The Earth Queen

"Light on your feet, Uncle Bumi. Remember, you want to be quick and evasive" Jinora instructed, currently teaching Bumi and Kai some airbender techniques as Asami watched from the sidelines with Naga, Pabu and Pichi. Above them, Elira was also watching with Tenzin, Korra and Zira beside her. 

"Don't worry about me, little lady. I've been in a scrap or two you know. Ha ha" Bumi chuckled, moving around with his hands up like a boxer

" Oh, you're just a youngster, so I'm gonna go easy on ya" Bumi smirked at Kai as the boy ran at him "Wouldn't want to hurt a kid--" 

Kai slid to the floor, and fired an airbending blast at Bumi's legs, knocking him to the ground. 

Above, El burst into a fit of giggles as Jinora and Kai helped Bumi to his feet. 

"Uncle Bumi, you've got to work on your stance changes" Jinora advised " Kai, that was just, really good." 

" Thanks, Jinora, you're a great teacher." Kai smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

Jinora smiled back, blushing before she helped her uncle away. Looking up, she saw her big sister smirking at her teasingly. 

"Shut up" She mouthed, scowling

 El held her hands up in defence, but her smirk never faltered. 

Bumi suddenly stopped, patting his body, looking for something.

" Hmm, did I drop my wallet?" He opened his coat, searching for it when Jinora started giggling at something behind him. 

Looking over his shoulder, Bumi saw Kai strolling casually past them, fanning himself with his wallet.

"Give me that, you little thief!" Bumi began chasing him around the deck as the kids laughed. 

"It's so exciting to be on a diplomatic mission to Ba Sing Se. What's the Earth Queen like?" Korra smiled 

"I've never met her, but I've heard she can be quite ... demanding," Tenzin replied 

"Demanding is an understatement" Zira rolled her eyes 

"You've met her Gran-Gran?" Elira inquired 

"Once. I went with the Gaang to meet her after her father died and she ascended the throne. But once was enough" The old woman scoffed and the others glanced at each other. 

Bolin suddenly ran to accompany them, swinging his legs under the railings in eagerness. 

"This is it, Mako! We made it! This is where Dad grew up! Come here! Look, look!" He exclaimed, grinning and Elira smiled softly at the child-like excitement in his green eyes. 

" Okay, calm down, I'm looking." Mako smiled, calmly joining his brother's side. 

"I wonder how many airbenders are down there." Korra shared an eager glance with El as they looked on in awe at the Outer Wall growing closer and closer. 

*

 The airship finally passed over the wall revealing the Lower Ring. It looked horrible. Smoke billowed from several buildings and the Krew recoiled from the smell, the two brothers holding their noses.

"Uhh, the Lower Ring looks terrible." Elira gagged 

"Yeah, I can smell it from here. No wonder Dad left." Bolin added, holding a hand over his nose. 

The airship continued to fly over the ring, before making it's over the Inner Wall and into the Middle Ring.

"Hello, Middle Ring!" Bolin shouted to the lush houses down below. 

The airship continued over the Middle Ring, before finally making it to the Royal Palace.

"Wow" Elira gasped in awe at the grand building. 

The airship slowly began its descent amongst other airships, landing with a slight cloud of dust and the party made their way down the ramp. A well-dressed Earth Kingdom man was waiting for them at the bottom. 

"Avatar Korra, Lady Azira and Masters Tenzin and Elira, it is a pleasure to welcome you and your party to the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. I'm Grand Secretariat Gun" The man welcomed, bowing. 

"Thank you." Korra returned the bow. 

"Aah, it's got that Upper Ring smell." Bolin grinned walking by with El, Pabu and Pichi on their shoulders with Naga and Oogi following behind them. 

"It's amazing" Elira added 

"Oh no, the queen hates animals!" Gun warned

"What? How could you hate a face this cute?" El held out Pichi who chittered and tilted her head with wide sparkling eyes, trying to act as cute as possible. 

"You'll have to get them out of sight." Gun continued, not at all swayed by Pichi's adorableness. 

El pouted and Pichi chittered in disappointment as Bolin scratched his head. 

"Well, I can just stash Pabu in my shirt, these two are going to be a little tougher" He pointed behind him that Naga and Oogi. 

"Come with me, hurry, I'll take you to your quarters," Gun said and began leading them away. 

*

"Now, when you meet the queen make sure you bow low enough, that's very important, and don't look her in the eye, she can't stand that. If any food is served, don't eat before she eats. Well actually, I have to taste her food first, then she eats, then you can eat. Better yet, just don't eat." Gun explained, leading the group over a bridge 

"Seems like an awful lot of rules." Elira crossed her arms, Pichi chittering in agreement on her shoulder. 

"Oh, you have no idea" Gun sighed in exasperation "And I'm the one who gets in trouble when people don't follow them, so please, please for my sake try not to upset Her Majesty" 

Elira noticed her grandmother looking around with a scowl. 

"Um, you okay, Gran-Gran?" She whispered 

"I'm fine, lotus flower. Just having a bit of deja vu is all" Zira's scowl turned into a soft smile when she turned to her granddaughter. 

"Of course! You and Grandpa came here years ago during the war didn't you?" Jinora cut in, grinning. 

"Yes, we did. I just hope your time here won't be as...difficult as mine was. But sadly by the looks of things, it hasn't changed that much" Zira's scowl returned, watching Gun continuing to list off all the rules they had to follow as her granddaughters glanced at each other and Jinora shrugged. 

" Here we are." Gun finally stopped, holding his arms out as they stood in front of a grand house 

"Ooh, very swanky." Bolin smiled, impressed. 

The group entered the house and spread out to inspect the various rooms. 

"Now, go in and make yourselves comfortable. And keep those animals out of sight in the backyard!" Gun turned to Bolin and El forcefully who still had their respective pets on their shoulders. 

The couple walked off in a huff and Gun turned to Korra. 

"Avatar Korra, if you'll follow me. We don't want to keep Her Majesty waiting." 

Korra began to follow Gun out of the house when Zira called out to her. "Korra, wait" 

"What's wrong, Zira?" She asked 

"Be careful when meeting the Queen. She's a horrid woman, not at all like her father. She only cares about herself and what she can gain from something " Zira warned

"I'll keep that in mind, don't worry" Korra promised and followed after Gun. 

*

Later that day, El and Bolin were laughing gleefully, Bo sprinting around the house carrying Elira on his back. As they were passing by the main room, Tenzin called out to them scoldingly. 

"Elira, Bolin, how many times do I have to tell you? No-" 

"Woah!" Bolin skidded to a stop but ended up tripping over the carpet sending him and El tumbling to the floor. Sitting up dazed for a second, the two quickly burst into laughter. 

"...Running" Tenzin finished with a sigh as Zira chuckled next to him. 

Jinora then walked into the room and Elira immediately noticed she looked a little worried. 

"Jinora, you okay?" She stood up, fixing her hair 

"No, has anyone seen Kai?" Jinora asked 

"Kai?" Tenzin stood from his chair 

"Kai? Where are you?" El called, now walking down the stairs with Bolin. 

"Kai, little bro?" He cried but received no answer 

" He's not over here." Bumi entered through one of the side doors.

"I don't think I've seen him since we landed," Asami stated 

"I knew that kid was no good. He was just waiting for an opportunity to run away again." Mako scowled 

"We have to find him" Jinora frowned 

Elira wrapped her arm around her sister comfortingly "We will, Jinora. He couldn't have gone far" 

"What's the point? He obviously doesn't care about us" Mako crossed his arms 

"But he's my new little brother. He's probably lost, and scared." Bolin argued 

"And he's just a little boy, Mako" Elira scowled 

"And he's our responsibility" Tenzin added "Besides, he's the only airbender we've recruited so far, we can't lose him." 

Mako sighed "Fine. Bolin and I will find him." 

*

A little while later, the two brothers were looking for Kai near a bridge as Upper ring people walked passed them. 

"Kai, did you go fishing? You under the bridge?" Bolin called 

Mako looked around for a moment before an Upper ring man cried out, catching his attention. The man's robes his robes were pulled for a few seconds by a gust of wind before coming back down. His hat also dropped and someone quickly picked it up--Kai! 

"Here, sir, let me help you." He smiled 

"Oh, thank you, young man. What a strange sudden breeze" The man fixed his hat while Kai circled him, fixing his robes and looking for anything precious. 

"Yeah, that was really weird." 

"Thanks for your help." The man walked off, not even noticing Kai slip his wallet into his bag. 

Mako narrowed his eyes "Kai!" 

The boy turned and noticed the brothers. He grinned at them before sliding away. 

"Get back here!" Mako yelled, chasing after him. 

"Kai, it's us. Mako and Bolin, your new family" Bolin followed after them. 

Kai skidded around a corner, and so did Mako close behind him. 

Turning into a busy street, Kai slid underneath a rickshaw, but Mako jumped to the side of the wall and leapt over it. 

Before he landed, Kai quickly barrel rolled to evade him and ran off down an alleyway. Mako was quick to chase after him. 

"Excuse me, coming through" Bolin squeezed his way between two rickshaws "Pardon me. Carry on." 

He grinned at the onlookers before running after Mako and Kai.  

They chased him to a monorail station in Ba Sing Se. Kai ran up the stairs to get away from Mako and got onto one part of the monorail while Mako got into another. 

As Kai brisked across the monorail, he ended up bumping right into Mako and hesitated. 

"What are you doing running around robbing people?" The firebender scowled 

" I was just practising my airbending" Kai grinned as Bolin caught up to them. 

"Yeah right. Let's go" Mako grabbed Kai by the back of his jacket "You're in big trouble." 

But Kai wasn't done. 

He slid out of his jacket and airbent the two brothers to the other side of the train! 

Everyone sitting in the monorail looked stunned as Kai ran out of the monorail, smirking while putting his jacket back on. 

Mako and Bolin ran to get off but the doors suddenly closed before they could. 

" Hey!" Mako banged on the glass 

Kai just smiled and waved at the brothers as the train left the station.

"Your little brother, huh?" Mako glared at Bolin 

" Yeah ... just a lovable little scamp, isn't he?" He grinned sheepishly. 

"Reminds me of my little brother." 

"Designated express line to the lower ring. Next up, Poh Kong Station." A man said over the loudspeaker as the train left the upper ring. 

*

The monorail finally arrived at Poh Kong Station, making a hard brake and stopped. As soon as the doors opened the other passengers practically shoved Mako and Bolin off the monorail. 

"All right. Let's see if we can catch a train back to the Upper Ring." Mako stated 

Finding the train they needed, the boys followed behind a woman onto the train but as they went to step on, the ticket master blocked their way. 

"Passports and tickets." He demanded 

"We can pay, hold on" 

The boys checked through their pockets, but couldn't find their wallets. 

" Where's my money?" Their eyes widened in realisation and they stared at each other in disbelief 

 "No, Kai wouldn't-- " Bolin chuckled but stopped when Mako glared at him. 

 "Aww, man" He sighed 

"Step aside, beat it you two" The ticket master shoved the boys away "Before things get ugly" 

Mako glanced to the side, spotting two Dai Li agents watching them. He looked back at the ticket master before turning around. 

The boys walked outside Poh Kong station and into the messed-up Lower ring street.

"The bad news is we're stuck here. The good news is you can go to the bathroom wherever we want" Bolin grinned, placing a hand on Mako's shoulder. "And when we're not back by nightfall, El's gonna know something's wrong and she'll come looking for us" 

Mako glared at his brother with a blank stare and Bolin released his hold on Mako, looking a little dejected.

*

Back in the upper ring, El was back on the airship with Korra and Asami, who was in the pilot seat. The Queen had ordered Korra to go and collect her tax money from a town and she asked El and Asami to go with her. 

"Are you sure we shouldn't have brought more people to collect the tax money?" Asami asked as they flew over the upper ring. 

"There are royal guards waiting at the vault. I doubt anything will happen. I think Her Majesty likes ordering me around. Zira was right. Calling her demanding is an understatement" Korra scowled, Elira beside her, cradling Pabu in her arms with Pichi on her shoulder 

"I'm starting to think maybe I should've stayed" The airbender muttered, watching the setting sun in worry. 

Korra placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly "I'm sure the boys will be back soon" 

"Yeah, and when we get back Bolin's gonna be there, waiting to sweep you off your feet" Asami added with a teasing smile. 

"I know, I know" Elira muttered as Pabu squeaked, licking her cheek as Pichi nuzzled her. "It's just something Gran-Gran said earlier. Because of the queen, she thinks Bai Sing Se hasn't changed that much since the war" 

"Is that why she seems so on edge?" Korra asked "She's worried history will repeat itself?" 

"I suppose so" El muttered "I just hope she's wrong" 

*

The next morning in the lower ring, the boys were sleeping in an alleyway. Bolin was covered in newspaper and Mako was sleeping next to the trash. Bolin woke with a yawn, sitting up with a groan. 

"Ohh man, aww I slipped a disc sleeping here. It's been a while since we spent the night in a trash pile" He reached behind him to remove a can from his shirt " It's about how I remembered. Except you know, without El here to give us food and stuff" 

"And I bet she and everyone else are freaking out that we've been gone all night" Mako stood up, brushing a banana peel off his head. 

"I'm worried about Kai; he's just a little kid out there on his own. He's probably really scared." Bolin sighed 

Later, the brothers were walking down a street when Bolin's stomach growled hungrily. 

"Fwoo, I'm getting really hungry" Bolin then spotted a fruit stand and gasped, looking at his brother " We might have to hustle up a little breakfast with the old, fruit stand scam" 

He gestured to the stand but Mako looked reluctant. 

 "Come on" Bolin grabbed his brother, pulling him over towards the food "You remember how it goes, I push you into the stand, you scream, I pretend to faint" 

"I don't want any part of it. Besides, look at this fruit" Mako gestured to the fruit which was buried, mouldy and had flies buzzing around it "It's disgusting. We don't want to steal this" 

"Hey, you trying to steal my fruit?!" A boy their age popped up from under the stand, pointing at Mako accusingly 

"No, I just said I don't want any of this rotten fruit," Mako replied 

"Oh, you're too good for my fruit?" The shopkeeper leaned over and rested his hand on a stack of apples, several of which collapse into mush under the pressure "This is the best fruit on the block." 

"So you want me to steal it?" Mako questioned 

"Just try me, buddy" The shopkeeper raised his arm and kissed his bicep" Go ahead." 

"I'm confused. Are we stealing the fruit or not?" Bolin asked 

"I knew it. Thieves!" Mako and Bolin turned to run but the shopkeeper jumped over his fruit and tackled them. 

"What's going on here?" An older man came up to them, holding a large bowl of apples. 

"Dad, these fruit thieves are insulting our fruit." The shopkeeper said 

The man looked down and took a closer look at the brothers. His eyes widened in realisation. "Bolin? Mako?" 

"How do you know our names?" Mako questioned 

"Yeah, I mean I'm famous so I get that, but how do you know his name?" Bolin added 

"You look just like San" The man grinned and the brother's eyes widened " Tu, you'll never believe who these guys are. They're your cousins! My brother San's kids!" 

The boys were in shock. They had unintentionally just found their family. 

*

Far away in the North Pole, Zuko, Azula and Shai, now accompanied by Tonroq, all entered the throne room where Desna and Eska sat slouched on their thrones. They perked up and stood when they noticed the group. 

"Lord Zuko, Uncle, this is a surprise," Desna said 

"Finally something exciting happens. Ruling the tribe is so tedious." Eska added 

"Then you should enjoy this. We need to check on a secret ice prison in the western tundra." Zuko declared and the twins smiled. 

*

 In the Lower ring, Bolin and Mako's uncle, Chow, was taking the boys to their family's apartment. 

"Your father sent us a letter years ago with your names, but that was the last we heard from him. Then we saw your pictures in the sports magazine with your bending team, and Bolin, we love those Nuktuk movers. They're hilarious!" Chow laughed as they stood outside the door. 

"Yeah, they're not really comedies, but uh ..." Bolin muttered 

"Yeah, I could probably be a pro-bender or an actor or something if I lived in a mansion in Republic City like you guys. You don't know what it's like on the streets. You got to be tough" Their cousin, Tu, flexed his muscles. 

"Oh, Mako and I grew up on the street" Bolin explained, " We were homeless, then we were kinda in a gang, then we lived in a gym, then we moved in with my now girlfriend..." 

Chow suddenly grabbed the two boys and threw open the apartment doors revealing a room packed with people. 

 "Hey everybody! Look who's here!" Chow shoved the brother's inside "San's kids: Mako and Bolin!" 

Their family smiled and got up to meet them. "No way" "Come in." "Welcome" 

An old woman emerged from the mass of people "Is it true? After all these years?" 

"Boys, this is your grandmother, Yin." Chow introduced 

"Aw, it is so wonderful to meet my long-lost grandchildren" Yin smiled and hugged them" Where is San and your mother?" 

Bolin and Mako glanced at each other sadly 

"Wait, you mean you don't know?" Bolin asked and their family's faces fell 

"...I'm sorry. They were killed when we were little" Mako revealed and tears welled up in Yin's eyes at the news. 

*

In an Earth Kingdom village in the desert, Elira, Korra and Asami were walking up to a building where the tax money was stored. Korra looked around aimlessly and notice the villagers quickly retreating into their homes. 

"I don't like the looks of this. Let's hurry up and get out of here" She stated 

They approached the vault and a Royal Earth Kingdom guard opened it "You here to pick up the tax shipment?" 

"Go ahead and load it on the airship" El pointed over her shoulder at their ship. 

Four Royal Earth Kingdom guards loaded the money into a cart and began bringing the tax money to the airship when out of nowhere a red flare was shot into the sky and they all looked up in surprise. 

Suddenly four motorcycles jumped up a ramp and two more accompanied a truck to the airship causing the Royal Earth Kingdom guards to run away in fear, dropping one sack of gold! 

"So much for our escorts," Asami muttered 

"Maybe we should have brought everybody else," Korra stated 

"You think? Why can't we just have a normal trip for once?" Elira sighed before the motorcyclists circled them and the sacks of gold, holding spears, clubs, and various other weapons.

"Step away from the gold ladies and you won't get hurt." The barbarian leader, a large man with dyed green hair and skull face paint, threatened. 

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we're taking this gold back to Ba Sing Se." Korra glared 

"Aww, we love gals with spirit, suit yourself." The leader then tried to kick Korra but she ducked and swiped the large man off his feet before earthbending at two of the motorbikes, sending them flying into the air.

 Other motorcyclists tried to retreat but Korra earthbent all of them, sending them also flying.  

One motorcycle charged toward Asami, but she charged back, jumped and knocked off the rider with a kick. 

 Another motorcyclist charged toward her but Korra quickly earthbent them away before they could attack her. 

One motorcyclist picked up one of the sacks of gold with his spear and tried to make off with it, but Elira suddenly appeared and airbent them off their motorcycle. 

Two more came at her, one from the back and one from the front. El stood still for a moment before smirking and twirling into the air on a spout. 

The motorcyclist failed to stop in time and crashed into one another causing the airbender to snicker. 

Asami charged again at one of the motorcycles and one of its riders attempted to attack her with his spear. However, she evaded with the backflip and stunned both people on the motorcycle, the one with the spear falling off the back. 

The leader got back up and tried to hit Korra with several kicks, but the Avatar did a roundhouse kick and earthbent him away again. 

"Retreat, retreat!" The barbarian leader scrambled to his feet and jumped onto the side of the truck. 

"You're on the wrong side of this fight, Avatar. That gold belongs to the people, not the Queen!" The leader yelled as they drove away. 

"Why do I get the feeling he's right?" Korra muttered, remembering Zira's warning about the Queen as they watched the barbarians leave. 

*

At a secret prison in the Western Tundra of the Northern Water Tribe, the prison doors were opened by the members of the Order of the White Lotus and Zuko, Azula, Shai and the rest of their group walked inside out of the raging blizzard. 

"Why didn't anyone tell us we have a secret prison we could have been throwing people in?" Eska questioned 

"I'd like to put my tailor in here. He never gets my cuffs right. They're so ... crease-y." Desna complained, fiddling with his cuffs. 

A lift came up and the fence gate opened as the group walked toward it. Climbing aboard, they began their descent down. 

"We built this place secretly with your father to hold a very special prisoner. She's a powerful firebender named P'Li who can create explosions with her mind" Azula explained 

 "Ironically, I hired a guy with a similar ability to kill the Avatar myself once" Zuko added 

The others just looked at him. 

"...Didn't work." 

"Thankfully" Azula sent a little glare at her brother "Or we'd be standing here one sister short" 

"I'm sorry, who was it that attacked the temple intending on "becoming an only child"?" Zuko shot back 

"Alright, enough" Shai cut in "I can't believe I'm still acting as peacemaker. That's always been Zira's job" 

"Don't feel bad, Lord Zuko. I tried to kill Korra after she and Elira ruined my wedding. I would've tried to kill Elira too but the end of the world was upon us and I got sidetracked" Eska added

"I beg your pardon?" Shai turned to the princess 

 "It happens." She shrugged 

"Let's just focus on keeping this woman in prison." Tonraq sighed as the lift stopped and the doors opened. 

Exiting the elevator, a deep chasm came into view with a prison, guarded by two White Lotus members, on the other side. The group stood at the front of an expandable metal bridge that was slowly being extended to the other side.

"The intense cold prevents her from firebending," Zuko explained

"There's certainly no way anyone's breaking out of here," Desna said

"That's what we thought about the other three prisons," Azula replied as the bridge approached a cell guarded by two sentries.

 Inside, a woman was chained up shivering. This was P'Li

"There must be something exciting going on" She looked up as the retractable bridge stopped extending " No one interesting has visited me in thirteen years. " 

"Don't get used to it." Tonraq glared 

"He's out, isn't he? Mmm, I'm feeling warmer already" P'Li smirked 

*

Back in Mako and Bolin's family home, everyone was grouped around the table, eating.

"This is so great! We never had a family before. Now we've got one, two, five ... eleven ..." Bolin tried counting all the people in the room but there were just so many 

" ... a big family! Yeah!" He grinned 

 "So boys, are you dating any nice girls back in the city?" Yin smiled at her grandsons

"Well, Mako isn't, but as for me..." Bolin sighed dreamily, leaning on his palm, thinking about El "She's more like an angel. She's so sweet and fun and she smells like flowers" 

Yin beamed at him "Oh, she sounds like a wonderful girl" 

"She is, Grandma" Bolin smiled softly 

"So, who is she?" Chow smirked,

Bolin didn't answer, now lost in thought about the airbender, so Mako explained for him. "Her name's Elira. She's one of Avatar Aang's grandchildren"

"Wait, hang on" Tu cut in, snapping Bolin back to reality "There is no way that you know Master Elira, let alone get her to go out with you" 

"It's true, we've known her since we were kids. She helped us out a lot when we were on the streets" Bolin explained 

Tu just scoffed in disbelief "Oh yeah? Well if you two are so close, what's her favourite animal?"

"All of them" Bolin immediately answered

"Her favourite food?"

"Zira's homemade mochi" 

"Her favourite colour?!" 

"Blue. Specifically sky blue. Says it reminds her of flying" Bolin smiled 

Tu glared suspiciously "And how do we know you're not making all this up?" 

"I'm not!" 

"Okay, Tu, that's enough of that" Chow interrupted his son's interrogation. 

"So why did Dad leave Ba Sing Se?" Mako asked as Tu crossed his arms scowling. 

"Oh, he always had big dreams. He couldn't wait to get out and see the world. Your grandfather thought it was ridiculous. He wanted San to stay home and work the fruit stand. But San was determined to leave, and they had a huge fight.  And that was the last time they ever spoke" Chow explained before noticing Yin's looking away upset " Oh, um ... sorry, Mom." 

The old woman turned back to her grandsons and stood with a small smile "Come with me. I have something to show you." 

*

Yin brought the boys into a separate room where she took out a box from a cupboard and sat down on the couch. 

"This is the only letter we ever got from San" She smiled taking a letter out of the box "It says he married a beautiful girl from the Fire Nation and had two wonderful sons" 

Yin gestured for them to sit beside her and she showed them a picture from the box "He sent this picture of you all on his birthday."

Mako and Bolin's eyes widened. It was a picture of them and their parents when they were young. Mako stood in front of their mother while Bolin was seated on their father's lap, not paying attention to the camera. 

"Look, Mako! Dad's wearing your scarf!" Bolin smiled 

"I'm so sad that I never got to meet your mother" Yin turned to look at Mako" But you have her eyes. I know from looking at you two that she must have been a wonderful bride for my boy" 

Bolin sniffed and wiped away tears as Mako looked downcast. 

Thinking for a moment, he then took off his scarf and draped it around his grandmother's neck" I'm sure they would want you to have this." 

Yin smiled, hugging him tightly and Bolin quickly joined in.

*

The girls had finally returned from their little trip and Korra had gone to talk to the Earth Queen. Surprisingly El had decided to join her, wanting to see for herself just how bad this woman was.  

The two now stood in the throne room with Gun while the Queen sat on her throne scowling at them. 

"Your Majesty. The Avatar and Master Elira have returned with the tax payments" Gun announced 

"Finally. Secure it in the vault." The Queen scoffed 

"It's being done as we speak," Gun replied

"So now, Your Majesty, if we could start meeting some of the airbenders here in the city? That'd be great" Elira smiled. 

"The Dai Li thoroughly searched the city, but it seems your reports were incorrect. There are no airbenders in Ba Sing Se. So, you can gather your little band and be on your way tomorrow." The Queen waved them off 

Korra glared at the Queen while El narrowed her eyes in suspicion. They had had countless reports that there were airbenders in Ba Sing Se. Too many for them to be "incorrect"

"You make us do your dirty work extorting your own citizens for your stupid palaces and topiaries and then you just want to send us away?" Korra snapped " We're not going anywhere until we find some airbenders! We know there are some here!" 

"Get them out of my sight!" The Queen snapped 

Gun began to lead the two girls out but El suddenly turned back and pointed at the Earth Queen, inadvertently knocking Gun down.

"This isn't over! We're going to find the airbenders!" She declared before storming out of the room with Korra. 

*

Back in the lower ring, Bolin and Mako were having dinner with their family. 

"You know, San would've been so proud of you guys! Travelling the world with the Avatar? He would've loved that!" Chow grinned as Bolin shovelled food into his mouth. 

"We actually need to get back to the Avatar in the Upper Ring. We're supposed to be helping her find airbenders in Ba Sing Se." Mako smiled but his whole family just gasped in horror. 

"What? What happened?" Bolin looked around confused 

"One of our neighbours started airbending about a week ago. A couple days later, two Dai Li agents come out of nowhere and snatch him up. No one's seen him since." Chow explained 

"They say the Earth Queen's locking all the airbenders up somewhere, and using them for experiments," Tu added 

 "Tu! Don't talk like that about Her Majesty!" Yin scolded, standing up to bow and blow a kiss at a portrait of the Queen on the wall "Long may she reign." 

"We have to get back to the Upper Ring and tell El and Korra" Mako declared 

The brothers stood up and began to leave but not before Bolin grabbed a stack of buns "I hope Kai is okay." 

*

El was sitting outside on the porch that night. The boys still hadn't returned and she was worried sick. Hearing the door close behind her, she looked over her shoulder and spotted her sister. 

"Hey, can't sleep?" She asked 

"Not really. Still no sign of them?" Jinora came over and sat beside her 

"No, and it's been a whole day" Elira sighed "If they're not back by tomorrow morning, I'm going out to look for them" 

"I'll go with you, maybe we'll find some airbenders while we're at it" Jinora replied

"I don't think so, Jinora" Elira scowled "I think the Queen is hiding something. I think she knows where they are, she just doesn't want to tell us. Gran-Gran was right, that pampered poodle monkey is only interested in helping herself" 

Jinora giggled at the nickname before looking up at the sky "You think they're okay? The boys?" 

"I hope so. Wherever they are" El muttered, leaning back on her hands "So, what's going on with you and Kai?" 

Jinora's face went bright red and she turned away "Nothing" 

"Are you sure? Your face says a different story" El smirked teasingly, nudging her sister's shoulder

"You know what? I'm actually really tired. Goodnight!" Jinora sprinted back inside the house. 

"She's got it bad" Elira laughed to herself 

She stopped and perked up suddenly when she noticed a figure quickly walking down the path past the house. It was Gun! And he seemed in a hurry. 

Elira narrowed her eyes "Where are you going?" 

Getting to her feet, she took off after the man. She made sure to stick to the crowds or shadows, ducking every time Gun turned his head. 

Finally, he suddenly turned into an alleyway. El watched confused for a second before following, spotting the man standing in the middle of the dark alley. 

"Hey, Gun?" She called making the man jump "Fancy seeing you here? What you up to?" 

Gun turned around with a guilty expression 

"Master Elira..." He muttered "I'm so sorry" 

"For what--?" Elira gasped, spotting a Dai Li agent over Gun's shoulder, standing at the end of the alley. 

Turning she spotted another blocking the path back.

"I knew it" She muttered before both Dai agents fired rock gloves at her, Gun ducking to the ground. 

Elira jumped, running along the wall and over one of the agents. Landing behind him, she took off running. She needed to get back to the others. She had to warn them. Problem was, she had no idea where she was! 

Sprinting around another corner, Elira yelped as her wrist was suddenly caught by a rock glove. The force slammed her into a nearby wall, trapping her. 

Another rock glove soon followed, trapping her other wrist. She struggled to break free and glared at the two agents as they approached from the shadows. 

*

The agents took El deep beneath the city. They forced her to change into a raggedy outfit before throwing her into a dark cell where many other people were already trapped. 

 El flipped back onto her feet, glaring at the two agents. 

"Welcome to Her Majesty's army, First Airbending Regiment. From now on, you live to fight for the Earth Queen." One of them said 

"I'll never serve a spoilt selfish Witch like her!" Elira snapped 

"You will" And with that the door slid shut, leaving her in darkness.