Chapter 94: Embers Going Gray
Day 3.
Hundreds of thousands are dead. Those left in cities are terrified. The press are calling it "The Night War," with decades of destruction wrought before the first sunrise.
The Avatar, the sky spirits, and the Air Nation scoured the skies, but found nothing but crackling craters and trauma. With a fanatic shadow army hidden among the populace, where one soldier could hold an entire city hostage, General Giam's plan was perfect... to a point, Korra grimly thought. His 'subjects' would call in and ask for orders, and he'd ramble incoherently, snap at them, or even threaten to bomb them and hang up. It's like Giam hadn't thought past the first day, and that worried her more than the worst dictator she could imagine.
So Korra found herself in a bathroom on Air Temple Island, staring into a mirror, with Naga behind her and her dad's hunting knife in her hand. "Getting deja vu too, girl?"
Naga looked at Korra sympathetically, and sat down.
Korra grabbed the back of her long hair, and held the knife to it. She thought back to the first day she stepped foot in the Earth Kingdom after escaping, standing in bathroom, with the same knife, and Naga panting behind her. "Here goes nothing." With a clean slice, she cut her hair to a short bob, and threw the rest of it into the sink. "There," she sighed. "How do I look?"
Naga barked enthusiastically, and tilted her head.
"I'm *supposed* to look like a tramp," Korra complained. She ruffled her hair into a messier bob, rubbed some dirt into her face, metalbent her under armor off, and slipped on a ragged blue shirt, torn pants, and worn boots.
Her animal friend took deep, long sniffs of the ratty shirt, and repeatedly whined at Korra.
"This is the shirt Phoebe gave us, remember? The best one she had in her whole stash... and she handed it to a total stranger."
Naga let out one long, sad whine, and nuzzled Korra.
"I know, girl." Korra hugged Naga's big neck. "I miss her so much."
xXx
Korra already said most of her farewells, but found Tenzin, Jinora and Kya waiting for her in the windy courtyard. Kya smirked as she walked up. "You rock that homeless look pretty well, Korra."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Korra joked back. "Any luck?"
"We reached Giam over the phone, and offered any Air Temple as a neutral ground for discussions," Tenzin reported, stroking his beard. "Our conversation was... interesting."
"Uh oh." Korra was just about sick of 'interesting.'
"Giam was nice, deferential, and excited to talk to us," Jinora explained. "He immediately agreed to meet, but, um. He forgot about it minutes later."
"We kept him talking, and boy, did he," Kya added. "He went on and on about spirits, Hou-Ting, the Earth Kingdom. Pretty much anything that popped into his head."
"And he re-iterated his support for peace, yet couldn't seem to grasp the state of the world," Tenzin finished.
"How could he?" Korra sympathized. "Think of all that happened while he was stuck in the Spirit World. I'd be confused too."
Kya shook her head. "He's more than confused. I've treated people way more lucid than him, Korra."
"All the more reason to talk," Korra decided. "Keep trying. A friendly voice is better than nothing..."
Soon Ren walked up, holding what looked like a rusty pipe. "Here. Could use a little more work."
"You always say that," Korra teased. She took it, bent it, and hidden sets of glider wings popped out of either end. "Perfect. Thanks, Ren."
"No problem. Be careful in Ba Sing Se, Korra."
"No, *you* be careful," Korra urged, grabbing his hand. He couldn't hide his feelings from her, and Ren's self-worth was non-existent right now. "Don't do anything wreckless while I'm gone, do you hear me? Never again. You *matter* to us."
"I'm... fine," he weakly lied.
"Promise me," she demanded.
Ren sighed wearily, but met her eyes again and nodded. "I promise."
Korra hugged Ren, kissed him on the cheek, and took a last look at everyone else. She stopped on Jinora with an expression that said 'keep an eye on him,' then took off into the sky.
Ren hated all this. That the world was smoking, that his friends had to risk their lives, and that they had to treat him like a baby that would walk into traffic. It's humiliating. He felt pathetic, like he had no control over his psyche... Not that he could blame them, having blown himself up over less.
Still, he had to help them fix his mess.
xXx
Later that day, something dwarfing even the massive container ships drew eyes all along the coast. Zaofu's Colossus floated up to Air Temple Island and lowered a gangway, being the only place where there was *room* to dock, while the bulk of Zaofu's surviving fleet docked along Republic City's busy harbors.
The first to step off was Lin, Su, and the rest of the Beifong family, meeting Tenzin and Kya at the bottom. Everyone but Lin bowed respectively.
"Tenzin," Su gratefully greeted. "I can't thank you enough for offering us sanctuary."
"Anything for old friends," Tenzin assured. "I'm just glad you're safe."
"Safe is relative," Lin grumbled, glaring at the supposedly ex-Red Lotus training and walking all around them.
Tenzin sighed tiredly. "I know the feeling, Lin. But they've been nothing but peaceful. I have no reason to doubt their sincerity."
"Other than spending years as terrorists," Lin countered. She never liked this arrangement, but she wasn't Tenzin's boss.
Meanwhile, Kuvira stepped aside to a surprise reception. "I received your message, Kuvira," Noatak greeted, standing up from his seat, but then gripping his chest in pain.
"Noatak?" Kuvira worried, easing him back down. "I didn't *summon* you. You should be in the hospital!"
"And yet, I am here," he weakly retorted. Kuvira shook her head, and sat down next to him. "Air Temple Island is beautiful, is it not?"
"Quite serene," she agreed.
"This time last year, the Equalists had detailed plans to purge the island. And here I sit, a guest, enjoying its peace," Noatak mused.
"After your world changed," Kuvira remembered. "I finally understand what you meant. It's why I messaged you."
"Oh?"
"I... don't trust easily," Kuvira admitted. "It would have been politically advantageous for the Avatar and the Air Nation to disavow Zaofu. Our disagreement over the reeducation camps was personal, yet they set it aside and supported us. The Equalists should have left Zaofu when the bombs detonated, and they stayed, risking their lives for ours." Kuvira leaned back, and crossed her legs, letting the sun warm her face. "You meant that when your world falls apart, it shows which allies stand by you, unconditionally. I could never have believed it until it happened."
Noatak smiled. "Neither could I."
"It's why I'm offering this." Kuvira gestured towards the Colossus.
Noatak waited for her to continue. "This?"
"How would the Equalists like a slightly used airship? Crewed and legally yours, with mechs to go with it, for one Yuan."
"...You're serious?"
"I am. My army trusts the Equalists, Noatak. They've worked side by side ever since the Insurrection. And I refuse to surrender Zaofu's best technology to someone I don't trust." She made eye contact. "I trust you."
Noatak took that in. "This crisis will pass. When the time comes, we'll return everything," he swore.
"Actually, I was thinking of co-ownership. Perhaps standing alone and hoarding power is a thing of the past." Kuvira smiled a little and held out a hand. "Well? A reasonable bargain, wouldn't you say?"
Noatak smirked back, took a single Yuan out of his pocket, and shook her hand. "A fair price."
xXx
One week later.*
Between Hou-Ting's rule, The Insurrection, and The Night War, Ba Sing Se was devastated. The Upper Ring was smoking, looted ruins, the Middle Ring potted and anarchic, and the Lower Ring... Well, the air smelled of desperation, literally. Two craters still crackled with purple light, and most survivors left, with many of the farms outside razed and looted. But the people of the Lower Ring were used to scraping by, going hungry, and being neglected by the government. It wasn't that different from the last few millennia.
Even there, most eyes slid over the homeless. But not always.
A leather-skinned, middle-aged farmer, pushing a cart through the Lower Ring, stopped near his food stand at sunrise, and spotted a woman slumped against a wall across from a stinking dumpster, head down, feet bare. He walked over, and squatted to her level.
"Uh, can I help you?" she shyly asked, looking up, showing tired eyes and a meek frown.
He smiled back. "You like plums?"
"I've never had one," she admitted.
"You'll love 'em. Try this one," he offered.
She bit into it, juices clearing dirt as it dribbled down her chin, and almost cried from how sweet it was. "Wow..."
"Like it? Here, take a couple, from my best harvest in years."
She looked down at the full basket he handed her, and back. "I don't have any money."
"No worries," he enthused. "Just indulge an old man's first customer superstition, will ya?" The woman followed his lead, putting her hands together and closing her eyes, and he started a quiet prayer. "We are grateful for this delicious food, for compassion, and for peace. We are grateful for our hope for the future and our guidance from the past."
"That's an Air Nomad prayer," she realized.
"Something I picked up from a traveler." He stood up and bowed once more. "Blessings of the Avatar Spirit upon ya, kind stranger."
She raised an eyebrow. "...You pray to the Avatar? Here? After everything she's let happen to Ba Sing Se?"
"She didn't let anything happen. All I've seen the Avatar do is try to help." He widened his arms. "Besides! Look how good my harvest is since I started praying! She must be doing something right."
That made the woman chuckle, and nod. "I can't argue with that. Blessings of the Avatar to you, too."
"Thank you," he smiled back. The moment he turned around and walked way, sure she wasn't being watched, Raava's and Vaatu's runes flared on her chest. "Can you two actually bless him?"
"No," Raava admitted. "But that does not make the gesture insignificant."
"Even small actions ripple outward like waves," Vaatu agreed.
"And kindness brightens spirits," Raava added.
"Good," Korra murmured, taking another bite as the runes faded, silently wishing for every bit of give fortune she could give that man. With a long breath, she refocused on her seismic sense, and soon felt whom she was looking for, a young boy running a letter through the Lower Ring.
She followed him, slinking through parallel alleys, jumping between rooftops, and darting behind carts. He was paranoid, and fast, constantly looking over his shoulder. The boy ran through busy markets, brushed the crackling edge of a crater, then suddenly dove into a deep manhole on a busy street.
Korra cursed, and dove in after him. She landed in a maze of tunnels, and chased him through the dark, only for him to stop and turn around. She was made.
"Who are you? Leave me alone!" he demanded.
"Who are *you*?" she retorted. But then she noticed the thin boy was hungrily eyeing her basket. Ripples, indeed. "You like plums, huh?"
"...Yes," he sheepishly nodded.
"They're really good," Korra agreed. "Tell you what, I'll give you the whole basket, if we talk while you eat. Deal?"
He hesitantly stepped forward and grabbed a plum, biting into it greedily. "Deal."
Korra sat down in front of him. "I've turned this city upside down, but you're not running letters for any of the warlords. Who are you working for?"
"I dunno. I just drop letters off where I'm told."
"By whom?"
"I... I'd rather not say," he weakly protested. "But he's not mean like the others."
"He? Others?" Korra pressed.
"He's different," he vaguely explained. "He gives me food and money for stuff."
Korra tilted her head in confusion. But before she came up with a response, both their eyes widened, and Korra leapt up and barely rolled out of the way of a pair of stone gauntlets coming right at her.
"Halt, on the authority of the Earth Kingdom!" he yelled. Korra dodged again, then got a good look at her opponent, a Dai Li agent, in a cone hat and green robes.
"Oh, no you don't," Korra screamed back, punching his stone gauntlets right back at him, then following up with a wave of earth. He stood his ground and kicked them both to dust. This guy was good, probably a master, Korra realized, and now he seemed angry.
"Get away from our messenger!"
The agent collapsed the tunnel around Korra, but she stomped the ground and held it in place, then flung loose chunks back at him. Taking advantage of the break, Korra leapt forward to melee range, encased her arm in stone, and tried to punch him in the gut, but he deftly deflected it with a swipe of his gauntlet.
"...Avatar Korra," he recognized.
Korra cursed. Cover blown, she engulfed her arms in blue fire. "Who are you working for!? Answer me!"
He exhaled, and brought his arms together. "The people of the Earth Kingdom, of course. Can't we talk peacefully?"
Korra looked around. The boy and his plums were gone. So she just sighed, and lowered the flames. "Fine. Talk."
"Excellent," he smirked. "I'm Dai Li Agent Zhan. I'd say I'm surprised we didn't recognize the Avatar sooner, but some of my fellow agents can be so... shortsighted."
"Uh huh," Korra sarcastically agreed. "Spit it out. Are you working for Giam now? The Dai Lee seem to run to where power is."
"Can you keep a secret, Avatar?" Zhan asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Lets say I have information. Information you won't like," he vaguely explained. "Can you assure me you will cooperate, and remain non-violent?"
What? "Sure. Whatever."
"I need your word, and of that Avatar honor."
"Fine!" Korra snapped. "I swear."
"Excellent." He immediately bound Korra's hand behind her back, and held them.
"What the-"
"Relax. You are my prisoner, for the moment," Zhan calmly explained.
Something about this guy was *off, but Korra desperately needed a lead, so she went along as he walked him through the tunnels. Two more Dai Li passed by at an intersection. "Another troublemaker?" one of them brusquely asked.
"Oh, you have no idea. But I'm confident she'll be working for us soon," Zhan replied, all technically not a lie.
They nodded and continued on, and Zhan led them deeper and deeper into the tunnels, brick giving way to raw stone. "Where are we going?" Korra asked.
He released the cuffs, and his grip, and sighed a little. "Remember your word, Avatar." Zhan stood low, earthbend open a secret passage, politely invited her in, and closed it behind them. Korra could feel a furnished cave ahead, and two people sparring, but she was not prepared for what was painted on the wall.
A big Red Lotus crest.
A firebender sparring with an earthbender flinched, face in shock like a tiger had just wandered into their cave, and immediately bent a torrent of flame from two fists towards Korra. She dropped low and waved two arms arm up, sending it crashing into the rock roof. "That's the Avatar, you idiot!"
Zhan stood between the two, erecting a barrier between them. "I'm aware," he calmly explained. "And she's not going to attack us... are you, Avatar Korra?"
Korra clenched her fists, hard. "Urgh!" She beat a fist into the wall, cracking stone. "This better be good!"
"Please," he gestured, leading her to the center of the room. "These are my compatriots, Rozam, and Mu."
Everyone but Zhan crossed their arms. "What is this, Zhan? Are you *trying* to get us killed?" Rozam, the firebender, demanded.
"Relax, Rozam. I believe we share a common cause." Zhan looked back to Korra. "Finding General Giam."
Korra flinched. "What do you know about him?"
"We know Giam's in Ba Sing Se... but where? No warlord, no foreign spy, not even the Dai Li can find him, and you won't either, Avatar. But we have a lead. Mu?"
"This is suicide." The earthbender shook his head and sighed. "I'm a colonel for a warlord, and one of my officers had an unexplained injury after The Night War. An electrical burn, across her shoulder."
"So I got the Dai Li and our other agents to follow her, and dig. She's model citizen, with quiet life and a perfect military record, nothing the Dai Li would even consider pursuing."
Korra got the gist of it. "Too perfect."
"As if it was all manufactured," Zhan agreed. "I have reason to believe she's associated with Giam, and have three Red Lotus on him now. At dusk, that burden will shift to us." He smiled wickedly. "And we could use another body. Care to join us, Avatar?"
Korra's eyes shifted between them all. That Red Lotus symbol was making her skin crawl, but she'd kiss an evil spirit if it led her to Giam.
xXx
Meanwhile in Republic City, Mako and Bolin were busy herding the influx of refugees, guiding them onto buses and airships. Even Astraea did her part, calming spirits and comforting kids, but a familiar character came sauntering up. "Mako. Bolin. Long time no see, eh?"
"Shady Shin?" Bolin asked.
"This is not the time," Mako warned. "If the Triple Threats want trouble, find it somewhere else."
"Relax, relax," Shin waved off. "I was lookin' for you guys."
"Why?" Mako suspiciously asked.
"Well, word on the street is you gotta connection to the Avatar," Shin explained. "And boss has got a... problem, see? Somethin' to do with the War, that your pal might be interested in."
Mako and Bolin exchanged glances, and Astraea fluttered onto Mako's shoulder. "What kind of problem?" Mako asked.
He leaned in and covered his mouth. "Somethin', uh, technical. Somethin' we wouldn't want just anyone findin' out about. You get my drift?"
Mako and Bolin looked at each other again.
xXx
Kylie sat in her apartment, shuffling through her Mom's notes in the sunlight when a knock came at the door. "Police, open up!" The voice paused. "Sorry, bad joke. It's me, Bolin."
Kylie laughed a little, unlocked it, and opened it with a twist and wave of her hands. "Hey, guys. What's up?"
"Where's Ren?" Mako asked.
Kylie sighed, got up, and banged on her guest room door. "Ren! Wake up!" After a groan in protest, she opened it, and found Ren lying on the floor in pajamas, face down, in a mass of papers. The smell was awful. "Ren!"
"Easy, Kylie. What's going on?"
"It's past noon, that's what's going on," she complained. "Come on, up!"
Ren squinted through the light, then blushed when he saw Mako and Bolin, and metalbend the door shut. "Gimme a sec..."
Kylie sighed, and leaned against the wall. "We've been going through notes, trying to figure out *some way* to dissipate the blasts' energy. Ren's... going at it pretty hard."
The brothers looked at her sympathetically. "Is he good to go?" Mako asked.
"Maybe? Why..."
xXx
Shady Shin drove the odd group to the Triad's hideout, a nice Fire Nation restaurant in downtown Republic City. "This is the Triple Threat's hideout?" Bolin asked.
"Lot's changed since you two left," Shin said. "Just wait till you see the new boss."
Ren nearly tripped getting out of the car, but Aera pulled him up by his collar. "Thanks," he mumbled. He looked down as he felt everyone's stares boring into him. "I'm fine."
"You're not," Aera replied, already blueish purple from his... well, everything.
"Look, just stop worrying about me, OK?" Ren complained as they walked into the restaurant.
"It's OK to not be OK!" Bolin argued, patting him on the back. "You should've seen Mako after Kiaanii left him."
"Hey-" Mako started.
"He was a wreck!" Bolin continued, mimicking Mako in distress. "Kiaanii!? Why? Why?! I can't go on, I can't-"
"OK, OK!" Mako laughed. "We get it."
"I'm just saying, it's normal to take some support," Bolin said.
"I know," Ren weakly agreed. "I just... I don't want to be a burden."
"You're a pain in the ass, but you're never a burden," Kylie assured, patting his shoulder.
Shin led them to the second floor, the private dining room. Sitting on what was *almost* a throne at the end of a long, red table was a woman... a petite Fire Nation woman with a long, sleek ponytail, wearing elaborate full plated armor, two katanas on her back, and scar across her face. She stood up. "You're late, Shin."
"Sorry boss," Shin stiffly apologized.
She smirked a little. "Where are my manners? I'm Zera," she bowed slightly, eying the visitors up and down. "And you're just who I need."
"Huh, they let *you* be a Triad boss?" Kylie said.
"Oh, no one let me. I took it." She sauntered up, and grabbed Shin's chin. "Isn't that right, Shin? Any objections?"
"No, boss," Shin nervously agreed.
"That's right," she smirked, letting it drop. "Now I'd love to chat, but I have a problem." She crossed her arms. "We control much of the countryside, and found an... intruder. One that makes me *very* uncomfortable."
"A guy with some kind of rocket launcher, hiding in a barn," Shin revealed.
"With a wide view of the city. Sound familiar?" Zera added with a serious frown.
Ren's heart beat faster. "Tell me you didn't attack him."
"Fortunately, I'm less of an idiot than my predecessor," she stated. "But you see my dilemma. We can't approach, no one can, and I don't want a crater in Republic City any more than you do. The Avatar needs to deal with him."
"She's... away," Mako explained. "We don't know how long."
Zera cursed under her breath. "This can't wait."
"No, it can't," Kylie agreed. "We'll take Aera and Astraea after dark."
"...Who?"
The spirits fluttered to the center of the room, and grew to their full forms in a flash of smoke and light, startling all the Triads... except for Zera. She smirked wider. "Interesting friends, indeed."
xXx
In Ba Sing Se, Korra followed Rozam into a dusty house in the Lower Ring, with hours to go before their target arrived. "Don't you have anything better to do than follow me around?" he dryly asked.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight." she coldly replied. She'd exhausted her other leads, anyway.
"Hmph, whatever floats your boat," he shrugged.
Korra watched him ruffle through drawers, closets, and cabinets, setting random things aside. "Wait. Is this even your house?"
"Ha, no." He looked back at her stare. "What, you gonna arrest me, Avatar?"
"Don't tempt me."
Rozam shrugged, and looked around. "Just what the doctor ordered," he mused out loud, piling clothes, silverware, medicine and other odds and ends into a wheelbarrow. "You're too high and mighty for a little thievery, huh?"
"I've stolen to eat, not to hoard," Korra retorted.
He shrugged again. "Looks abandoned anyway."
"How do you know!?"
"I don't." Rozam felt the Avatar's glare burning into his back as he rolled the wheelbarrow out of the house.
"This how you joined the Red Lotus? Stealing anything that isn't nailed down?"
That made Rozam laugh. "No. Zaheer broke me out of Boiling Rock along with one of his assassins. They saw I could fight, offered me a chance, and I said 'Why not?'"
"Boiling Rock!? In the Fire Nation!? What were you in for?"
"Murdering my girlfriend's ex. And before you ask... yeah, I did it."
"...Wow. Real upstanding citizen, aren't you?" Korra sarcastically remarked.
"I have anger issues," he nonchalantly admitted.
Korra sighed and shook her head. Sadly, she could relate, so she just walked in silence for a bit. "Where are we going now? A fence?"
"To kill puppies," he joked. "Sound good to you?"
"Not funny." She didn't even know if he was joking, but then he turned off the street and rolled the wheelbarrow into... "An orphanage?"
"Uncle Rozam!" a dozen little kids screamed, bunching up around him and hugging his legs.
"Yeah, yeah. Get off, you little munchkins." He pushed a few back by the head, and picked up a little boy under his arms. "Hmm," he gruffly hummed, turning him around like he was examining a statue, then sat him down, and fished a blue shirt and lighter pants out. "That'll do. Now, get! Go change, and make trouble for someone else."
The kid hugged him again and happily ran off.
Korra's scowl turned into curious pout. After a little hesitance, she helped him dole out clothes, medicine, and more to the orphans.
xXx
Night fell over Republic City, and the great sky spirits soared above. Clouds gathered, a thin fog rolled in, and stars dimmed as they approached the countryside, towards a farm nestled against the edge of a mountain. "Isn't that convenient," Zera commented, realizing that was the spirits' doing. "You spirits wouldn't be available for hire, would you? I pay talent well."
"Umm... I think not," Aera replied.
"A shame. But the offer stands," Zera promised. "...There. That's the barn."
"Approach slowly," Mako urged, already in a hushed tone. "We don't want to spook him."
As per the plan, Astraea dropped off Mako and Bolin to cover the exits, and turned into a wisp of smoke, sucking in light as she floated in. She actually found two soldiers, one just stirring from sleep and another on watch, manning a tube aimed at the city, both in old Earth Kingdom colors.
Astraea's small form turned brighter and brighter, blinding the soldiers. Zera jumped in before Kylie and Ren, and immediately knocked out one with the butt of a katana, but the other quickly recovered. "Glory to the Earth Kingdom!"
He metalbent shards of his own armor like a bomb, spraying the room in shrapnel. Kylie and Ren barley deflected it, Mako and Bolin ducked back behind the door, but Zera blasted it apart with an arc of fire flung from her sword. She flipped forward, dodging another razor sharp shard, slashed his throat, and kicked him down, before impaling him with the other sword, channeling fire through, it, and frying him from the inside.
"Way to be gentle," Kylie darkly remarked. Bolin made a mental note to *avoid* the Triad boss, but their trains of thought were interrupted by the rocket igniting.
Kylie cursed furiously, slicing the air with her hand and severing the warhead off just as the rocket went screaming off into the night. It started glowing brighter and brighter with purple light, and Ren levitated it off the ground, sweating as he tried to hold the internal mechanisms in place. "I can't hold it long! Go!"
"No!" Kylie protested, helping him hold it with her bending.
"Kylie-"
"You are NOT blowing yourself AGAIN!" she yelled back. Kylie ripped the top of the warhead off. "You gonna help me defuse this thing or what?"
Ren's eyes darted around. Mako and Bolin didn't move, and neither did the spirits, with Aera coming to land on Ren's shoulder. Zera looked annoyed, realizing she was stuck with these noble idiots. He wanted to beg them to leave him, but they seemed intent on staying...
And he promised Korra.
"Bolin, dig a hole, *deep," Ren ordered.
Bolin didn't even think before earthbending long cylinders of rock out of the ground, while Kylie stripped the warhead down to its core. She knew what she was doing, but... "It's too late to short it," Ren warned.
"Then what!?" Kylie demanded.
"Kylie, crack the toroid, have the spirits help you *slug* it down the hole. Bolin, cover it up the *moment* it's down. On three. One, two, three!"
Kylie cracked the core, Aera and Astraea hurled it down, and Bolin collapsed the hole right behind it. The blast shook the Earth and melted soil into lava all around them, but Ren used every bit of his bending to keep their footing solid. The wooden barn burst into flames, hay and debris flying everywhere. Then, acting on instinct, Zera and Mako swirled around in a dance, bending the fire to their will until it until embers turned gray.
They all gazed out the open barn, watching the fields and forest outside burn. But they were safe.
xXx
The spirits dropped everyone off near the Triple Threat restaurant. "Quite an ordeal," Zera commented. "What do you say we have dinner here? My treat?"
Mako crossed his arms. "You'd love to chat up the Avatar's associates some more, wouldn't you?"
"Pleasure can be strategic too," she smirked. "I'm not hiding it."
"Rain check," Kylie politely declined.
"But thanks for bringing this to us," Mako added. "We owe you one."
"Likewise," Zera agreed with a polite bow. "Say hi to Avatar Korra for me, boys."
Mako watched her slink off, and shook his head. Even for a triad boss, he knew Zera is gonna be trouble. After saying their goodbyes, Kylie, Ren and Aera split off, and Ren was first to start talking. "That was a risk. You guys should have flown off."
"Well you're not our boss," Kylie argued.
"And we didn't want to," Aera insisted, scooting closer.
"I'm... not worth the risk," Ren quietly admitted. "No one should have to die over what I did, except me."
"Everyone you know likes you. They *want* to keep you around, no matter how much you think they don't, and you'll just have to deal with it," Kylie firmly stated.
"I can feel how much you're hurting, Ren. Shame is pouring out of your back. You think everyone is just being nice," Aera observed. "But I've seen plenty of monsters over the eons, and you're not one. No one feels that way about you. They want to protect you."
"No one," Kylie agreed. "...Remember what we swore to each other?"
"We keep going, until the end," Ren recited.
"That's not just for us anymore. Or our past life." Kylie softened her tone and wrapped an arm around Ren's shoulders. "It's for the life we have *now*. Don't you dare insult your friends by thinking we'd be better off without you."
Ren let out a shuddering sigh, and hugged Kylie back. "You're always right, sis..."
xXx
Night fell on Ba Sing Se. Korra and Zhan crouched on a rooftop ledge in Ba Sing Se's Middle Ring. A few shops and craftsmen were still trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy, but there were just as many scavengers, and worse, filling the streets. "Look at this. Miserable anarchy," Korra gestured. "Proud of your work, Zhan?"
"I am," he calmly replied. "What my fellow Dai Li agents did to the populace... I wasn't slipped into the police force, Avatar, I joined the Red Lotus *because* of them..." He trailed off, and let another silence linger. "You know, Dai Li simply stood by when Queen Hou-Ting passed."
"When you *murdered* her," Korra bitterly corrected.
"Asphyxiated," Zhan more precisely stated. "The Queen made enemies with every word that came out of her mouth."
"So, what? That *justifies* it?"
"The world runs on incentives, my dear. We simply expedited the inevitable," Zhan explained.
"Yeah, well, I wish there was an *incentive* for you guys to just go away," Korra muttered.
Zhan shook his head. "The Red Lotus is an idea, Korra. An immortal framework for frustration to latch onto. Kill as many of us as you like, and more will always rise to meet the rise of tyrants." He rubbed his chin. "But your wish is also true. I had a Northern waterbender as an agent, one so zealous it even made *me* uncomfortable. You should have seen the look on his face when he heard Vaatu bellow over the radio, and when you all but overthrew the Northern Water Tribe."
"So he left the Red Lotus?" Korra guessed.
"He did. My whole cell collapsed. You broke us, Avatar." He gestured out to the crater. "And all it took was another tyrant to bring us back together."
"A bad one," Korra relented. Her brain oozed hate for this man and everything he stands for, but a part of her could see wanting to rise up against Hou-Ting or Giam. Being powerless, organizing others who feel the same way... Well, that's exactly what she did, isn't it?
Ming-Hua's words echoed in her head again.
Zhan turned his head towards what sounded like a bird chirp. "Our targets arrive."
"More than one?"
"A whole group. Try to keep up, Avatar."
Korra stretched, and took the first leap, landing silently with a gentle whoosh of wind. She followed inconspicuously, browsing shops, varying her stride, staying inconspicuous like Azula, Noatak and Asami all taught her. But their marks were *paranoid, even with Korra's seismic sense, which is where the Red Lotus's own paranoia came in.
Someone gently tapped Korra's shoulder, and she silently slid away, letting Rozam take the lead. She switched robes in an alley, caught up, and trailed behind, just barely keeping Rozam in sight.
They repeated the cycle, with Zhan, Rozam, and Korra all taking turns, walking through blacksmiths, dilapidated temples, and more. Then, without warning, their marks split into three groups, and Korra cursed.
"Patience, Avatar," Zhan soothed, slinking up behind her. "Take the center."
Korra did as asked, and followed them through collapsed walls, all the way to the "Jasmine Dragon" tea shop in the Upper Ring, somehow still operating among the destroyed buildings.
"I'll take one cup of that chai blend," Korra asked, and was soon served at her spot in the corner.
...Wow. No wonder the shop was still in business, she thought, closing her eyes as a sip of tea ran over her tongue, with the sharp spices filling her nose. But then she refocused on the two plain looking men sitting at the table across the shop, chatting away. After a long wait, she stepped outside and clicked her radio, quickly receiving two confirmations back. "My marks aren't talking about anything useful. I think they're decoys."
"As are mine," Zhan confirmed.
Rozam didn't respond for a bit.
"Rozam?" Korra called out.
"No sign of Giam, but... Y'all better come see this. Southern Courtyard, Middle Ring, east side."
xXx
Korra swooped into an alley, stowed her pipe glider, and met Rozam just at the edge of a grand courtyard with a black stain along an edge, stomping her foot.
"Inside that building," Rozam pointed.
Coming out of a Dai Li tunnel, Zhan walked up behind them as the Avatar focused on her seismic sense, eyes closed. "Two women," she said, opening her eyes wide. "And one big, burly guy, just inside. That must be him."
Rozam snorted. "Here? I can't believe it."
"Why? What's so special about this place?" Korra asked.
"See that plaque in the middle?" Zhan pointed.
"...Yeah."
"I'll tell you exactly what it says." Zhan cleared his throat. "'This marks the failure General Giam and his men, traitors to the Earth Kingdom. Let it be a reminder to all who dare defy the Earth Queen.'"
Korra realized what that stain was, and nearly threw up. "That's where Giam's family was crushed. It's *still* here?"
Rozam shook his head. "Their corpses were never moved. Animals picked them away, but you can still smell them."
Korra swallowed her disgust, and some bile. "Why would he hide in sight of his family's execution?"
"No one would even think to look here," Zhan amusedly observed. "Whether that's his intention or not."
Korra's mind raced. She didn't expect to find Giam so soon. "What were you guys gonna do? Just walk in and kill him?"
"He undoubtedly has fail-safes in place," Zhan speculated.
"Bombs ready to go off at a moment's notice," Korra agreed.
"If you weren't here... we may have accepted that price," Zhan admitted. Just like he did before Korra revealed herself, he thought. "But you *are* here, Avatar Korra. So tell us, what are you thinking?"
Korra looked around, and back at them. "I need help from friends that can talk him down, or at least keep his finger off the trigger..." She couldn't believe she was about to ask this. "If I leave to get them, will you guys track Giam, but leave him alone?"
"You have my word," Zhan swore.
"We'll watch 'em, and stay in touch," Rozam agreed. To Korra's surprise, he reached out with a hand. "If we don't meet again, well, it's been a pleasure, Avatar."
Korra stared at his open hand. "We're not friends."
That made him laugh, and he put his hand down. "I got the hint. We have no love for the Avatar either, but for what it's worth, most Red Lotus I've met respect you. Me included. You have the heart of a rebel, and not a bone of oppression in your body."
"If we *do* meet again, I'll kill you if I have to," Korra warned. But she sighed, and her face softened. "...But I guess I owe you, too. If you guys ever need help, I'll be there."
"Likewise, on all counts. Safe travels, Avatar Korra," Zhan smirked, bowing respectfully with a modified White Lotus gesture. "Freedom for all."
Korra flinched at those words, but relaxed her clenched fists, and in a moment of reflective clarity, thought back. She rose to being an Avatar on the Equalist Revolution. She's killed to free others, and would do it again. And here she is, staring two more Red Lotus in the face, in their debt, with more in common than she would care to admit. Who is she kidding? Ming-Hua was right.
She's Red Lotus.
And maybe she can live with that. So Korra bowed back, and uttered words that still haunt her nightmares, ones she never imagined would leave her lips.
"Freedom for all."
xXx
The messenger boy Korra met sat down at the edge of a crater in the Lower Ring, being the only safe light this late at night, and dug into more of his plum basket, happily humming to himself. Outside his field of vision, slimy, smooth black tentacles slowly slid along the cracked pavement, with a putrid stench hanging in the air.
He caught sight of them and drew breath, but a tentacle wrapped around his neck, another bore into his mouth, more squeezed his body, and dragged him into a dark sewer hole. There was no scream, no struggle. Just sickening crunching sounds and splatters of blood spewing out.
Korra thought Yangchen's warning had come to pass. But she was wrong. It had only just begun.