A/N: This is kind of a weird transition chapter.

P'li sat down in the bar stool feeling sore and exhausted. It had been a long day finding and contacting members of the Red Lotus to see if they had any information and her head was hurting. She still hadn't located Zaheer, Ming-hua, or Ghazan. However, someone did give her the name of another Red Lotus OP who may know something and she was planning to meet them tomorrow. She had to write everything about the meeting down. Lately she had been becoming forgetful. She would get up to go do something then almost immediately forget what it was that she was going to do and it horrified her each time it happened. If she could find just one of her friends, things would become much easier.

It was tempting to go to either the north or south pole and enter the spirit world through one of the portals. Zaheer was surly spending his imprisonment there and if she had found him he could tell her where he was being kept. But she was almost certain that both portals would be heavily guarded.

The bar tender grimaced when he saw her face. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Accident." P'li answered glancing away.

"So what do you want?"

"Something strong." P'li answered resting her arms on the bar top.

She felt the beverage tingle on her tongue and slightly burn the back of her throat. The place was mostly empty with only a few other customers. She paid no mind to those staring at her.

"Does anyone know what happened to the queen?" She heard a woman's voice ask.

"I don't think so." A man's voice answered. "All I know is that it was a group of revolutionaries. A very small group."

"Whoever it was, I can't thank them enough." The first voice was especially bitter. "I only wish they had gotten there sooner, my son died not long before. He got sick and we couldn't afford the medicine."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Taxes were already too high and they were raised again. My brother and his friends tried to get the money back after the last collection, but they were stopped by none other than the avatar and her friend." The woman then sighed. "Even if he did get the money we would still have to choose between medicine and food."

The man looked at her sympathetically. "Well let's hope that whoever takes over isn't nearly as bad."

P'li then stood up having heard enough. Before she left, she turned to face the woman.

"The name man who took down Queen Hou-ting was Zaheer." She said and started to leave.

"Hey aren't you going to pay for your drink!" The bar tender called after her.

P'li stopped and then turned and set money on the bar top.

"Wait… you know what happened in the palace that day?" The woman asked.

P'li ignored her and kept walking. She couldn't risk anyone finding out that she was among the revolutionaries and she was sure that someone would figure that she knew too much if she had stuck around to explain what had happened.

Months had passed and Ghazan hadn't found a way out. He had a few suggestions but Ming-hua told him that they could not make any escape attempts unless they were sure that they could be 100% successful. Any failure would result in serious consequences; the best not being allowed outside and at worse, being taken by the White Lotus.

Ghazan socialized with other inmates at times. Ming-hua did a little but most of them just wanted to know why didn't have any arms. So she and Ghazan would make up their own stories about what had happened to her, each getting more extreme the last, never telling anyone that she was just simply born without them.

Inmates didn't say in the prison long. Most were not even Zaofu citizens but people passing through and attempting to raid the city. The average prison stay was about a month and with the increase in the amount of bandits in the area, the prison was becoming more active. Most of them had been unaware of how heavily guarded Zaofu was.

Bolin would visit them often. They were very disappointed when he later joined the military led by Kuvira with the intent to help unite the Earth Kingdom. They had learned that Kuvira was calling herself The Great Uniter and was basically taking over rule of the Earth Kingdom. They both predicted that the Earth Kingdom would turn it into a military state. They were also concerned with the military having a lavabender in their ranks. Ghazan did assure Ming-hua that he hadn't taught Bolin everything that he knew.

Months went by and their lives became routine. During their time together, they mostly reminisced about the past. They would talk a little about what they were going to do once they got out, but they had to be careful not to be overheard. Once they had gotten themselves out, they would then have to do the more difficult task of finding out where the White Lotus had Zaheer imprisoned.

"So where do you think they put him?" Ming-hua asked one day. She and Ghazan had been watching some of the other inmates when the thought crossed her mind.

"Underground." Ghazan answered, knowing exactly who she was referring to. "And probably in a metal cell. They're going to make sure that no one can get in there."

"Do you think he still thinks about her?" Ming-hua asked remembering the change in Zaheer after he had gained flight. How empty and cold he had become within less than a day.

"I hope so. After everything those two had been through I would hope that he wouldn't just throw it all away." Ghazan looked away from her as he spoke. "P'li doesn't deserve that."

The days became predictable. Prisoners came and went. On days that were overcast, Ming-hua was kept inside and she would sit and anxiously wait until the next time she could go out. One week, it had rained every day and sitting in her cell for those days was agonizing.

Ghazan once suggested that they find a more private place outside to get more intimate. Ming-hua promptly reminded him how close they were being watched and that she was not going to become an exhibitionist. They had seen some of the bolder inmates get very cozy with each other and they were always stopped by the guards before things went too far.

Anytime Ming-hua was back in her cell she'd eavesdrop on the guards waiting for them to talk about what was going on in the world. Ghazan would do the same and they knew that Kuvira had taken over much of the Earth Kingdom and that she had soldiers stationed in several towns and cities. This was going to make breaking out more complicated. Word would spread fast that they had escaped and they could never go to any place under Kuvira's control. Knowing where Zaofu was in relation to Republic City, they managed to work out a path that they would take when they eventually got out.

More months passed and they still hadn't found a way out. Zaofu's prison was just too secure. The prison staff was also very good at controlling how much water Ming-hua was given and if she even looked at the water fountains outside, the guards would approach her and demand to know what she was planning to do. It didn't look like they were ever going to get out. One day however, Kuvira's army arrived at the gates of Zaofu.

A/N: So basically, I needed time to pass. I didn't expect it to take seven chapters to get to this point. But I finally got here. Next chapter might be another flashback because I can't think of another place to put it, and I may post two chapters at once.