It's been a long, long time since I've written. But, as an anthropologist, I can't help but enjoy the lovely parallels drawn between our own history and what's happening in the Avatar world. NONE of this would ever happen on a Nickelodeon show. But what a show if it could...

Bolin looked over to Varrick. In the firelight, his blue eyes were obscured but Bolin could still see the vacancy behind them. It was a long day, and the soldiers were taking a well-earned rest. Someone had brought out instruments and after singing the weary group was winding down. Varrick and Bolin were leading this militia to the Earth Kingdom outskirts of Republic City.

Kuvira was the Great Conqueror, so the world was finding out. With the fall of Zaofu, she was not satisfied. Or so it seemed. Within the week of Bolin and Varrick jumping the train, they made it back to Republic City. Reports of armaments building up along to Earth Kingdom boarder floated it. Both turned information over and over in their heads, but didn't remember Kuvira mentioning this plan at all. Maybe it was chatter, flooding the radio waves to confuse the Fire Nation, Water Tribe, Air Nomad, and United Forces militaries, all of which were listening in to and watching closely the events unfolding in the Earth Kingdom. Maybe it was real. That was Bolin and Varrick's purpose for the scout tomorrow.

Bolin grunted and shifted in the dirt, stretching his back against the tree he was leaning on. Frowning, he thought bitterly about the events of the past seventy-five years. He didn't remember much from school. In fact, he didn't even remember going to a formal school, so his history education was a little slapdash. But he felt certain there wasn't a single time in the world more volatile than the time between Avatar Aang and Korra.

He was tired.

Looking at Varrick again, his friend was leaning against the log, his head resting on his hand, eyes half closed. He had been quiet for most of the day. Something earlier had caught Varrick's attention, Bolin knew it. Before they left Republic City they had been in the control room of the listening center with General Iroh and Tenzin. A combined team of United Forces and Air Nomad soldiers were going to survey the border, with Varrick and Bolin advising on tactics and anything else they knew about Kuvira's army. Varrick had been his charismatic self, when a loud burst of chatter came through the receiver. Bolin couldn't make much out of it. Just random words. Wake the dragon. Remember that fairy tale? Yeah, I remember. It wasn't very long. Yeah. Wake the dragon.

Bolin hadn't heard that one, but he was raised in Republic City. If it was an Earth Kingdom legend, he didn't know it. His father wasn't much of a story teller. Opal might know it. But he didn't get a chance to ask her. She barely acknowledged his return. It hurt, Bolin reflected. He couldn't blame her though. Every time he thought about the deception of Kuvira, his cheeks flamed with embarrassment, and his stomach churned. He still couldn't believe how he could have been so blind. The idea of one central government—uniting all the provinces, overseeing production, industry, and development so the people could be free to live their lives without fear of starvation or bandits—was a beautiful thought. What did Tenzin call it? A communist state? Bolin didn't know much about governing bodies either, but he didn't think the idea was bad. Where did it go wrong?

But the chatter clearly bothered Varrick. The mood traveled with him, leaving Bolin to lead the soldiers to the foot hills where they made camp for the night. Varrick's head dipped as he nodded off. The music was dying down as the commanders were getting their soldiers back in line for lights out. Bolin shifted over and nudged Varrick's leg. Varrick nodded up and glanced sideways to Bolin. It used to be hard to believe Varrick was thirteen years his senior. Lately though Bolin couldn't believe Varrick was only thirty-three. Premature wrinkles and lines were showing up on the man's face on a daily basis, marring his handsome features. The whisper of gray appearing in Varrick's hair though only added to his dapper appeal. Bolin had once wondered why Varrick never married. But the parade of young women through Varrick's life made Bolin's several romances seem like petty childhood flirtations. Bolin actually wouldn't be surprised if a child showed up on Varrick's doorstep one day with a note declaring his paternity.

"What?" Varrick mumbled as he shifted, shaking blood back into his hand.

"Suppose we should settle too," Bolin motioned around the camp to the sleeping soldiers. He tossed one more log onto the fire. Varrick scrunched down and lay on his back, looking up at the clear night sky. Bolin tossed his bed roll to him but Varrick didn't move. Bolin laid his out so his head was at Varrick's, and the two men laid head to head, looking into the blue-black dark of an early night. Bolin couldn't take it anymore.

"What did you hear?" He asked the dark. For a moment, he only heard Varrick's breathing, and wondered if he had fallen asleep.

"I'm not sure," Varrick replied. "I don't know, there's hundreds of thousands of stories about dragons, and I'm sure half of them have to do with waking."

"But?" Bolin prompted.

"But?" Varrick repeated. "But, that's not something an Earth Kingdom soldier should know. Dragons are Fire Nation stories. Earth Kingdom stories revolve around badger moles and the like."

"Maybe he had a Fire Nation parent?"

Bolin heard Varrick shake his head. "No. Kuvira wouldn't allow that. Remember? The prisoners we came with. They had been living in the Earth Kingdom. Some were even second generation. And Kuvira threw them in prison."

Bolin's eyes became heavy. "Where ever it came from, it's just a story, Varrick. Stories are stories."

"Stories have to come from somewhere," Varrick reached up and poked Bolin in the head. "Remember that. Stories don't come from the void. They are created by experiences we as humans can relate to in our present mind. They have lessons and warnings that carry through centuries."

Bolin pushed Varrick's hand away. "Go to sleep," he mumbled.

Varrick sighed and turned on his side, his back to the fire. Bolin drifted into a half slumber.

He dreamt about a badger mole and a dragon having tea with a heavy set man with grey hair and beard in Earth Kingdom robes. Opal was there, but she looked frantic. The heavy man looked over, and there was something familiar about him.

"Wake up," he spoke in a gentle gruff. "Wake up, Bolin."

Opal opened her mouth in a scream, but Bolin couldn't hear her. There was a flash of light and she was gone.

"Opal!" Bolin yelled. The man came up to him again.

"Wake up. Wake up Bolin."

Korra then appeared before him. With Mako. Mako was fighting something or someone with fire. Korra had tears rolling down her face. She turned and locked eyes with Bolin. That old twinge of the romance they once shared came back. Bolin knew he would always love Korra, but was surprised to feel them resurface. In a flash, she and Mako too were gone.

This time the man grabbed Bolin by the shoulders.

"Wake up!"

Bolin snorted himself awake, choking on the emotions of the nightmare. The sky was a light pink in the east. The sun would be up soon. He touched his face. It was wet with a mix of sweat and tears. A hand on his arm made him jump. He looked over to see Varrick propped up on his elbows, a worried expression on his face.

"What was that about?" Varrick asked.

"I don't know," Bolin choked out. His throat was raw, like he had been screaming.

"You were mumbling. Something about Iroh. And then you started to yell."

Iroh. That's who the man was. General Iroh's great uncle. The same man Korra had talked about seeing in the spirit world. He started to panic.

"General Iroh. As in, the Dragon of the West. He was there. So was…so was Opal. And Korra and Mako. Then there was a flash of light. Iroh was trying to wake me up." He struggled out of his sleeping pack. Varrick sat up on his knees, frowning.

"A flash of light? What color?"

"What?" Bolin barked at Varrick. He couldn't find his boots. There, on the other side of the fire.

Varrick jumped up too and grabbed Bolin by the arm tightly, spinning him around. "I'm not an idiot, Bolin. I may not buy the mystical, but I believe the science. General Iroh evaded death. He remains in the spirit world. That wasn't a dream. He was trying to tell you something. Now, I only know of one type of flash of light that would be dangerous! Close your eyes! Think! What color was it?"

By now the rest of the camp was waking up, soldiers looking over with a mix of curiosity at the commotion and annoyance of being woken earlier than needed. Bolin closed his eyes, ignoring them.

"Mmmmm…..purple. Definitely purple." He opened them again and frowned.

Varrick's eyes were wide with horror. "Purple?" He whispered back. He dropped Bolin's arm. "The dragon…" Varrick mumbled as he went over to his boots and started to pull them on. Bolin knelt to do the same. Kneeling, he placed one had on the ground as he reached for the other one, when he felt a tremor. He looked up. Varrick was still sitting on the log, eyes closed and hands to his temples. The other soldiers were milling around, packing up and completing duties before they had to march out. He was the only one who felt it.

Bolin laid on the ground, face first with his left ear down, facing Varrick. He could hear something. I must be the only earth bender here, Bolin reflected. The rumble continued underground, but it wasn't as loud as the first boom. He could feel it in his whole body now, as though it were coming towards him but losing strength.

"What are you doing?" Varrick asked.

"Shhh. I heard something. Like a tremor. A rumble. An explosion…." He pushed himself up. "An explosion!" He shouted.

Varrick was up before he finished yelling. "Captain! Captain! Radio! Republic City, call them now!"

The captain fumbled, but started to herald the control room. "Scout Echo One to Command, this is Captain Lee, come in." Bolin held his breath as they listened to the static.

"Scout Echo One to Command, this is Captain Lee, come in."

Static.

The panicky feeling crept into Bolin's bones.

"Scout Echo One to Command, this…this is Captain Lee. Come in." The Captain pleaded this time.

"We have to go." Bolin said. "We have to get back."

"It's a day's hike," Captain Lee said. He motioned for the men to pack up quickly.

"Not for me," Bolin said. "Get these men back as quickly as you can. Varrick and I have to go ahead. Now." Bolin remembered the legend of Toph riding a wave of earth through the country side. He knew he could do the same. "Varrick, let's go!" Bolin broke into a run.

Varrick caught up to him. "Where do you want me?" He shouted.

"Knell when I say!" Bolin and Varrick ran as Bolin concentrated on the stone and dirt below him, feeling the particles and forming them into one smooth, rolling wave. Like one he had seen Korra make once when she was working on her active meditation. Korra…his gut hurt with fear.

"Now!"

Varrick stopped mid run and knelt with one knee down. Bolin jumped up and come down, the earth bending to his will. It surged forward in one smooth motion, carrying Varrick and he with it. If he could keep pace, it would take an hour. Maybe two. Bolin's eyes blurred with tears. He didn't know if they were from the wind. Varrick had pulled himself to a standing position so he could rock with the movement of the earth wave. His eyes were blurred too.

Bolin and Varrick could smell it before they could see Republic City. Hidden in a harbor, the City was never visible until after cresting one last hill. Then the urban sprawl was a sight to behold. Miles from that check point, however, Bolin and Varrick could smell it.

"Vines," Varrick said hoarsely. "That's the residue from burning the spirit vines."

Bolin figured Varrick was partially right, but once you've smelt burnt flesh, it was a smell that stayed in memory forever. A flash of memory of his parents flicked by.

The next clue was the animals. Bolin had to slow his progress to avoid the onslaught of urban and country side animals fleeing in the opposite direction. This lasted only a short while, and then it became unnervingly quiet save for the rumble of the earth wave. There's the hill…

The horizon was hazed. At mid-morning, the sun should be up in full force. But it was as though thousands of little particles were creating a vail that gave everything around a violet hue. Bolin tried to push from his mind what all the particles were.

They topped the hill, and Bolin cried out. Losing concentration, he and Varrick fell the few feet to the ground as the wave that supported them vanished. Bolin coughed in the dust, and struggled to his feet.

"No…no…." he moaned. Varrick was silent, face drawn.

There, in the center of Republic City—the proud birth child of Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko's attempt of unification—was a large crater. Bolin tried to count the streets, but eventually guessed it was at least a two mile diameter. The statue of Aang had pock marks where debris had flung itself into the monument. As far as he could tell, there was minimal damage to Air Temple Island.

Bolin and Varrick stood in shock at the top of the hill. They could hear the muffled screams of the survivors, the pitiful cry of the few emergency vehicles that were operational, and the faint rush of water as hundreds of water mains throughout the city flooded the streets. All the glass was shattered in every building of the city. Those buildings that were still standing had compromised foundations, and every so often a puff of smoke would rise, indicating another building had collapsed.

"We…we have to get down there," Bolin started to run. He turned, but Varrick was still standing.

"Varrick!" Bolin yelled. "We have to go! Plus, you're kind of a doctor. I mean, you know the basics. They need you!"

Varrick's mouth slowly dropped open as he started to shake. He dropped to his knees and brought his quivering hands to his face.

"Varrick!" Bolin ran back up to him. "C'mon Varrick. Please…we have to move."

Tears streamed down Varrick's face, leaving trails in the dirt that had collected there. Bolin couldn't help it but match Varrick's emotion. His face became just as streaked.

"What have I done…." Varrick whispered. He dropped his hands and cried openly. "What have I done!" He shouted.

"Varrick, no…stop," Bolin couldn't help but let out a bursting sob. "I know. And it wasn't you. You didn't push the button. You didn't tell Kuvira to do this….we have to keep moving." He sobbed again and tried to wipe his eyes. His hands were too dirty. "I have to find my brother."

Varrick looked over at Bolin. "Oh Bolin…Bolin I should have thrown you off the train. I should have thrown you off and ended it. That…that bastard." He clenched his fists and stood up to punch the nearby tree. Varrick yelled out in grief and in pain. Bolin noticed there were no leaves on the tree. There was no vegetation on this side of the hill at all. He sobbed and wiped his eyes again, and stood.

"Stop it. We have to go!" Bolin back peddled, hoping Varrick would follow. Varrick gave one last loud moan. He then took a breath and straightened his shoulders. The tears didn't stop.

"Ok," He started to run. Bolin fell into step.

The men ran full sprint to the city's outskirts. The chaos they had witnessed on the hill didn't do justice to the apocalypse that greeted them in the city. Survivors milled around in groups and individually with varying degrees of injuries. Maimed mothers and fathers hobbled around, screaming out their children's names. Children scrambled about naked, crying for parents and siblings, their clothes burned off them, leaving dark scars of the patterns of the fabric. Bolin paused before a little girl that had nothing but a scrap around her waist on. She was bleeding heavily from her right eye, her hand covering it as she whimpered.

"No," Varrick mumbled numbly. He had stopped crying, but his face was frozen in a grotesque mask of dirt, tears, and pain. "If they're this far out, they'll survive. We need to keep pushing to the center."

Bolin nodded and tore his eyes away from the girl as she laid her head in the dirt and closed her good eye, her weeping subsiding. They ran through the streets, pushing against the dwindling flow of people coming from the opposite direction. Bolin realized that wasn't a good sign. That meant the number of survivors that could walk towards help was very low. He calculated where the bomb had dropped. It would have destroyed both hospitals in the city. In fact, that was probably ground zero. All the government buildings were there too, including the Presidential residence. The police station was a ways off, but Bolin thought with a pang of fear that it was included in the radius.

After another fifteen minutes, they came to the first sign of rescue. A small first aid symbol had been scrawled in red on the side of a ruined building, and people were queuing. Bolin and Varrick pushed their way to the front. They saw the black robes of medics.

"Who's in charge?" Bolin shouted.

One medic looked up. He was bleeding from a cut in his cheek. "In charge? In charge of what? People are dying." He shoved Bolin out of the way to treat a man that was clutching his arm which Bolin wasn't entirely certain was still connected to the rest of his body.

Bolin turned to Varrick. "What do we do?"

Varrick scanned the crowd. "We either push to the center and see…well….and just see. Or we push to the harbor. People will be trying to get to Air Temple Island. It wasn't harmed."

"Center," Bolin declared and he started running again. After another five minutes, Bolin noticed they were no longer passing people. After ten, he slowed to a walk. They were only a few more minutes from ground zero, and Bolin couldn't help but gape in horror. Skeletons of buildings stood in eerie witness to the hell that was fired down in a matter of seconds. Bolin also realized in horror that the buildings weren't the only burnt corpses. The smell wafted up to his nose in sickening tendrils, and after a moment he couldn't take it anymore. He stopped, bent over, and openly vomited in the street. As he was coughing up the remains of his stomach, he looked over to the side and caught a glimpse of the shape of an adult size human and a child size human silhouette against a shop wall. Part of a child's shoe remained, a confirming clue that while parent and child had been vaporized, their echoes were etched into the stone wall, forever keeping their last moment in time. He gaged again, but there was nothing left but bile to spew out.

Bolin straightened and saw that on the other side of the street Varrick had done the same. He was wiping his mouth and looking at a similar spot with silhouettes in the walls. Looking down the length of the street, Bolin saw he would have to walk by scenes like this over and over. He didn't know how to make his feet move forward.

In the distance, a siren sounded. Some sort of official entity was at the hypocenter. Bolin and Varrick didn't say anything and just started running again. Bolin's feet felt heavy like lead. The dust and particles from debris and death grew thicker as they picked their way through rubble. Bolin saw a Sotomobile that looked like it was made of paper and a child had crumpled it and thrown it against the side of a building. The Triad hideout….Bolin reflected. In spite of who they were, Bolin hoped they weren't there at the time. No one deserved this death. No one.

"It was quick, though." Varrick said, cutting into Bolin's thoughts. He coughed up dust as they kicked up what must have been wood beams.

"What?"

"Their deaths." Varrick's voice was hollow. There was no sign of the emotion from earlier. "It's those we passed that you should pity. Not these here, close to the center. They didn't even know. No pain. No fear. Most probably didn't even see the light." He laughed bitterly. "Too bad. If that's one thing, the bomb did provide a pretty glow."

Bolin didn't see the humor. Varrick wasn't coping well. But neither was he, so he didn't see any reason to judge. They kept pushing on, following the sound.

Rounding the corner, Bolin saw only a few police vehicles, and even fewer officials in uniform. But there were others, crawling around the debris, searching for survivors. Bolin scanned the faces as they made their way around. His heart was pounding in his ears with fear, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Bei Fong! I have a radio working! Jurou has it!" Mako was standing next to a young man who was fiddling with a portable radio. He was covered head to toe in dust and dirt, and his police uniform was soaked in blood, but to Bolin's relief it wasn't Mako's. He looked unharmed.

"Mako," he tried to yell, but it came out in a whisper. He swallowed and tried again. "Mako!"

Mako turned, squinting into the reflected light of the dust, and his eyes widened. "Bolin!" The brothers ran to each other. Bolin slipped into a familiar hug and breathed in the smell of Mako's sweat. He couldn't help it but let out two sobs. Mako held him close, his hand in the back of Bolin's head, letting him expel his emotion without anyone seeing. After a moment, Bolin composed himself and pulled away, but the brothers still held each other's arms.

"How did you know?" Mako asked, wiping tears from his cheeks.

"General Iroh told me. The Dragon of the West. And then I felt it. Captain Lee is coming with the rest, they'll probably be a day behind us." Bolin took a breath before he could go on. Gathering composure, he asked, "How did you….how…."

"Survive?" Mako finished for him. "We had warning."

"What?" Bolin and Varrick said at the same time.

Mako nodded. "It was only minutes. But our contact let us know." He ducked his head shamefully. "Really, we raised the alarm, but were only able to get President Raiko out of the center." He shook his head. "I don't know about any of the council members."

"You have a contact? With Kuvira?"

Mako nodded. "Yeah. Contact has been there for a while." Mako sighed and rubbed his face. "Contact just isn't close enough. We knew just as soon as Contact knew. Bei Fong dispatched a team to get Contact out of there, they blew their cover getting us this information."

Varrick frowned, but didn't say anything. He moved over to let someone pass with equipment to break through stone.

"I should help with this," Bolin said. "But…what about the others? Korra?"

Mako looked at Bolin quizzically. "And Opal?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. They were all away. We," he motioned to him and Bolin, "are all ok. Everyone is fine."

Bolin nodded. "Ok," He took a breath. "Where should I dig?"

"Go over there. We've heard some tapping. Someone could be stuck below." Mako turned to Varrick. "There's a medic tent a few blocks back. They need all the people they can. Even if you can just put on a bandage…"

"I can amputate a limb," Varrick interrupted sharply. "I'm a genius, remember?"

Mako put up his hands in defense. "Whoa, ok. Just go."

Varrick turned to go but looked over at Bolin. Bolin nodded. Varrick swallowed and headed towards the tent.

"What was that?" Mako asked as he and Bolin rushed to the digging spot. Bolin could hear the tapping Mako was referring to.

"I don't know. But after a while bring him back. Ok?"

Mako nodded. "Sure. Hey Bolin?"

"Yeah?"

Mako pulled him into a hug. "I love you."

Bolin hugged Mako back. "I love you, too," he said muffled into Mako's shoulder.