Lights Out
At the center of a large courtyard nestled between the four buildings of the Shangu Plaza Hotel and Spa, two hulking metal structures had been placed twenty feet apart, each sporting thick, winding cables that plugged into the backs of the buildings on the east and west side.
Fiddling with the cables to search for his handmade plug at the far corner of the courtyard was a disgruntled inventor in a long, expensive blue Southern Water Tribe coat. Standing over Varrick, the inventor in question, was his assistant, Zhu Li, hiding nerves behind a stern expression.
Zhu Li did not have to hope that Varrick's plan would work. She knew that it would. She had devoted her life to the certainty, the inevitability, that Varrick would get the outcomes he wanted.
Still, the haze that hung in the evening sky caused her to worry. Varrick worked with tangibility. He'd only ever had the here and now of the human world. The spirits didn't work the same way.
Varrick muttered a few choice words until his hands hit the plug. Zhu Li saw him hesitate.
"Sir?" she asked, hoping not to sound uneasy.
Varrick stared at the plug. "What if it doesn't work?" he wondered.
"It will."
"This is the worst time for me to start doubting myself."
"My advice would be not to, sir."
"I know that!" Varrick glanced up at the sky, back at the plug, and finally at Zhu Li. "Just don't let me do it again. Or ever."
With that, he turned, and walked with sure strides to the outlets and fuse box affixed to the easternmost wall. Zhu Li stared after him and said, quietly, "I won't."
– – –
They had arrived several hours earlier by Satomobile—one that Zhu Li had stolen and hotwired, but that Varrick assured her nobody in Republic City would be missing amid the chaos caused by the sudden spirit vine insurgence. The city of Shangu lay in a valley, flat and fertile, and teemed with tradition while still managing to become a large trade hub over the past thirty years. Airships made thrice weekly deliveries from throughout the Earth Kingdom, while some monthly supply ships carried imported goods from the Fire Nation and North Pole.
"Isn't it a little conspicuous of us to be traveling to a city after breaking out of prison?" Zhu Li asked, halfway on their journey.
"Of course not," Varrick dismissed, feet on the dashboard as he lay back into the comfort of the vehicle's passenger seat. "Raiko's got way too much to handle right now as it is. I'm sure the last thing anyone is gonna be worried about is us making a clean getaway."
"Chief Beifong might not be—"
"Pssh, forget Beifong, she—wait!" Varrick sat up with a jolt strong enough to swerve the vehicle ever so slightly. With a slight yelp, Zhu Li shifted gears and righted the wheels again. "Don't forget Beifong," Varrick continued, as if nothing had happened. "Well, I mean, the chief of police, sure, but the other Beifong."
"Sir, please…"
"Look, let's get this thing to Shangu and take the first airship out to Zaofu," Varrick decided. "I've got a good connection with Beifong's sister, Suyin. She'll let us do whatever we want! Call Suyin. Write that down, Zhu Li."
"I can't, sir, I'm driving."
"Well, what, am I supposed to remember everything? Sheesh."
"I'll remind you later, sir." With a sigh, Varrick's assistant added, "Sir, what exactly is the 'anything' Ms. Beifong will be letting us do?"
"Well, it's obvious, isn't it? I've got to get back to work."
Zhu Li smiled, and listened sparingly as Varrick continued to comment on things (the length of the drive, the power of the spirit vines, Shangu has great plum wine, and so on) as they continued on roads both paved and rocky. There was nothing she enjoyed more than watching Varrick work, from start to finish. The roughly hewn ideas becoming sketches becoming working, previously unthinkable designs that always managed to do loads of good for any number of people.
Varrick would rarely if ever admit just how much he enjoyed helping others. He was an incurable capitalist who had built his own corporate empire from the ground up, and his ego had towered along with his company. But Zhu Li had stayed with him through most of it, watching his ideas become reality, standing patiently beside him while the gears in his brain turned.
For now, she didn't want it any other way. Or, at very least, she didn't let on that she might someday want anything more.
But Shangu was the first point in what Zhu Li soon feared would be a long and fruitless kind of change.
The city came into view while Varrick regaled the first time he'd ever visited—also reinstating his opinions on the plum wine and that for goodness' sake, Zhu Li, you've got to try some, does this place still have a good bar?—and Zhu Li kept her eyes on the horizon, ears half tuned on Varrick's words. He was speaking empty words now; Zhu Li could decipher anything from what he was saying, but this was not a time that required her to listen.
Now, she was instantly cautious regarding what lay immediately ahead. Shangu itself seemed perfectly fine, perfectly ordinary, but the clouds were off. A strange blue, a sort of haze hanging in the air around the city.
"The other thing," Varrick was saying, "if there's this bartender named Ayo we've gotta clear outta there because I think I still owe him money from a Pai Sho match I—"
"Sir," Zhu Li interrupted, easing up on the acceleration.
"I know I don't have the best luck, but—"
"Sir," Zhu Li repeated more firmly.
"Now I've lost my train of thought!" Varrick complained. He slid his feet off the dash, dragging grains of sand down the side of the vehicle. "What is it?"
"I don't like the way the sky looks."
Varrick looked at Zhu Li questioningly, then followed her gaze forward. The sky had changed in Republic City as well. Zhu Li tightened her grip on the steering wheel to ignore her heart pounding. She knew exactly what the strange haze meant: this place was newly teeming with spirits.
"Nonsense!" Varrick proclaimed after a solid minute of studying the horizon. "It's not like it's going to rain. We'll stay one night and go on to Zaofu tomorrow. I promise you, there is nothing wrong with the sky."
Zhu Li held in a sigh and said, "Whatever you say, sir."
Her suspicions were easily confirmed, however, when she began navigating the car through town. Even Varrick showed a hint of concern as they slowed to let tiny spirits cross the road, and noticed others flying overhead. By the time they made it to the Plaza Hotel (and Spa, Varrick had been constantly affirming during the trip), Zhu Li had counted fifty spirits and twice as many humans pretending not to be nervous about their new neighbors.
"Varrick," Zhu Li asked, looking tepidly at her boss, "do you know anything about the history of this town? Are the Spirits going to be welcoming?"
"How should I know?" Varrick replied, scratching his ear with his pinky finger. "I was mostly here for the food."
This time, Zhu Li did sigh, but Varrick didn't seem to notice. She parked at the glistening stone entrance of the hotel, and moments later a skittish teenage bellhop was loading their sparse luggage onto a cart.
Spirits had made themselves comfortable in the emerald green lobby, primarily curled about one of the four large chandeliers that hung from the lofty ceiling at precise compass points. Zhu Li averted her eyes and kept her expression cold.
The world was changing, and Zhu Li could only wonder how her life might change with it.
Varrick chatted up the woman behind the hotel counter, haggling himself into a deluxe suite. The woman nodded and made notes kindly, but shirked back when she reached for the gold room key on the wall behind her and an insect-like spirit buzzed past her fingers.
"You'll have to forgive me," said the woman when she turned back to hand the keys to Varrick. Varrick did not take them and Zhu Li was quick to pick them up instead. The hotel worker was of middle age, and her dark brown hair was showing small slivers of grey. Though her hair had been pinned back in a fashion worn by many of the other women in the hotel industry, wisps frayed out here and there, prominently grey ones, that added to her nervous demeanor. "Ever since the Avatar opened the Spirit Portal at the South Pole, things have been getting, well…"
The woman ducked as a winged spirit darted over her head.
"You understand," she finished.
"Sure do," Varrick said, grinning as he leaned against the counter. "Listen, you see any spirit vines since Harmonic Convergence? Those things, I gotta tell ya, they can really pack a punch."
"Fortunately, no," the woman replied. "I've heard what they did in Republic City."
Zhu Li cleared her throat in an attempt to remind Varrick that they weren't on the cleanest of getaways. Varrick looked at her, understanding, and simply shrugged. Zhu Li's shoulders sagged. She knew that he could read her fairly well, but the times he chose to ignore her stung.
"Anything we should know about the Spirits hereabouts?" Varrick continued to ask. "Other than them just kinda being here?"
"Well… this really shouldn't be an issue, but there's an old legend around here about Spirits meeting here a long time ago and swallowing the light from the sky during the full moon." The woman showed a nervous smile and continued, "To be honest, some of our guests have been leaving knowing that it's a full moon tonight. I wanted to be up front about that with you, just in case you need to leave."
"Nonsense," Varrick dismissed, waving a hand through the air in front of his face. "It was probably an eclipse that spooked a bunch of waterbenders way back. We've got plenty of stories like that where I grew up."
"Yes, but sir, this is the heart of the Earth Kingdom, from a time when—"
"Anyway, we're staying. When's the next airship to Zaofu?"
"Zaofu? Tomorrow afternoon," the woman answered, looking confused.
"Perfect. Zhu Li, grab the things."
"I have the keys, sir," Zhu Li said, and without another word, Varrick turned and made his way to the row of elevators near the northern chandelier.
Zhu Li followed, and the bellhop with their cart of luggage followed soon after. As they waited for the elevator, Zhu Li glanced up at the spirits flitting around the lights and noticed one flicker. She shook her head when the elevator arrived, and attempted to push it out of her mind.
They traveled up the elevator five floors and allowed the bellhop to lead them down two corridors until they arrived at what was labeled a deluxe suite.
As Zhu Li was fitting one key to the lock, the bellhop remarked, "Shangu is a pretty popular spot for a honeymoon." The hair on the back of Zhu Li's neck bristled and she dropped the key. So as not to embarrass herself fully, she forced the second key into the lock instead. "Especially this wing. Is this your—"
"What?" Varrick interrupted loudly enough to make Zhu Li nearly drop the second key. "We're not married."
Zhu Li successfully unlocked the door and shoved it open. She gazed for a second at the beautiful room, outfitted with green and white linens and offering a beautiful view of the surrounding valley.
"If she isn't your wife," asked the bellhop, "then, I'm sorry, sir, but why ask for a room with only one bed?"
"Some rich paranoid eccentrics sleep with daggers, I sleep with Zhu Li," Varrick argued, leaning in to challenge the young man at a closer distance. "What's wrong with that?"
"Er—"
"Please," Zhu Li interrupted, turning around before the situation could worsen, "forget you heard that." To help the boy forget, she pressed twenty yuan into his palm.
"Um. You got it." The bellhop pocketed the money and offered, "Do you need any more assistance with—"
"I can handle it," Zhu Li said firmly. The bellhop hesitated, but a few seconds under Zhu Li's glare sent him quickly on his way.
Varrick easily made himself at home on the enormous bed at the center of the room and kicked off his boots while Zhu Li hauled in the luggage. She went back for the second key, and as she was bent over, she double checked under her skirt for her hidden daggers. Satisfied that she was prepared as usual, she stood and locked the door.
As she made her way back into the room, Varrick sat up on the bed and began to leisurely remove his long fur-lined coat. Zhu Li caught herself watching and looked away, pretending to look for something in her luggage (she had one bag, Varrick had three). She set her modestly sized bag on the vanity across from the bed, and continued stealing glances in the mirror, watching—just a little—as Varrick undid the long-sleeved shirt he'd been wearing under the coat.
Zhu Li had hidden her silent attraction to her boss for going on two years now. She'd fallen for his mind first. The rest had soon followed. But she had the best bluff face in the world (so Varrick himself had told her), and kept everything to herself. Nothing to write home about. No prying friends. As far as anyone knew, they simply worked together.
As far as Zhu Li knew, Varrick was oblivious, and wasn't attracted to her in the slightest. Unless somewhere under his ego he had room for that kind of thing.
When he was down to his undershirt, Varrick lay back on the bed again. Zhu Li let herself imagine for a moment what it might be like to hear him ask her to lie down beside him. What it might be like for a request to be something, anything, not related to work.
But he said nothing, and Zhu Li closed up her bag and made her way over to sit silently on the other side of the mattress.
"Hey, Zhu Li," Varrick said after a second, eyes up at the ceiling.
"Yes, sir?"
"You wanna ring up for room service? I'm beat after all that escaping from prison and traveling crap. What about you?"
Zhu Li did not point out the fact that she had been the one to jump out of the building to save him, that she had been the one driving him the entire way through the Earth Kingdom away from Republic City, but she didn't. She couldn't, even in good conscience. Varrick would have had some kind of rebuttal if she'd mentioned those things anyway.
"Room service sounds wonderful."
"And get some of that plum wine!"
"Of course, sir."
She called to order more food than the two could possibly finish eating on their own, asked for a newspaper, and repeated the delivery time—thirty minutes—to Varrick as she sat back down, this time at the foot of the bed.
"Fantastic," was Varrick's response, followed by a minute of silence.
And then, suddenly, he asked her, "What do you think about magnetism?"
Zhu Li's heart skipped and she almost choked on her breath. "Excuse me?"
"You know," said Varrick, who still lay on his back, now splaying his arms up toward the ceiling as if reaching for something intangible in the air far above him. "Magnetism! Electric currents! Magnetic flow, magnetic pulse! For crying out loud, Zhu Li, keep up with me, here."
"Oh. I thought you may have meant animal magnetism."
"Now why in the heck would I be talking about that?" Varrick asked, finally sitting up.
Zhu Li saw, from the reflection in the mirror, his contorted expression as he frowned at the back of her head.
"No reason…" she began, then: "I mean… I was wondering if you were worried about the spirits."
"You're talking nonsense, Zhu Li."
"I mean the spirits here in Shangu," Zhu Li continued, turning to look at her boss. She thought she saw him balk for a second, but he covered it unconvincingly by lying back down. "The ones that consumed light, in the stories the woman mentioned."
"Spirits aren't gonna eat the lights," Varrick grumbled. "What're they going to do, make off with all our light bulbs? What do they even need them for? We're fine. Are you stressed? I'm stressed."
"Why are you stressed? Sir."
"I told you! All the escaping and everything, and I still haven't had a chance to sit and write out my new ideas."
Zhu Li smiled. At least she had this. At least Varrick was planning again. "Maybe you should get some rest," Zhu Li advised. "The plans can happen later."
"Rest now? The food's coming," Varrick pointed out.
"True." Zhu Li looked down and tucked a stray strand of her brown hair back into place in her updo. "I can help you relax in the meantime," she offered.
"All right!" Varrick said, still not looking at her. "That. Do that."
Tired to near exhaustion herself from her night and day's work already catching up to her, but always willing to lend a hand, Zhu Li turned to once again face Varrick. "Please turn around, sir," she advised, "so you aren't lying on your back."
As he obliged, noisily, Zhu Li slipped off her shoes and uniform jacket. She delicately moved her discarded article of clothing along with Varrick's shed layers to a chest at the foot of the bed, then crawled onto the mattress on the other side of Varrick and pressed her palms into his back.
Slowly, little by little, Zhu Li kneaded her palms and knuckles into Varrick's tight back, massaging out whatever stress he might possibly have been carrying with him. There were several things Varrick asked her to do for him, but there were two things Zhu Li was always more than happy to offer on her own. One was tea, the other was a massage.
Of course, she hoped that someday the favors might be returned, but for now, these were her indulgences. The tea that helped Varrick think when he worked, and the massages that would shut him up for a while and allow her to feel even marginally in control.
Oh, she loved giving massages. If they were both in a good mood, she'd take the stress right out of him, and feel close to him for a moment, and accomplished for having done something well. If he was pissing her off, Zhu Li could tighten his muscles in negligible enough ways so that he wouldn't be groaning and complaining about how he must have slept wrong until hours afterward. Yes: this was when Zhu Li was in complete control.
And tonight—tonight was relaxing. She lost herself in her movements, and straddled Varrick's back, grinding the heels of her hands and the tips of her fingers into his shoulders, neck and spine. Varrick gave the occasional compliment, and as she worked in her rhythm it was all Zhu Li could do after Varrick proclaimed, "That's the spot, Zhu Li, you're a miracle worker!" not to lose herself completely and kiss him somewhere, anywhere, everywhere even.
She was saved by a knock at the door and a young man's voice calling out that their room service order had arrived.
Zhu Li caught her breath, corrected her glasses, and slid off of Varrick, tapping him twice on the back to let him know she was finished. She fanned her hand in front of her face, knowing she'd worked herself red, and answered the door.
Standing in the hallway with their cart of food was the same bellhop from earlier, who was now trying not to overanalyze Zhu Li's appearance: glasses skewed, jacket gone, hair riddled with flyaways.
"You're sure you don't need the honeymoon suite?" the bellhop asked.
Zhu Li shoved another twenty yuan from her skirt pocket at the boy and said, "No, and you did not see anything that would make you think we would."
"Okay…"
After he'd left, Zhu Li wheeled the cart inside, the aroma from the freshly prepared meals almost making her wish she didn't have to keep covering tracks in such a way. She'd tipped dozens of bellhops, taxi drivers, ship captains, and so on, all to keep their mouths from running. It was for the good of Varrick's company. She didn't want to be misconstrued as some kind of object in a tryst or scandal. If and when they were ever together, it would be public, and it would be on Varrick's terms. If it appeared to anyone that the head and founder of Varrick Industries slept around with his workers, things could get dicey.
So Zhu Li silenced anyone who thought the two might be involved. The worst of it was that there was nothing to be covered up. They were in a working relationship. A very close working relationship, but it had never gone further.
Even so, she dropped hints that a personal relationship between them might not be all that bad.
"Varrick, you're right," Zhu Li commented, several minutes later, as the two shared food from right off the cart, passing sections of the newspaper back and forth. "This place is pretty wonderful."
"I told you."
Varrick finished a mouthful of noodles and stood to pour to glasses of the chilled plum wine hanging on one side of the cart. "This hotel has it all. Promise me you'll let me take you down to the spa, Zhu Li. I know you're not really a spa kind of woman, but—"
"It sounds wonderful."
Varrick looked up, gave her a crooked smile, and passed her a glass of wine. Zhu Li took it graciously, letting her fingers brush his as the glass passed hands.
"Well?" Varrick prompted, nodding at the glass.
Zhu Li took a sip, and the tangy, sweet drink seemed to wake her senses. "It's fantastic wine," she complimented.
"You bet your ass it is."
Varrick took a few sips of his own, and walked to the window. Zhu Li watched his every stride, and gladly joined him when he waved her over. The sun was setting and the full moon rising, the sky's strange blue haze fading into the evening's dark purples, and even more spirits flocked to the valley.
"To, uh…" Varrick began, holding up his glass.
"Clean getaways?" Zhu Li offered.
"Works for me."
They clinked their glasses together and threw back the plum wine. Zhu Li felt warm and rejuvenated. Varrick looked tired. But the city sprawled out before them, and now, here, in the safety of a beautiful hotel rather than a (considerably deluxe) prison cell, Zhu Li let herself truly take in the beauty of seeing so many spirits in once place.
She'd rarely seen them in her childhood. Being in the Southern Water Tribe had allowed her several glances here and there. But here in Shangu it looked like a festival. The spirits returning to the world. Everything bright and different and changing.
Zhu Li leaned against Varrick, ready to blame the wine if he shirked, but he put his arm around her and gestured out at the valley with the hand in which he held his empty glass. "Picture it," he said. "A full magnetic rail system. Can you imagine how much faster we could've gotten here? Stretch the rail through the entire Earth Kingdom. Speed up trade. Amp up travel. The future's gonna be something, Zhu Li, an we're gonna start it."
"We?"
"Of course. I can't do a thing without you."
Zhu Li laughed. "I do my best, sir."
They stood at the window a moment longer; as Varrick talked out a few other potential uses for his proposed monopoly on magnets, Zhu Li kept a close eye on the spirits. Every lamp stayed lit, the moon hung in the sky as it always did. But the haze still hung over town.
Regardless, the view was beautiful enough for Zhu Li to remark after Varrick had trailed off, "They were right, the hotel workers. This would be a very lovely place for a honeymoon."
"Sure would."
Varrick began walking back to refill his plum wine, stopped suddenly, and turned. "You're not getting married, are you, Zhu Li?"
"To whom, sir? Of course not."
"Right. Right. You're talking a hypothetical honeymoon."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. I can't lose you to some what's-his-name when I'm just hitting it big with this magnet thing."
Zhu Li was about to remind Varrick that he already had movers, along with dozens of other inventions, patents, and perfect ideas, but she stayed silent, instead reflecting on his version of a compliment.
"Hey," Varrick began, as he poured his next glass of wine. "Zhu Li. Are you happy?"
"What?"
"Working for me."
Zhu Li blinked. Yes, she was. But he'd never asked. "Of course I am," she answered.
"Okay. Just… just checking."
Two glasses of wine later, Varrick passed out on the bed. Before falling asleep, he had ordered, "Wake me up before the spa closes," but Zhu Li knew there'd be no interrupting his rest for anything but an emergency once he finally dozed off.
She let him rest and pulled a green robe on over her clothes, enjoying another glass of wine at the window with the final section of the newspaper in her lap. Yes. This place would be wonderful, she thought, for some lucky woman's hypothetical honeymoon.
Letting the thought slip aside, she eased her concentration onto a story in the paper, covering the slow return of spirits to the area and how travel had as yet been unaffected by any changes, but to stay reading and tuned to the radio for any alterations in schedule.
Daylight faded, Varrick slept, Zhu Li lethargically made her way through the newspaper. Night fell, and soon after a small blue spirit had flown past the window, all the lights went out.
Zhu Li dropped the paper but managed not to drop the glass. She stood up with a start, having only the moon to guide her, and fumbled her way to the vanity, set down the glass, and began rummaging through their luggage for a lantern.
Cries went up from throughout the hotel and through the valley outside. Forgetting the lantern, Zhu Li ran back to the window, tripping once, to discover that the entire complex had been robbed of electricity. A second later, so had the rest of the city. The hotel was central to the town, the largest power source. If someone could restore power here, perhaps the city around it might benefit.
Carefully, she rushed to the door and pried it open. Holding the robe around her, she grabbed onto the arm of a woman blindly running down the dark hallway and asked, "What's going on?"
She squinted in the dim moonlight to see that the woman was in the hotel's uniform. "We aren't sure," the worker answered, panicked. "None of our backups are working, the fuses aren't blown. We think it might be the spirits, but it's hard to tell. Please stay in your room, ma'am, and we'll send someone around with lanterns and any information we might have soon."
"Do you need help?"
"I'm not sure how anyone could help right now, but if you can think of something and safely make your way to the lobby, please let us know."
Zhu Li nodded and retreated back into the room.
Ignoring the shouts coming from the other rooms on their floor, the panic and mayhem that was steadily rising, Zhu Li rushed to the bed, shouting, "Varrick!"
He didn't wake at first.
She climbed onto the mattress and shook him. "Varrick!"
"Five more minutes."
"You don't get five more minutes, I'm not even giving you five seconds. You need to wake up, now," Zhu Li ordered.
Stirring uncomfortably, Varrick muttered, "What?"
"The lights went out."
Varrick groaned and turned onto his back.
"What?"
"Just like the woman downstairs said," Zhu Li realized. "The spirits grew in number, and then suddenly the lights went out. Judging from the people yelling outside, I'm not sure if anyone knows how to fix it. Can you think of something?"
"I don't know…"
"Yes, you can! Wake up and think, Varrick, that's what you do. And this hotel needs you to think."
Slowly, Varrick stood up and massaged his temples. "Get me a, uh… thing," he asked, and Zhu Li poured him a glass of water from the dinner cart. Varrick took a sip and splashed the rest on his face.
Zhu Li covered her face with one arm as the water splashed toward her, but it had done the trick for Varrick. He stood, stretched, ran his hands back through his hair, then dropped his hands to his sides and said, "Hold on. All the lights are out."
"Yes," Zhu Li sighed, "I just told you that."
"Hmm."
Varrick stood tapping his foot for a moment. Zhu Li discarded her robe in favor of finding and pulling her jacket back on. She nearly tripped again when Varrick shouted:
"I've got an idea. Zhu Li, get the megaphone!"
"I didn't bring a megaphone."
"What?! How am I supposed to address the entire hotel without a megaphone?" Varrick accused.
"Well, I didn't exactly think a megaphone was considered a vital piece of equipment to pack with us as we were escaping prison!" Zhu Li bit back.
"Fine, I'll just stand on a table and shout, is that what you want me to do?"
"It's probably the best option you have, sir."
"Well, then, fine. Come on."
Varrick threw on his coat, grabbed Zhu Li by the hand and began leading her down the hallway to the stairs. Zhu Li let her heart skip and kept pace. This was Varrick as she most enjoyed seeing him: in his element, already planning a solution, gears turning, mind on fire.
Hotel staff had begun dotting the hallways with flame-lit lanterns and candles as they made their way down the stairs. A passing bellhop handed Varrick a small lantern that helped guide them down to the lobby.
Dozens of guests and town citizens were gathered in the lobby, huddled together around still more lanterns and candles. Staff behind the desk frantically darted about trying to glean new information from anyone who would talk, and one guest couple had brought down their room's transistor radio in hopes of calling outside the city for aid.
There were no spirits in the lobby.
"Varrick," Zhu Li said upon noticing the lack of spirits.
"Hang on, I need to find a high point."
"Varrick, I think whatever you do, we need to give the spirits some time."
"They can have their time. This place needs light."
Zhu Li nodded, and grabbed a poster advertisement off the wall. Varrick found the high spot he'd been looking for by climbing atop the concierge desk, and Zhu Li rolled up the poster to act as an amplifier and handed it up to him.
"Sir, you can't—" the man behind the desk tried to protest.
"He knows how to get the power back," Zhu Li interrupted. "Give him a minute."
The man retreated, and Varrick held up his makeshift megaphone.
"Hey!" Varrick addressed the crowd. "Hello! Listen up, people, I've got a plan."
"Are you with the hotel?" a woman called out.
"No, but I don't have to be. My name is Varrick, of Varrick Industries, and I can get the power up and running but I'm going to need help. Hopefully from some of you.
"First thing: lightningbenders. Any lightningbenders out there?"
A small number raised their hands tepidly. Zhu Li counted five."
"Excellent, you're great," Varrick said. "Next up: metalbenders. We got any metalbenders here?"
A larger number had their hands up this time, twelve by Zhu Li's count.
"Okay," Varrick instructed, "I want you to scrounge up whatever metal you can. Refrigerators, doors, picture frames, I don't care, as long as it can conduct electricity! Gather up whatever you've got into the courtyard and I'll meet you there. Same goes for all you lightningbenders. Half an hour, tops! Then we're gonna pump power back into this place. Got it?"
The crowd let out something of a cheer, and Varrick stepped down from the desk. Once again taking Zhu Li by one hand and holding a lantern in the other, he led the way out the front door.
"Sir, do you mind letting me in on the plan?" Zhu Li asked.
"We're building a generator, and we're gonna fill it with natural electricity, and then we're going to finish our dinner and get some sleep because I'm starting to get a headache."
"It sounds like a good plan, but I have two questions."
"Shoot."
"One. What if the spirits intervene?"
"Then we improvise until someone can get Avatar Korra down here."
"Fair enough. Two. Why are you taking me to the parking lot?"
"Isn't it obvious? We need to wire the electricity through something. We're repurposing the car."
All Zhu Li ever needed was an abstract of Varrick's plans. From the foundations, she could piece together what he needed in order to reach the final product. The full idea now in her mind, she kept stride with Varrick as they made their way to the Satomobile they'd arrived in.
"All right, Zhu Li, do the thing," Varrick instructed once they were both seated inside. Zhu Li nodded sternly, started up the car, kicked up the headlights and began driving around the side of the hotel, looking for a clear entrance.
Spying a low row of hedges, she instructed Varrick to hold on, and drove through the bushes and into the courtyard between the complex's four buildings. She threw the car into park, left the headlights on, and turned off the ignition. She leapt out seconds after Varrick, who opened up the hood and instantly stated, "Well, crap."
"What's wrong?" Zhu Li wondered. Spirits began to surround them; a very small one perched on a headlight.
"I don't have my tools."
"I have a knife," Zhu Li offered, unsheathing one from under her skirt. The spirit bucked and flew away.
"Perfect!" Varrick exclaimed. "You think of everything, Zhu Li."
Zhu Li handed Varrick the knife and kept watch as he cut wires, twisted off gears, threw things to the ground and stitched things back together. When Varrick was in his element, he was fast, and this task proved no exception. Before long, the car's vital parts had been restructured into conducting coils.
The volunteer metalbenders, along with staff members, some additional hotel guests, and the lightningbenders began slowly arriving with other scraps. "We're gonna need two major towers for the current," Varrick instructed. "Give me a second to find a new outlet for these plugs and we're in business. Zhu Li, come with me. Someone who works here, where are the fuse boxes? Also, does anyone have any matches? My lantern's out."
An older hotel worker pointed Varrick in the right direction. Another man rushed to the parked car and handed Varrick a box of matches. After thanking him, Varrick and Zhu Li ran the wires swiftly to the east and west buildings.
The moon was rising higher, and the spirits in the courtyard drifted toward the roof.
At the western building, Varrick flung open the fuse box, handed Zhu Li the wires, and struck a match. "Can't believe I forgot the lantern," he commented.
"Can you see?" Zhu Li asked.
"More or less. No really good outlets," Varrick grumbled, holding the match to the box. "What, are we living in the Roku era? Give me a break."
A gust of wind blew up behind them; Zhu Li took two cautious steps forward after casting a glance over her shoulder. "Sir," she said, placing her hands on Varrick's shoulders, "maybe it is best if we leave this till the morning…"
"No way," Varrick argued. "I don't want to wait forever to make a phone call or signal a ship."
Zhu Li turned again, certain she had seen something move behind them. "Sir, please," she begged, "I don't want to be insistent, but there are so many spirits in the courtyard. They seem like they want something, and with the world changing so much, recently, I—"
"Spirits, shmirits, don't worry," Varrick said, overconfidently, squinting at the circuit board by the light of the match. "Nothing can get us if we just—"
The next gust of wind blew out the match and swung closed the fuse box. Panicked, Varrick swerved around, moving Zhu Li in front of him like a shield. Zhu Li thought for a moment about the knives hidden under her skirt, but she knew better than to anger a spirit, should that indeed be the source of the phenomenon.
Spirits didn't respond positively to anger. There was no knowing if they'd respond to the opposite.
Thinking fast, Zhu Li spun Varrick around, catching the shape of a large spirit in her peripheral vision. It was indeed the wind source, and it was advancing.
"Kiss me," Zhu Li requested under her breath.
"What?!" Varrick sputtered. "Where's this coming from?"
"Please, it might turn the spirit back, or at least buy us some time. The staff said this was a place for honeymooners, maybe the spirits around here respond better to affection than fear. If we show we don't mean harm, then they might let everyone just go about their day."
"You think that'll work?"
"It's worth a try."
The spirit, reptilian in outline and with glowing eyes, stepped closer into Zhu Li's line of sight. Varrick had seen it, too, and with only one option between them, Varrick grabbed Zhu Li in and kissed her.
It wasn't how she had imagined their first kiss, but it came close. And as far as Zhu Li was concerned, it felt real. She set her hands on Varrick's neck and kissed back, not concerned with what might happen if any part of the plan might fail.
There was no wind. Slowly, Zhu Li pulled back. Varrick cleared his throat and did a poor job of averting her eyes.
Zhu Li turned to face the spirit. Even if it hadn't cared for seeing humans embracing rather than meaning harm, the moment had given her enough confidence to see Varrick's plan through to completion.
The spirit stood only a few feet away from them, but it was not moving. Zhu Li stood her ground, and Varrick stood inches behind her.
Finding her confidence, Zhu Li looked up at the spirit, twice her size, and asked it, "What do you want?"
The iridescent reptilian creature stared at her for a moment, then looked up at the moon.
"Do the spirits need light from the moon?" Zhu Li guessed. "Or all other light to be dim to make way for it?"
The spirit looked back at her. She trembled a little.
"I understand if you need moonlight, but we need a little more than that. Can we compromise?"
A small breeze rose up, and the spirit was gone.
After a second of silence, Varrick asked, "Zhu Li, can you talk to spirits?"
"I don't think so. But I think that understanding doesn't need words."
"Works for me. Let's get this thing going."
Varrick found an outlet to his satisfaction and plugged the wires in, then called to Zhu Li to follow him to the eastern building. He had his doubts, but Zhu Li's confidence in the project helped guide Varrick to the second outlet.
With all components in place, Varrick turned back to address the crowd.
"Okay, listen up! Metalbenders: we're gonna build a couple of conducting towers. Lightningbenders, I hope you can see where I'm going with this."
Affirmative cries came through the crowd, along with a few I hope this works murmurs from staff, couples and families.
"Right! Metalbenders, do the thing!" Varrick called out loudly enough for the entire courtyard to hear. The large makeshift generators were pieced together in seconds once the benders had been given the word.
"Zhu Li, do the thing!"
Zhu Li made a quick round through the courtyard, running the cables through the metal towers. She returned to Varrick with a solid nod, and he grinned.
"Okay!" he shouted. "Lightningbenders! Do the thing!"
The five volunteers stepped forward, and one called out, "How should we do this?"
"Circle up," Zhu Li instructed, "and please be careful."
The benders nodded, took their positions, and began culling electricity from the air around them. In a matter of minutes, they directed it as a group toward the generators, which hummed and buzzed with the electric activity. The benders stood back, and sparks flew between the conductors and visibly through the wires.
The fuse boxes sputtered, sparked, and then the entire hotel lit up from the inside, electricity humming in the air.
As the crowd cheered, Zhu Li stared up at the roof of the nearest building. Spirits looked down at the crowd, and up at the moon. Slowly, the haze began to dissipate, letting clear moonbeams shine into the courtyard. Many of the spirits then ascended, and disappeared.
She wondered what exactly the spirits really had wanted. Maybe it was really only a moment to enjoy the full moon. Maybe it was a chance to test the humans they were now sharing the land with.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Varrick hugged her from behind, lifting her a few inches off the ground. "Done and done!" he exclaimed. "Thanks for the help, Zhu Li."
Her feet still in the air, Zhu Li managed to respond, "Don't mention it."
After the success from the project, Varrick offered monetary compensation to those who had helped out (as well as offering to pay for the ruined hedges), but the staff insisted that the two stay the night for free. Sleep came easily to both of them once all of the activity had died down, and when they checked out the following morning, Varrick was given a celebratory bottle of plum wine and vouchers for another stay at any time.
When the airship arrived to bring them to Zaofu, Varrick tucked away his wine to keep as a gift for Suyin Beifong, and leaned against Zhu Li on the bench seat they'd claimed by a window.
Watching Shangu disappear behind them, Varrick said, "Well, I'm glad we figured something out."
"So am I," said Zhu Li. "And I'm glad the spirits weren't upset. We should have stayed to clean up."
"Are you nuts? They wouldn't have wanted us to anyway. They invited us back! Who knows when we're gonna get there, though."
"We can always try."
"No kidding! We didn't even get to the spa."
"You'll have to make a plan for us sometime, then," Zhu Li said, presuming Varrick would take it as a joke.
"I most certainly do."
– – –
Nearly four years later, Varrick placed their names on the list for the honeymoon suite at the Shangu Plaza Hotel and Spa.
Republic City was once again in ruins and rebuilding, but Shangu was flourishing, humans and spirits coexisting much more harmoniously than they had during Zhu Li's prior impression of the city. This time, they traveled by rail, were running from nothing, and had, as far as the newly married couple were concerned, all the time in the world to do whatever they pleased during their stay.
The first stop was the spa. The second, the courtyard, where the Satomobile was still parked, overgrown with greenery and spirit vines. Spirits flitted about, soaking in sunlight and, into the evening, the light of the moon.
At the end of their first night, Zhu Li and her husband returned to their honeymoon suite to toast glasses of plum wine and watch the spirits float about the fertile courtyard beneath their window.
Varrick took her to bed, and they lay pressed together, no plans in their minds but seeing what the morning would bring them. His hands wound up into her hair, Varrick asked, "Zhu Li?"
She drew back to look at him, face to face, his blue eyes staring straight into hers. "Yes?"
"Are you happy?"
Smiling boldly, she answered, "Of course I am."
She pressed closer to kiss him. And drew up the sheets.
And turned the lights out.
– – –