AN: Another AU fic where the members of the Red Lotus get a different ending from the series. (Yes all of them). There will be Mingzan and some Pheer. Unfortunately, like many others I got attached to the season 3 villains. Normally I'm not a shipper but damn it, I liked both Pheer and Mingzan. There will be head canons because we didn't get backstories for Ming hua and Ghazan and we got one sentence for P'li.
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Korra
Ghazan watched as the two teenagers ran from the cave. As soon as they were out of sight, he stopped the cave from collapsing and cooled the lava he had created. When he saw that the firebender arrive to help his brother he knew that something must have happened to Ming-hua. Zaheer would be very angry at him for throwing the battle like that, but he didn't care.
Ghazan ran into the direction he had seen Ming-hua and the firebender run while fighting. Looking around, he saw hole that led down to a pool of water. She had to be down there. He took a deep breath and jumped down, worried about what he might find.
He looked around quickly and saw her body lying next to the pool of water. He ran over and picked up her up. She gave a little groan as he did. Good, she was still alive, though she was barely conscious and soaking wet. He felt for a pulse and it was very rapid. He also noticed that there were lightning scars on her neck.
"Ming-hua, you need to heal yourself." He said urgently. She didn't move.
"Come on," He pleaded and felt himself starting to panic. "Don't leave me."
He eyes slightly opened and she frowned. The water on her glowed, healing her just enough to put her vitals back to normal. Her head then fell back and her eyes closed.
"Ok good." Ghazan said feeling relieved. Her heart rate was back to normal and her breathing was stronger. She was still badly injured but at least he didn't have to worry about her dying. Now he would just have to wait for Zaheer to defeat the avatar and then he could move Ming-hua to a more comfortable place.
He held her close to him, trying his best to keep her warm. He had wanted to do this for so long, but not like this. Not after she had nearly died, their plans had gone awry, and with P'li dead.
He wondered what had happened to P'li. It wasn't like her to get careless. If she had been there when the avatar had been forced into the avatar state this all would have been over quickly. But that didn't matter, she was gone. Zaheer would never be the same again, Ming-hua wouldn't take it well once reality set in, and he himself would miss her. She was after all one of his closest friends.
Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the back of the head and his vision went black.
"Alright, go get them." Suyin ordered Kuvira and the other metal benders with her. "And check to see if that water bender is still alive."
"Yes ma'am." Kuvira responded and led the group over to the criminals. "She's alive, but she's badly injured. I don't think she'll be too much trouble for us."
"The air ship should have arrived, get them there quickly before either wakes up." Su commanded. "And make sure all precautions are taken in their cells."
Ming-hua woke up. She could feel that she was lying in a very comfortable bed, though she could hardly enjoy it because her body was in pain. She rolled over and opened her eyes trying to remember what had happened.
Her face flushed as she remembered her last fight with that firebender. That damn kid had won. She had never suspected that he could lightning bend and she didn't understand why he hadn't done it back at Misty Palms Oasis.
She figured that Ghazan must have finished him off. She then cringed and wondered what Ghazan was thinking when he found her nearly dead. He and Zaheer were probably very disappointed that she had lost to that teenager. And why did Ghazan have to beg her to live? Now she was going to have to live with that defeat.
"Do you need help getting up?" A woman's voice startled her.
Ming-hua felt herself go cold and her eyes quickly opened. That voice was vaguely familiar. Despite the pain, she forced herself up using her core strength. Her back hurt from being slammed into the rock by the avatar, but she managed to stabilize herself sitting on the bed. She then noticed that her feet were bound up with a metal contraption and tethered to the floor.
There were four women in the cell with her. One she recognized as the leader of Zaofu, she thought her name was Suyin. She was standing next to a woman who had similar looks and had her arms folded. The two other women stood very close to her on each side looking as though they were ready to restrain her if needed.
Ming-hua quickly looked around for water but there was none. Her mouth was completely dry and as desperate as she was, her saliva was not an option. She was also not a blood bender and even if she had been, there wasn't a full moon. She was outnumbered so physically attacking anyone in the room would be a very bad idea.
"The women next to you are chi blockers." Suyin said firmly. "I suggest that you not try anything."
"Where am I? What happened?" Ming-hua asked glaring at them. She had just noticed that she was wearing different clothes. Light green shirt with dark green pants. Prison clothes. They were a size too big for her though that was not surprising considering how tiny she was.
"You're on an airship, we've taken you and your friends into custody." Suyin responded.
Ming-hua's eyes widened. They had lost. P'li's death, those thirteen years in prison, everything thing that they had worked towards had all been for nothing.
"So you're taking me back to that prison?" Ming-hua tried to keep her voice strong, but it was very noticeably cracking. The White Lotus, though they themselves thought otherwise, had become a cruel organization. Ming-hua had spent over a decade kept on the verge of death. The heat itself was agonizing. In order to keep her alive, every hour, she'd have a sponge shoved into her mouth to hydrate her a little. She couldn't rest against the bars as they were made of iron and she would get severe burns if she had touched them. The cage that they kept her in was completely open giving her no privacy and there was plenty of harassment from the guards over the years. She'd prefer that they'd just execute her. She didn't want to live like that for the rest of her life. It was doubtful that Zaheer would escape again considering that last time no one expected him to one day become air bender.
"I don't want to go back there!" Her voice was getting smaller and she broke eye contact. "I can't do it again. Do you have any idea how awful the White Lotus is!" She knew she was sounding desperate and she hated it.
The woman next to Suyin spoke. "After everything you did, why should we give a damn what happens to you!"
"Lin." Suyin interrupted then looked back at Ming-hua. "Don't worry; I'm not turning you over to the White Lotus. This air ship is on its way to Zaofu."
Ming-hua noticed Lin give Suyin a look.
"When we get there, we'll put you in a maximum security cell for water benders. The air will be dry, but it will be much more comfortable than your last prison. And we'll only have women guarding your cell." Suyin explained. "When the avatar recovers in a few weeks, she will remove your water bending and you'll be moved to a more comfortable cell."
Ming-hua's eyes widened and then she looked at her right shoulder, and then her left shoulder. "How am I supposed to do anything without my water bending?"
"We can get you a caregiver, prosthetics, or whatever you prefer." Suyin continued. Her voice was softening.
Ming-hua frowned. She thought the days of someone helping her out with everything were long gone. Waterbending had given her freedom to live her own life. The thought of it being taken from her was agonizing. It had been years since she had used her legs and feet to do anything for herself. Once she learned to water bend, she solely used that to accommodate and she stopped using any other techniques she had learned to adapt.
"Where are Ghazan and Zaheer?" She suddenly asked.
"Zaheer was taken into custody by the White Lotus. The earth bender is in another cell. I'm sorry, but we can't let you two see each other yet." Suyin replied.
So Ghazan was nearby. Zaheer was going back to a White Lotus prison and they were now going to have to deal with him as an air bender. She did not want to think about what they would have to do to contain him. Then again, she knew he spent most of his previous imprisonment in the spirit world and she had a little bit of resentment towards him for that. His prison time was easy compared to her, Ghazan and P'li's.
"I suggest you don't try anything foolish." Suyin continued her eyes locked on Ming-hua. "If you try to escape or attack anyone, we won't be able to keep you in Zaofu and the White Lotus will take you."
"Can I heal myself?"
"When you get to your cell, we'll let you heal. I'm sorry, but considering how dangerous you are we just can't take any chances." Suyin responded. "For now, just get some rest. Do you need help lying back down?"
"No!" Ming-hua said quickly.
With that, Suyin, Lin and the chi blockers left. Two guards stood outside the cell door.
Ming-hua had to let herself fall back onto the bed. It hurt as she landed but she was not asking anyone for help. She did not trust them and wondered if they really were going to Zaofu.
Su and Lin walked quietly away from Ming hua's cell. When they were far enough away that no one near the cell would hear them, Lin spoke.
"Are you seriously bringing her and that earth bender back to Zaofu? They nearly killed Korra and several others!"
"Yes Lin I am." Suyin responded a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Zaofu has the facilities to hold both. I'm confident they won't escape."
"I don't get it, why do you even want that responsibility? If they were to escape again, it won't look good for you!" Lin added. "You wanted me to visit her cell with you because you were concerned that she would find water. We were lucky she was still out when we got there."
Su sighed. Luckily, Ming-hua was unconscious when they had found her. Water benders were especially difficult to detain. They had quickly taken precautions, making sure she was completely dry, getting rid of any source of water in the room, and binding up her legs. Still, she was very resourceful and Su had wanted Lin there just in case Ming-hua had found any water. The human body was after all, mostly made of it and Su wasn't sure what lengths she would go to get any.
"The prisons that the White Lotus kept them in were very inhumane. We can do better at Zaofu. There is no point in locking someone up like that for the rest of their life." Su paused. "And even if Korra does remove their bending and they were to go to another White Lotus prison, I don't know if that woman would be safe."
Su had seen many jails and prisons in her travels. She knew how dangerous other inmates and the guards could be.
"You know, she did hold Opal hostage and threatened with one of her icicles." Lin reminded raising her eye brow.
"I know." Su said shortly. "Opal won't have any contact with her."
"Are you going to try to bring Zaheer to Zaofu?" Lin was slightly sarcastic.
"Zaheer is way too dangerous for our prisons, even without his air bending." Su responded. "Besides, the White Lotus already have him, they won't give him up." Su thought for a moment. "We wouldn't have been able to imprison the combustion bender humanely either." She sighed and looked away from Lin.
"You don't feel guilty about that do you?" Lin asked.
"I'd rather her than you, but I don't like killing people." Su said sadly. "People don't just join anarchist groups without reason. The Earth Kingdom has had severe problems and many of them were the fault of Queen Hou-ting."
Lin looked at her resigned. "I hope you know what you're doing."
AN: I figured of all the characters, Suyin is the most likely to disapprove of the prisons they were held in. In fact, if any had made a heel face turn in the series, I figured that they would have ended up in Zaofu because Su lets former criminals live there.
As far as the prison outfits, they look the same as the ones the prisoners wore at the boiling rock, only in Earth Kingdom colors.
I'm sending them to prison first so I can have other Avatar characters interact with them. They won't be there the entire fic.
Fixed all the Ming-hua name mistakes in this chapter and wow this needs to be edited and rewritten.