Too Far Gone
In the damaged building around him; Bataar Jr. opened his eyes. The woman he had loved had done all of this; had tried to kill him, along with everybody else in the building.
Watching each person, somehow recover one by one as they stood, shaking off the effects of the attack; He searched for his mother in the dust of the debris." Mom."
"Suyin." He heard his Aunt Lin call out for her sister.
Troubled by the lack of response, her eyes became frantic as she walked faster through the dust. "Suyi-…No!"
Lin had found something.
Following the chief's voice, Bataar walked through the dust beginning to clear, as the rest of the room and its inhabitants came into view. He slowed to a stop; looking up through the partially destroyed ceiling, as he watched Kuvira's mech, with its back to them, blasting everyone in sight.
He stood and hung his head in shame; hearing the agonizing sound of peoples screams around him, over the terrifying noise of the gun.
He was going to marry that woman…No…they were right, she was nothing now but a monster.
How could the woman, who he had just told hours ago he loved, turn into a remorseless killer in an instant?
Breaking him from his thoughts was an ear shattering scream.
"Suyin, I have to get this out; you are going to die if I don't."
"Leave it alone Lin…I am going to die…either way. You pulling it out…is just…going to accelerate that."
Recognizing the voices, he turned around to see Lin sitting on the ground holding Suyin; supporting her head, as she tried to bend the rod that had lodged itself deep within the matriarch's side.
"Mom?" Bataar quickly moved closer to them, taking a spot on the opposite side of Suyin, as he looked up into Lin's angry eyes.
She had every right to direct some of her anger at him. Hours ago, he was an extension of Kuvira; her right- hand man, even though now he was just another pawn. "No no..no no…I didn't mean for this to happen, I promise."
"It's ok sweetie, I just feel….a little….light-headed, that's all."
Bataar had heard everything she had told Lin, and knew she was only lying to make him feel better.
After everything he had put her through, she didn't want him to feel guilty, knowing he had only made a mistake out of love and anger.
Suyin coughed a few labored coughs drawing his attention back to her.
Lin looked down at her sister in hopeless despair. "shit, you're coughing up blood…we have to get you out of here."
Lin quickly glanced around for an exit out of their predicament…but they were trapped; and it didn't help that Kuvira's mech was right above them. The Great Uniter probably thought they were all dead; but Lin knew as soon as they started running, she'd follow and finish the job the second time.
Seeing his mother struggle was harder to watch than Bataar thought.
How could he have ever been ok with this?
Yes, Bataar had been angry; but it wasn't worth this. He looked down at his aunt's hands, as Suyin's blood began to pour out faster between her fingers. Enraged, he shot up from the floor; looking around for the radio they had used to let him talk to Kuvira.
Finding it next to the Avatar, he stormed over, ripping it up from the ground. Holding it to his mouth he yelled into the receiver. "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? IS THIS WHAT YOUR STUPID EMPIRE IS WORTH?
Watching the mech stop as it charged another shot pointed at a building, told Bataar she could hear him.
Stopping mid-stance as her arm prepared the next shot; Kuvira listened to him with a furrowed brow.
"YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING." She continued to listen to his accusations. " I LOVED YOU, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR."
Raising a nonchalant eyebrow, Kuvira ignored the angry words, focusing back on the view point. 'hmph'
"YOU'VE TAKEN ZAOFU, YOU'RE KILLING THE INNOCENT, AND NOW YOU'RE EVEN TAKING THE VERY LIFE OF THE WOMAN WHO GAVE YOU EVERYTHING."
The Battlefield went into an eerie dead silence, as they all watched the mech's gun arm slowly fall down to its side.
Standing in the middle of the control area, Kuvira froze, as her eyes focused on nothing.
"Great Uniter?"
And for the first time, Kuvira didn't want to hear that name. "Take us down."
"Great Uniter Ar-"
"Just do it"
The guards shared a look before complying with her order, as they maneuvered the mech down.
Kuvira made her way to the door, looking down as she waited for it to open. Watching the first cracks of light shine on her shoes as the door opened, Kuvira didn't bother to put on the mask of the Great Uniter.
Once fully opened, the door allowed the wind to blow across her face, disturbing the loose strands of her hair. Squinting her eyes at the bright intrusion of the evening sun, Kuvira walked down the ramp, letting the burning smell of her destruction linger in her nose.
Stepping into where the others were held up, Kuvira's hollow eyes searched for Suyin.
Moving her head slowly from side to side, she took in the silence, looking at the angry stares surrounding her.
Stepping out from the group, Bataar came towards her with a quickened pace, before grabbing the collar of her uniform. "Is this what you wanted?" He pointed at Suyin, angrily yelling in Kuvira's face. "Is this what your empire is worth?"
Standing in place, she heard Suyin's screams of pain, as Lin tried her best to slowly bend out the metal rod.
The muscles around The Great Uniter's eyes twitched, as she continued to listen to the matriarch's cries of agony.
Kuvira pushed forward towards Suyin, despite Bataar standing in front of her. "NO, you've done enough. It's because of you that she might not live…Because of you th-"
"No…Bataar…"
At his mother's weak voice he turned around, letting go of Kuvira. "I want…"
Suyin swallowed down the metallic taste in her mouth, as she turned her head to Kuvira. "…to talk to her." Reaching her arm out for the guard she once knew, she tried to smile through tired reddened eyes of anguish. "Come here…Kuvira."
The Great Uniter resumed her slow pace, as she neared Lin and Suyin.
She spared a short glance to Lin, who stared back at her with absolute hate in her eyes; the kind of hate you couldn't resolve.
Stopping beside Suyin, Kuvira didn't reach for the matriarch's hand; but instead stood, staring at the blood that covered it with numb eyes.
Kuvira listened to Suyin inhale an unsteady breath, as she watched the matriarch reach out further to grab the finger of one of her gloved hands. She could feel the life draining out of Suyin's weak touch.
After slowly entwining her fingers with Suyin's frail ones, she did the one thing nobody would have expected. Dropping to her knees beside the matriarch, her eyes ran over the wound she had created.
The inhabitants of the room all shared a look of shock; never imagining they would see something able to bring the Great Uniter to her knees. Even Lin, sitting opposite her on Suyin's other side, allowed a shocked look to also pass over her face.
"What should I do to fix this boss? Tell me…what I need to do?" Kuvira said in a hushed tone, her head falling down.
Taking her hand from Kuvira's grip, Suyin reached up to touch the Great Uniter's face, as she lifted Kuvira's head.
"….You can't…fix everything…Kuvira..." Suyin took a ragged deep breath. " I-I told you that…before you left..Zaofu."
Taking Suyin's wrist into her hand, Kuvira pulled it down; shifting her eyes to stare straight ahead, as a trail of blood was left on her face.
Kuvira gazed down at the wound, not particularly paying attention to it, as her mind failed to grasp the reality of Suyin dying. "I-I-I d-did a g-good job, right boss?" Kuvira looked over, smiling at the matriarch, like she used to back at Zaofu.
Except this eerie smile broke Suyin's heart, as she looked into the eyes of a person who was breaking and fading away.
The matriarch sadly smiled back, watching as the Great Uniter began to lose the sanity keeping her grounded to the earth. Suyin placed her hand back onto Kuvira's cheek, as tears fell from her eyes. "Yes..You did…and I'd…be even more proud…if you stopped this..." Suyin let her eyes search Kuvira's empty ones. "Can you do that….for me?"
Kuvira opened her mouth, trying to push her words out, as she nodded at Suyin. "I-I can do that for you. And then we can go back to Zaofu. Just like old times…right boss? She reached her hands out to pick up Suyin, only to be blocked by Lin.
Turning her head to her sister, Suyin watched her stare at Kuvira. "It's ok Lin…let her do it."
Respecting her sister's wishes, Lin moved away hesitantly, watching the exchange between her and Kuvira.
Placing an arm under Suyin's knees, and another around her back, Kuvira lifted her up watching the matriarch wince. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just take me…out of here." Suyin said burying her head into Kuvira's uniform.
The onlookers split like the sea, as Kuvira slowly made her way through with a dying Suyin. She ignored the looks of confusion placed on each face, continuing to walk with her death march like pace.
"Kuvira…?" Suyin asked, not looking to the woman's face above her.
"Yes."
"There's….one more thing."
Kuvira stepped out of the building she destroyed, standing as she held Suyin, looking over the damage she had done.
Buildings were crippled as the steel supports jutted out from the piles of rubble. People were dying and a city was crumbling because of her. But through it all, Kuvira closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath, amazed by the silence in the chaos she had created. "What do you need me to do?"
"I…want to…see the sun set…before I die…" Suyin looked up at the Great Uniter's eyes staring out into the distance. "…just like…we used to…in Zaofu."
Looking out to one of the piles of rubble; Kuvira picked the "best" spot.
"I can do that too." She said, walking over to a vantage point near the sea. "And what do you mean 'die'?" Kuvira smiled, as she chuckled to the woman below, whose breaths were getting shallower with each inhale. "You're not going to die."
Climbing to the top of the pile, Kuvira sat down; still holding Suyin in her arms, as the evening sun shined over them both, tinting them and the world in an orange glow.
Feeling her warmth fading, the matriarch grabbed the Great Uniter's uniform with a weak grip, pulling herself in closer to Kuvira.
"I don't want to die, Kuvira." Suyin admitted, as she missed the tears falling from Kuvira's eyes. "But if…I have to, then…I'm where I need to be."
The Great Uniter stayed silent, finally processing Suyin's imminent death.
What was she supposed to stay, when the woman dying below her was a causation of her own hands?
Kuvira looked out at the Sun as she listened to Suyin speak. She didn't want to look into the matriarch's pained eyes, and watch her take her last breaths; it was all too hard for her to grasp. And for the first time in her life, she felt truly defeated.
"I want….you to know….that I did…..always….love you." Suyin slowly moved a hand to Kuvira's cheek, as the Great Uniter gathered her courage to finally look down, connecting their eyes for the last time.
"I love you..too."
Tears fell freely from the Great Uniter's eyes, as she leaned down to kiss Suyin's forehead. This would be the only time she'd ever let Suyin see her cry.
Resting her chin on the top of Suyin's head, Kuvira held her closer, moving the arm from underneath Suyin's knees to wrap around the matriarch; believing for second, that she could keep the last bit of Suyin's life from escaping away if she held her tight enough.
"I'm sorry" Kuvira said it, knowing it would do nothing in their last moments together. But if anything, it would be the last consolation to the matriarch before her death.
Wrenching her head out from underneath Kuvira, Suyin turned to watch the setting sun with heavy lidded eyes. "Thank you." She said, her voice barely a whisper; as the last of her life drained with the sun.
Feeling the fist that had gripped her uniform go limp; Kuvira sat up straight. "Suyin?"
"Suyin?" She moved her arm, noticing how the material of her uniform had been darkened by the other woman's blood; and how the white glove of the hand she used to move Suyin's face from side to side, was stained red as well.
"I need you…" Kuvira's deep voice shook with desperation. " Please…don't leave me, behind." She took a deep breath, crying as she pulled Suyin's body to her. "You're all I have."
The rest of the group watched in silence from afar; knowing the exact moment of Suyin's death, as told by the actions of the Great Uniter.
Author's note:
I feel too guilty to even leave a note…sorry guys. But I still hope it was good writing. Yes, don't worry I'm working on other stuff to redeem myself from this. lol. But I had to do it. I did Suyin killing Kuvira already...so now it's only fair that I do this.
Wanna make it sadder? Wanna really feel it? lol. Read this while listening to lord of the rings- Evenstar...I promise you won't be disappointed.