THE AIR MASTER {LOK/ATLA}

(VII)

"I failed in every way. We've lost Jinora forever," Uncle Tenzin said sadly.

I refused to believe that. There had to be a way, somehow, to get out of here and rescue my cousin. Unalaq may have had some insane plan to destroy everything, but Korra was still here. As far as I was concerned, there would always be only one Avatar, and if the Avatar was still alive, so was hope to restore balance.

"No. We haven't lost yet," I told him confidently.

"Zaya's right. They didn't get Bumi," Aunt Kya offered.

I didn't really know what had happened to my dad, but something told me he was still alive. He was a tough cookie, and overall hard to kill. He'd survived many, many battles in the past, and there was no doubt in my mind he'd survive this one, too. I just didn't really know how he could help us get out of here. But I had to trust he'd manage to do it.

"Eska, Desna, listen to me. You've got to help us stop Unalaq. I know he's your father, but Vaatu has made him completely crazy," Korra pleaded to the twins.

"We will never turn on our father," Eska declared.

"Please. If you let me out now, I can still stop him from destroying everything. Once he fuses with Vaatu, no one will be safe. Desna, he won't be your father anymore," Korra insisted.

"You don't know what you're talking about! Our father is the wisest man in the world. If he says what he is doing is right, I believe him," Desna snapped back at her.

Before I could tell them how stupid they were being for trusting that their father was doing the right thing, I heard the familiar sound of a flute coming from the outside. I couldn't see what was going on, but I immediately knew that it was my dad. He was here. And, from the racket coming outside, I knew he was working on getting us out of here.

The flute's music turned to the roaring engine of heavy machinery, and all of a sudden, the twins were thrown away by dad sliding into the tent, still strapped to his seat and smiling at us widely.

"All right guys, rescue time."

"Dad!" I couldn't help but greet him cheerfully, as Naga burst in behind him, knocking the twins to the floor harshly.

After Dad freed us, we walked out of the tent and stared in awe at the devastation around us. This place looked like it had been ravaged by a whole army.

"Bumi, how did you manage to take out this entire encampment on your own?" Uncle Tenzin asked my dad.

"I did it all with my trusty flute and... ah, never mind, you wouldn't believe it anyway. Let's get moving," Dad said, sighing heavily.

"Hey, Dad?" I told him, reaching out to hold his arm gently. "I want you to tell me all about it later, alright?"

He seemed pleased to see my interest, and he nodded with a grin. "Of course, sweetie."

As a group, we hurried to the portal, which had a light shooting up directly through the clouds in the sky. However, we weren't in the best shape to fight Unalaq's soldiers inside, especially Tonraq. I knew we would need to figure out a plan.

"You run into the portal, I'll try to hold off anyone who comes after you," Tonraq said all of a sudden, although I could tell he was struggling just to stand up.

"No, you're too hurt, you need a healer," Korra told him firmly, before turning to Asami. "Asami, can you take Oogi and my dad back to my mom?"

"Of course," Asami nodded.