She got her first good look at the city, which was still far off into the distance. After hours of traveling the air ship couldn't get there fast enough. It would be Korra's first time traveling to Ba Sing Se to do her first "official" avatar business. Earlier in the week, she had been visited by high ranking White Lotus sentries informing her that the Earth Queen needed help dealing with some of her citizens. They weren't too specific with her, just that they were causing disturbances and that the military's presence was not enough to dissuade them.

Accompanying her were three other order members, two of which had been her earth and fire bending teachers. They were far more experienced with this kind of situation and would be aiding her. After everything that had happened with the Equalist movement, Korra was grateful that she would be getting help.

She cringed, remembering everything that had happened nearly a month ago. After Amon had been exposed and seemingly disappeared, she spent the majority of her time restoring people's bending. Several times, Korra had thought that she had found everyone but then one more would arrive at Air Temple Island begging her to help them.

She had also gone to search for the remnants of the Equalist movement, hoping to help them find a solution to their plight that didn't involve forcibly debending anyone. But with Amon gone, the remaining members seemed to have disbanded. She felt awful about the way everything with them had ended and the words "You're our avatar too!" had continued to haunt her.

The order had told her that she had handled the situation well. Amon had been stopped and the city had been, for the most part, at peace. They were looking to replace the city council with an elected president, but Korra still felt like more could have been done.

Korra was near her earth bending master, Sheng. She had known him since she was a very young child and now she was nearly as tall as him. He was the one of the few people in the order that she knew to be a metal bender. He was around Lin Bei Fong in age and Korra often wondered who the better metal bender was.

"What exactly does the queen want me to do?" Korra asked Sheng.

"Her citizens in the outer ring have been rioting." Sheng replied. "She is preparing to use physical force to stop them. However, she thinks that your presence may quell the riots."

Korra frowned and folded her arms. "And how exactly?"

"You are the avatar, the citizens are aware of the power that you possess and what you represent." Sheng said.

Korra wasn't convinced. Her presence had done nothing to stop the Equalists movement. It was doubtful that the same would be true for whatever was happening in Ba Sing Se.

"Why are they rioting?" Korra asked.

"The lower ring is a haven for criminals. It is only expected that they will cause trouble." Sheng explained. "If things get too out of hand when we are there you may have to use your avatar state."

Korra sighed. The only time she had successfully gone into avatar state was right after Aang had restored her bending. Any time after when she had attempted it, she had lost control and had gone on a rampage. Last time, she nearly destroyed an entire section of Air Temple Island, much to Tenzin's displeasure.

Not wanting to discuss it she changed the subject. "So what is the Earth Queen like?"

Sheng winced. "Well, she is… very particular about certain things and she can be very intimidating." He stuttered. "You can let us handle her."

Sheng looked over at Inari, who had been Korra's fire bender master. Inari was sitting back and reading a book, clearly bored with the ride. Inari tucked some of her graying hair behind her ear and did not bother looking up from her book. Korra thought she saw her rolling her eyes.

The other sentry with them, Jian, a large burly man who was a nonbender but was very skilled martial artist approached them. "She's a pain in the ass." He laughed. "But don't say so or you'll be thrown into one of her prisons."

Sheng sighed and shook his head. "Listen, she likes to have things her way, it is best not to challenge her." Sheng continued. "You will make her very angry and it is already difficult to get on her good side."

"Doesn't sound like a very good queen."

"After everything that the Earth Kingdom has been through, it needs a strong leader." Sheng glared at her. "The Earth Queen is very good at enforcing her laws and she will not back down to any resistance. Her father was practically a pawn to his court and the Earth Kingdom did not recover under his rule because there were too many people making decisions. Queen Hou-ting has stabilized most of the Earth Kingdom and their economy recovered greatly when she came into rule."

Korra shrugged still not convinced. It was pointless to argue with Sheng. He always had to be right and always had a quick rebuttal for any argument that she brought up.

"We're getting close; you should change your outfit." Sheng said.

Inari went with Korra to help her fix up her hair. Korra could put up her hair on her own but she figured that Inari just wanted to get away from Sheng. She understood why, Sheng had a tendency to go on and on when he started to talk.

"The queen is very quick to anger." Inari spoke while brushing Korra's hair. "It's best that you let her do most of the talking. The less time we spend with her the better."

Korra nodded sighing.

"Let's also be quick in the lower ring." Inari said. "That place is filthy."

As they entered Ba Sing Se, Korra went out to the deck to get a closer look at the city. She gagged as they flew over the lower ring and attempted to hold her breath. A dark colored smoke obscured most of the ring and she could barely make out anything below it. She understood why Inari didn't want to be there too long.

She was relieved when the air ship had passed into one of the inner rings. The smoke cleared up and Korra could finally get a good look. The city itself was very beautiful and she couldn't help but look in awe at the various business districts, greenery, and houses. She had already started to make plans to return someday for a visit with her friends.

Then the palace grounds came into view. Never had Korra seen such a large compound. It could easily house and entire small town. The palace itself was a very large and elegant building. She couldn't help but wonder what Asami would think of it.

When the air ship landed, they were greeted by the grand secretariat, named Gun, who led them to the entrance. Korra found herself way to distracted by the aesthetic of the grounds. She wanted to stop and look at the shrubbery that was trimmed into the shape of various animals but Sheng, Inari, and Jian were trying to hurry her along as they had arrived later than expected.

The inside was just as beautiful. Gold lined the door ways, elaborate paintings decorated the walls, jewels hung from chandeliers; there wasn't a spot that was looked over. It was like something she had read in a story book.

Because of the size of the palace, the walk to the throne room was a workout itself. They walked quickly through several halls, passing some areas that were under maintenance. When they had finally arrived at the throne room Korra had to catch her breath.

The queen was sitting on her throne and Korra slowly walked forward. Several Dai Li stood on either side of her. She felt her stomach start to churn as she got closer; the sentries being right behind her were of no comfort. She quickly bowed once she was close enough to the queen.

"Avatar Korra." The queen said.

Korra lifted her head and gave a small smile.

The Queen had a completely straight face. Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "You're late."

Korra felt her face drop. "Um… we…"

"We're sorry." Sheng spoke over Korra. "We were delayed back in Republic city.

"And it's only by ten minutes!" Korra jumped in. She looked to see both Sheng and Inari side eying her.

The Earth Queen stood up. "Listen, I have a very busy schedule, I do not have time to wait around for meetings. I'd send you away and reschedule, but I really need this problem dealt with." The Queen continued. "Am I correct in that you have heard about the riots that have been happening in the lower ring?"

"Yeah." Korra responded forcing herself to make eye contact.

"I have stationed more Dai Li and military down there, but that is not enough. They have attacked several of my soldiers and they are becoming a danger to them." The Queen informed. "Recently, some of the inhabitants have managed to get into the upper ring and have disturbed the people that live there." The queen paused looking her up and down. "I need you to put a stop to this."

"Of course." Korra said forcing a smile.

Korra rested her head on the window of the monorail that would be taking her, Sheng, Inari, Jian, and a group of about ten soldiers that would act as their bodyguards, to the lower ring. She wanted to deal with the issue as quick as possible so that she could leave the city. Never had she thought that she would piss off the queen before she had even arrived.

The monorail came to a stop and Korra hesitated to breathe as she stepped out. She remember the smell from up on the air ship and it was far worse now that she was on the ground. Her eyes also burned as there was smog everywhere.

As they walked, she saw many windows boarded up and most of the buildings had cracks and holes within them. Every so often she would see a factory which was spewing out smoke. Korra didn't have to see one to know that they were getting close. Her eyes would burn worse and she would start coughing.

There were soldiers on every street corner all looking as though they would rather be anywhere else. Most of the citizens seemed to be avoiding the soldiers save for a few that looked to be doing some kind of a business deal.

She passed people sitting outside with cups and hats in front of them that held a few coins. Many of those people were coughing, some were covered in rashes. Korra shivered when she walked by one lying on the ground unmoving. More heartbreaking were the people she saw with young children and infants. Korra started to walk over to give them some coins but was quickly stopped by Sheng.

As she walked further, she saw two children searching for food in one of the garbage cans and couldn't help but be reminded of Mako and Bolin. The food those children were looking for was not much better than the fruit and vegetables that she saw vendor selling. All of it had reached a stage that she could never imagine eating.

"I don't see any riots." Korra finally said looking around. She wasn't sure of what to make of it all.

"They don't happen all day." Inari said. "They are probably grouping up for another one later tonight."

They walked further where they saw a woman standing up on what looked like a makeshift stage with a very large crowd of people gathered around. It reminded Korra of the Equalist rallies back in Republic city.

"and these walls will one day come down!" The person finished and many people cheered. She jumped off the stage and walked into the crowd.

"They're rather bold." Jian said smirking. "Right out in broad daylight."

"Those are probably the trouble makers." Sheng looked at Korra. "Looks like they are all gathered up for you. Why don't you go address them."

Korra sighed and pushed her way through the crowd, Sheng, Inari, and Jian following. She bumped elbows with several people who looked unsure of what to make of her. Korra realized that her formal attire looked way out of place among people wearing rags.

When she was finally on the stage she looked out onto the people. Most were standing around talking and others had already started to leave. A few had children with them and others were looking at her curiously.

Korra cleared her throat. "Um hey, I'm the avatar." Her voice was shaking. People started to turn to turn their attention to her. "The queen has sent me."

Several people started to groan but they looked at her waiting for her to speak. Korra having no idea what she was supposed to say quickly recalled everything the Queen had told her.

"She has said that there has been riots happening here… and they need to stop, violence is not the way to solve your problems. And I really don't want to have to get too involved in this." Korra wanted to shake her head at how unconvincing she sounded and she really wished that she had rehearsed something beforehand.

Many people in the crowd rolled their eyes and others started to leave.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" A voice yelled. "We work all day for very little and the queen is always raising taxes! Most of us can't afford to feed ourselves anymore!"

Korra gulped. She hadn't been aware of that. "Listen," She continued and scrambled for something to say "I know this is all upsetting but I'm sure you can find another way." She wanted to smack herself and wondered what the hell she was doing. From what she had just learned, the people had every right to be angry. She looked at the soldiers that had come with her; all were now surrounding the crowd of people. She couldn't help but wonder why they had trouble handling all of this.

"Why are you siding with her!" a young girl maybe around Korra's age yelled. "You have no idea what is going on down here!"

The girl, nearly in tears, took a deep breath and then yelled, "You're the worst avatar ever!"

Before Korra could say anything one of the soldiers rushed at the girl, grabbed her arm, and started to drag her away.

"I thought you would have known better!" The soldier yelled yanking her along violently. "You are fully aware of who that is!"

Korra noticed that the girl was limping and that her legs had make shift braces. "Wait!" She called after them. "That's not necessary!"

Sheng put his hand on Korra's shoulder. "Don't, you don't want to appear weak in front of them. You cannot let anyone disrespect you like that."

Korra wanted to argue but she knew Sheng would shut her down immediately. She didn't even know what to say or do at this point. The crowd was already thinning and the people that remained just glared at her.

When the crowd dissipated, Korra and the others headed back to the monorail station. She hung her head low hating everything that she had just done. She then caught a glimpse of one of buildings with the words "Long Live The Revolution" spray painted on.

When she was finally in the monorail, she sat with her head buried in her knees.

"That was awful." She said.

"Don't worry, I think they got the idea." Jian said smiling. "And if not, you can always go back and showcase your power. That should convince them to stop."

"I don't know." Korra said. "I feel kind of bad for interfering. Are they really not getting paid much?"

"Anyone can do those jobs that those people are doing. You get paid what you're worth." Sheng rolled his eyes. "And for all we know, that man just wanted more money."

"They said that the queen keeps raising taxes?"

"The Earth Kingdom is still recovering from the Fire Nation occupation years ago. Those high taxes are needed." Inari chimed in.

"But she lives in that huge palace!" Korra straightened herself up and raised her arms as she spoke. "Why does she need their money? The people in the inner rings seem to be doing fine. Why can't she just raise theirs?"

"Well it's not fair to only tax some of the citizens." Jian responded. "And you need to watch what you say. You may be the avatar but you still need to abide by the kingdoms laws while you're here. If we weren't in a private car you could have gotten every passenger arrested."

Korra slumped back into her seat and folded her arms.

"Korra, you can't save everyone." Jian smiled at her. "It's wonderful that you want to, but that's not realistic. We understand that you're young and that it's easy to let your emotions cloud your judgement, that's why we're here to help you."

Korra sighed and looked out the window. Any disagreement she had with the order always came down to age and lack of experience.

"What's going to happen to that girl?" Korra asked. "The one the soldier dragged away."

"Don't think about that." Sheng responded. "She knew the consequences."

Korra avoided talking to Sheng, Inari, and Jian for the rest of the ride by staring out the window. The city itself was still amazing to look at and seeing it up close on the ground was far better than up above. Then the palace came into her view and she suddenly felt sick.

After returning from Ba Sing Se, Korra sulked unable to get her mind off of everything that had happened. It had felt like the Equalist debacle all over again. She had to stay a few days in the Earth Kingdom in case anymore riots had broken out, but nothing of the sort had happened. She was only happy that they had put her up in one of the guest houses and that her interactions with Queen Hou-ting were limited.

Most of her time was spent walking the palace grounds. She saw other large buildings being built on the compound. Korra wasn't sure if they were supposed to be more houses or government buildings.

When she finally arrived back at Air Temple Island, she tried to talk to Tenzin about what she had seen in the lower ring. Tenzin only told her that he had no business getting involved in Earth Kingdom affairs and that she'd have to take it up with other members of the order.

When she tried to talk to other members, she only got the same answers that Sheng, Inari, and Jian had given her. And as expected, she was told that she was still too young to understand or that she was letting her emotions get in the way.

She even talked to the Grand Lotus, Tashi and he had the same responses. Korra even suggested putting in a new system of government and Tashi shut her down immediately, telling her that there was no reason to change a system when the old one has worked for centuries and that even attempting to do so would be much more complicated than she realized.

"You need to support the leaders of the world. That is what's most important." He said. "Or we could have another huge war similar to the hundred year's war."

She wondered if the order was right, that she really did not understand this stuff. She didn't want to cause them too much grief. Growing up they had given her anything that she had wanted. Some had said it was for all the hard work she had put in to master the elements and others simply said it was because she was the avatar. So Korra tried to forget everything by distracting herself with her air bending, which she had only recently mastered, and by hanging out with Tenzin's kids.

Neither were helpful. She could barely concentrate on her air bending, unable to even get through the airbending gates. The airbending kids didn't help much either. Meelo and Ikki were very active and being around them only reminded her of the children she saw in the slums. Jinora always had her head in a book, insisting that she had to study. When she wasn't reading, she was off meditating. Korra had tried to meditate with her but her mind would always quickly wonder to something else.

"You're the worst avatar ever!" interrupted her thoughts one night when she was trying to get to sleep.

You're absolutely right. Korra sighed. She no longer cared about the order's reasoning; she was going to find some way to help those people.

The thought of going against the order scared her. They had connections to every world leader and she had no doubt that they would try to stop her. She hadn't mastered the avatar state yet and one of the top skilled members would be enough of a challenge for her. If she were to go up against several alone, she'd easily be defeated.

She couldn't turn to anyone for help. Nearly every adult that she knew was heavily involved with the order including Tenzin and her father. Her father would be furious if he even knew that she was thinking about going against the orders wishes. He would also, rightfully, never get involved in Earth Kingdom politics.

Korra had thought about just running to the lower ring and joining their revolution, but that would be the first place the White Lotus would look to find her. She started to wish for a counter organization to the White Lotus. There had to be some people out there who were unhappy with them. But she had never heard of any rival organization and even if there had been one, the order never would have let it stand. They viewed themselves as necessary to keep the world at peace and any organization that stood against them would be seen as a major threat to the world.

Frustrated, she tried to get in touch with her past lives to ask for advice. The last time she had seen the previous avatars was back when Aang had taught her how to restore bending. She had no such luck contacting them again.

She remembered the stories about Avatar Aang. How by the time he was thirteen, he had traveled the world, met many different people, learned about many new cultures. Aang had asked the White Lotus to protect the next avatar, which they did, but they also kept her away from the world. They had insisted that she master all the elements at a young age. There were weeks when she wouldn't see either of her parents and when she would beg to see them, she was told that they'd be a distraction.

Thinking about it, she could have learned far more had she traveled. It didn't seem to make much sense that she had to be raised in a compound. She easily could have learned to master the elements while visiting the different nations. The high ranking members were all supposed to be among the most talented benders and martial artists in the world, there was no reason that they couldn't have protected her.

She wanted exact answers though. One night, after his children had gone to bed, Korra approached Tenzin.

"Tenzin, I need to ask you something." Korra began.

"Of course, what is it?" Tenzin set down the book he was reading.

"Why was I raised in that compound? I remember reading about Avatar Aang and he had already seen much of the world by the time he was my age."

Tenzin breathed heavily. "After you were discovered we wanted a place to keep you safe where you could learn to master all the elements. And it was for the best, right before we moved you into that compound, a very small group of people tried to kidnap you."

Korra's eyes widened never having heard that. "Do you know why?"

"No one knows, we interrogated them for years and not one of them would talk." Tenzin explained. "The only information anyone got out of them was that they really disliked the order." And then, completely misinterpreting Korra's troubled expression, he finished with, "But don't worry, we have them locked away in specialized prisons that they can't possibly escape."

"And they did this right before I went into the compound?"

"Yes, someone must have gotten word that you were going to be raised there." Tenzin said. "Thankfully, we had gotten our own tip. Can you imagine what would have happened if you were raised by the wrong people?"

"I think I can actually." Korra mumbled. "So where are they being kept?"

"I only know of one." Tenzin began. "His name is Zaheer and he is being kept in a small prison way up in the mountains near the eastern air temple. Don't worry, no one will ever find him."

"What about the others?"

"I don't know exactly where, but one is in the Northern Water Tribe, one is in the Fire Nation, and one is out at sea."

"Okay thank you." Korra said and left.

So there were people out there who disapproved of the order. She didn't know what to make of the kidnapping, though it did seem a little convenient that it happened right before she had gone to live in the compound. Maybe they were part of a larger organization that she had wished existed.

No. She thought shaking her head. I shouldn't even consider that.

Still a few days passed and she couldn't keep her mind off the possibility. Not even thinking up all the ways that it could go wrong was enough to convince her otherwise. The truth was, if she wanted to separate herself from the order, she was going to need support from others who felt the same.

Wouldn't hurt to at least talk to them.

Knowing that she was going to need help, Korra went to meet with Mako and Bolin in the pro bending locker rooms. If anything, they could at least offer her a perspective that most people she knew could not.

She hadn't seen Mako in Bolin much in the last month. Following the Equalist conflict, she and Mako had decided to hold off on starting a relationship. It had already caused so much drama among team avatar that they both decided that it would be better to remain friends and patch things up with Asami first.

"Well if she is raising taxes, it's not surprising that the people would start rebelling." Mako commented. "Especially if taxes were already high to begin with. And if their living conditions are as bad as you say, the people are probably fed up with everything."

"She does sound terrible." Bolin agreed. "I don't think the people are wrong for what they are doing."

"The White Lotus doesn't want me to do anything about her." Korra folded her arms and leaned up against the lockers behind her.

"But you're not supposed to right?" Mako questioned. "That's not supposed to be your job?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Korra then looked down at the floor. "One of Avatar Aang's greatest accomplishments was that he removed Fire Lord Ozai from power and ended the Hundred Years War. Here I am supporting a tyrant and crushing protests. Who knows what I'll do next." She looked at the two brothers. "You agree that she needs to go right?"

"Well... ideally, yeah, as long as someone better took her place." Mako said.

Bolin nodded in agreement. "Is there anything that you can do?"

"I want to distance myself from the White Lotus." Korra began. "I guess they're good at keeping the world at peace but I don't want to support any ruler that harms their people."

"So you're going rogue?" Bolin looked confused. "I mean, we'll support you but that sounds like a huge responsibility."

"Yeah, you don't want to accidently create more problems." Mako pointed out. "I mean this stuff is can be very complicated. Do you know of anyone else who has issues with the order?"

Korra bit her lip. She had no clue how to make any of what she was about to say sound like a good idea. "Well I might know of a few who take issue with the White Lotus but I've never actually met them."

Bolin and Mako looked at each other, and then back at Korra.

Korra took a deep breath. "I asked Tenzin why I was raised in that compound." She began. "And he told me that thirteen years ago, four criminals tried to kidnap me shortly before I was moved there. And that seems like a bit of a coincidence. They were interrogated but all the order could get out of them was that they really did not like the White Lotus."

Mako crossed his arms. "Wait; please don't tell me that you want to run off with those people. Do even know what they wanted with you?"

Korra frowned having already predicted Mako's reaction. However, Bolin looked at a bit uneasy too. "I'm not just going to run off with complete strangers. But I do want to talk to them. And if I'm comfortable with what they have to say, I'll break them out."

"What makes you think they are going to tell you anything? If they were interrogated for years why would they suddenly talk to you?" Mako asked. "And if they do, how do you know that they aren't lying? These people could hurt you."

"If they don't want to talk then they can stay in prison." Korra said. "If they do decide to tell me anything… that's why I need you two. I need people that I can trust with me that are not connected with the order. And Mako, I know that you are far better at reading people than I am." Korra then gave them a small smile. "So are you both in?" She finished with "I'm going whether or not you two come."

Bolin looked as though he were about to say yes but then he looked at Mako.

"Do you even know where these people are?" Mako asked sighing.

"I kind of know the location of one, it's it the mountains near the eastern Air Temple." Korra said. "The others I only have a vague idea."

Mako put his forehead into his palm and Bolin watched with a small smile. After a few moments, Mako finally looked at Korra.

"Well there is not much going on here. The pro bending season has ended. I did plan to enter the police academy but… someone has to watch your back." Mako said a bit resigned. "We can at least see what the one guy has to say."

"Alright so we're breaking out criminals! …maybe." Bolin said a little too excited.

Korra smiled, "Thank you." She ran forward and gave them both a hug.

"What about me?" The three jumped, unaware that they were not alone in the locker room.

Korra turned around quickly to see Asami standing in the doorway and looking very hurt. "Asami! I didn't know that you were there!"

"I went to visit you at Air Temple Island and I was told that you were here meeting with Mako and Bolin." Asami said walking towards them. "Why wasn't I invited? Aren't I a part of team avatar?"

Korra looked away. "I'm sorry, I knew that you were going to be dealing with your father's business and I didn't think that you would want to do this with us."

Asami frowned. "There are others who are capable of running Future Industries in my absence." She paused. "And besides, that prison is very far away from here, how do you plan to get there? I can get us an air ship."

Korra looked at Mako and Bolin, both who stared back at her with blank expressions. The thought just occurred to her that no one would just hand them an airship nor would she even know how to operate one. It was also doubtful that Mako or Bolin would know.

"If you do decide to break these people out of prison, where are you going to take them? It won't take long for the order to notice and you'd be on the run." Asami continued.

"Um…" Korra paused. She was realizing that this could have turned into one big road trip. "I really hadn't thought of that far."

Asami sighed. "My dad has a house out in a very secluded place that he bought years ago. It's about an hour away from the nearest town by car and only family knows of it. If you decide to break these people out, we can take them there."

Korra blinked. Asami had nearly everything figured out in less than five minutes after over hearing the plan. Korra hadn't even thought of the next step.

"I'm so glad she's on our team." Bolin smiled. Korra fully agreed.

Mako shifted his weight between his feet. "I really hope we don't regret this."

The week leading up to the prison break, Korra, Mako, and Bolin had met with Asami several times to be briefed on the plan. She had set up transportation to the Northern Water Tribe but noted that they didn't know exactly where the prison was and depending on how far away they were from the arrival point, could mess with their tentative schedule. Then she said that they could have difficulty getting to the waterbenders prison depending on where in the Fire Nation in was located. Asami also said that they were going to need actual coordinates for the earth benders prison. Her only suggestion was that maybe the information was in the prison office.

Korra had told Tenzin that she would be going on a trip with her friends to a beach in the Earth Kingdom. Tenzin was already taking his family to the Northern Air Temple for some sort of spiritual get away during that time. His family had left the day before Korra and once they were gone, she left a note in his study.

Tenzin,

I'm sorry but I need to figure some things out. I'll be on my own for a while. Please do not come looking for me. I'll be safe with my friends.

Korra

She purposely had kept the letter as vague as possible. Because she had completed her air bending training she was no longer obligated to live at Air Temple Island. She did feel a little guilty that she wasn't telling Tenzin goodbye in person, but had she done that, Tenzin mostly likely would have told her that she was still too young to go off on her own and ask her why she couldn't figure out things at Air Temple Island. Korra also imagined that he'd suggest that she meditate to find her answers.

The day they left, she arrived at the airship hangar at sunrise riding on Naga. They had already planned to take Naga and Pabu to the vacation house before going to the first prison. Bolin and Mako arrived shortly after with Pabu, dragging themselves along and yawning. Asami went over a last minute check list of their inventory and then announced that they were good to go.

Before Korra boarded the airship, she approached Asami. Mako and Bolin had already gone in and were waiting.

"Asami are you sure you want to do this?" Korra asked. "I mean, we could be gone for a few months."

Asami sighed. "After everything that happened last month with my dad… I just need to get away."." She paused and looked away from Korra. "Don't worry, everything here will be fine. Future Industries is aware that I will be taking an extended leave of absence."

"I'm really sorry about everything." Korra said not only referring to her dad's arrest.

Asami then looked up and smiled. "Anyway, I have the opportunity to work with the avatar. Why would I not want to go?" She then turned to face the air ship. "We should get going. We have a lot of traveling to do and we don't want to waste any hours."

Hours later, they were flying around the mountains nearest to the Eastern Air Temple. Asami flew the air ship around until they spotted a White Lotus symbol down below. There were only two small buildings that they could locate along with a landing pad and they figured that it must be the prison.

Several guards came rushing at them when Asami landed the air ship. This was expected but it still managed to be intimidating.

"Open up right now!" One yelled. "And tell us why you're here!"

Asami opened the door to the air ship and Korra stood right at the entrance to greet the guards. The guards relaxed once they had seen Korra. Though they still looked very uneasy.

"Avatar Korra!" One of the guards said saluting. "We didn't get word that you would be coming here!"

Korra cleared her throat and did her best to sound as confident as possible. "There must have been some mistake; the order should have told you that I would be visiting." Korra tried not to laugh at how fake she sounded. Luckily the guards seemed to be buying everything.

"Our apologies." Another guard said bowing. The rest quickly followed.

"Don't worry about it." Korra gave a small smile.

"Anyway, I'm here to speak with Zaheer. I have some questions for him." As she stepped out of the airship, Korra suddenly found it harder to breathe and felt a little light headed. Mako and Bolin soon joined her and they had the same reactions.

The guards looked at each other and then back at Korra and her friends.

"Korra, you know who he is right?" The first guard asked.

"Yes, I am fully aware." Korra replied.

The guards all exchanged nervous glances before looking back at her. "We'll bring you right to him."

She followed two of the guards with Mako at her side. Mako had insisted on going with Korra because he wanted to hear everything that Zaheer had to say. Bolin and Asami would stay with the air ship, not wanting to leave it unattended. The entire ride on the airship, Mako had paced around and mumbled to himself and would ask Korra if she was absolutely sure that she wanted to do this. They all agreed that Mako should go if anything, to help with some of his anxiety.

Korra shivered as they approached a metal bridge that was extending across a gap towards a small building. She wished that she had brought her coat. The constant wind didn't help matters. Mako had his arms wrapped around himself despite wearing long sleeves.

"That's the cell." A guard pointed at a small building. "I hope you don't mind heights."

Korra stepped onto the bridge and looked over the side. The ground was obscured by closely packed tree tops that looked like a field of grass from the height they were at. Without an airship, no one could have gotten up that high.

Mako looked a little nervous as he crossed the bridge as the wind seemed to pick up once they had stepped on. "How many prisoners do you have here?" He asked.

"Just one." A guard answered. "This prison was built specifically for him; he needed to be kept somewhere hidden."

"Is he a bender?" Mako looked at the prison.

"No but he is a very skilled martial artist." The guard said. "Don't underestimate him."

"He'll probably start talking about some kind of philosophy with you." Another guard laughed. "And he'll start quoting some long dead air bender if you stay too long."

When they had gotten to the end of the bridge, she looked over to Mako. "Stay here; you're close enough that should still hear him."

Mako looked as though her were about to protest, but then nodded. As grateful as she was that Mako had come with her, she did worry about him taking over everything.

A metal bending guard opened the solid doors of the prison. As they opened, Korra saw that it had been completely dark inside.

"You know the drill Zaheer." A guard said once the door was opened wide enough.

"Of course." A voice inside said.

Korra's eyes had to adjust. The prison design itself had disturbed her and it pained her to know that the organization that raised her had built such a place. She looked back at Mako who seemed to be as uncomfortable as she was.

She then saw a man in tatter rags standing up, facing the back wall, with his hands on the back of his head.

"You have a visitor today." The guard said and then he looked at Korra. "We won't be too far away. Yell if he's too much."

Once the guards were across the metal bridge and out of hearing range, Korra spoke to Zaheer. "You don't have to do that." She said. "You can face me."

Zaheer relaxed his arms and turned around. He had to squint when looked towards the door to the cell. Once he had seen who she was, he walked over to the bars.

"So the avatar has decided to visit me." He said sitting down and then gave a half smile. "Now this is interesting."

Korra blinked. "You know who I am?" She tried her hardest not to look away. He obviously hadn't bathed or had done any sort of grooming in the past thirteen years. From what she could see of the cell, neither would have been possible.

"I've heard quite a bit about you from those that I have spoken to in the spirit world." Zaheer responded. "Last I heard-"

"Wait you can enter the spirit world?" Korra interrupted stepping closer to the cell. She herself was still trying to enter and she hadn't known many people that could. No matter how often she and Tenzin practiced, neither could get in.

"It's not exactly difficult." Zaheer shrugged and then glanced back into his cell. "And I had no intention of spending the rest of my life just sitting in here."

Korra nodded. She wondered if the other three were being kept in similar prisons and if they could also project into the spirit world. It would have at least made prison more bearable.

"I never expected them to send you here to do an interrogation." Zaheer changed the subject. His expression went blank and he broke eye contact with her. "I never thought that they would be this desperate."

Korra frowned and then crossed her arms. "I came here on my own. The rest of the order doesn't even know that I'm here."

"Well now I'm curious, what would make you want to come all the way out here to talk to me?" Zaheer gave a small laugh.

"About a week ago I asked my airbending teacher, Tenzin, why I had to be raised in a compound." Korra began. "And he told me that thirteen years ago you and three others tried to kidnap me right before I went -"

"If you're trying to convince me that this is not an interrogation, you're not doing very well." Zaheer interrupted shaking his head. "What information did you think the White Lotus wanted?"

Korra felt her face flush. She wasn't intending on that being a question. Still, perhaps she could have worded it better.

"I'll only tell you this." He continued still not making any eye contact. "We had our reasons and it was far more complicated than what you were probably told."

"I think I might already know." Korra said. "You and your friends didn't want the avatar raised by the White Lotus right. I mean, Tenzin said that none of you had anything good to say about the order."

Zaheer looked up and around at his cell. "I would be lying if I said that I didn't have some issues with them."

"I actually do too." Korra said. Zaheer suddenly seemed more attentive and a little caught off guard. "A couple of weeks ago they sent me to Ba Sing Se to help the Earth Queen deal with a rebellion in the lower ring. I was only told that the citizens were rioting. But when I got to the lower ring… well I wanted to side with them. The conditions that they were living in were awful and the queen keeps raising their taxes."

Korra stopped to catch her breath. "I tried to talk to the order about the queen but they gave me so many reasons why I couldn't do anything about her, not even talk to her. I don't understand why they would be okay with what she's doing."

Zaheer voice softened. "After the White Lotus began to serve the Avatar as well as the leaders of the nations, they slowly started to only concern themselves with people that they considered important. They think of them themselves as absolutely necessary to keep peace in the world, and as you saw, would rather crush any resistance rather than deal with the underlying cause. " He curled his lip as he finished.

Korra nodded. So far she felt that everything was going well. "I'm going to distance myself from them." She said. "I can't really help people if I'm going to be used to keep a tyrant in power. And I guess… well I want to be everyone's avatar."

Zaheer's eyes widened and he gave a small smile. "Well I am impressed, I thought for sure that they you would have been a pawn to them by now." He looked past her to the lookout towers across the bridge. "But you know that they would never let you leave right? You're a very powerful ally to them."

"I know." Korra sighed. "In a few weeks, they will know that I'm gone. And I wanted to know if you were part of a larger organization? I mean, there had to be more than four of you right?"

Zaheer closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "If I were to tell you there was I'd be putting people in danger. Sorry but I can't answer that."

Korra breathed starting to feel a little impatient. The wind was picking up and she wanted to be back in Asami's air ship. "I'm not exactly going to tell the White Lotus. I mean, I just told you that I wanted to leave them."

"I realize and you sound genuine. But for all I know, this was all set up. If it is, the order has become strangely self-aware or very desperate, but I won't take that risk."

"I'm serious when I say that they did not send me here," Korra ran forward and gripped the bars. "In fact, my friends and I actually came to break you out!" She glanced back at Mako to see him turned away from her shaking his head.

Zaheer just stared back at her. "Wait what?"

Korra breathed calming herself down. "I need allies who feel the same way about the White Lotus. So I came here to talk to you to see what you had to say and if I liked it, my friends and I would break you out."

Zaheer still didn't look like he believed her. He seemed to be trying to rationalize the entire thing.

"Do you want out of her or not?" Korra then asked. "I can get you out of here easily."

He finally spoke. "Well I really didn't expect this, but I don't understand, why would you ask help from a group that that tried to kidnap you? That seems… very reckless. You don't even know what we wanted."

"You're the only people that I could even think of who would have a problem with the White Lotus." Korra replied. "And I'm the avatar, I have all the elements mastered." Korra folded her arms. "They'd be no match for the avatar state." She tried her best to keep a straight face and wasn't quite sure if he bought it.

"Now do you want to come with us or not? I mean I don't know why you'd want to waste your life in there."

"We'll get my friends out too?"

"Yeah, we planned on it."

"Then I'll go with you."

Korra smiled and then used her earth bending to bring up a large rock. She smashed it against the lock of the cell. Zaheer quickly jumped away from the door, clearly not expecting her to use that method. The sound was loud enough to possibly alert the guards if they hadn't already been observing from the watch towers. The lock was broken and Korra pulled the cell door open.

"They didn't teach you metal bending?" Zaheer's eyes were wide as he looked at the broken lock.

"No, they said that I had to learn the basic elements first."

Zaheer shrugged and walked out of his cell. The guards were already on their way.