𝔽𝕒𝕣𝕒 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 : 𝕀𝕣𝕠𝕙 𝕀𝕀 𝕩 𝕆𝕔

Chapter 51- Enemy at the Gates

"Are you sure we should be going to Zaofu? Dad wanted us to bring you back to Republic City," Jinora said, piloting Pepper while Korra, Ikki, Meelo, and I settled into the saddle.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Dad's going to be pissed. Especially with me!"

"If Kuvira's heading to Zaofu, so am I. She needs to know that the Avatar is back," Korra declared, shifting her gaze to the left, away from us. "The world needs to know."

Meelo, unable to contain his excitement, leaped to his feet, yelling as he balanced on the saddle. "Woo-hoo! Avatar fight! This is going to be awesome!"

"Calm down, dumpling," I interjected.

Korra smiled up at Meelo. "Meelo, there's not gonna be a fight. Kuvira saved my dad. She was a captain in Su's guard; I think she can be reasoned with."

"What? No fight? Why did we go through all that trouble to save you if you're not going to beat someone up?" Meelo exclaimed.

Ignoring Meelo's protests, we continued our journey towards Zaofu. Meelo, armed with a spyglass, enthusiastically shouted, "I see it! Zaofu! We made it!" The bison crossed over the ridge into the valley, revealing the Earth Empire's army below. "And a bunch of other people are here, too."

Korra stared down at the force. "Oh, no. I hope we're not too late."

Once on the ground, Su and her entire family were surrounded in her conference room. Suyin looked both relieved and worried. "Korra? I can't believe it, where have you been?" Suyin ran up and embraced Korra. "You disappeared; everyone was so worried!"

The twins rushed over to me. "Fara, where have you been? General Iroh has been calling nonstop! He said you and your siblings went looking for Korra, but he hadn't heard from you since; he almost stopped by here."

Korra cut in urgently. "We'll tell you the whole story later. Right now, I want to help you stop Kuvira. What can I do?"

Korra and Suyin stepped outside for a private conversation while I made my way to the radio room to contact Iroh. Tuning into the radio frequency, I initiated the conversation.

"General Iroh, this is Fara. Do you copy?" I spoke into the radio.

Iroh's voice came through the radio. "Fara, is that you? Thank the spirits you're okay. I've been concerned."

"I'm fine, Iroh. We found Korra, and things are under control, well sort of. How's everything on your end?"

Iroh sighed. "Relieved to hear that. Things here are... complicated. We've been getting calls that the Earth Kingdom is facing challenges from Kuvira's forces. We're doing our best to maintain order from afar; we're overseas right now."

"Yeah, we're in Zaofu right now; Korra's going to confront her. We'll head back Republic City as soon as we can. But I wanted to let you know we found Korra, and she's doing better."

Iroh responded, "That's a relief. Keep an eye on her. She's crucial in these challenging times. And be careful yourselves. Kuvira's forces are intimidating."

I faked an offended gasp. "Iroh, when have I ever been intimidated by someone?"

"Fara," he warned with his stern general tone.

"We will, Iroh. I promise. But is there anything specific you need from us...me?" I inquired.

Iroh hesitated, "Well... and... I miss you, Fara. It's been too long."

I smiled, "I miss you too, Iroh. This time apart has made me realize that we should never be separated."

As the radio conversation unfolded, Meelo snuck in and he couldn't resist adding his usual humor.