tenzin said.
"Korra, you are the best thing that happened to me," Mako smiled. "From saving me from Amon and helping me find a new home. I will never abandon you, and I will always love you."
"You are wonderful as well, Mako," Korra smiled back. "From including me in the Fire Ferrets, to showing me a life beyond my duty. I will always stand by you, as well, and never stop loving you."
"You may kiss," Tenzin proclaimed, so they did. As the crowd applauded, Mako and Korra broke the kiss. KayBee walked up to them and while Mako picked up their son, Korra held their daughter. The young parents proceeded to introduce their children to their friends who hadn't met them yet.
"She's adorable," Jinora said as she briefly held Saria, smiling at the sight. Kai stood by his girlfriend, smiling as well, and even without the Force, Korra could see the longing in both the young Airbenders. After plodding up, Naga licked the baby girl, to KayBee's initial wariness but soon relaxed, realizing the Polar Bear Dog wasn't a danger. Looking about, Korra saw Jonah kissing Koko and Ezra holding hands with Sabine.
Mako smiled as his son slept in his arms. Meelo was rather excited to meet Harou, promising he would be a good uncle to the baby boy. Even Lin smiled at the sight, pleased that Mako and Korra had found happiness together. Then, Korra tapped her husband's shoulder and pointed to Pabu, who was now suddenly agitated for no apparent reason. The young couple realized there was another lesson from their master.
As everyone mingled, Kya went up to Director Krennic. She asked what he was a director of.
"I direct special research projects for the Empire," he said. "Of course, I can't be too open about what I do, you understand."
"And what do you think of your master?" Kya asked.
"Mako has been very effective at teaching Firebending, to me and others Korra has empowered," he smirked. "Oh, you mean my superiors. Sheev Palpatine is a brilliant man and an accomplished ruler. There is no one more suited to the role of Emperor." Then his face shifted in displeasure. "Grand Moff Tarkin is a pompous bureaucrat who has only succeeded through luck and leaching off the success of others."
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Kya pressed.
"Lord Vader is rather...hands off with me most of the time," Krennic explained. "Unless there is something of concern. He is a demanding superior but a fair one. And he is far more willing to dirty his hands than Tarkin."
"I have to wonder where he is, right now," the middle-aged Waterbender said.
"Actually, he's right here," Kuvira stated. "Testing us so we don't drop our guard." At that moment, Darth Vader materialized out of nowhere, his mechanical breathing quickly becoming apparent. Everyone stared at the Sith Lord in the middle of the reception.
"My compliments for not getting lax," Vader said to his four apostles. He then shifted his gaze to Katara, who hadn't been that close to him since the night he attacked Air Temple Island.
"I heard of your story about Unalaq killing his father and blaming you for it," Katara said, neutral but clearly ready to fight. Tenzin and the Beifong sisters were far more cautious, remembering how none of their fights with the Sith Lord had ever gone their way.
"A story Unalaq confirmed the last time I saw him," Tonraq noted. "I brought up the accusation in our fight and he boasted of how he fooled everyone. Of course, given everything else my treacherous brother did, it's utterly unsurprising our father was just as disposable to him."
"Yes," Kya said, her face hardening at her father's killer. "Still, my dad would have listened to you, and he would have helped you. But I guess that those volcanic burns meant you needed to go to your healing tube. I'm inclined to believe you, but another man who threatened my family also claimed to have been burnt to make people sympathize with him, and it turned out it was just makeup."
"Leaving aside his mechanical arms and legs that can be detached for repairs, this isn't like Amon," Korra noted. "When Lord Vader trusted me enough, he let me work on healing his wounds. Those burns under his armor are entirely real and are more severe than anything we ever taught for."
"And I am grateful for that, Korra," Vader said, before turning to face Katara. "But I sense you doubt I could survive the flames of Mustafar, regardless. As my own master said, the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider...unnatural."
"Well, it's good to see you again, Mr. Lord Vader, so can we go back to the party now?" a nervous Ikki rapidly asked, afraid one of her relatives would pick a fight and get hurt for it.
"I was only here to remind my apostles to always be vigilant," the Sith Lord stated, before turning to Korra and Mako. "And to inform the happy couple their latest order will be carried out." He then turned to look at Tenzin, who was unwilling to start a fight with Vader now. "I will see you at the summit, tomorrow." He then marched out of the reception to meet with his own subordinates, leaving everyone else behind in deafening silence.
KayBee's new body is basically the HK-87 droid colored black from Ahsoka, made of Beskar to make him more durable. Korra's looks the way she did at Varrick's wedding. Sabine looks a little like Kelly Chambers from Mass Effect 2. Ezra's background has been changed a bit, because his parents kept the truth of them opposing the Empire from him. Pabu can see through Force Cloaking, as well. I have mixed feelings about the Bad Batch, so I'm mostly disregarding it. Next chapter, Katara and Toph meet Zuko, and Vader forces them to battle him, while the summit of leaders summoned to meet the Empire begins.