The internet is wailing for Lin. Somehow, I feel right in my sadness.
Peace be with you, Master Lin- you shall be avenged.
The stone wall hit her back hard, smacking her spine with a force that stole her breath. The iron did not escape Lin- once, only a few short hours ago, he would have been able to escape with only the flick of her hand and the sliding of her feet. Now, it was all she could do not to give into self-pity.
The guard said nothing, instead slamming the iron doors shut, leaving the impression that he didn't care what happened to her. Lin had expected as much. He took up post at the end of the hallway- close enough to stop her if she tried to escape, but with enough distance between them to feign innocence if she happened to die.
She coughed, her body reminding her that having her bending removed after nearly getting fried, all while dealing with a cold, unending rain, was for a younger person. She ignored it- a lot had happened in the past week, and she would take her body's punishment only when the Equalists were gone- and not a moment before then. Lin coughed again, this time suppressing the urge to cry out at the sudden pain in her chest. It's only a broken rib- and it's not like I haven't had that before.
This pain continued though- no surprise, considering she'd had healers before. She was forcibly reminded of Pema shouting as the pain of childbirth wracked her now swollen frame. Lin had always thought of Pema as weak- she had never tried to think differently. And certainly, this most recent time had yielded nothing different. But her children- that had changed things. Children did not inherit everything of one parent and nothing of the other- families didn't work that way. The children had Tenzin's airbending prowess, and Aang's bravery- but apparently very little of Pema. Something about them though- something did remind Lin of her. Maybe it was their strength it had taken to rebel against their parents and fight, despite their obvious youth and inexperience.
Lin snorted- nonsense, how could they have gotten strength from Pema- why, she was a mouse, a woman who had never deviated from her obvious path. Except for Tenzin- she told him she loved him, and you know that must have taken guts. But still, it was only once- she wasn't strong any other time. Except for her children... Lin shook her head at her mind's folly- not even for them would she be strong! Except...
Lin knew it must have taken strength to leave the island and face the danger. But Pema had- she had faced it admirably, padding after the children, ignoring Tenzin's pleas and instead helping them pack, reminding the children that they must hurry, that they couldn't forget anything important. She had stayed calm the entire time, nursing Rohan and prodding her family a mere three hours after she had given birth.
When did she last leave the island- when had she last seen other people? Lin shuddered at the thought- to never see a soul say for your family, day in and day out- it chilled her to the bone. Pema has strength- just not in the same way as I do... Lin began to shake her head, then stopped. No- Pema did have strength, and she had passed that on to all of her children. It might be nice to have a little strength right now, Lin mused, forcing herself upright, trying not to gasp in pain. The pain was great, but Lin managed to become upright. Still, it came in waves; Lin wasn't sure if she'd ever felt this much pain. She resisted the urge to shout; finally, though, the pain won and Lin gasped, clutching at her sides with her arms. She panted, breathing heavily.
Rain poured endlessly, and thunder and lightning chased each other, competing for glory in the tall, wide sky. Water dripped in a corner and still Lin panted, closing her eyes and conceding to the weariness. A little rest won't hurt, Lin thought. And just as she conceded to the inevitable, Lin felt her limbs relax and darkness close in. Lin allowed it, knowing that conceding defeat was better than waging a useless siege.
The opening of the door awakened Lin- the metal creaked and groaned. She frowned- they were in the city's prisons, and Lin had thought the prison was in better condition than this. But this is the outskirts- you rarely go to the outskirts. Lin brushed the voice away- once this was over, clearly she would have to visit and fix what she could. Maybe if I metalbend the doors- the thought stopped her cold, and for a few dizzying seconds, Lin wasn't sure if she could breathe. Eventually, she forced air into her lungs. She clenched her hands- I can't metalbend; I might as well get used to the fact. She turned her attention to the guard, opening her eyes to see him toss in two more people. He closed the door without speaking, and once again took up his post at the end of the hallway. Lin looked at her two new cellmates. An elderly woman, pale and dark-haired, and a child who looked just enough like her to be a granddaughter. Lin sighed. Well, I guess they won't be much help. Still, Lin turned her attention towards them. The little girl was gasping, her hands shaking; the older woman soothed her. "It's all right Sen- he's gone, you're safe." The girl buried her face in the grandmother's arm. The woman turned towards Lin- "Have they got your bending yet?"
Lin frowned, confused by the unusual question- well, why else would a metal bender be in an iron cell- and nodded. The woman sighed. "They haven't taken mine or Sen's yet, though I suppose it's just a matter of time."
A corner of the woman's mouth turned upwards- her mouth held a wry grin. "I won't survive the procedure- I'm too old. Sen might- though I hate to think of the after-effects." Lin nodded, looking at the girl. The woman shook her head. "I can't let them hurt her- and I know I won't be of much help, bender or no."
Lin snorted. "Any bending is better than none." The old woman laughed, a short bark that made Sen look up. "You're wearing a uniform- I suppose you're a guard of sorts."
"Yes."
"Then you can defend yourself without bending- yes?"
Lin sighed. "Yes."
The woman smiled, all signs of humor gone. "Good. Now, I'll distract the guard- you take Sen and run."
Lin nearly bit her tongue in surprise. "You'll-"
The woman frowned, becoming angry. "You're not deaf, are you!"
"No, but-"
"Then you heard me! We'll need someone to distract the guard- and someone who knows the territory is better than an untried bender. And a guard," she said, ignoring Lin's attempts to speak, "someone trained in defense and knowledgeable about the surrounding area, is even better. I'm too old to try and run- I'll only slow you down. No, you take Sen- I'll distract the guard, try to hold him off."
Lin closed her mouth. "Well?" The old woman stared at her, repeating her question. "Well?"
Lin swallowed deeply- suddenly, this seemed bigger than her attempt to get her men back from Amon. "Yes."
"Good." The woman stood up- the girl followed. "Grandma?" Her voice was young- she appeared to be only five or so. And the way she clutched her grandmother, it seemed like she hadn't seen her parents in a while. They must have been separated.
Or they're dead. Lin ignored that last thought, and tried not to think of her own parents. Mother lived a good, long life- and Father knew me, if only for a year or so- and there's not use crying over a man I never knew.
The grandmother was talking to Sen. "She's going to take you to safety, so you have to listen to her. Okay?"
Sen yanked her grandmother's dress. "But what about you?"
The woman softened. "I'm going to stay here, to help the other prisoners."
Lin knew a lie when she heard one- and she wasn't the former Chief of Republic City's Metalbending Police Force for her stupidity. Their bending hadn't been taken away- but once Amon found out Lin and Sen had escaped, he would most certainly take it out on the only prisoner left from the cell. And if what the grandmother said was true, and she was too old to survive losing her bending- well, her only chance would be to escape with them.
But she's right- one city guard, unable to bend or not, is a lot better than an elderly woman who may or may not be able to bend well enough to escape. And there was no question of leaving the girl behind- Lin would have to think hard about leaving even the former Fire Lord Ozai behind to face Amon. And his fury- Lin tried not to think about what Amon's anger at two escaped prisoners would make him do to a child.
Yes, the old woman was right. So she played along, knowing her conscience would pay for it later. "We'll come back."
They looked up at her- Sen had been arguing, trying to convince her grandmother to go with them. Lin mustered a smile for the obviously frightened child. "We'll come back, once the city is safe, and we'll get your grandmother."
Sen looked at Lin, staring at her with unblinking eyes. "Promise?"
Her lip trembled, and her eyes filled even as she held Lin's gaze. She was scared, and still she thought of her grandmother. "I promise."
Yes, her conscience would pay dearly for this.
The girl nodded, and her grandmother wasted no time, handing Lin both Sen and a covered item she drew out of her dress. She looked at Lin- "Tell the Avatar that I and my ancestors- dead though they are-"
The woman breathed deeply, exhaling with a sigh. "Tell the Avatar that we apologize for not telling the truth sooner."
Lin frowned- had the woman known about Amon's Equalist tendencies before he came to Republic City- but the elderly woman said nothing more. She instead moved to the front of the cell, turning to Lin. "Start shouting at me."
She looked at Sen. "When I distract the guard, go with-"
She waved a hand towards Lin- the girl nodded, biting her lip. The woman looked at Lin. She took her cue, and started shouting nonsensically. The grandmother responded, shouting for the guard. "Guard- Guard, she's gone crazy- Guard, Guard, help us, this woman's gone mad- Guard!"
Lin continued shouting, increasing her vocalizations in volume and insanity. The woman continued to call for the guard. He came running with backup trailing behind him, and ordered he ordered the woman to step away from the door. She did as she was told, and they entered, heading towards Lin with purpose. Well, I don't have my bending- I guess the worst they can do is kill me.
Lin continued to shout, even as the woman shoved Sen towards her. The guards unconsciously mirrored the action, dragging Lin out of the cell. Once they were clear the cell door slammed shut- with most of the guards still in it. Lin turned, surprised. Is she a metalbender? The other guards released her, shoving Lin against the wall as they attempted to free their fellows. "Now!"
Looking at the woman one last time, Lin nodded, grabbing Sen and running for the exit. Making it through the doorway, she frantically looked around, somehow managing to stumble through her blind panic to find another exit. Lin continued like this, running through the various exits haphazardly, not knowing where she was going for one of the first times she could remember. Eventually she spotted an open doorway, with a cliff path just beyond. She readjusted her direction, gripping Sen even harder as she ran towards it. Two guards appeared- Lin stopped mid-run, knocking Sen against the stone wall. They advanced, confident and cocky, as Lin slowly backed up, watching them take out their lightning sticks apprehensively. Reflexively, she put her hand against the wall- her eye caught the windows across them that overlooked the cliffs. The guards advanced- their lightning sticks crackled with unspent energy. Lin stared at the windows, refusing to show fear. They had hurt her twice with those- they wouldn't leave her alive a third time.
She stared at the windows- and blinked as an idea came to mind. It was crazy- but these were desperate times. Behind her, Sen shivered, a physical reminder of what there was to lose.
The guards advanced; Lin tightened her grip on Sen. They came within a few feet- and Lin rammed herself into the window. The glass broke, falling with a tinkling sound, surrounding Lin and Sen as they plummeted into the iron grey wintry water that lay below them. The cold was excruciating- but Lin swam, clutching Sen as they bobbed to the surface.
The tide had worked quickly- it would take some time to swim back to the City. But the guards stood, silhouetted in the distant window, too far to harm them. Sen shivered, and Lin clutched her closer with one arm as she began to swim towards Republic City. Tenzin was probably still with Pema- and the Equalists probably had a good foothold. Still, Lin swam, knowing that it would take more than the loss of her bending to keep her from her City.
I'm planning on this being a multi-chap fanfic. We'll see how that goes.
Reviews are appreciated, but they are in no way required.
Lin- you are rocking, and though you are fake (I find myself saying this far too often of late) you will always be awesome.
You may now go barf at my non-writerly language. I wish you the best of luck.
Oh! - I own nothing...