After three years, Kuvira has finally united the former Earth Kingdom states under her new Earth Empire! But one holdout remains: Zaofu. During that same time, Asami rebuilt the company her father created and helped redesign the city's infrastructure. And, most recently, the airbender kids found the Avatar! Korra rid herself of the residual poison in her body and is ready to return to action! But what's going on with her sister, Kitty? No one knows.
...
Kitty
"Raina!"
I wake up suddenly in a puddle of sweat.
Where am I? And who the heck is Raina?
I don't know what's going on, but it's time to leave this bed. The pain in my back is telling me I've been here for awhile. I force myself up and head to the mirror to see what monster I look like today.
Yikes!
My reflection is definitely not good, but what scares me the most is me. Not me me, the bloody cut up me. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't like it. This is frightening
I blink a few times. Good, she's finally gone. I start to detangle my hair and fix myself, it's just a distraction. I'm just seeing things, right? It's been a tough couple of years, and I'm probably just stressed. After this whole Kuvira fiasco is over, I'm taking a vacation. Maybe I'll visit the Fire Nation. Yeah, they've been unproblematic for awhile. Very healthy, very non war-like. It'll be great!
"Kitty!" Jade says as she and Bolin bust into my room.
"What?" I ask while still working through my hair.
"What do you mean 'what?' You're awake, that's what!"
"Of course I'm awake, why wouldn't I be?" I ask her.
"You've kinda been asleep for a week," Bolin tells me.
"What?" There's no way I was out for that long.
"You don't remember?" Jade asks.
"No. All I remember is the coronation and Kuvira not stepping down."
"Kitty," Bolin says. "Are you sure your spiritual-"
"No," I cut him off. "That ship has sailed, and I don't want to talk it."
"Kitty..."
"I don't want to talk about it!" I snap. "Please..."
"Ok, we're sorry," Jade says. "Well, come on. We need to get ready, and hurry."
"What, why?" I frown.
"We're going to Zaofu."
...
"Where's Kuvira?" I ask Dan, one of Kuvira's many employees.
"In the map room."
I need to talk to her. There's no way Su is giving up Zaofu. I'm a spy, and one of my jobs is to distinguish any problem that may be arising. This is a huge problem, because this will end in war.
"By this time tomorrow, my mother will have signed the treaty, and the Earth Empire will finally be united," I hear Baatar Jr. say.
Instead of going inside, I decide to listen by the door. They could be talking about something we don't know yet, it'll be smart to stay here.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Kuvira warns. "Securing your hometown won't be like every other city."
"Zaofu stopped being my home long ago. I'm ready to take it by force."
"The eyes of the world are on us now. We must do this right. That's why we need Bolin and Kitty," Kuvira shoots him down.
"Do you really think we can rely on them?" Baatar jr. asks.
"Su trusts them. She'll listen to them."
We'll see about that.
...
"Are ... we in trouble?" Bolin asks Kuvira.
This is not going to be pretty. Kuvira's whole army is here! And I'm not ready to talk to Su. I'm glad Jade and Bolin are here with me, but I really don't want to do this. Suyin and her family hate me and Jade! They knew how we felt about Kuvira and her plans. In their eyes, we betrayed them, and we're just as bad as her.
"No. In fact, I have good news. We want you three to be a part of our inner circle."
Jade and I look over at each other. Finally! We've been waiting so long to be added into the inner circle. Now we have access to information that'll take Kuvira down.
"Inner circle?" Bolin says excitingly. "No way! Yes! Isn't this great guys?"
"This is a great honor," I tell Kuvira, and Jade and I give her a respectful salute.
"You three have proven your worth," Kuvira tells us. "We're so close to uniting the Empire, but Su has some resentment towards me and Baatar that might cloud her judgment and stop her from making a wise decision. We believe you three can help her see clearly."
"We can do that!" Bolin exclaims. "By the time I'm finished telling her all the great things we've done, she'll be begging to join!"
"Good," Kuvira replies. "Because we're here."
Kuvira metalbends the shades on the windows up, letting the outside light pour into our car. I gulp. Sitting in the bottom of the valley below is Kuvira's forces. And I mean All of them.
"Aren't all these troops gonna send the wrong message?" Jade asks.
"The army is here to project strength," Kuvira explains. "You're here to present peace."
...
We're back in Zaofu, we're back in Zaofu, we are back in Zaofu. Ok Kitty, calm down. You're fine, you are fine.
"Um, Kitty. Are you ok?" Jade asks me.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you just said, 'We're back in Zaofu, we're back in Zaofu, we are back in Zaofu. Ok Kitty, calm down. You're fine, you are fine,' " Bolin tells me.
Oh, I said that out loud?
"Ok, I'm not fine. We're back in Zaofu, And Su and her family are in there. They hate us! I bet they're going to kick our butts the minute we walk in there."
"Kitty, they're not going to jump us," Jade says with a laugh. "Calm down, ok? Everything is going to be fine."
I breath in deeply, readying myself to go in there. I have so much anxiety right now. I know what Jade said, but they 100% hate me. Wing practically told me last time we spoke. I wish the floor would just swallow me whole.
You know what? I can do this. Let's just get this over with. I mean, who cares if they don't like me anymore? Who cares if they think I betrayed their entire family and am working with an evil dictator who is inevitably going to start another war? I'm not the enemy here. I'm trying to stop the enemy!
Let's do this!
I open the door with all the confidence in the world. And immediately I... Want to die. I just know I look like I just pooped my pants. Remember when I almost died because I jumped off a cliff to save my dad? I'd rather go through that a million times than be here in this moment.
"Opal! You're here, too!" Bolin says happily trying to hug her.
And so is Wei... and Wing. He's looking at me. Oh gosh, he looks so good! He's gotten taller. His hair is perfect. He stands there so confidently, and his muscles are so-
shut up, Kitty! Right now is not the time, even if he does look so so good...
I can't read him. I don't know if he's mad because I'm here, or because Kuvira and her troops are here. All I know is, he looks mad. He looks so cute when he's angry.
"You're drooling," Jade whispers to me.
Oh, crud!
I straighten up and look away. I need to focus. There's no time to rehash my past relationships.
"No!" Opal says angrily. "You've chosen your side, the three of you!"
"Sides? There shouldn't be sides," Bolin says innocently. "I know, why don't we all stand in a circle, huh? Maybe hold hands?"
"I'm not giving up Zaofu. I don't care if you brought your entire army," Suyin says to Kuvira angrily.
"Su, I didn't bring my army to threaten you. I wanted to show you all that your son and I have accomplished."
"You must realize what you're doing goes against everything your father and I tried to teach you," Su says turning her attention to Baatar Jr.
"Son, you belong here," Baatar Sr. says.
"Why?" Jr. asks bitterly. "So that I could go on living in your shadow?"
I don't get him. Excuse my language, but he pulled that excuse right out of his ice hole. And how dare he say anything about my relationship when he's marrying Kuvira who's absolutely insane! And am I the only one who thinks this is weird? Didn't Suyin raise Kuvira? Her and Baatar Jr. are practically siblings, bleh!
"Don't say that! Can't you see she's brainwashed you!" Su yells at her eldest son.
"Ha!" Kuvira laughs. "I didn't brainwash him! I set him free! And now he's accomplished more with me than he ever could with you."
I have to calm this situation. We can't just sit here awkwardly while Su and Kuvira are about to fight like mountain lions!
"Okay," I cut in. "Let's all calm down. There's a lot of personal, painful history here, and we need to push that aside for a minute and think rationally."
"Kitty's right!" Bolin agrees. "So what do you say we just all forget about that stuff, huh? I mean, that's the past!"
Bolin!
Jade and I both facepalm. I had it under control until Bolin opened his big mouth! I can't stand to see Suyin and her family like this, so divided. I wish I could say it all, but if I were to do that, Kuvira would lose her mind and for sure attack Zaofu today.
"Right Wing? Right Wei? You guys know what I'm talkin' 'bout, right? High five!" Bolin says to the twins.
He stands between the two, offering a high-five to them both a few seconds before giving up and smoothly sliding out of the way.
"Alright. No, that's cool," Bolin says as he walks away. "You know what I think we need to do? Focus on the future! And the future is bright, let me tell you! We've seen it! Yeah! Saw it last month! We went to this town that had nothing. Most of the people there had never seen a Satomobile before. Now, they have two Satomobiles, running water, and a magnet train that goes right through their town! I mean, how awesome is that?"
Bolin is good, he's wholesome. He's going to be crushed when he figures out that Kuvira has been lying the entire time.
"They might have been happy when you first arrived, but I've seen what happens after you leave. Citizens are forced to work as slave labor, dissenters are sent off to who-knows-where!" Opal explains to him.
"You're wrong, Opal! Now, I don't know what you think you've seen, but I am giving you the one-hundred-percent Bolin guarantee that we're making the Earth Empire a better place to live!"
"That's enough, Bolin," Jade tells him. He's making the situation worse.
Wing is looking at me again! I do nothing but look down at my feet. Suddenly the floor is the most interesting thing in the entire world.
"I can't believe you brought Bolin, Kitty, and Jade here to try and sway us. Leave! Zaofu will never accept you as their leader!" Suyin yells.
"Then you leave me no choice," Kuvira says darkly. "You have twenty-four hours to agree to join the Empire, or we take the city by force."
Everyone in the entire room explodes in a fit of rage, and I plug my ears trying to stop my head from ringing. I can't do this anymore! Everything is so loud. It feels like world is crashing down on me, and I can't hold it up much longer.
"You told me everything would be ok, Kitty! I can't believe I trusted you," I hear Opal say in the midst of everyone yelling.
"It's not the first time she didn't keep her word," I hear Wing say.
I begin to hyperventilate. Why me? I know what this looks like. They think I work for Kuvira, but I'm the least of their troubles, so why me? It isn't my responsibility to moderate world affairs, it's the Avatar's! Yet here I am, yet again, getting her out of trouble and being everyone's punching bag!
"Shut up!" Jade yells at him.
"Kitty? Are you ok?" Bolin asks worriedly. It's hard to hear him with all the yelling, and he sounds so far away.
"Give her some space!" Jade commands. "Everyone, shut up!"
"Kitty dear, are you ok?" I hear Suyin ask me.
No, I'm not ok! It'll never be ok!
Everything sounds so far away, yet so loud. I don't understand anything anymore. Since I was a child, I've tried to be the best person I can be, to always do the right thing. So why does it feel like everything I do is wrong?
I look around frantically. My eyes land on the figure in the corner of the room. She's back. She is me. But why is she here? I can't tell what's real and what's not anymore.
"She's gonna pass out, someone do something!" I hear Opal say.
And just like that, my eyes roll in the back of my head, and darkness engulfs me yet again.
...