When she regained consciousness, the first thing Kuvira became aware of was that she felt terrible. Her entire body ached, particularly her chest. She felt sweaty and sticky, in desperate need of a shower. And there probably wasn't enough water in the world to quench her thirst. But she took all of that pain and discomfort as a good sign. It meant she was back in reality.

Just to confirm it, she took a quick look around her. No trains, trees, fields or armies. And no Great Uniter. Just a plain hospital room...and Avatar Korra. Somehow, Kuvira wasn't startled by her presence. This was the second, or possibly the third, time in memory that she had awoken to find the Avatar next to her. It did seem strange that she was asleep though. How could she be so comfortable around someone that had not long ago tried to disintegrate her with a spirit cannon?

As if sensing that she was being watched, Korra stirred and opened her eyes. And, to Kuvira's astonishment, smiled when she saw the other woman. "You're awake!"

Unnerved by how pleased the Avatar was to see her, Kuvira could only give a quick nod in response. She tried to sit up, put them on more equal ground, but discovered that she couldn't move very far. It took all she had not to panic, fearing that she was back in the dream with metal shackles holding her down. But the restraints weren't metal. Just leather straps. The kind used on criminals when they had to be taken to the hospital.

"Sorry," said Korra, and, shocking Kuvira yet again, removed the straps from her wrists and ankles without even being asked. "Beifong's idea. Personally, I think it's a bit of overkill considering you've been totally out of it for the past few days."

"How 'out of it'?" The last thing Kuvira wanted was to have said anything incriminating, or worse embarrassing, while in a fit of delirium. Being a shamed and despised tyrant was bad enough. She didn't need people ridiculing her on top of that.

Reading her mind, Korra said, "Don't worry. You didn't say much." It was hard to tell if this was true, or just a lie to spare her. "It did look like you were having a hard time though. Bad dreams?"

"Something like that." She had no desire to go into any great detail about her nightmares with the Avatar, or anyone else for that matter. If it were possible, she would have preferred to forget about them entirely.

Fortunately, Korra respected her privacy and didn't push the subject. However, she did surprise her for the third time by leaning over and pressing a hand against Kuvira's forehead. Kuvira was so stunned, she didn't even know how to react. Most people wouldn't have dared to touch the ex-world leader without her permission, but Korra did it like she was caring for an old friend.

"You've still got a bit of a fever," she commented upon removing her hand. "But it's a lot better than what it was. We were afraid you weren't going to make it."

Somehow, Kuvira suspected the "we" was stretching the truth a bit. She couldn't think of anyone else who would be all that concerned if she lived or died. Of course, she had a hard time accepting the Avatar's interest in her well-being too, so it was difficult to say what was possible.

Before she could ask about the "we", Korra was on the move again. Intuitively knowing what might make the ill woman feel better, she took a pitcher from the bedside table and filled a glass with water. She offered the glass to Kuvira, who instead grabbed the pitcher and drank straight from that. It was nearly drained by the time she started to feel any sort of relief for the insatiable thirst.

"Better?" Korra teased.

Kuvira only shook her head, ignoring the gibe. Then she asked the question that had been nagging at her since awaking to find the Avatar beside her. "How long have you been here?"

"A few hours, give or take. Kya and I came here sometime this morning. She left when she couldn't do anything to heal you, but I thought there should be someone here when you woke up." Kuvira wasn't sure what was harder to believe...the Avatar's gratuitous concern or the fact that a complete stranger had tried to heal her.

Annoyed with the confusion brought on by this unexpected change in their relationship, Kuvira started to ask, straight out, why Korra was there with her when there were likely a million other places a person of her stature should be. She didn't even get the first word out before she was stopped by the sudden entrance of another unusual guest.

President Raiko.

It seemed that Korra was just as surprised to see him. "Raiko? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Korra," the older gentleman said, as if he didn't hear the question. "Tenzin told me I would find you here. It actually makes things easier. I've come to discuss..." He stopped when he noticed something amiss and pointed an accusing finger in Kuvira's direction.

"Why is she not restrained?" He said "she" as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Kuvira spoke up before Korra could answer. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything." A bit of the old Kuvira came back in that statement. Maybe she wasn't the head of an empire anymore and maybe her health wasn't one hundred percent, but she refused to be talked down to by the likes of Raiko.

It seemed the president felt the same way about her. "As if your word carries any weight."

Korra stepped in before things escalated, and probably ended with Raiko getting a bed railing forced through his cranium. "What do you want, Raiko?"

Although put out by Korra's disrespectful tone, Raiko pulled his attention from Kuvira, after one last sneer, and answered. "I've come to tell you that the council has reached a decision about the Great Uniter's sentence."

Kuvira cringed noticeably at the use of her old title, but said nothing.

"So, why come and tell me yourself?" Korra asked, making no attempt to hide her suspicion. "Don't you have underlings to deliver news for you?"

Raiko smiled, and it wasn't a pleasant smile. "I wanted to handle this matter personally."

With the flourish of an actor giving a monologue, Raiko laid out the council's verdict. "First of all, we've come to the conclusion that locking her away in a prison, any prison on the continent for that matter, won't work. The mob outside can attest to that. We assume that..."

"What mob?" Kuvira asked Korra, knowing Raiko wouldn't give a straight answer. She did take some personal satisfaction in the redness that spread over Raiko's face at being interrupted.

Korra hesitated to answer, but knew she would be pressed if she didn't. "Just some people outside with...a difference of opinion about what should be done with you. Don't worry. I'll take care of them later."

Kuvira wanted more details, but the sound of Raiko clearing his throat suggested there would be consequences to interrupting him again. Nothing she was afraid of. After all, she had been arrested as a war criminal. What more could he do to her? But the sooner she let him finish, the sooner he would leave.

"As I was saying, the mob is proof that a prison sentence won't work. She'll either have supporters trying to break her out, or she'll be killed by one of her detractors. In which case, she'll become a martyr for her supporters. Neither scenario works in our favour." It probably would have been a waste of breath for Kuvira to tell him that she had no intentions of escaping. And she would really love to see someone try and make an assassination attempt on her. It hadn't worked in the past and, as much as she hated herself, she had no intention of making it easy for them now.

"A solitary prison, like what was constructed for Zaheer, won't work either," Raiko continued. "That was designed to hold an airbender, but it won't keep out earth and metalbenders. We've reached the conclusion that if she is sent anywhere it will have to be somewhere far from the general populous."

That didn't sound good. Where were they going to send her? The Arctic Circle? Kuvira hoped not. She wasn't overly fond of the cold.

Luckily, that wasn't what Raiko had in mind. Although the alternative wasn't much better. "There is an island on the border of Fire Nation territory. Completely uninhabited and away from any major population. Kuvira will be exiled to that island."

The decision didn't sit well with Kuvira, but Korra seemed to hate it more. "So you're just going to dump her on some island in the middle of nowhere?" By the anger in her voice, you would think that Raiko had just threatened to banish Korra's own mother. Again, Kuvira couldn't help but wonder at the Avatar's seemingly out-of-the-blue desire to watch over her.

"A dwelling will be built there and supplies will be sent on a regular basis." He said this calmly, as if it was an everyday thing for him to send people he didn't like to remote islands. "She'll be granted the same amenities as any other prisoner. Minus human contact." He took far too much enjoyment in that last part.

"If you think I'm just..." Korra began, but this time it was Raiko's turn to interrupt.

"There's one more thing, and this is where you come in, Avatar. Exiled or not, the council still considers her a threat. And there are many people outside who would agree. But, there is one humane way to neutralize that threat. We want you to take away her bending."

Both women fell silent, Korra because she couldn't believe what was being asked of her and Kuvira because she had both dreaded and expected this outcome. It was one of the reasons she had fought so hard to escape from the Avatar when her mecha had been destroyed. She was labelled as one of the most dangerous metalbenders in the world, so it only stood to reason that her bending would be taken away should she ever be captured. And, truth be told, she feared losing her bending more than losing her empire. It would be like taking away part of her identity, and she'd given up a good chunk of that already.

Korra appeared to be taking the request worse than Kuvira and surprised both her and Raiko when she flat out refused. "I won't do it."

"You won't?" Raiko repeated, perhaps thinking he had heard wrong.

"No. I know what it's like to have your bending taken away. Aside from being poisoned, it's the worse thing I've ever been through. I couldn't do that to someone else having experienced it myself."

"This is Kuvira we're talking about. The worse tyrant this country has ever seen. She's guilty of more crimes than I can count, including murder. If anyone deserves to have their bending taken away, it's her." Kuvira wasn't sure whether to be insulted, or agree with Raiko. Probably the latter. Though she didn't want to acknowledge the last accusation. She had been haunted by enough terrible memories for one day without picturing that flying mecha she had crushed without a second thought.

Regardless of the fact that everything Raiko said was true, Korra refused to budge on the matter. "No, she doesn't."

The president opened his mouth, preparing another argument, but Kuvira beat him to it. "Yes, I do."

Korra and Raiko turned to her with matching expressions of disbelief, neither able to comprehend what they had just heard. Honestly, Kuvira couldn't believe it herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she knew it to be true. During her time as the Great Uniter, she had committed countless horrible acts, acts she couldn't begin to make up for. Even though she was terrified of losing her bending, if doing so would at least atone for even a sliver of what she had done, then she would go through with it.

Aside from that, there was Korra to think about. It was clear that she would stubbornly oppose the council's decision until they either changed their minds or ended up punishing Korra for her defiance. Kuvira already owed her life to the Avatar, and it didn't seem right for her to sit idly by while Korra put herself at risk to save it a second time.

"Korra." Using the Avatar's name felt strange, but it did the trick. She had her full attention. "I appreciate what you're trying to do for me. But Raiko's right. It's what I deserve. And I swore that I would accept any punishment. If that means taking my bending, then so be it."

"Are you sure?"

A slight nod was the only response she could manage. She feared that if she spoke, her voice would break, giving away the tumultuous emotions she was experiencing at the moment.

"That's that then," said Raiko, breaking the brief silence. "Get on with it."

Korra turned towards Raiko, staring at him with a mix of shock and anger. "What, right now? She's still recovering."

"And won't be able to put up much of a fight."

Again, Kuvira consider pointing out that she wasn't going to resist, but knew that anything said to Raiko would be falling on deaf ears. So instead she addressed the Avatar. "Might as well get it over with."

For a second, it looked like Korra would refuse the request. But then her expression changed to one of begrudging acceptance. "Fine," she sighed, then to Raiko said, "but we don't need an audience."

Raiko's face looked like he was being denied a show he had been waiting all year to see, but if it meant getting what he wanted in the end, he was willing to comply this one time. He left the room without argument. As soon as he was gone, Korra took the empty seat beside Kuvira's bed.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked again.

"Whatever Raiko thinks, if I say something, I mean it. Just...make it quick."

This time with permission, Korra placed her right hand on Kuvira's forehead and her left hand on her shoulder, with her thumb against the nape of her neck. Korra closed her eyes and let out a breath of air. When she opened them again, her eyes were glowing white. Her hands began to glow as well, and within a few seconds, Kuvira could feel something inside of her draining away.

She was frightened at first, and fought the urge to struggle out of the Avatar's grip. It didn't take much effort. The longer the process went on, the weaker she became, and Kuvira found herself slipping into the darkness again. Yet as the last vestiges of her bending energy were stripped from her, and consciousness faded with it, an odd sort of calm came over her. For the first time in three years, she was doing the right thing. There was something comforting in that knowledge.