The next day, El was standing watching an airship prepare to land at Air Temple Island, the Air Acolytes pulling the airship in with ropes, with her family, Bolin and Korra, Bolin with his arm around her shoulder.
The airship landed, and the doors slid open revealing Asami inside. "Did someone order a fully equipped Future Industries airship?"
"It's perfect! Thanks, Asami." Korra grinned
"I figured if we're going to Ba Sing Se to search for airbenders, we should do it in style." Asami smiled, coming down the ramp.
"Yay, airship!" Meelo cheered
" I wanna see!" Ikki jumped on an air scooter, zooming up the ramp
"C'mon, Poki." Poki climbed onto Meelo's head, who then made an air scooter and followed Ikki into the airship.
"I best make sure they don't break anything" Zira chuckled and started up the ramp after them
"While you guys are gone, Pema, Ursa and I will hold down the fort," Kya said as Ursa picked up Rohan from Pema.
"Who's excited to spend some time with your Auntie Ursa?" She cooed, bouncing the baby only to have him vomit onto her dress.
"Aw, he likes you." Pema smiled as Ursa grimaced in disgust.
Kya just laughed, waterbending the vomit off of Ursa as Mako suddenly approached the group.
"Mako, I'm so glad you're here." Korra smiled
"Of course, Korra. Avatar. Avatar Korra," Mako then stood very straight, speaking in a very professional tone. "Once I received your message, I proceeded to contact various locations within the Earth Kingdom as ordered by you, the Avatar."
" Right, the Avatar thanks you for your loyal service", Korra smirked sarcastically as El came up to them.
"Did you find any more leads?" She asked
"There are reports of airbenders popping up all over the Earth Kingdom. I marked the villages on this map" Mako took off the map, which was slung over his shoulder, and handed it to the airbender. "You guys can take it with you."
"Wait, what? You're not coming with us?" El asked, looking confused
"Yeah, I was kind of hoping you could come, too," Korra added
"Really? Uh, it's probably better if I sit this one out." Mako looked away
"I know things have been weird between us since we broke up, but you're a part of Team Avatar, and we can't do this without you." Korra pleaded
"I'm sorry, I can't." Mako walked away, the girls and his brother watching him.
El suddenly scowled, giving the map to Korra and waving over her shoulder, "Bo, come on!"
"Right behind you" The two joined hands and took off after the firebender.
" I'll miss you, sweetie." Pema kissed Tenzin on the cheek
"I'll miss you too. Once we find the airbenders, I'll send word. You can join us at the Northern Air Temple then." Tenzin smiled at his wife.
Ikki and Meelo suddenly came down off the airship on their air scooters, visibly disgruntled with jealousy.
"Hey! How come El and Jinora get to go with you, but we don't? That's so not fair!" Ikki crossed her arms, scowling
"Yeah! What this girl said! Not fair!" Meelo added
The adults glanced at each other.
"Because if airbenders show up here, they're gonna need some guidance from the two of you. It's a very important job." Kya said, and the two kids smiled.
"Really? Me, a teacher? Yay!" Ikki cheered, jumping and spinning in place.
"Those maggots will bow to me!" Meelo exclaimed
"Go easy on them, son." Tenzin chuckled before turning to Pema again. "Well, at least those two are excited about teaching."
"Tenzin, El will come around eventually. Just give her time" Pema placed a hand on his arm
"I hope you're right", Tenzin muttered
*
Mako was walking down the dock back to the city when El's voice called out, "Hey, dunderhead!"
"Mako, wait a sec," Bolin added, running beside her.
Mako turned to them, frowning. "El, you and Korra already asked; I can't just leave Republic City. I have a life here and a job."
"A life? You sleep under your desk," Elira scowled, hands on her hips
"And what's a more important job than helping the Avatar rebuild an entire civilization? Our best friend's civilization," Bolin questioned, gesturing to Elira.
"It's not just that. I feel like I've been drifting apart from everyone" Mako turned away and faced the city.
"Well, drift back! You're the brooding firebender of The Krew. We need you!" El argued
"C'mon Mako, we're going to Ba Sing Se, where Dad grew up. What if I meet our grandma for the very first time, and she asks me" Bolin began imitating an old woman "Where's your sweet brother?" and I have to say, "I'm sorry, Grandma, he had some really important police paperwork to file", and she starts to cry those grandma tears, and is like" He grabbed his brother's shoulders, imitating his grandmother again "Mako! Why? Why? I can't go on, I ca--", and then she dies."
"Okay, all right, I'll come with you" Mako pushed Bolin off him and sighed " I guess I gotta call Beifong. She's not going to be happy."
Bolin and El grinned at each other before high-fiving.
"See, I told you it would work", El laughed, jumping onto Bolin's back as they began walking to the temple.
"You two are impossible", Mako scowled as the two just continued snickering.
*
"Bye! We'll miss you!" Meelo yelled, waving along with his family as the airship began leaving Air Temple Island.
The others waved back through the green-tinted glass window of the airship. On deck, Naga put her head over the railing and allowed her tongue to hang out as she felt the wind on her face. Oogi came up next to her as Pichi jumped onto her head, both doing the same as the polar-bear dog.
Inside the ship, the group sat around a table with the map in the centre of them.
"As of now, these are the towns where we've gotten reports about airbenders" Mako gestured to the map, which had red dots scattered across the earth kingdom " It looks like we can hit up most of them before we get to Ba Sing Se."
"We're going to bring the Air Nation back from the brink of extinction after nearly two hundred years." Korra smiled
"And it's all because of you, Korra." Zira looked at the Avatar proudly.
Later that day, El was exploring the ship with Pichi. Sprinting down the corridor and around the corner, she ran right into her father!
"Oh...Hey, Dad" She smiled sheepishly as Pichi landed on her shoulder
"Elira, what has your mother told you about running inside?" Tenzin scolded
"Well, technically, she said no running inside the house. She never said anything about airships" El grinned cheekily, and Tenzin went to argue but stopped, realising she had a point.
"Alright, you got me there." He sighed as Elira giggled. "But I'm glad I found you. We need to talk about something important. Something regarding your future."
Elira's eyes widened in panic "Um, actually, Dad, I kinda promised that I'd--"
"Whatever it is can wait a few minutes", Tenzin stated, and Elira's shoulders slumped. "Now, from speaking with your mother, I know you're aware that I want you to help teach and guide the new airbenders. And one day take over---"
"No", El cut him off
"What?" Tenzin looked surprised
"I'm not doing it, Dad." Elira scowled, and so did Tenzin
"Elira, I'm not going to be around forever, and someone needs to take over from me once I'm gone."
"And why can't that someone be Jinora or something? She's way more cut out for it than I am."
"You are the eldest, it is your birthright!"
"Well, then I give up that right!"
"Elira, you can't just "give it up"! This is what you have been preparing for your whole life!"
"No, it's what you've been preparing me for my whole life!" El snapped, "I won't go through with this! You can't make me!"
"Elira!" Tenzin yelled as his daughter stormed past him.
*
Miles away, on a large boat made entirely of wood in the middle of a seemingly endless ocean, two White Lotus sentries stood in the two guard towers built to watch over the single wooden cage on the main deck.
Inside the cage, a man with long black hair and blue tattoos on his back and arms was doing pull-ups using the wooden braces of his prison.
The sentries then noticed a speed boat decorated with the White Lotus emblem and colours heading toward them.
"Finally. Our shift change is here." Two more of the sentries sighed, having had enough of being on the boat.
They made their way over to the stopped speed boat, but to their surprise, there was only one White Lotus member in the vessel.
"Hey! Where are the other guards?"
The White Lotus sentry in the speed boat looked up and revealed his face.
" Zaheer?!"
The two sentries shot streams of fire at the man, but he airbent over their heads and knocked them overboard with a sweep of air.
As more sentries started coming out of the guard tower, Zaheer blasted two more into the water.
A third sentry waterbent at Zaheer, but he dodged out of the way, quickly avoiding another firebending blast as well, as the man inside the cage tried to watch what was happening through the many wooden beams.
Zaheer avoided another waterbending attack by jumping on top of the wooden cage.
As he jumped down, he threw a handful of rocks into the cage, and the man grinned.
A sentry fired multiple fireballs at Zaheer, but he knocked him back into the ship railing before launching himself up onto the platform between the two guard towers, ducking out of the way of another fire blast.
In his cage, the man earthbent the rocks in a constant circle, heating them to the point where they became lava!
Forming a five-pointed shuriken with it, the man sliced through the wall of his prison and kicked a section of the wood out, knocking down one sentry.
He knocked down another before jumping to avoid a water stream and sent the last sentry overboard.
Standing up, the man and Zaheer clasped hands.
"It's nice to see you again, Ghazan." Zaheer smiled
"Thanks for busting me out" The man, Ghazan, replied, "Where did you pick up the new skills?"
"I have Harmonic Convergence to thank for that. I was given a gift. I believe it's a sign that our path is a righteous one." Zaheer smirked
*
After their argument, El stood on deck with Korra and Jinora, trying to help Bumi airbend again. Asami and the boys were watching from the sidelines while Tenzin watched from the upper deck.
Zira came and stood next to him with a small smile.
"I take it your talk with Elira didn't end the way you hoped?" She said
"I blame you. Stubbornness. It's entirely from your side of the family," Tenzin scowled
"Now, now, Tenzin. It's not just from me. You should've seen your father when we tried to get him to learn firebending," Zira chuckled
Tenzin sighed, lowering his head. "I don't know what to do."
"Speak to her, Tenzin"
"I do speak to her, but she doesn't listen", Tenzin huffed
"Hmm, one thing you have in common", Zira muttered
"Ever since she was a girl, I've tried to teach her everything on how to be a leader. Taught her all she needs to know about our history and culture," Tenzin continued, either not hearing what his mother said or deciding to ignore her. " And I know she has the ability to be a great leader. But she's rebellious, insubordinate and headstrong."
"Just like her grandfather", Zira declared, smiling softly. "Your father was a child at heart and could find the fun in everything. But he was also caring, gentle, considerate and willing to stand up for those in need."
As his mother spoke, Tenzin watched as his daughter instructed Bumi on how to use the gliders and giggled when the grown man fell down.
"Elira is still young, Tenzin. She's discovering who she is and what that means for her. Just like you did...Just like your father did. My advice is to give her time to figure things out for herself. And who knows, she may just yet surprise you."
Zira then walked away back into the airship. Tenzin turned back to watch the others below.
*
Later, as night fell, they arrived at the first Earth Kingdom town. Walking off the airship, they were greeted by the town mayor.
"Avatar Korra! Oh, it's such an honour to have you come to our humble village." He bowed
"Thanks." Korra smiled
The mayor then turned to Zira and bowed even lower. "And Lady Azira! To be in your mere presence is an even greater honour!"
Zira bit back the laugh that almost escaped, once again being reminded of an inside joke from her childhood, and nodded her head at the man. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
"I hate to get down to business, but is the airbender here now?" Tenzin asked
"Kuon and his family will be joining us shortly for a special dinner. Please, right this way" The mayor led the party to the town hall, where they were soon joined by a man and his wife and kids.
They all sat down at a large table filled with a spread of food
" Kuon has been the talk of the town ever since he's got airbending; he's like a local celebrity." The mayor grinned
"I just want to say it's an honour to meet a fellow airbender." Tenzin smiled
"Oh, I still think of myself as a simple farmer. Who can airbend!" Kuon stretched his hands out, accidentally airbending pie into Bolin's face across the table.
Elira quickly burst into laughter, holding her stomach.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I still don't have any control." Kuon apologised
"No worries! I love pie" Bolin smiled as Pabu and Pichi climbed over him, licking his face before dragging the pie away.
"And so do Pabu and Pichi", Elira giggled, her stomach hurting from laughter.
"Well, you're so much more than just a farmer now. Harmonic Convergence changed everything. You represent the future of a culture that is being reborn. You're going to help us rebuild the Air Nation." Tenzin explained to Kuon, who looked confused
"I'm gonna do what now? The only thing I'm planning to rebuild is my barn." He stated
"But you must come with us to the Northern Air Temple." Tenzin pushed
"Well, I can't do that. I have a family and a farm." Kuon argued
"Of course, you can come. This is of the utmost importance. Your wife will understand." Tenzin scowled, getting annoyed
"Tenzin, I think you should calm down a little", Zira suggested but was ignored
"No, I do not understand", Kuon's wife snapped
"Daddy, where are you going? Why does the bald man want to take you away?" Kuon's daughter asked, holding onto her father
"No one is going to take your father", Elira reassured the little girl
"It's just that your dad is an airbender now, and he should learn about his culture", Korra added
"I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I'm not going with you. I might be able to airbend, but I'm no Air Nomad; I'm no monk." Kuron snapped
"Okay, maybe we should just have some dessert, huh? Who's up for dessert?" The mayor tried to change the subject, but he was also ignored.
"Sir, you must understand, you're an airbender now, and there are thousands of years of culture you must learn about, skills you must master", Tenzin declared
"You expect me to abandon my entire life? My family?" Kuron stood up. "No! No sir, I'm not going anywhere with you, and I think it's best that you leave!"
*
"In my head, I saw that playing out very differently." Korra sighed back on the airship
"I didn't," El said, causing everyone to look at her. She just shrugged. "What? Think about it, that man has a life there and a family. Can you blame him for not wanting to leave?"
"Maybe we should have stayed and tried harder to convince him to join us," Asami suggested
"Or we could have thrown him in a potato sack and forced him into the ship." Bolin grinned
"That's how they got me to join the United Forces," Bumi added from behind him, where he was lying on a couch reading a book with Bum-Ju hovering over him.
"No, we can't coerce people or throw them in potato sacks" Tenzin gave Bolin a look. "They must come freely. But not to worry, there are plenty of other airbenders out there who will be happy to come with us once they find out what the Air Nation is all about"
Later that night, Tenzin was walking down the darkened hallway, doing his usual bed check, making sure all the kids were in bed. But as he approached the room Elira was staying in; he noticed Bolin tip-toeing down the hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible.
Tenzin cleared his throat to get their attention, causing the boy to squeak slightly in surprise, turning to face the airbender.
"Oh, hey, Tenzin. Hi, Tenzin. Hey...Hi," He laughed anxiously.
"Bolin, why are you up?" Tenzin raised an eyebrow at the earthbender
"I couldn't sleep, so I was just...going on a walk."
"Mmhmm" Tenzin looked sceptical for a moment before sighing. "Well, don't stay up too late."
"Yes, sir", Bolin saluted as Tenzin walked passed him. He only got a couple of steps away before stopping again.
"And Bolin?" Tenzin didn't even turn his head as he spoke, "Stay out of Elira's room."
"Yes, sir", Bolin repeated, smiling nervously.
But as soon as Tenzin had walked around the corner and was out of sight, the earthbender turned and knocked on El's door. A few seconds later, it swung open, and Bolin was pulled into the room by Elira.
*
As the journey continued, the group visited more and more towns, but no one wanted to join them. No matter how hard Tenzin tried to convince people, his methods just weren't working.
The team were once again back on the airship, looking sorry for themselves as yet another potential airbender had slammed their door in Tenzin's face.
"Ugh, I really thought I had that last guy", Tenzin scowled, crossing his arms.
"So did I. Seriously, who doesn't want a bison as a best friend?" Elira added before pouting, "I want a bison."
On her shoulder, Pichi hissed at her before flying away, and El quickly chased after her.
"Wait, Pichi, come back! You know that's not what I meant!" She cried, running out of the room after her pet.
Tenzin sighed, placing his head in his hand.
"It's okay, Tenzin. I still want to be an airbender." Bumi grinned, attempting to cheer up his younger brother.
"Okay, we've tried it your way, and people just don't seem to be responding. It's time for a little tough love." Korra smirked, standing and punching her palm.