PROLOGUE

"She looks up to you, you know."

Korra jumped at the words. She had been lost in her thoughts and wasn't really paying attention to the ceremony. Jinora's induction as an Airbending Master was a big deal for her, so Korra immediately felt guilty for not watching.

"Korra, are you sure you're OK? I can take you back to the island if you want. I'm sure Jinora and the others would understand."

Korra appreciated Asami's offer, but she couldn't leave now. Besides, this was the culmination of all their hard work in rebuilding the Air Nation. Jinora will be the first new Airbending Master to be a part of the rejuvenated Air Nation, and no matter how bad Korra felt she was going to see this through. Her lack of response was answer enough for Asami, so she didn't press it.

It had only been two weeks since Korra had been brought to Republic City to recuperate after her nearly disastrous fight with Zaheer and the Red Lotus, and in that time she had only been awake for six days. Su Beifong had successfully metal-bent the poison out of her, but she was still weak. She couldn't walk, she most certainly couldn't bend any of the elements, and she had barely eaten since she first woke up six days ago. Altogether, Korra felt pretty shitty, and she knew it showed. Asami had done a wonderful job of dressing her up for Jinora's tattooing ceremony, but all the makeup and fancy clothes in the world couldn't hide the defeated look in her eyes. Korra put on a brave show for the benefit of those around her, but it only made her feel worse: she hated lying to them, but she knew that they could see through her act. She was broken, inside and out, and everyone could see it. Thankfully for this occasion, they were seated high on a balcony above the goings-on, looking down at the festivities.

Asami was standing behind Korra, grasping the handles of her wheelchair. Since they had all gotten back to Republic City, she hadn't left Korra's side, and especially so now that she was up and active. Or at least, as active as she can be. Sometimes, during the week that Korra flitted in-and-out of consciousness, Asami staying by her bedside well into the night. Mako and Bolin had each done their part as well, and Asami had been glad for their company. She had hated being alone with the lifeless Avatar that first week. It had made Asami feel so helpless, and she would have gladly traded places with Korra if it meant she could be well again. She had cried, she had silently pleaded on her knees, even joined Jinora in praying to the spirits, anything that might have helped Korra.

Jinora's ceremony had come to an end, and after Tenzin's speech the Airbenders and Republic City on-lookers slowly started to make for the door. Jinora's tattooing ceremony had taken place in the City Hall building, and Asami could hear satomobiles rushing down the road outside. Asami herself knew this building intimately, having helped her father design the blueprints. In fact, she knew of a certain evacuation tunnel whose entrance was just down the hall.

Asami put her hand on Korra's shoulder. "Hey, want to see something cool?"

Korra had been too busy looking down from the balcony with a dejected look. She so badly wanted to be a part of the happiness down there, but there was no way she could take all that excitement in her weakened state. Besides, if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to ruin everyone else's fun. During these few days that she had been awake, Korra had noticed how everyone dropped what they were doing when she appeared. They could sense her sadness, and she absolutely hated having such a negative effect on her friends. She didn't want them to worry so much about her, partly because she wanted to reassure them, and partly because she wanted to reassure herself. The only one who seemed unaffected by Korra's depressing state was Asami, and she was glad to have her around.

"Hmm?" Korra replied.

"I said, do you want to see something cool?"

Now Korra was attentive. "Like what," she said.

"Like a way to get out of here without ploughing through that crowd," Asami whispered.

"Oh, yes please," Korra breathed, the relief evident in her tone.

Asami winced. Her friend had made quite a bounce-back after not being fully conscious for a week, but she was still in bad shape. The fact that Korra, of all people, wanted to avoid being with her loved ones was testament to how badly she was broken. Asami couldn't imagine the pain that Korra must feel every second, and it drove her mad just thinking about it. There was nothing that she wouldn't do to un-do what the Red Lotus had done to her friend. Not a single day had gone by that Asami didn't curse Zaheer with all the hatred that she could muster. If she was ever in a position to inflict pain on Zaheer, she was going to make damn sure she did.

"OK, but don't tell the President I showed you this," Asami said.

Asami wheeled Korra around and went left through the door leading into the hallway. After passing a few offices and guest rooms for visiting diplomats, she stopped outside a door that said MAINTENANCE on the front.

"You wanted to show me a broom closet?" Korra asked in bewilderment.

Asami laughed. "Not just a broom closet." She took out her key to the building and unlocked the door, then reached inside to flip the lights on before wheeling Korra in. It was indeed a broom closet, with other various housekeeping supplies and tools strewn about. But against the far wall lay a secret that only Asami and President Raiko knew about, as well as her father, but Asami had made a habit of not thinking about him. Unfortunately, that secret lay guarded by a rather large shelf placed in front of it. She tried moving the pesky thing, but it was heavy.

"C'mon, Asami, let's just go," Korra sighed.

Asami huffed from the effort. "No, we're already here, just wait."

After some considerable effort she managed to push the shelf just far enough to get the secret door open. For this, she needed her special key to the City. There were in fact several of these secret doors throughout Republic City, all in various important buildings, though they all led into the same tunnel that spanned the length of the entire City, miles underground. Her father, Hiroshi Sato, envisioned this massive tunnel to serve as an effective escape route or shelter, should the need ever arise. Ironically, the perfect time to actually use it came when Unalaq started blasting the City as the Dark Avatar, though Asami's father hadn't yet distributed the additional keys to the City Councilmen or to the President before being jailed. Asami later did just that, and kept one for herself.

"OK, ready?" she asked.

Korra looked into this secret doorway, but couldn't see what was inside. "Where does this go?"

"To a safe place. If you want, I'll have an extra key made for you. But c'mon, I want you to see this."

She grabbed the handles to Korra's wheelchair and pushed her inside. It was actually an elevator, and once they were both inside Asami pressed the button to shut the door behind them.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Korra said. They were both in total darkness, and the elevator platform wasn't exactly spacious. In fact, it was just wide enough for Korra's wheelchair, and Asami had to stand to the side. Apparently her father never counted on too many wheelchair-bound people using this elevator. The only light came from the electric-yellow glowing buttons on the control panel, which had only four buttons: [UP], [DOWN], [DOOR SHUT], and [DOOR OPEN].

"Relax, Korra. Don't you trust me?" Asami pressed [DOWN] and the elevator practically dropped out from under them. The platform descended so rapidly and so suddenly that Asami felt a moment of weightlessness, and she grabbed the handles of Korra's wheelchair in an effort to keep herself grounded. The speed at which they fell really was alarming, Asami admitted to herself. Then again, this was meant for a hasty escape.

Korra wasn't taking this downward acceleration as well as Asami. She gripped the armrests of her wheelchair until her knuckles were white, and her eyes were firmly shut. Asami tried putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but the touch caused Korra to curse and jump in her seat.

"Asami, make this thing stop!"

Several seconds went by, and then the darkness was gone, as was their rapid downward velocity. The elevator had glass walls on two sides, on the left and right, and they had just cleared the ceiling of the vast underground tunnel. The elevator was going at a much more comfortable rate, and, feeling the change in speed, Korra opened her eyes and gasped.

They were travelling down toward what looked like an airship loading dock. Korra thought that an airship just might fit into this vast tunnel, it was so tall and wide. There were strings of electric lights lining the top and sides of this cavern, and the lights gradually came on in pairs as they descended. By the time they reached the bottom, the entirety of the underground network was lit up, yet Korra couldn't see the end of it in either direction, it was so large. Looking up and around, she could also see other elevator shafts going up and up before finally melding into the rock ceiling of the tunnel. Korra guessed that these led to other buildings throughout the City. As the door of their own elevator opened, Asami wheeled her out onto an awaiting platform. There were various satomobiles lined up along the wall to their left, the kind that can hold about ten or so people in the back. There were also boxes of canned foods stacked up neatly next to some of these, along with crates of water. Everything appeared to be ready to use, though there was a fine layer of dust over it all.

"Wha-what is this place?" Korra asked, stunned at the enormity of it all. Her fear at their sudden descent was gone.

"This an escape tunnel my father built. His idea was to create an escape route that the whole City, or at least most of it, could use in a time of emergency. This is the first time I've been down here, though I remember looking over all the blueprints. I never knew he had it stocked with this many supplies."

Asami looked down at Korra's amazed expression. She herself was fairly impressed as well, but she only thought of Korra. Seeing her friend with something other than dejection, defeat, or anger in her eyes made Asami very happy. Korra had a way of expressing herself that made everyone around her feel what she felt, which was great when that expression was positive. Recently, though, she had a near-constant cloud of sadness following her, and it had begun to affect the people trying to help her. But Asami couldn't blame her. Not after what she'd gone through.

"Pretty cool, huh," Asami said, looking around at the impressive display of engineering.

"Yeah," Korra said breathlessly. This is why she loved Republic City. It never ceased to amaze her. Being a Water Tribe girl, she had always been fascinated by stories about the City.

Korra suddenly looked around her, up and down the walls of the tunnel. "What did they do with all of this earth?"

"What?"

"The earthbenders that work for Future Industries. Where did they put all of the earth they moved to make this tunnel?" Korra asked.

Asami let out a burst of laughter. Of all the questions that she could've asked, of all the impressive feats of engineering put out on display around her, this is what Korra wanted to know: where'd all the rock go? It was suddenly too much for Asami, and she had to reach up and wipe the tears from her eyes. Sometimes she forgot that her best friend wasn't raised in the City. To Korra, bending was everything.

Korra frowned at her friend's laughter. "What? What's so funny? Asami!"

By this time Asami was seated on a crate of preserved food behind Korra, laughing her head off. In between sobs of laughter she managed to spit out, "I'm s-s-sorry. You're just so funny sometimes."

Korra smiled, looking again at the massive tunnel. "Well, I'm glad you think it's funny, but that's some serious earthbending. I wish Bolin could see this."

This made Asami stop laughing, but it didn't drive away her smile. Korra really is so caring, she thought. This is what she had always loved about Korra the most. No matter how terrible or wonderful things got, she was always thinking about others. Sometimes, though, Korra put the needs of others so far ahead of her own that it negatively affected her actions, sometimes causing a state of indecisiveness because she didn't want to offend either side. But if that's Korra's worst fault, that she cares too much, Asami thought, then everyone should aspire to be like her.

"I'm so sorry, Asami."

She looked up at Korra, or rather, the back of Korra's head. Asami was still seated behind her, and Korra hadn't regained nearly enough strength in her arms to wheel herself. In a way, it was almost easier to talk to Korra like this. At least she didn't have to look into those tragically beautiful blue eyes. Those once-happy, now-sad eyes.

"Sorry for what?" Asami asked.

"I'm sorry about your dad," Korra sighed. "I know I've said this before, but I mean it. This…this probably doesn't mean much, but…I'm sure he realizes how bad he's screwed up."

Asami was definitely glad that Korra couldn't see the tears in her eyes right now.

"Korra…"

"I mean, if he's this brilliant—" she moved her head to gesture at the tunnel around them, "—then surely he…he has to know how much he's lost by losing you. You're…a wonderful person, Asami."

Korra had begun breathing heavily. Ever since she started staying awake regularly she'd been having trouble breathing, though she noticed it was only really bad when she got excited or angry. Why, then, was she breathing heavy now? She had meant what she said.

Asami heard Korra's breathing and stood up to be by her side. She knelt down and put an arm around Korra's shoulders, bringing her in for a soft hug. The tears were still coming down, but only softly.

"Thank you, Korra. That means a lot to me."

Korra wanted to return the hug, but her useless arms wouldn't let her, so she settled for leaning her head on Asami's shoulder.

Asami stood back up and grasped the handles of Korra's wheelchair. "OK, ready to go to the island?"

Korra tried to turn her head at this, but when she tried her neck groaned painfully, and she winced. Still amazed, she asked, "This tunnel can get us to Air Temple Island?"

"Well, not exactly, but there's an exit near the docks. But you gotta keep this place a secret. Only President Raiko, the City Councilmen, and myself are supposed to know about it," Asami said.

"Yeah," Korra laughed, "Bolin can't keep a secret, anyway."

Asami smiled. "No, he can't."